The saga of going West

Cathedral Spires, Custer State Park, South Dakota

This was not our normal pre-trip adventure. Who knew that preventative maintenance has the potential to make things worse!

     In April, we needed to do some work on the truck, and some brake work on the camper.  Unfortunately we had a hard time getting a consensus on what,  if anything was wrong with the truck. Mark thought it was the brakes,  but the mechanic that we asked to fix them said they were fine, and that it was the idler arm and Pitman arm that were in really bad shape. Mark went for other opinions and was told that they didn't need replaced by 3 other mechanics. We were so confused, and after much research,  Mark decided to wait and keep an eye on things. Then he went for a simple oil change, so why was there oil dripping when we got it home? Turns out it was just really messy mechanics. Then Mark decided to have the camper brakes replaced, they had enough miles on them and we didn't think that should be a big job. But after they were replaced Mark didn't think they were working as well as the old ones. He took the camper right back to the shop and they adjusted the brakes again and sent him home.  Luckily he is a really handy guy, studies up, and understands this type of thing.  Because it turns out that the brake kits were installed on the wrong sides. They are marked right and left for a reason!
     We were somehow ready to leave on time, and made it to our first night's stop with no problems! Unfortunately the next morning brought some concern when Mark noticed some wrinkles on our camper roof that hadn't been there when we left. While we were driving down the highway, I did a bit of research. So I scrunched down in my seat so I could see the camper roof in the side mirror, and the membrane covering the roof was inflating like a balloon in the wind. Not so good!

Notice where the tan line above the white line is raised,
the tan shouldn't be showing! (The rest is clouds,)

     We made it to our next night's stop in Illinois and started our research. Was it safe to continue our trip? Should we head back to Ohio? Again we got many conflicting ideas. None of the local rv shops could get us in before June. We found a shop in Rapid City, South Dakota (which was our next decent sized city stop) that said they could get us in when we got there. Mark did some reinforcement and we crossed our fingers,  and headed west.

Lattice and tie downs from home depot are pretty handy!

     We did did stop for a bit of hiking at Starved Rock State Park, in Ogelsby, Illinois. It reminded us a bit of Hocking Hills.  

      We headed to the Wisconsin Dells next.  We spent a day exploring. We hiked to a little beach on the Wisconsin River, so I could put my toes in the sand! Then we explored the kitchy town, and took a nice boat ride on the Wisconsin River. We even went past the little beach that we had visited earlier. The Cambrian sandstone is layered like pancakes and has beautiful gorges and formations. The Witches' Gulch area reminded us a bit of Antelope Canyon without the reds and oranges.

      

      Needing some refreshment, we enjoyed a flight of local beers at a fun, quirky brewery. We just kept giggling when we looked at each other! But everyone was wearing them, so we didn't feel out of place!
 

At Moosejaw Brewery with our moose antler hats

 

     We had a new experience! We got to "camp" a few nights in an RV repair shop's parking lot! The owner is great and even plugged our camper in to his electricity! Waiting on insurance, we ended up spending a week there. There was plenty to do, and the good news is that the camper was ready in time to get us headed for Glacier National Park to start work on schedule.  In the meantime we waited and explored. We spent some nights in the parking lot and others at hotels in different areas. Tried out 2 different local breweries and a winery, and ate some really good food! We saw Mt Rushmore, hiked at the Badlands and Custer State Park. We even stopped at Wall Drug, On our last night in the area, we checked out downtown Rapid City and saw some of the cool presidential statues that are around the city.

Mount Rushmore

The Badlands

Mark always wanted to ride a Jackalope at Wall Drug!

The pararie dogs were so cute!

Bison at Custer State Park

More Cathedral Spires at Custer State Park

      We were finally ready to leave Rapid City, after being there for a week.  But the forecast was calling for 9 to 16 inches of snow on the route that we had planned. Ugh, what next! Should we stay put, or try to find another route. We were able to find another route that avoided all the mountain passes. We drove through alot of rain, but fortunately no snow!

     I thought we had enough interesting glitches, but there were more still. We arrived in the town of East Glacier, and there was a railroad underpass indicating a clearance of 12'  8".  Mark had written down that the camper needed 12' 6" to be comfortable, plus a bit more for the new roof!!! We really didn't want to knock off our air conditioner and damage that new roof!! As we were waiting, a semi truck passed through without problems, so we tried it and safely made it through! (Phew!!)
     We had arrived at our destination, Glacier Park Lodge, all was good!  We drove over to the campground where we had been told to find a site that we liked and to let the manager know what we picked. We walked around, and most of the sites were quite small for our slightly larger fifth wheel! The camp host tried to help us, suggesting that she could move people that were already settled to get us a longer site. Knowing the our co-workers likely wouldn't appreciate having to move, we looked again at the only spot that was even an option for us. It had 3 tree stumps in our way. The biggest obstacle was a smaller stump, and we have a hatchet.  Mark went to work on it until it was gone and we could maneuver into the spot! 

