Month: September 2019

9-21-19 Texas

Camping is way more fun!

Busy day with us moving from Arkansas to Lousina to just inside Texas today! Much better roads and no little death roads to navigate. Saw a dead alligator (looked like a truck got it) and some small ponds, lakes, and the Arkansas River.

Arkansas is a pretty state with lots and lots of trees. Lousiana is very nice as well but has well-mowed highways. Texas was good to see again as we are near to the end. We were slow roasted going down the highway today. The heat and humidity in these states are high on both counts and the poor air conditioner has a hard time keeping up. On the plus side, the laundry dries in an hour or so. It makes it easy to clean up. St. James has been a good recuperative remedy when we stop.

We hope to get in early tomorrow before the heat is too much and get things set up for Monday. We will be leaving Tuesday morning to head to Pennsylvania to see family again.

9/20/19 Old people are hard to keep up with!

Family in Branson, MO at Table Rock Dam Visitor Center 2019

So we left today for Texas to get the car registration done after spending a few days with family members who are much older than us. OK – they wore us completely out each day and we are still tired! We are now drinking our restorative drink from St. James! But had bunches of fun!

Route 7 in AR – another scary road!

Arkansas is interesting and we hate GPS. We preview our route with Rand and it looked like all highway till the end which is what we wanted. When it was loaded to the Rand GPS system, it totally selected a different route and took us the scenic one-lane backwoods way. I thought we would die! The view was spectacular but the drive was too windy and hilly for my liking. The Google GPS was right and had us on a highway the entire trip but we followed the Rand system. We will check both closely before taking off and hope the Rand does not lead us astray again as it took an hour longer to get here.

We are in Golph Gorge Hot Spings National Park in Arkansas. Nice park with hook-ups and many slots. Had Pizza from the Grateful Head Pizza and Beer Garden! Great pizza.

9-13-19 It’s Friday the 13h

So last night was interesting. We went to bed, and I was reading when I heard a loud BANG about 9 PM! So we got up and went to look – I thought something exploded or crashed. A new RV coming into the park hit a parked truck. Now the truck was a bit too close to the road and maybe in it a little. Most people have more sense than to park that close to the road. So excitement does come to the park. The guy pulling in had a large rig and was trying to make a tight turn into his spot when this all happened. The truck had the side damaged and the RV person made sure to get them up to talk with them about the accident. Coming in late and in the dark can be very dangerous, especially when parks have close spots.

We are in Branson, MO and it has lots to do, Met up with family and had a little fun.

9-9-19 It usually is raining!

When things go bad in RV life the weather can also be bad and usually is for us. We started off fine in the rain and storms and it started to clear up. Then we remembered we did not take the tow pin out of the tow dolly and we were told not to tow a car with the pin in. SO we started to look for a large place to stop to fix the problem.

The rain started and then thunderstorms and more rain and no place to stop in sight. It was a good hour before we found a gas station stop to fix the tow. The car was barely holding on by the emergency supports so we were really lucky we did not lise it on the road. It took some effort in the rain with a little cover from the gas station to get the car untangled and off the dolly, check things over, and clean up. Then we had to reload the car again.

Of course, the rain stopped when we were done and on our way. So lesson learned, check everything twice or more and always ask each other before driving off. So we arrived in Missouri a little wet and a lot learned.

9-8-19 Issues We See

Keep in mind, not all parks are like the issues we have seen below but we find them amusing at times, usually, after we leave. The older parks have been the best so far and the newer one are learning.

Ok – I know math and can count nights. Seven nights mean you leave the day of the 8th day. I know parks count RV stays by nights so why am I getting notices that we were due to leave today when we thought it was tomorrow. I think the computer system or people (including me) are soooo confused. Luckily – not a problem, just pay for another night. But there is a trend here I see that either I am messing up using a calendar or the other side of this scene is messing up. Somehow, I cannot win this battle.

The other thing that bugs me, if we are to leave and do not leave by the checkout, do not wait till late afternoon or early evening to tell us. This happens often too and we see it at parks all the time. Getting a place to stay after 4 PM may be difficult and they still could charge you for another day, even though most do not. No one likes to be rushed.

Then there is – who designs the parks? First, some are so close together that it is closer than an apartment in an apartment building. I loved Glacier as there was space to breathe.

Next is the hookups. All hookups are on the left side on most campers and RVs, so why put the hookups on the right side in a park? And do not tell me – run it under the bus!!! That is always asking for problems from our experience and we avoid it when possible.

Next question, why put older adults with no children next to a playground? A family coming in would appreciate this a lot more and so would the older adults who may like it more when it is quieter. For us, the park was mostly empty so there was no need to be at the playground.

So, we continue to live the RV life, loving it, and learning. Having lots of fun and very tired at times and decided we are putting to many miles on the RV and bodies in the RV. S0 we slowed down and are staying longer at some places.