I awoke after a restless night worried that the RV might be damaged after the storm or that a tree branch had fallen on us but when I stuck my head out the door, everything looked OK except the wicker couch cover had blown completely off and was hanging by one strap to the leg of the couch. Good thing too as it might have blown into Branson city. I put it on the table to dry where I also put the cushions as without their cover, they too were soaked.
I let the awning out only to discover that my worst fears that it had sustained some damage in the storm were true. How much, I will determine when I get up close to it. It still operates but looks like it has come loose at the bottom corner and whether I can repair it remains to be seen. Always something.
We went out walking checking out the other RV’s and buildings, but I could not see any other damage. The 5th wheel across from me has an arrangement whereby he has a see-through canvas extension attached to his awning when it is extended which is then anchored to the ground to provide a secluded area for them. This additional cover was laying on the ground, but it looks like the awning is rolled safely up. That is one of the problems when a sudden gust of wind or a storm rolls in. One reason to never leave the awnings out if you are away for any length of time. We wandered around the park surveying for any other damage before adjourning back to Quatro. I did a walk around outside of the RV and discovered that the strong wind had blown over the new aluminum sewer hose supports which I quickly righted. The park personnel were driving around doing cleanup work and picking up all the loose branches and such that the wind had brought down.
The damage to the awning bothered me and I got out the collapsible ladder that I have, extended it, and got up close and personal to inspect the damage. The awning has torn for about a foot where it is attached to the roll bar. I think I can repair it with duct tape, but the canvas needs to dry first which may take a while in these cloudy conditions. Longer still if it comes on to rain. There was nothing I could do except wait so we adjourned back inside of Quatro.
I looked out the window and observed a 5th wheel pull into the slot immediately to my right and I hustled out to move the car to make it easier for the owner to back in with the Jeep out of the way. While I sat and waited, three more RV’s pulled in behind the first one. I parked the car out of the way and let them through and they all individually set up along our row. Now, there are only a couple of vacant spaces left.
I continued to write for a while and posted the latest version of the blog. I do not suppose that too many people bother to take the time to read what I write unless they are interested in the outdoor life, but I write to keep my brain active and if anybody else enjoys my writing then for me, that is a bonus.
It was still daylight enough for me to climb the ladder and repair the awning. And at the same time, hoping that the canvas had dried out enough for the duct tape to hold. It went well but the test will come when I close and then reopen the awning to see if it holds. I put the folding ladder away which, incidentally, collapses much quicker and easier than it opens, hoping that I will not need it again for this job. It was growing dark, and I was listening to an Audiobook trying to decide if I should bring the awning in overnight. I checked the weather forecast and it said rain showers and wind gusts and that did for me, and I pushed the “In” button until the awning was fully closed. The test will be in the morning when I open it again.
With the excitement of the new arrivals, we went out for a walk just being nosy and checking on the different units. There are now, only three open spots in our row, such is the nature of an RV Park. We wandered around for a while before returning to Quatro for the evening’s entertainment.
The day started off well as I awoke just like I was expecting that I would. It would not be a particularly effective way to start the day if I did not as I am not ready for that. Thinking about it, few of us are ready to move out of this world but we have truly little to say in the matter as it happens to everyone eventually. Sooner but hopefully later, everybody dies.
My first action after crawling out of bed and welcoming a new day was to throw on a few clothes and go outside to open the valves to drain the black tank first followed by the grey tank to wash everything out. I knew this needed doing as the bowl in the bathroom was slow in draining after brushing my teeth last evening. A sure sign that the tanks are full. It is a simple task but one that needs doing on a regular basis. If it is not done, the sinks keep filling and eventually overflow.
I went inside and finished my morning ablutions before taking the dogs out walking. We wandered around all over the place which is OK most of the time unless Sandy gets it in her head that she wants to go to the areas that are off limits to her and then it becomes a tug of war. Of course, I win eventually but only because I am bigger and stronger than her. If she really wants to go in somewhere different, she lays down in a stubborn pile of inert dog. It is all a part of our walking ritual and amusing most of the time.
Back inside of Quatro, I fixed breakfast for us but as usual, the dogs did their thing of ignoring it. I ate mine and really enjoyed that first cup of coffee but then, I usually do. I tidied up a bit although there is not a lot that needs doing and then settled down to write. I noticed that two of the Class A’s have pulled out this morning including the other Jayco Precept. Many campers choose to travel on Monday’s rather than over the busy weekends.
I searched around on Amazon for a collapsible dish holder in which to stack the dishes to dry on the counter. Currently, they sit on a dish towel and tend to not be very secure, slipping all over the place. I am taking this opportunity of being in one place for a month to buy the things that need to be mailed to me and this is the third thing getting delivered this week from the same company. I like buying things from them as they not only have a wide selection but also deliver very quickly and mostly for free plus they have a good return policy. I have only had to return one item, a set of maps, and that was because it was way to detailed for what I wanted. I found a return store and they took it back, no questions asked.
Amazon notified me that I had a delivery, so I called the front desk to confirm and then drove over to pick it up. This package did not contain anything glamorous but more of something practical like a metal expanding support for the black sewer hose. I already have a set of plastic ones, but it keeps falling apart so I opted to go for something more substantial. Like I said, nothing glamorous at all. The other things I have coming are not glamorous either. Not much room for glamour when you live and travel in an RV full time.
We went out for the afternoon walk and wandered around for a bit. The sky is looking dark and ominous ad there is rain in the forecast. We did not stay very long walking and headed back to Quatro where I worked on making things secure and covering the wicker couch. I left the awning out intending to pull it in if it started to rain as it was in the forecast. I should have known better as suddenly; a gust of wind sprang up from nowhere and the rain pelted down. I quickly closed the awning, and we settled in for a wet evening. The rain continued, and wind blew accompanied by thunder and lightning and we ended up with quite a storm.
Everything had calmed down by the time we went to bed.
We got up at a reasonable hour after a bit of a restless night. I dropped off to sleep and then woke up around 2:00 am, used the bathroom and just could not relax enough to fall back to sleep. I suppose I eventually did as when I awoke again, it was 8:30 am. I crawled out of bed and after the usual bathroom rituals, we went out walking staying in the shade as much as possible. We wandered around going this way and that as both dogs had their own ideas where we should walk based on the next interesting smell and finally ended back up at Quatro. My new neighbor was working outside, and I stopped to chat with him for a bit.
Following breakfast, I settled down to write for a while after checking the emails most of which were the usual junk. There was not even one that required my attention which is both good and bad but then again, it is Saturday and most people have today off. I wonder collectively, how many working hours are lost because of employees checking and answering their mail on company time? Twenty years ago, it would have been unheard of but as modern humans which includes women and especially kids, cannot live without their phones, it is accepted as the norm. There is an awful lot of the world passing these people by if they were to just look around at it. I know it is the modern way and a sign of the times, but I personally find it frustrating and yes, even annoying to see this. These people do not observe what is happening both in Nature and humanity and I pity them as they are a slave to modern technology.
My RV is facing the Laundry Room and I watch the comings and goings and decided that as there had not been any activity in the past hour, I might as well do a load of laundry. I gathered everything and telling the dogs I would not be long, climbed the grassy hill that leads to the laundry room about a 50-yard walk. When I opened the door, I was lucky as not a single machine of either variety, was in use. I selected the one I wanted and loaded in the wash and again, had to make use of the change machine as the washers and dryers do not take quarters but tokens. With the washer doing its thing, I wandered back to Quatro and listened to an Audiobook until I deemed it was time to make the trip back up the hill resulting in placing everything into one of the dryers before returning to Quatro to wait another hour.
While this was going on, I had placed some chicken cutlets onto the indoor grill, and it too was merrily cooking away. The grill will only hold just so much so I cook things in shifts and altogether, it will take 4 cycles, two for the chicken and two for the pork cutlets. Talk about multi-tasking but what a straightforward way to prepare the food…. Man, I am outdoing myself with all this burst of activity. Hate the cleanup though. I could let the drill cool down and then the dogs can lick the it clean. Just kidding.
It was time to wander back up the hill fold the laundry and bring it back to put it away in its respective drawers and such, you know, socks in one drawer, underwear in another and so on. This way, I can locate things without having to think about them because if I open the wrong drawer for socks and can always try the other 4-5 until I hit the right one. Who said my memory is fading, I did not say that…
On my trips backwards and forwards, I noticed that two more class A’s and a 5th Wheel have pulled in although we are all nicely spaced apart at least for now. My guess is that at least the Class A’s are probably full timers as most weekenders do not splurge out for the cost of a Class A. I watched as the latest Class A unhooked his tow car and backed it off the separate trailer and then unhooked the trailer itself. I complain about hooking and unhooking the Jeep but at least, mine is a one-time deal and I do not have to do it twice. I like our system best, moans and groans and all, although we are getting much better at it and have learned a few tricks to help us like using a hammer for a few gentle taps on the pins to help them in and out. Incidentally, one of the Class A’s is the same make as mine, a Jayco Precept but it probably a little older and does not have the wonerful paint job that we have.
