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tbutler

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  1. tbutler
    Yesterday Louise and I played golf.  As we started the back nine, I noticed the last quarter Moon high in the western sky.  You can see the Moon in the morning sky before sunrise.  It will be visible in the morning sky and even in the afternoon for the next few days.  As it creeps closer to the Sun, it will be more difficult to find, a smaller crescent in the brightest part of the sky, near the Sun. 
    On Thursday morning the waning crescent Moon will be above and to the right of a bright object in the pre-dawn sky, the planet Venus.  Look again on Friday morning and you will be able to gauge how far the Moon travels in it's orbit in one day.  The Moon will still be above and right of Venus but much closer on Friday Morning.  By Saturday morning, the Moon will be almost directly below Venus.  You would have to look very closely on Sunday morning to find the thin waning crescent Moon.  Not only will the Moon be just over 1 day's travel in it's orbit from the Sun, you would only be able to see it in the light of dawn if you had a near perfect eastern horizon.  Any hills, buildings or trees will block your view. 
    On Monday, eclipse day, if you are in that narrow ribbon where the total eclipse will be seen, you should be able to find Venus to the west of the Sun.  Even those seeing a near total eclipse (partial eclipse) may be able to find Venus as the maximum eclipse occurs at their location.  If you know where to look, the planet Venus is visible in full daylight if it is far enough from the Sun in the sky.  If you can find the Moon during the day on Thursday you may be able to use it as a guide to viewing Venus during full daylight.
    There will be another planet easily visible during the total eclipse.  That planet is the largest of the planets in our solar system, Jupiter.  Jupiter is visible in the evening just above the horizon in the western sky.  So Jupiter is east of the Sun.  During the Eclipse you should see Jupiter east of the eclipsed Sun.  Those with a deep partial eclipse may also notice Jupiter to the east of the Sun, not far away.  If you are looking for the planets during a partial eclipse.  Take off you eclipse glasses, block the sun with your hand, a piece of paper or another object.  Be sure to keep the Sun covered as you search the sky near the Sun for Venus and Jupiter.  Never look directly at the Sun without eclipse glasses.
    We are camped on the high plains in Eastern Colorado.  Our weather has featured fairly frequent afternoon and evening storms.  This has been pretty consistent since we arrived on August 1.  Areas where we plan to go had thunderstorms early this morning.  The forecast for now seems to be improving for those areas (Casper, WY or Scottsbluff, NE).  As eclipse day approaches I'll be watching the weather, on my smart phone and tablet as well as on the weather channels (WEA - The Weather Channel and WN - Weather Now).  For the moment, we are planning on a car trip from our current location but if we have to travel further for clear skies we may leave the campground on Saturday or Sunday.  Given two days we could roam from western Oregon to eastern Missouri.  That is what I want, maximum mobility and the clearest skies I can find. 
    I wish clear skies and good viewing to all.
     
  2. tbutler
    I had to check my last blog entry to see when it was posted.  It was September 6, not quite three months ago.  Since then we have been on the go...
    We spent a month with our daughter and her family in California.  Our granddaughters are growing up fast but a few golden moments still to go.  We took them to a working farm.  A 1940's version of a poor working farm.  We slept in the rehabbed chicken coup.  The girls fed the cows, gathered the eggs, bottle fed some really large calves, made friends with an aging bull that was as big as a house, well, maybe a chicken coup.  The girls loved the tire swing and the adopted kittens.  Thankfully they didn't ask to take them home. 
    During our stay in California I spent several days communicating with everyone in government I could to convince them to get on top of the situation in Puerto Rico following hurricane Maria.  My comments were the same that I heard from numerous others, this was an extreme circumstance.  The nature of the island and the near total destruction was going to make recovery here much more difficult than any other area.  Today as I write this, most of the island remains without electrical power and hundreds of thousands of island residents have left the island and come to the mainland US, mostly to Florida.  There are many in and near Houston and throughout Florida who are dealing with the aftermath of Harvey and Irma yet today.  They are so much better off than those in Puerto Rico.  Roads and bridges remain out of service.  Food and water are difficult to get in many locations.  Huge numbers of people are living in what remains of their homes with no hope of secure shelter in the near future.  Give what you can to agencies involved in hurricane relief. 
    Our return trip from California has lately involved a trip north to Elkton, Oregon to the Oh-Ho (the Oregon House) for a week with the above family.  This year they were off to Mexico and we got relieved of grandparent duty a week early so we made plans to attend an event we haven't been able to see in 16 years on the road.  We were able to get last minute reservations with the Monaco International Chapter of FMCA to attend the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.  I can spell it without looking it up or playing word check lotto - now.  We invited our friends, former FMCA members, now without the big wheels, to join us at the Fiesta.  Five days dry camping with four adults on board - and we loved it!  The event is spectacular.  We were parked four rows back from the launch field.  Our gathering point for meals and socializing was right on the front line.  I attended most launches and recoveries.  I was hooked.  If you attend, and if you love balloons for the flying or the beauty or the excitement of the launch and recovery, you will love it also.  There were 550 balloons this year and most launched in the morning and returned by noon.  The evening glow is fun, no flying but great chance to visit with pilots and crews.
    We left Albuquerque buoyed by the events of the five days at the Fiesta.  We paced ourselves across west Texas and headed for Corpus Christi.  Since 2012 I have been active in a group called Texas Master Naturalist.  Formed from a splinter group from the Master Gardner group in San Antonio in 1998, the Texas Master Naturalist program has expanded to more than 40 chapters state-wide.  Each year there is a statewide meeting of participants.  In years past the meeting has been at remote resorts near interesting nature sites.  As the size of the organization increased, the character of these meeting has changed.  This year almost 600 Texas Master Naturalists gathered at the Corpus Christi Omni Hotel.  I have attended several of these events and enjoy the chance to meet and talk with Texas Master Naturalists from other areas and learn about what they are doing.  We spent the weekend of October 20 - 22 in Corpus Christi before making the trip to our winter retreat in Edinburg, Texas.
    So now we're home.  Unpacking, cleaning up our mobile home residence, settling in to our winter routine.  We have excellent lawn care during the summer but now that's my job.  Lots of little things like having the air conditioner serviced, loading the refrigerator, turning on the DirecTV receivers, getting caught up with six months mail that has been stored.  We have the letter stuff delivered but the rest sits in a container waiting for our return.  I have created our bicycle ride schedule for the park, Louise has conducted her first book club meeting.  Louise spend a weekend in Austin for her retirement occupation, the Texas Silver Haired Legislature, a senior citizen group organized to promote and look out for the interests of senior citizens.  She is very good at this. 
    So the holidays are upon us.  We will bicycle South Padre Island Tuesday this week.  We play golf on Monday, I bowl in a league (as a substitute for a friend) on Wednesday, Thursday is a day of leisure for me, my chance to mow the lawn.  Louise plays cards with groups of ladies whenever she has a chance.  Friday our park bowling league begins it's season with an organizational meeting.  The weekend?  This weekend we are painting the deck and porch.  With luck, we'll have that finished tomorrow.
    I spent last Sunday helping band birds, a citizen science activity.  We capture birds in mist nets, the birds are measured and weighed and tagged with a leg band and released.  If or when they are recaptured, we learn about their travels, habits, age, and many other possible bits of information.  It is basic avian research.  The kind of thing that professional scientists are too busy to do.  The professionals are delighted to have the data.  They, their graduate students, and others use the data to increase our understanding of the life of birds.  This is one of my volunteer activities for the Texas Master Naturalist program.  I will attend a chapter meeting Monday night and will receive my re-certification pin for 2017.  Re-certification requires eight hours of advanced training and 40 hours of volunteer work each year. 
    Retired?  Yes.  How else would I be able to do all this?
     
  3. tbutler
    In the 2001 movie, Rat Race, Kathy Bates tries to sell a squirrel to Whoopi Goldberg and her daughter.  They defer but ask Kathy Bates for directions.  Being a race, they are traveling at breakneck speed down one road after another following the directions.  Finally at one point, hurtling down a gravel road with dust billowing behind they pass a sign:  "You Should Have Bought a Squirrel."  That is followed by a scene of them going over a cliff, landing on a pile of rusted and wrecked cars.  It is one of our favorite moments in a favorite movie.  It is also a quote we use frequently as we travel, not only on the road but through life.  One or the other of us will turn to the other and say, "We should have bought a squirrel." 
    Our travels this spring have brought back that saying frequently.  It starts with a problem that I've been trying to get fixed all winter.  Repeated visits to repair shops still yields no solution.  We have no taillights.  The turn signals and brake lights work.  The emergency flashers work.  We still have no taillights.  So we are restricting our travel to daylight only.  For the most part, that isn't a problem since I have avoided night travel for the last several years. 
    Given that condition, we departed early on the morning of April 18 to attend the Lone Star Chapter of FMCA rally in Johnson City, TX.  Arriving there just after noon, we parked.  I went to step out of the coach and found that the electric step hadn't opened fully.  After stepping out of the coach carefully, I examined the step to find that a link from the motor to the step was missing.  Not broken, it was gone!  I carry a separate step for those days when the front of the coach is raised well above the ground.  So we used that step for the rally.  I used zip ties to fasten the disabled step in the retracted position for travel to our next destination, Austin. 
    Monday I had an appointment to get two new Michelin tires mounted on the coach.  I have adopted the practice of replacing the front tires every two years and then moving the used front tires to the rear, both tires replace the oldest pair of rear dual tires.  In this case, the coach wasn't in a shop, the work was done outside the shop so I had complete access to the coach and could talk with the workers. An aside, I have yet to find a tire tech who knows how to properly torque a lug nut.
    As they were mounting the tires on the rims, I inspected the brake rotors and gave the underside of the front of the coach a good looking-over.  Peering into the area behind the drivers-side tire I noticed something strange.  There was a large object dangling there in the center of the coach.  I recognized this as the supplementary air compressor which is part of the HWH air leveling system.  It maintains our  level position when we are parked and it was still working.
    The pump and it's mounting plate weighed at least 30 pounds and they were hanging by the air hoses (2) and the electrical supply and control wires.  Had this dropped off en-route, who knows what would have been destroyed in the process.  After bouncing along under the coach, it would have encountered our GMC Acadia!  I considered myself very lucky, fortunate to have found this dangerous  condition.  I found a large C-clamp in my tools and was able to clamp the remaining mounting plate to the frame.  I've added a second clamp to help secure the assembly just to be sure. 
    I have an appointment at the factory service center to get this properly remounted but we will travel at least 1500 miles before that happens.  I'm not going to turn over welding on the frame to just anyone.  What had happened to the original mounting plate?  It had cracked, all the way across a 3/8" steel plate that was about 10" wide.  Apparently 170,000 miles of highway travel had vibrated it to the point that it broke!  The piece that was welded to the frame is still there and it matches the piece that broke off.  Metal fatigue had nearly done us in.
