Life Is A Beach

Lisa and I wrapped up our Oklahoma City visit and headed down to a state park near Ardmore, OK.  Lake Murray State Park was quite the find.  The staff were friendly, the sites were great.  They had a large lake and golf course.  The cost was low, so this one was a welcome week away from civilization. 

We played golf, took lots of walks by the lake, and used our bikes to explore nearby areas along the path.  It had been quite a while since we had been in a park that allowed campfires, but this place allowed us to enjoy a bit of pyromania.  Our time there really recharged our batteries.  Maybe a bit too much. 

We were rested, but restless.  So we made the rash decision to turn to the east and drive to Florida and establish residency there.  The original plan was to drive leisurely, but that quickly flew out the window and we drove to Texas.  The next day we drove to Mobile, AL and now we are in Pensacola Beach, FL.  Almost to our destination in Jacksonville.

As the Zac Brown Bandsaid:

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today.
Life is good today.

We were in Oklahoma City

On the Oklahoma City University campus, to be precise.  I like the wild guess of London, but Dallas was the closest, so Heidi is better than everyone else reading this.  :)

The statue is actually of 3 winners of the Miss America pageant.  Oklahoma City University has a long history of pageants and this statue is of the three alumni that have been Miss America:  Jayne Jayroe (1967), Susan Powell (1981), and Shawntel Smith (1996).  They also have a Hall of Queens for pageant champions at the state level.   So we did that in OKC...

Where Are We Now? Oct 2015

Since we haven't played the game in a while, where are we now? 

The statue of the three ladies below has an interesting history.  I will highlight that history tomorrow night along with the winner.  So, where are we now?

 

 

The Sort of Biggest Cross

So this is what you see from the interstate near Groom, TX.

It is 190 feet tall and had the claim of being the largest cross in the western hemisphere.  But someone in Illinois built one that was 8 feet taller.  Florida also got in on the act and has one that is 208 feet. 

I guess this was pretty impressive back in 1995 when it was built.  I'm sure that the contrast of this against the flat prairie was impressive.  Now there is a wind farm on the other side of the interstate.  Seeing these taller wind turbines for a few miles made spotting the actual cross a bit anti-climatic.  Oh well, I guess they had a good run.

AQHA Museum

With time to kill, we headed over to see the American Quarter Horse Association Museum.

We were not expecting much, but it was a way to kill an hour before dinner.   It was about what you would expect.  There were some exhibits talking about the lineage of quarter horses vs. thoroughbreds.  There were some exhibits on how much they eat (20-25 lbs.).  And lastly, there was also an art exhibit with some paintings, drawings, and bronze sculptures. That was a nice touch. 

Because of that alone, I would recommend stopping by, but what I didn't expect were the many exhibits about people that bred the horses.  It was almost as if some Texas ranchers decided they needed to have the largest "I love me wall" in the world.  There were so many trophies, Lisa started to have a contest to decide which one was most like the Goblet of Fire.  That was when we could tell it was time to wrap it up and head over to Rudy's and enjoy some Texas BBQ.  

The Big Texan

So when in Amarillo, the thing to do is to go to the Big Texan.  We did our research and this is a true monument to American excess.  Count us in!

The legend is that the local cowboys had a steak eating contest to see who could eat the most 1 pound steaks in an hour.  The gentleman that won eat 4.5 of them (72 oz.) and the owner declared that anyone who could replicate the "accomplishment" could eat for free.

On the website above, there was a 125 pound woman that ate 3 of them in an hour.  She ate the first one in under 5 minutes.  Not sure if I'm suppose to be impressed or horrified.  Welcome to America!

So Lisa and I decide to try this place out and get a "taste" of what it is all about.  We were seated near the raised table in the center where all the action is.  They have a table for up to 6 eaters with clocks for the Final Countdown.

We ordered and waited.  No one was taking the challenge.  I guess a Monday night is not the night to do this.  I started to size up each person as they walked through the door.  The likely takers seemed to come in 2 categories.  First, the fatties.  Everyone that was a little overweight was a likely candidate.  I'm sure a few people thought I was "the guy" as I walked though the door.  Little did they know I was stuffed after a 16 oz. prime rib.   The second category was the stingy person.  These are harder to spot at first glance, but I didn't hesitate to judge them and hope.

