It's been quite a while since I have blogged, so I was impelled to give an update! A lot of water has gone under the bridge and we have really been busy here at 1416 Holly. The house is pretty much ready for company - and just in time! We will be having about 24 relatives for thanksgiving celebration. About the only thing in the way right now is all of those vehicles in the back yard. The Casita and truck are still waiting to be sold. I think that they are going to sell separate and I will put the solar on top of our shed to provide power for my "workshop" and the lawnmower. It will also be able to run the refrigerator in case of a power outage - which is sure to happen in rural OK. The tent like structure that you see in the picture is a temporary carport that we will use until the landscaping is done and the "real" carport is installed. We celebrated our 55th anniversary by going to Outback in Norman and then on to the "old homestead" to play games with the grandkids.

Two of our dearest friends, Dave and Arda Tole, came to visit Monday and Tuesday, on their way north to Chicago and Grand Rapids. We had a great time sharing BBQ at Smokin' Joes and playing games. We hope to have many more visitors from our Arlington, Noble, and Escapee friends. Call us and tell us you are coming - we'll leave the light on for you - and as you can see there is lots of parking in our front yard.

Well, I guess that is all for now. I'm going to head out to start geocaching Sulphur.

Times are a changing!

Times are a changing. The house is ours. Repainting turned out to be the least of our challenges. We found major roach infestation and water leakage problems, not to mention the badly wired electrical in the house. My kids joined in to help me fix all of the problems and we now have a like new house! The kitchen had to be torn out to the studs, re-wired, re-walled, and all new cabinets, counter, sink, hood, etc. There is still some minor work remaining but we have been living in the house now for a few weeks - and it is home.

The biggest change for me was moving out of the Casita into a huge (1040SF) house. The biggest change for Cathy was moving out of the double-wide house (1400SF) and squeezing into a tiny new home - and having to share her space with another person (the once vagabond husband). We are learning to live with each other again and it"s working out well. Saturday we had a very successful yard sale in which Tom got rid of the construction leftovers and Cathy got rid of a lot of excess fabric and books.

We reallly enjoy the country style town of Sulphur and have even made time to take a walk on one of the trails at the park - a lot more walks on a lot more trails to come. I have decided that I will not go back to working for money, but I may park host aagain - this time in a tent.

Another of the challenges that the move has made is vehicles. I want to give the Casita and the van both new owners - someone who will benefit from owning them. They would just age and sit idle if I kept them. What I have decided to do is to try to sell them as a unit to someone who would appreciate their unique solar capabilities and take them back on the road. If I can't find that buyer, I will sell the trailer first, strip the solar off of the van and put it on the house as emergency power, then sell the van with ladder racks to a local construction person. I have rented space at the local flea market, starting October 17th, to display the pair, and a dear friend of mine has spread the word to some of the Escapees. I really hope that an Escapee will buy it because I know that it will go to a good home and be appreciated. And I hope that my Escapee friends will not forget me, but come and visit (20amp hookup) in our side/back yards where we have room for several rigs (see blog on June 18th). Chickasaw National Recreation Area is about a mile away and has regular RV camping facilities as well and should not be missed by any of our friends.

If you are interested in the vehicles, here is a brief description:

THE VAN (and solar) is a 2008 Chevy 2500 Express Van (VIN 1GCGG25CX81192400), with about 60,000 miles on it. It is white (matches the Casita) and has the towing package. It is the regular (not extended) length and has been insulated inside, so that the van can also be used to provide a second bedroom for the Casita - or used as a side trip "stealth" RV. The bed consists of three storage boxes with a folding plywood top (folding to allow access to the storage boxes). The solar is mounted on the roof on ladder racks and provides 300 watts of solar power to charge the 7 batteries. The batteries are all advanced glass mat type except the primary van battery. GM engineering advised me that the alternator can be used as a charging source by using a switch method to connect to the battery bank. I have installed the switch as they advised.. I have only had to use the alternator a couple of times when encountering too much rain. An extra advantage of the switch is that you can connect the van to the battery bank and "jump start" the van if it's battery is low and if connected when stored it will keep all of the batteries at a well maintained 13.5V level. The entire solar system is regulated and has a monitor to tell the charge and usage condition at a glance. The inverter AC power is 1800 pure sine wave watts that will take a surge to 3600 watts. It goes to sleep when not in demand so as to not drain the batteries when they are not needed. If used conservatively it will power everything in the Casita except the strip heater. The air conditioner can even be run for short cool downs (like at meal time) several times a day and I have run it all night on hot summer nights after the sun went down.

THE CASITA is a 2007 Spirit Deluxe model (VIN 1C9TB171X71213600) with large and small dinettes that both convert to beds. I have added propane connections for an Olympian catalytic heater and, with the exception of a furnace, I bought all of the optional equipment offered. In addition I have installed a wall mounted 19" LCD DTV. For the description of the trailer you can go to www.casitatraveltrailers.com - they have hardly changed anything in the design since 2007.