    I ordered a rebuild kit for the Kwikee Step, new motor, linkage, control center, it was all different since our step was new.  I was able to successfully install that at home before we left for the summer on May 5.  Our second day out we stopped at an RV park in eastern Louisiana.  The next morning, Louise cranked the engine to air up in preparation for bringing our slides in before departure.  She turned the key, the engine answered, "Uggg."  I stopped my disconnecting process to go inside and jump the engine battery with the house batteries.  Successful, I went back outside to finish getting us road ready.  Before leaving we decided to run the generator but the house batteries didn't have the umph to crank the generator!  So with the engine now running I jumped the house batteries with the engine battery.  The generator started.
    Now with everything running, I got on the computer and then the phone to call a RV shop along our route.  With luck, I called Billy Thibodeauxs Premier RV Inc. near Lafayette, Louisiana.  Finding the shop was an adventure, if you decide to follow in our footsteps, check their website for the best route to get there.  Ashley was very friendly and efficient.  By the time we arrived just before noon I was informed that the batteries would be delivered to the shop by 1:30 p.m. and they would install them as soon as they arrived.  Believe it or not, we were back on the road by 3:00 p.m., $1900 lighter but with good batteries.
    Leaving I-10 for I-59, we left the heavy traffic behind and pulled into a truck parking area just before sunset (remember our coach turns to a pumpkin after sunset).  Our final adventure for the initial trip occurred in Chattanooga, TN.  Passing through town on I-59/I-24 to get to I-75, we were in the center lane of rush hour traffic.  Coming down a hill I applied the brakes as traffic came to a stop.  The fuel in the fuel tank sloshed to the front and the engine stopped!  Yes, I knew we were low on fuel, a station was just up the road on I-75 and we planned to make that stop our night stay at Walmart.  I tried to restart the engine, no luck.  Whoever was behind us on the right side must have realized our situation because they stopped to allow us to coast down the hill through the right hand lane to the shoulder.  I came to a stop just before an overpass but on level ground.  Now on the level, the engine started.  I wondered how long that would last but pulled back onto the highway and we continued on.  Now I stayed in the right lane.
    Looking for the Walmart and the accompanying Murphy station, we came up empty.  It wasn't where the GPS led us.  I had established several years before that Murphy isn't a subsidiary of Walmart and there are stations that are located at separate locations.  It turned out the station was there but Walmart wasn't.  As we passed it later, I looked and it would have been a difficult in and out for us.
    Passing the location, we noticed a small station on the opposite side of the street.  They had  diesel and at the same price as Murphy.  We frequently patronize small stations but I do approach them with extreme caution.  The canopy has high enough, the in and out route was do-able so we looped through a large parking lot and returned to that station. 
    Louise got out to scout for the diesel pump as I idled on the road in position to pull up to the diesel pump wherever it was.  She signaled a location and I pulled in.  I put 109 gallons of diesel in a 127 gallon tank.  I had to laugh when I retrieved my credit card and got the fuel receipt from the clerk in the Citgo station.  We had refueled at the "Save a Ton #2" in Chattanooga!  I thought,  "That little station saved us a lot more than a ton!"  By the way, I think I made the foreign clerk's (owner?) day when he handed me my card and receipt for $291.34.  What a big smile.  And no, he didn't furnish his house with my credit card.  Good people are everywhere!  I love it when trust is rewarded.
    During the winter we had the coach in the shop several times.  The Aladdin system monitors our fuel very accurately but this time it was off by more than normally expected.  We had run the generator quite a bit, that might account for some of the difference.  So maybe I should have bought a squirrel. 
  4. tbutler
    Let me introduce our motor home, VGER.  VGER is named for the villainous character in the first of the Star Trek movies.  VGER has been in our family going on 15 years this summer.  It (VGER was an it) was purchased at a Monaco Come Home Rally in Raine, LA.  We traded in a 10 year old Monaco we had purchased as a used coach in the spring of 2001.  We sold our home and moved into that used coach full time on July 7, 2001.  VGER was purchased new, 1235.4 miles on the odometer when we took possession on November 14, 2003.  Today it has 177,326.1 miles on the odometer. 
    From November 2003 until October 2010, we lived in VGER full time.  Starting in the fall of 2010, we move into a mobile home each fall and move back into VGER each spring.  When in VGER, we travel.  A long stay is on the order of 3 to 4 weeks.  Those stays are when we are visiting our children and grandchildren.  Once a year we move into our children's neighborhoods and become neighbors for a period of time.  In between time we follow our noses.  We've visited 49 states and 12 provinces in Canada. 
    We have begun slowly remodeling VGER.  Carpeting, lights, some furniture, plumbing and more.  Some of the remodeling has been out of necessity some just to keep the coach looking modern.  Our work continued this summer, right up to the time we found our next motor home.  While at Gillette, first at the Monaco International pre-rally and finally at the FMCA Convention, we purchased a 2015 Monaco Dynasty.  The Windsor is up for sale, look for the ad in the Family RV'ing Magazine (FMCA) January issue.
    We transferred the license from the Windsor to the Dynasty, VGER lives on.  Since the purchase we have put 4500 miles on the Dynasty and are enjoying many of it's features.  There is a trade-off when moving from a 40' coach to a 45' coach.  The two are not directly comparable as they are of a different age. 
    Right away we realized that the relative frugality of the Windsor was dramatically different from the Dynasty.  Fuel mileage dropped from 8.3 with the Windsor to 6.5 with the Dynasty.  That was no surprise, I figured it might even be lower.  The Dynasty has an Aqua-Hot for hot water and heat.  Both run off the fuel tank as does the generator.  With the Windsor only the generator shared the fuel tank.  With all these uses for the diesel fuel, I have lost the ability to get a true mileage performance figure. 
    Due to the demand for electric, we have an induction cooktop, the Dynasty really needs to be plugged in regularly.  The generator will run things but using the generator extensively is an expensive proposition.  The water and waste tanks are roughly the same size as the Windsor but the water usage in the Dynasty is going to be greater.  The toilets use significantly more water with each flush.  The shower has a rain shower head which is a big water user.  That means we will have to be hooked up every two or three days.  With the Windsor we were able to go close to a week without hook-ups and longer if we really needed to stretch it.
    When we pulled up to our home at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas we faced another challenge.  Our parking space is adjacent to our mobile home.  The driveway barely accommodated the length of the Windsor with our toad parked behind.  I knew that and planned to park the toad cross-way in the driveway, that worked fine.  We also had to maneuver a longer coach onto the driveway.  The park road is fairly narrow and there is no way to run off on the opposite side.  We always had to make three or four passes to jockey the Windsor into the driveway.  I didn't even know if we could get the Dynasty  into the driveway.  As it turned out, we made it, a few more passes than the Windsor.  With all the slides open we have about 6 inches between the Dynasty and the roof of the mobile home.  Whew! That is close. 
    Surprisingly, the space in the storage bays is less in the Dynasty than the Windsor.  Some of our gear made the trip home in the toad rather than in the storage bays.  We'll go through some winnowing of our gear before departing next spring.  All in all we are quite happy with our new VGER and as we get to know it better I'm certain we'll continue to look back to the Windsor with many happy memories while enjoying the luxury of the Dynasty.
  5. tbutler
    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 give you some insight into some of our winter activities, I'll describe a few of these rides.
    Rio Rico is an interesting town just across the Rio Grande River. In fact, the Rio Grande River used to be on the south side of Rio Rico. At that time it was part of the United States. Now it is in Mexico. The land was formally ceded to Mexico in the 1977. We park our cars on border at Progreso, Texas, and cross into Mexico on our bicycles. From Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, we ride East on a gravel road for about four miles to reach Rio Rico. Rio Rico is a small, poor community. There is a school and several churches. The children are out of school for a holiday and they come to visit us as we ride through town. We resolve to bring school supplies on our next visit to Rio Rico. When we return to Progreso we go to Arribas Restaurant and enjoy a Mexican meal on the patio as music plays inside.
    In the small town of Los Ebanos, Texas is another border crossing into Mexico. There is no bridge here, only a small ferry that holds three automobiles. The ferry is attached to cables and is pulled across the river by hand. Pedestrians may assist in pulling the ferry but usually only the tourists do so. We can get about 20 bicycles on the ferry alongside the three cars. Across the river a two mile bicycle ride into the town of Diaz Ordiz takes about 20 minutes for our group. We ride through town seeing homes and businesses. On occasion we have stopped at a bakery for some cookies. The church on the square has been remodeled and we enjoy touring the building. The priest visits with us explaining that the vast improvements were possible with a donation of a church member. After our ride through town we arrive at a favorite restaurant. Villarta features seafood. The menu is in English for us but the waiter speaks very little English. Service is good and the prices are very reasonable. Everyone enjoys eating at Villarta. We return to the ferry for the ride back to our cars.
    About an hours drive West of Edinburg, Texas is the town of Rio Grande City. We park our cars at the Lacks furniture store on a remote corner of their large parking lot. The manager is friendly and happy to give us permission to park there. We ride across the bridge on our bicycles and then four miles into the town of Carmargo, Mexico. We ride through town to a small footbridge where we cross over a stream and then stop for a rest. Those who want some refreshment can stop in the small store and purchase a Coke or a cervesa (beer). We resume the ride to a small village, Villa Nueva. It was founded after people fled Carmargo to escape a flood. After several years without more floods people moved back into Carmargo. There are large abandoned stone buildings and a scattering of small homes. We stop to visit the school. Everyone has brought school supplies to leave with the staff at the school. This has been a tradition of our bicycle rides for at least seven years. Today the children are out for recess following their lunch time. Children swarm us as we arrive. They extend their hand and say, "Good morning," even if it is the afternoon. A teacher explains that they have their English class in the morning so they know good morning. The principal and teachers visit with us and take us through the buildings. We leave them with a teachers desk piled high with paper, crayons, pencils and pens and many other resources. Lunch this day is at El Johnny, a very nice Mexican Restaurant. Here the menu is in Spanish and we all collaborate to interpret the choices. Everyone enjoys their food. We travel back through town and then over the bridge to the US. Each of these three towns are totally different than the typical tourist border town. There are no shops for tourists here and the restaurants are patronized by the local populace.
    We take one tour to South Padre Island, riding from one end of the tourist area to the other. Everywhere we see the damage done by Hurricane Dolly in mid-summer 2008. Roof repair continues everywhere even though nearly five months have passed since the hurricane. We pause to watch dolphins leaping in the bow wave of a passing ship. Admission to the state park is free for bicyclists. We ride past a beach that has only a few hardy people on such a cool day. During the winter, the town is quiet and restaurants are glad to see us. We enjoy some fresh fish at Dirty Al's. Al is dirty, not the restaurant! Good food at reasonable prices.
    Another trip we cycle around Port Isabel. We see the old Yacht Club now being remodeled and turned into a hotel. The owners give us a tour and talk about some of the history of the old building. A side swing drawbridge takes across the ship channel where we can see the shrimping fleet in dock. At the end of the road we can see the causeway to South Padre Island. Our leader describes the events of several years ago when a barge traveling the intercoastal waterway hit one of the bridge piers and knocked down a whole section of the bridge. Several people drove off the high bridge during the night before authorities were notified and closed the bridge. South Padre businesses were severely affected by the loss of their connection to the mainland.
    These are just a few of our bicycle rides. We enjoy exploring South Texas and Mexico, meeting people and learning about the history of the area.
