Day 3 - Thursday, June 27 - Slow Day

 The overnight low was 61 degrees. We had the windows open and enjoyed the cool up until close to bedtime. We did shut the windows and turn the AC on then because of the high humidity. Today's high was a mostly sunny 77 degrees. Right now, 10PM the temperature had dropped to 68. The overnight low is forecast to be 63.

We just sat around and enjoyed the place this morning. Kathy did do a little walk about. In the afternoon we drove in to Lebanon (12 miles, 20 minutes with the traffic/construction near Lebanon). We went to Walmart, for a replacement sewer hose (The CAMCO Rhino FLEX that was leaking was a disappointment. My previous Rhino FLEX lasted several years. I purchased the current one in the spring and was surprised that it was already leaking. I purchased another Rhino FLEX because I think the are a good product. Hopefully the leaky one was just a lemon.). We also made a grocery buying stop at Aldi's.

I did have an interesting experience at Walmart. I knew their RV accessories were in the automotive section but couldn't find them. I saw a Walmart employee who looked like she was stocking a shelf so I walked up to ask for information. She was playing with a flashlight that was still in its packaging. It looked like she had turned it on and couldn't figure out how to turn it off. She ignored me while I stood there waiting to be acknowledged. Finally she looked up at me and I said, "Where are the RV accessories located." Her mind boggling response was, "I don't speak English well.", and she went back to ignoring me and playing with the flashlight. She was not Hispanic, maybe Haitian or from some middle Eastern hellhole. A couple of aisles over I found another employee who walked me to the aisle with the RV stuff. I was so shocked by the "I don't speak English well." comment that I didn't think to mention the situation to the store manager. 

Back at the campground Kathy put the groceries away and then took a nap. I visited a little with the lady next door. I learned that they are full timers with a home base between Gainesville and Orlando Florida. We talked about some of the places we enjoyed. She mentioned how much she likes South Dakota, which brought back memories of our stay at the Cedar Pass campground in the Badlands National Park in May of 2012. If you are interested check out:

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/  May 30th, 2012

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-31st-in-badlands.html

When they leave here they will head back to Florida for awhile. They plan on a weeks stay at a campground right on the Gulf (near Gulf Shores) on their way back. They considering going heading west on their next trip, though Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I suggested that if they stop in Phoenix be sure to visit Biosphere 2. I sure enjoyed visits there in 2012 and 2022.

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/dec-31st-biosphere-2.html

 https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/thursday-december-15th-biosphere-2.html

Then I took a nap. We didn't eat supper until nearly 8PM. It's now 11:30PM and Kathy is sitting outside reading while I finish up this post.

Another good day. God is good. I pray His blessings on you and yours. He had blessed me. Last Sunday we sang a song with lyrics that includes "I don't know what He is doing but I know what He has done." PTL for what He has done, especially in my life.

Day 2 - Wednesday, June 26 - Travel, Springfield, IL to Thorntown, IN

 Today was another travel day, from the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL to Old Mill Run Campground in Thorntown, IN. We have put 398 miles on the coach since leaving home yesterday morning.

About 10AM Kathy left in the car and drove to Niantic, IL, about 35 miles east, to visit a friend from when we lived in Niantic. I stayed at the campground until 11AM and then drove east to a I72 rest area near Argenta, IL, about 55 miles. She arrived at the rest area at 1PM. We ate lunch, hooked the car up and headed to Thorntown.

The trip wasn't totally trouble free. About 40 miles short of our destination a check engine light came on. All the gages looked good. We got off at the next exit, parked at a truck stop and shut the engine off. After about 5 minutes we started the engine again and the check engine light did not come back on, nor did it come back on during the remainder of the trip. If it comes on again we will need to find some place that can read the "code" so that we know what is causing the problem.

We checked into the Old Mill Run campground around 5:20PM (eastern time) and got set up.

