Heading through Kansas we need to find something fun to do. Found an Indian reservation casino, Prairie Band, (formerly owned by Harrah’s) with an RV park attached. Park lacks landscaping, but the casino is great. Security guards drive us back and forth at a moment’s notice. I’m up a bit on the slots…break for dinner…big mistake to go back! Rick blows through a bunch at the roulette and craps tables…decides to try the slots, and he has more fun. Of course, we end the night down, but a great evening!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Casino Stop
Monday, July 30, 2007
Down Memory Lane
July 29th and 30th – We head out for Columbia, MO for a trip down memory lane to my college campus. We pull into a relatively pleasant RV park near the fair grounds. Having a drink outside when we see a truck dragging a beat-up wreck of a car….then another…and another…and another….It turns out there’s a demolition derby that night….grill steaks, close up Tor, pull out in a DVD and settle in for a good night’s rest….wrong!
It’s not the crashing cars that keeps us awake all night. It’s a mockingbird with a full repertoire perched on the telephone pole. We locate the ear plugs. Next morning, that bird is still at it and has added an accompanying gymnastic routine which we actually caught on film. As far as we can tell this bird did not stop for 48 hours!
Had a car delivered from Enterprise and headed to the University of Missouri campus. It was stunningly beautiful. The Journalism school was under renovation, so couldn’t go in. But went to the newspaper office where I worked..new and gorgeous…the Commons book store and stocked up some new t-shirts…wandered all over campus, then visited my sorority house…glad to say it looked fabulous. Then went to the TV station where I worked. Beautiful new lobby and fancy production facilities we didn’t have, but my studio had barely changed! New anchor desk but that’s about all. Went to dinner at the restaurant where visiting parents always took their kids. Still quite nice, but food did'nt hold up to my memory of it.
The mockingbird continues its antics. Find the earplugs.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Getting Settled
July 28 and 29th - Columbus has one of the biggest malls I’ve ever seen. We need food and to figure out how to stabilize everything we’ve loaded into this beast. We rent a car…Enterprise is a wonderful invention since they bring the car to you…important when you’re not all that comfortable maneuvering through town.
We end up spending the entire day racing from store to store . Find the Weber BBQ grill we’ve been looking for and terrific looking baskets to stow packaged food at Sears. Bed and Bath and the Great Indoors have containers to temporarily ease things from rolling around…still trying to find an attractive and effective way to hold dishes and glasses. Will probably end up designing something that Rick can build for the next trip. Dinner out since we have a car.
Next morning, major shopping excursion at a Kroger’s….great store…very big for a city girl! Stop to pick up some wine and beer…major necessities, return car and head for Terre Haute, IN.
Uneventful drive…the surprise occurs when we need a place to stop for the night. One of Kelly’s friends has been kidding me about KOAs since we bought this thing. I said no way would we be doing that….never say never! It had 4 stars, so how bad could it be? It felt like the Twilight Zone! While there were several very nice RVs there, it was dotted with what looked like permanent residents in wrecks and many dogs! I am no longer trusting this star system. That's why we're starting our own rating system. We closed ourselves in, made a taco salad, put in a DVD and spent a pleasant evening.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Heading Out ...Finally
So much clothes, gear and stuff had to be stored, we didn’t take off until 1pm. Scary getting Tor out of Georgetown. We are prepared for mishaps and misadventures, really only concerned about being safe. I’m a wreck sitting in the co-pilots’ seat….a maniac cuts us off on the Beltway..we serve, cabinets open, one wine glass down….
With winding, hilly roads and other questionable drivers. Rick’s driving skills are getting honed….this was a challenging inauguration. Only drove about 120 miles. Though scary driving, extremely beautiful, rolling hills in Maryland… stopped in Flintstone near the Cumberland Gap. There’s a beautiful state park with a golf course, though we were too big to stay there. Stayed at a mediocre park, but it turns out it doesn’t matter. Tor is so comfortable, just open up the slides, close the draperies and chill. Hadn’t done a big grocery shopping, no stores around and we only had the food we emptied out of the house. Had a half jar of pasta sauce, linguine, fresh parm and breadsticks…worked rather well. Met a nice couple from Orlando…retired pilot…gave us some good clues.
Rained, left awning out….big mistake. Not canted properly. In the middle of the night, we were jerry rigging a mechanism to push gallons of water out of a nearly buckled awning….took a pole we can’t figure out what it’s use is, the top of a cooler and kept pushing until we could roll the awning in. The best part about today is the incredible sense of freedom. While obligations still exist and will not be ignored, they are at arms length. Feels good.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Do. Or do not.
After a very stressful experience with the movers and house closing, we decided we really needed to launch our adventure immediately. We wanted to sleep in Gigantor. But it was late and we were too tired to hit the road. Tor was parked on the campus at Visitation Prep School. So we decided to skip the Georgetown hotel thing. We picked up burgers from the Daily Grill, opened a bottle of wine and slept in the parking lot! A great way to start an adventure and great fun!
DC to Lake Louise Itinerary
July 25 - September 6, 2007
July 25 - Travel 123 miles
Flintstone, MD
Hidden Springs Campground
814-767-9676
http://www.hiddenspringscampground.com/
July 26- Travel 295 miles
Columbus, OH
26-27- Cross Creek Camping Resort
800-988-2267 740-988-2267
http://www.alumcreek.com/
July 28 - Travel 252 miles
Terre Haute, IN
Terre Haute KOA Kampground
800-KOA- 4179
http://www.terrehautekoa.com/
July 29 - Travel 285 miles
Columbia, MO
29-31 - Cottonwoods RV Park
5170 Oakland Gravel Rd.
573-474-2747
http://www.cottonwoodsrv.com/
July 31 - Drive 212 miles
Mayetta, KS
Prarie Band Casino and Resort
877-2rvpark
http://www.pbpgaming.com/
Aug.1 - Travel 306 miles
Oakley. KS
High Plains Camping
462 US Hwy 83
888-446-3507
http://www.highplainscamping.com/
Aug. 2 - Travel 230 miles
Castle Rock, CO
Castle Rock RV Park and Campground
800-387-9396 303-681-3169
http://www.castlerockrvpark.com/
Aug. 3 - Travel 59 miles to Boulder
3-6 - Boulder
Aug. 7 - Travel 359 miles
Lander, WY
Twin Pines RV Park and Campground
800-986-4008
http://www.twinpinesrvpark.com/
Aug 8 - Travel 129 miles
Jackson Hole/Moran, WY
8-12 - Moran
Aug. 12 - Travel 122 miles
Idaho Falls, ID
Aug. 13 - Travel 529 miles
Cheny, WA
Aug 14 - Travel XXX miles
Cheny, WA
Klink's Williams Lake Resort
509-235-2391
www.klinksresort.com
15-19 - Hilton Garden Inn
9015 W SR Hwy. 2
Spokane WA
509-244-5866
www.hiltongardeninn.com
Aug. 19 - Travel 271 miles
Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia (BC)
19-22 - Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
250-345-6311
www.fairmonthotspringsrv.com
Aug. 22 - Travel 106 miles
Banff, Alberta (AB)
22-24 - Banff National Park Tunnel Mountain
403-762-1550
Aug. 24 - Travel 36 miles
Lake Louise, Alberta (AB)
24-26 - Banff National Park/Lake Louise
403-522-3833
Aug. 26 - Travel 356 miles
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
Eagle Valley Park Campground
306-662-2788
www.eaglevalleyparkpark.ca
Aug. 27 - Travel 372 miles
Moosomin, Saskatchewan
Fieldstone Campground and RV Resort
800-511-2677 306-435-2677
www.fieldstonecampground.ca
Aug 28 - Travel 313 miles
Drayton, ND
Aug.29 - Travel 409 miles
Red Wing, MN
Aug 29-Sept.1 - Treasure Island Resort and Casino
800-222-7077
Sept. 1 -Travel 202 miles
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Sept 1- 4 Christmas Mountain Village
S944 Christmas Mountain Rd.
Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965
608-253-1000
Sept. 4 - Travel 488 miles
Milan, OH
Sept. 5 - Travel 339 miles
Williamsport, MD
Jellystone Park
16519 Lappans Road
800-421-7116 301-223-7117
Sept. 6 - Travel 71 miles
Washington, DC
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)