Yum

Here are the pictures from our crab feast.

just digging in

 Tammy with Tori, her youngest daughter, and her dad (don't know the guy in red)

and back to us still digging in

Missing from the pictures were Phyllis, the photographer, and Megan, Tammy's eldest daughter who was sitting at the end of the table.  That pile of crabs in the center of the table almost disappeared before we quit.

Today we plan to help Phyllis get ready for our trip as she has been working hard at the office so she could get away.  We have a few items to pick up at the grocery store and then tomorrow we head north and east.

definitely a keeper

One of the toughest pulls on this route is Martin Mountain, just east of Cumberland, MD and we didn't even need to pull over to the climbing lane.  Yep, the power is there so I think we will keep this truck for a while.

We had off and on rain showers all day, sometimes just for a few swipes of the wiper blades.  Our GWF did stay with me as when we stopped for our stretch, lunch, and fuel breaks as well as when we arrived at the campground for our set-up the rain stopped.  Our two daughters have plans for dinner for us this evening.  Phyllis' best friend Tammy (she went on or Greek Islands cruise with us) is claimed as our second daughter.  Her oldest daughter works in a seafood restaurant and we are headed there for a Maryland Crab feast.

Just now returned from our feast and it was outstanding once we learned how to manage the extraction of the goodies.  Phyllis took some pictures with her cell phone and tomorrow when I have those from her I will post the evidence.

the Bluegrass State

Most of today's route was across this Bluegrass State with horse farms, tabacky fields (some were being harvested), and nice scenery.  We saw a wild turkey about a couple of hours after we passed the Wild Turkey distillery.  There was a big traffic jam in Louisville due to an accident but we still made it to our campground by around 3 pm.  We truly enjoy this route over I-70 with less traffic (it seems) and much better scenery.  The I-70 route is about 50 miles shorter but with the traffic I don't believe it is any quicker.

Still enjoying the new truck and tomorrow's route through the West Virginia and western Maryland mountains will really tell us how the power level has really improved.  These climbs back in '99 were the reason we traded the gasser in for our first diesel.

On the road again

We could hear Willy singing as we left home this morning.  It's good being out again after our few weeks at home.  We love our home but we also love our travels.  This was the first day of pulling with the new truck and we couldn't be more pleased with the way it is working.  It's much quieter with more power and seems to ride smoother than any of our older trucks.  Jo was happy to find that her seat was power adjustable and she was able to raise it up to help her see out.  The first fill up after towing for 300 miles was a 10.9 mpg which is very good and should improve with time.

This evening we are in Lynnville, IN in a city park that we found a few years ago.  It's a very nice and well kept park and at $15 is a very good bargain.  Tomorrow we head to Milton, WV.

the other half is done

Took advantage of the cooler cloud covered morning to finish the wash job on the trailer.  At least to start out we will have a clean and shiny RV.  We will let the Labor Day travelers have their big weekend and get back home out of our way before we take off on Wednesday.

half clean

This morning before the heat rolled in I got out and washed half of the trailer.  The way it sits in our back yard the street side and back end are in morning shade so that is what I washed down today.  If it had cooled down in late afternoon I would have finished the rest but with heat index numbers at the 100 mark I decided to wait a couple of days for better temperatures.  I will get the rest washed plus the front end cap waxed (for bug protection) before we take off next Wednesday.

Almost ready to tow

Earlier this week we had a 50 gallon fuel tank installed in our new truck and just a bit ago had a call to tell me that the hitch install is done.  Now it is waiting for the 7 pin power connection to be installed inside the bed.  There is a plug below the rear bumper but it is more convenient to have a connection inside the bed where the cord from the trailer only lays down in the bed without draping over the tailgate.

The truck came with only a 26 gallon fuel tank which at 10 +/- mpg it would have been necessary to find a station twice in each days drive.  The 50 gallon tank just replaces the original tank and now we will be able to drive to our campground each day, unhook, and then find a station without the trailer in tow which is much easier to maneuver in busy fuel station lots.

pictures

Here are a couple for show-and-tell with the truck in position.

It's in the carport

Yesterday we made the trade for a new truck.  I need to get a picture or two but it is white, like our other one, and this one is a full four door crew cab so it will be much more comfort for anyone traveling with us.  It is also 4X4 so it sits a bit higher off the ground.  It has lots of bells and whistles to get used to and we will need a new fifth wheel hitch.  I have the hitch on order and will get it installed before we head out in September.  Maybe I can get a couple of pictures tomorrow.

Home again

Made it to the Martin Manor RV park a little past 2:00 and "safely" backed into our site, those spots painted in the driveway sure make a big difference.  At least it's a whole lot cooler here than it was in Kansas, right now it's only 98° which is a whopping 15 degrees cooler than yesterday afternoon.  The thermostat in our house was programmed to be warmer in the house than we usually have it during our absence but then cool down yesterday back to our normal settings.  It was nice to come in to a cool house and a yard that had been recently mowed.

Warm welcome in Kansas

A very, very warm welcome back to the Midwest.  Actually it is down right HOT! at 113° when we were getting set up this afternoon.  Fortunately it only takes 10-15 minutes to get all hooked up and the power cord was the first thing connected so the AC units could get started.  Tomorrow we head toward the Martin Manor and then we have a few weeks to get ready for our next outing, pulling with our new truck.

out of coolness

We have greatly enjoyed these past couple of week in the nice comfortable temperatures using our heat pump most evenings.  Today we traveled eastward a bit over 300 miles to Ogalalla, NE and dropped 3/4 miles in elevation to a current temperature of 99.5°.  Tomorrow we are heading to Salina, KS where the forecast high is 108° so it is a good thing we have a trailer full of cool Idaho air to take along with us.  It's also a good thing that we have two air conditioners in this trailer so should be able to manage.  The rest of the week at the ol' Martin Manor is forecast to be in the upper 90s with a slight chance of showers.

homeward bound

After our very nice visit with Curt and Renee we are now headed eastward toward "ye old" Martin Manor RV park and are scheduled to arrive there on Wednesday.  Tonight we are in Rawlins, WY which is right on the continental divide at 7,000' elevation.  We were a little bit disappointed most of the way across Wyoming because we didn't see any antelope and there usually are many out along the side of the road in this State.  We were about 20 miles from Rawlins when we saw the first four and I think Jo counted 15 by the time we arrived at our campground.

very nice visit

This morning after a nice breakfast with Curt and Renee she took off on her bicycle for Pocatello, almost 20 miles.  We headed that way in the car a bit later and caught up with her at the farmers market in town.  She bought some fresh veggies for dinner this evening and then we took a scenic drive back to the house.  I took these pictures this morning and plan to edit this post with more pictures later this afternoon.