One guy down the row from us was asking a lot of questions.  I thought he might be the guy.  He was overweight and he was concerned that he had to pay the $72 up front and would not be reimbursed until the end.  Both categories!  I thought we had a winner, but no luck.  So the next time we are in Amarillo, we will go on the weekend.  We had to entertain ourselves afterwards in the big chairs instead, but the steaks were very good.  Worth a stop if you are on I-40.

Where are We? Amarillo!

How can we have a post about arriving in Amarillo without this little gem:

The campground is a bit cramped, but it does have an indoor pool and hot tub.  When we googled things to do here, there were quite a few worth seeing.  First up, The Big Texan.

My Texas Heart

Back in the day when I was in the army, I lived in San Angelo, TX for 4 months.  I don't think that makes me much of a Texan, but my grandparents grew up in Texas.  So while I may not be a Texan, I decided to play one for the day.

Lisa and I had BBQ in a hole in the wall, Hodie's Bar-B-Q.  (It was REALLY good and I can't wait to eat BBQ and Tex-Mex for the next couple of months.)  Anyway, we then stopped off at the liquor store for some Shiner Bock.  I proceeded to drink those while watching the Texas game.  They lost, so when it was over, in honor of my ancestor that fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, I gave a quick, "Remember the Alamo!"

Not sure if I succeeded, but I feel a bit more Texan today.

Raton New Mexico

We stayed at a KOA in Raton NM this past week. While most KOA's are just fine this particular KOA left much to be desired. The camp was really like a big parking lot. There were no trees, no grass and no dog run for Buddy Girl. The camp store had very few items, so we had to go to the grocery store in town. Most people who stopped thru were there for one night and moved on. There were a few nice things we did while we were there.

1. We went to the Capulin Volcano.
   I did not know what to expect from a dormant volcano as I have never seen one. It really looked like a big hole in the ground with a bunch of rocks :). The views from the top of the mountain were very nice and you could see forever.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. We played golf at Raton NM Country Club. 
   
   
   (Todd had his own post about this course and you can read about it  here:  http://friggingreat.blogspot.com/2015/09/course-review-raton-country-club.html)
   
   
   The golf course was so pretty, and full of wild life. Deer were everywhere and we could get so close you could almost feed them. The view of the mountains was spectacular and the eagles flying above were a beautiful sight to see.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. We visited Sugarite Canyon State Park.  
   We were able to go on a little hike after exploring the park by car. Sugarite was an old Coal mine town that over time was swallowed back into nature after the mine closed and everyone moved away. It is now a small state park.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

History

The name Sugarite derives from either the Comanche and Ute name for a bird found in the Canyon or the Spanish name, Chicarica, for chicory, a plant found here. Sugarite Canyon was used as a water supply for Raton as early as 1891. The lakes continue to be used for that purpose. Coal mining in the canyon began in 1894 and the town of Sugarite was established as a coal-mining town in 1912. Sugarite had a population of nearly one thousand at its peak. The mines began to shut down in 1941 and in 1944 the post office and railroad were shut down.[4] Sugarite Canyon State Park was established in 1985 and now receives about 125,000 visitors per years. (wikipedia.org)

I am not sure if we will ever visit Raton again. It is one of those places you can say you have been thru.

We were in Colorado Springs

We were in Colorado Springs.  The picture was of Cheyenne Mountain (Want to play a game? How about Global Thermonuclear War? ) and Pikes Peak.  I know, I know, I need a better camera.  :)

So the winner was Heidi Bennett.  Her reward is a warm place in our heart.   So we have moved on to the south.  We have officially started our adventure as homeless people!

Where Are We? September 17, 2015

Last week we spent our time at St. Vrain State campground near Longmont, CO.  The pictures (again, we need a better camera) were of Long's Peak.  Nice little campground.  Nice views and some nice ponds to teach the kids to fish.  There were no guesses, so no winners this week.  A guess of "America" would have won.

So on with this week's photos.  The first one is a nice view from the entrance to the campground:

The second photo is of a creek that runs behind the campground.  As I make the loop around the campground to get my steps in, this is a nice little stop:

So, where are we?