The cooking was finished except to clean up the grill and it needs to cool down before tackling that project, The laundry was done for at least a couple of weeks and folded and put away, so I returned to the blog, fighting the temptation of watching a Premier League game as the season started yesterday. I will save those for the evenings. Instead, I opted to listen to an Audiobook continuing a story that I have already started. All about Secret Service and spies and such by a very well-known writer, Tom Clancy.
We went out for the final walk of the day and wandered around. We had quite the tussle on the walk as I wanted to go in one direction and my stubborn little girl was determined that it was opposite to where she wanted to go. She is quite strong, and she adds to it by laying down in protest. Unless it is a matter of life or safety, she always wins these arguments. After each episode, Mikey gives me his version of “the look” as if to say, “Why do you let her boss you around, be a man like me and stand up to her.” It is all in playful fun though and they know it.
When we got back to the RV, the little white kitty appeared, and I quickly opened one of the cans of cat food that I had bought and set it out. He must have eaten some of it as it was half gone. As I watched the Crows ate the rest. Nothing wasted in my world.
The evening’s entertainment was a bit different as the English Premier League started this weekend and now, I get to watch 11 games a week of the best football (soccer to you lesser informed) in the World through next May 2023. Cannot ask for more than that.
Ozark Country RV Park, Branson, MO Day 14 Sunday 08/07/2022
Some of the cabins
The first walk of the day was uneventful except for the Madam wanting to go in the other direction to what Mikey and I want to go. Our direction is usually the shortest route in the shade while hers consists of zig zagging all over the place as she gets a whiff of the next inviting smell. We generally tag along unless there is some sort of danger then of course, we all change direction.
Back in Quatro, I fixed us all breakfast. Mine consisted of two slices of precooked bacon that only requires 30 seconds in the microwave to heat, on toasted bread. Talking of bread, I do not know if it is my tastebuds changing as I age, or it is that things are made differently than from years ago. Bread does not have the same consistency as it used to and is mostly tasteless. I have even switched several different varieties but always end up disappointed. Oh, for the good old days of hot baked bread fresh from the oven. I guess I could make my own but that seems like a lot of trouble as I do not eat it every day. Just saying…
I turned to the latest news to see if anything happened overnight that I should know about, but it seems that apart from the usual murders and violence, nothing earth shattering occurred. When I read about some of these things, I wonder just what on earth caused these people to crack as they do. What is with all the violence from every day “normal” citizens, both men and women and sometimes both combined. Why do they do what they do as they must know that it will be the end of their own lives as they know them when they go to jail for the rest of what time they have left. It is not always about guns although they do play a big part but about people not being able to control themselves. Unfortunately, violence is the modern way of settling an argument or dispute so there must be psychological reasons creating the problems. Is our modern way of living to blame, the grand age of computers, internet, and information?
Knowing that I could not solve the problem, I turned my attention to much lighter hearted things like answering emails and writing in the blog realizing of course that my gloomy thoughts of the world are in black and white for all to see. Sometimes, this age of instant information is not always a good thing. Either that, or I should keep my thoughts to myself. Nah, that ain’t no fun….
I worked on the blog and a little bit in RV Trip Wizard looking at our next stop along the way. It is too early to make reservations as I am staying here through the 25th of this month. That was not my original intent but as it was cheaper to pay for a month than for two weeks, who can pass up that sort of a deal. Besides, one place is much like the same if the campground is OK as that is where we spend most of our time. There is nothing that says I cannot leave early but why waste the money.
There are now 4 Class A’s that have pulled in these past few days. The last one is huge and must be 45 ft long, something I would have liked to have if I were at least 20 years younger as they take even more skill in driving than Quatro does at 35 ft. Interestingly, one of them is the same make and model as ours but looks a bit older. It has a different paint job and even though I am a bit prejudiced, I like ours better.
I had a few chores to do like moving some boxes from the outside storage into the storage under the bench seats that I had recently discovered to redistribute the weight a bit more evenly. Right now, there is too much in the back-end storage area which creates a bit of a sway when we are travelling, especially when the tractor trailers go by. I also spent a bit of time reorganizing and putting the spare wheel chocks and levelling boards in one compartment. Now all I got to do is remember which compartment…I figured that if I do this a bit at a time, I should be organized by Christmas. Just kidding,..again. I also dug out the Shepherds Crook thinking of hanging the bird feeders but the ground look like concrete and it might be impossible to drive it into the ground without a jack hammer. Besides, I do not have any bird seed.
As I was already dressed for the outdoors, we went for a short walk staying in the shade as much as possible. Just prior to that, I had driven the Jeep to the dumpsters to empty the outside trash bag as somehow, we had managed to fill it again. I use the plastic shopping bags from the stores indoors and collect the full ones in the outside trash container. When it is full, we make that trip to the dumpster. These are the sort of normal activities that campers must do regardless of what it is you are camping in from a tent to a Class A RV.
Back in the RV, I had a couple of items to take care of before settling down to continue writing for a bit and listening to an Audiobook for an hour or so. By then, it was time for the final walk of the day around the campgrounds. Apart from the swimming pool, there was not much other activity and those in the pool were the Hispanic day workers who reside at the park.
The evening was spent in the usual way except this time, I got to watch my Great, Great Grandson, Solly March, who plays for Brighton and Hove Albion in the English Premier League, beat my other favorite team, Manchester United 2-1. Way to go Solly and the Seagulls.
Most people are the very best when it comes helping out and will do as much as they can to help with one another’s plan that we have set our goals in life different from the guy next door who works his job from nine to five coming home his body sore and even though he wants to rest drink a beer and sit a while he will get up and lend a hand which is not what he had planned you never know when you need the help as things do not announce themselves something happens and before you know you become part of the show we help because life is a chance when you are on the receiving end and then you will ask the guy next door hoping that he is still your friend true to form he gets out of his chair leaving his beer still getting warm and he lends a hand where it needs and does not take thanks as he proceeds for that is what friends and neighbors do in times of need they rally around for they know there may be a day when they ask for help in their own way and those neighbors who he helped out will rally round as quick as they can for neighbourly love is a bond so strong that everybody sings the same song.
I slept well and woke up at a reasonable hour, for us anyway. After a quick shower and change of clothes I was ready to face another day. The dogs are always ready, so we harnessed up and out the door we went. We have this system whereby I stand on the top step of which there are six total, with the RV door closed and put on my outdoor shoes, grab my keys and if it is sunny, my straw hat and sunglasses. Then I harness up the dogs in no particular order although if I do not harness Sandy first, she is constantly dancing until I do. When we are ready to go, I turn and brace myself holding tightly onto the leash and open the door. Both dogs immediately fly down the steps and if I were not prepared, I would end up in a heap at the bottom of them. We have this ritual every time we go out for a walk. If their double leash were a foot longer, we would not have this problem but as it is, they almost jerk me down with them in their haste to get outside. All part of the fun.
We wandered around and looked for the white kitty but did not see it anywhere. It has cooled off considerably and quite pleasant walking even in the sun. Sandy, as usual leads the way and dragged us all over the place with a gentle nudge from me, here and there, to keep us in some sort of direction. We walked alongside a travel trailer with the man and wife outside talking in loud voices. I stopped and enquired if everything was OK as apparently, they were getting ready to move out. They explained they were having trouble with their awning and were having to use an electric drill to close it. I stopped to see if I could be of help and offered them my ladder, but it would not work so I suggested they use the table that is at every campsite to reach the awning to wind it in with an electric drill, which they did. They were arguing the entire time the way that long time married couples do and at the same time, talking to me telling me that they were heading for Arizona for the winter and complaining bitterly about the fact that the RV was brand new, and they have had nothing but problems with it. I sympathized and told them that is why I buy used RVs with the bugs already worked out. I did not tell them of the one new one that I had bought that also had problems through both poor workmanship and even worse, quality inspection.
I mentioned that I was eventually heading for Texas and as there was nothing, I could do to help them, I wished them a safe journey and we went on our way and a bit later, they passed us on the way out. I started thinking about them and how they react with each other talking in raised voices as they worked to fix the problem and wondered if their entire existence is like this or just in times of stress. Dismissing those thoughts, I told the dogs that I was incredibly grateful they do not answer me back or question anything I say or do and leave it to me to make all the major decisions, right or wrong and if I get it wrong, I never hear a critical word out of either of them.
We had breakfast and settled down to answer a few emails. It seems that as fast as I delete and check the unscribe box, just as many more new and different ones appear usually of things that I either have no opinions, no interest or plain, do not care about. Some even look suspicious and are quickly erased without opening them. You just cannot trust anything or anybody nowadays.
With today being Friday, I would think that the weekenders will be coming in later. It is getting close to when the kids go back to school so maybe their camping is over for the season. As though to prove me wrong, a Class A pulled in a couple of spots away from me and I watched as the driver expertly backed it in directed by one of the campground attendants. His rig is bigger than ours and is nice looking. Turns out to be another older couple.