  6. tbutler
    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 rest of the family works. Now, that has changed if only temporarily. Her mobility is down, her medications are up and she needs help with simple tasks. We are filling the gap providing "day care" for her while she recovers from her surgery. What happens when we leave depends on how well she recovers.
    Now if you have been watching the news, you know that a major winter storm has been slowly moving across the mountain states. Forecasts for Denver ranged from a foot of snow to as much as 24 inches. Mountain areas got plenty of snow and I-70 across the mountains was closed due to avalanche danger. There was an avalanche on one of the smaller highways in Colorado. It took two cars off the road but luckily no major injuries. For us the rain started on Friday morning. We drove north to pick up Mom for a doctors visit. When we got to their house about five miles north, they had three inches of snow already.
    We are staying at The Prospect RV Park in Wheat Ridge, a suburb of Denver. It's not fancy but very affordable and close to where Mom is staying. Friday morning the rain had formed a small lake near the rear of our motor home. We have water and electric but no sewer on this site. The manger, Nancy, has promised us a site with a sewer connection as soon as one is available. Meanwhile we are showering at Louise's sisters house.
    We took Mom to the doctor and returned home. The blanket of wet snow on the driveway almost prevented us from making it up the incline into the garage. After getting Mom settled in the warm house I went out to shovel the driveway. The snow was coming down in large heavy wet flakes. It wasn't long before everything I wore was wet. About halfway through the job, my nephew Frank came home and pitched in shoveling. Between the two of us the driveway, walk and porch were cleared in short order. I love shoveling snow so much, I may give up the full time life and buy a house way up north somewhere - NOT!
    After an early dinner, we headed for home. I spent ten minutes wiping snow off the Trailblazer, put it in 4WD and started to back away from the curb in front of the house. The roadway slopes down into the gutter at the curb and the slick wet snow under the tires was now ice. I could get the Trailblazer to move but the front tires just slid, I couldn't get it to turn away from the curb. I loaded up our gear and Louise and tried going forward but no luck. I got the shovel and cleared a path behind the rear wheels - no luck. So I dug out all four wheels and finally freed ourselves from the curb. The residential street was deep in slushy snow but the 4WD handled it nicely. Once we made it back to the main roads, they were clear enough to make travel easier. The rest of the trip back to Prospect RV was uneventful. When we arrived I saw that the small lake at the rear of the RV was now a large lake. The only place to park the car was right next to our front door. Even then, we were in the shallows of the lake when we got out of the car.
    The snow on our roof blocked the satellite dome and we were reduced to watching local TV. This morning the rain resumed and warmer temperatures (it's almost 40 now) have cleared the snow off the satellite dome. Louise is enjoying West Side Story on the encore drama channel. Except for snow on the roofs the area here at Prospect RV is now a big wet lake. We have been reassured that it will soak into the ground quickly but it is still raining. Warm weather later this week will bring relief and we'll be able to get around the motor home but for now we are staying inside rather than wading out! It isn't this wet in Denver normally so everyone here is glad to see the moisture. We didn't get the huge snowfall that was forecast but what we did get has certainly made a mess. It was just a matter of a few degrees. If the rain we got, an inch and a half today alone, had been snow we'd be buried now! So no matter how bad it is, it could have been much worse.
  7. tbutler
    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 their winters in South Texas. The Rio Grande Valley is a mecca for bird enthusiasts. This is the only place in the U.S. to see many of the birds that are here. These are a few of the places we visit on our bicycle rides.
    There are a series of locations that have been designated World Birding Centers all along the Gulf Coast of Texas. These extend up the Rio Grande River as well. On our bike rides we visit a number of these parks. The Bentsen World Birding Center near Mission, TX is a particularly rich environment for birds and other animals. Javalina are common and some members of our group have spotted Bobcats as well. There are numerous feeding stations throughout the park. Chachalaca, a raucous large bird similar to a chicken, travel in flocks. Catch a group of them at a feeder and you will see some entertainment! Many of the feeders here have blinds set up so you can be just a few feet from the birds and get excellent views as well as pictures.
    Near Bentsen is the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) International Butterfly Park. On a still warm day you can see hundreds of butterflies. You will find butterfly experts roaming the grounds frequently. They are more than willing to share their experience and knowledge of butterflies with visitors.
    Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo, TX, has many acres of land with numerous lakes. There is only one feeding station here and it is near the Visitors Center. Here as well as at Bentsen, there is no automobile traffic permitted in the park. People may tour on bicycle or foot. At both parks there are trams that circulate to take people into the park and pick them up. At both parks there are viewing stands or towers. This time of year, both parks are manned by birding experts who are counting the hawks as they return from the southern migration. Great groups of hawks known as kettles will gather and migrate northward together. We have seen kettles with over 200 hawks at Santa Ana NWR. A special treat this last year was the sighting of several Coral Snakes.
    Laguna Atascosa NWR is on the coast just north of Port Isabel. This is a large tract of land with a large lake or laguna. Many shore birds are seen here and American Aligators live in the inland bodies of water. There is a 13 mile loop which can be driven or ridden on bicycle. The loop runs along the coast for about 5 miles.
    In addition to these, the Audubon Society has several parks in the Rio Grande Valley. Their parks can be toured only on foot but are somewhat smaller in size. Still they have a wonderful array of animals in a natural setting.
    Most of the animals in the album with this entry have been seen at the above parks. Some of the photographs come from other areas because they were the best pictures I had of these animals.
  8. tbutler
    We were into our second week in Denver last week. Louise was busy taking care of her mother and while I could help some, Mom was getting better and mostly needed supervision. Louise needed a nightly debriefing. So being the restless sort, I thought ... "I have always wanted to add a glider certification to my pilots license. Here I am in one of the glider meccas of the U.S. for an extended period of time. I wonder what opportunities there are?" A quick check on the WWWeb brought me to Mile High Gliders in Boulder, CO. I called and talked to the owner, Dave. He set me up for an interview with an instructor the following day.
    On Wednesday, I met Sean, late 20s, learned gliders in Hawaii and looked the part! Sean did a short interview, took me out and introduced me to their instructional gliders. We pre-flighted one, climbed in and went flying. I had the controls for a bit during the first flight and then we landed. These teaching sessions will be short; we don't go far from the airport and then return.
    After landing we hooked up to the tow plane again and were airborne in short order. This time I got more stick time, some practice following the tow plane (not as simple as it looks), turns, stalls and flying the landing pattern but Sean did the landing. We parked the glider after two flights because the wind was picking up. While you can fly gliders in winds, they weren't suitable for the practice that I needed to do.
    Thursday the weather was not suitable, for flying either. I spent a few hours at the airport after dropping off our motor home at Camping World. We are getting a new inverter/charger installed, so I turned our home over to the experts at Camping World in Wheat Ridge, CO.
    They had told us we could stay in the motor home Thursday night. A call from them Thursday confirmed that, so I made it a point to arrive before closing time. When I arrived I found we had no 12V current in the motor home. That meant no heat, no water. Even the refrigerator wouldn't work without the 12V for the controls. I caught two workers in the shop and prevailed upon them to help. Since they couldn't find the problem, they hooked up a 12V battery to the refrigerator to keep it running. We stayed the night with Louise's sister.
    Friday I spent the morning at Camping World. I worked with a crew of four to five techs who were buzzing around the motor home like bees at a hive. They tested everything and talked back and forth, seeking the source of the problem. They thought the 12 V was working when they left the unit Thursday night. Eventually, after much searching, the "a-ha moment" occurred. Dan said if they couldn't find the problem with the power, perhaps the ground was the problem.
    Viola. Connect the ground on the inverter and everything works again! I don't understand it, and that is why I have these guys working on it. I thought the DC was grounded to the frame of the motor home and they were testing the power at various points against the frame. They got nothing until connecting the ground at the inverter! At that point I was off to the airport.
    Friday was a good day to fly and I was able to fly six times. The first flight I took over the stick at 500 feet above ground and with each flight I was doing more of the flying. I made all six landings. The second flight we were 200 feet above ground when I got the stick. From there on, I was doing take-offs and landings. By Friday afternoon, I was walking on air. What a great experience.
    Before leaving the airport , I signed on for their intense five-day program, which should get me the glider certification on my pilots certificate. This was possible because I already had a pilots license and lots of experience in the air. I had been practicing many of the skills needed already. Now all I had to learn was to deal with the silence of flying in a glider, right? Not really, it is more complicated than that. Basically, I have to learn all the things that are unique about flying a glider. If I didn't have the pilots license it would have taken at least twice as long to get to the glider certification.
    Upon returning to Camping World to pick up the motor home, we found it parked heading out the driveway, a good sign. We paid the bill, picked up the keys and then went back to our parking spot at The Prospect RV Park. Everything seems to be working fine so far. I reloaded the compartment with access to the inverter, and when I closed the compartment door, I found water dripping from the refrigerator access door outside. Removing the access panel, I was greeted with a fine mist of water coming from the ice maker connecting hose. I knew this problem, because I had replaced one about two years ago. So I shut off the water at the valve immediately before the faulty hose and turned off the ice maker.
    Saturday I took Louise to the airport in Boulder to see the operation and perhaps watch me fly. It was not to be -- the weather was low clouds and flying, while possible, would be just up and down without any chance to practice other maneuvers. I worked several hours with John, a physics professor, on some of the book work required.
    We returned to Denver and enjoyed some family time with Louise's two sisters and her mother. We did some shopping. Louise needed some new walking shoes and my Nikes were wearing thin on the soles, so off to the mall for shoes. On the way home I stopped at Lowe's and picked up a replacement hose for the ice maker. I couldn't find the connections for the clear plastic hose that was originally installed and which I had replaced several years ago. I bought a stainless-steel reinforced hose with fittings for under three dollars. The one-foot hose fit fine and now perhaps I won't have to replace that part again. The water is back on and the ice maker works! Time for a drink!
    Sunday we woke to sunshine. I was off to the airport and spent the day there from 9 a.m. until about 4 p.m. I worked on my pre-solo written exam in between flights. John took over my flight instruction today and gave me a good workout with three flights in the morning.
    After a break in midday, we returned to flying in the afternoon. The winds had now picked up and the flying was more difficult. The fact that I was flying in these conditions meant that they were confident in my ability to cope with the challenge and still learn. Three more flights in the afternoon and I was finished for the day. I turned in my pre-solo exam to John and left hoping that I would see the solo on Monday.
    The forecast for Monday is once again low clouds and rain. Tuesday looks better. If all goes well, I'll be able to take my FAA check ride by Thursday or Friday. We are hoping to leave Denver on Saturday, May 2. I'd love to have a new pilots license in my pocket. I have almost half of the flights I paid for under my belt and the forecast suggests at least four of the next five days will be good for flying. I think I'll make it!
