A Very Green Day!!

We made it here to Osceola IA before noon, set up and checked in at the Terrible's Casino RV Park. This is as far east into Iowa that we have been on the south end. I was amazed as we followed I 29 up and over on Hwy 34, across to I 35, how vividly green everything is! We crossed the Nishnabotna River (I like to say that! It most certainly is an Indian name!) and passed under a very long coal train. That's the only dark colors that broke up the green besides the grey highway that we drove on! The corn stalks are reaching for the sky and the fields go on and on and on! There were all different shades of green, only broken up very rarely by a small patch of orange wild flowers along the edge of the road. No brown weeds, trash or buttery golden fields of wheat, just corn fields and bean fields and trees! We grabbed a bite of lunch (leftovers) and headed into the casino to check it out. Let's just say no escort was needed when we left! This park is very convenient and clean and it was nice to leave the house Frau napping while we went out. Paved Roads, Cement pads, Full hook ups and a small lake, complete with a flock of big fat Canadian Geese! It's within walking distance to the casino or they have a golf cart shuttle. A non reservation park, there were lots of places when we got here, but tonight it's pretty full. I think lots of them are just in for overnight. The parking lot up by the Casino and Hotel has been pretty full since we got here, so they must be pretty busy. Nice midwestern people with more of a relaxed small town atmosphere. Before we left Nebraska City this morning I kicked my coffee over so had rugs to wash this evening. Klutz is my other name! Gathered all the laundry up while I was at it and headed into town to a laundry mat. DH got some more of his book read and I got some things planned. Met a really nice girl there who's son just had a kidney transplant the first of the year. Her husband and herself just started new jobs, and their girls won a softball tourney this weekend, so she had a really positive outlook and pleased that things were turning around in their lives. It's nice to talk to folks that are surviving this economy with a positive attitude! Tomorrow we climb in the Suburban and hit the road. Haven't decided which way we're going first, I'll decide at breakfast. It has been a really good day for the first day in Iowa! Stay tuned......

Cherry Festival, Arbor Farm & Lewis & Clark Center

We started the day by following Bunky out to the Cherry Festival at the Kimmel Orchard and Vineyards. Then we left, knowing how to get back there, and we drove up Hwy 75 toward I29 and stopped at the Lewis & Clark Center by the Missouri River. This area has lots of history and used the Missouri River as a main method of shipping and receiving goods back in the day. We traveled on up the Hwy across the river into Iowa, and stopped at the Iowa Welcome Center. Picked up a few more pamphlets and found an interesting publication if you're from Nebraska that has an online edition. www.prairiefirenewspaper.com. It even has ads from the old hometown! Came back to drop the house frau off at the coach before returning for the Cherry Festival. Bunky Christiansen is a Country Recording Artist that is in the middle of recording a new CD as he travels around the country. We were fortunate last night to hear 7 of the new songs on the CD. Not many have heard it yet, we're special! We will have to wait for Arizona in the winter to hear the completed project. The Cherry Festival was pretty fun. Witnessed some of the workers using an original 1956 cherry pitter that they purchased new. They had many products made from tart cherries. One of the guys working there is married to a TenBensel girl from Cambridge and went to school with Skipper Fuch's son Clint from Oxford. Small world! The cherry pies that they have there are made by the "Village Pie Maker" which is located in Eustis NE. so they weren't home made here, but the Apple Pies (one that DH had to have) are home made with apples grown at the orchard. They also boast several varieties of wine and they grow the grapes. After having a cherry slush and getting some Bings and Juice, (Cherries are a great source of anti oxidents and are very good for you!), we said our goodbyes to Bunky and went across the road to the Arbor Farm, Lodge and Lied Center. Stopped at the Indian Treaty Monument, which was built and signifies a treaty between the Pawnee Chiefs and the White men at Rocky Ford on North Table Creek in 1833. The Arbor Farm and State Park is where "Arbor Day" began! After looking around at the Tree farm and a ride past the lodge, we stopped for lunch at Runza, an exclusive Nebraska restaurant that serves a ground beef and cabbage pocket sandwich. I miss them when I can't get them! They never taste the same when you make them at home! We are having Apple Pie tonight for dessert! We stopped at Wal Mart and picked up some super glue to repair a couple of things in the coach that have broken. I promptly got it all over my hands.. I'm not good with stuff like that! I've put all my pictures from today on Picasa. DH is up on the roof doing some A/C maintenance. A front came through this afternoon, complete with a nice shower, and some of the humidity left the area. We will get an early start in the morning, and it will be a small trip. Only a little under 150 miles for tomorrow. Next stop.....Osceola Iowa......