I decided to go into town to the nearest Walmart’s which is one I have not been to before. It is the smallest of these stores that I have been in yet, but it did have everything that I needed. I had to do a lot of searching as things were not where they were supposed to be according to the aisle labels. The clerk that checked me out, an older and very talkative lady gave me a running commentary on the articles I had bought which I found amusing and I paid up and walked back to the car. Again, she asked for my ID because of the wine in the cart which I found amusing.
After putting the groceries into the back of the Jeep, I did some research for the nearest coffee shop and it gave me directions to Starbucks but as I was pulling out of the parking lot, there was a coffee shop right in front of me, not a Starbucks but coffee is coffee, and I took full advantage of ordering my usual Latte. When I drove back onto the road, I passed a Starbucks no more than 200 yards away. Keep that one in mind for next time although the Latte that I had in my hand tasted perfectly fine and as a bonus was a bit cheaper. I did have to dig out some cash though to pay for it instead of using the Starbucks card. The drive back to the RV was not far and although I had brought my camera with me, I was not able to take any pictures of the various weird and wonderful offerings because the traffic kept on moving. I need a co=pilot to do that. It is not as though I could easily pull off as these places come up quick and fast and are just as quickly in my rear-view mirror
Back in the RV, I was greeted by my two little friends who insisted on helping to put the groceries away. Or at least, they had their nose inside every bag as I unpacked them, checking out all the new and wonderful smells. With everything stored away, I harnessed up the dogs, grabbed the bag of plastic shopping bags that I had just collected to take to the dumpster as I have so many, I will never use them all. On the way, I noticed the new arrivals sitting outside and said hello in passing and jokingly asked if they needed trash bags waving the bundle at them, at which they smiled and shook their heads. We continued our walk with the dumpster being the first stop and wandered around staying in the shade as much as possible before returning to Quatro where I sat and caught up on a few things including the blog.
When I passed my neighbors rig, I noticed that they had already covered their tires to help prevent the sun from damaging the rubber and remembered that was one thing I had not yet done. When we got back after the walk, I pulled out the tire covers and placed one on each wheel. It made sense to do this as we are here for another couple of weeks. Yesterday, I had started the motor of the RV and let it run for 5 minutes or so to make sure that the batteries are charged and that things stay lubricated, something another camper had told me I should do. Not all camper’s advice is sound as some is either a whim or something they heard along the way, but the tire thing is for real as I have also read about how the sun can cause the tires to deteriorate as starting the RV to keep the engine lubricated also makes sense. If I really wanted to do it right, I should lower the jacks and move the RV forward and then back to its original spot to lubricate everything. Nah… that is way too much trouble…
The sun was going down when we went out for the final walk of the day not that I needed the exercise as I got mine walking around Walmart’s with the added bonus of being in the air conditioning. The dogs like to go out and who am I to spoil their little bit of fun…
It rained hard in the night enough to wake me up to bring in the awning. Not that it matters if the awning gets wet but there could always be a sudden gust of wind that could damage it. Better safe than expensively sorry plus the factor of having to find a repair shop IF the damaged awning could be closed enough to travel to it. The drumming of the rain helped me to drop back off to sleep and we woke around 9:00 am. I pulled up the blind in the bathroom and discovered that my only neighbors have already moved out. I did not hear them go so they must have been incredibly quiet in hooking up their unit. That leaves me, all by myself on this row. Used to that though as it has happened several times before in other campgrounds.
We went out for the morning walk, this time staying on the grass as much as possible as the limestone gravel was wet and muddy in many places. The grass had already dried off, so their little feet did not get too dirty. We returned to Quatro for breakfast following which, I had a few household chores to attend to like blowing off the leaves and trash from the carpet and around the site of my little bit of the campground. Luckily, I am right next to a wooded gorge so that the leaves, twigs, and branches that I blow can go safely into it to continue as Nature intended. I made sure not to blow any trash along with the leaves. With the outside chores taken care of, I called the office to tell them that my moved-out neighbor had left a bag of trash. They promised to come on over to pick it up and at the same time, informed me that I had mail. I dropped everything to pick it up just in case it is important. Turns out to be one of my prescriptions. At the same time, I carried my trash tote over to the dumpsters and emptied it. When I returned, there was a small white kitty sitting in the spot that the previous campers had left. I have seen it once before, that time, down in the trees and have no idea if it is a feral cat or one left by either the last camper or previous campers. I tried to approach it, but it ran off, so I left some food out for it in the hopes of at least feeding it.
Back in Quatro, I settled down to read emails and write in the blog. Again, we have no plans for today, but I do plan to hit Walmart’s tomorrow. I made a couple of phone calls catching up on things I have been putting off and posted the last episode on the blog before we harnessed up again for yet another walkabout and wandered around in every direction at the whim of Her Majesty. It does not matter as the whole purpose of the walks is for the dogs to get their exercise and do their business. It is not like we are trying to get anywhere in a hurry.
We finished off the evening in the usual fashion. All in all, a quiet and peaceful day.
Our first walk was uneventful as we strolled around the park. Our walking mileage has dropped here quite considerably, and we are not even making a mile a day, which is our usual goal. Most of that is due to the heat and lack of shade plus one circuit of the park is less than a third of a mile. Besides, most of the time we are dodging from place to place trying to find the shade to walk in with not much continuity. Even if there were trails, I am not sure I would walk them with the dogs because of the bear warnings.
Mikey had another accident overnight and I spent time on cleaning up the RV. A couple of the mats I washed off outside with the hose but had to take time inside the RV with some special cleaner I have bought for the purpose. I gave him a stern lecture and he was worried enough to know he had done wrong but if he connected the two, I have no idea. Not his fault if he cannot hold it until morning but it is frustrating for me when he does not “go” when we are outside on our walks. Sandy has no problem in fulfilling her duties.
Following breakfast, I did a few chores before settling down to the usual routine of emails and writing. I must decide if I want to move on or stay here longer. I am not much into town type of activities or shows and restaurants and very rarely make any efforts to sightsee. Some of that is old age, other is lack of company but a lot is due to my lonesome disposition preferring my own company to that of others. I am no longer interested in,” the ladies,” except to view the pretty ones from afar, mostly due to the same old age and many previous disappointments with the fair sex. Now, I prefer the company of my pet dogs. If only they could hold a conversation although I might not like what they have to say about me.
I called the office to see if I had any mail and Florence, told me that I did. As I cannot take the dogs inside the office, I drove the car over and picked up my mail which when I got back to the RV, comprised of a check that BJ had forwarded on to me and a package of mail from my postal service. I took the dogs for a short walkabout as I was already dressed for the occasion with my outside shoes already on. We did not go far but enough for them to get some exercise before returning to Quatro to cool down as the humidity was high again. Incidentally, while I was in the office talking to Florence, I asked about my current reservation. As I pointed out in an earlier blog, when I registered the first time, she told me it was cheaper to register for the month than for two weeks which I did at the time which meant that I was registered through the 25th of the month. I told her we would be staying through that time. As the park is almost empty on my row of RV’s, I will not have to move for the rest of the stay here.
With our future secured for the next 21 days, I spent more time on emails and on the blog before Sandy reminded me that we should go out…again. We wandered around in our usual fashion with Sandy making friends with whoever stopped to pet her. That girl just loves attention…Upon our return, we sat outside of Quatro and listened to an Audiobook. It was humid enough to be uncomfortable, so I brought out the big fan and set it up in front of us. While I was searching around for an outlet, I discovered another compartment that I had not yet opened. Inside is a very large TV screen and a couple of outlets, one of which I used to plug in the fan. I doubt very much if I will ever use the outdoor TV as it just not my thing to watch television outside. I think of that as an indoor pastime but who knows with the Premier Leagues Season starting this Friday.
We sat for a while and the fan helped tremendously although the humidity was extremely high, and I did not really cool down. I even had to change clothes when we did eventually go back inside as the ones, I had on were damp with sweat from sitting on the cushions on the wicker couch. We listened to a new Audiobook story as we sat outside.
We retired for the evening for the usual repast of the evening meal followed by television and the all-important and refreshing glass of wine.
Our first walk of the day took us around the usual places we have found in this park. We vary it by going in the opposite direction or sometimes heading across the big patch of grass that houses the swimming pool and outside shelter. This is in the very center of the park and is bordered on all sides by RV’s. There even a few parked in this area but they are completely out in the open and devoid of any shade whatsoever. Our main goal when we are walking it find as much shade as possible and you can find us skipping from one place to another quite at random. We did get a new addition to our row as another small travel trailer pulled in.
I had a few outside maintenance chores to take care of before adjourning inside of Quatro for breakfast followed by the usual email scan and discard. I have a couple of maintenance programs that the subscription has expired, and I do not want it renewed and they have been bothering me now for weeks. It has now become a contest to see who can outstay whom. Them, with their constant barrage of reminders or me with my erase button. They are very persistent to the point of being downright annoying. Certainly not particularly good PR on their part.