  9. tbutler
    After a one month stay in Denver, we finally said good-bye to family and packed away the loose items in the motor home and set out for Missouri and visits with my relatives. As soon as we unplugged the motor home from the shore power the alarm on the inverter went off, setting off a real learning experience. We had a new inverter installed, a Xantrex RS3000. We had left the electric water heater on when we unplugged the shore power and the inverter was telling us the batteries weren't up to running the water heater. Now I didn't understand that at the time and was concerned that something was wrong with the new inverter. I cleared the warning alarm and shut off the electric switch on the water heater. Now the inverter was switching on and off repeatedly. I was puzzled. We finished unhooking, then went to CW where the inverter had been installed. I needed some help figuring out what was going on. The clerks behind the service desk weren't as concerned as I was but we did finally get the shop foreman to take a look at the unit. He couldn't quickly identify the problem and suggested that I reset the unit. Now the genius who designed this unit put the reset button on the inverter itself, not on the control panel. The inverter is buried in the belly of the motor home in a compartment that is accessed from another compartment that is packed with all the necessary stuff the full time RV'ers need to survive. I unpacked the compartment, got to the unit and reset it. This helped! Now at least the menus were operating properly. I found the problem with the on-off-on-off behavior to be a load sense feature. It would test to see if there was a load and finding an insufficient load switch off again. I deactivated that feature and, viola, the problem was solved. I went through several other tests and everything seemed to be working fine.
    We were off down the road. Our next stop was the Flying J in Aurora, Colorado. We pulled into the lot and up to the propane tank. We had to maneuver around a truck and trailer parked just before the propane tank but got close enough to get a connection to our tank. We shut down everything including the generator. This made the inverter unhappy because I had shut it off with the manual switch. Apparently the inverter feels that it owns the generator and I should keep my hands off the switch. Now a number of the menu items disappeared from the menu and I couldn't get the generator auto start to work. AAARRGGHH! We got the propane and enough diesel to keep us going to a cheaper fuel source, a Flying J in Kansas.
    We took I-70 to Lyman, Colorado then dropped south to US 50 where we turned east toward Kansas. We had been with family for a month and I needed some alone time with Louise so we are taking the long way home through southern Kansas. I have traveled some of these roads a long time ago but it is always different. This trip the winter wheat is thriving and summer crops are being planted. We enjoyed the agricultural scenery and the leisurely pace of a non-interstate road. Just before reaching Kansas we found a nice rest area and parked for the night. We had truckers for neighbors and of course there was a railroad track right behind the rest area. There were no road crossings on the track so we only heard the rumble of the train, no whistle.
    The next morning I am on the phone to Xantrex searching for a solution. They suggest resetting the unit! AAARRGGHH! But this time I am ready. I think I can poke the reset button with the window awning pull rod (WAPR). I had to think about something while trying to go to sleep after each train! I crawl in over the top of the stuff as far as I can and then use the WAPR to open the plexiglass door in front of the inverter. With a little squinting I can just see that little red button. I brace the WAPR against the plexiglass and twist it so the end presses the red button. Viola! The inverter is reset! Back inside I am able to reprogram the inverter with no problem. I give Louise instruction on starting and stopping the generator by manipulating the menu for the inverter!
    We are off to Dodge City, Kansas by noon. No sense rushing things. We decided to stay at Gunsmoke RV and arrived there about 4:00 p.m. We got a nice pull through site and settled in for the evening. The electrical connection between the motor home and toad were not working properly so I spent some time working on that problem. I fixed one problem only to have another crop up. Turns out I can have the right turn signal or the left turn signal but not both! I am going to have to replace the receptacle on the toad. Those springy pins just don't last forever. I'll have a chance to work on this when I get to Missouri. In the meantime, I can't make any left turns. I'll be a UPS driver in no time!
    Wednesday we left Gunsmoke RV and stopped in Dodge City to see the Boot Hill Museum. I had been here before and remember it as kind of a tourist trap but Louise hadn't seen it. I was impressed, either they have improved things tremendously or my memory is really bad. Anyway, we enjoyed touring the museum before heading on down the road. Our lunch stop was a quick shop lot in Greensburg, Kansas. Greensburg was hit by a monster F5 tornado on May 4, 2007, just over two years ago. The quick shop lot where we stopped had only the flooring and the stubs of the pumps left. All around us were trees that had been trimmed by the tornado, just trunks with a few branches now growing out about 15 feet off the ground. Twisted sign posts and concrete pads marked other buildings that were no more. We saw lots of new construction going on as Greensburg rebuilds.
    Wichita is our next stop. We'll stay two nights here before heading to Kansas City and a weekend visit with my sister. We watched a line of thunderstorms develop off to the east of Wichita as the sun was setting on our campsite. There are storm warnings out all along that line. Could it be another night for tornadoes? Glad we're on the back side of the line. <UPDATE> Yes, we were on the back side of the line of thunderstorms which did produce tornadoes across Oklahoma and Missouri during the night of May 13-14.
  10. tbutler
    At first glance this might not be what you think of when you think of going RVing but this adventure was made possible by our RV lifestyle. Staying as long as we are in Denver would have been prohibitive if we weren't living in our motor home. Having all my resources at hand made this work for me.
    Everything has fallen into place and I have just completed my training to fly gliders. I started this quest on Thursday April 23rd and was able to satisfy the FAA authorized examiner on the oral and flight performance exams on Sunday, May 4. These were 12 intense days of work to get to this point. Having never been in a glider before, everything about gliders was foreign territory. Having a private pilot license already made the process much easier and quicker. I didn't have to take the introductory ground school or knowledge test. I did have to take the glider ground school and this was accomplished with the help of John. I had to learn how to fly the glider with an emphasis on what is different about glider and power airplanes. Sean guided me through this process. For the first few days, as with any aerial instruction, we only flew with good weather, light winds and high ceilings. As my skills progressed the weather became less of a factor with the exception of low ceilings. On those days we did ground work, learning to understand performance factors in gliders and exploring techniques of soaring and cross country gliding.
    I made landings right from the beginning and did the take off on my third flight and each flight after that. Each flight was short, the longest being about 20 minutes so the learning was concentrated. I had to make thirty flights, ten of them had to be solo flights. I purchased the 30 flight package to take me through the whole program. It turned out I needed about 3 more flights and finished them off on Friday, May 1. I was signed off to take my oral exam and flight check ride.
    I was set to use Saturday to study for the oral exam and to plan the cross country flight my flight examiner, Quay, had set as one of my practical assignments. I wouldn't actually fly the cross country, just demonstrate my skills at planning one and be able to discuss and explain the reasons for planning the way I did. My plans hit a bump when Louise's mother went back into the hospital. She had been recovering nicely up to this point but was complaining about abdominal pain. Louise and I went to the hospital, Irene was in the emergency room with Louise's sister and her husband as well as Louise's oldest daughter. I brought my study materials along and worked while in the waiting room. Mom was dismissed from the hospital about 8:00 p.m. I went home as soon as I knew she was OK. It turned out to be nothing serious.
    Sunday I was up early to get weather reports before meeting Quay at his office in Aurora, Colorado. He grilled me, in a friendly way, for three hours. Then we were off to the airport in Boulder to do the check ride. I could have flown better but it was good enough to get my license. So now I am a licensed glider pilot. The weather held off long enough for me to fly but it rained on me all the way back to Wheat Ridge. So I beat the weather after all. One more achievement that I always wanted to reach has been accomplished.
    Meanwhile, our plans for the trip to Florida have been canceled. We'll stay here another week and then head for Missouri to see my mother, children and grandchildren. Maybe we'll get to see a shuttle launch next year!
  11. tbutler
    The Weather Channel is busy hunting severe storms. I am watching for their vehicles, when I spot them I'm headed in the opposite direction.
    Today we left Wichita, Kansas headed for Kansas City. Spring storm season is in full swing in the mid-west and the Weather Channel is making the best of it, pursuing storms across the very area we are traveling. The forecast for the whole trip was highlighted in red on the weather map. I told Louise that an early start was in order as the afternoon promised storms. So we were hooked up and on our way early. The trip was uneventful, I kept watching the skies and the clouds were small scattered cumulus. Driving on I-35, I could watch the cloud shadows zip across the highway and noticed that the leading edges were moving northward almost as fast as we were traveling. The warm air pipeline was really working hard today! We had a nice tailwind! We stopped in Emporia to pick up just enough diesel to make it to the Flying J on I-435 on the east side of KC. Why not fill up in Emporia? The price of diesel there was $2.19 per gallon and the price at the KC station was $1.99. Since it was on the way, I'll purchase most of my fuel there. It turned out the price had gone up by 2 cents by the time we got to the KC station but it was still a bargain. Pumping almost 100 gallons we saved $17.00 by making our major purchase at the KC station. Thank you internet!
    We arrived at the Flying J in Kansas City about 1:00 p.m. The pumps for car diesel are inaccessible for RV's so we went to the truck pumps. This made the fill-up faster because of those great big nozzles! Leaving the Flying J, we were driving into turbulent skies. Are those trucks from the Weather Channel? We made it about 7 miles north and just off the interstate highway before the rain started. When it started raining, it came in sheets. We went through hail and more heavy rain. We could hardly see the sign for the campground. It was only the last five or six miles that were stormy out of a trip of 225 miles. Still that experience dominates everything else for the day.
    When we finally found Smith's Fork Park Campground, the campground host came out to greet us in full rain gear! We invited him in because we weren't going out in this downpour. He gave us the layout of the campground and told us which sites were reserved and where we would find the 50 amp hookups. He also cautioned us about the drop off on the left turn corner ahead! Good information to have in a rainstorm.
    We found a campsite and pulled in, shut down the engine and relaxed back into the couch and recliner. I told Louise that I was glad we had a motor home, all our conveniences were right here for us. We didn't have to run outside to our home. We didn't even have to put out slides, there is plenty of room to move around. I started up my computer to check on the storm status. The Weather Bug gave me all the warning and watches, there were severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches, flood watches and flash flood warnings! The thunderstorms were lined up and heading our way our way like cars on a train. We just relaxed and enjoyed the show, lightening, thunder, flooded campground, a river flowing down an embankment from athletic fields to our north.
    By 4:00 p.m. the campground host was around to collect the rent! We had neighbors who had pulled in behind us and our toad was keeping them from moving forward. These sites are loops of the main drive, one loop after another. The exit for one is the entrance for the next. Their door was right by a mini-lake! We moved forward then put out our slides and hooked up the water. I would wait for the sewer connection until the weather was better. No rush there, our tanks last for days. Later our neighbors moved out to join friends in a different spot. Oh, well, we didn't have to move to let them off their site.
    The storms have passed off to the south and things are quiet now. The forecast for the next few days is sunny and cool. Ideal weather for relaxing in a nice campsite.
  12. tbutler
    We are now in Warrenton, Missouri, parked in my mother's driveway. We had a nice visit with my sister and her family in Kansas City last weekend. My sister is recovering from knee replacement, a familial weakness that will likely catch up with me some time in the future. She is hobbling around on a crutch but is healing and will soon be out dancing again. While in the Kansas City area we enjoyed staying at the Smith's Fork Campground. It is located just below the dam at Smithville Lake, a Corps of Engineers flood control lake. The campground is run by the Smithville Parks Department. They have 30- and 50-amp electric with full hookups at very reasonable rates. With a senior discount the 50-amp electric cost just $23 a night! They have almost 80 spaces, some pull-through sites and the whole park is beautiful. A 14-day stay limit keeps turnover high. They don't take reservations but they take gate reservations. I don't know exactly what that means, but if you are interested, call ahead as this is a popular fishing and family campground.
