Friday, June 11, 2021

We decided to go for a walk early this morning while it was still cool out and before I left. It turned out to be a walk of less than a mile, as Frisco was sluggish and not very interested - I think it was because of the humidity. When we got back to the trailer, I decided to pack it up and head out rather than to attempt another walk.

My trip back home was uneventful and it took six hours and forty-five minutes with several short stops. My fuel stop at Clear Lake, IA was strange. The first pump wasn’t working, so I moved to another and that wasn’t working. Finally, another customer informed me that they were out of Regular gas but had plenty of the high test stuff that was $.30 more per gallon.  I went ahead and filled up, deciding that my car might benefit from some premium gas. It sure has been dependable - yes, I just knocked on wood.

It feels good to be back home. My apartment was 88° when I got here, so the AC has been running hard ever since. I got unloaded and unpacked and am relaxing and planning on an early bedtime.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Yesterday morning, Tom and I picked Julie up at her house and we went to Lake Springfield for a hike. It was hot and humid, but a bit cooler in the shady spots along the trail. We met and chatted with a couple of friendly women along the way - one with a cute little rescue dog and the other with some gardening experience and she identified a plant that we were curious about.

Tom wanted to wash the crud off his truck and fill up with gas so he wouldn’t have to worry about it while he was pulling the trailer. When we got back to our site, I took mine out and got it filled up and ready.  While Tom was hooking up and cleaning the tanks, I packed the things that I wouldn’t be needing any more on the trip.

We met Randy and Julie at the Brickyard Brewery for dinner and had a good beer and a really good chat. 

This morning, Randy came over for a final hug and we took a little walk and were on the road by 10:30 with a 4-hour drive ahead of us, in a direct northwest direction - a beautiful drive through the Missouri countryside. We stopped to stretch just outside Clinton and then for gas near Higginsville. The day was beautiful, but pretty hot and humid and we arrived at 2:30. It is a brand new park with nice full hookup sites that all have covered picnic tables and fire pits.  

It’s a beautiful park!

The RV Park’s website gave a warning with alternate routes for RV’s, as there is a narrow and old railroad bridge on the south side of the park and it could not accommodate an RV. We went a few miles out of our way on narrow country roads to approach from the north. Once we saw the bridge, we could understand, although the sign on the bridge said the limit was 12,000 tons.  It was rickety and has a log base that we could hear rattle every time a vehicle went over it.

This is our campsite after dark. Can you spot Frisco?

I am ready to head back home, a 2+ week vacation is enough for me these days. Tom and I have done some fun things and I’ve been able to connect with family that I haven’t seen since pre-COVID times. Life is good!

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

This morning’s news from the Chevy dealer was that the issue with Tom’s Tahoe is the rear differential and they could have it done by Friday afternoon, and would cost in the $2,000 range.  We started to make some alternate plans, most importantly to see if Tom could stay in our current site until Monday, as it is very difficult to find places for the weekend. Annalise, the manager was very accommodating and let us know that staying here would be no problem. I would stick with the original plan and depart on Thursday - not sure if I would drive the entire 9.5 hours in one day or spend the night somewhere in between.

After going for a walk, we went to Walmart so Tom could stock up on some groceries, as he wouldn’t have transportation for a few days.  Randy and Julie both volunteered to help him with rides if he needed it.

We went to Julie’s house later in the afternoon, as she was babysitting for their granddaughter, Maren who is one and a half and I haven’t met her yet. Thanks to Facebook, I get frequent updates and photos from her Mom, Ali. We had fun playing for a while and then her Ali and her big brother Jax and Randy arrived and we played and chatted. Julie surprised us with a pan of lasagna and warm bread in the oven and a wilted lettuce salad ready for us. And brownies to top it off.  What a treat! It was fun to be around little ones again too.

Shortly after we arrived at Julie’s, Tom got a text from the garage saying that they were able to pull some strings, get the needed parts in time, and it would be ready by the end of the day. Woo hoo! We can now carry on with our original plan and head north to Lawson, MO on Thursday where Tom will stay put through the weekend and I will head north to get back home.  

                       Maren was smiling for the camera.  

                                                                                                                   Randy and his grandson Jax.

   She wanted Tom to pick her up and he danced with her - she loved it!

Monday, June 8, 2021

Randy swung by and picked us up at 9:30 yesterday morning and we were on the road heading for an afternoon at Mike and Rene’s near Warsaw.  Along the way, Randy told us about seeing a herd of Camel along the road in the past and sure enough, we spotted a couple of them off in the distance and realized that they were offering rides.  We did a U-turn and went back to check it out.  The owner had been working with camels since he was sixteen years old and they actually have a herd of eighteen but were only working two of them today. Their plan is to start a petting zoo and offer rides on several different animals.  We took a short ride on Dean - a gentle giant - an unexpected adventure and I’m glad that I did it.

We arrived at Rene and Mike’s and I got a long-missed hug from my younger sister. It sure is good to see her and Mike.  We had some good conversation, a couple of beers, the guys shot Randy’s black powder cannon, took a jaunt to the lake until it threatened to rain, and then had some lunch in Mike’s shop where we were protected from that rain.  The afternoon went quick and it was soon time to say goodbye and head on back to Springfield.

