Days 8, 9 & 10 - November 18, 19 & 20 - Lakeshore Custom RV to Rainbow's End, Livingston, TX

 

Tuesday, November 18 – The guys at Lakeshore took the toilet out again and this time they replaced all the mechanical innards. They were done by around 11 AM.  I decided to stay another night, just to make sure it was fixed. I was to lazy to unload my motorcycle and go for a ride, even though it was a beautiful day.

 

Wednesday, November 19 – I left Lakeshore Custom RV around 7:45 AM and drove 404 miles to Texarkana, AR.  Traffic was HEAVY, especially truck traffic. The speed limit was 75 for cars and 70 for trucks, on a road similar to US 50 west of Jefferson City. In one area, a rural area, traffic suddenly came almost to a complete stop. I think I did actually completely stop for an instant. Then it was back up to 5 mph over the speed limit. I didn’t see any reason for the slow down.

I stopped at a rest area and ate my lunch. Later I stopped for fuel. The pump at the station wasn’t working properly and after putting about 30 gallons I gave up and left.

I parked at a Walmart in Texarkana, walked in and bought a few items. I asked if I could park overnight and a lady in customer service said no. She said they used to allow it but stopped the practice. By the time I got back in the coach it was dark. I did fill up with fuel, another 48 gallons at $3.19/gal. I drove across the street and stayed in an Albertson’s grocery parking lot (I didn’t ask). I was in Arkansas, but only about 150’ from the Arkansas/Texas state line. It rained on and off during the night. It seemed like a sketchy neighborhood. I didn’t sleep well, I was waiting for a cop to knock on the door and tell me I had to move. I got up around 3:30 AM and looked out the front window. The rain had let up. A guy was aimlessly walking across the edge of the parking lot talking like he was with someone. I don’t think he was talking on the phone.  When he got to the street he kept looking back. About the time he was across the street a second guy came into view. He was more or less following the path of the first guy. The second guy stopped and sat down on the curb along the edge of the parking lot. The first guy made a lap around the CVS across the street, came back across the street, but further down the block and walked back the way he came. The second guy got up, crossed the street and walked out of sight. I didn’t see him come back. Weird.

 

Thursday, November 20 – Kathy's appointment with the surgeon seemed to go well. I think her only restrictions are self imposed ones. They are waiting for her in Texas. This morning I received a text from a lady at the campground, apparently she couldn't find Kathy's number. She wondered when Kathy would be down, and if she would again, occasionally be willing to again fill in playing the piano at the campground church.

I drove 233 miles to Rainbow’s End campground in Livingston, TX. It rained lightly during the first 90 minutes, then the sun came out, with a few big white puffy clouds. The high temperature was 81. Tonights low is forecast to be 67. 

I stopped at 3 different truck stops before I found one with a space where I could park while I ate my lunch. I checked in at the office and then drove over and got set up in my space. The coach wouldn’t “auto level”. I played around with the controls a little and then looked at the leveling jacks. It appears that one of the rear ones has a leaking seal. I called 4 different places, looking for someone who was interested in doing the repairs. The first guy only does tires. He referred me to a second guy. The second guy had sold his RV Repair business and gave me the number of the new owner. I called and they are booked until after Thanksgiving. They gave me the name of another local RV mechanic. I called him and learned that a week ago he had neck surgery and won’t be working for a while. I think I will just drive on down to Harlingen and find someone down there who will work on it. Without functional levelling jacks I won’t be able to put out the big slides, but I can live with that.

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

Day 7 - November 17 - Camera Screen Replaced

 It was another beautiful day today, but boring. Janice, from Lakeshore, called me around 10 to tell me that they had the camera and that I could bring the coach over. I had to wait for a load of clothes to finish drying and then headed over. I sat over there and used their WiFi to study different routes to Texas, and surf the Net. They finished around 3 PM.

I had lunch and did another couple of loads of laundry after I got back to the campground. I also got my motorcycle back on the trailer and strapped down. In the morning I will dump the waste tanks, unhook the water, sewer & electric and head south. I'm supposed to meet a guy for coffee in Madison, MS around 3 PM.

I've mentioned before how pleased I am with the work, and prices, at Lakeshore, and so are a lot of other folks. Some guy bought a coach in New Hampshire. He paid Brian and his wife to fly to New Hampshire and drive the coach back to Mississippi. They flew out Friday morning and he was back at work this morning, over 1,300 miles. 