Slow News Day

Worked outside, made a pot roast and they ate it all......had a good visit with an old friend. He is a very talented musician that we met in AZ. this winter, originally from here in Nebraska City. He also travels in a Motor Home and is parked here tonight to visit with us. After tomorrow we won't see him again until we get back to Arizona to our Resort. Touched base with a far away friend...I still miss California and the Drag Races. I will simply deny it if someone accuses me of being addicted to Nitro Fuel!!! LOL (maybe I am) Will go to a Cherry Festival tomorrow at the Arbor Lodge. There will be good food and good music. People here are very nice and friendly. Thinking of my Hellanova Boys tonight in Lincoln. Hope they are having a great show, I'm sorry I couldn't go. My Frau finished her medicine today and decided she needed to be the center of attention tonight when we had company. She never did that before, but she had Wyatt to keep her company. No....we're not getting another one! Will have more news tomorrow with something a little more exciting but a day in the camp.

It Was a Difficult Day!

Not every day can be wine and roses, and we had one of the other ones today. It was hot, hot, hot and humid. The generator decided that it wouldn't stay running, and the dash a/c couldn't keep up. It got downright miserable and we only traveled about 200 miles. We traveled a state highway this afternoon across the bottom part of Nebraska. A road that I traveled numerous times in my working life and it was an o.k. road. Well, I wasn't in a 43' Pusher towing either! No shoulders, we only ran a couple of tires off the edge 4 times. One stretch of horrible road construction went on for 12 miles. ROUGH! A pilot car for 2 of those miles and then the topper...the laying of gooey tar and oil at the end! We drove really slow but could hear it underneath. When we finally got here to the Victorian Acres RV Park, and commenced to unhook, OH WELL!!! Tons of tar, all over the front and hood of the toad... DH didn't know which way to turn first, thank god he decided to hook up the electricity and we started to cool down inside. He addressed the generator and thinks we need a new fuel filter, so ordered that from NAPA and it will be here in the morning. Anything more complicated than that, I have a Continued Service Plan and we will be seeking service elsewhere. Hopefully it will be fixed by the time we roll in a couple of days. We then spent 2 hours at the car wash removing tar and gunk. @$%#!!!!! We drove around town and down by the Missouri river. Will get more familiar tomorrow, after I drag the tools out and work on the back of the coach....I had it clean this a.m. before we left. Tomorrow night, our youngest and the Hellanova band opens a show for David Allen Coe in Lincoln. We may head up there and try to suprise them. Saturday, a friend of ours is playing music at one of the Apple Orchards north of town here. We will catch up with him tomorrow and maybe go watch him on Saturday. This is a very nice park. Located right off of Hwy 75 headed to the crossing of the river and Interstate 29. Very Clean and quiet! Only wish they had a pool. And now for the news.... Today we learned of the passing of both Michael Jackson an Farrah Fawcett. May they rest in peace. Now I will try to rest......and get ready for yet another hot day....yuk...I need the coast! Hey Mallard Racing! Sanoma and Seattle are looking better every minute! Tomorrow I will address the good things from this little jaunt today!

Headin' East in the Morning!