I turned to the blog and wrote for a while posting the latest of them after adding pictures. I am up to date with everything including the writing and my system of posting Friday/Saturday and then Sunday/Monday blogs together is keeping us within 3-4 days of the actual date that they happened.
Today is another of those days with nothing planned. I am working on a grocery list for Friday when I plan to go into town and also spent time on RV Trip Wizard. I have the next stop located but have not yet made the reservations choosing to wait until later in the week. We went out for another short walk before settling down to listen to the end of Dean Kootz ‘s story “Lightning.” It was unusual and more science fiction that I first thought that it was. Still, as I am also a science fiction fan, I had no complaints.
Later in the evening, we went out for yet another walk around the park. By now, the shadows had lengthened, and it was not difficult finding places to walk as the most activity in this park is around the swimming pool during the day. There is also a shuttle service that runs people into town and several younger ladies that live in one of the cabins and that work downtown. ride it to their place of employment. They are all attired in the same uniform and are probably working in the fast-food or Hotel industries. There are a couple of other people that walk their older dogs, mostly of the big, old, fat, and cuddly variety. The dogs that is, not the people who too are on the overweight side and definitely old but not cuddly. My observation is that people in general all tend to add on weight as they age. With the men, it is usually in their belly for eating and drinking too much. Women tend to get fat all over and end up as misshapen blobs due to the rigors of childbearing and its after affects. None of it is helped by the luxury of eating well all the time and complete lack of physical exercise. Lifting a bottle of beer is not considered exercise.
I found another police program, “Cold Case Files” which proved to be interesting enough to watch although I did go to bed early, for me.
I was awakened by the sound of activity outside from next door and got up to see what was going on and discovered that my neighbors with their Class A were getting ready to pull out. They must have gotten up early as they already had their tow vehicle somewhere else and as I watched, were maneuvering the RV out onto the road. I could see they knew what they were doing so I went back to bed. When I got up a bit later, they were gone or at least I thought they had. We harnessed up and went out for a walk wandering in every direction according to whatever way, the “Boss Lady” dragged us. We approached the exit to discover that the Class A was parked with the engine running in the parking lot. They had their tow dolly hooked up so maybe they were just making their final drive preparations. We wandered back to Quatro and then went through the usual breakfast routine before settling down to write.
I did some research on my travels and scrapped my original half planned trip that would have taken me into Colorado and decided to go in the opposite direction staying more in the Ozarks into Kentucky and maybe Tennessee. I have changed my original direction from West to East and then will slowly make my way South back to Henly for the winter. I like these mountains as they are much cooler and more comfortable temperature wise although a lot harder to drive in. I do not want to be here in the winter though and will need to keep moving South to arrive back at Henly, Texas, my home base hopefully around December 1st.
Today was another one of those lazy days (aren’t they all?) and I listened to Audiobooks for a couple of hours. The pool, which I can see from where I sit, was remarkably busy with several families of kids having a wonderful time accompanied by lots of screams and laughter as they doused each other or pushed each other into the pool. The accompanying parents mostly sat and chatted amongst themselves with the occasional dip in the water and sad to say, without exception, all were very much overweight, both men and women. There was only one young lady in a tiny bikini who was probably a daughter that had anything resembling a figure worthy to look at. Wait a minute, that did not come out right at all. What I should have said was that she was the only non-overweight person in sight as even most of the kids were on the plump side. She, of course, did not swim but sat in a lounge chair and played with her phone generally looking bored as she had only younger kids to impress…
It began to grow dark, and the pool was empty with all of them back to their RV’s and so we went out for the last walk of the day. It was nice and cool, and the rainclouds have moved on. We wandered around for a bit before returning to the RV for the usual evening’s entertainment. We have finished watching, “In the Heat of the Night,” a program I enjoyed immensely, and I searched around before settling on a British Police Mystery. It only had 5 episodes and I watched them all and now need to find another series to watch.
I cannot believe that it is August already and that theoretically, we still have a month and a half of Summer to go with Summer officially ending on September 21st. It has been brutal in some parts of the country with extraordinarily little rain. I was glad to get out of Texas because of the 100 plus degree days and it is cooler here in Missouri in the mountains although, I do not want to be here for the winter. I cannot imagine driving these roads with the mountainous terrain and hairpin bends covered with snow and ice.
We did our usual walkabout and wandered all over the place before returning for breakfast. Even both dogs ate the food I put down for them, much to my surprise. They must have been hungry…My row of RV’s is looking very empty as there are only three of us left at least for now as another had pulled out this morning. We are just starting our second week here and our current plans are to move next Monday. I often wonder where they all head off to and what it is that drives them to this life. I can understand the weekenders, but I wonder about the full timers. Of course, currently, even the younger generation can work online to earn money from about anywhere if they have the right sort of a job.
We had nothing planned for the day except things like food and drink and writing in the blog. I settled down to the usual emails and writing and am caught up with both the posting and working on pictures that I have taken. Another Class A coach pulled in, this time opposite us and way up the hill about 100 yards away. It is an Allegro and looks bigger than Quatro but with a similar paint job. Nice looking rig.
I broke one of my unwritten TV rules about watching television in the daytime and watched the English Women’s National Team play Germany in the European Cup Final. It was an exceptionally good game with both teams giving their all. The teams were so evenly matched that the game went to overtime after a 1-1 tie at the end of full time. Happy to report that the English Ladies won 2-1 in the overtime period with 86.000 people watching at the Wembley Stadium in London. I coached women’s and girls’ soccer players for years and even I was impressed by the physical prowess that these ladies displayed. Some of their individual moves with the ball at their feet, were brilliant and quite breathtaking and none of them shirked the physical confrontations. That is what makes them International Players to represent their countries. A great game to watch. The only time their feminism showed was at the very end when the German Ladies unabashedly let their feelings show and wept openly at losing and the English Ladies wept for the opposite reason. I am not ashamed to say that I wept along with them at such a brilliant display by both teams and their outpourings of raw emotion.
I spent a couple of hours listening to the latest Audible story. This one by Dean Kootz called “Lightning.” Kind of a science fiction thing but entertaining and the narrator was particularly good. By then, it was time for the last walk of the day and we wandered around going this way and that with me steering us in a general direction. Sandy, as usual, had other ideas and whenever she could, would direct us anywhere and everywhere depending on which way her nose pointed. Like the well-trained creatures that we are, Mikey and I followed along only adjusting when it became tricky or dangerous.
We finished off the day in the usual fashion of food, drink, and TV. I managed to find a couple more episodes of, “In the Heat of the Night” that I had not seen before we adjourned to bed.
The stay is over at another park and tomorrow we will be moving on one hundred miles up the road in Quatro pulling another load I have enjoyed our stay here doing all the things I like most of the time just sitting around writing words on paper so profound this is the story of our life me and my two little dogs stay in one place not very long before deciding to move on this time another State we find moving into Branson Missouri and we plan to stay two more weeks before moving on new places to seek we have a very wandering life going here and there as we please with no fixed direction to plan the way other than finding the next place to stay someone asked do I like this life and in truth I had to say I wish I had found it long ago for my life is a cameo different from what it used to be when I was working nine to five now retired and only us three we have found our destiny.
It rained a bit overnight but nothing to wake me up although, the grass was a bit damp on the mornings walk around the campground. The sky is overcast and nice and cool for walking. Makes a pleasant change from the oppressive heat.
We have nothing planned for the day which is a constant theme in my life, and I like it that way. I am perfectly content with the occasional trip into town for supplies and have no urge to eat out or go to any of the multitude of shows that are advertised. I lead a very dull and boring existence…I like to think of it as being settled and contented with my life.
I was having trouble connecting to the internet through my usual ATT Netgear unit and although it showed I had plenty of gigs, it kept on dropping the signal, I cussed a lot and then decided to try the local campground source and lo and behold, I am connected again. Unusual as my ATT set up has never failed me so far and it worked well when we first got here. It was sunny for the first couple of days so maybe the threatening weather has something to do with it. Oh well, as long as I am connected and can write who cares how. I worked on the latest blog and posted it along with a few pictures and am all caught up.
I sat around for a bit working on other things and reading the latest news although it is so depressing that I wonder about the state of this country or maybe it is just a few individuals who get themselves into the headlines with their outlandish views. I often wonder how and why they come up with some of this stuff although I suspect that the almighty dollar has a lot to do with it and they are parroting as directed by their various donors. There is very much wrong with the American system of elected official’s support networks when everything is governed by the amount of money raised by those same donors. They essentially are buying whatever it is they support through these same officials. I think, that if I had anything to say in this it would be for term limits and donor limits that every politician or elected official was bound by. It should be a Federal Law or added to the Constitution. Same thing for the Supreme Court, term limits, as they too are no longer impartial. OK, enough ranting for one day as nothing I say or do will make any difference and besides, my friend BJ will probably lecture me for this.
