The last day for the rally.. The only thing on the agenda was breakfast. Today was a different menu, sticky rolls and fruit. I took pineapple, cantaloupe and two rolls home to Gerri and Glenna. I had a left over breakfast from a couple of days ago. We rolled everything up slowly and left the Expo Center at about 10:40 AM.
We traveled to the Thousand Trails Park in Gordonville, TX on Lake Texoma. The trip totaled 121 miles; I choose the shortest distance as opposed to the quickest route. Although the roads were US highways, most of the way had no shoulders and went through several small towns, and most of the way was 60 mph or less. Driving time was a little over 3 hours.
We arrived at the TTN Preserve and checked in, I had made a mistake and our reservation was for the 30th. We found a 50amp site, but will have to check in again for tomorrow to start our reserved dates. The 50amp site was $3 extra per night, a good value when it is this hot.
Verizon Broadband is very slow and cell service is nonexistent in our site. We sent e-mail to the kids, Neva and Tyne giving them the ranger station number for emergencies.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday June 28, 2011
I heard thunder at about 6:30 AM, the rain started in earnest at 7:30. I didn’t get up till 8; I just laid there listening to the rain. As I have done every morning I went to breakfast and brought back plates for Gerri and Glenna. Breakfast everyday has been biscuits and gravy, hash browns, scrambled eggs and sausage or bacon.
Yesterday I bought some foam fire extinguishers from Mac the Fire Guy. I was looking for a place to mount the large one and noticed that the needle was in the red. I went back to see Mac, he recharged the old one and it had a leak. I got a new one got a new one.
I did one cache today, one in the “Off Your Rocker” series. This was the first OYR I have done for several years. I also saw several more of the painted ponies.
Things are winding down for the rally. A lot of people have left. At 5 PM we went to the farewell dinner. There were still a lot of people, good dinner and there was a jazz band for entertainment.Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday June 27, 2011
Another hot day. As I have done every morning I went to breakfast and brought back plates for Gerri and Glenna.
I then went downtown to the post office to mail paper work to the Carlsbad Inn.
At two I took Glenna to the ice cream social. I should say I had Gerri drop us off at the ice cream social and then pick us up when it was over.
I went caching before supper and found five. That makes six for the day, counting one I did when I went to the post office this morning.
I then went downtown to the post office to mail paper work to the Carlsbad Inn.
At two I took Glenna to the ice cream social. I should say I had Gerri drop us off at the ice cream social and then pick us up when it was over.
I went caching before supper and found five. That makes six for the day, counting one I did when I went to the post office this morning.
When we came through Amarillo we saw a sign about “The Trail of the Painted Ponies,” sounded like the buffalo in Great Falls. While out caching I saw two painted ponies here in Shawnee. They must have had a similar event here. The artist had dated the pony 2007.
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| Shawnee Pony |
When I got back from caching the front IR was off and the coach was like an oven. One of the breakers had blown when Gerri used the microwave. I reset the breaker and ran the genset until things cooled off. There isn’t enough power from the pedestal in the late afternoon heat to supply the entire coach needs.
By bed time we were cool and comfortable. I did hear the ac come on a couple of times during the night. The forecast is for rain tomorrow.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday June 26, 2011
I was up before 7 because I planned to go to breakfast at 7:30, followed by a couple of seminars. Before eating I brought plates of food for Gerri and Glenna. Gerri had hers while it was hot; Glenna warmed it up and ate about noon. Breakfast was part of the rally fee. The meal consisted of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage patty and hash browns.
After attending a seminar on safe driving and one on improving cell phone and cellular broadband signals while traveling, I did a quick walk though the vendor area. There were about 20 vendors. A local RV dealer in conjunction with Fleetwood has several new RV on display and for sale. I plan on looking at some of those later during the rally.
Allowing for the time difference, I got back to the coach in time to tune into the net cast from the Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ. It’s always good to see our church family and Randy Mabe delivered a good lesson on the proof of Christ’s resurrection. We missed pot luck.
In the afternoon I started over to look at the new coaches on exhibit. I got to talking to a neighbor and it got late. I did get to the Spartan servicer trailer in time to make an appointment for them to come out tomorrow to check the city horn and the front top clearance lights.