We ran around all over the area today tieing up loose ends and picking up supplies. Started out in Kearney Ne. doing the last minute shopping for the Grandbabies and got the oil changed in the toad. Stopped for lunch and headed to a carpet shop to finish the details of my new carpet being laid before I get to the sticks and bricks for the holidays. Phew! No stress.... Spent some time with the Grandbabies for the last time this visit. Stopped and stocked up on groceries. It's not like we're going into the wild and I won't be around any stores, but I just feel better carrying some things, especially since I have quite a bit of freezer space. Some nasty clouds came up while I was in the grocery store and really rained a bucket or two. It was sooooo hot, that the steam was rising up off the pavement, and when I came out, my glasses fogged up and I couldn't see! The thermometer in the car said 113! When we got home the clouds were really building, so we hurried and took the sun shade off the windshield and picked up the carpet and got them stowed incase it rained and now the clouds went away....The house Frau thinks shes a lap dog.....She does her best napping on daddy's lap and she really got warm sitting in the car today.....so more spoiled she gets! We only have about 200 miles tomorrow, which is an easy trip. I'm looking forward to the full hook ups tomorrow night, and I get to take a shower in MY shower! I'm really ready to move on...Stay tuned!

Someone Turn off the Furnace!

OMG!! It's hot now....I don't like it.....any more......! Drag race girl called today and it's 72 out in Corona Del Mar! :( O.K....I want to go back now! This pic is a view from her living room window - it's a fantasy land! Doesn't look to be any relief here this week either. I guess we're in what you'd call the "Dog Days of Summer!" I don't think it's gonna help us much going east. Not much activity out and about today. We got our mail and that always means I have lots of filing, bills and correspondence to keep me busy. I do so much online and paperless that we don't get very much snail mail anymore, which is really nice. I've been online watching all day for the announcement that some kids we know have had their baby....I'm anxious to get word that all is o.k. Cleaned house and invited the camp hosts over to see the coach. He said he'd been wanting to come over ever since we checked in here. They are really nice folks with a 32 ft. 5ver. Finished up my May/June Escapees Mag. and found a letter about boondocking and the Good Neighbor Policy. There's quite a bit of controversy about parking in business parking lots, and lots of cities are passing ordinances to prohibit parking anywhere but RV Parks. We call those "Unfriendly Towns" and stop other places! We haven't boondocked anywhere yet but I keep telling the class I may try to come out to Quartzsite next winter and join them for a few days....we'll see if I can get my courage up. IYQ will get to meet Foofy and Goofy and try out an "Excellent" pot of Speghetti, if I do say so myself! Pretty much all of us know the Good Neighbor Policy, even if we don't use the hospitality of businesses for an occasional overnight, but there's been a few that I've seen when shopping that would make ya shake your head and wonder about the gene pool! Jacks down, slides out and awnings, lawn chairs - you'd think they were tailgaiting or on vacation! I will share these points here, just to say I passed the letter on...no snail mail for this chick if I can help it!

1. Stay one night only! 2. Obtain permission from a qualified individual 3. Obey posted regulations 4. No awnings, chairs, or BBQ Grills (duh!) 5. Do not use hydraulic jacks on soft surfaces (including asphalt) 6. Always leave an area cleaner than you found it. 7. Purchase gas, food or supplies as a form of thank you, when feasible. 8. Be safe! Always be aware of your surroundings and leave if you feel unsafe.

The sun is down and it's still 88 degrees. I think putting my awning out this afternoon saved us about 10 degrees in here. Tomorrow I get out and start the outside work and drag out the checklist for blast off..... DH did some of the maintenance checks today. Batteries and fluids etc. He even got busy and rearranged the basement slides some. Tomorrow I will polish and wash windows (and then watch it rain), he will go fishin' again. Til the next thoughts appear......travel safe :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day all you Father's out there! Got up this morning, the sun is shining and the birds are singin'! It's gonna be a good day. Checked the radar and it's clear, so should be a good day to travel. DH got home about 11:00 soaked to the skin...no fish.....oh well. I let him sleep in and got the "present" out and the coffee made. Pretty soon it'll be time to go. Lots of folks up and takin' their boats out already this morning. The wind may blow but at least they won't get rained on......hope everybody gets to do something fun today! Travel Safe......