Okay it's getting close to bedtime so I have added a few shots to the album below.

Curt & Renee

I also want to add this next album of Curt and Fred on the deck before dinner.  It was loads of fun to play a few tunes with Curt and his banjo and a few with his guitar.  We definitely need to practice to get into duo performance shape,still it was great fun.

pick'n & grin'n

nice visit

We arrived at Curt & Renee's place around 4:00 yesterday afternoon and backed into their driveway, it took 3-4 tries but eventually had success.  We got hooked up to water and electric and then enjoyed a very nice visit and dinner.  We even got out the instruments and did a bit of pick'n but I'm sure there will be more of that today and promise to get a photo or two of the dynamic duo.

Their address is Inkom, ID but Curt said that their property deed indicated that this area was originally called Onyx, ID and he has the rights to the official telegraph station.  That is why I called this stop the Onyx, Idaho Telegraph Station in my campground listing on the website.

Elkhorn Scenic loop drive

Today we decided to follow this scenic drive and glad that we did.  It was a 106 mile drive around and through the Elkhorn Mountain range starting and ending right here in Baker City, OR.  Most of the drive was on Forest roads but all were paved and all were just beautiful.  The weather was the absolute best with a clear blue cloudless sky and temperatures holding in the 68-70 degree range.  We kept our eyes on the lookout for some elk, especially in the high meadow areas, but none were to be found.  Since we didn't see any elk we stopped in Sumpter, OR at the Elkhorn Saloon for lunch and had an elk burger, yum.

Elkhorn Scenic loop

As we passed back through Baker City we saw these trees in the landscaping for a bank parking lot.  The leaves are maple but the bright, light yellow was what caught our eyes.

Back on Track

This morning I turned in the rental car and waited at the dealership service lounge for the completion of our repair.  I paid my share a little after 10:30 and we were on the road before noon.  YEA! ;-)

We took a shortcut from Moses Lake, WA to Baker City, OR so we now are back on the original track and only one day behind schedule.  We had originally planned to be here three nights but we will make due with two nights and one day to explore Baker City. We were here in September of '04 on our Oregon Trail venture and visited the trail information center so we will see what we can find to get into tomorrow.  Friday we are off again as we have reservations at Onyx, Idaho telegraph station for Friday and Saturday nights.

Boy am I glad that I purchased the extended warranty for this truck.  The engine and drive train were originally warranted for 5 years or 100,000 miles and even though we are below the mileage limit our 5 years was up last January.  Because of the known problems with this engine I bought a 36 month extended warranty last December and it sure paid off.  My share this morning was a bit over two hundred while the total cost was a number that began with a 6 and there were three other numbers between that 6 and the decimal point. WOW! They also will cover the rental car for $30/day which will be 3/4 of that cost.  I will continue to have doubts about this engine, even though it;s almost all new, until we get back to Martin Manor and look forward to beginning our next ventures with our new truck and a new 5 year warranty.

It was good to be rolling again!

Wake-up call

... as if we needed any this morning.  We are anxious to get back on the move and just have to wait for business to open this morning to settle-up for our truck repair.  But, I have written in a previous post about the major agriculture industry in this Grand Coulee basin and this morning at 4:30 am they began crop dusting a near-by field by aircraft.  Talk about a wake-up call, with a repeat jolt on every lap across our campground as they made their turn around.  It kinda took the place of the railroad tracks that are not anywhere near this campground.

finally

Just finished talking with our service shop and our truck is almost ready to go. ;-)  They are flushing out the engine coolant system because the problem caused diesel to get mixed in with the coolant.  They say that I should be able to pick it up in the morning which will allow us to get away about noon and it will be good to get "on the road again."  The past couple of days of just twiddling our thumbs has not been much fun.  This campground is super nice and the weather has been the best but it's just not what we had planned for this outing.  We will have to shorten our stay in Baker City, OR by one day and then we will be back on our schedule.

Bummer!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our call this afternoon from the service department working on our truck wasn't the good news that we were wishing for. ;-(  Dave told me that one of the major parts needed, when arrived, was not the correct replacement so this adds at least another day to our stay in Moses Lake, WA.  This still allows us to get back on schedule with only one day in Baker City, OR instead of the planned two and then it's on to a visit with Curt and Renee.

I have been busy today in discussion with our local (at home) Ford dealer and have actually made a purchase of a new 2011 truck for our future travel adventures.  The engine in our current truck is known to have major problems which is why I purchased the extended warranty but even with this current repair I would always be concerned about it's ability to get us to our many destinations and back, especially into the Maritime Provinces of Canada with Phyllis in September.  We know our salesman that has worked with us on several  of our last vehicle purchases and after my research on the internet we have an agreed difference.  We will make the actual trade as soon as we return home next week.

a day of rest

We didn't get too far from the trailer today with only a short trip to Wally World to support the local economy a little bit.  We are hoping to get some good news tomorrow from the Ford service that we will soon be back on the road.

a bit of exploring

We took off this morning on a drive around this area of Washington west from our campground.  A few miles down I-90 and we came to the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park which is located on the banks of the Columbia River.  Jo and I had stopped there once before but while in the area it was worth another look around the information center.  They have many specimens scattered around the visitors center and some petroglyphs that were relocated to this site when the river was dammed years ago creating a lake that would have covered them.

After our stop there we continued west to Ellensburg, WA for fuel and lunch.  On our way we topped over a crest to a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier and off to the north was a good sighting of Mt. Stuart.

This area around Moses Lake, WA is high plains desert country and was not productive until the building of Grand Coulee Dam and the main function of that dam was for irrigation with electricity and flood control being secondary.  The irrigation made possible by that construction has made this a highly productive area and this county brags of raising more potatoes than any other county in the USA.  Washington State also brags of raising more potatoes than Idaho.  With apples being the number one crop in the state, grapes for wine is number 2.

