Dec 11, 2018 - We Gotta Get Outta This State

Tuesday, December 11 After scraping the frost off the windshield and a quick stop at a Madison west side Starbucks we were rolling down Highway 151 toward Dubuque by about 7:30 Tuesday morning. The weather report promised partly cloudy and warming temps as we headed toward Kansas City. One of the many nice things Jill does on these trips is keep a daily journal of where and when we started, what we saw and did, and when we arrive, where we stay and anything special about the day or where we end up. Needless to say, I rely on it a lot for...

Oct 14, 2018 - What a day!

We got up this morning and it was starting to snow and 32 degrees. After yesterday, with it being in the 50's we figured the roads would stay clear even though it was snowing. We pulled in the slides last night so that if it did have any accumulation of snow in the morning it would not build up on the slides and cause a problem closing the slides. The wind was blowing pretty good out of the North and what was falling was a mixture of snow and sleet. As we were hooking up the trailer and disconnecting the power cord our neighbor came up and...

Oct 13, 2018 - October 13, 2018 – Homewood, Kansas and Longwood, Missouri

October 13, 2018 – Homewood, Kansas and Longwood, Missouri I got a fairly early start this morning. I stopped at the cemetery at Houstonia to put fresh flowers on Mom and Dad’s graves before I went on to the church. I got there just as they began serving lunch. After lunch I visited with folks and scouted out the goods to be auctioned and decided what I wanted to bid on. I get 3 quarts of home canned green beans and 5 quarts of vegetable beef soup. I know both of the ladies who did the canning so I know I got good stuff. I also bought 2...

Oct 12, 2018 - October 12, 2018 – Homewood and Emporia, Kansas

October 12, 2018 – Homewood and Emporia, Kansas I got the coach to Carl early this morning. They finished up a little work on the coach and got my bill organized. I was at the doctor’s office this morning to get my blood test done before my doctor’s appointment this afternoon. After that, I got my hair cut. Then, I went back to Carl’s where they finished up the work on the car for the rock guard. I had lunch at Bobbie D’s which is a great barbecue place in Emporia. After the doctor’s appointment during which Dr. Rachel and I spent a lot of...

Oct 11, 2018 - October 11, 2018 – Homewood and Emporia, Kansas

October 11, 2018 – Homewood and Emporia, Kansas I got to Williams this morning just after 8 a.m. which is when they open. Brad wasn’t there, but the guy who was substituting for him seemed to have things in hand. However, the parts which he had ordered for the car weren’t there. Somehow, they had been sent back. So, they had to go to Kansas City to get them. That meant that they couldn’t get started on the car until 1 or so. I spent the morning reading. I had lunch at Pizza Ranch and then headed back to the garage. They began work on the...

Oct 10, 2018 - Kansas City, MO to Hays, KS

Said farewell to Gerry after still more interesting conversation. The drive was boring and very windy. Nothing interesting to report or memorialize with a picture that we have not done before. Lots of wind vanes and fields! The David McCullough John Adams book is keeping us entertained and we are learning lots about the writing of the Declaration of Independence, his relationship with Jefferson/Franklin and Abigail’s thoughts. Well worth a read. Bob has an app Allstays that tells where there are all sorts of conveniences including waste...

Oct 10, 2018 - October 10, 2018 – Garden City to Emporia, Kansas

October 10, 2018 – Garden City to Emporia, Kansas Before I left Garden City, I stopped by to see the World’s Largest Outdoor Municipal Concrete Swimming Pool. This is located in a city park. Also located there is a Lacebark or Chinese Elm. This not to be confused with the Siberian Elm which is a relatively short-lived weak-wooded tree. The Lacebark Elm is a native of Eastern Asia. It has small, barely visible blooms in the fall which are wind pollinated. They can grow to 60’ tall and have 50’ to 60’ wide with a slender trunk and crown. The...

Oct 9, 2018 - October 9, 2018 – Taos, New Mexico to Garden City, Kansas

October 9, 2018 – Taos, New Mexico to Garden City, Kansas This has been a tiring day. I have driven in either snow or rain mixed with snow all day. When I 1st left Taos, it was overcast, but not snowing. About 5 miles out of town, I stopped to take a picture of the autumn leafs. Less than a mile later, I was in snow. I was going to stop at Angel Fire which is the 1st memorial and only state park dedicated to Vietnam veterans. However, it was snowing hard there, and I decided to move on. I will have to go back some other time. After leaving...

Oct 1, 2018 - Ellis KS, Cedar Bluff State Park, overnight stay

We left Cabela's in the morning, still cool cloudy and some light rain. As we headed south toward Cedar Bluff state park, the clouds started to disappear and the temps warmed up. And yep, more and more fields of corn and soy beans, but we also noticed some other kind of "stuff" growing in the fields. At a fuel stop in Stockton KS, we had our question answered by the man filling up his truck next to us. He has his own business of cutting other farmers fields, and explained to us what we were seeing was called Milo (grain sorghum) and it is...

Oct 1, 2018 - October 1, 2018 – Wichita to Emporia to Hugoton, Kansas

October 1, 2018 – Wichita to Emporia to Hugoton, Kansas I was on the road to Emporia before 8 this morning. When I got there, I had to do some last minute packing of the car. I had packed everything I could last night, but the things in the cooler were left until this morning. Also, the suitcase had to wait until this morning so that I could put the toothbrush, etc. in it. After I finished packing the car and unhooked it from the coach, I found Carl and showed him where the water had leaked. He was going to pressure test the water system...

Sep 30, 2018 - September 30, 2018 – Stillwater, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas

September 30, 2018 – Stillwater, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas I got away this morning shortly after 11. I arrived here in Wichita shortly after 1. I’m glad that I’d made a reservation for tonight because they had a sign up that they were full for tonight. There are a lot of folks who are here for just one night I’m sure. In 110 miles on Interstate 35, I met 65 RVs headed south – that’s 1 every 1.7 miles. The southerly migration has indeed begun. Most of these were probably from the northern US. The Canadians don’t generally cross the border...

Sep 24, 2018 - HitchHiker Service

This years annual visit to HitchHiker Service; replaced my RV propane/electric refrigerator with a Whirlpool residential, electric only version. The life expectancy of an RV frig is between 5 and 10 years. Two negatives, the cost is almost $3K, second, the likely hood of being stranded in the middle of nowhere miles from a technician & a new unit was, well NOT appealing. My HH is 5 years old, so this was a planned upgrade. New unit has more capacity AND is FROST-FREE! I am a HAPPY CAMPER!!!...