Buffalo River National Park, AR (10-25-11)

                                                             There’s nothing better than spending a day on the water, and that’s what we did Tuesday, when the weather was beautiful-sunny with temperatures in the 80s. .  We rented canoes with an outfitter that also provides a shuttle service, and off we went,  canoeing 4.5 miles down the Buffalo River.  Paul took the steering position, which left me in the “just paddle when I tell you to” position. Along the way we took breaks to eat lunch and to just enjoy the day.  We got a glimpse of a Bald Eagle, soaring among the many vultures that flew overhead.  We tried sneaking up on the turtles as they were sunning themselves on the rocks, but weren’t very successful at it.                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

          Lest we get bored,  every once in a while we would come upon some “rapids”.  I use the term loosely, but there was some swift moving water that required some planning on how we were going to get through it.  Several times it involved Paul yelling “paddle!! No, on the other side!!”  So much fun!The water was crystal clear and beautiful, which allowed us to watch the turtles and fish and sometimes made it easy to dodge the many boulders lurking just beneath the surface.

Because we took the short trip, we had time to hike in the afternoon.  We did the relatively short hike (3.5 miles) to the Indian Natural House, basically a cliff overhang that was used by Indians so many years ago.

 

We knew the weather would be taking a turn for the worse soon, so we got up early the next day to do the other hike that we were really interested in doing.  Armed with our cheat sheet of where the building and mine ruins are located, we headed to Rush, the local ghost town.  A town that was founded based on the zinc that was discovered underground. A town quickly built up in the early 1900s, and during World War I, zinc mining reached it’s pinnacle here in Rush.  Unfortunately, after the war, the price of zinc plummeted, which sadly caused the mine to close and townspeople to slowly drift away.  In the 1950s the last store closed, leaving a handful of residents to cope on their own, until the last of them left in the 1960s.


Apparently I forgot to take pictures yesterday.  I think it was because I was too busy looking at the GPS because we kept losing the trail. Everything is quite overgrown, and the terrain is very hilly and wooded. Twice we had to turn around. Well, once it was because I refused to cross over the steep hill of loose gravel that looked like a landslide waiting to happen.  I did get one shot, of Paul exploring a mine opening.




True to the weather forecast, the rain arrived late yesterday and has not left the area yet, so today was spent doing projects.  Paul’s project list is back up to 14 items, so he was anxious to start tackling something.  With no TV, cell phone or internet, I spent my day going through all the pictures from our trip over the last 2 years, deleting the ones I don’t need to keep.  Believe it or not, it took me all day. Tonight I tried a recipe I have for microwave brownies and it actually worked pretty well!  It only takes 6 minutes to cook them!

S.O.I.T.C. (Grove, OK 10-20-11)

  Suite Owners International Travel Club- that’s the club for people who own the same brand  of 5th wheel (DRV, which makes Mobile Suites and Elite Suites)  that Paul and I have.  We scooted out of Arkansas to attend a rally here in Grove, OK, which was only 80 miles away from where we were.    For the last few days we’ve been mingling with other owners, hearing their stories, and sharing ours.  The first 2 hours we were here were a whirlwind.  We have one of the newest rigs, so quite a few  people showed up at the door in the first few hours to check it out. 
  
      There have been several organized activities in the last several days, plus some time for us to explore on our own.  Friday the weather improved to the point that we decided to go on the organized two hour boat trip around Grand Lake on the  Cherokee Queen.  It was a beautiful day to be on the lake, but it wasn’t a very exciting trip.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Saturday we checked out a place called Har-Ber Village.  Its a pretty unique collection of almost anything you can think of.  It’s set up like a village, with walking paths that weave in and around the exhibits.   Each building contains a collection of antiques of some kind, including dolls, toys, china, medical equipment, and tools.      

                                                                                                             

  

One of the exhibits was what MUST be the world’s most extensive display of barbed wire.  Who knew that there were over 900 Styles of barbed wire fencing?

I sure am glad that we have modern technology when it comes to curling and drying hair!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

I really liked the animal exhibit.  the information about this bear explains that he is a Kodiak Bear, found on Kodiak Island in Alaska.  He weighed in at 1600 lbs and is over 8 feet tall.  He was shot with a .357 magnum rifle. It took 5 shots to kill him, and typically with this type of animal, a hunter will wait at least 2 hours before approaching the carcass, because if there is any life left in the bear, he will attack and try to kill the hunter.

The last night of the rally we had a pot luck dinner and over 50 prizes were given away. Paul and I won a $25 gift card to IHOP, and some Christmas decorations.

There were 25 rigs here at the rally, plus representatives from a DRV dealership, and a Vice President of DRV. I guess the trip here was worthwhile for the dealer, since one of the two rigs he brought to show was sold to one of the couples at the rally.

Eureka! (Springs, AR) 10-14-11

     I was going to say that it will probably take a while for us to get back into the swing of being on the road, but the truth is, we slipped back into our lifestyle very quickly and effortlessly.  Already our plans are changing daily- just the way we like it.  If we really wanted to stick to the plans we made, of course, we would, but we usually enjoy the fact that we can change them at will.   Our original idea was to go to Branson, MO and meet up with some friends, but they didn’t go to Branson.  They went to Eureka Springs, AR instead.  And so, here we are in  Eureka Springs, relaxing and having a great time with our Escapee friends.
   The other night we all made a dish and congregated at our trailer to enjoy an awesome Mexican dinner, complete with Margaritas ( of course) and something different that we all tried.  Paul and I love to cook with Hatch Chilis, and we found, along our travels, a wine made with them, so we bought it.  We finally opened it the other day and all 6 of us tried it and decided that it wasn’t terrible!     

