Visiting Viviana before her Deployment to Germany

Living on the road I don't get to see my family as much as I would like, so when the opportunity came up to see my little sister before her deployment I had to take it. Since Bert and I work the same schedule he was unable to travel with me.

I looked into flying but it was going to be $300+ round trip and Bert would have to drive me 3 hours to the airport and 3 hours back home. Greyhound was going to be about $150 round trip but last time I took Greyhound I got extremely sick so that was a no go. Only other option was the train for $110, I had never been on the train so I thought this might be a fun trip to try it out, even if it was going to be a 14 hr ride. At least it was all overnight so I could sleep most of the time. 

The plan was to leave on Thursday and return on Tuesday. After discussing it with Bert  I was only working a half day on Thursday and already had the beginning of the week off. I looked for a earlier train and was able to leave on Monday and return the following Tuesday giving me a full week with family.  

While in Austin I was able to hang out with all of my siblings, something that does not happen very often. My mother made some amazing home cooked meals and I was able to just be with my family. We watched movies, painted and just sat around talking a lot.  

The VFW my family belongs to held a Deployment party for my lil sister. All of my siblings showed up and a group of Soldiers stationed with Viviana came to celebrate with us as well. We ate and drank and had a blast. 

Hope you enjoy the video I made of the time with my family.

A busy week with Crazy Cousins at the 2018 Minten Family Reunion

Living out in the middle of the northern Chihuahuan desert, we don't have many opportunities to do the things one would easily do in a more populated area.  So, when the truck AC breaks, or we need clothes, or a laptop starts acting up, eventually you make a trip to a 'big city' to get some of those things taken care of.  In this case, we had a laundry list of things that needed to be done that accumulated over the past 3 months and a Minten family reunion to attend.

So, with a lot to accomplish before our family reunion, we left Big Bend a day early and headed to Austin with our To Dos and dreams of dinner at Vivo, our fav Austin restaurant for great Mexican Food and Mexican Martinis, and fun times with cousins at our 2018 Rio Frio reunion at Garner State Park!

Green Enchiladas, extra hot green sauce and a Mexican Martini, Tex Mex Heaven at Vivo

Our list looked something like the one below, and we had 2 days to get it done, without the truck because it was on the list to get fixed. So we planned on using UBER or Car to Go to get around.

• Stop by PO Box for snail mail, Get truck brakes and AC fixed at Covert (priority), Drive a new 2019 1500 if possible (I'm saving for a new truck!!), Go by the Microsoft store to get both Surface laptops looked at (priority), 
• Restock reunion storage bins with cookware, serving dishes, spoons and plastic dishes, Finish reunion food shopping, Buy some booze, Get new clothes and swimwear at Old Navy (we had coupons we needed to use), 
• Meet friends at Bout Time 2 for drinks, Meet Lupe's parents for lunch, Make SURE we eat at Vivo and Torchy's at least once each, 
• Take Yvonne and Adrian to dinner to get caught up, Work on re-potting plants at Yvonne's (an on-going project) and if there was still time, 
• Look for a new mountain bike for Lupe and See a movie at Alamo Drafthouse!
 

So, off we went into Austin's hectic pace and after 9 hours and 500 miles, traveling through Fort Stockton, Fredericksburg and Dripping Springs we got to our hometown, then to Vivo and on to Yvonne's house for our short stay.

After a rushed two days we did get most of the things on our list done before heading to Garner State Park, with a BIG thanks to Yvonne for lending us 'the Hamster', her Honda Civic Hybrid, for 2 days.

With the truck half fixed, the brakes got done but the AC fan needed to be ordered so that would be fixed Monday after we get back, we headed to Garner State Park stopping for final food along the way.  We were excited to see cousins and close family and spend some time getting caught-up.

Of course, the way family reunions work, we all have lists of things we need to do and bring.  For example, there was a potluck lunch the first day so we would need to get all our food ready and igloo-ed for the weekend.  After all the prep work, we got the keys and moved in Friday morning.

Shady Meadows Dining Hall was an empty room with lots of tables before we got started with an ample kitchen for food prep and cooking.

And after getting everything in, it was just nice to chill, hang out at the bar and start catching up.

Some of us got to swim in the Rio Frio and (at night) jumped off the Big Rock..What fun that was. Note: many of the photos in this post were taken by cousin Jennifer Strawn, like this one. You can find her work here: www.jmstrawnphotography.com Thanks Jennifer for letting me use them!!

We got a visit from a group of inquisitive, wild turkeys who seemed to be very comfortable with people all around them.  State parks are great at bringing the wild right to your doorstep.

And there was lots of visiting time and a few antics from Cousin Randy ;)

Where he gave us all a lesson on how to shave your head if you really needed to. I don't think Adrian was impressed.  🙈

Friday evening Dinner at Michelle's cabin

After a fun afternoon hanging out, visiting and catching up, we wrapped up at the Dining Hall and headed over to the cabin where cousin Michelle, Aunt Rosalie, Jennifer, and Steve were staying to have dinner and do more visiting.

Saturday Afternoon BBQ

We had lots planned for Saturday, day 2 of the reunion, including a lunch BBQ and the (now famous) annual Minten Reunion Auction.  We started with a wonderful breakfast made by Michelle and Rosalie, Devin and Kurtis cooked the BBQ, Tanya helped prep food and Leona worked on her quilt while Michelle, Riley and big sister Hailey looked on.

Auction Table

Auction items were donated by many family members.  Jennifer donated a piece of her own art, Laura donated handmade 2018 Minten Reunion T-shirts, koozies, Beer Steins, and bags, Lupe donated a set of beer glasses from the Auslander restaurant, Bert donated a Big Bend Hiking & Travel package, Michelle donated framed Minten family photos, Leona donated Falfurrias and Garner state park T-shirts and Kurtis donated champaign and white wine.

