| We got away from Fall River Lake right at 11 am, the precise time I plugged into my trip planner. We went straight through Wichita instead of taking the bypass around it. Wasn't bad at all. Of course, it was after lunch but before rush hour. From there it was pretty much Kansas, feed lot after feed lot and rolling hills gradually flattening out as we approached Dodge City. Made a brief stop at Walmart in Pratt to get a new road atlas. Our old one soaked up a bit of water some weeks back and was a little unruly. When I returned to the RV, I decided to rest a bit. An hour later, after I woke up, we continued on west to Dodge City. Dodge City was somewhat a disappointment back in the eighties when we were there last and it has not improved a bit. Just another tourist trap like so many other used to be historical sites. We continued on to Garden City and just the other side is Deerfield where we have stopped for the night. We're in a private campground, Deerfield Beach Campground. It's a Passport America campground where we get 1/2 off and that part was good. The campground itself, not so much. Seems this part of Kansas has had only about 1 inch of rain since last year. Consequently, the local wheat crop has failed and the usual crop harvest followers aren't following. It's just all dried up, including the campground's pride, their fishing lake (thus "Deerfield Beach") and campers, too. The comparison with last night's campground just ain't fair...apples to oranges. Or maybe apples to prunes.  If you look waaay back to the back of the park you can see several dead trees. This green one here in the foreground and one up by the entrance are all that have survived.  Our next door neighbor came riding in on his motorcycle. Another younger fellow (turned out to be the motorcyclist son) came putting in on an ATV. He began working on it, revving up, shutting it down and then starting it up and revving some more. Oh boy, this could be a pleasant night. But, in a while, the older man came dragging up with a trailer behind his pickup. They loaded the 4-wheeler and were gone. Then came the poor little pooch. He was so hungry but so timid. I was busy washing the bugs off the front of the RV and filling the water tank and he would come up fairly close, but would not come any closer. If I made a move toward him he'd go scooting off, only to circle back around and re-approach. I finally set out a bowl of water and he came to that...still not very close. Then I poured him a little pile of dog food on an old board lying on the ground. When I backed away he pounced. He was a cutie and if we had been heading home instead of the other direction, I would have been tempted to try to gain his confidence and take him home.  But alas, we left him there. |
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Wild West day 2
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Wild West day 1
| The "wild" part began with trying to meet our self-imposed deadline of high noon. Didn't happen. But, 1 pm wasn't too bad. However, we left without eating lunch so we decided to stop at the Subway in Forsyth. Can you believe it? They were out of bread! How can you make a subway sandwich without bread? You can't, so we left. We stopped, very hungry, at the El Taco in Ozark and had a couple of burritos. Worked out well. We had more gas to get us down the road. And down the road we went. We headed out from Springfield (James River Fwy) and west on I-44. Not being "Interstate" travelers, we jumped off and took Hwy 96 toward Carthage. Once into Kansas (oh boy, oh boy), we worked our way over to, of all places, Oswego...Kansas, not New York. Took US 169 north and caught US 400. Down the road a piece and we stopped for the night at Fall River Lake. It's a Corp lake. We stayed at Dam Site below the dam. No, no, the park name was Dam Site Campground and it was very nice. Here's the scene from very near our camp site.  There had apparently been recent rains because the dam had several floodgates open and the roar was near deafening. Well, maybe not that bad, but it was loud...and wet. It was almost like been in the mist below Niagara Falls. Well, maybe not that bad, either, but it was wet. And here we are, parked for our first night on the road to our big adventure. Joyce is pretty happy except the roastin’ ear corn is not ready yet. Too early in the year.  We were the only campers at this campground except for the camp host. Really nice park...even for Kansas. |
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Close, but no gold ring
Well, to day is the 10th, but we're still home. Had a little family business to tend to. So, it's tomorrow...probably. We have most everything loaded except for the stuff we need here in the house tonight. In the morning I'll load the Dish receiver and Verizon data modem (gotta have Internet and TV on the trip!!!). We need to load our meds, too. At our age we don't go anywhere without them (sigh).
Besides the aforementioned, about all that's left to load is us and Ditto. Sure looking forward to this little jaunt. Our first stop for pleasure after enduring Kansas is planned to be Pike's Peak. If we still were driving old Pumpkin and towing the Jeep, I would have parked at the bottom and driven the Jeep up. But, with Lil Pumpkin, we're going all the way.