It's Raining! AGAIN!!!

I'm just sitting here tonight listening to the rain pitter patter on the top of the coach. My worry antanae are extended. Some friends of ours is here camping this weekend, with their fifth wheel and boat. We got home this evening from being gone all day, and the guys took the boat and went out fishing. They thought that the rain was going around us.......NOT! It came back in and I think we're getting a frog strangler! I've tried to call them a couple of times, and I don't get an answer. Hope they're not in trouble out there. It's dark.....and it's really coming down! We took off this morning and had breakfast at the Bugbee Cafe in Alma NE. Got to visit with a couple that we hadn't seen since we have been back. On to the big O town we went. DH went on with another guy to Arapahoe NE where they played golf in a foursome. I did laundry....isn't that always the way?? Had a nice visit with several people that I haven't seen for many moons. Got caught up on all the drama and happenings of the small town. When DH got back from the golf outing, we stopped at the sticks n bricks and he put a couple of bolts in our carport that the wind had worked out, and I picked up some tourism info on our upcoming states that I had received in the mail. Had supper in Republican City and finally got back here after six. It sprinkled and rained off and on all day. Tonight it's just flat out raining! It's been kind of a miserable day here for all the weekenders wanting to play in the water. They are having a successful weekend as far as the numbers of campsites sold here at Hunters Cove. I've left towels by the door and I'm going to turn in. KayCee already went to bed. She finally gave up trying to get me to go... we have to head up the road to Grand Island NE in the morning to see our new nephew. DH's sister is finally a Grandma! Then a stop at Wally World, so I can get stocked up for travel as we won't be near Wal Mart for a week or two. I just hope we don't sink sittin right here!LOL.

Yippee it's Friday! Moving Day for us...and 4700 others!

Today was moving day! My day didn't start out too good. Burnt my head with the curling iron and dropped the marble paper towel holder and broke it. It's probably a good thing we didn't travel far...just up to the front of the park. We dumped our tanks and filled up with water, then came around to a long electric only pull through by the entrance to the park. Gone is my nice level site, pretty view of the lake and easy access to the bank for DH to fish. I can sit and watch rigs and vehicles go in and out all day and down to the boat dock and when I get tired of that I'll pull the curtains! We are pumped up so far off the ground in the front that I have to use a ladder to get in and out! (No Glenn, not a wooden step stool, and no, I'm not doin' summersalts out the door! That's just reserved for me coming out of your rig onto the asphalt!) Oh yes I did that at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and don't know yet how I didn't break all kinds of bones! It was a TaDaah moment! KayCee Marie will need to be lifted in and out too. Oh well, it's only 6 nights and we'll be pretty busy the rest of the time now, so it shouldn't matter. Still have good satellite, phone and aircard service though. Talked to Drag Race Girl last night, (http://www.drgracegrl.blogspot.com/) I sure miss her, Glenn and Brodie their Blue Merle Aussie Shephard. She's been busy with promotion of her car and troop support shows. Her story has been published in two drag race magazines so far, and she has more items on her agenda to promote her car and the sport. It's pretty awesome. I'll include links to the magazines, so you can see the articles.. http://www.dragracestory.com/ and http://www.rpm-mag.com/ I'm sure proud of them and it's really fun to watch her race! She recently took the car to Glenn's stepmother's school where she teaches 6th grade. When they got there, the whole school ended up coming out and she had quite a turn out. That's a good way to form future race fans! (DH even likes to sit in her car and get his picture taken!) There's an Indian Pow Wow going on tomorrow in Kearney Nebraska at the Archway by the Interstate . I would like to go because that makes for some awesome pictures and stories, but choose to take DH to his golf outing instead. The last Pow Wow I went to in Casa Grande this past winter was fun but I got the flu. I think I'll pass right now, with all the swine flu germs out and about. I don't think KayCee would do well yet out in the sun all afternoon either. Everything is about her right now. I'm in a protective mode when it comes to my baby girl. We are supposed to have a beautiful weekend. It sprinkled on us this morning while we were dumping and filling, but now the sun is out and not much for clouds. Hopefully we have dodged another weather bullet and DH won't get to test out his Father's Day Present. I got him a rain gauge to replace the one he broke when we got here! Shhhhhh! It's a suprise!