Ginkgo Petrified Forest

extended stay

The progress report from the Ford dealership yesterday afternoon indicated that it will probably be next Tuesday before our truck will be ready to go.  This morning I went to the campground office and paid up for a few more days here in Moses Lake.  This is a super nice campground with nice grass areas between sites that has a watering schedule.  We were given that schedule on check in and our site gets "rain" from 7:00 am to 7:30 am twice a week.  This would not be a good time to sit out under our awning.  This morning after the sprinklers were turned off I went out and dumped our holding tanks and washed the back window of our trailer that had accumulated some road grime.

Then I got out the Martin and did a little practice pick'n before trying to keep up with Curtis.  Jo is trying to learn about her convection oven and has a cake going now for a first time use.  It's just nice to have our own comfortable home to use while having to wait on the truck repair.

Grand Coulee

Since we have been given a bunch of lemons we have made lemonade today and took a drive up to the Grand Coulee Dam and enjoyed the history and geology lesson.  We also learned the difference between a Coulee and a Canyon.  The Grand Canyon was formed by the forces of the Colorado River.  This Grand Coulee was not river erosion but instead was formed by the forces of the floods of the ice ages thousands of years ago.

It was a nice drive up to the dam and then we took the tour of one powerhouse and got a few pictures from inside the generator house and from the top of the dam that can't be taken without the tour, security is strong around this major facility.  We had a nice lunch just before our tour and then on the drive back we took a few pictures to show the scenic beauty of this Grand Coulee basin.

Grand Coulee

un-coolness

We had a not-so-good phone call this morning from our Ford dealer's service shop.  After getting started early this morning it was soon discovered that our problems were larger than first thought.  The problem seems to be a cracked head or heads and they won't know until totally removed to check.  It looks like we are here for a few more days than we first thought.  Our warranty service has agreed to cover the cost but they want their own independent inspection once the heads are removed which will delay the time of completion, bummer.

Just for grins and since I have lots of time to spend (more than money) I sat down with one of their sales staff and discussed a "what if" we were to trade for a new truck so we could be on our way.  This dealership only had one truck that would serve our purpose but it wasn't totally equipped the way we would need.  They then went to work searching for one in the area that would fit our needs and that they could do a dealer trade.  The frustration for me was that the sales person I was talking with had to run to someone in the corner office whenever I ask a question.  He would come back with that answer only to have to take off again when there was another question, he obviously didn't know much about trucks.  It is a small dealership and I guess the floor staff is just there for taking time with paperwork.  They only found two trucks within the vicinity that were anywhere close to our needs and they both had extra options that we really don't need.  There are many logistic items with such a trade that really made it questionable/difficult but worth a try I thought.

Coolness

Eureka, we have found it!  We really feel for our family and friends back in Missouri who are still suffering with what we left, but this morning we had the heat on and it really felt good.  If we have to be stranded, which we are, it is nice to be comfortably situated in a very nice campground with these very pleasant temperatures.

After yesterday's excitement we are going to just take it easy today and will probably find something around this area to explore tomorrow.  I think we were fortunate that our problem with the truck happened early in the week and can only hope that we don't get hung out over the weekend.

Reading a little bit about our location we find that he town of Moses Lake is the same age as JoAnn.  Before that it had a different name but in 1938 the name was changed to reflect the name of the lake where it is located.  The lake was named for Chief Moses of the Sinkiuse tribe that negotiated with the white settlers in the late 1800s to begin settlement in this area.  The lake at that time was a small salt lake but now after the dam was built in the early 1900s it is a fresh water recreation area.

What a day

It started out great but ended up with a HUGE bump in the road.  This may be a long story so get some popcorn and settle in for a little tale of our day.

We left Missoula and followed, or I should say, crisscrossed the beautiful Clark Fork River valley out of Montana.  The big thrill of the day was just before we entered ID a huge brown bear crossed the road right in front of us.  There was a concrete median barrier between us and the eastbound lane and just about 30 yards in front of us this bear jumped over that median and crossed to our right and up the hill faster than we could say "there's a bear".  It was large and shaggy having shed most of it's winter coat.  What a chance sighting but no opportunity for pictures.

Our planned goal for tonight was to be Ellensburg, WA but shortly before lunch time our truck beeped to say that the engine was overheating.  I pulled over to the shoulder and in just a few minutes the temperature gauge cooled down and we continued slowly and pulled off at the next exit to a safe location and called our road service for assistance.  We were in Ritzvlle, WA and a couple of hours later the tow company arrived to haul the truck to the nearest Ford Dealer's service and pull our trailer to a campground in the same town of Moses Lake, WA.  There is bad news and good news.  First, the bad news is that after checking out the problem it is going to take a few days for the repair which will alter the remainder of our trip.  We have canceled our stay and visit to the Olympic National Park and will keep it on our bucket list for someday.  The good news is that our extended warranty contract has agreed to the repair except for our deductible and include the rental car so we can tour this area while we wait for repairs.  I planned on calling Enterprise but there wasn't an office any where near this location so I have a local rental and we will just tour this area and wait for our truck to be repaired.

ps:  We finally found the cool for the trip as the high today was in the 70s with tonight's low forecast to be in the upper 50s..

Big Sky Country

... and Montana is one big State.  Today we drove for seven hours and still have 101 miles to go to get across into Idaho.  It was a beautiful scenic drive along I-90 with most of the morning following the Yellowstone River valley.  I don't know where the oil spill is but because of the continued snow melt from the winters record snow pack the rivers are all running full.  A little later we crossed the Gallatin, the Madison, and the Jefferson Rivers shortly before they join together and form the beginning of the Missouri River near Three Forks, MT.  The climb to the pass just east of Butte was the toughest pull yet with the trailer.  Before we reached the summit we were down to 39 mph and still passing the big rigs.

This was the longest days drive for this trip and tomorrow isn't but about 30 miles shorter and then we are back to our usual short driving days.  Because the West is so expansive and in order to get where we are going and to get back home in a reasonable time frame we have to have a few long days.  Jo got me up early this morning so we are set up at our destination by 2:00 pm and we have the rest of the day to relax.

Big Horn County Historical Museum

This morning we visited this museum with several buildings on display from the past.  It was a self guided walking tour of all the displays with good boardwalks and limited steps/stairs.  We have visited this type of museum in other locations and always enjoy the displays from our history.  We went early this morning before the temperature rise to the predicted high of 102°.  Tomorrow we pack up and head westward again toward our goal for this trip of the Olympic National Park and should be there by Wednesday.

