Oct 4, 2013 - Visit with Judy Rawson

This morning Judy called me to see if I could meet her at the Corps of Engineers’ office instead of the boat ramp. We visited there a while. There have been quite a few changes in personnel since I left in 2009. The office area had also been rearranged. I was disappointed that Brande Serner was not there. Judy showed me the Texoma Peer Award she had received from the Corps of Engineers. It is very impressive. I also admired a Texas flag wall hanging above her desk, which was made by her daughter. Around 11:30 we went to Nick’s Café in...

Sep 11, 2012 - Eisenhower Denison, TX

This is one of those places you find while just wandering around. Dwight Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas but the family moved back to Kansas when he was 18 months old. Eisenhower returned to Denison while on his campaign for President. These photos are of the rented house the Eisenhowers lived in.

Apr 24, 2012 - Eisenhower State Park

We drove almost 400 miles to reach our next destination. Wow! It is amazing how different an interstate road can be from state to state. I love Louisiana, but the roads are really poor. Once we hit Texas...smooth sailing. Texas not only does a great joy on roads, but they have an abundance of Historical Markers. Each marker has a number. Would you believe that someone made a phone app that allows you to look up each marker? With my trusty Thunderbolt smartphone, I learned that Celeste, Texas was the home of Audie Murphy. Not much there, but...

Oct 15, 2009 - Laid Back Day

Since we are leaving the refuge on Sunday our job here is pretty much complete but we did volunteer to help organize a supply closet in the main office. So this morning Mike and I both went to tackle the job. It was not a huge job just a bit of clutter that needed organizing. We worked on the closet for a couple of hours before completing the job and heading home for lunch. When we got up this morning the sky was still grey and cloudy and there was a fine mist of rain still falling. It has been almost two weeks with clouds and rain in this...

Oct 11, 2009 - Return to Hagerman/Rains/New Birds

We were gone from the refuge for a few days to take care of some family business and when we returned we were met with an awful evening of rain and storms. In about six hours 4 to 41/2 inches of rain fell. Several of the bridges in the refuge were completely impassable due to the overflow of the lake. An area called Big Mineral Springs was actually out of its banks. On a normal day, this is a nice area to fish and picnic. The drop from the bank to the creek is about 4 feet. Not today! One bridge looked more like a waterfall than a bridge....

Oct 6, 2009 - Let's Live Big

My brother sent me an e-mail today that really summed up some of the feelings that we experienced when deciding to fulltime. He was challenging me (us) to never begin thinking "old." He went on to say to stay active but more than just physical or mental exercise but true passions, burning passions. That completely sums up how we have always felt about travel and volunteering our time and talent as we travel around this great country. It is a passion, a burning passion. Then he said that we, "had a lifetime behind us and a lifetime ahead of...

Oct 2, 2009 - Work a Little / Play a Little / Enjoy Alot

We have finished our first full week here at Hagerman. The work is simple and the views are stunning. Today as we were driving to one of our day use areas we saw a magnificent Great Horned Owl fly over our truck. We stopped and watched for a few minutes and got to see him land in a tree and stare at us. The thing that intrigued me was his wing span. We also saw a Red-Tailed Hawk perched on a telephone pole sizing up his prey over the field. Of course, as fate would have it, we didn’t have our camera with us. We do plan to return this...

Sep 27, 2009 - A Drive thru Hagerman NWR and the town of Denison

We took a Sunday drive through several of the areas we are responsible for while here at Hagerman. One of those areas is Haller’s Haven Nature Trail. This is a short 1 mile trail. This trail was recently renamed from its former name of Dead Woman’s Pond. A farmer and his much younger wife were scraping out a living in Grayson County. The attractive young wife had not been seen for a while. The farmer was noticed By a neighbor driving his wagon down to the local pond with a large bundle in the Back. Said farmer returned home with the...

Sep 25, 2009 - First work day at Hagerman

Today was our first day volunteering at Hagerman Wildlife Refuge. Our job mainly consists of maintaining the three day use areas and checking five of the hiking trails to make sure they are clean with no limbs blocking the trails. We drove the refuge truck around and really enjoyed this beautiful day. We picked up trash and Mike did a little weed eating. Even though there was a lot of trash along the roadway, I believe once we get it under control it will be pretty easy going. They supply us with those long litter pickers ( I guess you...

Sep 23, 2009 - Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

We are at Hagerman Wildlife Refuge this evening. This refuge is located 75 miles north of Dallas, Texas on Lake Texoma. Hagerman is on the Texas side of the Red River near the town of Denison and not far from Sherman. The Red River is quite large and is the border between Oklahoma and Texas. We left Texarkana this morning around 10:00 and probably took the longest route here but it was a good trip on good roads for once. This wildlife refuge is located in a remote area outside of Denison. Denison looks to be a mid-size town with most...

Jun 27, 2009 - Last-minute Errands

This morning I met my financial advisor in McKinney to sign some documents. I was glad that we could get this matter finished today because it is a hassle to do it by mail. When I returned to Denison, I bought a few more groceries so I won’t have to do it so soon after I get on the road again.

Jun 26, 2009 - Last Day at Lake Texoma

Today is my last day as a volunteer at Lake Texoma for a while. I’ve been here for 13 months and have really enjoyed working with these people. I will miss them. I won’t hesitate to come back to help them again. I’m just not sure yet when that will be. The Lake Manager, Assistant Lake Manager and Lead Ranger (Joe, BJ and Grady) took me to the Cotton Patch for lunch. Eva and Judy rounded out the group. We had a nice visit over lunch. I had thought that lunch was the official good-bye treat. I was really surprised when, later in the...