Finally, a morning without clouds or mist. Today dawned bright and sunny--what a welcomed change for our walk. A strong cool front blew through last night bringing more pleasant temperatures--our high this afternoon was in the upper 70's.

After our walk and breakfast, John headed off to wood carvers. I spent the morning doing laundry and putting fresh sheets on the bed. I also made a jello salad to take to the woodcarvers BBQ. This is an event Wallace and Becky put on each spring. This year they provided brisket, sausage, relish tray, drinks, plates, and utensils. All the carvers brought a covered dish or dessert to share. Needless to say, we had one awesome meal. I think Becky said we had 48 people there this afternoon--just about every carver attended. Once the meal was over, everyone pitched in and helped with the cleanup. It wasn't long before the Wright's patio was back in tip top shape. A few folks hung around afterward and visited before heading home.

Jim, Lloyd, and Ginny - our golfing buddies

Lois and her great grandson who is visiting

Stan stopped over this afternoon to deliver a copy of the Kinney County Post. He saw the doctor today and had some x-rays, but didn't get an MRI. The doctor said he didn't break or chip any bones with his fall, but may have torn his rotator cuff. The MRI is scheduled for next Monday. Stan needed some help, so John went with him to deliver the papers in Brackettville.

When John got home, we went to pick up Tim and headed over to the RV park. One of Lloyd's neighbors in the park is a DEA agent and agreed to give a little talk about the DEA and tell us some of his experiences. Art had also asked a fellow agent to also share about his job. They both gave a very interesting talk and answered many questions. We ended our day watching a little TV before heading off to bed. It'll be another busy day again tomorrow.

I have to say that the morning weather is very consistent--cloudy, misty, with warm temps. This morning we also had a very brief rain shower while walking. The good news is that the sky cleared off by mid-morning and we had highs today in the low 90's. Suppose to be about 10 degrees cooler tomorrow.

John and I were on a very tight schedule this morning. After eating breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed off to Sunday School and church. As soon as the service was over, we rushed right home, changed clothes, and went over to the condos to pick up Mary Ellen and Tim. We needed to be in Del Rio by 1 p.m. for the Del Rio Winter Texan Dinner. We arrived at the convention center right on time. There was a good representation from Fort Clark and all seemed to enjoy the spaghetti dinner and musical entertainment by The Border Line Singers. After a few door prizes were given out, everyone loaded into their cars and headed off to various destinations. We headed off to Home Depot.

John needed one more item for the gutter job he wants to do on Tuesday, and Tim wanted to look at a sander. It took just a few minutes for the guys to find what they wanted and then we were off to fill up the car ($3.25 per gallon - ouch!!) and hit the road back to the fort.

While we were at the dinner, Sam Lark called John and left a message, so after we dropped the Miners' off, we stopped in to see Sam. He wanted some help taking a large mirror down and putting it in the back of his car. John had to come home to get the right type of screw driver to remove the mirror, so I came back with him. After the mirror was taken care of, John stopped in to see how Stan was doing. He's still in a lot of pain and will be heading off to the doctor tomorrow. While John was gone, I cleaned up the kitchen and made a loaf of bread since finished up the last loaf at breakfast.

We ended our evening watching the Amazing Race and a few other favorite Sunday night shows. Tomorrow promises to be another full day.

After such a busy day yesterday, we slept in a little later this morning before dragging ourselves out of bed for our walk. It looked to be a rather quiet day for the Lavin household as nothing was on the activity schedule.

John made a trip to the post office after breakfast. There he ran into Lloyd and Ginny Johns and made a date to play golf this afternoon. So much for nothing on the activity schedule. I spent my morning working on the computer and finishing a mystery novel on my Kindle.

After lunch we headed off to the Par 3 and met up with Lloyd and Ginny and found that the Rungers, Jim and Kathy, were also joining us. There was a band concert in the post theater tonight and we enjoyed hearing them practice while we played golf. Following the game we decided that we needed some ice cream to help us cool off and headed into town and Pico's. They just opened a big container of banana split ice cream, so we all enjoyed a bowl of our favorite flavor.

We ran into Mary Ellen on our way to play golf and learned that our friend Stan had a fall this morning. John went over to check on him after we got home and it looks like he has injured his shoulder. Sam was there helping Stan get his arm in a sling and administering some pain meds. Xrays and an MRI are on the agenda for Monday.

John and I spent a quiet evening watching some college basketball. This next week is going to be another busy one here at Fort Clark.

Today Mary Ellen had planned an adventure for our little group--a trip to The Devil's Sink hole. John and I were up nice and early, got cleaned up, packed a sack lunch for the two of us, and were all set to go when Tim and Mary Ellen picked us up at 9 a.m. We met the other folks at the Teen Center and were on our way. We arrived at the Rocksprings Visitor Center right on time--10:30 a.m.

After signing release forms, looking around the center, and viewing a short video about the sink hole and the bats that migrate there for the summer months, we boarded a bus for the ride out of town. On the way, our tour guide pointed out historical sites in the town and different points of interest along the way. Before long we reached the road to the hole.