Besides the aforementioned, about all that's left to load is us and Ditto. Sure looking forward to this little jaunt. Our first stop for pleasure after enduring Kansas is planned to be Pike's Peak. If we still were driving old Pumpkin and towing the Jeep, I would have parked at the bottom and driven the Jeep up. But, with Lil Pumpkin, we're going all the way.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Time Is Getting Short
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Here it is, Wednesday, June 4 (happy birthday to my OLDER sister). Granted, it is nearly 1 am and we have all day, but it still means less than a week to be ready...IF we leave on June 10.
Progress report: I designed and Joyce sewed up some bug screens for the front door windows. They're a simple design, made like a kind of sock that slips over the top of the door and slides down below the bottom of the window - on both sides of the door. So, it is effectively a double layer screen, a layer on either side. Hopefully, that will reduce the need to seal the screen with magnets or whatever.
Joyce has been busy making fitted table clothes, doodad pouches, and other useful storage items. I spent 3 hours downloading and installing the latest map for my GPS.
As mentioned in my last post, I made a custom dining table because the one that came with the RV did double duty as a part of the large bed and consequently it was large and made it very difficult to move around when set up. Plus, we modified the large bed area into two single beds so it is easier to get up at night if you get my gist. Anyway, after a couple of tries at using 3rd party tables, I gave up and made one.
The above shot shows the "mechanism" from the bottom. It allows a pretty versatile range of movement and repositions easily. It mounts on the original pedestal.
Then, today I put a couple of tarps over Porkchop (boat, for those unfamiliar) and parked it down by the green shed along with the cargo trailer we bought for our ill-fated move to Ft. Smith. We wanted to park the pickup under the boat port while we are gone. The Mercury will go in the garage. I also cleaned out the majority of the center bay so when Nixa Hardware delivers 2 tons of stove pellets Thursday or Friday, there is a place to stack it. We'll have about half of the bags stacked on the front porch so we don't have to lug them so far. But, it's only the 4th of June and predicted to hit near ninety this afternoon. So, we probably won't need them soon.
Even with the heat, I hope to mow later today. It has to be done before we leave on our western trip because otherwise we wouldn't be able to drive in the driveway when we get back.
Well, it is 1:30 am and I'm going to bed.
Here it is, Wednesday, June 4 (happy birthday to my OLDER sister). Granted, it is nearly 1 am and we have all day, but it still means less than a week to be ready...IF we leave on June 10.
Progress report: I designed and Joyce sewed up some bug screens for the front door windows. They're a simple design, made like a kind of sock that slips over the top of the door and slides down below the bottom of the window - on both sides of the door. So, it is effectively a double layer screen, a layer on either side. Hopefully, that will reduce the need to seal the screen with magnets or whatever.
Joyce has been busy making fitted table clothes, doodad pouches, and other useful storage items. I spent 3 hours downloading and installing the latest map for my GPS.
As mentioned in my last post, I made a custom dining table because the one that came with the RV did double duty as a part of the large bed and consequently it was large and made it very difficult to move around when set up. Plus, we modified the large bed area into two single beds so it is easier to get up at night if you get my gist. Anyway, after a couple of tries at using 3rd party tables, I gave up and made one.
The above shot shows the "mechanism" from the bottom. It allows a pretty versatile range of movement and repositions easily. It mounts on the original pedestal.
Then, today I put a couple of tarps over Porkchop (boat, for those unfamiliar) and parked it down by the green shed along with the cargo trailer we bought for our ill-fated move to Ft. Smith. We wanted to park the pickup under the boat port while we are gone. The Mercury will go in the garage. I also cleaned out the majority of the center bay so when Nixa Hardware delivers 2 tons of stove pellets Thursday or Friday, there is a place to stack it. We'll have about half of the bags stacked on the front porch so we don't have to lug them so far. But, it's only the 4th of June and predicted to hit near ninety this afternoon. So, we probably won't need them soon.
Even with the heat, I hope to mow later today. It has to be done before we leave on our western trip because otherwise we wouldn't be able to drive in the driveway when we get back.
Well, it is 1:30 am and I'm going to bed.
Monday, May 26, 2014
It's Memorial Day!