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

Days 5 & 6 - November 15 & 16 - Pickwick Dam & Salem Church

 November 15 - In the morning I replaced the pressure regulator on our water hose and put a new end on another hose. Around noon I headed up to the Pickwick Dam. It's in Tennessee, about 20 miles from where I am parked. Previously I had not stopped at Pickwick Landing State Park, on the south side of the river. I took these photos from there.

If you strain your eyes you might be able to make out the highway above the dam.

There is a lock at the dam. That might be why the roadway was elevated.

Then it was on to the Outpost for lunch. It was busy when I arrived at 1 PM.

Do I look hungry?

My prime rib sandwich. It was good, but not great. I got wild and crazy and let them put their horseradish sauce on it, a mistake.

After leaving the Outpost I rode through TVA Pickwick Dam Campground. There were only a few people fishing along the bank of the river, nothing like the last time I was here. For some reason the RV campground area was closed. 

Sunday, November 16 - As we wandered around the area during previous stops here we noticed a little church about 1.5 miles from us, on the other side of the Northrop Grumman plant. I attended church there this morning. Folks were friendly and the Pastor had a good message. The songs we sang were good old gospel, including I'll Fly Away. What was interesting is that they had no musicians. The Pastor led the singing. He started the first song by playing several bars on his phone and the rest was acapella. He had taped music for the remaining songs.

There was a beautiful mural behind the baptismal. I inquired about it. A church member, one who I assumed had passed on to the new life, had painted it many, many years ago. As an aside, the facility was kind of a plain old country church. It was in IMMACULATE condition.

There were maybe 20 people in attendance. One young lady who is a college student, 2 or 3 people in the 30-45 range and the rest old farts like me. At least 10 people made sure to tell me that today was there early Thanksgiving dinner and they wanted me to stay. Meat was a huge turkey and a huge ham. Lots of sides and deserts. Everything looked homemade. I sampled a lot and everything was good. I doubt that half the food was consumed.

My motorcycle was quite a conversation starter. Lots of inquiries about it.

Several people at the church mentioned that I should check out Eastport. Eastport was an important town during the mid 1800's and an important port during the Civil War, until the railroad when through Iuka instead of Eastport in 1857. The town dwindled and then, in the 1930's, when the Pickwick Dam was built on the Tennessee River the old town was submerged. It still exists as a small community with  a marina. According to Google Maps its only 10 miles from where I am staying. I GOT LOST! Google Maps seemed to go nuts. I found my way to Iuka, which was not on the planned route, without to much difficulty, and without the "help" of Google Maps. Tomorrow I may give it another shot. I did get to see some wonderful scenery. Leaves are changing and there was some nice color.

A rabbit trail. It was my understanding that there was a nuclear plant very near here. I had driven around some during previous trips, trying to get a glimpse of it. The road that goes by the Northrop Grumman plant has a big gate across it, a short distance past the church. 

From Wikipedia: The Yellow Creek Nuclear Plant is a canceled nuclear power plant project near Iuka, Mississippi. It was originally planned to have two 1,350-MW (output) reactors operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The steam turbine-generator sets were provided by General Electric.

The reactors were System 80 pressurized water reactors built by Combustion Engineering. Three similar reactors were installed at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Tonopah, Arizona.

The site, as of 8 November 2010

Construction on the reactors began in 1978 but stopped in 1982 before the TVA officially canceled in the project in August 1984 due to dramatically rising construction costs and lower electricity demand.

Following TVA's cancellation, the partially completed site with infrastructure already in place underwent reconstruction as a site for NASA to build solid rocket motors. Construction was about 80% complete when Congress pulled funding on the site in 1993. The cancellation of this project led to a poor economy and high unemployment in the area.

Today, some buildings remain on the site including what was to be a reactor, the accompanying turbine building, and a circular base for the plant's cooling tower. The site is close to the tripoint of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, on a peninsula surrounded by Pickwick Lake. The site's namesake creek, whose original outlet comprised the western arm of the lake, was almost completely captured by the lake or channelized into the uppermost reach of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway by the time plant construction ceased.

Parts of the site have been leased for several years by Flibe Energy to investigate pursuing their molten salt reactor designs.

