In hibernation

Took advantage of today's nice temperatures and made the camper ready for winter.  That included clearing everything out that might freeze, draining all waterlines and fresh water tank by opening the low point drains, and emptying the water heater.  Then had to go to town to buy some RV antifreeze some times just called "the pink stuff" which is pumped through all of the plumbing and it will remain there until spring when we get ready to travel again.  The pink stuff will not expand down to a -50 degrees.  It firms up but doesn't expand and burst the piping.  Then it was just close up all slide outs and lock the door.  Here it is all ready for winter.

 

I had already set it on my support system when it was unloaded from the truck yesterday.  Last winter it sat all winter just on the camper jacks and that worked except that this spring when I jacked it back up for loading the jacks acted like they were bound up somehow.  I figured that  one or more of the camper jacks had crept a little due to the extended time under load putting the system in a bit of a bind.  This time I constructed a support system under both the front and back with a couple of jack stands and a 4x4 across the top.  This system is capable of carrying the full camper load and then I lowered the camper jacks to just when they begun to carry a bit of weight.  The camper jacks will make it more stable under any winds.

beautiful sunlit day

Made the trip back to the Manor after lunch.  As posted earlier the skies were blue with much sunshine so where the trees were showing their fall colors it was great.  Most of Mother Natures planted trees are past brilliant coloration and mostly brown but when near landscaped lawns there is still some bright reds, golds, and purples.

The drive north from Alley Spring was along highway 19 which is a very scenic drive through some of the best Missouri Ozarks country vistas.  In my last years at MoDOT I tried to have this route designated as a National Scenic Byway but that required local public approval which didn't happen. It is still in my opinion one of the most scenic drives in Missouri.  Along the way we saw turkey, deer, and a red tailed hawk with very light traffic.

After a stop at a local campground to empty our waste holding tanks we parked the camper in the Martin Manor RV spot for it's winter hibernation.  Now I need to get it winterized to prevent any freezing problems until our next outing which at this time is planned for March of 2018.

See you then 😎

Blue Skies

At least partially blue skies as opposed to what we have had for several days as totally dense overcast skies.  The past two mornings have been coolish with the high today forecast to be in the mid 50s.  Looking at the forecast over the next several days has caused us to make a slight change in our trip plans.  We now plan to load up after lunch today and head toward the Martin Manor instead of waiting until tomorrow.

The forecast for Friday morning is to be in the low 20s and then below freezing again on Saturday morning.  If we wait to leave until tomorrow that doesn't give me much time to get the camper prepared for those hard freezing temperatures.  By heading toward the house today we will have all day tomorrow to get the camper prepared for it's winter hibernation.

correction

I just made a correction to this mornings post.  I found a map showing the location of Not, Missouri instead of my posting of Knot, Missouri.  Same story as told but just a different spelling.  Here is a clipping of the map showing the town site's location.  In the picture you can also see the location of Thomasville, Missouri where Jo went to school.  She lived just north of Thomasville near where Rte T and Rte 99 meet.

Alley Spring

This is a very large campground of I believe around 160+ campsites and I also believe that we are the only folks here at this time.  We are in the only loop with electric hookups but can see into other loops.  As we were checking in (in the rain) there was a ranger driving around but that is the only other vehicle or person that we have seen.

This park along the Jacks Fork River is quite popular in the summer season with people splashing into the shallow waters from the gravel bars and from tubeing, canoeing, and kayaking activities.  In that season a reservation would have been necessary for a spot in the campground.  The campground is about a half mile from the spring and mill which wouldn't be a bad hike in better weather.  We have visited the mill and spring on several other occasions so probably not make the jaunt this time.  Instead of me taking pictures to post here I will give you a connection to some great views of this area.  The spring rises from a large round sink just behind the mill.

Alley Spring Pictures

There are several similar to the first image taken from downstream below the mill with the red mill as the focus.  I have taken that same picture and it is on the wall of our dining room at home.  That picture is framed in a hand made frame that one of Jo's uncles made from "barn wood siding" taken from the Not, Missouri post office that used to be located near the Shannon - Oregon county line near where she grew up.  Story is that there originally was a large Oak tree with a big knot hole where mail was left for locals to pick up.

Also in the above group of pictures is a map of this campground and we are located in the 600s loop.

bad GWF

Our GWF (Good Weather Fairy) failed us this afternoon.  Today's drive was totally under heavy overcast skies and then about an hour before we arrived at our campground they opened up and rained enough that it was necessary to get out the yellow rain suit. 😞

Most of the day was good with some great fall tree colors that would have been better lit up by the sun but still quite a few oohs and aahs.