    Eureka Springs looks like a very interesting little town, but Paul and I have only done a drive by type of exploring.  Maybe some other time we’ll spend a day walking around investigating what the town has to offer.  The terrain here is very hilly and the roads are very “twisty” which makes for an interesting, if not challenging, drive (especially at night).  I love this little suspension bridge, but I am glad Paul does the driving. There wasn’t much room for the dually on this one!

   Yesterday we ventured up to Branson for the day, which was about a 60 mile ride, but with these lovely roads, it was almost an hour and a half drive. We had tickets to see “The Six”. the #1 show in Branson for 2011.  The Six are six brothers who perform together, using only their voices for not only the singing, but all  the instrumental sounds. The show was pretty good, since I think we are all easily entertained!


      Once the show was over we had to check out the Tool store whose reviews said it was “SO MUCH BETTER than Harbor Freight Tools”.  I am not sure any of us would agree with that, but each of the guys did leave the store with a bag of stuff, so I think they enjoyed the hour they spent in it!
    We topped of the day with a trip to Branson Landing and dinner at the White River Fish House.
Today the weather has changed drastically, from 80 degrees two days ago, to 37 degrees last night.  It’s still in the 40s out there today, and the wind is whipping!

DRV factory (10-11-11)

                                                                 Two weeks prior to our appointment at DRV, we emailed them a list of issues with the trailer, so they would have an idea of what would be required when we got there. We also requested that Scott work on our trailer, if possible.  He did the work the last time we were there and we were very impressed with his abilities, attitude and knowledge.  He worked hard to make sure we were satisfied with his work.  Sure enough, when we got there, Scott was waiting for us, with our list in his hand.  One of the things I like about DRV is that they let you hang out in your trailer all day while they work on it, as long as you don’t get in the way.  For us, that means that I sit around all day and Paul follows Scott around, helping him, making suggestions, and asking for scraps of wood etc. for future projects.
One of the problems with the trailer was an area that had apparently been fixed by the factory before we got the trailer, but the gel coat was missing on the fiberglass exterior, which meant that it would age and yellow at a different rate from the rest of the trailer.  Our brilliant idea was to add a new paint “swoosh” in a dark color (DRV calls them “eyebrows”), instead of trying to fix the gel coat.  So, now we can say our trailer has a custom paint job!

 

 

One of the other things we needed them to do was to find our speaker wires for our outdoor speakers.  It took Scott a while, but he did find them, so now we have our outdoor speakers!   

All in all, it didn’t take them as long as we thought to get all the fixes done.  It was a little frustrating that we had so many issues, but now we feel pretty good about the trailer.  I had to laugh at one point, as Paul told Scott that one of the creative solutions he had for a problem was fine with us, since we’re “easy going”.  Scott looked at me, and I looked at him and I give him credit that he didn’t laugh out loud.  I will say that Paul IS easy going in some ways although anyone who knows him knows how meticulous he is as well.

Anyway, we have left the factory and have made it as far as Missouri.  We are headed to Arkansas to spend a few days with some fellow fulltimers.

Winding down in Michigan (10-8-11)

        As they say, all good things must come to an end.  We are entering our last few days of our 5 week stay in Michigan. Since the wedding we've spent a little time with the kids , but more time with friends.  We had a great time last Sunday- we went for a 15 mile bike ride with Rick and Karen, then went to a pub to watch the Lions win against the Cowboys! We've had dinner with some friends and lunch with others. 
      As usual, Paul's been busy modifying things.  Since he has access to more tools here he is taking advantage of it. Friends of ours gave the kids a dining room table and chairs, but the table was really too big, so Paul cut it down for them. And of course he did it in such a way that they can still add the leaf in when they have guests!  He swapped out our shower set up and installed the new Delta  (pretty nifty) set up that we paid big bucks for.  We can control temperature and water pressure separately now, which makes a huge improvement! Since we have the sewing machine, he cut down the comforter from a king to a queen and modified the bottom sheet to be able to add a bungee cord (to keep it tighter). The last time I used a sewing machine, I was 14, so I sure am glad he likes to sew! 
       Now that we’ve  taken care of the last of the doctor appointments and both got a clean bill of health, we will take the final steps to become Texas residents by switching our health insurance and our official address with Ford Motor Company.  Then the only thing left to do will be to get my driver’s license, once we get to TX.
      Yesterday we met a couple who are interested in buying a new Mobile Suites.  They live in the area, so I had invited them over to take a look at ours, in a more relaxing environment than an RV dealership with a salesman standing over you.  We spent two hours showing them around and just chatting. It was actually fun for us.  They are still in the “note taking” stage, one that I remember too well, and have yet to tour the factories, so they aren’t quite ready to make a final decision.
     In the next few days we’ll try to see Jess and David  a couple of times before we leave, and we’ll go through the trailer to make sure everything we want back in storage made its way there.    From here we head to the DRV factory to get more work done on the trailer, and if we can get out of there fast enough, we hope to meet up with some friends in Branson MO.  After that, we may head to Hill Country in TX, or, we may go the other way and head to New Orleans again.  We’ll see!  I look forward to being back on the road with no plans whatsoever, but I know that i will really miss my daughter.  I got used to having her around!