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About this blog

An account of our travels and tribulations.

Entries in this blog

 

We Journey North

Friday, April 4, 2014. We drove a short distance into Brisbane and made a quick stop at Britz to deal with several nagging problems with the campervan. That done, we left the city about noon headed north toward Cairns, a city on the northeast coast of Australia. At Cairns the famous Barrier Reef is closest to the coast and is thus most accessible. We hope to spend several days exploring this wonderful natural feature. The challenge is that the distance from Brisbane to Cairns is a daunting
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Another Leg on Our Summer Journey

After a three week stay in eastern Missouri at my daughter's home we were preparing to leave. After unplugging the coach I started the generator. Just as it was switching the current over to the generator it died. The error code indicated an overheat condition. It was a very warm day but we could get by without the air conditioners running so I decided to let this ride for now and investigate at our next stop. While on the way to Independence, on the other side of the state, I pondered how
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Kentucky Roads

Out of Foristell, Missouri, headed to London, Kentucky, we had fine weather, plenty warm, and lots of clouds. Traffic moved well, lots of road repair. Looking for Wayne77590 but no connection. He left Kentucky heading up I-64 for Missouri. We had corresponded via messages on FMCA Community but just couldn't make a meeting work for us. Our departure was delayed by an awning repair. We got away from the repair shop about 2:00 p.m. It turns out Wayne was pulling into an RV park in Villa Ridge, Miss
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Leaving Alice Springs

I hadn’t looked at a map for a while so I pulled out a map to see where our coming journey would take us. I had a general idea but the specifics were foggy. The first thing I looked for and found was the Tropic of Capricorn. How close were we to the tropics? Well, it turns out we were really close. Alice Springs is only slightly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. We would cross back into the tropics in about 60 kilometers when we left town in the morning. In fact, the marker for the Tropic
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A First Encounter with the Australian Rainforest

Wednesday April 2, 2014. We’re near the end of the New England Highway and we want to make our way to the coast. Looking at all the opportunities, we decide to make a stop at Mt. Tambourine National Park which is south of Brisbane. The attraction there that drew our attention was a Rainforest Walkway. Without knowing much more than that, we left Rochedale headed north on the final leg of the New England Highway before turning off onto the Scenic Rim Highway. This heads east through a calder
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Another Foreign Adventure - Italy in a campervan

Another Foreign Adventure - Italy in a campervan

It is Saturday afternoon, May 21, 2022.  We are in Chioggia, Italy.  It is a beach town south of Venice.  How we got here is a long story.  I'll begin with our flight from the US. Our flight from McAllen was an early one, we left Sandpipiers Resort at 5:30 a.m. for a 30 minute drive to the airport.  Check in was a mess.  There was a line until things got stopped up, only two agents and both had customers with problems.  Skipping details, they held the plane for Louise and I and one other cust
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Cairns

Our first day in Cairns is dedicated to catching up with laundry and getting to know the town. While doing laundry we discussed our plans for our stay. The Great Barrier Reef is one of our prime objectives. One travel brochure we picked up in the park office has an item I was interested in learning more about. It was a an offering of the Down Under Dive company to certify for open water SCUBA in a four day course. The course involved two days of tests and preliminary training followed by tw
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Stuff

Do you have stuff? We have stuff! George Carlin used to do a routine on stuff. He had stuff, but he had another s word for other people's stuff. George was probably right, we have too much stuff. Andy Rooney, are you reading this? Louise and I are coming in off the road. In July of 2001 we moved into a 1994 Monaco Dynasty (no slides) and we've been living on the road ever since. This fall Louise decided we needed a home, so like a good husband I set about working on the project. We knew where
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Mossman Gorge

To the north of Cairns is one of the prime rain forest sites on the eastern coast of Australia. There are many other sites but those are further north and there are no roads that can be traveled in all weather conditions with less than four wheel drive vehicles. Mossman Gorge is in Daintree National Park just north of Port Douglas. The gorge itself lies within Aborigine land and the concession at the gorge is run by the Aborigine community. The eighty kilometer (about 48 miles) drive from C
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The Long Haul to Katherine

North of Tennant Creek is Three Ways, a small community near the junction of the Barkly Highway which we drove from Mount Isa to Tennant Creek several weeks before and the Stuart Highway which we are now taking on north toward Darwin. When we passed Three Ways we were in new territory again. As we drove along you could tell that there had been quite a lot of rain lately. We were seeing water standing in creek beds that would normally be dry. Further north the vegetation became thicker with l
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Take Away Our Motor Home and We're Homeless!

We have moved in with my mother! A failure at 63! No, not really, just a temporary setback. We're having some painting done on the motor home and it has been in the shop for three days now. I just talked to Mark at First Class Fiberglass in St. Peters, Mo., and he has promised to be done about noon tomorrow. We'll be glad to get our little home back again. We have one more repair to accomplish and that is to get the KVH dish fixed. It quit working several weeks ago. I think we are lined up to
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Leaving Adelaide Going East

A good drive from Adelaide takes us to Renmark on the Murray River. The Murray is the largest river in Australia. North of Adelaide it has high cliffs which overlook its large valley. Our park on Monday night was right on the river. In fact they had canoes which we rented to do some paddling on the Murray. There are larger boats on the Murray, the river has many houseboats plying the waters. One passed while we were launching our canoe. Meanwhile, in the campground, children were playing
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F M C A Bowling Green - Monday, July 20, 2009