Topic for the day! Blogs & Websites

Yep...I've read all kinds of blogs today, from all kinds of people who enjoy the RV Lifestyle for all sorts of different reasons. Everyday I learn something. When I first started researching this lifestyle as an alternative to see the country, I discovered several bloggers that had a vast amount of knowledge and had been "Fulltiming" for many years, thus, tons of experience. Some of those folks work full time, just not in one place. Some of those folks just travel around in retirement, not caring to live in one place. One thing is for certain....there is a ton of information about absolutely everything related to an RV, Locations, Experiences and Advice. I don't have all day every day to sit and read on the computer, however, this computer is a wonderful tool. I use it for lots of things, from communication to finance to HELP me I'm Lost!!! DH plays cards.....period.....and maybe once in a great while...he'll read an email from our financial advisor, if I plead and beg!
One man's blog that I try to read daily is Nick Russell's. He's the editor of the Gypsy Journal Newspaper, and has been a full timer for 10 years. w/ww.gypsyjournal.net/blog he and his wife Terry still work on the road. We have met them and attended their winter Rally in Arizona last winter. This picture is of one of the gatherings at their rally at the Pinal County Fairgrounds. Some other sites and blogs that I have discovered are :

http://www.rvnetwork.com/

www.irv2.com/forums/

http://www.dmbruss.com/

These places can be a source of help on any topic of this lifestyle that you may have a question or need assistance about. I have networked with lots of people that know way more than I do! I have gained some comfort by the fact that I have so many places to turn if we get into a fix!

I researched this lifestyle for about 3 years before we retired and actually started in '08. I think it was actually in my blood however, because when I was born, my dad was a traveling salesman and my first home was a 1954 36' Spartan Trailer, pulled behind a Car. We traveled all over the South and Eastern part of the United States, finally settling in Denver Co. when I was old enough to attend school and they needed to set down some roots. I regret that my folks are not around to see what we are doing today!

Mosquitos and Storm Warnings!

Today has been a really hot and muggy day! It got up to 87 here at the lake and ya can't hardly breathe! Storms are firing up all around, mostly northeast of here for now, but that's not saying we won't have any later on. The youngest was out spotting for the Fire Dept. on Monday night in Minden NE and spotted two tornadoes on the ground. Some trees got uprooted in town and that was all....thank you. Tis the season and those of us from around here has learned to just deal with it. Got up at 6 a.m. this morning to get our little hook eater back to the vet one more time. She's a lot better and they seemed to be pleased with her progress. As long as she continues to improve, we have the green light to go, so we will not have to alter our plans like I had originally thought. She turns her nose up at the blended food I've been offering, but swallows foreign objects! Dumb. We won't trade her in just the same. We stopped in at a laundry today and I washed all of our bedding. I'm not a fan of public laundry, but I do like getting it all done in a short period of time. Don't know where all this energy comes from some days, but now I'm ready to go to bed! Some guy just caught a walleye big enough to measure so right after supper DH grabbed the worms and poles and took off to the south almost on a dead run!!! OMG! we aren't going to have a fish caught with out him!!!! Wish he would get enough to cook! Newsflash- I did cook supper tonight! We are going to brave the elements (heat & humidity) and go for a little walk around here pretty soon. We both (KayCee & I) could use the exercise. Hope the mosquitos aren't out bad enough to carry us away. Killed a big one in our bedroom today. I about panic since DH had West Nile a couple of years ago. It's a scary thing. I got my electric bug zapper out that looks like a tennis racket and fixed him good! When one sees these contraptions, you could think it was just a joke, but they really do work and is quite fun in a sadistic sort of way! I don't mind frying a few pests once in a while, it works as a stress reliever of sorts!LOL. Update: back from our walk and there's enough of a breeze we didn't get bothered with bugs. I will continue to watch the storm reports on the tv tonight. We did invest in a weather radio this spring, since this is the first time in 35 years we are without Fire Dept. radios for alert. I keep the radio by the bed and it's alarms have gone off several times. You want to program in the NOAA numbers the county provides and you should have adequate warning for bad weather.