The sinkhole, discovered by Anglo settlers in 1867, is on a tract of land approximately six miles northeast of Rocksprings. The main attraction is the Devil's Sinkhole itself. It is a vertical cavern with an opening measuring approximately 40 by 60 feet with a vertical drop into the main cavern of about 140 feet. The main cavern is circular and reaches a total depth of 350-400 feet. The sinkhole is the summer home to 1-4 million Mexican Free-tail Bats. At sundown the bats come out of the sinkhole in a swirling mass to feed during the night. They then return to the hole at sunrise. Tourists come every evening to see this event.




We spent several hours listening to the tour guide tell us all about The Devil's Sinkhole, having a picnic lunch, and taking a little hike. A group picture was taken and then we boarded the bus again for the return trip to town. Next on our agenda was a stop at the farm store to see an amazing collection of arrow heads valued at millions of dollars. There were also many other unusual and interesting items to see. We then headed across the street to see where they sort, grade, and sell mohair that the local sheep ranchers bring in.

It was time to start the long ride back to Bracketville with a stop in Campwood for some ice cream. We were going home via a different route and came across a ranch where they were raising wild animals. Someone Mary Ellen had met in her travels had told her about this place and as we drove along, we were joking about seeing a giraffe. Suddenly, we spied one. We had Tim stop the car and we ran back along the road to see it. We all spent time looking through the fences and taking pictures of the various animals.


By the time we reached Campwood, everyone wanted not only ice cream, but some supper. We found a nice little restaurant that gave us fast service and a very good meal. Finally, we were back on the road home with one final stop at Pico's for some ice cream. Our little adventure lasted all day and everyone had a fun time. John and I were both a little tired after such a busy day and relaxed before bed by watching a little TV.

Once again we had the same cloudy, misty weather for our walk. Every morning is like this and then by around 10 a.m. the skies clear off and it gets pretty warm. We have certainly been enjoying some beautiful weather this past week; however, I think the weatherman is predicting a cool front for this weekend. We shall have to wait and see.

Right after breakfast, I left to get a haircut and John went to pick up Sam Lark's truck which we needed to pick up gutter materials. Just as we were getting read to leave for Del Rio, Stan stopped in to pick up the dove cage. He was on his way to Uvalde, and would drop it off to his friend. John was very glad to have that job completed.

Our first stop in Del Rio was Jack In The Box for some lunch. From there it was on to Wal Mart for a few groceries and the last of the birthday presents for Noah. Next, Home Depot. Fortunately they had all the gutters, down spouts, etc. that are needed for doing this job. John and I loaded everything into the truck, tied it all down, and hit the road back to the fort. Once we got there, we took everything over to Leda's house and stacked it in her driveway. John hopes to get to this job next week. At least all the materials are there and ready to install.

Following supper, John picked up Tim and they headed off to woodcarvers. I spent the evening catching up on paper work, emails, and watching American Idol. This should be a good season as there are many very talented singers.

We had another cloudy morning with some light mist which made it very comfortable for walking. John and I like getting our exercise done before the skies clear off and the temps get on the rise. The past few days have seen the afternoon highs in the 80's.

As soon as we got back to the house, John went over to the condo building to go up on its roof to see if he could find where the solar panels were leaking. The morning is the best time for this as water needs to be running through the tubes in order to see what is leaking and where. He saw the problem right away and tighten the connections--leaks are now stopped. One job down and several more to go.

After breakfast, John left to pick up Tim for the men's nine hole golf. They had a good group of guys show up to play and John's team shot two over par. He had great tee shots, but his short game wasn't at its best.

While John was golfing, I headed off to Del Rio for Weight Watchers. I met Lois Carlson there and after the meeting we went for lunch. It was then off to the mall for some birthday present shopping for Noah who will turn five next month.

This afternoon John went over to Ralph's place and helped him clean out his storage shed. He came home with some of Ralph's discarded treasures and now we have to find a home for them at our place.

After supper we settled in to watch Survivor and American Idol. Both shows looks to be pretty interesting this season.

The morning started off nice and sunny and was great for taking a walk. Today was ladies' golf, so right after breakfast, I hopped in the golf cart and headed over to the course. By the time I got there, the weather was much cooler and the breeze was coming up. At first I thought we would be cold while playing, but it turned out to be perfect weather for golfing. I actually played pretty good today. My shots off the tee were nice and straight and my putting was much improved. It's much more fun playing when your game goes good.

While I was off with the ladies, John spent the morning doing some little little jobs over at the condos--he fixed some closet doors and the solar heater on the roof of the building. He also got the dove cage completed--he did a very nice job and I think his customer will be very pleased.



This evening we went with Tim and Mary Ellen to the RV potluck. As usual there was plenty of delicious food and quite a few people stayed afterward to play "31". John was a big winner again this evening while I got knocked out pretty early at my table. The card playing went very late so this blog entry is pretty short--it's time for bed.