Oh dear! It's Memorial Day already. And our schedule has been moved up to (hopefully) June 10th departure date. We're wrestling with trying to make connections in Idaho at Skyler's with Tom, Jr. and the NY residue. It's getting tricky because they (New Yorkers) haven't nailed down their schedule yet. Then add to that, Joyce just noticed her military ID card has expired. Now we've got to take a day out to go to Springfield to get her a new one. That's always so much fun. My ID card does not expire. Hers does. I guess because wives can become non-wives frequently and no longer authorized the benefits. However, after over 50 years of wedded bliss, one would think there is a good chance we'll not separate. Hell, if for no other reason, it would just be too much trouble.
Anyway, Joyce is busy trying to get the house in order after moving back from Ft. Smith and trying to get clothes and kitchen stuff lined out for the trip. I'm trying to get Lil Pumpkin ready while mowing and trying to get the garage and workshop cleaned up. We ordered 2 tons of wood stove pellets and have to take delivery before we leave. In the meantime, I've got to clear a spot in the center bay of the garage to stack it in. That means moving all my "good" (to be interpreted "mostly scrap") lumber. Plus, we still haven't unloaded our sofa. It's still in the trailer along with a few other items we moved from Ft. Smith.
A couple of the things we have accomplished...I built a "box" to replace the passenger seat directly behind Joyce's front seat. It will house my new Tailgater satellite TV antenna while on the road. We'll be able to watch MSNBC and CNN while camping in the desert somewhere. Anyway, I built that and I designed a bug screen for the rear doors so we can leave them open at night. Since a lot of the campgrounds out west don't have electric power available for A/C. Of course, a lot of the campgrounds will be in higher elevations where A/C is needed anyway. But, Joyce sewed up the screen (hemmed and Velcro strips added) and it fits well. Maybe when in Glacier National Park the only disturbance we'll incur from the monster north mosquitoes will be them whapping against the screen (fingers crossed).
Oh yes, a few more things I've accomplished in Lil Pumpkin. I added a shelf in the wardrobe. Joyce uses the wardrobe for added kitchen storage and she needed more shelving. Then I added some edging to her shelves above the cooking area. The edging sticks up above the shelf a 1/4" to help keep stuff from falling out and bombarding her when she opens the overhead cabinets. Stuff does tend to move around while bouncing down the road. I also added an expansion rod near the ceiling, across the area above the bed. Joyce is going to make some special "saddle bags" to hang on some hangers to serve as catch-alls for bed time...eye glasses, Kindle, TV remote, etc.
Then the best thing is the dining table. The original table was a large heavy tabletop that sat on a post in the middle between to two mid coach seats and virtually blocked access around it. And, it stored way back under the sofa. We tried a couple of folding tables, but neither was satisfactory. Then my "inventive" mind went to work and I designed a table that utilizes the original table post and the plastic tabletop from one of the folding tables plus an old thick nylon (plastic) cutting board of Joyce's, some plywood and a few nuts and bolts. We now have a table with some articulation that allows us to re-position it in several ways to gain access around it and to easily position it to eat from. I'll try to post some photos of it later, but it will be hard to understand how it works without actually operating it. Joyce still doesn't fully understand how it works. :) Now we're waiting on a folding stadium seat. It will go on the antenna "box" to replace the passenger seat we took out and that's where I'll sit for eating or, perhaps writing our blog.
Anyway, Joyce is busy trying to get the house in order after moving back from Ft. Smith and trying to get clothes and kitchen stuff lined out for the trip. I'm trying to get Lil Pumpkin ready while mowing and trying to get the garage and workshop cleaned up. We ordered 2 tons of wood stove pellets and have to take delivery before we leave. In the meantime, I've got to clear a spot in the center bay of the garage to stack it in. That means moving all my "good" (to be interpreted "mostly scrap") lumber. Plus, we still haven't unloaded our sofa. It's still in the trailer along with a few other items we moved from Ft. Smith.
A couple of the things we have accomplished...I built a "box" to replace the passenger seat directly behind Joyce's front seat. It will house my new Tailgater satellite TV antenna while on the road. We'll be able to watch MSNBC and CNN while camping in the desert somewhere. Anyway, I built that and I designed a bug screen for the rear doors so we can leave them open at night. Since a lot of the campgrounds out west don't have electric power available for A/C. Of course, a lot of the campgrounds will be in higher elevations where A/C is needed anyway. But, Joyce sewed up the screen (hemmed and Velcro strips added) and it fits well. Maybe when in Glacier National Park the only disturbance we'll incur from the monster north mosquitoes will be them whapping against the screen (fingers crossed).
