Sunshine at last!

Yesterday the sun came thru and we had a beautiful day.  Bob, I and Berry took a nice long hike thru the woods.  It really felt great to be out in the fresh air.  Poor Berry was dragging by the time we got back but she weighs 50 #s and that's too heavy for either one of us. And, when we got back to the entrance to the trail, they had it blocked off with a sign that said to stay out because of a special hunt going on.  Well I guess we were prime targets.  Today the sun came out again but we took a shorter and easier walk.  Stayed on the pavement.

We have learned that mushroom hunting is very popular here in this part of Missouri.  The mushrooms look like an ice cream cone and you find them in the woods and likely on a south facing hill.  Everyone we meet wants to know if we've been mushroom hunting and we say "no" because this concept is new to us.  Last night our new neighbors on one side of us came over and joined us at our campfire.  They are from here in Missouri and they soon asked us if we had been "mushroom hunting".  She said she had been that afternoon and had some so she goes to their camper and brings back 3 mushrooms and says here you take these.  Well this gave us an idea what they looked like - an ice cream cone is their shape and the top (ice cream) looks like a sponge.  She proceeded to tell me how to cook them - good old southern cooking - you dip them in egg, then roll them in a flour/salt mixture and fry them.  Well today for lunch, I cooked mushrooms and they turned out well.  Tasted yum, yum like something I've eaten before but I can't place what it is.  I have pictures of the mushrooms posted at the bottom.

Oh yes, I finally took some pictures of here.  You can see them below with the mushrooms.  Today is our last day here.  We will be moving to Altoona, Iowa tomorrow to the Adventureland Campground where we will be spending the summer while we work at Adventureland Amusement Park.  Pray for us a safe trip.

Judy



Our 3 mushrooms



See how big they are.



View from our back window




Our Patio Area




Nice big wide campsites




View of us from the road



Alabama

Everyone, may I ask you to pray for the people of Alabama.  Tuscaloosa is where we call home.  We still have our house there which is leased for three years but believe it to be O.K. from what news we can gather.  Having a hard time getting in touch with people there.

Now, you know how I feel right now.  I've been complaining about the rain and the cold and now I thank God that that is all we've had to contend with.  Were in Arkansas when the tornados hit there but we were far enough away from the damaged spots that we were fine.  Just had a lot of wind.  And now, not only the people of Tuscaloosa but other areas of Alabama are having to contend with loss of homes, loss of services and even death.

We are presently located at Indian Creek COE Campground on Mark Twain lake in Missouri about 30 miles SE of Hannibal.  Will be leaving here Sunday for Adventureland Campground in Altoona, Iowa near Des Moines. Our 14 days will be up here.

Very windy here today but we actually do have sunshine.  Maybe I can get some pictures taken.

Later,

Judy

Rain, rain, rain!

Yes, I'm complaining about the weather again.  It has rained and rained and rained here.  We have a beautiful campsite and can't take advantage of it.  It's either raining, too cold or both.  Hence, we have taken no pictures.

We have been busy since my last post.  Monday, we met with the main person over the Shelby County, MO, historical society.  We did get a lot of info from her but I haven't had time to decipher it all.  Tuesday, Bob had to have a Pro-Tyme blood test so we drove to Hannibal to the hospital there.  That was the closest place to have it done.  So, spent the day in Hannibal - went to Grandlawn Cemetery, ate lunch at Mark Twain Diner for the second time (ate there Saturday also), went to Wal Mart and got haircuts as well as did some shopping and got gas at Murphy's with a gift card to save 3 cents per gallon.  Today, we have been busy cleaning - me inside and Bob outside.  This was really past due so decided it was time to lay low and do some cleaning.  Hope to do the same tomorrow. Don't want to arrive in Des Moines behind with everything.

Sunday, we will be leaving for Altoona, Iowa, outside Des Moines.  And, we are supposed to have thunderstorms here.  That will make for a great travel day.  Don't mean to sound so down but I'm tired of rain and cold weather.

That's about it for now,

Judy

Happy Easter!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter!  Yes, Christ did rise from the grave and walks with us.  We attended an 8:00 Mass this morning (we had to get up and hustle) at a very rural church but it was packed.  We really enjoyed the service there at St. Stephens.  We did Stations of the Cross with them on Friday afternoon and I think there were 25 people at that.

Yesterday we went to Hannibal, MO.  It's about 30 miles from our campground.  We did the downtown historic Mark Twain stuff and really enjoyed it.  Had lunch down there also - at Mark Twain Diner.  The food was delicious and lots of it with a cheap price.  I recommend it if you are ever in that area.  Didn't make it out to the cave but think we're planning to try to go back one day next week - possibly Tuesday.

And, let me say one more thing - it's still cold!  However, yesterday was very nice.  It got up in the 60's and we actually saw some sun.  Don't think that is going to happen today.  And as an end to a great day, we actually had a campfire last night.

Loving this lifestyle!

For now,

Judy

It's Still Cold!