Missing the Heart Attack Grill

I'm already going a little stir crazy! Haven't hardly taken my eyes off of KayCee all weekend. The good news is that she is doing a little better. She isn't eating much but just enough to offset all the medication that I poke down her. At night I sleep with one eye and ear open and if her collar rattles, I'm up! Her last meds are at 11:30 p.m. , my drag race finals were on and a storm was headed this way, so I stayed up way too late. As it turned out we just got a nice rain, which was a relief. Hail and wind is not my friend! Always worried about damage to this coach, especially now that the parent company isn't operational now, and it would be very difficult to get repairs. I had a note from a friend this morning, that he is starting a blog too. I'm pleased to know that I can be a positive influence, however so small, and that some of my ramblings may provide bits and pieces of useful information, and a little entertainment! Another friend said she is living her dream through our travels and this blog. I like to touch base with family and friends through this outlet and it's what I've chosen to replace crochet and quilting in the winter~! LOL A person can only watch and listen to so much gloom and doom on the news, and this is my way of reporting on reality in the world of full time RVing.

Sunday morning on CBS has a weekly feature piece on unique and different places to visit and it is hosted by Bill Geist. Yesterday he was at the Heart Attack Grill in Chandler AZ. It just so happens that we have eaten there. It is in a little shopping mall where I get my hair cut in the winter, and not far from the dog park with the agility course! Last year when we drove by, I would note that we would have to eat there one day, but then when we started to enter, and I saw the scantily clad "Nurses" I turned to DH and asked "Are ya sure you want to eat here?" thinking it was sleazy! We continued on in, and were pleasantly suprised. The food by today's standards is absolutely not good for you, but by far the best cheeseburger I have ever tasted!
We just had singles, but if you try a quad, they wheel you out in a wheelchair. I got a tour of the kitchen and met the "Doctor" (owner) and now I find myself comparing every burger I have to that place! We will definitely go back again! It's funny that something like that would make me miss Arizona but it does....and now that it's made TV...it'll probably not be so easy to get into! Go figure.......
P.S.

I guess everyone else in my family had a fun weekend in Oxford. Another Turkey Days bites the dust. I just don't miss that anymore. It was the first time I've missed seein' my Hellanova boys play there. They are headed to do an opening show for David Allen Coe the end of the month, so we may go to that. You never know where we'll turn up!!! TTYL........

KayCee Home from the Vet Clinic

This was some of our happier adventures at a dog park this past winter in Chandler Arizona! I can't wait til the little girl is up to this again! She loves to go through the agility course. We got to bring KayCee home this afternoon from the Vet Clinic. She wouldn't eat for them, and they called so we would go up and try. I took her dish, and made a little wet food up and she gobbled it right down. We have lots of rules and things that she can't do. We were warned that the antibiotics are very high priced, and I didn't get a bill yet.....I probably don't want to know, and that probably shoots the idea of new carpet now, but oh well!! She said the fish hook had punctured all the way through her stomach and they had to cut some of the dead stomach away and stitch it up, so we have to be really careful, and she was being optomistically cautious. I'm feeling a little better today. Not coughing so bad and the sore throat is almost gone. Did all the laundry today and started a new book. I like John Grisham - and this is -- The Street Lawyer--in the first two chapters it was really action packed, so I don't think I'll have any trouble finishing it. DH back to the fishing on the bank and I will stay in and watch the "House Frau" this evening. As she gets better, we will get out and put her in the back of the suburban and go hang out there too, if the sun ever shines again! There was a really nice rain this morning. Just perfect sleeping weather with the rain gently pitter pattering on the roof of the coach. No wind to speak of and no storms to worry about. I haven't stayed in bed that late in a long time! Took me almost til noon to finish all the laundry when I finally got up and around. Guess the grandkids chickened out on the camping business down here. It's just too damp and cool yet. Don't think I blame them, I wouldn't want to tent it now either. Maybe they will come and fish tomorrow for a while, in the meantime, I know where I will be! Watchin my little German "Frau" and being very thankful that we still have her with us!!!!!