If you are interested in both (or either) of these vehicles contact me by email at vagabondmarlatt@gmail.com and I will get back with you.

Never say never!

I said I would be a Texan for the rest of my life - never be an Okie. Today I got an Oklahoma drivers licence and became a certified, licenced, Oklahoma resident.

We are getting very close to closing on the house - it may be as soon as Friday. Or it may have to wait until we get back from Indiana/Illinois at the end of the month.

This month has been very hectic, but enjoyable, getting the preliminary things done for the moving process. I rented a storage compartment and have taken all of the excess RV stuff out of the trailer and truck, including my bike. That makes the trailer big enough for the two of us to take the northern trip next week. I have also taken two van loads of the early move in things to the storage shed. That way Michelle will have some minimum items to use when she comes down for a few days to help us with the re-painting of the bedrooms and kitchen. We won't move in until the house is ready for us - probably the end of August.

I am going to look for employment (part time or seasonal) to help support the new life style.

All in all - this is a great adventure in the life of the Vagabond (do I have to give up that nickname? - I don't think so!).

Getting off of the road - Reunion

After 15 years of full-time RVing I have finally found a place where I would like to settle down. It is in Sulphur OK, home of Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The town of 5000 is the size that I like. The people are friendly and down to earth. It is a country town, but it is still close enough to the big citys of Dallas and OKC. Cathy and I are in the process of buying this house at 1416 Holly Lane and expect to close at the end of July. We won't move in until the few modifications that we require are done. I will probably take a 1039 (hrs/yr) position at the park in order to be able to afford keeping up the payments for both this home and the double wide at Michelles. Of course we will have a well worn path between the two since they are only about 65 miles apart. Cathy will get a hide-a-bed for grandkids and company and Tom will wire up the back yard for visiting RV friends. All in all, this promises to be a happy reunion and a great future here in Sulphur.

Back to Oklahoma for a while

Wow, time flies - it's been three week since my last post. A lot has happened.

The Last couple of days of the TxGCC contest were slowed down when my rear window on the van exploded from the heat. I had foolishly put my travel bug number on the outside of the window using black 4" letters and the concentrated heat was too much for the glass to handle. Bumper stickers are probably meant to go on bumpers! I did complete the contest in the prescribed time, so I should be one of the 25 prize-winners, both in the Houston and the Dallas Areas.

Cathy said maybe I shouldn't rush home because of the weather forecast, so I stopped for a couple of days at Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur Oklahoma. I missed the tornados that went through her neighborhood. Michelle's property wasn't involved but the store where Mimi was going to work for the summer was destroyed.

I spent a week or so at Cathy's, but she wasn't ready to do the garage sale. All I really accomplished was to get some things out of my trailer and truck that were excess ready to go into the sale, if and when it happens. I also traded her the antenna that I had been using before the lightning hit and that improved her TV reception on the one channel that was weak.

While at Cathy's a Chicasaw Ranger called and said that they wanted me to take a park host position as soon as possible. Before moving to Chickasaw NRA we went to granddaughter Emily's graduation in Arlington Texas. She graduated with honors and several scholarships. She accepted one and will be going to DePaul University in Chicago. She is the tall girl in this picture.

The host job at Chickasaw is different from working in the Texas State Parks. While the hours are longer the duties are less. At least 75% of my time is spent being a host, that is greeting and helping the campers know how to enjoy their experience. I find it more rewarding and I think that it probably brings more people back to the park because of the friendly feeling that they get from the personal involvement. I will be at the park for the next couple of months, if you want to come visit. The park completely surrounds the Lake of the Arbuckles, so water sports are the biggest draw now. There are also some sulphur springs in the older section of the park near town. Here is a video of one of the fun places - a swimming hole on Travertine Creek.

I'm on Vacation Now!

I finished up my tour of hosting at Stephan F Austin State Park and decided to retire (?) for a while and enjoy life. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department started a geocaching event called the TxGCC – Texas GeoCache Challenge and I decided it would be fun to try to get the prize (a commemorative coin) in both the Houston and Dallas areas of the TPWD. This involves going to 23 of the state parks and finding the cache answering a question and punching a passport. I have at this moment completed 21 of the parks caches and tomorrow I will be doing the final 2. I will then head toward Cathy’s house in Oklahoma and try to get to the property between the storms.

I did do a few other things, other than geocaching, that I can tell you. My great grandson Tony Ingurgio made his first communion on May first. That evening we all went to a park to celebrate my granddaughter, Sara Marlatt’s 30^th birthday. Wow, are my grandkids getting old – how can this be? Last week I went to my granddaughter Emily’s school for a dance performance. She was the leader of her dance team and did a solo performance as well as taking part in several of the group dances. They did real well and the school recognized her and two others who are graduating for their outstanding participation this year.