It is hard to describe the wonder of watching close to 3000 motor homes assemble in one place in a matter of two days or so. Think of the dynamics of it, a city of 6000+ people (official estimate) and 1000+ dogs (my estimate) and who knows how many cats, suddenly assemble in one place. For the most part we are self sufficient. Sure, some of us have an electric supply but we could do without it. It really is quite an amazing event simply to watch the parking lots fill with motor homes and fin
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Geikie Gorge

Fitzroy Crossing is named for the place where people could ford the Fitzroy River. The Fitzroy River has cut a deep gorge to the north of this area which made crossing in that area impossible. Exiting the gorge the river deposits huge amounts of sand after each flood. Choked by all the sand, the Fitzroy River fans out into multiple channels which would make crossing the river difficult because the multiple channels are constantly shifting. After each flood the channels would move as sand was
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Preparing for Departure

The weather is taking one last lash at us. Temperatures have been in the high 90s and into the 100s the last three days. Friday and Saturday are forecast to be in the 100s and then we should see cooler temperatures for the remainder of our stay here in Missouri. My right knee was replaced on July 28 and is now 5 weeks old. I'll see the surgeon for the 6 week check on September 7 and then we are leaving. I will need to come back for a 12 week check and will do that by flying back to St. Louis fo
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It's a Great Life

I was standing at the window of our daughter's home looking at our motor home parked in their driveway. I was baby-sitting two of our grandchildren, the payment we make for camping in our daughter's campground. I do the early shift because our son-in-law and daughter leave for work earlier than Louise likes to rise and shine. I enjoy the early shift. If I'm quiet, the children will sleep until my shift is over. I can use the time to read the paper and catch up on my computer communications. Any
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Day 3 on the Road to Cairns

Sunday, April 6, 2014. Our travels north continue. Leaving Mackay we drove on almost until noon. Our lunch stop was a park in a small town, Ayr. Louise fixed sandwiches while I went in search of a restroom. The restrooms were behind the information booth so I stopped in there to see the two ladies who were sitting outside in front of the building this sunny warm day. We talked, they inquired about our travels and then loaded me up with information both verbal and written. One of the ladie
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Well We Missed Wellington

On Saturday, February 8 we woke to rain and heavy low clouds. Our plans had been to drive from Rotorua to the National Park and do some hiking and sightseeing around the mountain territory in the center of the North Island. Since the scenery would be hidden and hiking in a constant rain would not be our idea of fun, we decided to turn the day into a travel day. We needed to be in Wellington on Sunday night so we could get on the Interislander Ferry to the South Island at 9:00 a.m. on Monday
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A season of bicycle rides. Part 1

Each season we participate in many activities at our winter home, Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. One of my favorites is the weekly bicycle ride. Most of our rides originate as a car trip from the park to a location where we ride for several hours and then return to our cars and travel to a unique restaurant for lunch. In the process we explore nature areas, state parks and wildlife refuges. We also visit cities in Texas and in Mexico. Tomorrow will be the last ride of the season. To
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Over the River and Through the Mountains

For a week we’ve been following the Murray River east from Adelaide toward the Great Dividing Range, the mountains which feed the headwaters of the Murray. The Murray also is the boundary between the state of Victoria and the state of New South Wales. Thus we’ve been exploring both the northern part of Victoria and seeing the territory of New South Wales across the river. As we leave Wodonga we are headed east into the Snowy Mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range. Historically, this rang
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And Then the Rains Came

We’ve had a very dry trip, only a couple of days of rain in New Zealand and nothing to speak of in Australia. That all changed on Tuesday, March 25. As I was doing the final outdoor tasks getting ready to leave our campground in Eden in New South Wales (NSW) I noticed a little mist in the air. The clouds were dark and heavy and the forecast for several days had called for rain. We planned to drive along the Sapphire Coast as it is known. There are designated tourist routes which have histor
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A season of bicycle rides. Part 2

Our bicycle rides from our winter retreat take us to many places. We visit a number of wildlife parks that feature a wide array of animals. If you look at a map of Texas and find the southern tip, you will see that it is well south of much of Mexico. Many animals from Central America make their way as far North as the Rio Grande River Valley. As a result this area is known for its variety of animals. We aren't the only snow birds here. Many bird species that summer in the Arctic spend thei
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We Have Turkeys

We are currently in the gold hills of California near the town of San Andreas. The abundance of turkeys in this area is amazing! Today we were sitting outside beside the motorhome and I saw a turkey fly by behind Louise, along the main entrance to the park. It landed within view and then circled around the motorhome next to us and back up the road behind me. We went to look and there was a whole flock, more than 20 turkeys. They were just across the road from us. This flock wanders through the
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No good deed goes unpunished!

We arrived in Denver last Monday to help care for Louise's mother who had a heart attack, angioplasty and a stent inserted into an artery to resolve the situation. She had great care at Exempla-Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge and even at age 88 was able to leave the hospital on Wednesday. We took her home to Louise's youngest sisters home. Louise's sister took her mother in five years ago when she could no longer live alone. Mom has been able to care for herself during the day while the res
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Finding New Friends

Leaving Haast, we immediately stopped to pick up a couple of hitchhikers. This isn’t something you’d do in the US but here in New Zealand there are lots of young people who are out and exploring. There were two young men along the road just as we were picking up speed so we stopped and took them down the road to their next destination. They were college students from Holland. Both were civil engineering majors. They have finished their third year and are taking a 5 month break before finish
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