     The good news is we are here and settled in for the summer in this gorgeous area, just outside of Glacier National Park. The people we have met are all so nice (since we didn't make them move their campers), and there's miles of trails, glacial lakes and snow covered mountains to explore!!
Let us know if you'll be in the area!!

Running Eagle Falls

The view from the back of the lodge where we work

 

A winter filled with music and friends old and new

We had a flock of sandhill cranes in the field by where we took our walks!

This little one was so curious!
He came right up to the side of my kayak!

So many manatees and fish at Blue Spring State Park

We saw these storks at the Homosassa Wildlife park

       We had another great winter in Florida. We were back at the same campground that we have loved,  but now that it is under new ownership, it seems like a different place. The facilities haven't changed, but the sense of community has all but disappeared. It is now just a comfortable, familiar place to park our camper. We didn't let this spoil our fun, we just ventured out to find activites and a job.

We enjoyed our new campsite, it even had a cement pad, and was next to the pool!


Music with friends old and new


Did you know that wild orange trees have thorns?
 They also like to grow way up high!


The oranges were sweet and bountiful this year!

Our friend April

       

      The first thing we found was a wonderful group of line dancers at a community center just 3 miles from the campground! Twice a week we went and learned new dances and shared some of our favorites!  We even had two friends from our line dancing group at TPR campground come join us for a few classes when they were available! The class filled the room with 25 to 35 people of all dancing abilities! Mark danced in the middle of the room and the front when he taught,  but I was a back row girl, and tried not to get into too much trouble!  We also found a partner dancing class where we worked on the Texas 2-step,  west coast swinging,  the triplestep and more. Lots of fun and two great groups of people!

         My next quest was to find a Tai Chi class, and then I added in Chi Gong. Both classes were taught at a city park in Inverness, by teachers who volunteered their time to share their unique talents and knowledge! I also enjoyed some great yoga classes at a local studio!
         We have a favorite casual restaurant in the Villages called Island Fin Poke. They make Hawaiian style poke bowls to order. I half jokingly told Mark that it might be fun to work there. He said that he had been thinking the same thing.  When we walked by there was a help wanted sign in the window. We were hired on the spot (the owner was desperate, and she must have thought we looked dependable). The job ended up being alot of work, but we met many nice people, and we still enjoy the food!

   

     The "megatop" with all the yummy ingredients

      

       We got good at making cups of Dole Whip

       One of the best things about our job was that it was at Brownwood Paddock Square, one of the Villlages' four outdoor venues for free live music and dancing every evening, 365 days a year weather permitting. When we worked the lunch shift, we would usually have a poke bowl for dinner,  then stay for the live music at the Square.  We had so much fun dancing and watching the crowds! We were able to see around 25 different bands this winter. Yes, we had our favorite, and followed them around to the different squares like groupies! Our biggest surprise was when our friend Debbie and her family met us to see Scooter the DJ. I thought "it's just a DJ, not a band," so we had never bothered to go see him before.  It turns out that he is quite the phenomenon! He leads the crowd in some crazy, silly line dances, and some traditional line dances that we know. The wild part is the crowd! He fills the whole square with people being silly, moving their bodies,  and having lots of fun for 4 hours!! He doesn't take any breaks, but we did sit down a few times!

A night of music and dancing at Brownwood Paddock Square

            

Visiting with my friend Sue

      We are so fortunate to have some wonderful friends that are still in the area not far from the campground! We enjoyed dinners, kayaking and hanging out with friends! One of my highlights was getting to try spinning wool! My friend, Pam, is an amazing spinner and knitter, and she shared her knowledge with me. I made a drop spindle and then she let me try out her spinning wheel. It was harder than I imagined, but lots of fun!

        Dinner at Island Fin Poke with Pam, Don and Pepe

     I spun this alpaca wool                           

   (with  bit of help from Pam)

Kayaking with friends on Rainbow River

We went to an optometric continuing education meeting in Sarasota. We were surprised to find two of our friends from optometry school at the meeting! It made it a fun day! It was also a great excuse to go to the ocean.  We went to Siesta Key, where we got engaged, 35 years ago! It is still a beautiful area!

        On the drive back north after the meeting, we stopped to visit our former campground neighbors, David and Chas.  They bought a cute place down in Gulfport!

     We made another stop outside of Tampa to visit my Girl Scout co-leader and her husband.  It was great to catch up with Lisa and Jeff, and see their beautiful home! She cooked us an amazing Cuban meal!         

     On our way back up to Ohio, I needed a bit more beach time, so we stopped at Jekyll Island, Georgia! We were there with my parents, our kids and our first exchange student, Feri, back in 2000! Then we were on to Santee State Park for a bit of exploring. Continuing north, a visit with Ben and Anthony in North Carolina wrappped up another great "winter," which we really call "second summer!"  

     

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Now we are in Ohio, visiting family, and getting organized for our next trip!