Flashback: Ooops!

Fortunately, this is one of those stories where we had the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.  It happened back in June when Lisa and I had just arrived at the campground outside of Pittsburgh.  Granted, it was 70 miles away, but that was as close as we could get. 

I was settling in for the night and Lisa was inspecting the outside of the rig. (Subtext:  I was playing Candy Crush and she was having a cigarette.)  There was a loud crushing sound.  Lisa ran and in and was concerned that someone had pulled in after dark and had scratched up their rig on some overhead branches.  And who doesn't love a little drama, so Lisa wanted to go help.

Now, I'm not the guy to rush over and help.  Probably, because of my Wyoming roots, I would prefer to be left alone and try to figure it out and resolve it on my own. That fence is there for a reason.  If I need help, I will ask for it.  Slowly, begrudgingly, and with resistance, but I will eventually ask for it.  But only if I need it.  My assumption is that everyone is the same way, so my first instinct is to to give people space.


That is not how Lisa operates.  She really wants to get in there and help.  So while I resisted, she really wanted me to go help.  The tone in her voice led me to believe this is one of those times when it might be best to listen to my wife.  So I sauntered over.

A young couple had taken a sharp right turn and the back end of their loooong motorhome had gone over a 6 foot bush and had landed the body of the rig on a large boulder.  It was large enough that the rear tire was just off the ground.  It was something to behold.  I wish I had a picture, but I wasn't quite sure how it would go over.  "Excuse me, can we pause for 30 seconds to take a picture of your pain?  No? Okay, that's cool."  Maybe not the conversation I wanted to have.

My first impression was that we needed a jack to lift the rig.  Oh yeah, duh...the leveling jacks!  It was a new rig (read:  fancy and expensive) and they had only used the self-leveling jacks.  They did not know how to manually engage the right rear jack and were looking to me for guidance.  I had only had mine for 6 weeks.  But I have been a consultant now for almost 20 years.  I know how to fake that sh**.

So we went into the rig like we knew what we were doing.  (You know, the confident man stroll.)  Luckily for our egos, we figured it out and lifted the rig.  The next issue was how to move a rock which was a tad bit heavy.  A German and his son were now also on the scene.  We tried to move it, but not much luck.  So we are standing there trying to figure out how to proceed.  (Maybe pull it out with our Jeep?)  When young guy, full of adrenaline (and maybe steroids), decides to give it a try.  Success!  (So glad I did not take the picture earlier.  Good guy to have on your side.)

A few scratches, but the rig was fine.  Lots of handshakes and promises of beers were made.  I never got a beer, but I did get a valuable lesson about avoiding driving at night.

Where Are We?

This is where we spent September 7 - 13, 2015.  A nice little mountain in the background, first thing in the morning:

This highlights how much we need to buy a good camera and not rely on  our phones.  Here is the same view in the evening:

So, any guesses?

Dirty, Dirty

The Steel Cowboy was a bit dirty.  It needed some help.  It needed a good spraying and a bit of brushing.  Which actually sounds fun since it has been in the 90's around here.  But most campgrounds don't allow it and this is not the type of vehicle that you can just pull into the car wash and hose down. 

So we did our research, and found that the Blue Beacon was popular.  It is a truck wash, usually co-located with a truck stop.  This seemed like another opportunity to step outside our comfort zone, broaden our horizons, and try something new.  So with some trepidation, we pulled into line:

Turns out, it was as easy as can be.  We pulled in, payed the cashier, and watched them wash it down.  Easy-peasy.  I gotta stop overthinking every new experience.  What could go wrong?

Where Are We?

As we trek around, we thought it would be fun to post a picture and have some crowd participation.  Last week is fairly easy.  So, where were we on September 4, 2015?  (Bonus points for accuracy.)

DIY Slide

And so the repairs begin.  RVs have compartments which "slideout" and are known as slides.  Clever, huh?  Anyway, that allows the living space to expand when you are camping and to contract while travelling.  We have a total of 4 slides, two on each side.  You can see the driver's side slides here.

The larger one in front expands the kitchen, while the one in back slides the bed out.  The two on the passenger side expand the living room and the wardrobe in the bedroom.  The wardrobe slide became a problem in North Platte back in July.  It decided to not slide out. 