The campground has a lot of nice amenities. The weekly rate is $267. There appears to be a lot to do. I chatted briefly with the folks next to us. They have been here for nearly a month and have a favorable impression of the place. They are from Florida and are here visiting relatives in the area.

We met Doug and Anthony (our son and his husband who live in Indianapolis) at the Salty Cowboy Tequileria in Zionsville (a 45 minute drive from the campground) for supper. The area around Zionsville is a zoo compared to what it was when we moved away 13 years ago. Traffic/parking in Zionsville is a pain. The restaurant was busy but they arrived before us and were able to get a table. Kathy and I thought the food was mediocre, but getting to spend time with Doug & Anthony was great.

We had heard that the Ice Cream Paradise in Lebanon, IN had closed. During the 12 years we lived here we enjoyed many summer evenings sitting at one of their picnic tables eating an ice cream cone. On our way back to the campground we decided to drive by it to see if it was closed. It wasn't and the ice cream was as good as ever.

On the way home the car thermometer said the temperature was 68. It is supposed to get in the low 60's this evening. With the rain it is humid, but it still feels great after the string of 90+ degree days in Centertown. (Folks here say they also had several 90+ degree days recently). It's nice to have the windows open for awhile. We may still turn the AC on before morning, just to get rid of some of the humidity.

It was another good day. God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

PS. To the person who left the comment about "stopping by" on yesterdays post, your post shows up as "anonymous" so I have no idea who made the comment.

Day 1 - Tuesday, June 25 - Heading out for Summer Fun

 We started our summer trip today, 212 miles from our house in Centertown, MO to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL. We are 29 miles from where we used to live in Niantic, IL (1980-92). We stopped here because it is an inexpensive place to stay, and so that tomorrow morning Kathy can spend some time with a friend from Niantic. 

In Illinois we saw quite a few fields where the corn was already tasseling. That was a surprise.

It was hot most of the way here, but the dash AC worked well enough that we didn’t have to run the generator and use the rooftop AC units.  We pulled off US54 just south of Atlas, IL, about 6 miles east of the Mississippi River. We did fire up the generator and run both AC units while we were eating lunch.

I think I read that there are about 300 “camping sites” here. About half only have 30 amp electrical service and the remainder have both 30 & 50 amp service. All of them have water but only a few have sewer connections. There is a dump station. For $20/night it works fine for us. 

The place is surprisingly busy. I just watched a guy back a big 5^th wheel camper/horse trailer into the spot across the aisle from us. I didn’t think he had a chance of getting into the site but he managed it with no problem. IMPRESSIVE! OK, I have to take a photo through of it. He backed into the space and had the trailer unhooked and leveled in 10 minutes.

It looks like it would have been relatively east to back in from the right side but he chose to back in from the left; around the light pole and beside the Class A the drove into his site, rather than back in. The parking lot aisle isn't all that wide.

From Jacksonville to the Fairgrounds, 35 miles, we were on the edge of the storm. The wind was gusty and it rained most of that distance. We arrived here at 3:45, it has sprinkled on and off since arrival. The latest storm cell went west and south of us, lots of thunder. The temperatures dropped from the mid 90’s to the mid 70’s. It’s supposed to be in the mid 70’s when we leave in the morning.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours, He has certainly blessed me.

Trip Stats

 For those who wonder: We put 3,570 miles on the coach and 2,300 miles on the Flex while we were gone.

Day 123 - Thursday, April 4 - Back in Missouri

 No problems during my overnight stay at the Wright City rest area. The 95 mile trip to Centertown went fine. I was parked and set up before 11 AM.

This will be my last post for awhile. I will start again when we head to Michigan for the summer, Lord willing.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 121 & 122 - Tuesday & Wednesday, April 2 & 3 - Leak Fixes & Travelling

 Tuesday - I dropped the coach off at Lakeshore at 7:30 and then drove in to Iuka for breakfast (& free WiFi) at McDonalds. I downloaded several episodes of a TV series and a movie while there. After that I drove to the park and read until around noon. I tried Taco Bell for lunch. It has been ages since I had a taco from Taco Bell, they weren't bad.