We went out for the final walk of the day and wandered around saying hello to any other campers that we met along the way. There was nothing unusual or different about this walk as it was the same as hundreds taken before. The only thing different is the location and the scenary.
Ozark Country Campgrounds, Branson, MO Day 6 Saturday 07/30/2022
We awoke to the sound of heavy rain which is sometimes soothing to listen to. Then I remembered that we must go out walking, rain or no rain as the dogs are into a routine and the first walk of the day is especially important for obvious reasons. I donned my Parka and put up the hood and we braved it outside. Actually, it was not unpleasant, and we covered a half mile or so around the campgrounds with Miss Sandy leading the way, me in the middle and Mikey somewhat reluctantly bringing up the rear. Back in the RV, I toweled them off to get the worst of the water off them and blocked the entrance to the bedroom otherwise, Sandy would make a beeline for the bed and commence to roll to dry herself. I suffered her dirty looks after explaining my reasoning, but I think she hates me.
I fixed breakfast for us all and I ate mine and enjoyed it. Sandy ate most of hers while Mikey did his usual thing of turning up his nose. The rain continued steadily, and it looks like a wet day. We have no outside plans, and I am quite content to write and listen to the rain which is forecast to last all day. It is also ideal weather to take a nap or maybe listen to a story on Audiobooks or, heaven forbid, even turn on the TV and watch a football (soccer) match.
The rain eased off late in the afternoon although there was still a light drizzle in the air. I found things to do to keep me busy and the time quickly passed. I even sat and listened to an Audiobook for a couple of hours before Sandy, with her constant bugging and appealing looks, got her way and we went out walking around the park. Even with all the rain we had, the grass was only just a little damp, and it only took a quick wipe to dry their feet when we got back.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way although we watched the very last episode of “In the Heat of the Night” with Carroll O’Connor. I really enjoyed that program and it gave an insight into the racial problems of the South just 20 years ago.
Up early and quickly out walking the dogs while it is still relatively cool. Not a lot in the way of shade but we walked around much of the campground dodging from one patch of shade that we could find to the next and managed to explore quite a bit more of the grounds. Two families of campers were loading their trucks to go out for the day, packing swim gear and coolers. A couple of others that were here yesterday, have already moved on. I still have neighbors on both sides. We have no plans although I may take that trip to Walmart’s later today.
I sat and answered the few emails that warranted an answer before turning to the blog posting the latest episode after adding pictures. I had taken quite a few pictures as we walked around yesterday so I spent time in uploading them into Lightroom to work on them a bit. Then they go into the corresponding campground file for later use, or not. With the blog up to date, I decided that I would take that drive into Walmart’s and stock up on groceries and as my wine supply was also getting low, add a few bottles to it. Assuming that we are not in a dry county.
The drive into the small town of Branson was interesting and I followed the GPS to find the way. With all the twists and turns and changing roads, I would have been lost in the first 10 minutes. The roads in the town were also twisty and winding and I missed a couple of turns because of it but I eventually arrived at Walmart’s. This is one of the humongous stores and I covered well over a mile walking the aisles. I found everything I wanted and quite naturally, a few extra items and my bill came to $264.00 for the basics plus I stocked up on wine, just in case. Incidentally, this store also sells liquor, lots of liquor of all distinct kinds. First Walmart’s I have been in that does that. I stuck to the wine as that I can handle…I did purchase a couple of RV and other items which helped to push up the bill.
I left the Walmart’s and had my phone locate a Starbucks but again, even following the directions, I was unable to find it. After a couple of attempts, I deemed that a Latte was not in my immediate future and set the car’s map system to find the way home which was an uneventful trip albeit like riding a switchback.
Branson is an interesting but to my mind, a strange small town. It is jam packed full of entertainment of all kinds with lots of theatres and theme parks almost next door to each other. A lot of the shows are of entertainers from a few years ago, like Elvis Presley and such. They must have actors who specialize in playing those parts. Branson would be a wonderful place to take pictures as it has many strange structures, but the traffic is busy, and it would be difficult to hop from place to place. The whole town is one big showcase and quite obviously, tourism is the primary business along with all that goes with it like hotels and motels and lots of eating places. I cannot wait to go back again to see more.
We arrived back at the RV just in time to get the groceries unloaded before it came on to rain. I covered the wicker couch with its rain cover even though it is set up under the canopy. If the wind gets up, I will have to bring the canopy in, so it does not get damaged. Another camper has pulled in two campers away and just got it levelled before it came pouring down, lucky him.
I sat and wrote for a while listening to the rain as it poured down. Luckily, there was not much wind, but I brought in the canopy anyway, just in case. The rain eased off an hour or so later and we went out for the evening walk as the dogs had been giving me “the look” which meant they had to go. We wandered around trying to stay on the gravel and not on the grass except Sandy kept having different ideas and pulled us to wherever she wanted to go. Surprising how strong she is for a little dog although I do not resist too much. I had to dry them off before they could get back into the RV.
We got up earlier than usual as it was travel day and I wanted to be out of the park by 10:00 am if possible. We went out for the final walk at this campground before having a quick breakfast and coffee. My next-door neighbors were also getting ready to move on and I resisted the urge to turn it into another contest. This time, it would be breaking camp instead of setting up, so I ended up waiting for them to drive out because I needed to back up onto the road and hook up the Jeep which would interfere with their arrangements. This time, the Jeep cooperated, and it went well, for a change.
I drove back into town to gas up at the Walmart’s gas pumps and paid $4.04 a gallon for 59 gallons of gas for a total of $239.00. Good for maybe 400 miles if I am lucky although with the mountainous trip ahead, probably not. I had to do a bit of driving finagling to get out of the gas station and get back on the road, but I managed it. Some of the turns were too tight for the RV which does not have a good turning radius not helped by the Jeep behind. Back on the main road, we settled in for at least 4.5 hours of driving on totally unknown roads.
We had a 125-mile trip ahead of us and we are in the Ozarks which means a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns and that is exactly what it turned out to be for the first 80 or so miles. The RV Trip Wizard had forecast a time of about 4.5 hours which seems a long time for 125 miles but when taken into consideration that the first 80 miles were in the mountains, their time was accurate almost to the minute when we finally pulled into the park. There was nothing unusual about the drive apart from the mountainous terrain and Quatro handled very well. We sometimes had a caravan of cars behind us and whenever possible, I would either slow down or pull over so they could pass. The scenery was spectacular with tall trees most of the way.
The last 30 or so miles, the countryside opened up and levelled off with fields and Ranches although not much in the way of cattle. The trip wizard had done an excellent job of getting us there and just a couple of miles and as we were almost at the park, the darn thing shut off and I missed the turn and had to keep driving. I found a place to turn back around in construction companies’ huge yard and after re-setting the iPad back to the trip wizard program, drove back to the Campground having to negotiate a really tight hairpin to get into the park.
I checked into the office and the receptionist gave me a choice of two sites. I paid my bill opting for the monthly rate as it was cheaper, and it came to $590.00. Maybe, I might even stay the month…With directions in hand, I made the big loop and located the choice of sites ending up in Site 9 which had more shade. It is just long enough for the RV with room to park the Jeep alongside. This time, I was not in a competition to set up as before although a 5th wheel pulled into the lot right next to me. I took my time and set up at my own speed. Luckily, the site is pretty level, and I did not have to do any blocking other than to chock the wheels. This time, because we have a two week stay, I unloaded the wicker couch from the Jeep along with the floor mats and set us all up to be comfortable outside. It was hot and the sweat ran off me in torrents, but I stuck with it and even sat awhile outside in the shade with a soft drink after taking the dogs for a short walk.
We eventually retired back inside waiting for it to cool down before taking a longer walk. The park is busy and while we were setting up, a couple more RVs pulled in along our row including another Class A. Not as pretty as Quatro, though. Another couple more pulled out. When I was chatting to the receptionist, she told me that they had not been terribly busy this season, but it had picked up a little this week. This surprised me as in my research and planning, I had come across several campgrounds that had no vacancies.
We retired for the evening, and I was pleased to notice that the sun is behind us most of the time which is a good thing because of our large front windows, and we are in the shade from the trees behind us. The next test was to turn on the TV and see what sort of reception that we have and what channels we can get. Turns out, we were very lucky and our combination of the Netgear unit with the ATT service works just fine. We ended the evening in the usual way of the evening meal and a glass of cheap wine watching “In the Heat of Night” with Carrol O’Connor. He has that Southern accent down to a tee.
Ozark Country Campgrounds, Branson, MO. Day 2 Tuesday – 07/25/2022
We slept well probably because of the stress of driving up and down the mountains and all that goes with setting up the RV at a new campsite. We got up to take the first walk of the day staying in the shade along our road. When we got back, I took a long cold shower which felt so good after yesterday’s exertions before fixing breakfast which of course, both dogs ignored as it did not have any chicken, sprinkled on the top. The chicken is reserved for the evening meal. There is not much shade to walk in and we are restricted to wandering along our row of RV’s at least, in the morning. It is better in the evening walk when the shadows are much longer, and I try to leave it late to do the walking.