    Leaving Smithville, we decided to drive smaller roads directly east rather than heading south on I-435 to I-70. The traffic on the smaller roads was light and local. We seldom were holding up traffic and if they couldn't get around us they usually turned off at the next town. We enjoyed seeing some towns we had only heard of before and a few we had never heard of before. We were surprised to find a very nice looking large resort in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The Elm's Resort was designed by Kansas City architects, Jackson and McIlvain. The grounds are beautiful. The road through town is torturous for a motor home but we navigated it without a problem. It is very rugged terrain and the road turns every block or two as you go up and down hills. Not the place to zip through in a hurry but definitely worth a stop. I am really enjoying traveling the backroads rather than the interstate highways. The pace is much more relaxing and the scenery is so much more interesting. Even if we don't stop, we get to see so much more of America once we are off the interstates.
    We found a nice roadside picnic area to stop at for lunch just before we reached U.S. 65 north of Marshall, Missouri. The whole area of this drive we saw beautifully cared for farms and homes. The area had a prosperous look even in this economy. South of Marshall we hit I-70 and zipped across the rest of Missouri to Warrenton, Missouri where my mother lives just a half mile from where my grandparents lived during my childhood. Crossing the Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri we did see that the river is bank full to slightly above. North of our crossing the flood plain was covered with water, evidence of the storms that passed through in the last few days coupled with snow melt from the northern Rockies.
    At Mom's house we have 50-amp electric that I installed several years ago. There is water and sewer available about 75 feet from our rig. The macerator I installed several years ago comes in handy here. We shower and wash dishes in moms house but if need be, we can empty the waste tanks without moving. Mom has a list for me, her to do's. This time the list is small; replace a porch light, trim some shrubs, glue this, fix that, all minor things that help her stay in her home a little longer. Along with her list, I have my own. A drawer railing rear support gave out when we got here. Too many bumps and cheap supports. I replaced those last night. I've replaced most of these cheap adjustable plastic supports for the rear of the drawer railings with a sturdier support I found at Lowe's. The replacements aren't adjustable and are a heavier plastic. I haven't had to replace one of them yet so they seem to be doing the job. Checking the roof when we got here, I see I have a big cleaning job to do. We were parked under a really nasty tree in Denver at The Prospect RV Park. Sappy buds rained down on us as the tree leafed out this spring. I haven't found a good way to remove the sap yet.
    While on the roof I also noticed that the anemometer that automatically retracts our awning has been broken once again. I put a protective frame over it to keep tree branches from getting it but this is the second time that hail has gotten it. I guess it needs an umbrella to protect it from the hail. I have a replacement ordered thanks to the help of Freedom RV in Wentzville. Unlike the other RV place in Wentzville, Freedom RV called me back! And they could get the part I needed. I can do the install on this, I watched the first time it was replaced and replaced it myself the next time. This will be the third replacement. I'd just remove it but it is so handy to have the awning automatically retract when the wind picks up.
    This morning we make a run to St. Louis to visit our doctors. We scheduled two doctor appointments for each of us, our GP for exams and renewing prescriptions and an annual check with our dermatologist. Next week we'll visit our optometrist with the dentist to follow. We are tied to our home physicians for routine care by the medical insurance from our school districts. It is how we manage most of our medical care as full time RV'ers.
  13. tbutler
    We are in day three of our 11-day trip with our two 8-year-old grandsons. We had a great day at the Evansville, Indiana Zoo on Wednesday. Both boys are really into animals and ran from one exhibit to the next. If there was something to climb on or slide down, so much the better! The Evansville Zoo is a small zoo but the animals are close to the viewer, unlike some larger zoos. They have one tiger, other zoos have more. We were less than six feet from the tiger as he paced his enclosure! The boys were always on the move, grandma kept up with them, grandpa was trying to take pictures and always lagging behind. We had too many good animal encounters to describe them all here.
    We bought a digital camera for the boys to use. Grandma had to carry it but they could ask for it at any time. The pictures will be only part of their record. They are both working on journals. They both have books of blank pages stapled together and they write their story for each day in their books. It is a delight to listen to them discussing the days activities as they write in the book. The books weren't our suggestion, grandson #2 made them up and brought them with him.
    We stayed at Burdette Park RV in Evansville. It is a very nice public park with bicycle trails, a BMX course, a huge swimming pool and water recreation area, lots of playgrounds, volleyball, tennis courts, you name it, they have it. The RV park is nice but not great for big rigs. The roads through town to get to the park are poorly trimmed and very narrow. This is true of the trees in the campground also. So many trees here we couldn't get the satellite TV to work. There is no wi-fi and our cell modem was roaming and would hardly work at all. Still, I would love to take the boys back there in the future and spend more time there. Rates are reasonable and staff is friendly.
    Today we drove to Corydon, the first state capital of Indiana. It is a short drive from Evansville and we arrived early enough in the day to walk around town. It is a charming small town with a country feel. We walked by the old state capital building. It was closed for the day but we can tour it another day if we want. We found a pharmacy with a soda fountain and went in for ice cream. Our youngest grandson has a milk allergy so finding something for him when we are having ice cream is a challenge. The girl at the counter suggested a cherry phosphate and so he ordered one. It disappeared in short order. Now he has a favorite drink. His mother, a pharmacist, called this evening and he told her about the cherry phosphate several times and then grandma took the phone and explained it further. She had never heard of a phosphate! Times have changed!
    I took the boys for a bicycle ride while grandma cooked dinner. We rode the bike trail, crossed a low water bridge through some water and grandson #1 slipped in the mud after crossing the creek and crashed! After much wailing, I got him calmed down and we talked about the fact that he had made it across the creek, just slipped in the mud. Then I saw a dead snake where he had crashed. I told him he had killed the snake. He laughed at that. After that everything was better. We got back to the RV and as I was claiming the muddy jacket to rinse in the hose, grandson #2 was inside telling grandma all about the accident. I had to laugh. No better story than someone getting injured in a crash. Luckily, nothing was seriously hurt, not even a single band aid required. The two boys were outside playing, swinging on tree limbs, collecting rocks and generally having a good time for an hour and half after dinner! Guess he'll survive. Not sure about grandpa!
  14. tbutler
    Our adventure with our grandsons is almost at an end. Tomorrow we have a day in camp to enjoy some of the relaxation that RV'ing can offer. Since my last entry a week ago, we have taken the two boys, cousins, to several interesting sites and watched their reactions at each location.
    From our base in Corydon, Indiana, we drove into Jeffersonville, Ind., to visit the Schimpff's Confectionery. This family-owned store has been operated by family members for over 100 years (started in this location in 1893). They are still using the original equipment. We were treated to their making red/white/blue peppermint lollipops for the Fourth of July. The tour was absolutely fascinating to us as adults, and the boys had their noses glued to the windows watching the candy making process. The history of the family was mixed with an explanation of the equipment in use and the chemistry/cooking of the candy. They have a great museum as well. The boys even enjoyed the old candy machine and the candy containers. Cool stuff! We got to taste some of the peppermint candy as it was cut off the roll, still warm! UMMM! The boys each bought a sucker and one for their younger sisters. We went for the chocolate! If you are in the Jeffersonville, Ind., area, stop by to visit; it's well worth the trip. We found them on a History Channel program last winter. That program triggered my planning for this trip. http://www.schimpffs.com/ (812) 283-8367
    After visiting the confectionery and having lunch there, we were off to Louisville to visit the Louisville Slugger Factory. There they make baseball bats, the wooden kind. In the past, such greats as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron among others have used Louisville Slugger bats. They give factory tours and the boys really enjoyed that though they were more interested in the gift shop than the museum. They did enjoy the batting cage and endured the movie. Grandpa felt he had to buy them a baseball bat with their name on it. Someday they will appreciate it!
    We spent the evening on Friday riding around downtown Corydon on our bicycles. This was our first chance to be out and about with the bicycles since the accident. All four of us made several rounds around the downtown area. Saturday morning we were off on another adventure, this time in the motor home. We drove the most direct route to Thorntown, IN, on little roads through scenic territory in southern Indiana. The trip turned out to be on very small roads before we got to our destination. Even so, we saw some beautiful and remote territory.
    Our site at the Old Mill Run Campground was not close to level but the owners actually brought several tractor scoops of gravel to elevate our front wheels so that we were eventually able to level the coach. This campground has been converted to about 90% seasonal sites and the transient sites are the least desirable. Good people, just making the best of their market. The campground had everything the boys wanted. We had a playground near our site, a heated swimming pool and good weather.
    OMR Campground was our base camp for the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. The museum is being expanded and I can't wait to see the completion of the current work. There are dinosaurs bursting out of the side of a building and another sticking its head into a building. An Egyptian scene with pyramids is being constructed on the roof and who knows what other exhibits will be inside when they are done. The boys loved the trains and really grooved on the dinosaurs. We ate lunch and they went back for more dinosaurs. They had a dinosaur dig with bones buried in a coarse sand/tire shreds/weak glue mixture that made the digging sort of realistic. The boys spent at least 30 minutes working away, and much of the time the museum docent was talking with them and digging right along side them. I don't think they will ever forget the experience. Then they had a chance to talk with a real paleontologist. The young docent connected much better with them! They spent another half hour in the dinosaur art area, reconstructing a dino head on a scale model skull. We adults were growing impatient but... kids rule! They found the games and enjoyed another half hour or so before they announced the closing of the museum. The gift shop was of course open for a half hour after the museum closed so they still had time to shop. http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
    Back at the campground, I BBQ'ed for the second night in a row. The boys played at the playground while Grandpa and Grandma prepared dinner. By the way, the boys are sleeping later and later in the morning. Grandma is now getting up before the boys are out of bed! Are we winning or just too proud to admit defeat?
    Monday was a travel day again. This trip was mostly on Interstate highways from Thorntown to Chatham, Ill., just south of Springfield. Again a very nice park, Double J has a nice playground, swimming pool, putt-putt golf, tennis court and basketball area. The park is beautifully kept and the pull through sites are about 80 feet long. There are lots of trees but we still managed to find a spot for our satellite dish to work. This keeps grandpa and grandma sane! Their internet connection isn't working for us but our T-Mobile signal is plenty strong.
    Today (Tuesday) we visited the Lincoln Home and downtown Springfield. The boys liked the home but when we got to the museum they were more interested in playing some putt putt golf and swimming. So... being of sound mind, we gave up on the Presidential Museum and headed back to camp. The tour guide for the Lincoln Home had mentioned that there was a flag ceremony at 7:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Tomb on Tuesday nights. We took the boys despite their general lack of interest. The civil war uniforms, soldiers firing their rifles in a salute followed by the cannon as the US flag was lowered really got their blood flowing. We were able to walk the parade grounds and pick up some of the paper wads with gun powder residue in them after the ceremony. The boys really like that. Then when we got them lined up with several soldiers for a picture and one of them put his hat on my oldest grandson, they were really captured! Another night they won't forget.