Bryan/Lakeshore texted me in the early afternoon to tell me that think they have the leaks fixed and that he had parked the coach back on the site. When I got back he explained what they had done and I paid him.

Several rainstorms went through the area in the evening and during the night. No leaks but no high winds. There was a tornado watch during part of the evening.

Wednesday - I headed for Missouri at 8:10AM. My plan was to get at least half way home today. I did miss a couple of turns in the first 100 miles but, PTL, getting back on track was easy in both cases and it only added about 6 miles to my travels. The first 125 miles, Lakeshore to Dyersburg, TN, was Mississippi county roads, Mississippi state highways and US highways. The road surfaces were decent and traffic was light. When I headed west on I155, out of Dyersburg, the wind became noticeable. I don't think the wind speed increased but the country was more open so I felt it more. When I turned north on I55, I was driving through a lot of open, flat areas. The wind out of the west made driving interesting. I drove through one little "storm", it wasn't raining very hard,  where I got hit with several big gusts of wind. They pushed me over onto the paved shoulder, tires on the wrong side of the rumble strip. That slowed me down to 45-50 mph for awhile.

Our generator draws diesel from the main fuel tank. Once the fuel level is down to 1/4 it can't get more fuel. It made that way so that you don't strand yourself by running the generator until you are totally out of fuel. I didn't know where I was going to stop for the night, and I wanted the flexibility of being able to run the generator as much as I wanted. I stopped and bought $100 worth of fuel in Marston, MO, price $3.72/gal. I planned on filling up at Mr. Fuel, west of St. Louis. We often buy fuel there when we go through St. Louis, because it usually the cheapest price around. The price $3.55/gallon. Seventeen cents a gallon adds up, it took 86 gallons to fill up.

For lunch I stopped at a truck parking area and made myself a sandwich.

After fighting the wind and St. Louis traffic (not to bad, only one 12 mile slow down and then a 6 miles stop and go) I knew I was to tired to drive the rest of the way home and arrive after dark.

I'm spending the night at the Wright City rest area, 395 miles from Lakeshore and 90 miles from Centertown. 

I haven't driven this far in a long time. I think that without the wind I could do a 500 mile day.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 119 & 120 - Sunday, March 31 & Monday, April 1 - EASTER & the promise of eternal life for believers.

 Sunday - I didn't actually do anything Easter Sunday. I watched the Cowboy Church Sunrise Service, wishing I was there. It must have been great sitting out on the bleachers at sunrise, by the corral and listening to Chris give the message using a horse for a visual aid. 

Jeff, my cousin who is in prison in Texas had asked me for information on payload and towing capacity for gas and diesel RAM 2500's & 3500's. He also asked for some information on Airstream trailers. This spring he was denied parole for the 3rd time. He will apply again this fall. Once he is out he wants some type of mobile home (motorhome, 5th wheel, travel trailer, pickup camper) a truck(?) and a bass fishing boat. (He has access to reasonable resources when he gets out.) His daughter and I are his only contacts with the outside world now that his Dad died a couple of months ago. Over the past several years I've been his "go to guy" digging out information on trucks, campers, boats, etc. I spent about 6 hours gathering information and putting together emails to transfer it to him. I also keep send him emails updating him on our travels.

I talked to Kathy. She is working herself to a frazzle helping Kelsey, which she enjoys immensely.

Monday - kind of a null day. I didn't do much again today. I did go down and drive around the J B Coleman State Park some more. It was supposed to be warm today (78) but I don't think it ever got above 71. It felt quite cool while I was out washing the RV windshield after I returned. I did spend another couple of hours putting together emails (you can only send 5 photos with each email) to catch Jeff up on our travels. This evening I need to get things around to minimize what I need to do before taking the coach over to Lakeshore at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.