Big Horn County Historical Museum

Kahay!

Kahay, welcome in Crow speak.  This morning we toured the Little Bighorn Battlefield and went early before the temperatures got too high.  We took the Native American guided van tour and since we were the first of the morning we had a private tour with just the two of us, our driver, and our guide.  It was very informative with all our questions being a one on one experience.  We did get one piece of information that Custer sent John Martin to Maj. Reno's camp to ask for more troops and supplies.  Maj. Reno refused and John didn't return to the last Stand ridge and therefore survived the battle.

Little Bighorn Battlefield

After our visit to the battlefield we stopped at a grocery store and fueled up before returning to our campground.  Jo took this picture of mustard weed that is invading this north west area.

This is a picture of our campsite showing the source of our July snow.

snow storm in July

It may be 91° outside but our campground tonight is in the middle of a July snow storm.  The campground is in a large grove of cottonwood trees in full shedding mode.  It's nice to have the shade but every time we open the door some "snow" tries to fly inside.

Today we crossed through and over the Black Hills of South Dakota, beautiful country.  We passed by some real serious soil erosion, at least that's what Jo's mom (a good farmer's wife) said the first time she saw the Badlands of South Dakota.  Then we passed right on by the world's most famous (or at least the most advertised) drug store.  We stopped once several years ago and once was enough.  Back in 1977 on a trip with Kenneth and Phyllis we borrowed the Ledgerwood's pop-up tent trailer for a late summer trip to Yellowstone.  It was on that trip that we stopped at Wall Drug after our visit to the Badlands.  On that trip we stopped at Mt. Rushmore and then made it to Yellowstone.

It was a long day's drive today but we are here for three nights which will give us some time to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield.

Day 3

It was nice, cool, and dry this morning as we got all buckled up and ready to travel.  Not long after getting back on I-29 it started to rain and before we got out of Iowa we drove through some good rain showers.  It stayed cloud covered and cool all the way to Sioux Falls and when we turned westward the sun popped out and the heat began to rise.  In our campsite now in Belvidere, SD the current temperature is 93° and rising.  It's supposed to be down to the upper 60s tonight so maybe our drive tomorrow morning will not be too bad.

Our drive from Onawa, IA into SD was right along the MO River valley and there was water everywhere.  At Sioux City the river turned westward while we continued northbound.  Later as we traveled westward on I-90 we crossed the MO River at Chamberlain, SD and again the river was very high and obviously out of its normal banks.

Detour day 2

It was another nice short day on our alternate route to the original first night campground.  Last night was a very quiet campground and it looks like we will have another quiet evening.  We are very near the Missouri River but in this area we are high enough to not be affected by the flooding that caused our detour.  Tomorrow we continue north to Sioux Falls, SD and then we turn westward.

The temperatures today have been nice and moderate, only 76° at this time.  We had a little shower or two during last night but then this morning was only overcast.  When the sun did come out it still didn't get back to the oppressive heat that we have been having.

Detour

Since our original route is flooded out we are on a detour around that problem.  The original first day of travel was going to be an eight hour drive which is a bit longer than our usual day but after the detour added miles and a couple of hours of drive time we decided to break that into two 5 hour days which is more to our liking for a day on the road.  Tonight we are in Eagleville, MO which is along I-35 right at the Iowa line and tomorrow we head on north to Des Moines and west from there to Council Bluffs and back on track north to Onawa, IA.

This route today is the exact same route that we made 12 years ago in July of 1999.  That was the first trip that we made with our first fifth wheel trailer on our way to Des Moines for a square dance weekend.  Larche and Marianne shared the trailer with us that weekend and then after the dance we toured the covered bridges of Madison County (from the movie) and visited the boyhood home of John Wayne plus visited the Amana Colonies.  That was the beginning of our fifth wheel traveling that has now covered 106,115 miles within this North American Continent.

bug juice

As you could imagine the front of our trailer is tall and wide so as we roll down the highway through all of our trips it catches many bug splatters, YUK!  The last couple of evenings after the sun moved to put this part of the trailer into some shade I washed a six month accumulation of bug juice off the front cap and then put a coat of wax back to help with the next bug removal operation.  After 12 years of travels with a similar trailer I finally got a bit smarter this time and figured out that I could lower the front jacks almost to the ground and that would make the top of the front cap easier to reach with the 6 ft. step ladder that I have.

There are a lot of things that the Bounce dryer sheets are supposed to do but except for the laundry use there is only one other use that is very true and that is bug juice removal.  I wet the surface down with a liquid car wash soapy water and then the dryer sheet just wipes away the bugs with minimal effort.  It does also remove any previous wax surface but then again with the front end lowered for easier reaching I put on a new coat of wax and the front now shines like a new RV.

I doubt that there were many bugs out last January when we pulled our new trailer home from Kansas but the trips in March, April, and June sure piled them on.  I know that on previous trips to the northwest we sure encountered many bugs and swarms of grasshoppers that really make a big splat so I am glad that at least we are starting out with a clean front end.

flood update

Our original route is still closed due to the flooding Missouri River but we are on go for next Tuesday to begin our trek westward.  Because of the length of the detour route we are leaving a day earlier than originally planned.  I sent an email to the Onawa, IA campground and they are still above river levels and it looks like we will be good to go from there.

We have begun our checkoff list in preparation for liftoff but there are always many items on that list that can only be completed the morning of departure.  We keep the fridge on between trips so there are many items that are maintained without having to load and unload.  Also laundry items from the trailer closets are returned as soon as finished.

We do enjoy our travels and even though we love our Missouri home we are always ready to head out again.  Our great neighbor that keeps an eye on our house while we are gone put a sign on the kitchen door of our "sticks and bricks" house that reads "welcome to our 2nd home."

Happy 4th of July to all ...

and a big Happy Birthday to the USA!  We hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday.

"How highs the water mama?"

?  feet high and rising.