As usual, after a driving day, we have nothing planned. The nearest Walmart’s is only a couple of miles away and that can wait for a bit. I sat down and caught up on the blogs and checked with the front office to see if one of my packages had arrived, which it had. I drove over to pick it up and it is a collection of 3 waterproof bags in assorted colors that I had ordered from Prime (who else). I will use them when we are travelling. The red one will hold the power cord, the yellow one will hold the freshwater hose and the black one, for obvious reasons, the sewer hose. Currently, the black hose is in a large plastic bag, which does the trick but is rapidly wearing out. The fresh water and power chord are just coiled up inside their compartments. This way, they will be easy to spot when I am hooking up and then when we are travelling, will be compactly and neatly, stored.
I returned to Quatro and continued to write and to work on the pictures I have taken so far. Not too many yet and I will keep working on more as we walk around. The temperature has gone nuts and it is 104 degrees and with the humidity, 108 degrees. No one in their right mind goes outside unless out of necessity, like walking dogs…It is supposed to cool down, relatively speaking to the high 90’s tomorrow and for the rest of the week with a chance of rain. I will believe that when I see it. I might even dance outside in it, naked. Well maybe not as that would be a site enough to turn everyone’s stomach. A naked 86-year-old man, dancing in the rain and the first things would be the nuthouse wagon, guaranteed.
We went out for another walk later in the day and by then, the shadows had lengthened considerably giving us a much larger selection of where we could walk. We explored more of the campground and discovered other places to get our exercise. Back in Quatro, we did our usual evening thing of food, wine, and television.
We took our usual walk and then ate breakfast. I prepared a special one for the dogs which they gobbled down. I have concluded that they just do not like canned Dog food as they ignored it last evening as well even to the point of not eating the added chicken that I put on the top. So, no more canned food? What can I feed them instead? More problems to worry about.
I sat down to write to stay caught up as tomorrow will be a busy day for us with the next trip. There will not be time to dawdle over the blog as I do on most days. I sat and thought about what needed to be done and what I could do at once. Putting on my outdoor shoes, I went out and did things like putting the outdoor chair into its bag and folding the outdoor mats that I have under the entry steps. I stored these in one of the compartments along with the folding trash bag. On the back side, the dirty business side if you like, I emptied the tanks and disconnected and stored the sewer hose. Anything left in the tanks when we travel is a good thing as it sloshes around freeing up any pyramids of you know what, that may have built up. This is as much as I can do today. Tomorrow, I will put in the slides and disconnect the water and power chords. Finally, I will lower the jacks and then pull forward so that I can hook up the Jeep which is the longest in time of all the chores.
The first stop will be at the Walmart’s gas pumps to fill up Quatro before we hit the road. Gas prices have dropped considerably and, on the way up, I saw it as low as $3.78 a gallon, although Walmart’s is advertised as $4.07. Still, it is getting better.
I sat for a while before taking the dogs out walking again. While we were outside, we ran into the owner and stopped to chat to her for a while. She is a very nice lady and offered me a place to stay if we are ever back in the area. I thanked her and we moved on wandering around for a bit before returning to the RV. She told me that my neighbors are also moving out tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how we manage that. Luckily, they are facing in the opposite direction and will pull out of a different entrance.
With nothing left as far as departure preparations that I can do, we adjourned back to the A/C although it has cooled own by a couple of degrees. I sat around and wrote a couple of poems to pass the time and it seems that for some reason, this has been the longest day. A couple of hours later and Sandy was giving me the look, so we harnessed up and went out yet again. That little girl is insatiable. We never got the promised rain…
I thought about the life at hand just me and my two little dogs travelling in my RV whatever direction that we see.
We plan the trips and hope to find campgrounds where we like to stay a week at a a time and maybe more travelling the roads along the way
We have started to go to different states and currently in Arkansas with whatever time is left to me hope that they leave me in awe.
We are up in the mountains a beautiful sight with trees and forest along the way but I guess we are closer to the sun as the temperature is a hundred and one.
Our next move to a different park is still in this beautiful State and maybe it will cooler be with more trees the shade to make
The driving of my very big rig is an experience in this State up and down the mountainous hills hoping to the bottom we make.
Or maybe it is to the top with the engine roaring as it drives pulling along a lot of weight with everything I own packed inside.
Towing a Jeep to run around when we are parked for a while shopping at Walmart’s and other stores groceries and such and maybe more.
And if a Starbuck’s close at hand to finish of these wondrous days as they are few and far between as I have changed so much in my ways
Tomorrow I will go into town and see just what may be there apart from Walmart’s that I know maybe a Barber’s so they can cut my hair
I will end this silly rhyme as it gets worse the more I write that is what happens when you have the time with nothing pressing or in sight.
We went out for our mornings walk and the first thing that I noticed is that the new neighbors with the Class B van have already packed up and left. Much different than me as I like to stay in a park for a few days and usually a week or more at a time. Then again, my set up and break down takes a lot longer than theirs as all they had to do was hookup the boat and of course, their Class B van is much easier to drive than Quatro.
We continued our walk and lo and behold, Mikey did his thing and we both made a big fuss of him. Well, at least I did with Sandy looking at him as if to say, “what is so special about going to poop”? Still, it made me feel a lot better as I was worried that his lack of going to the bathroom was a warning sign that something might be wrong with him.
Back at Quatro, we sat outside in the shade for a while enjoying the morning. This is a very quiet and peaceful park and as far as I can tell, me and my neighbors on both sides are the only visitors. All the other campers are permanent residents plus the people in the cabins. Back inside, we ate breakfast before settling down in front of the computer. I wonder what I would do for entertainment when computing was in its infancy, if this was say, 20 years ago and our life was as it is today. Then again, I would be 20 years younger and a lot fitter than I am now and would probably be hiking every day. Heck, I was still playing football of the English variety with a round ball, 20 years ago, kicking and getting kicked by my friends and the others who wanted a piece of me. Can’t dwell in the past and must live for today and hope there are a lot more tomorrows.
I decided to go into town just to take a look and I am glad that I did. This is an old town and was incorporated in 1890. From the look of the buildings, not much has changed on the Main Street and City Square at least construction wise. I walked around for a bit taking pictures and then drove out of town on the road that we will be taking. It leads up a mountain but hopefully, will not have as many hairpin bends and as twisty as the last one.
When I got back, I harnessed up the dogs for a short walk as it was way too hot to stay outside. Then I worked on the pictures that I took of the town and will incorporate them into the blog. This is a very nice part of the country with the mountains that do not tower as one would imagine but look like tall hills covered in trees and forests. Very beautiful.
Later on, we took a longer walk as it had cooled down by a couple of degrees and then sat outside watching the world go by. Maybe that should read, hoping something passes by. We were in luck as my next-door neighbor took his baby who is just starting to walk well, and his dog and they wandered around the park giving us something to watch. The occasional car drove either out or in with the drivers giving us a wave as they passed. The people are friendly enough and when we meet them, usually stop to talk although in one case, I could hardly understand anything the old guy was saying.
Back inside of Quatro, I fixed the dogs their evening meal before attending to myself and we finished the day in the usual fashion.
Mountain View RV Park, Mountain View AK – Saturday Day 6 07/23/2022
The Mountains beyond the city.
I crawled out of bed and hit the shower which incidentally, cycles between hot and cold with me reaching for the knobs to make rapid adjustments. At least, the cold part wakes me up. We went out and walked for a bit and the walk was nothing out of the ordinary. Basically, a slow stroll around with the dogs alternating in peeing and smelling the roses. Back inside of the RV, I prepared breakfast but both dogs ignored what I put in front of them so I can only assume that they either do not like the stuff or are not hungry. Maybe both.
Following the meal, I sat down to read emails removing most of them and answering the couple that needed my attention, before turning to writing the blog. My thoughts turned to the upcoming trip on Monday and what I need to do in preparation. I have the routine down pretty well but must go over things in my mind to make sure that everything is complete. The one thing I sometimes forget it to turn off the LP gas at the tank when we are travelling. I will begin to store things inside of the RV tomorrow putting things in the places they go for the journey, leaving only the outside things to do on travel day, Monday. We have a relatively short trip of 120 miles which should not be too bad. I took a chance on the next campground and have booked it for two weeks.
I use PostNet for my mail and I can view scanned versions of any mail get if I think it necessary or as I did this time, they package everything up and send it on to whatever address I tell them to. As I have booked two weeks at the next stop, I have asked for it to be sent on to that campground. None of this is free, of course but it does enable me to lead a sort of normal life. The only difference that instead of the US Postal service automatically delivering 6 days a week to a fixed address, I must request delivery to any of the campground addresses that I have at that particular time. Small price to pay. One thing it did make me do and that is cancel subscriptions to magazines and such that I considered no longer necessary. Things like Ponds and Gardens and House Beautiful and such. Just kidding on the last one.