Oh yes, a few more things I've accomplished in Lil Pumpkin. I added a shelf in the wardrobe. Joyce uses the wardrobe for added kitchen storage and she needed more shelving. Then I added some edging to her shelves above the cooking area. The edging sticks up above the shelf a 1/4" to help keep stuff from falling out and bombarding her when she opens the overhead cabinets. Stuff does tend to move around while bouncing down the road. I also added an expansion rod near the ceiling, across the area above the bed. Joyce is going to make some special "saddle bags" to hang on some hangers to serve as catch-alls for bed time...eye glasses, Kindle, TV remote, etc.
Then the best thing is the dining table. The original table was a large heavy tabletop that sat on a post in the middle between to two mid coach seats and virtually blocked access around it. And, it stored way back under the sofa. We tried a couple of folding tables, but neither was satisfactory. Then my "inventive" mind went to work and I designed a table that utilizes the original table post and the plastic tabletop from one of the folding tables plus an old thick nylon (plastic) cutting board of Joyce's, some plywood and a few nuts and bolts. We now have a table with some articulation that allows us to re-position it in several ways to gain access around it and to easily position it to eat from. I'll try to post some photos of it later, but it will be hard to understand how it works without actually operating it. Joyce still doesn't fully understand how it works. :) Now we're waiting on a folding stadium seat. It will go on the antenna "box" to replace the passenger seat we took out and that's where I'll sit for eating or, perhaps writing our blog.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Gettin' ready
The clock is counting down to our big super-duper out west trip. The timetable is currently departing June 15 and getting back...who knows when...probably about July 15, in time for the Thomas reunion.
Here's a few sights we hope to hit:
Heading out without a single reservation, so obviously, plans can change. But, that's the plan.
Oh, here's our ride...
Here's a few sights we hope to hit:
- Dinosaur National Monument
- Arches Bryce Canyon
- Zion
- Death Valley
- China Lake, Ca. - Joyce's insistence :)
- Monterrey, Ca. (probably not, but maybe)
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Redwoods
- Crater Lake
- Olympic Peninsula
- Whidbey Island, Wa.
- Grand Coulee Dam
- Glacier National Park
- Skyler, Millie and Rosie
- Little Big Horn
- Devil's Tower
Heading out without a single reservation, so obviously, plans can change. But, that's the plan.
Oh, here's our ride...
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Catchin' Up
OK, I'm lying. It's not April 1. It's actually May 26, but I forgot to make a few entries, so this has been back dated. And, since it is a "recollection" kind of thing and I'm, let's say' of an age where recollection can be questionable, this entry will be just a quick summary of a fun trip.
We started out March 11 (I think). Made our way at a slow trot down to Tracy Lehmberg's in Tampa, Fl. where she and Dusty planned to run in a 1/2 marathon - they did, by-the-way and did good. Anyway, we stayed a couple of nights in Tracy's driveway...well, we did go in the house now and then. We went to the beach one day.
Wayne and Jodie came over one afternoon. Another day we went to a place where the manatees like to winter to see them. All we got done was viewing the museum while dripping wet. It was raining so hard when we went out on the viewing platform, we got soaked...and still didn't see any manatees. So, we left there and went to eat. Then we headed on down toward Key West. We have been trying to get to Key West ever since we bought the old Pumpkin, but something always seemed to steer us away. This time we made it.
We traveled down the west side of Florida to about Naples then cut across the Everglades on Hwy 41 over to Florida City. Saw some 'gaters on the way.
Spent a memorable night in the city's campground where there was everything from 42 ft. fancy dancy motor homes to run down pickup campers. The guy right next to us had a little (I mean little) travel trailer...no car, no bicycle, not even a skateboard that I saw. But, he did have a stuffed chair sitting outside under his raggedy awning and that's where he sat, seemingly the entire time we were there. While there I sat out my Dish TV Tailgater antenna (it just sits on the ground outside) to watch TV. A guy out for a wall knocked on the door to warn me not to leave it out over night if I wanted it the next morning. I had already figured that out.
We left the next morning and made it all the way down to Key West. Stayed a couple of nights at the Navy base's RV park, right on the beach.
Nice place, but we were in the temporary sites with no electric or water service. Had we stayed longer, we would have been moved up. But, neither Joyce nor I are up to much walking and with Ditto along, too, we mainly did a drive-by shooting of some Key West chickens...with the camera, of course.
I'd been there before and we did a Chevy Chase vacation tour and headed back north. We did stop at the Naval Air Station on Boca Chica right next to Key West. I spent a couple of weeks there on "hot pad" duty way back in the mid seventies. Lots had changed, but at least, the runway still looked the same.
