Nebraska to Colorado

Lots of Black Eyed Susans – and cattle

A short little blurb tonight since we changed time zones again and I really feel like I should be going to bed.  But … the good news is, we will be in Mountain Time Zone for a few months.  We are in Big Springs, Nebraska – population 400 – directly off I-80.  This little RV park offers a ½ price discount to those who are members of Passport America.  So we are staying here, with full utilities for less than $18.  The couple who own the park, live next door, and run a farm with beef and chickens (we have not seen either).  It is dusty and barren and not my choice of a place to live but maybe I will feel different after Radar takes me on a tour in the morning.

As we crossed 250 more miles of Nebraska today, the landscape gradually shifted from all corn fields to cornfields and beef and hay fields.  More cows and hay bales.  And still very flat with big skies.  It is still overcast so no big blue sky scenic views.

We were surprised at the number of small ponds we passed by on the drive so I checked it out.

“Road crews faced a couple of problems during construction of I-80. They needed fill material, gravel and such, especially for the interchanges. The Platte Valley didn’t have any hills from which to get the material. The only way to solve the problem was to dig fill out of the flat land. That presented the second problem: the water table is so high here that, as they dug, the holes filled with water.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission made lemon out of lemonade. Forty of these manmade borrow pits were made into Nebraska’s best public fishing holes, with the perfect combination of clear water and shoreline vegetation. The lake at Exit 164 has given up trophy-sized bass and blue gill.”

We saw several roadside signs advertising Lake  McConaughy, a reservoir on the North Platte River.  Until I just looked it up, I did not realize that this is a man-made reservoir, created during the depression 1936 – 1941.  “Lake McConaughy is Nebraska’s biggest lake and the largest reservoir in a three state region. At full storage, Lake Mac is twenty miles long, four miles wide, and 142 feet deep at the dam. Built on the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills, Lake Mac offers natural white sand beaches, excellent fishing, boating, camping and all types of outdoor recreation.”  But building the dam and lake was a public power and irrigation project that helped Nebraska become one of the nation’s leading agricultural states. So much in this country I have been totally unaware of.

But … to sleep I must go.  Tomorrow Colorado and a chance to do some hiking …. I will rest up!

Traveling Across the Midwest

Big farm house … big Iowa farm

So …all good things do come to an end.  Our List of 19 repair items was completed Friday by noon. Bob had an extra-long conference call and I was out to meet the buyer of an item I had for sale on Craigslist so we did not get on the road until about 1:00 PM.  We are overall happy with how everything was completed and repaired.  I was getting to know Wakarusa and where to run and walk and where to get groceries.  But … I would not want to live there.

We drove about 240 miles to our next stop in Geneseo, Illinois.  We took I-80 west and were able to avoid most Chicago traffic.  There were some 10 or 12 lane roads which make me incredible nervous but Bob is a good driver.  Radar rewarded him with a heart in his box.

The folks at the RV Park in Geneseo were very friendly and made a supper recommendation for us.  The Cellar was great.  We did shrimp appetizers and salad and had a great time.  Loved sitting in the bar waiting for a table as the ‘locals’ come in discussing the high school football game that evening.  So small town.

Found … at the Cellar

It rained that night and was a bit foggy in the morning so we took our time getting on the road. We only had about a 200 mile drive to Griffs Valley View RV in Altoona, Iowa.  It was a comfortable, noneventful drive and we arrived late afternoon.  We hooked up our electric, water and sewer.  Bob usually checks tires and fluid levels in the vehicles while I vacuum the place and get stuff out of ‘storage.’  I had major laundry to do so that used up the rest of the day. Out for a pizza with a Schilling salad.

We were up early today, Sunday.  I think we are still on EST.  We had seen a bike path right next to the RV Park so I Googled it and discovered it was a 20 mile paved path, with many connections.  We headed out in the fog at 8:00 AM for a run.  It was great running weather.  We ran into a few folks on the bike path but not too many.  We discovered the park itself is beautiful, roomy with plenty of beautiful clean areas:  laundry, showers, bath rooms, workout room, recreation center, paddle boats, fishing.  Iowa seems a funny place to us, but we were told that most of their RV-ers are there for the season. We would go back on our way through – not sure it would be a destination.