The slide is run through a series of pulleys powered by a small electric motor.  Some slides are run using hydraulics.  Luckily, our slide decided to break while it was contracted, so we could still drive down the road and not have to manually put it back using a drill.  The slide on the opposite side still slid out enough to still get our underwear from the wardrobe.  We may be broken, but we refuse to be dirty!

So we pulled down some decorative trim pieces and started to inspect the system.  The problem was quickly identified.  The  copper drive shaft between the motor and the gearbox was severed:

 

 

Here is a close up of the part and my reaction. (This might be a reenactment after it was fixed):

Through a search of the Forest River forums, I found that this is a common problem.  The 1/8" drive shafts tend to break down.  The resolution is to either replace the 1/8" drive shaft or move to the 3/16" drive shaft, which requires replacing the motor/gearbox combination.  For the frugal among us, the choice is between an $8 part or several hundred dollars.  So I ordered 2 of the $8 parts. 

The installation was a bit more difficult than I had hoped.  I was hoping I would be able to just reinsert it as easy as I pulled out the old one.  Nope.  The chains had to be loosened and the gearbox had to be disconnected and rotated so that the drive shaft could be installed.  There might have been a few choice words spoken as that was accomplished. But finally, the job was accomplished:

And now I am a Happy BOY!

Total cost:  $16, 4 hours of my time.  I am not included the cost of Lisa and I worrying about how to get this completed.

Colorado KOA West Denver

We made it back to Colorado after our long trip to Pennsylvania to see family for a few months. My sister recovered from her surgery and Dad having to move to assisted living was a big job, but now it is time to move on.

During a quick stop in Strasburg, Todd had to fly to Chicago for a few days and I was able to hang out with 2 of our 3 kids. Then off we went to Black Hawk/Central City KOA for a month or so.

We attended a family reunion in Granby, CO and left the rig at the KOA while we were in the mountains for a few days. Then Todd was off for a three day trip with his parents, aunt, and uncle to tour Wyoming. I stayed behind with our Corgi Buddy Girl.

And now, back to the KOA.

This KOA is very nice. The bathrooms and showers are clean and warm. There are two hot tubs but we have not used them. As usual, this KOA will deliver pizza to your site if you would like. The people who work here are very friendly and helpful. The views are beautiful as usual in Colorado. We have been to the Casino a few times to play cards and found a game called High Card Flush. It is FUN!

Our site is nice with very nice neighbors. The only problem so far is our water is not heating up very well. There has been a bear poking around but no problems so far.

We just moved to another spot here at the KOA for the next 2 days. This spot is very nice and private. We are tucked in next to the forest and have great views all around.

Today was cleaning day, so lots of scrubbing of our water supply closet and bins. Cleaning the sewer box and hoses. We will move again within the campground on Saturday to our next spot for 12 days.

We are finishing up our final touches getting the Jeep ready to tow so we can hit the road for the winter. I was driving our jeep behind the Rig across the country when we went back east. I am looking forward to being able to travel together.

It looks like we will be going south over the next few months pointing the rig towards warmer weather and leaving Colorado in the rear view mirror until spring of 2016.

I will miss being close to the kids and our family this winter but the Rig is calling for the open road and we must abide. Our plans are New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas,Oklahoma and back to Colorado. Of course life happens and plans change, so we are definitely flexible.

The adventure continues...

Homeless?

It is official.  Lisa and I are homeless.  We sold our condo and no longer have the comfort of "sticks and bricks".

It was a little weird, but we quickly became excited at the prospect of fully committing to the road.  The funny thing was that we weren't really saying goodbye to Granby, CO.  We know we can come back and park our little home there anytime, but we have the leisure of taking our home anywhere.  We are taking a quick lap around Colorado and Wyoming  through September, but will start adding up the miles after that.  Oddly, we are drawn towards Texas first. 

So if you are along that route, please keep the light on.  :)

Nebraska

Nebraska, I'm trying, I really am.  But after traveling about 240 miles from Lincoln to North Platte, I could try to wane poetic and try to describe your state.  But South Park describes it best:

Mostly, this state is here to drive through on our way to other places.  The second best description of this state is from Bruce Springsteen's song, Nebraska.  Basically, you drive around until you go crazy and earn a spot in the electric chair.