    Rain is in the forecast and I hear the thunder rumbling as I write this. Tomorrow is a campground day. We'll enjoy what we can of the campground between rain showers. Thursday we'll head for home. The boys were given the option of another day here in camp but want to get back home to see moms, dads and sisters so once again, we'll let them have their way! YES!!!! We are winning, they cried UNCLE! Age and treachery does overcome youth! Really, the boys have adjusted to camping in the RV amazingly well. They have their routine chores, making and breaking down their bed, taking care of their clothes and toys. There has been little complaint and they are getting along after eight days together just like they were at the beginning of the trip. We might have to do this again!!! Oh no, I think they are winning after all!
  15. tbutler
    After taking our grandsons on a 10-day tour of three states, their younger sisters deserved a trip of their own. We took the recommendation of my sister and took them to the Toy and Miniature Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. The girls are 6 and 4, so the trip was a short one. This was for their sake and ours!
    Since we were traveling to Kansas City, I offered my mother, 85 years old, a ride to KC to visit my sister who lives in Liberty, Missouri. Mom said yes, then no, and finally yes, so she traveled with us. We put her in the copilot seat for the ride so she could ride in comfort. The girls were buckled up on the couch with a supply of toys and games between them. This kept them happy during the trip.
    We hooked up and left my daughter's home about 10 on Friday morning. We picked up my mother about 20 minutes later. The trip to Kansas City from Foristell, Missouri, is about 200 miles. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop near Boonville, about halfway across the state. After eating, we didn't hear much from the girls. I had a nice conversation with my mother during the trip. My wife, Louise, was napping in the back after the girls went to sleep.
    My sister met us at an interchange on the highway, where we transferred Mom from the motorhome to her car. Mom would stay with her for the weekend and then return home with us.
    We continued on to Smith's Fork Campground below the Smithville Lake Dam to our campsite. There were numerous sites to choose from. The first request of the girls was to make the bed for the night! Apparently the boys had been impressed by this chore we assigned them and the girls wanted to get with it right away. While I hooked up, Louise took the girls to the playground. The girls did finally get their chance to turn the couch into a bed. After trying about four different arrangements, they finally settled down and went to sleep. We had some rain during the night, but we woke to sunny skies on Saturday morning.
    The Toy and Miniature Museum was interesting. They had an extensive display of doll houses, which the girls explored from one end to another. They really enjoyed the room of marbles. They liked the story time and drawing their own pictures and coloring them. Much of the museum was more adult oriented and we passed through those areas quickly.
    By the time we got to the gift shop, the girls were more interested in finding something to eat than shopping. So it was off to KFC for lunch. We discussed an after-lunch activity at the Kansas City Zoo, but the rain showers were back, so we abandoned that idea.
    We returned to the motorhome, where we had an abundance of indoor activities for the girls. An evening barbecue with my sister and her family went on as planned. The rain stopped late in the afternoon, so we got to visit outdoors. A niece adopted the girls for the evening and they had plenty of playtime.
    Overnight, another good rain shower ended before I had to disconnect utilities. The trip home on Sunday was uneventful and the girls were happy to be home with their parents again.
  16. tbutler
    The thermometer was within striking distance of 100 degrees for the last week here in Missouri. During the day the air conditioners ran almost continuously even with our sun screens on all our windows. Since we are full timers we had sun screens custom made for all our windows. Motor Coach Designs took the measurements over the phone and we had them installed at the Monaco International Rally before the FMCA Convention in Redmond, Oregon in 2004. We don't use them all the time but if the weather is really hot or if we are parked in warm weather for a longer time, I'll put them on the motor home. They make a real difference. At our winter retreat in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, we have them on all winter long.
    Where we are now in my daughter's driveway, we have nice shade in the morning but the afternoon sun shines directly on our front window followed by late afternoon sun on the passenger side of the coach. Awnings provide a little relief as well and we use them on the windows that have them. Last year I installed one over the living room window on the passenger side. Normally this window would be covered by the large awning but that awning is a Carefree of Colorado Mirage Awning. It is a very convenient power awning but can't stand the wind. Our winter residence in Texas regularly has winds greater than the 12 MPH limit for the awning. As a result there are many days when the awning can't be out. I finally broke down and installed the smaller window awning under the large awning. It has been worth the expense.
    Now I have a confession to make. I recently had the large Mirage awning out late one evening to keep the afternoon sun off the side of the coach and out of my eyes as it peeked under the side of the window awning. After the sun set, I thought about it several times but was never up and moving around when the thought crossed my mind. So that night we went to bed with the awning out. I awoke at 3:00 a.m. to a loud crash. During the night a rain shower had come through. Water doesn't drain off the Mirage Awning, it pools on the awning. Carefree has a wind sensor for this awning but it doesn't have a rain sensor. I had several incidents before where small showers pooled water on the awning and I was always amazed that the arms supporting the awning held the weight of the water. This time, there was too much rain and the awning collapsed. One arm was bent almost to the ground. Another was bent slightly and the one by the front door was sticking out straight, right through the canvas that had ripped almost all the way to the door. I was able to bring the awning in to secure it out of the wind which was now blowing strong enough to make it flap. Where was the wind before the storm? It could have saved my dignity.
    I called our insurance company, GMAC, and confessed that I had failed to close the awning. They took the information and asked for an estimate on the repairs. They would cut the check as soon as they had the estimate. We have never had an argument from GMAC about paying a claim. So I'm off to Freedom RV in Wentzville for some repair work. I downloaded the service manual for the awning from the Carefree web site and set out to disassemble the arms and canvas so I could drive to the shop. I took the motor home in for an estimate on Thursday the 18th, parts were ordered on Friday and shipped from Carefree the following Friday. As soon as they arrive, we'll get in to have the work done and then we'll set out for Monaco International and FMCA in Ohio. The week ahead looks a little cooler so that is a break and the awning repair won't necessitate any painting. All the painted parts of the awning survived without damage as did the side of the coach. It should be a one day job. Lucky me!
  17. tbutler
    We are still in Missouri which is unheard of since we began living full time in our motor home. The weather has made us wonder if we need our heads examined. We keep telling ourselves this is why we haven't done this before. We were going to be here later than usual this year and we have two grandchildren with June birthdays we haven't celebrated with them for a while so, why not make the best of it?
    Kaitlyn is six years old this year. For her birthday she chose to go to the Magic House (www.magichouse.org) in Webster Groves, Missouri. As a teacher I had been there many times before, even taken groups of students numerous times. The Magic House has grown since I was last there! They have a large parking lot and on a weekday it was packed. Inside the place was swarming with children. It was noisy with kids everywhere. Kaitlyn and her brother Ryan fell in with the crowd quickly. There were dress up costumes in story land and a beanstalk for the kids to get from floor to floor. They could navigate that faster than adults on the stairs. There were mysteries to be solved complete with revolving bookcases and hidden rooms. The kids could crawl through the duct work to find clues and then go through the fireplace into the next room. There were slides, puzzles, a shadow wall with a strobe light to record your movements on the wall. The kids and adults played with one thing after another. Both of them enjoyed the rooftop garden. With plastic vegetables in a mock garden, they could harvest their crop and then cook and eat in the kid size house. Kaitlyn did a thorough job of sweeping out and cleaning the house while Ryan re-planted the vegetable garden before we could leave this exhibit. This attraction rivals any I have seen for activities you can touch and do. Louise and I have a tradition of being swept out of places by the cleaning crew at closing time and this was no exception. The children were going to be sure they got their money's worth. Dinner at a local favorite Italian restaurant finished Kaitlyn's birthday celebration.
    Just over a week later, Ryan had his 9th birthday. Given his choice, Ryan will ask to go to the St. Louis Zoo. Perhaps it was the hot weather and some encouragement from Mom that led him to choose the City Museum (www.citymuseum.org). Located in downtown St. Louis, the City Museum is a unique collection of urban discards from factory machinery, stores, banks, buildings and other items. You can't possibly see everything there is to see here. The ceilings, walls and floor are covered in items from the city. There is an extensive climbing area outside the museum that goes up three stories to several airplane fuselages then on to other items like a crane, tree house, and much more. You can enter this corridor made mostly of tubes constructed of rebar from several points in the museum. Within the museum, every surface is covered with things to see and do. A two story slide is covered with conveyor rollers so as kids slide down they can hold their hands up and spin the rollers as they slide down to the first floor. Ryan immediately headed for the aquarium and we spent over an hour looking at all the animals. There were sharks and rays to touch. Docents brought around snakes and turtles for children to touch. Both Ryan and Kaitlyn were turtle rustlers for the turtle race. Even in the aquarium there were tunnels everywhere for the kids to crawl through. They would disappear in one place and we never knew where they would reappear. Another area had skateboard type surfaces for the kids to run and slide on. Another extended time here. You just can't wear out the kids. Once again, we were among the last to leave the museum. After leaving the City Museum, we stopped at Lambert International Airport to pick up Louise who had been in Kansas City trying out for Jeopardy! This is her second try to get on the program. She qualified last time but they select from the pool of qualified applicants by a random process and she wasn't chosen within the year of her qualification so she had to try out again. Our final stop for the evening was Canoli's Restaurant in Florissant, Missouri. This restaurant has been a favorite of Louise and I for many years. We enjoyed sharing it with our daughter and her family.
    About a week before all the above started, we spent a Sunday afternoon with my daughter and her family. The four of them, Louise and I all rode about a seven mile stretch of the Katy Trail State Park (www.mostateparks.com/katytrail). The Katy Trail is a rails to trails park that starts in St. Charles, Missouri and follows the Missouri River westward almost 3/4 of the way across the state. Ryan has his own bicycle and did the complete 14 mile round trip on his own. Kaitlyn has a half bicycle that attaches to dad's bike. She can pedal or coast as she pleases. We rode, drank water, ate strawberries and apples we carried with us and picked mulberries off the trees along the trail. As we packed up our bicycles, we decided that pizza was the perfect end to the day so it was off to CJ's Pizza in Foristell, Missouri.
    One of the treats of living in St. Louis is the excellent theater we have at the Muny Opera (www.muny.org). In an outdoor setting in Forest Park, site of the 1904 Worlds Fair, is a theater which seats nearly 13,000 people. We took the children to the Muny Opera for a production of Annie on Tuesday, the 27th. We were prepared for hot weather with cool drinks and wet cloths. It turned out to be quite a comfortable evening. Both children enjoyed their first theater production.
    This afternoon the kids came to the door of the motor home and asked me to go for a hike in the woods with them. Ryan had the Rocks and Minerals book that he got for his birthday and he wanted to go find some rocks. We hiked down to the creek and searched for rocks along the creek. We found several but Ryan was most interested in just exploring the woods and stream. Kaitlyn was always out in front, often somewhat off course. I had to keep guiding her back toward the house on our return home. Being with the children keeps us young.
    We'll be leaving here soon but staying here in Missouri with our children and grandchildren has been a wonderful experience we hope to repeat often in the future.
  18. tbutler
    Our destination park for the visit with my brother was Levi Jackson State Park just south of London, Ky. The signage is excellent. The trees on the road into the park need trimming badly. We will leave the park via an alternate route. Kentucky Highway 229 is much more motorhome friendly than the entrance off US 25 that is given in the directions in the campground directory.