Griffs RV Park Altoona, Iowa

Today’s drive was about 250 miles to Henderson (out in the middle of nowhere) Nebraska.  The fog had lifted and we were able to cruise along, listening to our current book club book, “The Mockingbird Next Door” by Marja Mills.  We are on the ‘hold’ list for “To Kill a Mockingbird” so we will listen to that next (when it is available).  The book we are listening to now is essentially a biography of the two Lee sisters.  It is a good listen.

Look at the heart pee Radar left for us in his box

I am using up all of my Michigan and Indiana vegetables and made spaghetti squash with a tomato based sauce.  It came out very good.  Radar went for a long walk around the campground.  He has loved traveling in the Midwest.  He seems to like each campground we have been at.  He explores the bushes. And he sleeps well while we drive.  I think he was meant to be a ‘full-timer’.  He has variety in his life. And his Diabetes is currently under control.

Radar & asleep at his Dad’s feet … on the road

Since we are anxious to see the mountains, we decided to keep driving the next two days.  We thought Greeley, Colorado would be interesting to see on our way into Estes Park.  So … tomorrow, 235 miles to Big Springs, Nebraska.  I guess Nebraska is a BIG state.  Since we left Indiana, we have seen miles and miles and miles of corn. Corn and soybeans. Corn and soybeans. Corn and soybeans….and factories.

There’s No Place Like Home

A Soy Bean field – the view behind our temporary home

Well we have been up at 5:30 AM three mornings in a row now.  Service at the Thor Service Center starts at 7:00 AM.  They even ring a bell, like a school.  They also close up at 3:30 PM. There is hardly a car in the employee parking lot by 3:45.  The Service Tech is at the door by 7:05 ready to move our home into the service bay for the day. Yikes!

Before that happens we have to be up; coffee; cleaned up; measure, feed & medicate Radar; eat breakfast; prepare lunch and snacks for us and Radar and stow all items away for moving.

Tomorrow we get a reprieve.  The two parts we are waiting for:  a new awning and a shade unit for the front will not be there at 7:00 AM so we were told we can ‘sleep in.’  We plan to be ready by 8:00 AM as their sleeping in and ours are probably very different.  The funny thing is, the last two mornings my alarm has gone off and Radar is stretched out beside me – not stirring. (Where is the meowing cat when we want to sleep in?)

The building we wait in has a comfortable waiting area but, as we have probably mentioned, most RVers have dogs.  It seems most dogs take exception to Radar (Radar will totally ignore them.)  We discovered a currently unused room with a table next to the waiting area so we have taken it over the last two days.  Radar can wander the entire room. No barking dogs. No TV’s talking. No peoples talking.  We set his litter box and food up in one corner and we wit at the table with our PC’s, lists and Kindles.  Tuesday I walked to the Post Office in the morning and went out for groceries in the afternoon.  Today I found a nice spot to get a manicure/pedicure.  Perfect diversions.  Both days have been cloudy and cool with intermittent rain.  Tomorrow we plan to get new tires for the Honda.  We just had them balanced in Michigan and were told they were almost worn to the warning strip.  We figured we might as well replace them now while we are ‘bored.’

Last night I found the perfect restaurant to celebrate our 42^nd wedding anniversary.  “Kelly Jae’s Cafe offers an eclectic menu featuring a Spanish tapas concept with an Asian flair. The menu is complemented by a full bar of liquor, beer and wine.

Like most businesses in downtown Goshen, Kelly Jae’s Cafe is in a beautifully restored storefront. Hardwood floors, brick walls and an original tin ceiling lend an urban feel and set the stage for a stunning dining experience. While some like to get dressed up to celebrate a special occasion at Kelly Jae’s, there is no dress code. Come as you are!”