We traveled on up along the east coast to Jacksonville - Mayport Naval Station. On the way we hit Cape Canaveral and did another Chevy Chase thing. We wouldn't have minded touring the museum, but again, too much walking and there was still Ditto. But, that's OK, we can see all that on-line. We spent the night at the Mayport Naval Base RV campground just a short distance from several moored ships. The next morning we were off again and heading across the bottom of Georgia.
We had to stay south longer than we had intended because cold weather was still hanging around up toward home. So, we toddled along the Florida panhandle, through Mobile, across Mississippi and just passed Alexandria, La. before it was safe to head north. As we headed into Arkansas, we realized we wouldn't be far from Ft. Smith, so we stopped and spent some more time there with Stephen.
That was pretty much our Great Key West trip we had wanted to make for several years. Of course, there were many more sights and sounds than I have mentioned here, like the $5 fresh strawberry milkshakes at Florida City, and the little lakeside campground in Mississippi with a sign by the fishing pier saying "no swimming" and another nearby saying "Please don't feed the alligators". I'd have sworn I took pictures, but I can't find them. All-in-all, it was everything we had hoped for in a Key West trip. We had fun.
We started out March 11 (I think). Made our way at a slow trot down to Tracy Lehmberg's in Tampa, Fl. where she and Dusty planned to run in a 1/2 marathon - they did, by-the-way and did good. Anyway, we stayed a couple of nights in Tracy's driveway...well, we did go in the house now and then. We went to the beach one day.
Wayne and Jodie came over one afternoon. Another day we went to a place where the manatees like to winter to see them. All we got done was viewing the museum while dripping wet. It was raining so hard when we went out on the viewing platform, we got soaked...and still didn't see any manatees. So, we left there and went to eat. Then we headed on down toward Key West. We have been trying to get to Key West ever since we bought the old Pumpkin, but something always seemed to steer us away. This time we made it.
We traveled down the west side of Florida to about Naples then cut across the Everglades on Hwy 41 over to Florida City. Saw some 'gaters on the way.
Spent a memorable night in the city's campground where there was everything from 42 ft. fancy dancy motor homes to run down pickup campers. The guy right next to us had a little (I mean little) travel trailer...no car, no bicycle, not even a skateboard that I saw. But, he did have a stuffed chair sitting outside under his raggedy awning and that's where he sat, seemingly the entire time we were there. While there I sat out my Dish TV Tailgater antenna (it just sits on the ground outside) to watch TV. A guy out for a wall knocked on the door to warn me not to leave it out over night if I wanted it the next morning. I had already figured that out.
We left the next morning and made it all the way down to Key West. Stayed a couple of nights at the Navy base's RV park, right on the beach.
Nice place, but we were in the temporary sites with no electric or water service. Had we stayed longer, we would have been moved up. But, neither Joyce nor I are up to much walking and with Ditto along, too, we mainly did a drive-by shooting of some Key West chickens...with the camera, of course.
I'd been there before and we did a Chevy Chase vacation tour and headed back north. We did stop at the Naval Air Station on Boca Chica right next to Key West. I spent a couple of weeks there on "hot pad" duty way back in the mid seventies. Lots had changed, but at least, the runway still looked the same.
We traveled on up along the east coast to Jacksonville - Mayport Naval Station. On the way we hit Cape Canaveral and did another Chevy Chase thing. We wouldn't have minded touring the museum, but again, too much walking and there was still Ditto. But, that's OK, we can see all that on-line. We spent the night at the Mayport Naval Base RV campground just a short distance from several moored ships. The next morning we were off again and heading across the bottom of Georgia.
We had to stay south longer than we had intended because cold weather was still hanging around up toward home. So, we toddled along the Florida panhandle, through Mobile, across Mississippi and just passed Alexandria, La. before it was safe to head north. As we headed into Arkansas, we realized we wouldn't be far from Ft. Smith, so we stopped and spent some more time there with Stephen.
That was pretty much our Great Key West trip we had wanted to make for several years. Of course, there were many more sights and sounds than I have mentioned here, like the $5 fresh strawberry milkshakes at Florida City, and the little lakeside campground in Mississippi with a sign by the fishing pier saying "no swimming" and another nearby saying "Please don't feed the alligators". I'd have sworn I took pictures, but I can't find them. All-in-all, it was everything we had hoped for in a Key West trip. We had fun.
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