    We arrived without reservations. We could have made them several days in advance, but when the awning repair was finished we were inside the reservation period. There was one site left with full hookups. They invited us to take a look at it to determine it's suitability.
    The site has a level concrete pad 10' x 50' with a 20' x 40' gravel patio complete with a fire ring and a sturdy picnic table. In front and behind the concrete pad is asphalt, so the total length of the pad area is about 80'. There are plenty of trees around but none will interfere with our satellite TV. With 50-amp service for $25 a night, this can't be beat. In the typical private RV park, we would have another RV between our neighbors and us, but here the sites are 60 feet wide so there is no feeling of crowding. The park is loaded with families in trailers.
    There is a nice swimming pool and many other recreation facilities in the park, so it is a great place to bring the family. We have one of about 12 pull-through sites. My brother lives about 3 miles from our campsite. Very convenient! The one downside is that there is absolutely no Internet service here. No Wi-Fi, our cell modems don't pick up any digital signal service. Most of the people here don't care, but we sure would be happier with service.
    We can get e-mail and a few other things done on the Internet while visiting my brother. He moved from Minneapolis last year about four months before FMCA was there. A year and a half after losing his job in a merger, he landed an excellent job in retail grocery. His success with the new company translated into a new position he accepted about three weeks ago. He is now the Chief Operating Officer of the parent company of the subsidiary that brought him here to London, Ky. We had a good visit and learned much about his new position. Our father, a lifelong grocer, would have popped his buttons!
    On Thursday we had an 8:15 tee time at a nearby golf course. The course wasn't the fanciest, but we got some practice for the golf tournament at the Monaco International Pre-Rally in Springfield, Ohio, next week. This was important, as neither of us had played golf in three months. It certainly showed. I won't disclose scores except to say that I managed to get one par late in the round, and that was an amazing improvement from the first few holes!
    After golf we drove into Corbin, Kentucky, just a few miles south of the golf course to eat lunch at the Colonel Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum. The museum is combined with a KFC restaurant in a re-creation of the first restaurant Sanders had in Corbin. It was here he developed his reputation for his fried chicken. The simple displays at the museum chronicle his starting days. Not a major museum, just samples of the good old days where Kentucky Fried Chicken really was fried in Kentucky.
    We left Saturday morning to drive to the vicinity of Springfield and the Monaco International Pre-Rally. Parking starts Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and the electric hookups are first come, first served.
  19. tbutler
    The Monaco International Pre-Rally for the FMCA Bowling Green Convention got underway on Monday, July 13. We had about 165 coaches on the grounds and one dealer, Paul Evert's RV Country from Fresno, CA, who had about 12 coaches for sale. Some sales were made but mostly people were looking. Louise picked out one she likes, I would go for another but not until we win the lottery! Mike looked up the blue book value of our motor home and it was an eye opener. We knew the value would get there eventually but were surprised to see it there already. The new Monaco, Navistar-Monaco LLC was at the rally and got a warm reception. Monaco remains alive and the company is rebuilding slowly. New coaches will come at a rate supported by sales. The new company has about 12% of the employees that were working a year ago. Without Navistar we would all have orphan coaches. To know that the parts and technical staff is coming back is very reassuring for all Monaco owners.
    We all had a good time. Some of the vendors were busy, others saw hardly any business. Service and repair were popular. We picked up a used satellite dish system to replace the one that came with our motor home. The old one was tied to an outmoded receiver due to the need for a slow speed data port. The new dish has all the software built into the dish unit. It does not need the receiver to identify the correct satellite. The vendor installed it for us. Now we are working on getting the new receivers installed. We added an incoming feed from the dish so we can have different stations in the living room and the bedroom. I moved the receiver in the front to a cabinet with a mesh front so it will work with the non-radio remote. I have run the new incoming cable to the floor and am ready to run it under the floor to the bedroom.
    The weather was excellent. We arrived in Springfield just behind some heavy thunderstorms. Those were followed by sunshine and moderate temperatures. The golf tournament had excellent weather as well. Our closing event was Friday evening. Three motor homes were sold during the rally. Saturday morning we left in a caravan to Bowling Green. We were number 24 in a caravan of 45 motor homes. Quite a sight to see that many motor homes all traveling together. An early start at 6:20 helped to get us down the road with minimal disruption of traffic. We arrived in Bowling green about 9:10 a.m.
    Attendance looks strong here at Bowling Green. I have no idea how many coaches are here and more will arrive today. The parking crew really has their act together. We arrived, unhooked toads and were in our parking spots in 15 minutes! It is a pleasure to see a great team effort, everyone knowing their job and getting it done! The electric was even turned on early and there are portable showers near the Bowling Green State University Stadium, just a short walk from our coach. The cool weather continues with early morning temperatures in the 50's (10's for the Celsius crowd). If you are in Bowling Green, look for our coach on lot 6-4, 1st Street, 14th coach on the south side of the street! F294521.
  20. tbutler
    The flags and gizmos are flying high today. The parking area takes on a festive look with numerous coaches flying flags or wind toys of various kinds. There is a stiff breeze right now and they are in their glory. We just heard a clap of thunder from a storm that has been building over Toledo. We might have some rain tonight. Meanwhile, I am relaxing in my easy chair, dinner is a few minutes away. I have the Trailer Life Campground Guide on the floor next to me. I have been appointed to find a campground for several friends that are meeting us on Sunday. We will tour eastern Ohio visiting fellow Sandpipers (our winter resort) then set out for New York to pick up more Sandpeeps (another name for those of us who stay and play at Sandpipers)! Three or four of us will go on to Maritime Canada. Louise and I are resolved to continue on to Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada, that is the term the residents of Newfoundland prefer. I learned that at the seminar I attended yesterday.
    While all this planning and writing is going on, I have a Cummins technician busy changing the oil and filters in our generator. If the rain holds off I'll get a professional polishing of our headlamps which have clouded over so badly that I hate to drive at night. One of the benefits of the convention is the accessibility of service personnel for taking care of problems. Another is the vendors with all the stuff you must absolutely have for your motor home. I'm doing my very best to keep them in business. I was there when the doors opened this morning. I bought a set of plug dogs to help me separate my power cord from the extension cord or adapter I use. One yank and they are apart. Great invention! Motor Coach Designs had just the window shade I needed to fill the gap between the power sunshades on our windshield. How many times have we been driving with those shades down in early morning or late afternoon when the sun is right between the two shades? Now I'll have that solved.
    I found the waterless cleaning solution (Wipeout) that I use for keeping the coach looking good when we can't wash it and purchased a supply that will last me for a while. Much cheaper than ordering it and paying postage. And then there was Camping World. Some water filters with a special sale price and a spare hose. I stopped at a Pressure Pro dealer and picked up a couple sets of mounting brackets. The sticky Velcro tape gave out a few weeks ago. I'll see how permanent the suction cups are before I take them off and screw the clips to the wall! After this I had to make a run back to the coach. Any more and I wouldn't be able to carry it all back on the bicycle.
    This morning Louise and I got a run down on the National Highway System. Kent Lande is a civil engineer and a motor home owner. He gave us a fact filled presentation spiced up with photos of outrageous overloads from around the world and the ever popular road kill recipes. Louise packed a picnic lunch for us so we relaxed between sessions and had lunch. Then she was off to the vendors to purchase some sheets while I attended a workshop on the Silverleaf engine monitoring system. After that workshop I had to have that system. I purchased the computer version and will install it this evening. I also picked up a replacement cable for the break away system of our Roadmaster tow bar and braking system. I wasn't kidding when I said I was doing my best to keep the vendors in business!
    I enjoyed music while eating a doughnut and drinking some hot chocolate (never did develop a taste for coffee) for breakfast this morning. On our bike ride to the morning seminar, Louise and I enjoyed the sight of the children's activities. The youngest ones were busy rolling down a hillside, one after another. The older children looked to be on a field trip of some kind. Everyone seems to be having a great time. The buses seem to be keeping up with the moving crowd so I would have to say that transportation looks better but then I'm riding my bicycle!
  21. tbutler
    Well, it had to happen. We had a rainy day. Now this wasn't the frog strangling rain you might expect with an FMCA Convention. This was a slobbery drizzly day. In fact I rode my bicycle to and from the activities I attended today and did not get wet on any ride. I picked up a few rain drops but never really got wet. Louise walked to her activities. To be honest, there weren't many bicycles in the bike racks early this morning.
    My first session was Tires 101 by Roger Marble. Roger is an engineer and has worked with tires for his entire career. His talk gave us the real scoop on tires, tire dynamics; how tire wear affects traction; how tire damage occurs and when to discard a tire that looks like a good tire but likely is damaged. He showed us tires that had failed and tires that were going to fail soon. Being a motor home owner himself, he was able to relate the entire talk to motor homes and a few references to toads as well.
    After a seminar on tires I went to the advanced class on satellite TV. A panel of experts, representatives of several satellite dish producers, answered questions from the crowd. A wide variety of questions and problems were addressed to the satisfaction of the crowd. I got several answers that will help me with my project to get a satellite feed to the bedroom. Many of the answers were for people to stop by the booth of their satellite dish manufacturer and fill out a service request to have them come take a look a their equipment. Again, the value of being here at the convention is apparent. I always figure that one way or another I get my money's worth from by registration fees in being able to talk to experts, face to face, have service personnel come do work on my coach while I'm enjoying the convention and knowledge gained in the sessions. It really doesn't cost to attend these conventions, it pays.
    After the session on satellite dish TV, I contacted Louise on our walkie-talkies to see where she was. As planned she was on the way to the big tent to get ice cream. I asked if she had our mail and she said, "No" so I said I would pick it up on my way to get ice cream. The volunteers in the information booth were friendly and delivered the mail package in a moment. I'm always happy when the mail arrives on time! From there it was straight to the big tent. After parking and covering the bike seat, I went looking for Louise. I called on the radio just as I walked up to her. She gave me ups in the long line waiting to get ice cream. As soon as I was in line, it started moving. It didn't take a minute for us to get through the line. Ten minutes later the line was still there as others joined almost as fast as the volunteers could serve up the ice cream bars provided by Miller RV Insurance. There is another $3.00 of our registration fee!
    A quick visit to the vendor area and I had the answer I needed about the problem I was having with the Silverleaf engine monitoring software. Louise picked up easy care slacks, blouse and jacket while I grabbed several FMCA T-shirts. On our way back out of the vendor area, we passed the big tent and people were still getting ice cream bars. We were met by two young men from the local sandwich shop distributing sub sandwich samples! Then it was back to the motor home for the afternoon. Our next door neighbor has packed up and moved out. A few people will make an early exit. He had the Goodyear tire truck at his site yesterday. They installed two new tires on the front of his motor home. Shortly after we arrived back at the RV, Karen Rambow arrived to work on the glazing on the headlights on our motor home. She spent several hours buffing and polishing them to near perfect clarity before quitting for the day. She will return tomorrow to apply the Nanotec coating to protect the surface for the future.
