December 28, 2005
 
I have to admit that spending Christmas in North Cental Texas has been a slightly strange experience for a 35 year resident of North Central Wisconsin!
 
There have been years where we haven't had snow for Christmas in Wisconsin, but those have been few and far between. Yet, it's always been cold this time of year up North. When I left my Northwoods home a week and a half ago, the temp was +4 degrees Fahrenheit, with about 16 inches of new snow on the ground. So I wasn't surprised that my arrival in Texas saw temps in the low 30's. But that lasted for just a couple of days before temperatures began climbing. Oh yeah, I was down here once before for Christmas when there was an early morning snowfall of 1/8 inch, but that melted off by 9:00 am. This year the local temps were in the low 80's on Christmas day. Neighbors were out on the streets and sidewalks wishing each other Holiday Goodness and discussing local business and politics in their short-shirtsleeves. Kids actually could play with their gifts (unless some unsuspecting parent might have bought a snow sled).
 
This is Wichita Falls, Texas. The biggest 'business' in these parts is Sheppard Air Force Base. Sheppard serves as a training facility not only for our own fliers, but for those of other friendly nations. Like Canada and Jamaica. But the AFB is where my mom, a civilian dental assistant, met my dad, a quartermaster in the US Army Air Corps back in 1944.
 
The town fell on rough times when Texas oil companies had troubles competing with foreign imports. But the AF Base and other local industries shored up the economy and helped build an preserve a beautiful city. And, you can geocache in the middle of winter without heavy coats, boots and gloves!
 
Wichita Falls is surrounded by cattle and agriculture operations, in addition to a few oil production wells. OK, that's a lie... you can trip over the multitude of production wells down here, obvious by the rocker beam "horsehead" pump apparatus that reminds me of those glass novelty birds that would dip to a water dish ad infinitum. But there's a larger number of either dry or capped wells for every production well.
 
So cattle, agriculture and oil may seem to be the biggest products of this area. That's what the brochure says. But, having driven about 40 miles in every direction, the biggest "crop" in this area is mesquite. Acres of mesquite. Piles of mesquite! Forests of mesquite! Mountains of mesquite! When northerners (aka damned yankees) go into the store and buy charcoal made from mesquite for $7.95 a 10 pound bag, remember that folks are burning it like weeds down here just to get rid of it.... can't give it away! It has to be ripped out by the roots in order to plant a field, or else it will soon sprout anew. Accidentally fall into a mesquite 'tree' and you'll feel like the test dummy at a convention of medical interns learning how to draw blood. Get a sidewall puncture on your truck or tractor tires and Goodyear or Michellin stock will take a positive jump.
 
Oh yeah, there's also the North Texas winds and the inevitable tumbleweeds. The 40's song with the lyrics "...drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.." romanticized this odd plant. Don't be fooled. The Texas variety is covered with sharp spines, intent on impaling you. Get caught running from a tumbleweed through mesquite with some cactus thrown in and you'll wish you were being attacked by 'Jaws' instead!
 
But the city is growing again with many new housing developments, businesses and shopping malls. Back in the 50's the area looked somewhat bleak to a young boy used to the mighty oaks, lush grasses and rolling terrain of Northern Illinois. But now the city has its own tall trees, irrigated lawns, parks, museums and a huge convention complex. There's a new water park on the east end of town and a nice Visitor's Center with a re-creation of the "Falls" of Wichita Falls (the original having long since disappeared from natural erosion). I-44 officially ends here, at least for now. A nice friendly place and a return home again for my mother, after all those years in "Yankee Territory"
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
December 23, 2005
 
Greetings and Holiday Wishes from North Texas! I'm here in Wichita Falls, TX to celebrate the Holidays with my mom and my family. Sister Cindy and bro-in-law Kevin arrived from Tampa on the 20th, and nephew Dan an his bride Mayra should just pulled in this morning from Illinois. The local family here consists of aunts, uncles and cousins. This will be a unique holiday in that it'll be the first that so many of us can get together.
 
It was a 1240 mile trip for me. GeoTruk performed well, and I only had to switch into 4x4 on the initial part of the trip, where roads were still icy. With one exception, I was able to gas up at Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores and Flying J Travel Plazas all the way. I have a 'Real Value' discount card for Flying J and can use my 'Good Neighbor Sam' club card for a discount at Love's. These plazas initially were geared to the long haul truckers, but the companies saw how large the RV market has become and introduced discount plans to attract RV'ers. Although I only had GeoTruk on this trip, I appreciate any fuel cost savings. In addition, many of these facilities offer restaurants, showers and wi-fi access at reasonable fees. For RV'ers, most have black and grey water dump stations and fresh water systems and frequently allow overnite parking in designated areas.
 
I've made this drive so many times that it's become old-hat... with the singular exception that, as roads have improved over the past 40 years, the skills of other motorists has declined. Probably 90+% of the professional OTR drivers are true professionals. A rare few can't always keep their rigs in the center of their lane, causing the passing motorist to crawl the inner shoulder. But, by and large, I'd rather be on the road with the big rigs than with the idiot motorists who can't read the "Slower traffic keep right" signs and 'park' themselves in the passing lane regardless of speed. Or those on cellphones who obviously can't talk and drive at the same time. Or those who won't speed up a bit to prevent another motorist from being cut off in the pass. Or those mindless twits who attempt to get as far ahead on the shoulders or closing lanes before cutting back in line in construction zones. The list goes on and on.
 