I went into town to the local Walmart’s to get a few things that we were getting low on. I like to be prepared when we are moving as I never know how close the nearest stores are until I get there to find out. We would never starve as there are plenty of cans of food and stuff in the freezer, but I might run out of necessities, like milk for coffee or even wine. Heaven forbid if that happens. Just kidding as it nice to enjoy a glass in the evenings but it is certainly not a necessity, and I am not an alcoholic…yet.
Back at the RV, the dogs helped to put the groceries away, sort of before we harnessed up to take a short walk. I forgot to mention that I bought a straw cowboy hat in Walmart’s for the grand price of $11.69. Considering that I paid almost $90.00 for the hat I normally wear from a different store, I thought I had a bargain. The problem with the expensive one is that it is not really for the summer as it is too hot and has no air circulation.
I sat and wrote as the pork chops and chicken cooked on the indoor grill and the odor of cooking meat wafted through the RV. Quite a pleasant smell and it made me hungry. So, I settled for a few crackers to tide me over. With the cooking done and things cleaned up and put away, we went out for the final walk of the day wandering around the park and on the field below before returning for the evening.
We got up at a respectable hour and went out for the first walk of the day around the park and we sort of hopped from one shady area to the next although it was not extremely hot…yet. Back in Quatro, we had breakfast and tidied up a bit which does not take long in such a small space. The dogs found their hidey places and at once zonked off. What a life.
I got on the computer and worked on the blog and posted yesterday which brings us up to date, a good thing too as my friend, BJ, berates me if I get too far behind. Says that she does not want to read “old” news. I spent time on RV Trip Wizard and located and then made reservations for the next stop. I decided to stay 2 weeks at Ozark Country RV Park in Branson, Missouri which will make this the third State on this trip so far. It is only a short drive of about 125 miles. It is always a risky or maybe the word should be “chancey” business selecting campsites as the only thing to go on are the reviews that people take the time to post. It helps if there are several then you can get a general feel for what people are saying instead of just an individual’s comments. Photo’s also help a lot to get the view of the place. I also remembered to check and make sure that Branson is not a “dry” city which it is not, otherwise I would need to stock up on wine along the way…
With our next stop planned, I turned my attention to installing the new fire/smoke/carbon monoxide alarm. My problem of course is that I am only 5’8’’ tall and shrinking so things higher than my extended arms are a worry. I have an collapsible ladder that I use outside as needed but not a step ladder so I had to compromise. Luckily, I have an 18” inches square metal step I bought originally to use outside of the RV as when the jacks are down, the bottom entrance step is about 10-12 inches off the ground, which is pushing it for my old and short legs.
This portable step adjusts from 6 inches to 8 inches and is a very useful gadget. Most of the time, it is situated at the foot of the bed because there is a 16-inch step to get up first and then the bed which is another 16 inches higher. The RV was designed this way not only to let the rear slide in but also to give more storage space underneath. The slide is designed to extend outwards to open, and the entire bed moves and when extended, there is room to move around the bed. When it is in, there is no room to get past the bottom of the bed but it is only in for travelling.
Installing the alarm was a simple job and although a bit precarious, I managed to complete it with no problem. It took me longer to find my electric screwdriver than it did to do the work which, by the way, I had very carefully placed in its own box along with the charger and a box of bits and then forgot where I put the box. Go figure…It was hiding in plain view, as the saying goes.
I watched as a large camper came in and the driver went into the office before driving into the park. He stopped for a while by what was probably his assigned space, I guess sizing it up before taking off down the road never to return. Interesting. He had a big 5th wheel and maybe thought the site was not long enough for him or because it did not have any shade. Anything different or odd is exciting to us bored campers. Just kidding as I am far from bored and love having to do only what either needs to be done or what I choose to-do. Thinking about it, the older full-time campers that travel as couples must be highly compatible and in general agreement on most things being cooped up in close quarters as they are. I wonder what they do for “alone” time or if they even have any such thing. Just curious as I do not have that problem as me and the dogs get along just fine.
With the alarm installed and with nothing else of importance left to do, I settled down to write for a while. If I am caught up, I usually try to write a poem if the reproductive juices are flowing. If not, then it is time to find something else to do or do nothing at all. My choice.
Another Class B van camper pulled in towing a small boat and parked a couple of spaces away. They did not have any set up to worry about and in short time, were sitting outside in their lawn chairs relaxing. I considered it time to take the dogs out walking and we wandered by and stopped to chat with them. They are only here overnight and were originally coming in for a Blue Grass Festival.
We continued on our walk around the park and down on the mowed field below the campground with nothing unusual happening on the walk. Mikey would still not do his business which worries me as he has pooped in the RV a couple of times, and I do not want him to get into those sort of habits. Sandy has no problems doing what she needs to do, and I keep telling Mikey that Sandy is “a good little girl” which probably does not help. We sat for a while outside the RV enjoying the slight breeze which felt good before returning inside for the usual evening’s entertainment. Actually, that is not quite trues as I did tune in to the Jan 6th Hearing and watched it until it finished. It was interesting and damning for Trump due to his efforts, or lack of efforts to do anything about it. Probably will not make any difference and nothing will happen to him, and his supporters will be even stronger especially if he does get off Scot free. Don’t get me started on that guy….
It thundered loud in the night, enough to wake us and I got up to let in the canopy in case of any heavy winds. There was not much rain, and we quickly went back to sleep. I rolled out of bed at a reasonable hour for us and we went out for the first walk of the day and again, walking in the shade as much as possible where it is several degrees cooler.
One of the alarms has been going off on a regular basis and I have searched high and low for the cause. Obviously, there is no fire and therefore no smoke so I thought at first that there might be something that needed adjusting or resetting. I could not find anything after almost tearing the place apart, not literally of course but figuratively. Then I happened to smell the scent from the battery driven fresh air cans that I have that squirt a puff of some scented material to make the place smell nice on a regular basis. The beeps coincided with the squirts and apparently, that alarm does not like the smell of that variety and lets the world know about it. Relieved that I had solved the current problem, I took the can out of the unit and set it to one side. Guess I will either have to reposition it or do without it. I did not know that alarms are so sensitive thinking only of smoke but as they do come for carbon dioxide and other noxious gasses, it had already made up its mind that the scent from the fresh air can fitted into that category. Now I need to buy a new smoke alarm as I broke the one, I have trying to get it open. Next trip to Walmart’s planned for later today.
Following breakfast for me, I sat down to write and catch up on the blog. I also worked on the pictures I have taken of this park in Lightroom before transferring them to the other program I use to write the blog. From there, I can easily access them to include them a I see fit. Writing is a two-part job as first; I write everything in Word which makes grammatical and spelling corrections and such and then transferring everything to WordPress for the final touches like adding pictures, before posting. It is an interesting hobby, and it keeps my brain occupied a great deal.
I decided that I should go into Walmart’s which is about a half mile down the road as I needed a few things but specifically, a new smoke and CO2 alarm unit as I mentioned above. What I like about Walmart’s stores is that just about everything is laid out the same and things are in familiar places. Some are bigger than others like the Superstores and you almost need a bus or taxi to get around in them. Or, as I do, use it to get in the miles and the exercise out of the hot sun.
I completed my shopping including getting the new smoke alarm and spent time wandering around looking for the wine section. I could not find it and asked the nearest clerk who informed me that we were in a dry county, and they do not sell wine or liquor. Some gentleman? passing by overheard the conversation and told me where to go but it was a 20-mile drive and I have enough to last a week or so. Out of Seltzer though and had to make do with small cans of Mountain Dew. Funny, on the way in I had been thinking of our next move or whether to stay here for another few days, but the latest news has already changed my mind. Not that I am an alcoholic or anything even close unless a small glass of wine in the evenings is making me one.
I sat in the car and thought about my observations whilst in the store. Almost without exception, everyone and I mean men, women and kids were very much overweight. This was not helped by the fact that many of both sexes were very tall. Add that to being overweight and it makes for a very disturbing picture. Some of them were dressed like they had just come down from the hills and if they were a family, there were almost always several rough looking urchins. Maybe I am biased, but I kept thinking of “Deliverance”, the movie…
I drove back to Quatro and was met by two very excited little dogs who helped to put the groceries away with their noses in every bag. I had left them with treats which they do not eat while I am gone but the minute I was back, they eagerly devoured theirs looking to steal each other’s as well.
I sat and wrote for a bit but had no desire to go back out as it is so hot. The temperature is 102 degrees and there is not much shade around this park. Quatro is nice and cool as the tree shades the front window. Eventually, after it had cooled off by at least one degree, we went out for another walk again trying to find as much shade as possible. We sat for a while outside of Quatro in the folding chair as I have not bothered to unload the wicker couch due mostly to the fact that the door side where I sit outside, faces the sun and even with the awning out, there is not much shade. Besides, my site is very narrow, and a lot of the outdoor carpet is under the RV. Luckily, I do not have a neighbor on that side as the sites are very close together.