Jo tells me that last night was full of heavy thunderstorms.  I went to bed early just because I felt like it and once I get to sleep it's all over until morning.  She said there was much thunder, lightning, and wind most of the night but this morning it was mild temperatures and no rain.  I went to the campground office a little after 9:00 to pay for our stay and they weren't open.  There was a man that I spoke to that took me around to the back door so that I could take care of business.  They said that they didn't open until 10:00 am and that is hard to understand as they are also a marina office for boat rentals.

We are tonight in Jo's early years territory.  This park is at Alley Spring where there is a working mill (for demonstration) that has been fun to visit many times in the past.  This is now a National park, part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.  We are only a few miles from where she was born and raised on a farm just south of the Shannon - Oregon county line.

heading West

Last night's show was Super Good, we both truly enjoyed it all.  Rhonda is a very good entertainer and all of her band members are great musicians.  She had a daughter as back up singer to harmonize with her.  Two of the band members are son-in-laws but they each contributed to the show.  Rhonda has a tremendous voice and obviously enjoys what she does as she is on the road for 11 months out of every year staying home in Kirksville, MO for December.

Today's drive was Beautiful with a capital "B".  occasionally the sun would break through the cloud cover and the tree colors would just brighten up for many OOHs and AAHs.  With it's mountains, rivers, and variety of trees, Kentucky is a beautiful State.

As I said earlier we didn't have reservations for any of this trip which has worked well up to tonight.  Our planned campground was a COE Recreation Area on the banks of Lake Barkley in Western KY.  When we arrived at the campground there was a gate across the road.  I knew that it was past their posted season but assumed that it would be self pay and probably no water connection.  Within a couple of miles there is a KOA on the banks of the same lake so we headed there.  Their season is listed as mid Nov. closing so all should be good, Not!  When we arrived the office which also was the marina office was closed with a couple of telephone numbers to call.  I called the one that said it was for Sunday operations and the call went to voice mail.  So we just found an empty site, parked and setup for the night, and will try to find someone in the morning before we head back toward Missouri.  Here are a couple of pictures of our site tonight.

Half Time

It's half time in the MU - FLA football game so I went out to take a couple of pictures of our campsite near the music venue.  I'm happy because the Tigers have been doing good at least for this first half and we just hope that momentum continues.  A win in this game will go a long way to boost the teams confidence in their winning abilities.

Now here are those two pictures our site is nice and level so that is good

 Looking back the other direction we see the music barn just across the parking lot.

Rockcastle County, KY

We are now located in the Renfro Valley  creekside campground.  Our camp site is just a short walk across their parking lot to the new music hall.

They have two music halls and the old one has their Friday night local talent hoedown while the new hall has traveling talent shows programed throughout the year.  We have been here for a couple of other shows and are looking forward to tomorrow nights show with Rhonda Vincent.  She grew up in north-central Missouri near the Iowa border.  She grew up in a family of musicians that had a show they called the Sally Mountain Show playing country and bluegrass music.  I don't know where that name came from as northern Missouri is like Iowa and you would have to hunt for something to call a mountain.  Rhonda plays a super fine mandolin and has a bluegrass festival every year near her home town as well as travels throughout the country with her band "The Rage."

This trip so far has been full of fall tree coloration.  It would just be so much better if the sun would only shine.  Both days have been overcast and this afternoon we drove through several light showers.  With a full sun there would have been many  more oohs and aahs.

Lynnville, Indiana

Tonight we are in the Lynnville Park, a city owned campground and fishing lake park.  We found this park in Sept. 2007 and it has been a regular stop on our eastbound trips.  This is the 18th time we have stopped here since then.  The site we are in tonight is in the water/electric section and that is where we have been most of our stops @ $18 now and was $15 when we first came here. The other full hookup section we have used a few times is $22.  It is an easy off and on from I-64 but is over a slight hill so absolutely no highway noise.  Tonight the full hookup section has several units but we are alone in the W/E section.

This whole trip is without any reservations.  Most of our trips are fully reserved before we leave home.  We just like to know there will be a spot when we arrive.  This trip is late in the year so I didn't expect any problems especially since school is now in session and except for weekends there shouldn't be any problem.  This weekend, Friday and Saturday, we will be in the campground for the Renfro Valley music venue and it is very large.  We stayed there once before for another show and the campground wasn't near full.

Back at the Martin Manor RV park

Lunch was a little bit late at around 1:00 but it was nice to dine in the cafe at the Manor.  No tree color sighting on the way so the shortest route was the best.

Now our next travel plans are for leaving Nov 2, heading for Renfro Valley, KY as another week long outing.  Jackets are already on the don't forget list and also on that list is to make sure the LP tanks are full.  The electric heater worked well this trip but if temps drop below freezing the furnace will be required to keep the pipes in the basement from freezing.  There are a lot of TC campers that use their rigs for winter ski trips in all kinds of winter weather.

Sunrise on Truman Lake

It was a very nice sunrise view out our back window this morning.  It's been a very enjoyable few days and now we pack up and head for the  house.