But back to me trying.  I drove all the way across this state and noticed the sign that Pioneer Village is the #1 attraction state.  I have been there, and unfortunately, this might be true.  I haven't been to the SAC museum, but I hold out hope that it is a better attraction.  Since I plan to criss-cross this nation, I guess I will cross this state many times.  I will try to be patient, but if I could rearrange the states, I would move Nebraska up to a corner so it would be out of the way.

Good luck on the football season....

Food Tour

Why do people turn their back on the Brick and Mortar lifestyle?  There are a lot of reasons, but the main one is food.  Let's be honest, that drives everything and today was a double shot of delicious. 

We stopped at the Flying J to fill up.  They have nice gas pumps specific for RV's.  And then when you are done, they have RV parking.   So Lisa and I can fill up and pull over to have a nice lunch.  She had some nice healthy turkey burgers ready to go.  After filling up, I noticed a sign for a Maid Rite and Taco John's inside the truck stop.  Bam!  Change of plans.  They might as well of had a monogrammed red carpet for us.

Lisa is a big fan of the loose meat sandwich.  She must have watched too much of Roseanne in the 90's.  They managed to mess up the order, but that is to be expected.  Lisa has food rules.  No mustard, ketchup, etc.  She managed to salvage it by moving most of the sandwich onto some bread we had.

And Taco John's.  Wow.  I just can't get enough of that.  Every time I see it, I turn into a dumb teenager cruising the strip in Cheyenne.  There is nothing like Taco John's Potato Oles.  There just isn't.  So when I order, I pick a random combo and up size it, because all that really matters is a big bucket of Oles. 

What restaurants are must hits around the country?  Please comment.

Long Time Gone

Things were a bit hectic as we toured Pennsylvania.  Seeing family after a long pause seems to require a large time commitment.  Many adventures were had, but I shall leave many of those stories to reminisce over the next couple of weeks as we move back towards Colorado.

For now, we are in Indiana with a quick stop planned for Chicago.  Goodbye, HSBC!  Anyway, we are glad this will be our last sprint across the country.  We will soon be able to slowly explore the country.  Soon...

The Winds of Madison County

So we have made it to Adel, Iowa.  It is in Madison County, just to the west of Des Moines.  I don't see any bridges, but there was plenty of wind.  All the way across Nebraska the wind was blowing at about 20 MPH.  The high profile of the Steel Cowboy acted like a sail.  Unfortunately, it was not the type of sail that pushed us across the country and saved us fuel money.  I would have settled for the type that was in my face and cost me a few bucks at the pump, but it was a cross wind.

A cross wind is maddening.  It was moving the rig all over the road.  Not the kind of day you want to have if you are new to driving RV's.  I would have the wheels pointed slightly to the right to fight the wind.  But then the wind would die or there was a hill which blocked the wind.  So, I would drift to the right.  Then I would start to aim left and the wind would come back up.  So I would shoot over to the left.  Then a semi would pass and its slipstream would push me back to the right.  And that was how I spent my time driving across Nebraska and Iowa.

And poor Lisa spent the entire time in the Jeep behind me watching the wind push me around.  I'm pretty sure she spent her time on the cell trying to increase the limit of my life insurance.  :)

But the good news is we will be in the Quad Cities tomorrow to visit family.  A nice respite from the wind as we make our way to Pittsburgh.

And so it begins....

Lisa and I spent many years talking about ditching it all and hitting the road in an RV. We weighed the advantages against our fears. We flirted with doing it, but always backed away. But in April 2015, we plunged headlong into the abyss and purchased a 38' motor home. We spent a month getting ready by camping around Denver and learning the RV systems. (And we didn't break too much, but that will make a good flashback story.) And most importantly, we gave our rig a name: The Steel Cowboy. (Lisa - Pittsburgh Steelers, Todd - Wyoming Cowboys)

So we have finally left the state of Colorado and are heading east. Despite the wind, we are safely sitting in a campground in western Nebraska.  Just a few more stops and we will be in Pittsburgh to see Lisa's family. We will then mosey our way back to Colorado for a family reunion. During that time we will decide on where to spend our winter.