Sep 23, 2011 - Leaving Kansas City

This is our last day in KC. The motor home is getting some hail damage repaired. David and I are killing time at Zona Rosa while Sparkle is at doggy day camp. We will spend the night at one of the Cummins Coach Care hookups and take off tomorrow on our first seasonal trek.

Sep 22, 2011 - Harley-Davidson Tour

Day 69 We toured the Harley-Davidson Plant today. It is the only one in the country that makes engines and motorcycles at the same site. We saw the production like running today which we missed in earlier plants. Chalk up another factory tour. No pictures allowed.

Sep 21, 2011 - Jesse James

Day 68 After a morning getting routine maintenance on the truck, we went to Kearny, MO to the James Family Farm, home of Jesse and Frank James and their mother, Zerelda James. The James Farm Foundation now owns 40 acres of the original 200 acres farm. There was a good video about the James family and how Jesse and Frank became “highway men”. The house was built in 1822 and added to by the family. All of the furnishing were original to the family which is unusual in many old homes. Their mother was also quite a woman (6 ft tall and 200...

Sep 20, 2011 - St. Joseph

Day 67 We went today to St. Joseph to the Pony Express Museum, the Patee Hotel, and the National Military History Museum. These three show the full range of museum development. The Pony Express Museum was really good. It has well done video and displays. There are interactive displays and some live sized models. There is a blend of stories of the people-founders and riders-and of the historical significances of the Pony Express. Trivia: Riders ranged in age from 11 to 40. Their lives after the Pony Express were varied: rancher, lawyer,...

Sep 19, 2011 - Fort Leavenworth

Day 66 We went to Fort Leavenworth, KS today. First, we drove by the home of Fred Harvey who built the Harvey House chain. It isn’t open for tours yet so we just saw it from the outside. Next we went onto the army post of Fort Leavenworth. We went through a complete inspection of the truck and showed ID. Fort Leavenworth is the oldest fort in continuous operation in the US. It was opened in 1827 to provide security for the Santa Fe Trail and has been in use ever since. It is the home of the Command Trailing School for the army. On the...

Sep 18, 2011 - Another Gray Travel Day

Day 65 We’re moving to Platte City, MO. It’s another gray, overcast day with cool temperatures. We arrived, the sun came out, we got set up, the sun went in and the gray returned. We were thankful for sun while we had it.

May 27, 2011 - Platte City, MO

5-27-11 Platte City, MO We have been involved in a whirlwind of activities! We also have endured two tornado possibilities. The first was in St. Charles, MO, on Sunday where we dutifully went to the laundry room of the RV park until receiving the all clear. The second was in Kansas City on Wed. We were scheduled to visit the Hallmark Card Company and we were promptly taken to a safe place where we joined about 60 second graders and numerous adults who had already spent about an hour in the safe place. They were a bit restless, and it...

May 18, 2011 - Basswood Resort, north of Kansas City

Left at 9:30 and traveled to Kansas City into a slight headwind. Our campground is an old rod and gun club that is showing some age. Would be a great gathering place for family. Installed a sample handle in neighbors camper. They are meeting a camping club this weekend and he will hand out business cards. We are in the flight path of KCI but was not a problem as overnight flights were almost non existent. Noise was not bad inside the camper. Bill

Oct 20, 2010 - Wednesday Oct. 20- Platte City MO

We were up early in the morning, as we were having the motor home detailed at 8:00 AM. John arrived at 7:50, but we were ready for him. Our motor home has a rubber roof, which needs to be coated at least 2 times a year. John was the same guy who did the motor home last spring. He has put us on his 6 month plan, so we have a discount when we have the motor home detailed. Most campgrounds will not allow you to wash your RV, but they allow some companies to come in and do it, if they have a good record with the campground. It was a bright,...

Oct 19, 2010 - Tuesday Oct. 19- Platte City MO- Basswood RV Park

We did some things around the motor home and finally left the campground around 10AM for the 3 hour drive to north of Kansas City. We pulled into Basswood Campground around 1:30. Basswood is a Passport America park, so we had a 50% discount on the site for the two nights we are staying. They led us to our site and we set up the motor home. We went grocery shopping and started some laundry. Later, we met Joe, Bob's brother, and his girlfriend Bonnie, at their house for dinner. They had cooked ham and beans with cornbread and pumpkin spice...

Sep 29, 2010 - Last Night Out

Date: September 29, 2010 Tonight’s Location: Platte City, MO Mileage: End - 57404 Start - 57000 Total Miles for the day: 404 Weather: bright sunshine Temperature: start 50º High 81º Wildlife count: Canada Geese, Double-crested Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture Left about 8am. Wanted to leave earlier, but it was pitch dark till 7:30 – we were on the western edge of the Central Time Zone. Driving was easy – all on Interstate – 80 and 29. Stopped just north of Kansas City at a delightful resort RV Basswood park. Ordered pizza at the...

Sep 23, 2010 - Day Twelve - Nebraska ,Iowa & Missouri.

Hi Guys, Another challenging day on the roads as we had to again contend with major rain storms and high winds as we traveled the highways of Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Due to the constant rain (and I mean rain, it was bucketing down, I was about to start looking for 2 of each animal it was that wet) we decided that it would be best to just drive straight through to Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska before we made our first stop for the day. So at around 1pm we arrived in Lincoln and, it was a bit larger than we had expected, but boy was...