It was a perfect evening.  The drive was about 12 miles to Goshen, Indiana.  An interesting drive through farm land and factories.  This is a large Amish area so we saw a few horse & buggies and many bicycles. Just things to remember.

Crab and Manchego Dip (Manchego is a Spanish Cheese)

Tapas are small plates of food to share.  This restaurant had ‘small plates’ and ‘large plates.’  We decided to start with some wine and 2 small plates:  Coconut Shrimp and a crab Dip.  Great flavors and sauces.  I was full by the time we finished.  But, after spending some time with our wine, the need for greens urged us to order a salad to share.  We ordered a Mango Salad with greens, roasted almonds and a special vinaigrette dressing – served in a paper rice bowl.  It was great!  I was more than full so no crab cakes as we thought. After a bit more wine we both (yes, both) decided on dessert.  Bob had a Black & White Crème Brule (regular Crème Brule with chocolate) and I had a Key Lime/White Chocolate pie in a ginger snap pie crust. Paired with coffee and after dinner drinks we were ‘happy campers.’

Strawberry Roasted Golden beet Salad w Goat Cheese Marcona Almonds (very similar to our Mango Salad)

The restaurant was unpretentious, on the dark side, with large and small parties of diners.  The wait staff were always there without being intrusive.  A great way to celebrate the beginning of year #43.

Back to the old standby, pizza and salads tonight.  An early bed time and life is good.  Hopefully the Beast will be in tip-top shape tomorrow and we can motor off to Colorado.  We plan to arrive in Estes Park on September 3^rd.

Indiana wants me …Not Sure I’ll Come Back Here ….

 

Bob & “the Beast”

We are sitting in the waiting room at the Thor Service Center in Wakarusa, Indiana.  We arrived at the Service Center about 3:30 PM Sunday afternoon.  We are allowed to stay at the Service Center as long as we are up and ready for service at 7:00 AM.   We were told that hook-ups were ‘first come, first served.’  There were 3 spots left that had both water and electric when we arrived.  There were 7 or 8 more spots that were electric only.  There is no one in charge here … just a group of RVers waiting for service in their homes.  A quiet evening. I think there were 20 to 25 RV’s.

We had compiled a list of 17 issues over the last few months.  Our service tech, Tim, who did arrive at 7:00 AM seemed to know exactly what we were talking about and probable solutions.  One of our biggies, the rain leak is repaired (without breaking wood frame.).  Our slider topper was tightened.  They will replace our awning (it does not always come out) and they will also replace the driver’s side shade (they were mounted incorrectly so caught on the seat belt every time we raised and lowered them).  We are waiting for these parts to come in. They are replacing our sagging dining room chairs.    They are repairing the dent in the side put in by a rock from the lawn mower in Whately.  We are having them run the cable for our Internet booster as Bob is not familiar with what is behind the walls and does not want to interfere with existing wires and seals and stuff.

We took Radar and his box and his food and our lunch and our computers over to the waiting room.  We know to look for a corner spot so Radar can tuck himself away from other people and their dogs.  He is very placid.  At least six dogs have been in so far. Radar sits and stares them down – they all bark and strain at their leashes.  Not many stay long.  Radar turns around and goes to sleep.  Occasionally he gets up to use his box or have a snack.  We had a long walk this morning and will have another one or two before the day is over.

Radar sauntering down the path of life … at his own speed

(Yes we had 2 more walks) It is kind of boring to walk a cat so I entertained myself by doing my 40 squats as he stopped and sniffed (I will never see these people againJ so they can think I am weird)

So the service staff is done at 3:30 and we are back home.  Bob checked stuff out.  We moved Radar back in the house and headed out for a run.  I had mapped out a run on the computer and thought it was a bit short but kept us off busy roads.  Well … it did that but the main street I had us following was all dug up for sewer work so we zigged and zagged and after a bit of that,  I was not really sure where we were.  Not willing to admit this to boB, I ran on and around and asked some bystanders for a street when we reached the center of town (a very small town.)  We got back with 3 ½ miles and a tour of the village and proceeded to do our sit-ups, and crunches and leg lifts and plank.