Well, we're still here at Indian Creek and it is still cold, along with a lot of rain and cloudiness.  However, we're getting a lot of genealogy research accomplished anyway.  Have found a couple of interesting items.  We took today off and was going sightseeing this morning down to Mark Twain's birthplace.  But, we were having thunderstorms (had them all night) so stayed in this morning.  We will be going out this afternoon to "Stations of the Cross" at a very old, 1837, catholic church just down the road from the campground.  We plan to also attend mass there on Sunday morning.  Really looking forward to that.  Weather permitting tomorrow we plan to drive in to Hannibal and sightsee as well as go to their library.  And, maybe we can go down to Mark Twain's birthplace in Florida (not sunny Florida), Mo, on Sunday afternoon.  Will be meeting with the lady who is over the historical society for Shelby County, MO on Monday.  She has lots of stuff for us to go through.  And then, Bob has to have a Pro Tyme blood test so got to find a place to have that done.  This is very, very rural here so may have to go back to Hannibal.  If so, guess we'll do that Tuesday and not on Monday when the doctor said.  Guess one day won't matter too much!  This is exactly the kind of area that his cardiologist told him to stay out of when we told him what we were going to do - full time in our RV.  Oh well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him - but, guess it could hurt Bob.  We'll be back in city suburbs in a little over a week.

I see we have lost a follower.  I hope we have not said something that hurt your feelings.  If so, we apologize cause believe me it was not intentional.

No pictures right now as most of them are of tombstones and don't think you would be interested in them.

Now, my question is, "Whatever happened to the casual, layed back RV lifestyle?".  I think we still have to find it.  Got to slow down as I think we are trying to do to much in to little time.  Next Sunday, May 1st, we will be leaving here for Altoona, Iowa (near Des Moines) to get in place for our summer workcamping job which we are scheduled to start on May 21st.  Hope to have some time for sightseeing before we actually start.  That is exactly two months from the day we hit the road.

Until next time,

Judy

Brrrrrrr! It's cold outside.

Can't believe it's been six days since I last posted.  We are now in Indian Creek COE park outside Monroe City, MO with full hookups.  It's a beautiful site on the banks of Mark Twain Lake.  We have a great lake view and the site is very level.  Couldn't ask for better.  We got here Sunday and the weather was nice and then Monday things began to change.  The weather is quite chilly outside.  We have been working on Bob's genealogy since arriving here.  Monday, we spent the afternoon in Monroe City, pop 2500.  The library was nice and then we just looked around.  This afternoon we drove to Paris (not France) to the courthouse for Monroe County.  Really hit a prize on prooving who his great grandfather was.  His family is from Monroe City, Mo for the most part but Monroe City sits in three different counties so that doesn't help the research. How did they manage to split it up like that?  Beats me!

Before leaving Crowley's Ridge we did go to Rector, AR and visited my Aunt and Uncle plus cousin.  They really are getting elderly and its scary to think my aunt is only 10 1/2 years older than me.  While growing up, she was more like a sister than an aunt.
While at Crowley on Saturday afternoon we get a phone call from our youngest that a tornado had hit Tuscaloosa, AL (our hometown).  Called a neighbor of our house and was reassured that all was fine there.  But, still feel for the people who did get hit.

Will post pictures soon as to Indian Creek and surrounding area.

Judy

Crowley's Ridge State Park, Paragould, AR

Today was a travel day.  We drove 200 miles and are now at Crowley's Ridge State Park at Paragould, AR, where we will be staying until Sunday.  It is an older park with only 30 AMP electrical service and no sewer.  The sites are rather small and the turn around at the end of our road which we had to use to approach our campsite properly was made for 20 foot RVs and not 38 foot ones being pulled by a Crew Cab LWB Duelly Truck. 

I checked the bathrooms and they are clean, just old.  The Mississippi State Parks and COE Parks have spoiled us.  However, when we got here today we discovered someone had helped themselves to our patio mat which we had folded up last night and placed in the bed of the truck in preparation for traveling today.  I hope they enjoy it.

While here we plan to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live in Rector, AR for an afternoon.  They are elderly and don't get out and I haven't seen them since my Mother died 9 1/2 years ago.  That is really the reason for our stop here.

It is very wooded and I am sure we will enjoy hiking some trails tomorrow.

More later,
Judy

Blood Work & Shopping

Today, we had to go in to town for Bob to have his Pro-Tyme blood work done.  We went to the hospital down in McGehee because they also had a Wal Mart down there.  There is a hospital here in Dumas but no Wal Mart.  I understand a tornado got it and they never rebuilt.  But, the Wal Mart was definitely a disappointment.  To you readers back home, remember the old Winfield Wal Mart.  This one was the exact replica.  So ended up stopping at Piggly Wiggly here in Dumas on our way back to the campground.

We really haven't done much since we've been at Pendleton Bend except clean.  Bob has washed the truck as well as the entire RV including the roof.  I finally sewed him a hitch cover which I had been promising to do for months.  We drove to Pine Bluff on Saturday night and attended Mass.  Because of the distance we chose to do that rather than get up early Sunday morning and drive over there.  There is not a Catholic Church closer than there, abt 45 miles one way.  Otherwise, we have built a couple of campfires and walked along the river.  It sure is pretty.  Please see the pictures.