Something is beeping in the RV, and I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is. It is not constant but when it does come on, it chirps at least 4 times before stopping. I thought it was the Smoke Warnings, but I took that one down and that was not the cause of the problem as I need to buy a new one. I even cleaned the filters in the A/C unit but that is not it either. Heck, I may have to drag out the manual to find it. Everything appears to be working properly so I have no idea.
We went out walking back in the meadow close to the wooded area where it is a bit shady (and hilly) before returning for breakfast which for me, included a bacon sandwich and coffee. I am on a new tack with the dogs and am only feeding them canned food covered with cut up chicken in the evenings in the hope of getting Mikey into a better poop routine. He has had a couple of “accidents” inside recently and will not do his business outside which is very strange. So, maybe a change in eating habits may help. They have hard food available all the time, so it is not as though they are going to starve, and anyway, Sandy can stand to lose some weight.
I worked on the blog for a couple of hours catching up on the journey. I need to start taking pictures of the scenery here to add to the blogs which of course, is easy enough to do. Pictures tell a better story than a thousand words. I read that somewhere. I wrote a poem and posted it. A silly poem really but what the heck. It never hurts to have a bit of humor in our lives. My poetry can be viewed on Saturdays.
We went back out for another walk just to stretch our legs as it is very hot and humid out. We did not go far before returning to Quatro. I had a few chores to do and then settled down to listen to an Audiobook for a bit before going out one more time for yet another wander around. We try to pick all the shady areas to walk in and with the last walk, the shadows were long, and we had plenty of choices.
We retired back to the RV for the usual evening’s pastimes.
Today is preparation day getting ready for tomorrows move. There is not a great deal I can do today except put a few things away in their travelling places. Things like the toaster and indoor grill all go in the shower on the bathmat to stop them sliding around. Other things have their respective places for the journey and the bed is the catchall for what is left.
We went out for a walk and as I had some trash, took it with us to put in the dumpster. On the way, I noticed that the Canadian Geese are back, al 15 of them strutting around as though they did not have a care in the world and maybe they don’t. As I had forgotten my phone…again, we hustled back to the RV, and I picked up my camera to take a few pictures of this gaggle. We wandered around for a bit before heading back to Quatro. All around us, there are signs of campers preparing their RVs for the trip home as many are weekenders. Several others have already left and there are a lot of empty spaces with the Camp Staff busy at work cleaning and preparing the sites for the next tenants.
I decided that I should do my laundry as I had looked to see that the machines were all available and collected up my wash bag. I chose to drive over the short distance because the detergent and such were already in the back of the car. One of the young staff ladies was cleaning the machines and I complimented her on the care that they show of the campground. With the wash in two separate machines, I drove back to Quatro and did a bit more work before heading back over to put the wash in the dryer. I chatted to another camper who was waiting for a washing machine, and we discussed the crazy drivers on the road. I headed over to the office to get quarters for the next wash at the next campsite as I was just about out and chatted to the same young lady as had been in the washroom. Then back to Quatro to await the driers completion which took about 40 minutes. I drove back as I did not want to carry the heavy laundry basket and it was just as well, I made that decision. I had to wait 5 minutes for the drier to finish up and when I opened the drier door, I could not believe just how hot it was. I could not put my hands on the clothes and had to wait a while for them to cool down before I could start to fold them. With everything folded and put away, I drove back to the RV and put the neatly folded clothes into their proper places.
With the laundry done for one more week, I sat down to work on the pictures that I had recently taken making adjustments and such ready for me to use as I see fit. A couple of them turned out really good. The others are just pictures. I had stood for a while when out walking the dogs and had taken nearly 35 pictures of the different boats that went up and down for about 15 minutes. Some may be the same boats coming and going as the lake ends further up and away from us. It is very busy today, boat traffic wise but it is Sunday, a day of rest and play.
We adjourned to Quatro for the rest of the afternoon trying to stay cool. The outside temperature is now 100 degrees and next week’s forecast for here is a week of the mid 100’s. Bloody hot.
With everything done that I could do before we leave tomorrow, we went out for the final walk of the day talking to as many people as we could and visiting the duck’s nest for the last time. Hope the eggs hatch OK and there are lots of baby ducks. We visited the dog run for the first (and the last) time as I had not seen it before and spent time talking to others that were in there who had let their dogs run loose. I kept mine on a leash as I did not trust either of them around other dogs unsupervised, especially Mikey who thinks he is a Doberman in disguise.
Back in Quatro, we had the final meal and watched TV for the rest of the evening. I remembered to lower the TV set back into its little space ready for the journey and we went to bed here, for the last time.
Mountain View RV Park, Mountain View, AK Day 1, Monday 07/18/2022
Quatro at Mountain View
We got up early enough knowing that we are moving on today to yet another campground still in Arkansas. This time at Mountain View RV Park, Mountain View. This one is high up in the mountains but first, we had to prepare Quatro and then make the 200-mile drive. We took our final walk around chatting to a few people before heading back for a quick breakfast. With that out of the way, I finished storing stuff into their respective places for the trip and hoped that nothing would shift around too much. Usually, something does move and so the next trip, I adjust and on and on.
When I got up, I put stuff away in the bedroom and then pulled in the slide using the bed to store items as well. I put everything away in the bathroom after I had finished showering using the shower as a storage space for larger items such as the indoor grill and the toaster plus a bunch of smaller stuff. This time, I remembered to take the shower soap off its rack as it fell and turned on one of the valves on one of the earlier trips and after I connected the outside water supply, we had a flood.
With everything shipshape inside, I brought in the big slide and then went out outside to complete the unhooking of water, sewer and finally, the 50-amp electric supply. The last thing to do was to lower the RV off its jacks and onto the wheels and then we were ready to roll. I had previously moved the Jeep to the wide space in front of the office and with one final walk around the RV checking both under Quatro and around the campsite, I drove it to the office parking space and hooked up the Jeep. It went well as the ground was level which really helps to get things aligned. Then we were ready to roll and after programing in RV Trip Wizard on the tablet set up for this use, off we drove.
For some reason, the voice on the tablet had us run around in a couple of circles before we hit the highway and off, we went. The countryside is really pretty and heavily wooded on all sides with lots of tall fir trees. The miles (and time) slipped by as we drove and then changed onto several different Highways and then drove some more. The campsite had previously sent me directions which I compared to the RV Trip Planner, and they appeared to be the same or close enough. Well, it turns out they were not, and the last 10 miles of the journey were up and down a twisting and turning two lane highway with hairpin bends and steep inclines both up and down. I drove very carefully and luckily, there was not a lot of traffic. I noticed that when I had to apply the brakes going down for any length of time, the truck automatically down shifted to help with the descent. It was a very interesting trip to say the least and I would not drive it in the winter. I wonder what the gas mileage was for those last 10 miles with the engine working so hard.
We eventually arrived and I pulled up in front of the office which was just a small building which it shared with the laundry room although separated. I was greeted warmly and was offered a different spot under the trees which of course, I jumped on. I made my way to it following the lady’s instructions, but the park is so small, I could have found it anyway. There are quite a few permanent residents as in most Parks and several tiny houses and cabins scattered around, all occupied. I counted 18 empty campsites in two rows, so they were obviously, not terribly busy. Nothing going on around here to attract visitors or as it is a Monday, the weekenders have already left.
I unhooked the Jeep as the site is not long ls enough for both of us and drove into my spot. I eventually was satisfied and went about the business of hooking things up. A 5th wheel pulled in right next door, and it turned into an unofficial race to see who could set up first. The young guy and his wife beat me all ends up except they had to relevel their unit which allowed me to finish and, in my mind, was the unofficial winner. They had the same problem with their 5th wheel that I had with the one I used to own when it came to levelling although they did have automatic levelers and mine were manual. Still, that does not help when the wheels are off the ground and need blocking under them which is the problem that my neighbors had. We had chatted just a little bit as we worked, and they seem very nice.
With the electricity on and the A/C doing its thing, we went out for a quick walk just so the dogs could stretch their legs and do their business and explored the field below the campsites. When we returned, I went about the business of straightening things up inside and getting the place shipshape ready for our occupancy. Most everything was still in place, and nothing had tipped over or shifted from where I had left it so even with the mountainous terrain, we had done an excellent job of packing. Satisfied that I had done all that was needed and as the place is cooling down nicely, we went out for the final walk of the day. I was sitting outside when my new neighbors stopped to chat and before long, we were joined by another lady who took over the conversation. My neighbors grew tired of listening to her as I did, and they left which also was a signal for the lady to leave, thank goodness. She probably meant well but had a very loud and very grating voice and dominated the conversation.
We sat for a while enjoying the evening as it was starting to cool down by a couple of degrees before going inside for the evening meal and the usual television. So ended our trip and our first day at this new site surrounded by mountains.