We are now grazing over snacks and supper.  We could go out and schmooze with the other RV owners and commiserate on repair issues but I am quite content sitting here with my two men (boB & Radar).  I am looking forward to an early night as we will be up again at 5:30 (I do have to have coffee, eat breakfast, make lunch and clean before the service people arrive.)  Actually, everything has to be stored so we are travel-ready since they move the vehicle around so we have plenty of practice getting the list down. (and I am kidding about the cleaning …)

RIP Paddle Boards -It was a good year …

Michigan Hospitality

Welcome to Michigan

We arrived in Michigan last Saturday afternoon.  The weather was warm and sunny with a nice breeze.  We were in a very large campground with 4 lakes.  Southeast Michigan is full of little lakes.  We had a site in the “Park Model” area of the campground which is very quiet (full-time or seasonal residences). I think this park maybe a weekend getaway place.  The down side of the place is we have to travel down a bumpy, dusty road for 1.2 miles each time we go in and out of the park.

Basement Music: Bob, Ian & Andy

When we arrived, Bob beautifully backed into our space, and we headed off to Lin & Ian’s where Lin was hosting an afternoon English Tea (and Bob & Ian played music.)  What a beautiful setting, big deck with English Gardens; a sumptuous amount of food and some interesting people.  The tea progressed to a birthday party complete with live music.  A fun afternoon/evening.

Patio Plants

It is now a week later. Our first afternoon in Michigan with Lin and Ian was just a taste of their hospitality. Sunday, we met for a bike ride through State and Municipal Parks to Dexter, Michigan for brunch.  And then a nice bike ride back to Lin & Ian’s house where we cleaned up and Bob and Ian had an opportunity to sing and play guitars before dinner that evening. Followed by a stroll through a car show in downtown Brighton.

Biking along the water

Monday morning, a beautiful run in Island Pond State Park.  We then met up to go see Ian and his band, now former band, play a set of music at a church sponsored car show.  We thought this would be a small quiet show being as it was a Monday afternoon/evening.  Cars rolled in the entire hour the band played.  They were expecting over 100 vehicles!  I think there were probably more.

Bob’s dream car

Brighton, Michigan is beautiful.  Lush, green and a combination of farms, commercial, and suburbs.  And, most definitely we were in car country.  The day we arrived there was “The Woodward Dream Cruise – WDC, the World’s Most Popular Car Cruise and largest one-day automotive event. It is held annually the 3rd Saturday of August just north of Detroit.  About one million people attend this event each year. It’s all about cars, cruisin, showing off, partying, hanging out, entertainment, people watching and being seen, and more cars (classic cars, custom cars, street rods, collector and specialty vehicles). The Cruise starts one mile north of Detroit in Ferndale, MI and goes up to Pontiac, MI, and back.” About 10 miles each way on an 8-lane road!  Someday ….

My days are jumbled together. Morning runs or bike rides followed later by other activities.  Bob & Ian enjoyed exploring their musical talents.  Lin and I chatted, did some food prep and generally caught up.

We accompanied them to a birthday party/picnic Tuesday evening in one of the local parks.  A surprise party after a bike ride.  Fun.  Since this was a member of their triathlon group we had plenty in common with many guests.

We had the Honda’s wheels balanced, actually twice as we lost a weight right after it was done.  I found a couple of local fruit and vegetable markets.

Ian suggested an excursion he thought we would enjoy … and we did.  We went to “The Willow Run manufacturing complex, located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, was constructed in the early years of World War II by Ford Motor Company for the mass production of war munitions, especially the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber.”  This was actually the home of Rosie the Riveter. The plant was built in an apple orchard owned by Henry Ford. It is now the home of the Yankee Air Museum.  The museum docent was informative and fun.  We got a quick hour tour of the small museum before heading across the airfield to see some of their functioning aircraft including:

• 1944 Boeing B-17G-110VE Flying Fortress Yankee Lady
• 1943 North American B-25D Mitchell Yankee Warrior – veteran of 8 combat missions over Italy
• 1944 Douglas C-47 Skytrain Yankee Doodle Dandy

B-17 Coasting in after an hour run

They were doing flying tours of the B17 that afternoon.  In between flights we were allowed to look inside and walk all around and under the plane.  What a great afternoon.