The Arkansas River as we walked along the bank.



The river looking back toward the US 165 bridge with Bob walking ahead.




Bob playing Daniel Boone chopping wood for a fire.



Pendleton Bend COE Campground

Well our Converter did come in this past Monday and Bob got it installed on Tuesday.  And, bingo, we "saw the light".  Sure was nice to get everything working again.

Now, we are in Pendleton Bend COE Campground outside of Dumas, AR.  We drove from Wesson, MS to Dumas, AR all in one day yesterday.  It's a little more than we desire to drive in one day but decided we needed to get some miles behind us and it wasn't too bad.  And, our budget needed some relief after being in State Parks with full hookups for the last 13 nights.

This is a beautiful little park on the Arkansas River with only 31 campsites.  Of course, being COE, there is no sewer and I might add, no AT&T Cellphone service.  However, our Verizon internet seems to be working great.  We  really don't have too much to say yet since we haven't been here 24 hours and haven't taken any pictures.  I might add here that we added to our 4-1-11 post and put in a couple pictures so you might want to go back and take a look.

Today we accomplished one of the medical items that made going on the road full time a little bit of a problem, we thought.  But, all went well.  Bob has an Internal Cardiac Defibilator and we must use a land line phone every 5 weeks to call in to his doctor's office a report.  It is a toll free number so there is no phone charge.  So, this morning we took his little transmitter box and went down to the gate office and asked.  Well, the answer was yes, and we went in and Bob used their phone line and electric plug in and transmitted his report.  It does not interrupt their phone calls but their phone calls will interrupt his transmission and he will have to start over.  Even that didn't happen.  Bob was kind of unsure whether it went or not because he didn't get a finish light.  So we drove about 4 miles down the road in a few minutes to see if we had phone messages but their were none.  We just proceeded to call the doctor's office to check if it went thru.  Not only did they have it but had  us hold on while the report was read and gave us the results right then.  This saved us from having to drive the 4 miles again this afternoon to get the report which they would have left on our cell phone. 

So see folks, you can full time with serious health issues.  It just takes a little courage and a lot of "stupidity".   But, we know that God is traveling with us and with him holding our hand we have faith that everything will work out.  So, is that really "stupidity"?  We don't think so.

Judy

Lincoln State Park, Wesson, MS

Lake Lincoln

Lake Lincoln from our Campsite

We are currently sitting in Lincoln State Park at Wesson, MS.  We have a great lake view and it is very peaceful and quiet.  Left Buccaneer State Park on the coast on Wednesday and drove here - about 165 miles and plan to stay until next Wednesday.  We have been busy just getting things done like some housecleaning, laundry and bill paying.  Our electrical system is giving us a headache.  Yesterday we discovered that our converter was no longer working and our batteries were all dead.  Spent a lot of time on the phone trying to find one to no avail.  The soonest we can get one is Monday and we're going to have to drive 40 miles back south to McComb, MS to pick it up and it's only a 65 amp.  Our broken one is an 80 amp but it was the best we could do sitting here in the middle of Mississippi.  Oh well!  So, to have 12 volt power we took our portable battery charger and hooked it up to our house batteries.  So far it is working. 

We have a very good friend hospitalized in North Carolina and ask for Prayers for him.  He's been there 2 weeks already and they really can't pinpoint his problem. 

Next week we will be traveling to Arkansas but haven't decided where our first stop will be as of yet.  Any readers got any suggestions?

That's about it for now.  Haven't cranked our truck since we got here.

Judy

Now, Bob wants to add his take on all this.

On 4/1/10 he said, well it had to happen sooner or later.  We had our first semi-major brake down, our converter.  I think it fell victim to a close lightning strike the night before we left Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, MS.

Judy and I had a big laugh the day we returned from Biloxi.  Because of the bright sunlihgt and the very bright, white sand beach along US Hwy 90, I had put on my very dark tinted sunglasses and when we arrived back at the RV, I went in to turn the A/C on and said to Judy, I think we have battery trouble as the light on the thermostat is very dim, ditto the overhead lights.  I then looked at my phone and the same thing, I couldn't see it.  I pulled the glasses off and "wallah" I could see again.

When we arrived at Lincoln State Park we had dim lights, then dimmer and dimmer.  This time it was without dark glasses and after an almost all day investigation, I found our converter was not putting out.  Judy got on the phone trying to find someone to overnight us a new one without much luck.  We called Montana Customer Service and they put us on one of their dealers about 40 miles from us but he could not get one delivered to him until Monday.  So, I have my battery charger hooked up and we are learning to conserve anything on 12 volts.

This has not discouraged us much as we are having a great time here.  We had planned on this stop to be one of work and getting our act together reorganizing the storage areas and some cleaning up and we are getting some of those things done.  We are on the park's longest pull thru site with a great view of the lake.  We are planning on doing some hiking here on Saturday as they have a hiking trail.  Then we'll go to church and rest on Sunday.  Then Monday, we'll have to pick up the converter and do Wally World..

With all of this said, I think I will go to bed.

Bob