We heated the leftovers from Toby Keith’s for supper. The extra load of the microwave was too much for the power supply and one of the breakers kept going off until things cooled down.
We missed the meet and greet for the Association officers and Casino/Bingo night.
We watched some TV before bedtime.
After attending a seminar on safe driving and one on improving cell phone and cellular broadband signals while traveling, I did a quick walk though the vendor area. There were about 20 vendors. A local RV dealer in conjunction with Fleetwood has several new RV on display and for sale. I plan on looking at some of those later during the rally.
Allowing for the time difference, I got back to the coach in time to tune into the net cast from the Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ. It’s always good to see our church family and Randy Mabe delivered a good lesson on the proof of Christ’s resurrection. We missed pot luck.
In the afternoon I started over to look at the new coaches on exhibit. I got to talking to a neighbor and it got late. I did get to the Spartan servicer trailer in time to make an appointment for them to come out tomorrow to check the city horn and the front top clearance lights.
We heated the leftovers from Toby Keith’s for supper. The extra load of the microwave was too much for the power supply and one of the breakers kept going off until things cooled down.
We missed the meet and greet for the Association officers and Casino/Bingo night.
We watched some TV before bedtime.
Saturday June 25, 2011
As usually we slept late. I did some time on the computer, e-mail, bills and etc.
At 1:00 I went to a couple of seminars; Driving school and Fire & Life Safety In Your RV. Very informative.
Tonight was the opening ceremony. They were short, a presentation of the colors, singing of US and Canadian anthems followed by a few introductions and speeches. We sat at a table with a couple from Niagara Fall, Ont. and another from Texas. Then we had supper and then went back to the coach.
Since it was still daylight, I went out and found five caches.
Back to the RV we watched a little TV and went to bed.
At 1:00 I went to a couple of seminars; Driving school and Fire & Life Safety In Your RV. Very informative.
Tonight was the opening ceremony. They were short, a presentation of the colors, singing of US and Canadian anthems followed by a few introductions and speeches. We sat at a table with a couple from Niagara Fall, Ont. and another from Texas. Then we had supper and then went back to the coach.
Since it was still daylight, I went out and found five caches.
Back to the RV we watched a little TV and went to bed.
Thursday June 23, 2011
2011 06 23
I slept in until 10 AM, I woke up at 8 and just turned over. The air conditioner came on in our room at about 9:30 and I resisted getting up until a half hour later.
When we changed sites it turned the front of the coach west, so the morning sun hit the bedroom first. The front air conditioner didn’t come on until nearly an hour later.
My first order of business was to pick up our registration packet and make sure American Coach could find us. We have a 1 PM appointment to have them check out some of the slide seals.
The American Coach techs came as arraigned at 1 PM. They replaced the sweep on the front of the bedroom slide. They also looked at the sagging bead seal on the inside of the large slide. They said they could replace it, but the new seal would do the same. They did glue the part that shows back up. The cost was $6 for the sweep on the bedroom slide.
Later in the afternoon I went out and did the closest cache. It was only .10 miles away, but I had to drive around the Expo Center.
Late in the afternoon we were watching a movie and a message came on the screen that the receiver was too hot and would shut down. We have a fan in that compartment but the new DVR receiver is much larger than the old receiver. I propped the doors open and it was only a few minutes until we had reception again.
Dinner preparation presented more power problems. One breaker popped, I turned on the genset while the convection oven was on. After supper was ready I reset the breaker and went back to shore power. Even though the power control center says there is 50 amp service and the ESP says 120 volts, the system apparently handles two 30 amp circuits differently than true 50 amp service. So we will have to learn to adjust while we are here.
After the sun got low and there was a lot of shade, I cleaned up the Jeep and visited with neighbors. It got dark before I got to the motorhome windshield, maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
Tomorrow afternoon and evening we plan to visit friends and relatives in Oklahoma City. In the afternoon we plan to see Helene Anderson, Fred, Brian and Matt Anderson. In the evening it will be Cousin Tammie McDaniel and her family.
I slept in until 10 AM, I woke up at 8 and just turned over. The air conditioner came on in our room at about 9:30 and I resisted getting up until a half hour later.
When we changed sites it turned the front of the coach west, so the morning sun hit the bedroom first. The front air conditioner didn’t come on until nearly an hour later.