Bob enjoys the tour under the B-17

The weather was hot and humid a good portion of the week but it seemed the parks that were chosen to run and bike in had plenty of shades and breezes.  It was a fun week to spend outside.  It is hard to believe with all of that water we never found an opportunity to get the paddle boards in the water!  We could have walked 200 yards from the Beast and launched them but our week was busy.

There were scattered showers Wednesday, but Wednesday night the serious rain arrived …. And with it, the leak the Beast had over the dining room table returned … our computers and Bob’s phone and camera and many papers were on the table but fortunately Radar got us up at 3:00 AM so we had a chance to mop up the water and dry our stuff out.  All is well and at least we are now at the repair depot.  Funny that with all of the rain we had this summer we never had an issue.  The leak repair was our #1 reason we are here.

Drip … Drip … Drip

Friday was a clear and beautiful day, so we went with Lin & Ian to:  “The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, and more formally as the Edison Institute) is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex and a National Historic Landmark in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA.  Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits, and Americana. The collection contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy‘s presidential limousine, Abraham Lincoln‘s chair from Ford’s Theatre, Thomas Edison‘s laboratory, the Wright Brothers‘ bicycle shop, and the Rosa Parks bus.”  We spent 4 or 5 hours wandering this huge village created in 1929.  The weather was perfect and there were many interesting exhibits, especially after going to the Ford-Edison Winter Estates this past winter.  We actually saw a working version of Edison’s first phonograph.  Amazing!

Demonstration of Edison’s Phonograph

Mom …. look at the wash rags at Harvey Firestone’s farm house!

We enjoyed another dinner of wine and appetizers before our last run on Saturday morning.  We joined up with folks from the local running group.  Again, we were at a state park with plenty of bike trails and paths to run on.  Many trail users. A very attractive community if you are active.  After brunch and chores, Bob & Ian had a couple more hours of jamming and a picnic in the back yard.  WOW!  What a week.  Lin and Ian are such comfortable hosts.  When they come to Massachusetts next summer – may we be as thoughtful.

So, Sunday morning pack up and go.  Camping at the Thor Service Center is ‘first come – first served’ as far as water and electric service goes.  We ran into a bit of rain but it diminished as we drove.  We are still working through a surprisingly good book “The Orphan Master’s Son.”  We were cruising down Michigan I-94 West, engrossed in our book, when a pickup truck pulled in front of us and slowed down, as we went to pass, the driver flagged us down.  We pulled over to the side of the highway, and another driver pulled over.  OMG!  The paddle boards flew off our car, being towed by the Beast.  They apparently did not hit anyone, thank goodness.  The top tie-downs were intact.  The nose tie-down was dragging from the front fender.  It appears the rope on the SUP that the nose tie-down fastens to broke.  We had checked and tested all tie downs prior to our departure.  After some discussion, we decided to continue to our destination.  Bob figured, at 65 MPH the fiberglass boards would not have survived.  We would have had to go to the next exit, find a place to park the Beast, unattach the car and drive back up the other side of the highway – when we were not even sure where exactly they came off.  We have a rearview camera always on the car and cannot believe we both missed it.  A shocker but everyone is okay.  The Honda has a little dent on her flank,  but she was not a beauty to begin with.  We will contact our insurance agent tomorrow to see if there is anything they can do.

And so starts our week in Wakarusa, Indiana.  I think I will have time to write. This last week deserves so much more.   I love sharing our story.  We are out and about and I am thinking I should jot some notes to share – usually no paper handy so I do photos.