    This evening I spent some time arranging our meeting with friends for a trip following the convention. We'll link up several days after the convention and start our caravan toward Canada. My favorite weather program, The Weather Bug, shows 0.04 inches of rain today. There is more rain on the doorstep so tonight will be good sleeping weather if you enjoy the sound of rain on the roof. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
  22. tbutler
    Today is the final day of the FMCA 2009 International Convention in Bowling Green, Ohio. We woke this morning to dripping rain. Not heavy but definitely wet. I left the bicycle at home today as our first meeting was at the stadium - or so we thought. Since it was raining they moved the general meeting of FMCA to an indoor location. Makes sense but no one told us. Worse, we didn't find a notice posted anywhere near the stadium so after exploring a bit around the stadium to ensure that the meeting wasn't there, we headed for the big tent. The big tent is where the morning coffee and donuts are doled out every morning. I figured there would be notice of the change in venue there. Before we got there we finally found an official who knew where the meeting was. He offered us a ride in his golf cart. A few hundred feet down the sidewalk we encountered another couple who asked our question and got a ride also. We arrived in time to get in on the drawing for the door prizes, cash money! We didn't win, oh well. But I did hear the name of Roger Marble called but Roger wasn't there!
    After the general meeting we hoofed it over to the vendors. I talked to Martin Perlot of Silver Leaf Electronics to let him know that he had solved my problem with the install on my new system. Then we renewed our Coach Net Membership for a sizable discount. We saw many people in the vendor area and noted many carrying goods out of the venue. I think the vendors had a pretty good convention. The official numbers on the convention were 2725 coaches, of which 299 were commercial coaches. Not a bad turn-out but slightly less than hoped for. I didn't see an official number but heard that there were more than 1000 volunteers who made this convention work for the rest of us. From an attendees viewpoint, this has been a wonderful convention.
    After visiting the vendors, we went to the session on Full Timing. Presented by the Full Timers Chapter of FMCA, this workshop addressed many aspects of living full time in an RV. There were four presenters and a moderator. Unfortunately, there was no time left for questions. The level of attendance suggested that there could be more done here. I suspect that this chapter could face substantial growth with the wave of baby boomers retiring in the next ten years. While retirement factors currently look discouraging, time may change the equation and I suspect there are many who would love to move to full time life in a motor home.
    We returned to the motor home and began preparations for breaking camp Friday morning. The electric goes off about 9:00 a.m. Friday and we hope to be ready to roll by that time. I made a quick trip to town for a few groceries. These trips are always easier when you know where you are going. We had been around Bowling Green long enough to find the basic stores. Karen Rambow called before I returned to check with me for departure time. Finishing our headlights required dry weather and while it had been dry for a while, there were still large cumulus clouds about. I asked Karen to go ahead with the job and we'd take a chance on the weather. She arrived within a few minutes of my return. The job was finished and the skies kindly cleared. I'll have clear headlights again. One more problem solved at this convention.
    Louise took a walk to the recycling and trash and busied herself with preparing the indoors for travel. I got the toad and motor home ready to go. We are essentially boondocking with electric right now. Tomorrow we'll get breakfast, hook up and be on our way. Many of our neighbors left during the day today. Maybe 20% of the attendees are gone by this evening. The grounds will be clear tomorrow. Those who want to stay in Bowling Green can stay at the fairgrounds. We will be on our way to Fremont, Ohio to visit the Hayes Presidential Center. There was a scheduled tour to the center but not enough interest so I told Louise we'd make that our first stop. We plan to park the RV somewhere near the center and spend some time touring before going on to the Lazy J Family Campground near Norwalk, Ohio.
  23. tbutler
    It has been just two weeks since we crossed the border with Bill and Laura Fejfar into Canada at St. Stephen, New Brunswick. We've seen whales, incredible scenery, the great St. Lawrence Bay and River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. We've enjoyed the long and narrow fields of rural Quebec and explored Quebec City. There were small towns with delightful homes and buildings. We wished there had been parking places for large motorhomes but had to settle for a drive-by.
    When we did stop we were an object of spectacle. We were photographed and videotaped. Even RV park personnel remarked on our 40-foot Class A diesel motorhomes. Don't hesitate to come to Canada with your large motorhome; just be ready for the reaction. You may not think of yourself as a millionaire, but clearly others do.
    At la Pommerie, our friends Raymond and Francine shared their world with us. We enjoyed playing tennis with Francine for the first time in almost two years. Their park was relaxing after days of touring. Louise and Laura enjoyed several afternoons of cards while Bill and I had time to tend some tasks around the motorhomes.
    We loved the natural beauty of Quebec and found the people to be welcoming and friendly. We were escorted by friends Diane and Pierre through Montreal and to the ski resort, Mont Tremblant. Pierre is a former policeman from Montreal, so I gave him the keys to our car and he showed us the town. Diane made us feel as welcome as anyone could be. We visited many other friends while in Canada and enjoyed seeing all of them.
    We buzzed through Toronto last night on TC 401, one of the best traffic patterns we have seen. Get on the express lanes and just ride on! No sharp turns, no sudden left exits, just a great traffic flow. Tonight we are camped on the shore of Lake Erie at Lakeside RV and Motel in Wheatley, Ontario. We'll explore the southern tip of Canada tomorrow and then bid good-bye to Canada for another year.
    We enjoy traveling in Canada but are always glad to be back in the USA. Our cell service for phone and Internet are once again unlimited and I can get local weather conditions from the Weather Bug! And oh, yes, there will be Wal-Mart Supercenters, eh!
  24. tbutler
    Our last day in Canada, Thursday, August 27, was spent in the area of Leamington, Ontario. Among the features of the southern tip of Canada are Point Pelee National Park, the Heinz ketchup factory, beautiful farms with fields of corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, a huge greenhouse and floral industry, the shores of Lake Erie, and some of the most beautifully landscaped homes in all of Canada. We are traveling with Bill and Laura Fejfar and today Bill is doing the driving duties.
    Our day started with rain so we had raincoats and umbrellas while exploring Point Pelee NP. This tip of land which extends into Lake Erie is a major bird migration route, a kind of natural funnel that birds use as a jumping off place to cross the lake. Since the migration wasn't under way yet, the bird activity was quite subdued. We did see a group of marsh wrens hunting for food among the water lilies along the marsh boardwalk. One found a nice morsel and the others followed it everywhere, just like gulls! They disappeared into the cattails so we didn't find out how that one turned out. As we left the boardwalk area we saw a small group of turkey hens crossing the road and moving off into the woods. Later in the day we would enjoy a large flock of goldfinches high in the trees.
    At the visitors center we picked up the free shuttle to the tip of the point. Exhibits at the trail head detailed the nature of the bird migration. As many as 250 species of birds in a single year and about 350 species documented over time at this location. An avid birder may see as many as 100 species in a single day during the peak of the migration. Walking out to the tip we strayed from the large easy trail to get to the eastern coast where the waves were breaking large on the shore. With an incoming tide interesting things were washing up on shore. We saw several large very dead fish and watched a large driftwood log drift up onto the sand at the point. Louise managed to get her shoes wet in the wash from a large wave. We watched a group of small shore birds racing to and fro in the surf searching for food. This is my third visit to Point Pelee and as the park advertises, the tip is constantly changing. This visit we could walk out on the sand spit to where the waters from the eastern side lapped over the sand to the water on the western side of the tip. Our last visit we were only able to stand on the rocks and watch the waves, there was no sand spit at the surface to walk on.
    By this time it was lunch time. We looked for a restaurant in Leamington but ended up at Wendy's when we didn't find any more interesting. Wendy's was located across the street from the Heinz plant and we enjoyed watching the truck loads of tomatoes arriving at the plant. After lunch we drove east along the coast road to see some of the beautiful homes. Then we returned to our campground at Lakeside RV and Motel in Wheatley, ON. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing Rummy Cube before having dinner.
    Friday morning we were able to pack in the utilities and hook up the car in dry weather. As we arrived in Windsor the rain began. We crossed into the US on the Ambassador Bridge, driving from south to north into the US from Canada. A few questions at customs with rain dripping in the window. Then the agents came on board briefly to "check the refrigerator" before releasing us to continue on. We paid our toll and followed the signs directing us to I-75 South. As we drove on, the rain became more intense until we could hardly see more than a few hundred feet ahead. The Fejfars were trailing behind us some distance and we didn't see them until we reached the turn-off for a fuel stop. After Bill got his fuel we ate lunch at the IHOP then said our good byes. We had linked up with them July 26 for a month long caravan. After hugs and kisses, we reluctantly parted, heading for our RV's. We'd continue to talk as we traveled the last few miles south. Bill and Laura turned west on US 20, we continued south to US 24 which took us southwest to Fort Wayne and then I-69 on to Indianapolis. That entire drive was punctuated with periods of heavy rain and near continuous light to moderate rain. The roads were generally good and the driving wasn't stressful, the only stress is in my mind as I think about the wash job that I will have to do on the motor home and toad.
    We fueled at the Flying J in Indianapolis, getting just enough of the $2.759 diesel to get us to Missouri where the prices are $2.479. This was my first fuel since we filled our tank at Champlain, NY and then entered Quebec to continue the Canada trip. We spent the night at Terre Haute before finishing our drive to Foristell, MO. The really interesting thing for me was that we had driven just over 600 miles in the last two days. So here, in the center of the country, near St. Louis, MO we were just six hundred miles from Canada.
  25. tbutler
    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 have it fixed Friday afternoon, and if that goes as planned, then the ball will be back in my court.
    Seajay just posted some help on fixing RV refrigerators on the forum and I can use that information. Our refrigerator has been puny when working on gas, so I guess I need to clean up that system. I checked the vent and it is open. So I'll dig through that information to see what else I can find to try to get it to work better.
    There are a number of other fix-its and improvements on my to-do list. I'll tackle them as time permits in the next week or two. Then there is my mother's fix-it list. Once we get our home back, I'll have my tools and I can get to work on her list. Mom is 85, so keeping her three-bedroom home in top shape falls to the children now. No one complains, everyone takes a turn at one thing or another.
    Being a full-timer in an RV, I can park and live here at Mom's house and take on the bigger tasks that take time. Several years ago I built a porch for her side door to replace a set of concrete steps that didn't even have a banister. Before that I cleaned out my dad's work shed. It was a clap-trap operation as was typical of my father's construction skills. We loved him dearly but always joked about his skills with tools. Dad never saw the need for any but the simplest tools and he would find a way to fix most anything with a hammer, saw and screwdriver. Oh, yes, and lots of bailing wire and binder twine -- you could never use too much bailing wire and binder twine.
    Dad kept everything he ever thought he might use someday, so cleaning out the shed was a two-week operation. Mom put "checking the shed to see what it looks like inside" on her to-do list again. I think she is afraid to look inside, fearing there might be some other homeless people living in there!
    We'll spend most of next week here with my mother before starting our trek west. Louise's mother, daughter and other family in Denver will be a quick stop this time since we were there for a month in the spring.
    Our real time this fall will be spent in California with Louse's youngest daughter and her family. We have two granddaughters there that have grown quite a bit since we last saw them. We'll be glad to get some grandparent time with them before we flee south for the winter.
    Living full-time in an motorhome gives us the freedom to do all these things and more. We enjoy our travel time together and we cherish our family time. It's a perfect retirement lifestyle for us.
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