Our trip westward is supposed to begin next week with the first day's route planned to be to St. Joseph, MO and then north on I-29 to Sioux Falls, SD.  Right now that isn't possible as I-29 is closed due to the Missouri River flooding between St. Joe and the Iowa line.  The campground for that first night's stop is scheduled for Onawa, IA, just north of Omaha a few miles, and they are saying that they are not affected by the flood (yet) and still open for business.  Right now we will be able to get there by heading toward Des Moines, IA and then over to Omaha on I-80 but that adds a bunch of miles to that day of travel.  We can break it up with an overnight in northern Mo along I-35 but that will mean starting the trip one day earlier, which isn't going to be a problem.  We will check with that campground in Onawa as the time gets closer to see if the route north of them on I-29 is okay and if so then we will be okay and back on our scheduled route.  The route home at the end of the month will also be affected so we will just have to keep track of the flood levels along that portion of our route.  The record snow fall from last winter and its spring melt is feeding the Missouri River and it's tributaries and sure causing many problems along the way.

It has arrived

The package was delivered a little before lunch time this morning.  To answer the last comment, yes it will find a place in the trailer on our next trip.  Shore is purty ain't it?

waiting for the brown truck

When we were in PA, JoAnn allowed me to order my birthday and Christmas gifts for the next several years.

After our tour of the Martin guitar factory I checked on line and found the best price was in a music store just 20 miles from our campground near Allentown.  We drove by the store but found they were closed for remodeling and their sign suggested using the internet to shop.  I placed my order that afternoon and by ordering it on line saved the cost of sales tax that I would have had to pay at the store.  Tracking the shipment through the UPS website shows that it arrived in the local distribution center this morning and is on the truck for delivery today.

We had told Phyllis about my purchase and she is just happy to know it will be hers someday, just not right away.

heading to Missouri today

When I posted yesterday I didn't mean that we were actually into the State of Missouri but were into the time zone that we are accustomed to.  We are actually in Lynnville, IN which is just North of Evansville along I-64.  Every time we get back to the central time zone I think about the Don Williams song, "Living on Tulsa Time" but then we don't live in Tulsa so that is why I said we were into Missouri time.  Have I confused anyone beside myself this morning?  It looks like another very hot day but as always it will be good to get back home at least for a couple of weeks.

Stay tuned as our travels continue.

Back in Missouri time

The drive today was under totally clear blue skies but unfortunately that means higher temperatures.  We have seen the forecast for our homeland and it is going to be tough for the next several days.  It's a good thing we have a brand new air conditioner to come home to.

The puzzle for the day is what I saw on the GPS screen earlier just after lunch.  When the current time read 1:00 pm the distance to destination read 53 miles. The estimated arrival time read 12:53 pm so the question is, how can this be?  I told Jo that we would have to turn around and back up the rest of the way but she didn't like that idea.

We really like this Lynnville Park campground.  It is small but easily accessed and for the water and electric sites it is only $15.  We backed into a very good site and then found that there was no electricity working in the box.  The attendant checked it out and allowed us to plug into the next site over without having to move so all is good.  There is someone working on the electric service right now so we may be able to plug back into our own service post soon.

Blenko Glass Factory

We have known there was a glass factory here for several years as we have used this same campground on almost every trip eastward.  We went this morning and were glad that we did.  This company has been in business since the early 1800s and maintains old style hand blowing technique for each piece of glassware that they produce.  After the tour, watching the craftsmen at work, we browsed their retail outlet for a couple of pieces.  Tomorrow we will get back on our trek homeward.

Blenko Glass Factory

Milton, WV

Today's leg of our trip homeward is the longest and winds through the mountains of western MD and WV which is beautiful scenery.  We even saw a deer along the roadway this afternoon.  We originally had planned only one night stay here and then continue westward in the morning but have decided to extend this stay to two nights and tomorrow visit the Blenko Glass Company here in Milton, WV.  We have been to this campground many times and have talked about the glass factory but just didn't set the time aside to do it.  We will see the time honored tradition of hand blowing fine art glass for which this area of West Virginia is known.  Since Jo was able to get a couple of washer loads done at Phyllis' house she won't have as much to do back at the Martin Manor before our next outing

Ledgerwood visit

It was a very nice day for a trip to Lancaster, PA and a visit with Jo's brother and his family.  It was good to see both Geo and Dana and to meet their best friends.  Phyllis had a good visit with her cousins and has made a commitment to drive up again soon to visit and shop the area with them.

Now unfortunately it is time to head back to the Ol' Martin Manor RV park so we head westward in the morning.

Hand and Foot

It was game-day today and as usually when we visit we try to get a few card games in with Phyllis.  She likes to play the game of "hand and foot" which is a game that we play four handed/partners with Larche and Marianne but with Phyllis it is a very good three handed game.  She let me win the first game but then didn't show any mercy in the second game.

Jo also got another load of washing done taking advantage of Phyllis' laundry so then she won't have to do so much after we're home to get ready for our next trip.

shopping

Phyllis doesn't seem to do any grocery shopping until her mother comes to visit and then fills the cart and her pantry shelves.  We had a few items from the grocery store that were on our needed list also so it worked for both of us.  Yesterday while entering a post to this blog my "S" key simply broke and fell off.  There is still a small pin in the middle of that space that I could push to enter an "s" but it wasn't comfortable.  After the grocery trip and while Jo was doing a load of wash in Phyllis' laundry I went to a local Wal-Mart and purchased a wireless keyboard that now makes this entry much easier without having to hunt for the "s" key pin for the 39 that are in this (oops 2 more) note..

PA to MD

It was a nice drive today from Allentown, PA to our campground near Baltimore MD.  We called Phyllis and will meet her at her house after she gets off work.  We are here for the next 4 nights and then will head west back toward the Martin Manor to refresh all supplies and be ready for the next adventure.

seen today

We took a short drive out in the countryside this morning into the mountains and coal mining area around our campground.  On the way back we were stopped by a State Police car needing room for a couple of over sized loads.  Then we just had to sit and watch as these two huge concrete bridge girders made their way around the corner and then down the hwy.  It's a good thing that the axles in the back were also steerable.

This first picture is the second girder making the turn and the last picture is the first one already around the corner and ready to travel down the road.  Judging from the cars and semi in the lane beside the last picture I would say that it was at least 150-180 foot long.

