MEMORIAL DAY

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 58 A Storm in Spots High 83) 

We want to wish all a very happy Memorial Day. Memorial Day is dedicated to those Americans who have fallen while serving in our nation’s military to preserve our freedoms, our way of life, and our nation.

One of the best quotes ever is from Elmer Davis, "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

 

We still are the land of the free but only because of the brave, the fallen that we honor today. So while it is nice to have the first grilling of the season and to get the family together let's not forget we can do all of that because the brave have fallen to preserve our freedom.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - BYOPL IN THE DESERT

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 60 Mostly Cloudy with a Storm or Two High 78)

BYOPL - Bring Your Own Picnic Lunch

We are really catching up on this blog entry as it got lost amongst all the other postings. Plus with all the rain that we have been having here we miss the dry of the desert.

We went with our friends Mike and Lindy from "Paws and Friends" for a picnic lunch in the desert. We drove to their place in Congress and then headed out in their blue buggy.

Along the way we say some saguaros

Here is something we just don't get, a solar windmill. Anybody that has been around the Congress area knows that there is no lacking of sun so we get that but we also know that there is a lot of wind too. So why go to the added expense of adding solar panels and a motor when the wind can do the job just fine?

Along the way we also saw some wildflowers.

 

Here is our lunch spot

Jo got a chance to drive the buggy.

Here is Sandra back in the RV praying when she heard Jo was driving the buggy.

A great day had by all, we look forward to our next BYOPL and our ride in the blue buggy. We are also looking forward to the end of the rainy season.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

ADDED PHOTOS TO FRAME (AND A GREAT WEBSITE)

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 60 Clouds and Sun with Rain High 81) 

We added photos to that great fifth wheel frame we recently purchased.

Since the photos would need to be unique sizes (2x3 and 3x5) Bob searched for a good way to get the prints. After a search he found Oddprints.com.

First you upload the photo, the cat photo

Here it is before resizing

Then you set the new size and it scales it accordingly.

You order it, or you can print it at home but we don't have one so we ordered it. When you get the photos you trim them to fit. Here is the end product again.

A great frame and a great website.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

WE SAW 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR'

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 57 Sun and Storms High 76) 

We enjoy going to movies and really like the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Marvel Studios. The latest installment is 'Captain America: Civil War'.

After the disaster in Sokovia in the 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' there was some clamoring to control the Avengers. The 'Sokovia Accord' would put the Avengers under the control of a committee setup by the United Nations. This divides the Avengers into two camps. Team Iron Man feels that the Avengers should be controlled while Team Captain America feels that they should control their own destiny. We are solidly on Team Captain America.

There are characters changing sides and new characters introduced. Of course there is a lot of action. We like all the characters and enjoyed this movie and recommend it. As we have mentioned before Bob read and liked DC Comics more than Marvel growing up but the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are better than the DC films and the Marvel films produced by Sony and Fox (X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, etc.). We also like the tie-ins with the television series 'Marvels Agents of Shield' where the line, "a billionaire can build a suit and the government can make a super soldier but they end up fighting" really describes the movie.

We have explained the back story of Marvel characters and their movies being produced by multiple studios in a past blog. Things have changed a little since that post as some of the Sony and Fox characters will be in future Marvel Studios movies. In fact look for one of those characters in this movie. Plus there are rumors of more to come in the future. Upcoming movies include 'Dr. Strange' later this year that has a tie-in with the television series 'Marvels Agent Carter'. There are three new movies next year.

Exciting time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for sure.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

DRYER WENT ON THE FRITZ - FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 50 Mostly Sunny High 72) 

Subtitled: Another great friends story

Our Splendide Artison dryer recently went on the fritz. Our friend Bob had an appliance repair business before he retired so he offered to take a look at it. He thought it was the door switch but to troubleshoot it took a lot of effort. We had to remove the louvered doors so we could pull it out.

We wish we would have taken in-process pictures but we didn't. First thing we noticed is that the flimsy vent hose was crumpled behind the dryer restricting the air flow. We set the dryer on the bed so we could disassemble so Bob could get his multimeter and test the door switch. First the top panel had to come off then the side panel. The door switch was OK. With the vent hose crumpled the air flow wasn't the best and the dryer overheated killing the high temperature fuse.