Today was an active one - starting with laundry this morning and then Tom was able to get an appointment to have his truck checked out, so in between loads, we dropped it off at a mechanic that Randy and Julie recommended. Back at the trailer, I decided that I hadn’t had a chance to see Julie (she was out of town over the weekend) yet so I texted and learned that she was just hanging out at home. When I got there, I also got to have a bonus visit with their daughter, Lanae. Life is good!

Tom called to let me know that he learned that the truck’s problem is in the differential and they couldn’t do the job, so he had to pick it up and take it to the local Chevy dealer.  I picked him up, we picked the truck up and then took it to Reliable Chevrolet where they can take a look at it tomorrow. We play the wait and see game again.  We were both kind of tired and sick of running, so we picked up some chicken and stayed home, took a nice walk and enjoyed the quiet of our site.

Mavis, this one’s for you! Our site at Ozark Highlands.

Ticks - have I mentioned how many of those little blood sucking pests I have found on me and Frisco (his are dead)? I picked at least 10+ off me in Oklahoma, found a few when we were in Arkansas, and have  also found a few on me here in Missouri. Tom had to pull one off my butt cheek today and then I found another behind my knee when I was visiting with Julie and Lanae. I have also picked up a few Chiggers along the way. What is it that they like about me? Every day I have checked Frisco and shaken his bed and I’ve found several dead ones on there.  Too bad humans can’t be treated for the creepy critters - in my book - the only good tick is a dead tick.

Saturday, June 5, 2021

There we no hurry to be on the road early Friday morning, as we only had a two hour trek to Springfield, MO and we arrived at our campsite by 1:30 and checked in at the Ozark Highlands Mobile and RV Park, a place where Mike and I had stayed many times.  Our site is great - right next to a covered pavilion, the laundry and a restroom.  The pool is right across the street.

Randy came by on his new Indian motorcycle and I finally got a Randy hug after not seeing him for almost three years.  It was nice visiting and catching up with him and we walked over to Freddy’s for a burger.

Today, he and Tom worked on Tom’s controller for his trailer brakes and got that all fixed. There is one more issue that Tom has to deal with next week - a sound in his truck that may be something to be concerned about. Randy has connections, so let’s hope that works out.

Because of Tom’s truck issues, we decided to take a drive up to see Rene and Mike tomorrow. They are in Warsaw, about an hour and a half from here.

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Well....today was another fun day! The weather was predicted to be nice - sunny, warm, and dry, so we decided it would be a good day to sightsee from the trolley. The Blue Route trolley picked us up and took us to the downtown transit station. We walked the streets of downtown, checked out some of the historic buildings, strolled through some of the shops and had a cocktail and some lunch at The Eureka Grill. We chose the first item on their list of specials - the Pimiento Cheese Spread with Bread and Butter Pickles and crackers - a strange choice that turned out to be delicious and quite satisfying.

We then got back on the Red Trolley that took us to the main transit station and transferred to the Blue Trolley to take us back toward our RV park, but got off at the Keel’s Winery for some sampling and a relaxing glass of wine. It was only a short wait for the Trolley again and it dropped us off at the Kettle RV Park. It was a nice day of exploring Eureka Springs, such a quaint town and a nice destination, but I’m ready to move on - a few hours of shopping is enough for me.

Pizza delivery from Pizza Hut was dinner and we got to sit at the picnic  table and enjoy dinner at our pretty site. 

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Since we only have two days here in Eureka Springs and it is still cloudy with the chance of a thunderstorm, we decided to do some hiking today and some driving.  First, we drove down the Passion Play road to the site of the event center where a cast of 150+ actors and dozens of animals perform in an outdoor drama that brings the Bible to life. It is a huge attraction and shows are held on weekends only right now, so we parked and walked around to see the giant statue of Christ of the Ozark.

From there, we turned onto Magnetic Road and stopped at the Magnetic Spring, one of 16 in the area, and walked around and tasted the water. We even filled a bottle to take with us, all I can say is that it had a bit of flavor, unlike the filtered and bottled water that we drink.  Legend has it that back in the day, the spring water could turn any metal piece magnetic and it was also known to cure a range of illnesses including addictions. 

Back on the road, we headed west on Highway 62 that took us to Lake Leatherwood City Park, a huge park with lots of hiking and biking trails.  Many of the structures in the park were built in the 1920s by the WPA. This guy greeted us at the park’s entrance.

We walked the Beacham Trail along the western edge of the lake to the dam, about 2.5 miles round trip.  Most of the trail was gravel and led us to the dam (it was closed) and since they have had so much rain around here, there was water running along and across the trail in many places. It was a nice hike and Frisco was a trooper except for going uphill on the return trip.

You can walk across the dam, it was closed today.

This guy watched us from a safe distance.

The last item on the agenda today was to drive to Black Bass Lake where we walked the Sycamore Trail to the dam again and found another spring along the way. The path was lined with beautiful wildflowers in many places.