Pick'n and grinn'n

This morning we took a tour of the manufacturing process at the C. F. Martin guitar factory and it was a very nice showing of the whole process.  With current technologies of computer controlled machinery and robots it still takes skilled craftsmen/ladies to finish the final beautiful product.  They also had a museum with many, many guitars from various big name musicians.  In one display case was their 1,000,000th guitar and it was all guild-ed with inlay and fancy details.  As a memento we were each given a scrap cut-out circle from the sound hole off the assembly line.  They also had several of their models out for anyone to do a bit of pick'n, that guitar (not my pick'n) sure sounded good.

C.F. Martin guitar factory

After the tour and lunch we then searched for some of the covered bridges in this Lehigh Valley.  There were seven listed in the brochure and we found six of them as reported in the following album.  The last one was quite a distance from our location and our campground so we decided that we were ready to head back to the trailer.

Lehigh Valley covered bridges

Adirondack mtns to the Pokonos

A beautiful drive today with plenty of sunshine.  We did have some Interstate routes so there was more traffic than we have had on the back roads the last several days but the mountain grades were easier to climb and descend.  We did go through Chenango Bridge and Binghamton but will stop in that area in September to search for the family homestead.  We did pass along the Chenango river in the location that one of our great grandfathers attempted to build a water mill.  It will be fun to spend a little time on that trip and look around without the trailer attached.

Adirondack park

Back years ago when the kids were little our Sunday afternoon activity, with gasoline at 25 cents/gal, was to just head out on rural roads and drive around and enjoy the countryside.  From Kissee Mills one day we ended up in a barnyard in Arkansas and another time we were near Bull Shoals Lake and ran out of gas.  A farm house near by had a gas tank for their tractor and the lady of the house even warmed up some of their milk for Phyllis while we got the car restarted.

It was a very nice day today for a scenic drive through parts of the Adirondack Park with bright sunlight and nice temperatures, at least this morning.  Check the link in the sentence above for information to know that this is the largest public area in the lower 48 and it is beautiful.  The mountains are lush and green as you could guess after the record snow levels from last winter in this area.  There are many mountain lakes as seen in the pictures below and clear rocky bottom mountain streams.  This campground is right on the banks of the West Canada Creek which is where I took the last shot.

diamond mining

Across the road from the campground is a Herkimer Diamond Mine so this morning I walked across to try my luck.  Our stay in this CG, which is owned and operated by the same folks, got me a dollar off the mining fee.  They furnished a 2 lb hammer and sent me off to break rocks.  They have three open pit quarries/mines for hunting but one was closed for professional operations.  In the gift shop they will gladly sell you the beautiful and perfect crystals and jewelry made from same.  It only took me a couple of hours to see all I wanted to see and do the "chain gang" making little rocks from big ones action.  There is definitely quartz sparkle in most of the rocks but to find a single crystal is going to be a rare find with just a hammer.  I brought Jo back a hand full of pretty rocks and one so-so piece of a crystal from their gift shop.  We have better quartz crystals at home in Kenneth's collection.

Pictures of today

entrance to the mines

mining areas 1 and 2

 nice waterfall between the mining areas

 mining area 3

Finger Lakes to the Adirondack Mountains

Today we crossed another portion of New York state in a Northeast direction leaving the Finger Lakes wine area and are now in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.  We have taken rural routes to avoid the turnpike and it was a pleasant, beautiful, experience through small towns and past many large farms.  This drive today was the hardest of all our trips so far for hill climbing.  As of this evening we have pulled a trailer through the lower 48 states for a total of 104,444 miles and our truck worked the hardest in these New York mountains today then any where else.  These local roads have climbing and descending grades much steeper than the interstate standards and with the lower speed limits through the small towns there isn't any chance of gaining momentum, I still love our truck.

Seneca Lake Wine Trail

There are many, many wineries scattered throughout this finger lakes area of New York.  Watkins Glen is located at the southern point of Seneca Lake and the Seneca Lake wine trail circles the lake.  We sampled at a couple of them, purchased a few bottles, and then had lunch at a third which had a very good German flavored menu.  Our table was on an outside patio that was covered for shade from the sun.  With the temperature right at 70° it was very pleasant.

The first winery sampled

 

 

second sampling

 and our lunch stop

the great view overlooked the vineyard and the lake

Watkins Glen

picture of the day

We visited the Watkins Glen State Park this morning.  It is right downtown in Watkins Glen, NY and is a great gulch of many (19+) waterfalls in a stretch of about 1.5 miles of stream flow.  The gulch trail follows the stream with rock work and the 800+ steps installed by the C.C.Corps.  Those many steps were a bit of a challenge for Jo so she only went part way.  After the hike we had a nice lunch downtown and then plan tomorrow to visit a few of the local wineries for a bit of tasting.



Watkins Glen

back in the US of A

It was a very nice drive today through mostly rural northwestern New York State countryside.  It was off and on sprinkles which made me try to wear out the wiper on/off/intermittent switch.  It would have been easier if it just decided to rain instead.  Anyway our GWF is still with us as when we stopped for lunch the drizzle stopped and then when we arrived at the campground it also had stopped for the set-up procedures.  Our previous trailer was, I thought, easy to set-up and hook-up but this one beats it hands down.

We are still enjoying very cool temperatures, right now at 56° and forecast to be 50° for the overnight low.

nice evening

It was a very nice dinner show this evening.  The soup course started the service at 6:30 and the desert came around at 8:30.  The servers were the performers and the entertainment continued all through the meal and on up to 9:00.  After the soup and salad, the main course included roast beef, chicken, and fish with vegetables and potatoes all served family style with offer of seconds if desired.  The music was all Canadian and the group of kids were all very good and entertaining.  We walked over as the show was right next door to the KOA office.  While we were in the show there had been some showers as the pavement was wet when we came out but it had quit for a nice easy walk back to the trailer.

Tomorrow we head back into the USA for a stop in Watkins Glen, NY.

Leisure day

Just a little leisure time after the events of yesterday. We did get out to fuel up so we will have enough to make it to tomorrow nights campground. We do have dinner-show plans for this evening.

To start this years travels I purchased a portable water softener because most of the north American continent has very hard water that keeps soap from lathering and builds up deposits on all fixtures, and Jo's tea pot. As you can imagine it is a small capacity unit but works very well for a few days. To do a regeneration it only takes a few minutes of time and regular table salt in a half gallon of water. Then I have to rinse out the salt solution and we're back in business. I took advantage of today's time and took care of that regeneration so now we are good to go for another few days.