Suprisingly, once I reached Missouri and I-44, I began noticing that nearly all Missouri drivers would return to the right lane after passing, but the drivers who stubbornly stayed in the left lane outstandingly sported license plates from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and, alas, Wisconsin. Must be a stupidity gene trapped in the Great Lakes waters.
 
I've downloaded a pocket query of geocaches around this TX area and may get to do some winter "caching". I need to get out and hike a bit to work off all the good food that mom has prepared.
 
Hope y'all have a wonderful Holiday!
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
December 8, 2005
 
One of the features that I've planned for this site includes a 'Places' category where I'll highlight some historical and interesting places that have had an impact on my life. Like the Joy Camps of Hazelhurst, Wisconsin where I currently live (not affiliated with the others by the same or similar names listed on the 'net), the Minnick Ranch of North Central Texas where my mom spent some time growing up, the Cary/Fox River Grove area of Northern Illinois where I grew up, and a few others.
 
Another big plus for the 'net...research is becoming increasingly enhanced via internet sources. I've had relatives of people I'm researching contact me through site posts, often providing new info or confirming stuff I've found.
 
I was fortunate to have some quality time, years ago, with my Texas grandmother. She was 89 at the time, and we spent time talking about the days when she was cook for a N. Texas ranch. My grandfather was ranch foreman, and my mother and her siblings were youngsters with a pony and a dog that would keep them safe from rattlesnakes when they went exploring. The fella that owned the ranch was pretty famous and frequently had visitors such as Will Rogers and Wiley Post fly in for some polo and carousing. Granny Ethel is gone now, but those hours spent with her resulted in a passion for me to discover more about that ranch.
 
Years ago I ran into an old neighbor at a family funeral. He was an early settler and farmer in the home area of my youth, and was in his late 80's at the time. He asked me to document his life stories, but I had my engineering career and little time to spend on such a project. What a mistake! Documenting his unique life would've been something that would last forever.
 
It's too late for me to tell the stories of that family friend, since he passed away shortly thereafter. I still look forward to researching, preserving and relating histories of people and places I'm familiar with.
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
December 6, 2005
 
Did some geocaching yesterday, thanks to 'andlies' who placed two recent caches in our area when on a trip to commemorate grandfathers's love of this area. Nicely thought out, these mini-caches are sufficiently above ground to be accessible through most of our Wisconsin snows.
 
Also contacted a friend from high school and college via email, and was pleased to get a response. Stop and think how amazing the Intenet is... It allows you to get in contact with friends from times past. As we get older, the friendship and communication with people from our past becomes increasingly important, possibly because making new friends tends to get somewhat more difficult, and we also begin to realize how important old friendships have become. Good to hear from you , Maureen.
 
Temp's been sub zero in the evenings and single digits during the days, but we're heading for a warming trend... up to maybe 30 degrees F. I've got my suntan lotion ready.
 
Got a new antenna for the cell phone in GeoTruk. It's a small mag mount unit (with a darned strong magnet) made by Wilson Electronics and sold by Brandolini Electronics (Tel Toll-Free 877-266-7909). Where I live, my Motorola V60i usually gave me a 'no signal'. That also applied to driving around the area, except when I got closer to a tower. First I'd get a one-bar Analog connection which increased to digital whenever I approached a tower. Now I get a 3-4 bar digital signal when GeoTruk pulls out of the barn.
 
Gonna try to plant the CB mag mount antenna forward and see if the two interfere. I've already learned that I have to screen the radar detector from the GPS antenna puck (the rear view mirror works well).
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
December 3, 2005 ..... A day in the life of....
 
Got up early this morning so I'd be early in line for flu shots given in the local mall (our county health care provides the service). It's a bargain at $17 for those of us not yet on MediCare.
 
So while I was in town and at the "Mall", which isn't like your big-city mall but more the old-timey "strip" malls of the 1960's, with maybe a dozen shops, max, I figured I'd do some shopping.
 
At one end of the strip is a Dollar Store. Since I couldn't find anything that didn't look like it was overpriced at a dollar, I wandered through the other shops. A paint store, a GNC which was about to go belly-up, a restaurant, a UPS shipping kiosk, a travel agency (yeah, right, like I'd give the gift of travel to anybody but me... except maybe a one-way for my neighbor-from-hell providing he'd promise never to return), a coffee/expresso shop that has all its' liquid offerings residing in those funky thermal pump carafes.
 
That left a grocery store and a liquor store. Since the liquor store was attached to the grocery store, this choice was a no-brainer.
 
Provisions of necessary sustenance acquired, I drove over to the hardware store. I can't go to town without hitting the hardware store. There used to be four hardware stores in the area, but we're down to one megahardware. Prices are a bit high, but ya have to factor in gas for the 70-mile round trip to the discount joints.
 
Back to WalMart. I had med prescriptions to pick up, and a few other odds and ends. Including Christmas cards. As postage goes up, the cost of the cards I choose goes down. Next year, when stamps will cost 39 cents, I intend only to send empty envelopes with suitable messages written on the back. Maybe.
 
But most gifts for the family have arrived, and the brunt of the season's pressures are ebbing, leaving room for the true Christmas spirit to move in. Beginning to listen to holiday tunes. They help to keep me going while filling out all those cards!
 
Until later.....DKHT