Today is a pretty dark day here in Harlan County. The view out over the lake is totally fog. Our lil' KayCee is having major surgery! She has been urping the last couple of days, and DH took her to the vet this morning. They did bloodwork and xrays, and she has swallowed a treble fishing hook! So much for letting her hang out on the rocks with DH while he fishes!!!! The last time I took her to the vet with a problem, they did surgery on her leg, where she had impalled a piece of a corn stock into her leg while hunting. I ended up with dressing changes and drain tubes for over a month. My trip to Kansas City for New Year's was ruined and I ended up staying home with her then too. I'm just shocked that she swallowed that hook and it went chear down! They were suprised that it didn't get caught in her throat. Can't believe this is happening so soon after we lost Wyatt. Tomorrow we are having all kinds of company. Our Daughter and 3 grandkids coming to camp for the weekend, and our Son is coming from Colorado with his family to stay in our vacation house. The town celebration is happening this weekend where we used to live and our other son's band (he's a drummer in a rock band) is playing at one of the gathering places. I don't have time for a convalescing dog!!! But apparently that is what is going to take place, so any ideas that I am going to get to have any fun is now abolished!!!! Back into nurse maid mode I go.. throw in a little cooking and cleaning and that'd be my vacation! I guess I better rest up from being sick the past two days and get ready for the masses.

Close to Heaven

This past few days here at Hunter Cove - Harlan County Reservoir has been pretty close to an ideal summer stop. We have spent a lot of time sitting by the lake, fishing and walking around the area. Outside of a downpour on Wednesday morning, the weather has been wonderful. Light breeze and mild temps. Not too much humidity and not many bugs. I have been planning our next leg of the adventure. We are going over into Iowa and circle the state. Some of the best discoveries can be found if one gets off the Interstate and slows down a bit. Last night we watched several rigs pull in for the weekend. We have neighbors in the spot next to us. These weekend warriors are experiencing the camping mode of life. It brings back memories of this place, when our children were small. We had a 1973 16 ft. Shasta pull type camper that we pulled with a big old Mercury. We spent almost every weekend and summer holidays here for years. When we got down here and set up, we'd put life jackets on the boys, unload the bicycles and they had a ball. When they got big enough to outgrow sleepin in the booth, we'd pitch a tent and they'd sleep in there. I've been here in March when there was ice on the lake and we ran the furnace to keep warm. We have caught a lot of fish off these banks. In those days we didn't have air conditioning. I could get by without electricity if I had too! This campground was first come first serve. Now you have to reserve sites online at least 4 days in advance and I'm not too thrilled with that rule. That's why one of my sayings when someone tells me to "Have Fun with your Camper!" is, "I've been camping and this isn't it!" The lake level is up and we can walk to the spot where we've been fishing. I will get back out there pretty soon, as I haven't caught anything yet. DH caught one of the biggest blue gill I've ever seen yesterday and one keeper walleye. Not enough for a meal yet, hope we will have fish for supper tonight. It has been so peaceful and quiet here this week, I hate to see that end, but we have another week or so here and Sunday afternoon it will get quiet once more! Have a great weekend.

