We have now been on the road for more than ten years and have loved nearly every minute of it. Like any way of life, all of the bad things which take place in life go along. In our time on the road we have experienced the passing of my mother, and several other relatives. This lifestyle does give some freedom to be where family or friends are in need, but it also at times has you too far away to attend some of the less critical occasions that one normally would do. It is probably important to remember that while bad things still happen, sorrow is no greater for a full-time RV traveler than it would be if you lived a more conventional life. There may be times when it hits harder because you are not with your family and support system, but there are also times that you have more support around you as well.

One thing which we failed to realize as we began our "Great Adventure" was the rate at which time would fly past! It seems only a short time ago that we headed out along the road with great anticipation, and a healthy dose of anxiety as well. Today it seems that most folks we meet tend to think of us as the experts and the veterans of the RV lifestyle, even though there are times that we find as much to learn and experience as we did back when we first began.

A side effect of the rapid flight of time has been the amazing rise in the numbers we see on forms where age is requested. It was not so very long ago that we believed that anyone past 60 was getting old, and now we see the next zero year in our very near future! I made a deal with my 5 year old grandson to allow him to have my birthday this year and he could get two years older, while I just remained the same, but Pam and all of her legion of supporters have informed me that this is just not to be. As a side effect of the meteoric rise in the age thing, so we also discover that a dependence upon doctors and health care facilities begins to play a greater and greater role in the scheduling and routing of one's travels. It seems that this time is moving into our "Adventure" in an ever growing way, so we have in the past year or so realized that the time has come to begin to make some definite plans for our exit from this lifestyle. Our hope is to coast down slowly, rather than coming to an abrupt halt. In that vein we have begun to search of a place to once more call home, or at least a base of operations to slowly become the home that our motorhome has been.

We recently were made aware of a place called Bass Lake Christian Retirement Community, by one of our fellow Escapees members. While we have not yet been there to see it, Gary has been so kind as to take and send pictures of properties that are of interest to us as well as to help in our making of contacts. We are excited about the possibilities of this new part of our adventure and we look forward to getting back to Texas next month and actually visiting the properties and see exactly what there is to offer. We are also considering other possible locations and types of home bases, but this is an RV community and has a great deal of appeal to us now that we have become so immersed in the RV lifestyle. Who knows what the future will hold, but for us, the planning of the next step has begun.

There are chores to be done around an airfield, just as most places. With winter coming on, the pace of getting things done has to pick up. Over the past week we have helped in doing some repairs to a leak in the plumbing from the well to one of the houses and then applied heat tape and insulation to the exposed pipes. We also did some trash collection at a house that Rich & Ginger bought as an investment, just down the road from the field, which they plan to rent out soon. We also were moving equipment used in summer to inside storage in the machinery barn and winterizing places that are not used in winter. Traffic here is pretty slow most of the colder periods and of course grass doesn't grow so no mowing is needed.

Today when I got up, Muffie thought it was too cold to stay out, so she took over Pam's favorite spot. Since Pam was not yet up, she seems to have claimed this location! It was below freezing last night for the first serious freeze this year. They predicted a low of 29, so we had our water hose insulated and everything winter ready and all went well. Today is sunny, but still pretty cool, in the mid 40's but it is predicted to be back in the low 70's next week. Not too bad for this part of the country and close to Thanksgiving!

One of the best parts of this location is the neat airplanes that we get the chance to fly in! On Wednesday, Rich needed to move the plane that blongs to his brother and there is a rule here that if you start an airplane, it then must fly, somewhere! Since I was helping to put the plane into the hangar, I also rode along in the moving project. Of course the reality is that we only needed to taxi the plane about 1/2 the distance of a city block, but if you start the engine, should you not then exercize it as well?

This is a really neat plane, as it is a Cessna, L-9 Birddog that was built for the Army in the 40's as an artillary spotter. This one has not been restored, but is all original as of when it was retired.  This particular one was transfered to the Austrailian Air Force and was flown in Viet Nam. It had been retrofitted to carry a bomb and two rockets and it still has the release and launch mechinisms for this. It has a rear seat that can be used as anything from an observer/artillery spotter, weapons control or a photo position. It also has flight characteristics such that with full flaps it can stay airborn at unbelieveably slow speeds, particularly when flying into the wind. What a wonderful experience it was to go out in this one.

Onething that many people do not realize is that caring for a grass airfield is much more than just mowing the grass. Each spring the runway must be rolled, with a large roller that is filled with water to add weight. This is done to keep it as smooth as it can be kept. Each fall, when air traffic typically drops off, the field is worked with a mechanical aeriator to loosen the soil for the greas. This year it has been so dry that the gound has been too hard for much effect, so now that we finally had a fair rain, it is time to get this job done. With an area that is about 1/4 mile wide and more than 3/4 mile long, it takes some time to work the field. Once that is done there is grass seed and fertilizer to be applied.  Today we began the process of getting things ready for this operation. If you click on the picture it will open one showing the runway.

Another job that we have been working on is to remove some of the trees and brush that line the field nest to the county road. The area has been overgrown and Rich & Ginger want to clean it out and make it look more attractive. Most of our work time this week has been cutting trees & brush and hauling it to the burn pile. Other than Tuesday, we have had really great weather this fall and only a few cold days. Tonight is predicted to be near freezing, but then it should warm up once again. We do seem to have picked the right fall to stay here.