My first order of business was to pick up our registration packet and make sure American Coach could find us. We have a 1 PM appointment to have them check out some of the slide seals.
The American Coach techs came as arraigned at 1 PM. They replaced the sweep on the front of the bedroom slide. They also looked at the sagging bead seal on the inside of the large slide. They said they could replace it, but the new seal would do the same. They did glue the part that shows back up. The cost was $6 for the sweep on the bedroom slide.
Later in the afternoon I went out and did the closest cache. It was only .10 miles away, but I had to drive around the Expo Center.
Late in the afternoon we were watching a movie and a message came on the screen that the receiver was too hot and would shut down. We have a fan in that compartment but the new DVR receiver is much larger than the old receiver. I propped the doors open and it was only a few minutes until we had reception again.
Dinner preparation presented more power problems. One breaker popped, I turned on the genset while the convection oven was on. After supper was ready I reset the breaker and went back to shore power. Even though the power control center says there is 50 amp service and the ESP says 120 volts, the system apparently handles two 30 amp circuits differently than true 50 amp service. So we will have to learn to adjust while we are here.
After the sun got low and there was a lot of shade, I cleaned up the Jeep and visited with neighbors. It got dark before I got to the motorhome windshield, maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
Tomorrow afternoon and evening we plan to visit friends and relatives in Oklahoma City. In the afternoon we plan to see Helene Anderson, Fred, Brian and Matt Anderson. In the evening it will be Cousin Tammie McDaniel and her family.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday June 24, 2011
We were up at 9 AM with plans to visit with friends and relative in Oklahoma City. The area we have our motor home parked started filling up by 10 AM.
We left the Expo center at about noon. It was about fifty miles to Helene Anderson’s house in Oklahoma City. Our nephew Matt Anderson, Helene’s grandson, was there. We visited for awhile and Matt’s father, Fred came home. Fred, Matt and I went and tried to find a nearby cache, no luck.
We left the Expo center at about noon. It was about fifty miles to Helene Anderson’s house in Oklahoma City. Our nephew Matt Anderson, Helene’s grandson, was there. We visited for awhile and Matt’s father, Fred came home. Fred, Matt and I went and tried to find a nearby cache, no luck.
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| Glenna Wisnewski and Helene Anderson |
Matt works in Bricktown as a parking valet. At about 4:30 we took him to work since it was near the Toby Keith Restaurant where we were meeting cousin Tammy McDaniel for supper.
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| Matt Anderson |
We sat on the patio which has a view of the canal that runs through Bricktown. There were such large portions that we all brought home enough for at least one more meal.
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| Genna, Gerri and Frank |
We were back at the Expo Center about 9 PM. I visited with a couple of neighbors for awhile. Then it was a little time on the computer and get ready for bed.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday June 23, 2011
2011 06 23
I slept in until 10 AM, I woke up at 8 and just turned over. The air conditioner came on in our room at about 9:30 and I resisted getting up until a half hour later.
When we changed sites it turned the front of the coach west, so the morning sun hit the bedroom first. The front air conditioner didn’t come on until nearly an hour later.
My first order of business was to pick up our registration packet and make sure American Coach could find us. We have a 1 PM appointment to have them check out some of the slide seals.
The American Coach techs came as arraigned at 1 PM. They replaced the sweep on the front of the bedroom slide. They also looked at the sagging bead seal on the inside of the large slide. They said they could replace it, but the new seal would do the same. They did glue the part that shows back up. The cost was $6 for the sweep on the bedroom slide.
Later in the afternoon I went out and did the closest cache. It was only .10 miles away, but I had to drive around the Expo Center.
Late in the afternoon we were watching a movie and a message came on the screen that the receiver was too hot and would shut down. We have a fan in that compartment but the new DVR receiver is much larger than the old receiver. I propped the doors open and it was only a few minutes until we had reception again.
Dinner preparation presented more power problems. One breaker popped, I turned on the genset while the convection oven was on. After supper was ready I reset the breaker and went back to shore power. Even though the power control center says there is 50 amp service and the ESP says 120 volts, the system apparently handles two 30 amp circuits differently than true 50 amp service. So we will have to learn to adjust while we are here.
