June 24, 2006


Ok, I have never in my life seen anything, like I just did.  It's 1:20 in the afternoon, and I just spent the last 45 minutes watching a couple try to back in their 5th wheel in a site, not too far from ours.  This couple came earlier this morning with just a truck, some chairs and a cooler.  They pulled into a site, put their paper on the electric pole, so as too let others know that this spot was taken, and setup a few chairs and a cooler and left.  They were gone for a while, and came back with a 5th wheel hitched up to the truck.  The man was driving, the woman climbed out of the passengers seat and proceeded to give him directions as to how the backing in should proceed.  He started backing up, she instructed him which way to turn the wheel, proceeded to walk toward the back of the trailer, (where he could not see her, by the way), and was watching him back up.  Well, the trailer wasn't going where she wanted it, (or so she thought), so she walked back up towards the front, and proceeded to give him more instructions, which he faithfully followed, which still didn't work.  This was repeated over and over for about 15 or 20 minutes.  Finally, he got out of the truck to survey the situation.  She decided she could do a better job, and proceeded to get in the truck, and drive around the block, to take her attempt at it.  By the time she returns, the man is walking up the driveway to use the "facilities".  She decides the best way to tackle this is to stay to the right, to get a better angle for backing up, and that's when it happened.  A tree jumped right out in front of her.  She scraped the right side of the trailer by cutting the corner too close and everything came to a screeching halt.  Obviously distressed, she got out of  the truck to survey the damage.  She tried to back up the truck to get it loose, but it still seemed stuck.  About that time, someone came up behind her in a small motorized vehicle, (actually they were driving that little Cushman I posted the photo of yesterday).  They pulled into the site across from the stuck trailer, and then those people from that site, came out and looked at the damage.  The Cushman driver headed for the ranger station, and within minutes, more help arrived.  By now there are a total of 6 people checking things out.  Finally, after some consultation, they had the man get into the truck and told him which way to turn the wheels, back up and get the trailer loose.  He backed up, then pulled up some to center  the truck in the driveway.  At this point, he gets out of the truck, and the neighbor gets in, and proceeds to pull up, and back the 5th wheel in with out any problems, in a matter of 2 minutes.  All in all, this full event took about 45 minutes from the time they arrived with the 5th wheel, until they finally got the trailer in the site.  I looked at that situation, and thought, "there, but for the Grace of God, go I".  If you're wondering why I didn't get out and help, I really thought that at any minute they would get that thing parked.  Frequently, they weren't that far off, and if he had continued backing, turning the wheels the other direction, it would have been fine.  But one thing leads to another, and stuff happens.  Oh well, live and learn.  I had to write this while it was fresh, so I could get it down before I forgot half of it.  So, there you have it, that was our excitement for the first half of the day.  Later in the day Sherry and I took a walk and got a look at the damage.  It was slight.  She actually caught the tree with the steps and bent them slightly, so the damage wasn't bad.  Hurt pride more than anything else, I suppose.  So, that was the biggie today.  We took our walk tonight, and had 11,346 steps in.  Hair over 5 miles I guess.  Well, enjoy the pics.




View of part of the Lake, and Lilly Pads.




Another view of the Lake.




A different direction view of the lake.




Some houses in the distance.




High end 5th wheel sitting on a site just waiting for the owners to show up.




A New Horizons 5th wheel.  Definately the best on the market.




Flowers by the Adult Lounge.




A different view of Lake Tawakoni.




No, we are not parked along this road, thank you very much.




Ah, yes, another v-dub van..




Another one of those slow crossings.




A novel way to hold up the Tv Satellite dish.  Suction cups on the side.




Here's a way to avoid the "no clothes lines attached to the trees" rule.  It may be a little hard
to see, but the left side is tied to the ladder on a 5th wheel, and the right side is hooked to a
post stuck in the ground.  One of those that you use for holding plants.




Ah, yes, the infamous tree that jumped out in front of the neighbor........




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