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

Days 3 & 4 - November 13 & 14 - Coach Repairs and a Fun Day

November 13 - I had the coach over at Lakeshore by 7:20. I had not bothered to unload my motorcycle before I unhooked the trailer from the coach so I was "stranded" for the day. (If the hitch isn't connected when the bike weight moves back on the trailer the trailer front tips up. I'm shaky enough loading and unloading it, I don't need any other things adding to the excitement.) 

Bryan gave me the WiFi password so I spent some of the time watching TV shows. I also did some reading. The rear camera screen is shot. A new one should arrive by Monday afternoon. I enjoy the area and have no problem staying here a few days. When I moved the coach back over to the campground I reconnected the trailer so that I could unload my bike. It was a time consuming project since the I couldn't see the trailer when I backed up to it.

The weather was beautiful.

November 14 - I unloaded my bike in the morning and rode over to J P Coleman State Park, and around the park. The park gate is less than two miles from the campground. Total ride was only 10 miles.

J P Coleman State Park is on the bank of the Tennessee River, which is also called Pickwick Lake in this area. Pickwick Lake was created when the Pickwick Landing Dam was built. The lake covers over 43,000 acres. On the other side of the river is Alabama. A short distance downstream and the other side of the river is Tennessee.

Part of the parks marina.

Looking downstream.

Looking upstream.

A boat went by every couple of minutes.

In the afternoon I rode into Iuka, just to look around. I didn't notice any significant changes. While there I stopped at the combination Piggly Wiggly grocery store and Ace Hardware store. It's a decent hardware store sandwiched in the grocery store. The pressure regulator I use to protect the coach against high pressure campground water systems was leaking so I bought a new one.

I filled up with gas. 968 miles on the odometer when I filled up. I've had the bike for a little over 9 weeks. Over the 968 miles I've averaged 61 mpg.

The last stop before heading back to the campground was at Mineral Springs Park. Mineral water from it's "world-renowned oasis" won a prize at the 1902 World's Fair. I filled up a gallon jug for Kathy.

The round trip to Iuka was about 25 miles.

Back at the campground I got in a 1.5 mile walk around the local roads.

If you are interested in seeing/reading more about Iuka and the Park below are links to previous blog post while in the area.

December 2, 2024 Park in Iuka https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/day-4-monday-december-2-spent-day-in.html

December 7, 2024 Kathy bottling spring water https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/day-7-thursday-december-5-still-at.html

March 29 & 30 Coleman State Park and Pickwick Dam and campground https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/

December 7, 2023 More Iuka https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-4-thursday-december-7th-exploring.html

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

Days 1 & 2 - November 11 & 12 - Home to Lakeshore Custom RV in Iuka, MS

 I left home about 9:30 Tuesday morning. As I was leaving I noticed that our camera (full time backup camera) was not working. It had worked fine on Monday. 

When Kathy and I are together we normally opt to take US highways instead of Interstates but since I was soloing, driving and navigating, I chose to stay on Interstates where practical. I went north to Kingdom City and then east to Wentzville where I took I64/I270/I155 around St. Louis to get to I55 south.

 Tuesday, the 11th - traffic flowed freely, even through the numerous construction sites I encountered. I spent Tuesday night at the Marson Welcome Center Rest Area, in Missouri's boot heel, 298 miles from home. There were only a few trucks when I arrived a little after 4 PM. When I got up Wednesday morning the place was full. There were quite a few truck "parallel parked" around the edge of the lot.

The wind blew at around 15 mph most of the evening and night. I ran the generator some while I made supper, I could  run the heat pumps when the generator was running. After supper I shut the generator off and switched to the gas furnaces for heat.

PS. Not having the camera showing your towed vehicle, or in this case my motorcycle on a trailer, was a pain. The week before we left we found out our Ford Flex has a leaking water pump. The water pump is internal and it is a MAJOR job to replace. We have an appointment to have it replaced on the 20th. Kathy will drive it down when her back feels ready, she had back surgery 7 weeks ago and the surgery caused a spinal fluid leak. If she feels like here back is up to the 1,100 mile trip from home to Harlingen, TX, but she isn't ready to drive all that way, I will fly home and drive down with her.