.On the Road Again … Time on our hands

Ascending Osceola Mountain in the White Mountains with Karen and Polly

So, here we sit in Phelps, New York (near Rochester) on our first day back on the road.  We miss everyone already and after a good night’s sleep will feel like we are ‘in the moving groove.’  And NOW we are sitting in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada.  It is Friday night.  I had to wait to post until I had a local Wi-Fi.  We have almost used our monthly allotment of 32GB so are trying to avoid extra costs.

We were up at 6:00 AM Thursday morning for a last morning run (and Squats) with Kim and Marsha.  Sure will miss those chatty runs and challenges.

I love my Book Club! August meetings at Lake Wyola are always fun (good book too “Three Day Road”)

The last month has been absolutely jam packed and fun.  We keep saying how lucky we are to have so many, many wonderful, energized family and friends. We have kept up on our running and strength challenges (with friends).  We have been on some great bike rides…even in the rain.  We hiked in the White Mountains, several times, adding 5 more 4,000’ peaks to our list. We hiked up Mt Greylock.  We hiked another section of the Mid-State Trail with Karen & Dave-O.  We have paddle boarded with our neighbors, friends and book club friends. We have eaten all kinds of great meals, and drank our share wine, with many, many friends and family.  We brewed and bottled a new batch of beer; had a tour of my sister’s farm in the Berkshires, picked many gallons of blueberries (and strawberries), watched baseball, toured Mark Twain’s Hartford home with my Mom and sister, caught up on life with my sister Wendy who I have not seen in many years, swam Lake Mattawa on Wednesday nights, shared a few days of the Ocean Park, Maine house with Dave and Debbie before major changes, visited our dentists, doctors, eye-doctors, and so enjoyed being able to check books out of the library.  The three months flew by too fast.  But we want to hike so Rocky Mountain peaks before snow.

Nancy’s Farm Stand (Tamarack Road in Pittsfield). We sure will miss the Western Massachusetts gardens and farms

Again tonight we are so happy to have unlimited use of water (and sewer).  Because we had tank dumps only twice a week this summer, we had to be frugal with our water usage.  Water conservation is a good thing to learn and be aware of, but I am looking forward to luxuriating in the shower tomorrow.  I could wash my dinner prep dishes in different dishwater than the dinner dishes.  I can freely run water and thoroughly clean sinks and toilets (not that I really had time to do much cleaning this summer)

Another thing I missed about our ‘summer home’ in Whately was the breeze on my face while I am sleeping.  We rarely used the A/C in the Beast this summer at night. I had a lovely breeze most nights across the fields onto my face.  Cool last night but no cooling breeze.

We discovered that we missed the Sauerkraut Festival in Phelps, NY.  For the past 45 years, Phelps, New York has held a Sauerkraut Festival to commemorate the time when Phelps was the sauerkraut capital of the world. The festival features everything sauerkraut (and cabbage).  We have the Garlic Festival … I am pretty sure there are Corn Festivals … amazing what we won’t do for a party!

After Bob’s conference call this morning, Friday, we will head west.  We plan to cross the Queenstown-Lewiston Bridge into Ontario, Canada on our way to the Detroit suburbs.  I will add a note and photos tonight if we have free Wi-Fi.

The bridge from Buffalo to Grand Island. Notice the windshield wipers are still intact.

Our trip was through intermittent showers but generally the driving was good. We were within 3 miles of our campsite tonight when we drove into a rain shower.  I asked Bob to slow down because the windshield wiper on my side was not cleaning the window. Two minutes later, the wiper fell off!! We thought it was gone.  We were in a small town on a narrow street with no place to pull over.  We noted landmarks so we could drive back in the car.  We were a mile from the campground when Bob said “oh oh … we are going to lose the other wiper.”  He was able to pull over and save both wipers!  The first one was hanging by the fluid tube.  He knocked them both back in place and determined once we arrived at the campground that they were not fully installed on the spline and the lock screw was not tightened to hold them on.  Two things … I guess we have not had much rain to drive in since February and it is a good thing we were not on the highway when they decided to come loose.

Tomorrow, Saturday we should be outside Detroit to spend some time with our friends, Lin & Ian.