Yesterday I visited my son Gary in prison at the Choice Moore Transfer facility. He is doing fine but would sure like to know when they plan to release him. He had his parole hearing, but has heard nothing about the results yet. Cathy and Michelle plan to visit him on the 29^th or 30^th of this month, when we go down to Arlington for granddaughter Emily’s graduation.

Today I visited with Joe and Betty Culling in Bonham. They were some of the first people I met when I came to Texas and we had a great time reliving some of the old experiences and sharing our current family news.

The geocaching trip has gone well except for two blown tires on the Casita which slowed me down a little. Here are the State Parks that I visited in the order of their visit: San Jacinto Battleground, Battleship Texas, Village Creek, Martin Dies, Livingston, Huntsville, Sheldon Lake, Galveston Island, Brazos Bend, Lake Texana, Stephan F Austin, Dinosaur Valley, Lake Mineral Wells, Cedar Hill, Lake Towakoni, Purtis Creek, Tyler, Daingerfield, Coopers Lake (2units). Bonham, and tomorrow the 2 units at Ray Roberts Lake. I did take a few pictures -

April 2010

Due to popular request, I am restarting this blog. My intent is to have a place to send you when you ask me "What's up". This will let you see a condensed version of my life - and not be a daily posting. I am starting with the big event that happened at the end of March. Lightning hit the tree 6' from my bed in the trailer. It caused me much grief, having taken out most of the major systems in my life - not to mention scaring me awake. But more about that grief later.


You may wonder where I am and what am I doing here. Well the place is Stephen F Austin State Park (SFA) and I am a park host here. I take care of the entire tenting area, including, but not limited to mowing, cleaning fire rings and bathrooms, and giving visitors information. The park is really pretty now that Spring is here. We have bluebonnets at the office area and wildflowers, birds, and wild animals (including humans) all over the park.

I have my own site with a great side yard and they have even loaned me a second vehicle to make my rounds easier. Since I get two days off and I can have family visit free, it is really not too demanding.

Here's a picture of Kristi, Victor, and the GGKids heading down to the Brazos River to fish. They didn't catch anything but the exercise was good. I lagged behind Kristi and Gianni here on the trail.

Here's a picture of the kids in my side yard after lunch. The girl (30) in the green dress is Sara, another one of my granddaughters, who is living with the Ingurgios until she gets her own apartment in June. Victor is getting the fishing gear ready to go. I really enjoyed the day after having spent a couple of weeks getting over the lightning problem.

Here is a picture of the tree that was struck at about 3:30 AM, Thursday the 25th of March. Notice that it is very close to my trailer. When it hit I was raised out of bed by a sound and light show going off in my head. My ears are still ringing now over a month later. I have tinitis and it was increased considerably. After I realized that I was still alive, I looked around and checked all of the trailers systems. The electricity was knocked off and resetting the breakers only brought about half of it back. I found that the power strip to the TV had done its job and protected the TV, but although the TV worked it didn't receive any stations. Later I found that the amplifier for the antenna had been blown - probably saving the TV from a direct hit. The ground fault circuit had been blown and would not reset, so I went to town later in the day and got a replacement. Incidentally, the flourescent light bulbs at my site and at the bathroom, 100 feet away, all had to be replaced. After about 3 hours the overload circuit in the converter restored my DC power. Fortunately I have DC power available in my tow vehicle, so I had been able to keep the refrigerator and lights going. The AC side of the water heater was also taken out, and that part still hasn't come in to Camping World. I have hot water using the propane side, so that isn't a problem. Oh yes, my computer also would not go online - the amplifier for the cell signal was blown out. On Friday I bought a new amplifier and a new TV antenna with amplifier. That restored my electronics. Later I found that the computer amplifier was not blown, only it's power supply. After replacing the power supply, I now have an amp in both the truck and the trailer. The repairs didn't cost a lot - but the trip to Best Buy did because I bought a new Dell computer with Windows 7. The month of April has been very hectic learning the new system and - oh yes.....

The 28th of March was my day to be eligible for a new phone and I had decided the one for me was the iPhone. So on Monday, in the midst of my repair efforts, I got my new iPhone. More learning than I probably needed at this time, but the iPhone is great. It has truly changed my life by making communications so much more complete and rapid. The geocaching applications (more learning) seem to have completely replaced my old equipment and procedures with more efficient searching.

So, that's what I've been up to for the last month. I'm leaving the host job and heading to Houston for some family events - and then who knows? If you are on facebook, I will make a post there to say that I have updated my blog.

Due to lack of interest (mine included)

Due to lack of interest in my blog, I am today ceasing to update the blog. If you want to communicate with me you can still enter comments, and they will forward to my email. Since I have received almost no comments, I can only conclude that writing the blog is fruitless. As a last entry I will say that I am now again a traveling vagabond, heading to Livingston, Houston, Arlington, and then Kingsville. Who knows what will be next?