We then had the fun of calling RV parts stores and it turns out nobody stocks anything anymore so we ordered the part from the manufacturer and waited a couple of days. That gave us time to buy an improved venting system. We bought a Lambro Tite Fit Dryer Vent Duct that connects to the back of the dryer.

We also bought a more rigid vent hose, foil tape and clamps. The reassembly of the dryer went pretty well except we kept dropping some of the screws holding all the panels together and let us tell you there were a lot of them. We then had to attach the new duct to the back of the dryer which we did with cable ties and foil tape after cutting the new duct to fit. 

Every bit of space in an RV is conserved and the enclosure for the washer and dryer is no exception. We had to make sure that the new duct would fit before we bought it but there still was that uncertainty when you put it on the dryer and then slide it on top of the washer. Luckily we measured correctly and there was enough room for the louvered doors to close, but just barely. The brackets holding the dryer to the washer and to the side wall had to be moved forward about an inch.

Then we had to attach the vent hose to the new duct and to the vent to the outside and that was tricky in these tight spaces. First we had to remove the outside vent so we could reach through that hole from the outside to inside where the hose attached to the new Lambro duct. Then the hose was attached to the outside vent and everything tightened. The louvered doors were then reinstalled. If you didn't know that the dryer had been moved forward you probably wouldn't notice it.

It was quite the adventure but we know that we have a lot better flow from the dryer to outside so we are drying better. This is just another example of how great it is to have great friends.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

BOB SURE LIKES DIET MOUNTAIN DEW

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 45 Partly Cloudy High 68) 

Subtitle 1: It's great to have great friends

Subtitle 2: It's great to be back in the Midwest again

It's been two and a half years since we have been in what Bob calls "Diet Mountain Dew Code Red" country. 

The distributors out west, heck we think once you get west of Wichita, do not carry Diet Code Red for some reason. Bob went into a panic a couple of years ago when he thought it meant it was discontinued. Then he hit upon this website, the item locator for Mountain Dew.

He found out that Diet Code Red was still being made and was available in the Midwest. Our great friends Bob and Wilma heard about Bob's obsession and did the neatest thing last fall. They brought about a dozen 12-packs of Diet Code Red when they journeyed to Goodyear Arizona last December. Bob quickly calculated that if he rationed himself to one a day he would have enough to get back. He still had a couple of cans left when we got to Wichita and cannot thank them enough for doing that. They had to go to multiple places on multiple occasions to get all they brought.

Diet Code Red is available throughout the Midwest but Diet Caffeine Free has extremely limited availability. The Wal-Mart in Raymore had some so Bob bought a 12-pack the first day we got to the Kansas City area. 

He already bought a 12-pack of Diet Code Red in Wichita because his mantra is, "if I see it I must buy it to reward them for carrying it".

We have never said that Bob was not a little weird, but it's what makes him so charming.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

FELT LIKE WE WON THE LOTTERY

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 48 Showers in the Morning High 58) 

Bob felt like he won the lottery when he finally got the ringing tone instead of the busy tone or the 'all circuits are busy' message. Yesterday was the first day you could make reservations at the City of Houghton RV Park in Houghton Michigan. Here is an image from their website.

We have found that once the summer months hit all the RV part timers fill up the campgrounds so you need to make reservations. It took Bob awhile, actually 496 phone calls on each phone. Jo actually won the lottery as it was her phone that got through on the 497th attempt on her phone. The camp host greeted Bob with "congratulations on getting through" and we made our reservation. Here are a couple of photos from our recent stays.  The view out the back window.

The outside sitting area

Sunsets are great

The Lift Bridge can be seen from out site.

We look forward to taking photos with our new Lifestyle. We will be there a month and a half and are looking forward to our return visit.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

HIGHWAY 54 - ONE OF THE BACK ROADS OF AMERICA

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 49 Rainy High 54) 

We usually are Point A to Point B kind of travelers and that mostly involves interstate highways. Occasionally we venture on to some of America's back roads, two lane highways that traverse small towns. Although when we are in the Upper Peninsula we are almost entirely on back roads. Interstate 75 runs across the Mackinac Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie at the Canadian border but that is the only interstate in the UP.