To answer a previous day's comment, the barrel ride over the falls was all booked up so we weren't able to get tickets for that attraction, maybe next time. ;-)

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Picture of the day

It was a great day for a helicopter flight so that is just what we started with.  Several years ago when we were here we did the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride but didn't feel like getting wet this time.  We thought about the "cave of the winds" tour but that was walking up and down on many steps plus wearing a yellow raincoat with assurance that you will get wet.  See one of our pictures of other folks enjoying that experience that we chose not to explore.  Instead we booked a helicopter flight and it was super nice even if it was only a 20 minute flight.  After that we drove into the Falls Park at street level and it was a mad house of people and traffic jams.  Parking lots were full but advertised $10 per day to park so I stopped into a "Best Western" motel lot (I think this is the motel under a different name that we stayed in that previous trip) and Jo didn't feel like walking down the many blocks to get the street view picture so she stayed with the truck.  There were many, many tourists milling around and walking the streets so I guess their season has started.


Niagara Falls pictures

We don't have anything planned for tomorrow except for a dinner show tomorrow night.  We have reservations for the "Oh Canada Eh? Dinner Theater" and it is within walking distance from our camp site.


Having a great time, wish you were here.

Niagara

It was a relative short drive today, only 200 miles and the Canadian roads were very good.  Most of the scenery was nice and green.  The only wild life that we spotted were one black squirrel and a few red winged blackbirds.  It was an easy border crossing this morning with minimal questions and then he wanted to talk about the Joplin tornado.  The speed limit posted most of the way was 100 km/h which is very close to the 62 mph that we usually drive so it felt just the same and except for some large metropolitan areas there was very little traffic.  Ms Navi knows metric so after I set the units switch she was right in step with the signage.

We will check into our touring options (beside the obvious) over the next couple of days.

We were here several years ago on an auto trip and checked into a downtown motel.  Their billboard advertised "children eat free" so at supper time we ask at the desk where their restaurant was and they said that they didn't have one.

Yea - no cicadas

It is so nice and quiet here as compared to back at the Martin Manor.  When we left home the 13-17 year variety were at their peak and our trees and bushes around the house were just swarming with the red eyed noisy bugs.  A Columbia ice cream store made one batch of cicada ice cream with cooked and chopped up bugs that sold out the same day they put it on the market.  The local health agency put a stop to the second batch.

We drove through rain showers most of the morning but that didn't cause any problems.  With all the rains of this spring the scenery is very nice and green and Jo even saw a couple of deer along the way.  The current temperature here in Port Huron, MI is 66° so no air conditioning required and we will probably need the heat pump overnight, very nice. Tomorrow morning we cross into Ontario Canada on our way to Niagara Falls.

day one for this outing

We did get away this morning and it felt good to be on the road again with all systems functioning.  We hadn't traveled I-70 in some time so it was almost like new territory except that there are still a ton of big trucks that use this route.  After a couple of road construction hang ups we have arrived at our campground a few miles east of Indy, tomorrow morning we turn north.

I looked at the extended forecast for this first part of our route and it looks nice as far as temperatures are concerned.  It's 89° here right now which was the predicted high for this area.  Tomorrow in Port Huron, MI it is supposed to be a high in the 70s and for the time we have planned to be in Niagara Falls the daily highs are proposed to be in the lower 60s.  I think we can enjoy those temps after the oppressive heat we have left behind.  There are some showers in the forecast but we neither one are made out of sugar or salt so I think we can manage that.

a funny dream

Last night I had a very funny dream that I have to share.  In my dream ...

We were busy loading the trailer getting ready for our trip east.  There were piles of clothes on the floor of 900 Kimbrough and we were carrying them out to the trailer parked in the street out front and just piling them onto the trailer floor.  Mom and Dad were there watching us and there were some kids running around but I don't know who they were.  We were supposed to get away by 7 o'clock in the morning but then it was noon and I was eating a hamburger.  I was telling everyone that instead of getting to Indianapolis by around 2:00 in the afternoon it was now going to be 7:00 at night.

I woke up then and looked at the alarm to see it was 5:00 am so I just got up and began to take care of last minute items and we did get away by 7:30.

It Worked, Yea!

Had a call from our RV service center yesterday afternoon that our trailer's boo-boo was repaired and all was ready to go.  I also had a call the day before from our insurance company to let us know that they had accepted the claim estimate and would be sending us a check, "the checks in the mail" story.

So this morning I went to town and brought it home.  The previous blog-post picture shows my new guide spots in our driveway and YES, YES, YES, they worked like a charm.  With my drivers side mirror I was able to watch the trailer wheels and going slowly it was easy to do small adjustments and keep it all on the right path.  I've had this idea for some time but just had to have the unfortunate jolt to my ego to cause me to finally make it happen.

Now it's get the trailer back in travel ready mode for our planned departure on Thursday of next week.

trailer backing 101 for dummies

As you know from Thursday's post about my incident with the utility pole, I have completed a project that I've been wanting to do for some time and now just seemed like the right time.  I have always placed our driveway on the drivers side of our truck so I can watch the wheels on that side of the trailer as they turn into our drive.  The problem has been that I didn't have any reference marks for progress until most of the trailer was already in the driveway.  Thursday afternoon I did some surveying, measuring, marking, and painting of a line to follow.  Here is the result and now I just have to follow the yellow (brown) brick road.

Ooops!

We took Wilma home yesterday morning and she seems to be doing quite well.  It will just take time for her stomach to accept anything but the soft foods she is working on now.

We went back to the trailer, had lunch, hitched up, and traveled back home.  The reason for the title of this posting is that during my attempt to back the trailer into our driveway, like I've done so many times in the past 12 years, the utility pole at the south side of our driveway jumped out and caught the side of our trailer.  I believe that the only thing that needs to be fixed is the "roll-up" awning attached to that side.  I pulled the trailer into our local RV service shop this morning and left it for the necessary repair and also called our insurance company.  The shop manager said that he believed he can get it all repaired before our June trip but if not at least he can remove the damaged one and we can get a new one installed when we have time to take it back in later.

one more night

When we got to the hospital this morning we found Wilma sitting up in a chair and saying that she was going to get released sometime today.  Just before noon they were taking her for some tests so Jo and I went to lunch and then afterward we stopped by the Arbors to visit Jo's mom for a few minutes.  When we got back to the hospital she was telling us that when they ask her to swallow some chalky liquid for some x-rays she choked and spit up.  They brought her some soft foods a little later and she did eat a bit of them and then her nurse came back, re-connected her IV and said she was staying the night again.  If she can keep some soft foods down I'm sure she will be released tomorrow.