The family truly appreciates what everyone creates, donates and then buys for this new annual event!!

With the help of cousin Kurtis as auctioneer, we were able to raise almost $700 this year towards future reunion costs from the auction and additional donations. Thanks Kurtis for the humor and fun you bring to our reunions!

Wrapping up day 2 at the dining hall, we got playful for our group photo.

2018 Minten Family Reunion group photo

Thanks, Jennifer for being our official photographer!  The photo really expresses the fun we all had this year. Oh wait, how did you get in the picture??  LOL Thanks, Jennifer.

So we said goodbye to the Shady Meadows dining Hall and the turkeys for this year.

During the reunion, a group of us discussed where we should go for next year's reunion.  We agreed that for 2019 the reunion we'll go back to Port Aransas, again in a large common house, and for 2020 we will come back to the Garner State Park/Neal's Lodges area.  Neal's Lodges has a Conference Room (see cabin 35 above) and we hope to get that as our group facility in 2020.  Fingers Crossed.

So, we all headed back to our Cabins and Condos to chill out for the last evening.  Heather, Jeremy, Mac, and Emery joined us at Randy's condo pool for a relaxing swim.  A little later a lot more family showed up to join the fun.

Sunday Brunch at Neal's and then fishing!

We wrapped up the 2018 Minten Family reunion at Neal's diner for brunch with as many as could make it, and right after that Kurtis and the boys went fishing at Neal's pond.

Group photo on Neal's porch

It was a great ending to our Reunion weekend and one more chance for a family photo.

And finally here's my video of the weekend.  

Cheers from Torchy's Tacos 

McDonald Observatory 2018 Visit

We visited McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis on our trip to Big Bend National Park -  where we would work for the Summer.  After leaving Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, we camped at Davis Mountains State Park for the weekend and had Sunday to visit the observatory.

Below is a view towards McDonald Observatory from highway TX-118. Mt. Fowlkes is on the left and Mt. Locke is on the right. The Hobby–Eberly Telescope dome is visible on Mt. Fowlkes and the domes of the Harlan J. Smith Telescope and Otto Struve Telescope can be seen on Mt. Locke.

By Jason Quinn - Own work, Public Domain
from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5507127

McDonald Observatory is a 15-minute drive from Davis Mountains State Park; so the State Park is the perfect place for an overnight stay when you want to visit McDonald Observatory.

Timing is everything when headed to the Observatory if you want to catch a tour, Star Party or Twilight Program. They have scheduled tours twice every day of the week and Star Parties and Twilight programs available Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday (check the tour page for exact details and times).

Entrance patio's Giant Sundial

Since we were there later in the day and on a Sunday we didn't get a tour or Star Party, however, the guide at the visitors center explained the closing times for the 3 main telescopes (5 p.m. I believe), and we were able to do the self-guided tour of the three main telescopes.  

We definitely plan on coming back for tours and a star party or two but just getting to go into the display lobby of the Hobby–Eberly Telescope (HET) was amazing. We were able to do some reading, begin to understand how it all works and view the interior of the telescope.

 Approaching HET, the 10-meter (30-foot) aperture telescope completed in 1997. After an upgrade completed in 2015, the usable optical aperature was increased to 10m. 

A three-dimensional map of our local universe.

HET is composed of 91 hexagonal segments, using a segmented mirror design.  The segments function together as a single curved mirror.  

We were also able to walk around the building containing the Otto Stuve Telescope, the first major telescope built at the McDonald Observatory. 

The wording on the Historical marker outside the Ott Stuve Telescope begins with "Original unit in a complex forming one of the great observatory centers in the world".

Entrance to Otto Stuve Telescope building

Interior shot taken by Jason Quinn [Attribution], from Wikimedia Commons

We also were able to go into the small display room of the Harlan J. Smith Telescope and read about its history. 

Interior of Harlan J. Smith Telescope during a tour, from Wikipedia. 

The views from the top of Mt. Locke were amazing and made us appreciate even more what we have here in Texas at McDonald Observatory. 

And here is the Photo Album of that the visit to McDonald Observatory.

Maiden voyage - picking up our Airstream

We picked up our 2017 International Serenity Airstream from Tampa RV in July 2016. This trip is what we call our 'maiden voyage' in the trailer.

Here we are hooking it up for the very first time.

Here we are hooking it up for the very first time. 

Starting in Austin we decided to drive overnight to get to the Tampa area non-stop driving until we got to our Hotel in Clearwater, Florida.  It was easy to do this since we weren't pulling (yet).  So, off we went on an overnight trip to get the Airstream.

We wanted the 'night before' to be fun and relaxing.  So we got a reasonable hotel on the beach, did a beach walk, watched the sun go down and then got drenched by a sudden beach storm.  It was wonderful and relaxing.  Just what we needed.  Clearwater was a great choice and had beautiful beaches.

To make it memorable and to keep our daily driving with the trailer in tow to a 'reasonable' distance, we picked several fun stops on the way back including Madeira Beach KOA in St. Petersburg so we could get back quickly if we had problems the first night

Top Sail state park in Destin, Florida, one of my favorite state parks in the state,

Sam Houston Jones to experience Lousiana swamplands

and Bayou Signet state park near New Orleans for a visit to the French Quarter. (photos coming)

Here's a map of trip back, we start at the KOA (1), then head to TopSaid Hill Preserve State Park near Destin Fl (2), then to Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles LA (3) and then home to Oak Forest RV Resort in Austin (4)! — in Tampa, Florida.

And then back to our new Home Sweet Home in Austin at Oak Forest RV Resort!!

Here's the photo album of that trip.