A little Rest and A little Fishin'

We are about rested up. We spent the day in Kearney yesterday meeting our new Grandbabies. They still are pretty little, but growing right along. I don't know if they will make it out of the hospital before we leave or not. We also stopped in and visited with DH's friend that was in the severe car accident. He really has a long road ahead of him and is just fortunate to be here. It rained yesterday on our way up to Kearney, and I got a rock thrown into the windshield, so set that up to be fixed this week. Then on the way home I hit a pheasant almost full front on, lucked out and it didn't break anything...whew!! I did all kinds of mundane tasks today while I sent DH off to the water's edge to attempt to snag some walleye. We ended up with Grilled Tri Tip for supper, so that tells the story! The big ones aren't biting. Plenty of action on small fish in several varieties, and kept his interest for most of the day. There were several other guys down there fishing too so he had someone to talk to. We're gonna have to move from this site before we want to leave this area, so I walked around a little today looking for a place to move to. Think we have that one figured out. I did get this site booked through the 18th and I will have the camphosts here help me with the rest. Spent some time looking forward and coming up with a plan for our next move. Our plans from now through the fall are written in jello, but I have the next state narrowed down and some of the things we want to visit. Don't know what the plans are for the rest of the week here....except DH will play golf with a former work colleague on Saturday and we will visit the twins again on Sunday. The rest of the kids and Grandkids are pretty busy this week. Youngest son and band plays in Manhattan KS this weekend. I would have went to it if it had been last weekend when we were in Topeka! Otherwise, I'm pretty well set with supplies and KayCee and I will just be hangin out!

Too much Fun and Too Much Sun This Weekend!

We really enjoyed the NHRA Drag races this past weekend at the Topeka Raceway. It's hard to believe that the event has come and gone. I got my fill of Nitro and Fumes for a while. Our racing friends didn't win their class but had some really good runs and have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.....they were 7th fastest in the class, and the run that she finally lost was by less time than it takes to blink! Thousanths of a second. She just wasn't lucky. It's just the way it goes sometimes. She'll get em...Glenn has the car dialed in and soooooooo close! It's coming. I got some awesome pictures and got to watch some really good pro races on Sunday. I think she has the Wally backed into the corner, and he's goin' "Na na na na nahhhhhh!!!" I waited til Sunday afternoon to get too much sun! Usually if I hang out at the trailer in the pits, I stay in the shade, but we walked around in Nitro Alley and went over to the other side of the track and didn't really feel it til it was too late! That makes three National Events this year...don't think I'll make any more, but it just depends if I need to feed the addiction again towards the end of the season! Topeka has an awesome track and absolutely the best Cherry Limeade I've ever tasted! I'm gonna have to try to duplicate it. So much better than Sonic. No carbonation and it really quenched your thirst in the heat of the day! We got a late start this morning. Said goodbye to Christy and Glenn as they decided to go south and back to California to race this weekend at Fontana California. I'm really gonna miss them, we've had so much fun, (wanna buy a duck?) Inside joke!!!! LOL and I know we'll be seeing them again later on this year. We picked up Wyatts remains at the Pet Funeral Home and finally got on the road after 10:30. We recommend the Deer Creek RV Park in Topeka as a very nice relaxing place to stay. Unfortunately, I didn't get an opportunity to check out their new swimming pool, but then that is an excuse to go back. There's quite a few things I want to do along I 70, so we will probably revisit that area this fall on the way back west. Arrived at Hunter Cove about 5 this afternoon. Got our coach all set up and went into town to Old Mexico for supper. Lucked out and got the satellite to lock on between tree branches. We don't have local channels yet..I have All American Direct off both coasts for regular channels. Travel was uneventful today. 285 miles and breezy. Wind is never my friend. It breaks too much stuff, so was glad to be off the road tonight when the wind really came up for a while. Will turn in tonight and probably venture up to Kearney to meet the new twins in the morning. We are going to try to catch some fish while we're here also. I'm hungry for a nice fresh walleye! I have gotten so many condolences sent for Wyatt, I have thank yous to do and I send out a big "Thank You" to all of you on here. I feel a little better in knowing that we did what was best for him and he couldn't ever get any better. We allowed him to go with dignity and he's probably hunting in Pheasant Heaven!!!!