The place is about 40 miles north of the state line. Why Missouri has a "Welcome Center" on the southbound side is a mystery. I didn't bother to check out the building.

Wednesday morning I left around 10:00, I only had 178 miles to go until I arrived at Lakeshore Custom RV. Only the last 30-40 miles was two lane road. The only "problem area" was Jackson, TN. Garmin RV GPS routing through Jackson seemed screwy. When Kathy drives I use both our Garmin and Google Maps. We often follow the Google Maps routing.

I arrived at Lakeshore at 1:20. I encounter two construction sites on the two lane roads that had one way traffic, but the total delay was only about 10 minutes. I checked in with Bryan to let him know I had arrived. I'm supposed to be there at 7:30 Thursday morning.

Lakeshore has a couple of "pads" next to there facility were RV'ers can park. Those sites have water and electric. They also have a small full hook up campground across the road from them, Parking on one of the pads is free, parking at one of the full hook up sites cost $20/night last year. I chose to park on one of the full hook up sits. Backing up with a trailer, when you can't see the trailer, is a pain! If Bryan can't fix our backup camera it will be a real pain getting the trailer hitched back up when I leave. I don't plan on taking my motorcycle off while I am here so I can't drag the tongue over to the hitch ball.

Yes, our coach is very dirty. One of my To Do lists that I didn't get accomplished was to wash it before I left. The weather has been beautiful. I had the door open and a window open for several hours this afternoon.

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

Back on the Road

 Before heading to Texas for the winter I went to Michigan to visit my 97 year old mother. From our house to Mom's is 560 miles. I drove there on Saturday, November 1st, was there for the 2nd and drove back home on Monday, November 3rd. Kathy's back wasn't up to riding 1,200 miles in 3 days so she didn't go with me.

Breakfast Sunday morning. Mom probably doesn't weigh 100# but she managed to pack away 6 little pancakes.

We had lunch with two of Kathy's sisters. Cindy & Nancy. Nancy is the one waving; plus Cindy's husband Ed.

Supper down at my brother David's. His grandson Colton is on the right.

Our son Doug and his husband Anthony came for a very short visit. They drove from Indianapolis to Centertown on Sunday and drove back on Monday.

Left to right: Nolan, Anthony, Lydia, Kathy, Doug and Andy.

I managed to get Kelsey in the photo below.

We have been working diligently to get "stuff" transferred back into the motorhome. It has taken a stunning number of trips from the house to the motorhome. 

Kathy's back isn't up to riding hundreds of miles a day yet so she stayed home for now. Also, she still has a Doctor's appointment on the 19th. The first place I go is to Lakeshore Custom RV in Iuka, MS, to get the annual service done on the coach. She has been to Iuka enough times that the novelty has worn off. 

Many years ago I sold an old motorcycle to a guy from central Mississippi. We have kept in touch over the years. I'm meeting him for coffee on Friday afternoon. He still has the old Virago.

After that I'm headed to Livingston, TX for a week while I wait until the weekend so that I can get in to visit a cousin who is in prison. His family moved away from Michigan, where I grew up, when I was a teenager and Jeff was preteen. We have been corresponding for the past 10 years. He has no family close to the prison and hasn't had a visitor in 9 years. The visit is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 22. After that I will take two or three days to drive to Lakewood RV Resort in Harlingen, TX, where we have spent the past several winters.

Of course all of the above is prefaced by, "God willing".

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

t

Still at Fairgrounds, Not Quite as Hot

 It is cooling down a little. Yesterday's high was 90 and todays was only 89. Lows are still above 70.

Yesterday Kathy and I had lunch at the Ponderosa in Coldwater. She liked her food, mine was edible. In the afternoon I picked up Mom. We drove around for several hours and then stopped at the RV for supper.

This morning Kathy picked Mom up and took her to her weekly hair appointment. I picked Mom up and we did another several hours of driving around. Mom and I had lunch at a local restaurant I normally like but today both our meals weren't good. I took Mom back home after lunch and came back to the RV for a nap. Kathy was busy doing Mom's and our laundry. In the late afternoon I got Mom and we had supper in the RV.

We had entertainment both of the last two evenings as the 4H girls were out in the arena with their horses. They arrive at 6PM and leave about 7:30PM.

I took the photos below through the windshield of our RV.

After the show ended I took Mom home.

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