Friday the 13th

Another beautiful day in west-central Missouri.  Afternoon temps reached mid 80s but still very pleasant to just sit outside in the shade watching birds fly around.

We had hoped that this trip would be during a nice fall tree color event but that just didn't happen, I guess still too early.  It has been a nice relaxing time even without the color.  We have been mostly alone in this campground until today when the weekenders started moving in.  Now it is mostly full with families and fisher-persons.  One tent unit across the road from us is just now in the process of cleaning a very nice large stringer of fish.  They have a boat so don't know just where they were successful however all foot traffic passing our site on the way to fish the banks have all come back empty handed.

Tomorrow we pack up and head back to the ol' Martin Manor.  A couple of doctors appointments next week and then early November we head to Kentucky.

left behind, found, confiscated, and used

That is what happened to the pile of firewood that was left by our near neighbors.  It was nice to just sit outside in the mild temperatures and enjoy this campfire.  We don't have any marshmallows or hot dogs but still nice to just watch and be hypnotized by the flame.

The weather forecast was spot on for today.  It was cool and overcast this morning but weather.com said it would clear up by noon time and at 11:45 there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Dumb thinking or lack thereof

In less than two weeks I will have lived in Missouri for 80 years and still not smart enough to leave the house prepared with a jacket in mid October.  That is exactly what we did because last Sunday when we left home it was so nice and sunny it never crossed our minds that it would change this quick.  As reported, yesterday was a gloomy day with dropping temperatures so we stayed inside all day.  Today will probably be more of the same.  The forecast is for mid 60s this afternoon, mid 70s tomorrow and mid 80s for Friday and Saturday so I guess our GWF is taking care of us this trip.

Our next trip with the camper is scheduled for the first week of November so guess what will be the first things loaded for that trip.  As we drive away from the house every trip we always say to each other, "wonder what we forget" and then we say, "oh well there is always WalMart."  There is a nice big WalMart only  about 6 miles away from here in Clinton but we don't need to add to our jacket closet when we can get by with just waiting out the temperature climb.

Our electric space heater is working like a charm except with only a 30 amp shore power connection we do have to watch our use of other electric items when it is running, such as the microwave or electric teapot.  The water heater is switched to LP gas instead of electric because of the space heater use.

Gloomy day

Just the opposite of yesterday.  It rained during the night and early this morning.  We had about 15 seconds of sunshine this morning before the cloud cover sealed it off.  The high temperature for today occurred at 12:01 am and gradually falling all day heading toward a predicted low of 44° tomorrow morning.

This camper has a smaller interior volume than our previous 5th wheel trailers so it is easier to heat.  I had purchased a small electric heater so that will save on LP use by the built in furnace.  It has three settings 600 Watt, 900 Watt, and 1500 Watt and so far we have managed very well on the 900 Watt setting.

Looks like a good day to stay in.

Beautiful relaxing day

After that sunrise, today has been simply beautiful, not a single cloud in the sky and mild temperatures.  The forecast is for rain tonight and in the morning so I moved our borrowed firewood to under the camper to keep it as dry as possible.  Jo and I sat outside most of the day in the fresh air and watched all the birds flying around.  Here are a few pictures from today.

after a brief hike to the main channel

 

 and the view back to our campsite

 this afternoon there have been a flock of white pelicans around

these last photos were taken from our campsite with a lot of zoom

 

  

This is a zoomed in picture as I thought there were two birds here one white and the other gray 😁

 I have to keep telling Jo to move around a little as these folks keep circling above us.

Sunrise out our back window

left and found

When we checked in we had neighbors in the next site.  This was a family with a tent and pop-up trailer,  Apparently they were just here for the weekend and the kiddies needed to get back home for the school week.  When they left they left a large stack of firewood at their campsite so I picked it up and now it is at our fire ring.  Some time this next week we will try to have a nice campfire or two.

Truman Lake

We decided that between doctors appointments this month we would get a quickie get-away.  It was a little more than a 2 hour drive to Sparrowfoot campground on an arm of the lake near Clinton, MO.  We don't have any tourist plans in the area except for just a relaxing time.  We are here until next Saturday afternoon when we will again head for the Martin Manor.

This is our back yard

 our campsite

When I select our campsites from the internet it is difficult to determine the quality of the site I choose.  This time the site I had chosen was totally in the trees with no view of the lake.  Fortunately at this time of year the campground isn't full so we were able to go back to the check-in station and change our reservation to this site.  We have shade from the big locust tree and a nice view of the water.

There isn't any good television signals over-the-air except for Warrensburg which is our local PBS station.  Fortunately we do have a very good AT&T signal so our internet connection is good.  We will be able to watch any special programs (Jo's soaps) on our computers.  I have my laptop that I am using for this posting and Jo has my Surface-Pro tablet which she can use for TV as well as her games.