Some people view back roads like this (from Pinterest).

US Highway 54 runs 1,197 miles from Griggsville, Illinois to El Paso, Texas. Interestingly for railroad buffs, the Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Golden State Route") runs parallel to US-54 from El Paso to Pratt, Kansas, which comprises about two-thirds of the route.



Also interesting for back roads buffs is that US-54 enters and leaves Texas twice as you can see above. We were on 54 from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Wichita, Kansas.



Our leg from Tucumcari to Liberal Kansas was one of the more interesting ones in our years of fulltiming, we experienced 4 States in one trip; New Mexico to Texas to Oklahoma and ending up in Kansas. We can confirm that the railroad was close to US-54 since our RV parks were also close and we heard trains during our stays in Tucumcari and Liberal.

We usually take I-40 and I-35 to/from the Kansas City area but this last trip decided to try something new and we are glad that we did. For the most part, that is, except for Oklahoma which had a rough road. We plan to blog on that experience later.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - AIR CAPITAL RV PARK IN WICHITA KANSAS

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 40 Sunny then Stormy High 77) 

On our trip to the Kansas City area we spent a couple of nights in Wichita at the Air Capital RV Park. A very nice park with concrete roads and sites but it is KOA-expensive so take that under consideration. Here is the Lifestyle from the front.

To the right

To the left

From the rear. As you can see there are not many trees so satellite reception is not a problem.

It was good to have a couple of nights in one spot and to eat at the Doo-Dah Diner. We will visit Wichita again on one of our trips to or from the Kansas City area. There is a lot more to do in town than eat at the Doo-Dah Diner. Wichita has a nice zoo and botanical garden, the Cowtown Museum, Kansas Aviation Musuem and a Frank Lloyd Wright house that you can tour.

There is always something to see anywhere you go, that is what makes traveling this great country so much fun.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - WESTERN STAR RV RANCH IN LIBERAL KANSAS

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 64 Rainy High 76) 

Here are details on the Western Star RV Ranch in Liberal Kansas that we stayed at during our Goodyear to Peculiar trip. This park is nicely kept up and is setup as an overnight or short stay park. It is an all pull thru park with sites that are 75' long and 30' wide with gravel for the roads and sites. Here is our Lifestyle from the front.

To the right

To the left

From the side showing that we were still hooked up to the truck, which we rarely do. 

We only stayed overnight this trip to allow us to get us to the Kansas City area before the storms this trip. The photo also shows the satellite dish getting a great signal. There are no trees so satellite reception is no problem. This is a nice park.

Although setup as an overnight spot there is a lot to do in the area that on a future stop we will stay longer and see one or all of these; Dorothy's House (from the 'Wizard of Oz'), Mid-America Air Museum (5th largest air museum in the United States), Coronado Museum, and the Dalton Gang Hideaway is nearby.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - MESALANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM IN TUCUMCARI NEW MEXICO

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 62 Cloudy and Rainy High 71) 

We toured the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum during our recent stay in Tucumcari. Here is a photo from the Tucumcari webpage that shows the entrance better than our photo did.

It is part of Mesalands Community College and has a great collection. It was interesting that on our journey to Peculiar we took a pit stop at the New Mexico Welcome Center just east of Arizona and there was a skull there from this museum. 

The Exhibit Hall houses a host of replicated and original fossils from tiny footprint casts to the 40′ long skeleton of a Torvosaurus, a rare carnivore relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex which hails from the Jurassic period.

The Museum’s focus is on the Mesozoic period, which is also known as ‘The Age of Dinosaurs.’ The Mesozoic is comprised of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Some of the displays were found in the area near Tucumcari which was neat. We toured the 10,000 square feet of exhibitions and found some neat stuff. Here is a bone from a Camarasaurus with the teeth marks likely from an above shown Torvosaurus. 

Here is a Acrocanthorsaurus which roamed near Tucumcari. 

As usual we learned a few things, first dealt with the size of the Velociraptor. The Velociraptor as shown in various "Jurassic Park" movies is larger than the actual size. Here is a skeleton showing the true size.

