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From the Road to Hell to Peculiar

2/27/2018

Not that we have been in Hell--not exactly, anyway--but on the road to Hell--Highway 69 in Oklahoma again. Last Friday, in my mind I swore I would never ride on that road again in my life. However, fate dictated otherwise.

When we arrived in Dallas Friday, our smaller slide containing the stove, fridge, and TV sounded like a road grader when I put it out. Not good. Since downpours were forecast for the next 36 hours, we didn't want to bring it in and have it get stuck partway. Besides, no one repairs RVs on weekends. So Monday morning, we got on the phone to the nearest dealer, our dealer, the manufacturers of the trailer and the slide, and a mobile repair service. Brick walls every where.

We decided to cancel the rest of our trip to Mississippi, Florida and Georgia and head home. Back on I-75 and Oklahoma 69 to be battered to pieces. We spent last night again at Lake Eufala with much better weather than last Thursday. Then on the road today to Peculiar, Missouri. It's one of my favorite town names.

We are staying at Peculiar Park Place RV Park. All of the campground streets are named for Monopoly properties! It seems like a very nice place in spite of high winds and rain forecast for overnight. Tomorrow, home and emptying the camper to prepare for repairs we hope.

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Oh! Oh! Don't let the Rain Come Down!

2/25/2018

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After five days of heavy rain, freezing rain, ice, heavy rain, hail, bad roads, more heavy rain, tornado watches, and--oh, yeah--more heavy rain, we have been looking forward to Sunday with partly cloudy skies and 63. This morning my Accuweather says rain staring in 47 minutes. The good news is that the green blobs on the radar are small and hopefully will not amount to much.

We arrived at East Fork Campground at Lake Lavon in Wylie, Texas Friday afternoon. We have been here several times because of its proximity to son Pat and family in nearby Allen. It is a Corps of Engineers campground but not very well maintained. They have patched the worst pot hole in the road since we were here last year, so there's no longer danger of losing children and small dogs in it, but nothing else has been done. Lots of low spots, including around our picnic table and fire ring have become small lakes themselves. Some sites are so flooded, they are totally unuseable.

Anyway, we spend most of our time with the kids, and since Pat had knee scope surgery Friday morning, we are going there to visit. Yesterday, a couple of Jill's sisters and husbands dropped by and it was great to see them. This afternoon, we may take in Black Panther with Pat and grandson Jack. So this is one of those 'Camping when it's not camping' weekends--using our trailer as our own private motel.

We just hope the water goes down before we have to unhook the electrical and water.

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Burn Ban? Balderdash!

2/22/2018

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The morning started out with a peek of blue sky and some thin clouds. As we journeyed south along the west edge of Arkansas to Fort Smith, we moved into heavy cloud cover and west into Oklahoma--rain again. The good news: not terribly heavy and not freezing.

An aside commentary: the need to improve the infastructure is no better illustrated than along I-40 and highway 69 in Oklahoma. It does lend a cowboy authenticity to your trip because you feel as if you've unsuccessfully ridden a bucking bronco without even leaving your car.

Anyway, based on the forecast, we decided not drive all the way to Dallas and landed at Arrowhead State Park on Lake Eufala in Oklahoma. We were here three years ago and at that time shared the campground with one other camper and the host; this time there are six other campers here besides us. A crowd!

But when we went to the park office to register, a large sign on the front door announced BURN BAN! The photo shows our fire ring to the right of the pole. I don't think they needed to worry.

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The Icing on the--uh--Camper

2/21/2018

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Tuesday was launch day and it arrived with pouring rain. If we went west on I-80 to Des Moines and south on I-35 to Kansas City, we would encounter freezing rain. So we stuck with the pouring variety and headed south on 218 to Palmyra, MO and then SW to the Lake of the Ozarks. Our target was actually Nevada, Missouri but with the stress and traffic, we were running behind and looked up campgrounds near Camdenton. (Ain't the Internet grand?) Anyway, found one with a spot and arrived shortly before 5:00.

Still pouring, and the site was out of level six inches from side-to-side. Lots of jockeying because our levelers will only bring it up four inches. By the time we gave it up and went inside, we were soaked--coats, hats, gloves, jeans, socks, and shoes. During the night, it switched to freezing rain. We neglected to put our awning in, and it was coated. One benefit--an ice-coated awning doesn't flap in the wind. Anyway, some strenuous work with the broom--poking it on the underside--rendered it ice free enough to roll up. The photo shows part of what we knocked off.

Next issue: the doors on the truck were frozen closed. We dug into our bag of tricks for the hair dryer and eventually got that taken care of. Also--the locks on the outside compartments were frozen, the steps partially frozen, ice coated the sides of the slides, and the power cord was in a sheath of ice. The good news? It wasn't raining--freezing or otherwise.

We had a shorter drive today to Bella Vista and the rain held off. At the last welcome center in SW Missouri, I had to grab a picture of the sign, reminiscent of Route 66. There is a little Route 66 museum inside as well.

We planned the Bella Vista stop to meet friends for supper. We are at a city campground with nice level sites and full hook ups. Set up was a breeze. But we no sooner got done than it started to rain. Our friends called--they live ten or so miles away on a very winding road and they were getting--you guessed it--freezing rain. Supper plans were canceled.

Tomorrow we will head to Dallas. They have rain forecast for the next three days. I thought the saying went "Into each life, a little rain must fall."

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The Camper-Loading Olympics

2/20/2018

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Winter is winding down (we hope, anyway) and for us it's time to get the camper ready for a spring trip. This is always a big job at the beginning of the season since we removed everything liquid, paper, etc the fall before. And after a fairly mild January, we were graced with 8-10 inches of snow in about a week and a half.

At our house, that leaves a narrow, old sidewalk to the parking pad for the camper as the only route. So far not a problem. Then the snow began to melt. In the last several days, the low points in that sidewalk developed sizeable ponds, but there was still enough snow that the sidewalk was the only feasible route.

Taking loads out to the camper required a spring with a 360 flip over Puddle A, a triple toe loop over Puddle B, and a parallel jump with a Telemark landing over Puddle C. All of these resulted in wet socks and shoes and rattled nerves.

Then my houseboy/driver laid a couple of planks over the first two puddles and a piece of siding over the third. Now I am switching my techniques to the balance beam and platform diving so I will be ready for the summer Olympics in two years.

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From the Road to Hell to Peculiar

Oh! Oh! Don't let the Rain Come Down!

Burn Ban? Balderdash!

The Icing on the--uh--Camper

The Camper-Loading Olympics

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