All went well

All went well with Wilma's surgery today and now it is just recovery time.  Jo and I will visit tomorrow and see what the forecast is for her release, the doctor today said a couple of days.  It was an early morning to get her to the hospital by 5:00 am so I'm sure it will be an early-to-bed this evening.

a beautiful Mother's day

It was a very nice day with plenty of sunshine and temperatures up into the 80s.  We had an early lunch and made it down to Ozark, MO by around 2:00 pm.  After a visit with Jo's mom we then went for an early steak dinner at Texas Road House for JoAnn's mother's day outing.  After the early lunch and early dinner we will head to bed early because of a 4:00 alarm, Wilma is due in St. Johns by 5:30 in the morning.

short trip next week

We have decided that next week when we need to be in Springfield to help Jo's sister with her hospital stay we will pull the trailer down to use instead of getting a motel room.  The motel that we used last week was nice but so is our trailer and the RV park in Ozark is only $20/night.  We don't know at this time how long we will need to be there but at least it will be 3+ nights.

Updates

I just finished updating our web pages with the latest information for both our June and July trip plans.  Campgrounds in June have all been reserved except for the last one in Lynnville, IN which is a nice little local park in mid week so reservations aren't necessary.

Check out the planning calendar page for these updates.

still working on it

I've been going through several looks for this blog page and even stole Martha's template for a short while, sorry Martha. I'll try to find the background that I really like and hope to keep it readable.

Home again (posted 04/30)

We made it home a little after noon and our GWF was right here with us. The forecast was for a 30% chance of thunder storms today but we haven’t seen anything other than some cloudy overcast skies. It was nice to spend last night in our trailer with ALL facilities functioning as they are supposed to.

After we arrived, Jo spent some time going around her yard and here is what she came home to:

the purple azelia

the gold azelia and bleeding heart

the big snowball bush beginning to open up

the yellow thornless rose

pretty white flowers that you will have to ask Jo

our red flowering buckeye

the little snowball bush

and the "I'll bloom whenever I want to" cactus was pretty for our return. The red center flowers are silk.

good news - bad news (posted 04/29)

First the very small bit of bad news and that is that we got up at 4:00 am in order to get Wilma to the hospital by 5:30 only to find that her procedure had been canceled.

Now the rest is good news beginning with getting her rescheduled for Monday May 9 which will work much better for Jo and I to be able to be with her whatever her needs may be.

We also were able to get back to Chanute, KS and pick up our repaired trailer shortly after noon and are in the local Chanute campground where the first two nights are free, can’t beat the price. Tomorrow morning we will head back to the Martin Manor RV Park (also free with limited hook-ups) and will be able to relax knowing that our trailer problems are fixed by factory technicians and should now be better than new. This way we won’t have to make the drive back from Holts Summit to retrieve our trailer sometime in a couple of weeks. We are much more comfortable tonight in our own surroundings instead of the motel (which was very nice) that we were in last night.

a long day (posted 04/28)

Since we were about an hour west of OKC last night we decided to get up early and get through before the “worker bees” clogged up the traffic lanes. We were out of bed by 4:00 am and on the road before 6. That all worked well for OKC but then we were heading into Tulsa with all the rush hour folks and there was major highway construction that really made the Tulsa crossing a rough go. At one time there was a little red piece of tin on four wheels that jumped right in front of us forcing a major stop on our part and getting them a long blast of our horn and almost a big push from our front bumper.

By leaving that early we made it to the Nu-Wa factory in Chanute, KS around 10:30, dropped our trailer with them to make the necessary repairs and then headed to Springfield. It has been a long day of driving

Wilma has to be to the hospital early in the morning so it will be another early rising for us. She is having laparoscopic surgery to repair her esophageal valve into her stomach. She apparently has had major problems with reflux that we weren’t aware of. We will be there with her tomorrow and Saturday but we will need to head back toward the Martin Manor on Sunday to make my appointment on Monday morning.

The service manager at Nu-Wa told us that they would work on our trailer tomorrow but I will just have to go pick it up when I am able to drive again. With my surgery being on my upper back I won’t be able to lift anything for a while and will have to find out whether or not my driving will be curtailed for a while. I want this to heal properly so we will be able to make the next trip that for now is planned to begin in early June.

change in plans (posted 04/27)

We are back into our familiar time zone about 50 miles west of Oklahoma City. I wonder about the morning rush as we travel through but we’re big enough to take whatever lane that we want. ;-)

We do have a change in the original travel schedule. Originally we had planned to spend two nights in Tucumcari because we like to break up a long stretch of driving days with a day of rest. While we were in California we had a call from Wilma to tell us that she was to have some outpatient surgery on the 29^th and she would like to have her sister to be there. We also would like to be there with her so we changed the stay in Tucumcari to one night and will continue our travels to get to Springfield by tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow we will not take the straight path but instead will go by Chanute, KS and drop off the trailer so they can take care of our holding tank problem and then we will have to come back when they are done to pick up the trailer and get it home for the refreshing necessary for our next outing. This is working out better than finding another repair service as I’m sure the factory repair will make it as good as, or hopefully better than, new.

continue the eastward migration (posted 04/26)

Today we continued our eastward trek across New Mexico and tonight we are in Tucumcari. The good news today was the wind . . . it was 30+/- mph with gusts and most of the drive it was directly behind us pushing us to probably the best fuel economy towing @ 11.3 mpg. The bad news today is the wind . . . last night it rocked us to sleep and woke us up a few times during the night and tonight it feels and sounds like another night of the same rock and roll.

It was a nice drive today with fairly good road conditions and light traffic. Jo is convinced that the sign painter that put up the “watch for elk” signs is the very same one that lies about the “end of road work” but we did see a small herd of antelope today.

crossed Arizona (posted 04/25)

Today we crossed the top of Arizona on I-40. The signs kept saying to “watch for elk” and Jo had that to watch for as well as ice on the bridges and falling rock but so far she hasn’t seen any of the above. Tomorrow’s trip is across New Mexico with the night’s stop in Tucumcari.