We also never knew that there were lions in addition to the saber toothed tiger in the Ice Age, both of which were in the area. Here is a skull of the Ice Age Lion which the largest predator on the North American continent, about the size of a modern day grizzly bear.

This would be a good museum in any location, what makes this one memorable is that it is in a town of 5000 in the outreaches of New Mexico, truly the middle of nowhere. 

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - TO PECULIAR MISSOURI

Currently in Peculiar MO (Low 58 Showers and a Thunderstorm or two High 75) 

We left Wichita Kansas yesterday and drove to the Peculiar Park Place RV Park in Peculiar Missouri.

This is the route we took.



We said in the last posting that we liked being back in civilization. But with civilization comes road construction and exit closures. We drove through some of the more interesting road construction in Olathe and Overland Park. At one time we had Jersey barriers on both sides of us and a lane of traffic on both sides of us heading the same direction. Eventually we merged but luckily we kept our lane. We found it a little disturbing that we think that one of the exits was closed when we were last in town over 2 and a 1/2 years ago.

We will be here for a month visiting friends and family and some of our favorite foodie stops. We've got some blog postings from our trip here to finish. We won't be blogging every day as there may not be much excitement going on. We are glad that we got here yesterday as it looks like it could rain later today.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

UNEXPECTED GREAT FOODIE FIND

Currently in Wichita KS (Low 52 Partly Sunny Currently 54)
Heading to Peculiar MO (Currently 64 Increasing Clouds High 86) 

It's good to get back to civilization. After our trips from Goodyear that involved a few small towns and a couple of one night stops it was nice to be in a big city again. We hadn't eaten out in awhile so we decided to have breakfast out yesterday before shopping at Wal-Mart. We searched Yelp, FourSquare and other sites and ended up at the Doo-Dah Diner.

We are so glad that we did. What we noticed in our reviews was the Triple D special which we thought meant 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" but it didn't. It was Triple D because of their name and consisted of half orders of the three most popular dishes; Banana Bread French Toast, Corned Beef Hash, and Tanya's Benedict with bacon and avocado instead of Canadian bacon. We got seated and almost immediately they bring out a free sampling of their monkey bread.

It was excellent, sorry we dug in before taking the picture, and our foodie adventure continued to get better. Because we were only going to eat there once we decided to try as much as we can. So we ordered the Triple D.

The observant ones noticed 4 plates as we added a biscuit and gravy to that since that is one of their specialties and at a lower price when added to the Triple D. We also got an omelet with havarti cheese, ham, spinach, onions and mushrooms and then topped with their green chile sauce. The waitress got a kick out of it when Bob said it's not a party without havarti. She said she was going to use that from now on. Here is the omelet with green chile. We just came from New Mexico and although not as good we can say that it is probably the best green chile in the Midwest.

Everything was incredible, the corned beef hash was the best we have ever had, and after sampling six different menu items we can safely say that it's a good bet that you will be able to find something good for breakfast here. They may not have been on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" but they should be. We had plenty of leftovers so we will continue to enjoy the great food. We are already planning our next stop in Wichita where we will eat here often, some of their lunch offerings look good.

We are heading to Peculiar Missouri today where we will be for the next month.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - TO WICHITA KANSAS

Currently in Wichita KS (Low 50 Sunny High 81) 

We left Liberal Kansas yesterday and drove to Air Capital RV Park in Wichita Kansas. 

This the route we took



Wichita is the last stop before we head to Peculiar Missouri in the Kansas City area. We are leaving tomorrow and it looks like we will be a few hours ahead of the rain.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - TO LIBERAL KANSAS

Currently in Liberal KS (Low 45 Mostly Sunny Currently 50)
Heading to Wichita KS (Currently 46 Sunny High 80)

We left Tucumcari yesterday and headed for the Western Star RV Ranch in Liberal Kansas. We changed timezones again as we are now in Central Daylight Savings Time which we will stay in for awhile.

Here is the route we took.



We tried to avoid as much of Oklahoma as we could, especially central Oklahoma, since they always seem to get bad storms this time of the year.

We won't be here long as we stayed hooked up and are heading on to Wichita Kansas today. Looks like Sunday will be raining in the Kansas City area so we will be staying a couple nights in Wichita and heading on Saturday for the big city.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo