Thanksgiving was spent here at Turkey Creek RV Park in Hollister. The park manager organized a meal whereby the park provided turkey and gravy and those in the park provided their favorite side dishes. To pay for the turkey, guests were charged $2 each for the meal.
About 20 people shared the meal. Prepared dishes ranged from the traditional mashed potatoes and green bean casserole to the unusual--homemade noodles in gravy. Desserts, salads and breads were aplenty. Donna made acorn squash and scalloped corn. We both ate too much. I did miss the late night leftover turkey for sandwiches though.
Since there was so much food remaining, we reconvened on Friday night to finish off the 40 pounds of turkey and the remaining go-withs. Again we ate too much but we did score some left over turkey to return home with for late night snacking.
It was a good day--the temperature reached into the 60s with a bright sun, and both the Lions and Cowboys lost their NFL games. Not quite like being home but not bad.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Elfish Problems
One of the problems living in an RV is seldom being able to find what you want when you need it. Things disappear. Of course, in a stick house things disappear also. But you would think that in an RV with its smaller square footage, things would not get as lost as they do. There are only a few places to hide--no attics, basements, garages or storage rooms. I think that some things just don't like where they are placed and mysteriously move sometime in the middle of the night. Maybe that's what wakes me at 3 AM? I thought it was just the nightly freight train.
Recent case in point: Donna has been enlisted as an honorary Santa's Elf. She planned ahead. She brought out her sewing machine. She visited fabric stores to buy the necessary material and go-withs. Here in the Branson area, that in itself is a quite a chore. There are no fabric stores. A Walmart in West Branson--20 miles and 45 minutes from us--was found to carry usable fabric, thread and patterns. Two other nearby Walmarts do not carry any fabric at all. Donna bought her necessities and was excited to begin her sewing project for that jolly old man from up north.
The dining table was cleared and an additional leaf was inserted to give more space. Patterns were lain out, pinned and cut. The sewing machine was dusted off, the task lamp was placed just right and other sewing needs were placed to be handy. But wait. What's this? No electrical cord for the sewing machine! Several choice words were spoken and/or left unsaid. A search high and low was begun to locate that wayward power cord. But where could it be hiding? Did you check there? Yes. There? Of course I did. The cord must have escaped during the night as she was sure it was right there with the machine. Nope.
After several hours of consternation and tearing through this house on wheels, the problem was solved. The cord must have been left 600 miles north of here in a storage shed. It was placed in a bag of also missing books all prepped for a journey south. Apparently, the bag desired a colder climate.
Several choices were available. (1) Wait until we go north for the holidays to retrieve the cord and sew like mad to meet Santa's demands. (2) Order a new cord from the Internet. (3) Try to buy one locally. (4) Punt. The first option was impractical so Donna searched the Internet and found a cord for her Brother brand machine. With shipping it would have cost nearly $40. Not gonna happen. Considering the problem finding even a spool of thread locally, finding a shop which carries a power cord for a specific machine seemed far out of the question. The Internet save the day. Donna located a sewing machine repair facility and other possible shops in Springfield--about 40 minutes north. Road trip.
We left shortly after breakfast and after the commuter traffic had eased. Donna got out her phone and activated the GPS to ensure we could find the primary location. If that store did not have the cord, she also had a second possible place. We got into Springfield and merged onto another four lane highway. Turn here, she said. Where? The driver was obviously not in tune with the demand. There! Why is it that it is always the driver's fault? Oops, missed the exit. OK, we will try this other place first and then come back. We found our destination--a sewing machine shop and classroom on the southwest side of Springfield, Told the clerk of the problem. Cord was identified in a catalog. They could get the cord in two weeks for $16. Maybe we should try the primary shop first and then, if they don't have it, we could return and order from here. As we were about to leave, one clerk said to the other "Couldn't we just take one from one of the used machines?'" "That should work" came the reply. Sure enough. They had the perfect cord on a used machine. Only the cord was brand new. Someone else must have had the same disappearing cord problem. Donna exchanged $9 for a new cord. Eureka (oh, Brother!).
So we are with cord and happy. Santa has been reassured, and project deadlines will be met, The cold rain has given way to a bright, cloudless sky.
Today is a good day.
Recent case in point: Donna has been enlisted as an honorary Santa's Elf. She planned ahead. She brought out her sewing machine. She visited fabric stores to buy the necessary material and go-withs. Here in the Branson area, that in itself is a quite a chore. There are no fabric stores. A Walmart in West Branson--20 miles and 45 minutes from us--was found to carry usable fabric, thread and patterns. Two other nearby Walmarts do not carry any fabric at all. Donna bought her necessities and was excited to begin her sewing project for that jolly old man from up north.
The dining table was cleared and an additional leaf was inserted to give more space. Patterns were lain out, pinned and cut. The sewing machine was dusted off, the task lamp was placed just right and other sewing needs were placed to be handy. But wait. What's this? No electrical cord for the sewing machine! Several choice words were spoken and/or left unsaid. A search high and low was begun to locate that wayward power cord. But where could it be hiding? Did you check there? Yes. There? Of course I did. The cord must have escaped during the night as she was sure it was right there with the machine. Nope.
After several hours of consternation and tearing through this house on wheels, the problem was solved. The cord must have been left 600 miles north of here in a storage shed. It was placed in a bag of also missing books all prepped for a journey south. Apparently, the bag desired a colder climate.
Several choices were available. (1) Wait until we go north for the holidays to retrieve the cord and sew like mad to meet Santa's demands. (2) Order a new cord from the Internet. (3) Try to buy one locally. (4) Punt. The first option was impractical so Donna searched the Internet and found a cord for her Brother brand machine. With shipping it would have cost nearly $40. Not gonna happen. Considering the problem finding even a spool of thread locally, finding a shop which carries a power cord for a specific machine seemed far out of the question. The Internet save the day. Donna located a sewing machine repair facility and other possible shops in Springfield--about 40 minutes north. Road trip.
We left shortly after breakfast and after the commuter traffic had eased. Donna got out her phone and activated the GPS to ensure we could find the primary location. If that store did not have the cord, she also had a second possible place. We got into Springfield and merged onto another four lane highway. Turn here, she said. Where? The driver was obviously not in tune with the demand. There! Why is it that it is always the driver's fault? Oops, missed the exit. OK, we will try this other place first and then come back. We found our destination--a sewing machine shop and classroom on the southwest side of Springfield, Told the clerk of the problem. Cord was identified in a catalog. They could get the cord in two weeks for $16. Maybe we should try the primary shop first and then, if they don't have it, we could return and order from here. As we were about to leave, one clerk said to the other "Couldn't we just take one from one of the used machines?'" "That should work" came the reply. Sure enough. They had the perfect cord on a used machine. Only the cord was brand new. Someone else must have had the same disappearing cord problem. Donna exchanged $9 for a new cord. Eureka (oh, Brother!).
So we are with cord and happy. Santa has been reassured, and project deadlines will be met, The cold rain has given way to a bright, cloudless sky.
Today is a good day.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Down and Out in Branson
Since arriving in Branson, we have had some issues with our trailer. First, we noticed a significant smell of propane on the outside of the rig whenever we turned on the propane. And second, our kitchen sink no longer drained into the holding tank but onto the fabric underbelly of the trailer instead.
The propane issue being the most urgent and significant caused immediate reaction. We have a fixed 70 pound tank welded to the frame of the trailer--like a motorhome's. This is an unusual setup for a trailer. The tank is controlled by an electronic switch to allow propane service to be on or off. When off, no leak was detected. When on, a very significant leak occurred. After a little research, we determined that the regulator needed to be changed. It is the original 8 year old regulator and they are known to develop leaks. Since I am not comfortable with gas, I called a mobile RV repair person to come and (1) determine cause of leak and (2) repair it. After a few days, the technician showed up and believed that it was indeed a regulator problem. He said he would return tomorrow with a regulator. Well tomorrow came and went several times. Temperatures fell below freezing on several of these "tomorrows" so we were without a furnace. Fortunately, we have two 1500 watt ceramic electric heaters which work quite well though they do not heat the underbelly of the trailer (and the water tank and pipes) like the furnace does. Finally he appeared with his daughter in tow (perhaps 20 years old). He began explaining to her how to remove the regulator and how to install the new one. It was quite obvious that she had never done so before. He explained that she needed to do it for him as he had a medical condition and could not use his arms while laying on his back. I told him that she was not a certified tech and, therefore, would not be doing the work on our trailer. He left understanding my concerns.
I then called another mobile tech--recommended by the manager of the campground. He said he would be at our door by 10:00 AM tomorrow. He showed on time with an assistant. He too believed the problem was the regulator and installed a new one. However, the leak persisted. He felt that the second leak was somewhere in the enclosed underbelly of the trailer. However, he couldn't get to it as the trailer rides low and needed to be jacked up at least a foot to remove the protective underbelly in order to work under the trailer. He said they could not do that on site. He recommended a nearby repair shop. He also stated that our kitchen sink was draining onto the underbelly fabric and not into the 30 gallon holding tank. He stated that this occurs periodically and was sure the holding tank had become dislodged from the trailer frame. He spoke with the repair shop, Allen's RV, and told them what the problems were and made arrangements for us to get the repairs done. All in all, these mobile techs were in and around our trailer for about an hour. He charged us only $25 for the part and apologized for not being able to fix the problem himself. We were grateful for his help and would highly recommend them, Branson RV, to anyone needing service in the area.
So we took our trailer to Allen's RV for the repair. Upon dropping it off, we were told that they couldn't guarantee that we would get the trailer back the same day as they wouldn't know how significant the problem was until they actually saw the damage. We were told if the holding tank was damaged, it could not be fixed in one day. But hopefully, no damage was done to the tank. He also said that the propane leak would be fairly easy to find and fix. By late afternoon, there was hope we would have the trailer back but we did plan for a stay in a hotel in case of the worst. Unfortunately, we soon learned that we did indeed need a hotel for the night. We were told that the holding tank was not damaged though a feeder pipe (plastic) to it was broke when the tank fell from the frame. They strapped the tank and replaced the pipe. That was accomplished by late afternoon. The propane issue was problematic. A flair at the end of a copper propane pipe had cracked and either the pipe needed to be replace or reworked to provide enough slack to reconnect the fitting. The repair would require more time than anticipated. So we were hotel bound for the night. By early the following afternoon, the repairs were complete and we had our house on wheels back. They were able to slice about a 1/8 inch from the copper pipe and rework it without needed to replace the pipe. The owner was very apologetic about needing our trailer overnight and fully explained the problems encountered. Again, we were please with the work and were pleasantly surprised at the cost of the repairs. He had two technicians working on the trailer for a day and a half and charged us $550. In our home area, hourly labor rates run at minimum $100 an hour. Again, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Allen's RV in Hollister to anyone needing service on their RV.
We were mentally prepared to spend the night in a hotel if the repair was going to take longer than one day. We checked reviews and prices of area hotels and found many of them highly suspect. As this is a tourist area, many on the hotel beds do not cool off between guests. Therefore, they are well worn and many are described as dirty or "nasty." We had always wanted to visit the community of Ozark which is about 20 miles north towards Springfield. So we opted to spend the night in a highly recommended hotel, Comfort Inn, in Ozark. The room was problem free, breakfast was included and we saved about $50 by driving there. Ozark itself, however, was a disappointment. Signs on the freeway tout "historic downtown Ozark." What the signage doesn't say is that downtown Ozark is a city square with a courthouse and county buildings, a plethora of attorney and bail bond offices and a couple of antique stores and one small cafe. It wasn't worth the detour from the highway.
So we are now back "home" and have a propane fired furnace and stove as well as use of a kitchen sink that drains where it's supposed to drain. Ah, home at last.
The propane issue being the most urgent and significant caused immediate reaction. We have a fixed 70 pound tank welded to the frame of the trailer--like a motorhome's. This is an unusual setup for a trailer. The tank is controlled by an electronic switch to allow propane service to be on or off. When off, no leak was detected. When on, a very significant leak occurred. After a little research, we determined that the regulator needed to be changed. It is the original 8 year old regulator and they are known to develop leaks. Since I am not comfortable with gas, I called a mobile RV repair person to come and (1) determine cause of leak and (2) repair it. After a few days, the technician showed up and believed that it was indeed a regulator problem. He said he would return tomorrow with a regulator. Well tomorrow came and went several times. Temperatures fell below freezing on several of these "tomorrows" so we were without a furnace. Fortunately, we have two 1500 watt ceramic electric heaters which work quite well though they do not heat the underbelly of the trailer (and the water tank and pipes) like the furnace does. Finally he appeared with his daughter in tow (perhaps 20 years old). He began explaining to her how to remove the regulator and how to install the new one. It was quite obvious that she had never done so before. He explained that she needed to do it for him as he had a medical condition and could not use his arms while laying on his back. I told him that she was not a certified tech and, therefore, would not be doing the work on our trailer. He left understanding my concerns.
I then called another mobile tech--recommended by the manager of the campground. He said he would be at our door by 10:00 AM tomorrow. He showed on time with an assistant. He too believed the problem was the regulator and installed a new one. However, the leak persisted. He felt that the second leak was somewhere in the enclosed underbelly of the trailer. However, he couldn't get to it as the trailer rides low and needed to be jacked up at least a foot to remove the protective underbelly in order to work under the trailer. He said they could not do that on site. He recommended a nearby repair shop. He also stated that our kitchen sink was draining onto the underbelly fabric and not into the 30 gallon holding tank. He stated that this occurs periodically and was sure the holding tank had become dislodged from the trailer frame. He spoke with the repair shop, Allen's RV, and told them what the problems were and made arrangements for us to get the repairs done. All in all, these mobile techs were in and around our trailer for about an hour. He charged us only $25 for the part and apologized for not being able to fix the problem himself. We were grateful for his help and would highly recommend them, Branson RV, to anyone needing service in the area.
So we took our trailer to Allen's RV for the repair. Upon dropping it off, we were told that they couldn't guarantee that we would get the trailer back the same day as they wouldn't know how significant the problem was until they actually saw the damage. We were told if the holding tank was damaged, it could not be fixed in one day. But hopefully, no damage was done to the tank. He also said that the propane leak would be fairly easy to find and fix. By late afternoon, there was hope we would have the trailer back but we did plan for a stay in a hotel in case of the worst. Unfortunately, we soon learned that we did indeed need a hotel for the night. We were told that the holding tank was not damaged though a feeder pipe (plastic) to it was broke when the tank fell from the frame. They strapped the tank and replaced the pipe. That was accomplished by late afternoon. The propane issue was problematic. A flair at the end of a copper propane pipe had cracked and either the pipe needed to be replace or reworked to provide enough slack to reconnect the fitting. The repair would require more time than anticipated. So we were hotel bound for the night. By early the following afternoon, the repairs were complete and we had our house on wheels back. They were able to slice about a 1/8 inch from the copper pipe and rework it without needed to replace the pipe. The owner was very apologetic about needing our trailer overnight and fully explained the problems encountered. Again, we were please with the work and were pleasantly surprised at the cost of the repairs. He had two technicians working on the trailer for a day and a half and charged us $550. In our home area, hourly labor rates run at minimum $100 an hour. Again, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Allen's RV in Hollister to anyone needing service on their RV.
We were mentally prepared to spend the night in a hotel if the repair was going to take longer than one day. We checked reviews and prices of area hotels and found many of them highly suspect. As this is a tourist area, many on the hotel beds do not cool off between guests. Therefore, they are well worn and many are described as dirty or "nasty." We had always wanted to visit the community of Ozark which is about 20 miles north towards Springfield. So we opted to spend the night in a highly recommended hotel, Comfort Inn, in Ozark. The room was problem free, breakfast was included and we saved about $50 by driving there. Ozark itself, however, was a disappointment. Signs on the freeway tout "historic downtown Ozark." What the signage doesn't say is that downtown Ozark is a city square with a courthouse and county buildings, a plethora of attorney and bail bond offices and a couple of antique stores and one small cafe. It wasn't worth the detour from the highway.
So we are now back "home" and have a propane fired furnace and stove as well as use of a kitchen sink that drains where it's supposed to drain. Ah, home at last.
Monday, November 5, 2012
On the Road South 2012
We left De Forest on Wednesday, October 31, for our winter destination: somewhere south. Late fall had settled into south-central Wisconsin with the thermometer dropping into the mid 20s at night and then rising into the 40s during the day. Some days were warmer, some cooler. That dose of weather reality and the fact that the campground was closing on November 01, led us to pack up and head for a south-bound highway.
We had planned to drive only until we made it through the St. Louis traffic mess. Of course, whenever we hit a major city, we time it just right to be there for the the rush hour snarl. It's a tradition with us. We drove only 430 miles on Wednesday and stopped for the night in Sullivan, Missouri--about 60 miles west of the Illinois border on I-44. We stayed the night at at a Flying J truck stop. This station has separate fuel lanes for RVs with dump stations, water, and propane available. It was a decent place to join many other south-bound RV travelers. It also had a decent Denny's restaurant in which we dined in the evening and morning.
In the morning we continued west on I-44 until we hit Springfield where we veered south onto US 65 toward Branson. US 65 was put through the frontier before the terms "flat" and "straight" were invented. It is a 4 lane road with very steep but picturesque grades. The closer to Branson we got, the more the road rose and dove through the Ozark mountains of southwest Missouri. I am sure we eked out a meager 1 mpg up the hills and got at least 180 mpg going down! We arrived at Turkey Creek RV Village in Hollister about 11:30 AM--less than a 200 mile morning drive.
Just eleven miles north of the Arkansas state line, Hollister lies directly across Turkey Creek from "historic" downtown Branson. Hollister boasts that it is home to the first iron bridge in Taney County (still standing). It also boasts of its first traffic light downtown which we were fortunate enough to be one of the first to stop at with other traffic.
So why are we here. Neither of us are fans of the local Country/Gospel music or Christmas shows ad nauseum. We are here because of convenience. If we go back home for Christmas, we will leave our home on wheels here and drive the 620 miles north to reality. This RV park is part of the Escapee system which offers reasonable rates for us and it lies in the general direction of our final destination in Texas. So we did not come for the tourist attractions, we came for a safe and reasonable place to park. And Donna wanted to see the new traffic light.
We expect to be here for at least a month if the weather cooperates. After that we expect to hit the road again and travel to the land of the Bushes--Texas. I am sure good ole George Jr. will greet us with wide open arms. I wonder if they have any new traffic signals down there in Texas?
We had planned to drive only until we made it through the St. Louis traffic mess. Of course, whenever we hit a major city, we time it just right to be there for the the rush hour snarl. It's a tradition with us. We drove only 430 miles on Wednesday and stopped for the night in Sullivan, Missouri--about 60 miles west of the Illinois border on I-44. We stayed the night at at a Flying J truck stop. This station has separate fuel lanes for RVs with dump stations, water, and propane available. It was a decent place to join many other south-bound RV travelers. It also had a decent Denny's restaurant in which we dined in the evening and morning.
In the morning we continued west on I-44 until we hit Springfield where we veered south onto US 65 toward Branson. US 65 was put through the frontier before the terms "flat" and "straight" were invented. It is a 4 lane road with very steep but picturesque grades. The closer to Branson we got, the more the road rose and dove through the Ozark mountains of southwest Missouri. I am sure we eked out a meager 1 mpg up the hills and got at least 180 mpg going down! We arrived at Turkey Creek RV Village in Hollister about 11:30 AM--less than a 200 mile morning drive.
Just eleven miles north of the Arkansas state line, Hollister lies directly across Turkey Creek from "historic" downtown Branson. Hollister boasts that it is home to the first iron bridge in Taney County (still standing). It also boasts of its first traffic light downtown which we were fortunate enough to be one of the first to stop at with other traffic.
So why are we here. Neither of us are fans of the local Country/Gospel music or Christmas shows ad nauseum. We are here because of convenience. If we go back home for Christmas, we will leave our home on wheels here and drive the 620 miles north to reality. This RV park is part of the Escapee system which offers reasonable rates for us and it lies in the general direction of our final destination in Texas. So we did not come for the tourist attractions, we came for a safe and reasonable place to park. And Donna wanted to see the new traffic light.
We expect to be here for at least a month if the weather cooperates. After that we expect to hit the road again and travel to the land of the Bushes--Texas. I am sure good ole George Jr. will greet us with wide open arms. I wonder if they have any new traffic signals down there in Texas?
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