WANDERING WITH THE WRIGHTS

MARCH 10, 2018

Hi to everyone from Wichita Falls, Texas.  We are here at Whispers of Hope Horse Farm to do a three-week mission project.

In the last blog we had just arrived in Tucson, AZ to attend a Tiffin Rally (Tiffin is the  manufacturer of our motorhome)

There were 315 Tiffin motor coaches there

In case you are counting here are the rest of the 315!

Jerry and I had volunteered to be volunteers not having a clue what we would do.  There were many areas volunteers worked in but we were assigned golf cart duty.  We had a ball running around asking people if they wanted rides to the various buildings.  The people were all so nice and friendly we really enjoyed ourselves.

When registering we were asked to write a name of any current or past military person on the board to be honored on opening night.  You will notice our godson Garrett listed.  We are so proud of him - he graduates in May from college and will be commissioned into the US Army.

This was everyone at the rally singing the Star Spangled Banner for the Veterans Salute!
Everyone was asked to wear red, white and blue.  Very patriotic group and they prayed before every meal - not always found in large public gatherings today.  Yeah Tiffin!

I am with Mr. Bob Tiffin who started the Tiffin Company in 1941.

 Each day of the rally was full of educational seminars and a large variety of vendors to check out.  Because we had volunteered they gave us a free generator tune-up right there at the Rally -
worth $200 - thank you Mr. Tiffin.

Every night there was a delicious dinner and entertainment and most of it was Gluten Free!!
This was The Piano Man, a father and son who were really really good.  The wife/mother was one of the two vocalists so a real family affair.  Most of the songs were from Billy Joel & Elton John

Another evening performer was Sarah Getto an amazing pianist and singer.
 Sarah was born blind and with a severe cleft palate.
Inspite of her physical challenges she attended public school and graduated "summa cum laude" in 2007 from Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a degree in music education.   

Roadrunners are a common sight

Our last night at the Tiffin Rally we were entertained by the group called
December '63, Frankie Vallli tribute artists.  Another fun entertaining evening.

 Even thought we had a wonderful time at the Tiffin Rally we weren't sad to leave as we were heading for Benson, AZ.  We have stayed in Benson before and just love the area and especially the ESCAPEES Park we stay at.  We hope someday to have a lot there to use as our winter "headquarters"

Teddy enjoying a nap in the Benson sunshine

Benson also offers a lot of entertaining shows - this was a tribute to the Roy Orbison years.

The sun shines most days in Benson but at almost 3,600 feet it does get chilly - rarely snows, but it did for about 15 minutes.

Big wet flakes -  but it doesn't accumulate, stops and turns into a lovely evening

The moon rise over Benson

We have been to Benson before and have seen this elaborate railroad set up but never saw it run until this visit

The builder and head engineer

And in Benson Elvis was in the building

He put on a great show - and most of us being of a  similar age bracket all sang along

Vincent now 13 months old and learning how to feed himself :-)

Our last night in Benson we went to this little (occupancy 28) Mexican Restaurant in town with dear friends of ours that we met on the road three years ago.

 So it was farewell to Benson and onto Texas to our next NOMADS project.  For some reason this past year Teddy has seemed nervous when riding in the motor coach.  We got him some chill pills last summer from the vet which seem to help.  We noticed recently though that he does best if he can see out while were are traveling so Jerry built him this shelf while we were in Benson so he can look out the window and be right next to whoever is in the passenger seat .

Looks like he likes it don't you think?  

We had heard about a mission in Socorro, Texas that allowed travelers to spend the night in their campers when traveling through the area.  We called ahead and got permission to stay and so glad we did.

The mission was founded in 1682 by the Franciscan order, to serve displaced Spaniard families, American Indians (the Piro, Tano and Jemez) from New Mexico, who fled the central New Mexico region during the Pueblo Revolt. The present Socorro Mission was constructed around 1840 to replace an earlier 18th-century mission destroyed in 1829 by flooding of the Rio Grande. The mission, constructed of adobe surfaced with stucco, is particularly notable for its interior. 

The massing, details and use of decorative elements of the Socorro Mission show strong relationships to the building traditions of 17th-century Spanish New Mexico.  The finely painted and decorated beams, or vigas, are from the 18th-century mission and were reused when the present church was constructed. (obviously this was cut and pasted - don't write this well - lol)

This was very moving - the empty tomb with the large stone rolled back and the three crosses

Here we are parked at the mission for the night - never parked so close to a cemetery -
but it was very quiet at night (thank heavens!)

We belong to a group called Harvest Hosts that lets you know of farms, winery, museums, etc. that encourage campers to spend the night in their large parking lots at night at no charge.  

So our second night we stayed at a former Air Force Base in Webb Texas.  

We had a quiet night and Jerry loved going into the Museum they have to see all of the WWII aircraft.

We are now at Whispers of Hope Horse Farm in Wichita Falls, Texas along with 6 other rigs to assist this organization:  

Here is what we know - Whispers of Hope Horse Farm is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a 100% volunteer staff. It is a facility designed to assist physically and mentally challenged individuals through therapeutic riding at no cost. Whispers of Hope Horse Farm’s goal is to provide a safe, educational and therapeutic environment for the horse and rider in a Christian based atmosphere.

Founder and Executive Director Mary Elizabeth Pearce donated the use of the acreage at her farm and has committed herself to making the facility a successful ministry for riders, their families and the many volunteers.

For those of you we know from the northeast Illinois area we have decided not to camp host at Illinois Beach State Park this summer.  We will have a lot in Park City just south of Hwy. 120.  We are hoping many of you will come by and visit.  We will be home mid-May - shooting for right before Mother's Day.

Until our next blog.  Remember Spring is right around the corner, we love and miss you, but are having the time of our lives!!

Hugs and Blessings, Carol, Jerry and Teddy