After the sun got low and there was a lot of shade, I cleaned up the Jeep and visited with neighbors. It got dark before I got to the motorhome windshield, maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
Tomorrow afternoon and evening we plan to visit friends and relatives in Oklahoma City. In the afternoon we plan to see Helene Anderson, Fred, Brian and Matt Anderson. In the evening it will be Cousin Tammie McDaniel and her family.
I slept in until 10 AM, I woke up at 8 and just turned over. The air conditioner came on in our room at about 9:30 and I resisted getting up until a half hour later.
When we changed sites it turned the front of the coach west, so the morning sun hit the bedroom first. The front air conditioner didn’t come on until nearly an hour later.
My first order of business was to pick up our registration packet and make sure American Coach could find us. We have a 1 PM appointment to have them check out some of the slide seals.
The American Coach techs came as arraigned at 1 PM. They replaced the sweep on the front of the bedroom slide. They also looked at the sagging bead seal on the inside of the large slide. They said they could replace it, but the new seal would do the same. They did glue the part that shows back up. The cost was $6 for the sweep on the bedroom slide.
Later in the afternoon I went out and did the closest cache. It was only .10 miles away, but I had to drive around the Expo Center.
Late in the afternoon we were watching a movie and a message came on the screen that the receiver was too hot and would shut down. We have a fan in that compartment but the new DVR receiver is much larger than the old receiver. I propped the doors open and it was only a few minutes until we had reception again.
Dinner preparation presented more power problems. One breaker popped, I turned on the genset while the convection oven was on. After supper was ready I reset the breaker and went back to shore power. Even though the power control center says there is 50 amp service and the ESP says 120 volts, the system apparently handles two 30 amp circuits differently than true 50 amp service. So we will have to learn to adjust while we are here.
After the sun got low and there was a lot of shade, I cleaned up the Jeep and visited with neighbors. It got dark before I got to the motorhome windshield, maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
Tomorrow afternoon and evening we plan to visit friends and relatives in Oklahoma City. In the afternoon we plan to see Helene Anderson, Fred, Brian and Matt Anderson. In the evening it will be Cousin Tammie McDaniel and her family.
Wednesday June 22, 2011
We were up before 8 AM and ready to go by 9:30
We had trouble with no 110 to the coach, the Magnum Inverter control panel showed a fault, ac overload. When we stopped for fuel the inverter started working.
We got to the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center at about 3:30 PM and were parked at space 234. We were plugged into a 20 amp and 30 amp outlet for 50 amp service. The first problem was that the faucet leaked badly, later the 30 amp side of the plug in kept blowing the breaker. We decided to move to another space, so we moved to site 220 which had two 30 amp outlets. After awhile the circuit breaker started tripping on one of the outlets. We scaled back power usage, fridge on LP and water heater on diesel. We will see what tomorrow brings for power usage.
Chip Aiken is here, parked behind us. He is registered as a vendor.
Sean called today during his therapy session. He sounded good and upbeat. The best news he is at level 3, I believe if he reaches level 4 he can visit home.
Brandon also called and told us he doesn’t have to use his floaties anymore to swim in the pool as he is swimming across the pool by himself now….he sounded so proud of himself.
We will see what tomorrow brings. We have to get our registration packet and see the rally events schedule.
We had trouble with no 110 to the coach, the Magnum Inverter control panel showed a fault, ac overload. When we stopped for fuel the inverter started working.
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| Wecome to Okahoma |
We got to the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center at about 3:30 PM and were parked at space 234. We were plugged into a 20 amp and 30 amp outlet for 50 amp service. The first problem was that the faucet leaked badly, later the 30 amp side of the plug in kept blowing the breaker. We decided to move to another space, so we moved to site 220 which had two 30 amp outlets. After awhile the circuit breaker started tripping on one of the outlets. We scaled back power usage, fridge on LP and water heater on diesel. We will see what tomorrow brings for power usage.
Chip Aiken is here, parked behind us. He is registered as a vendor.
Sean called today during his therapy session. He sounded good and upbeat. The best news he is at level 3, I believe if he reaches level 4 he can visit home.
Brandon also called and told us he doesn’t have to use his floaties anymore to swim in the pool as he is swimming across the pool by himself now….he sounded so proud of himself.
We will see what tomorrow brings. We have to get our registration packet and see the rally events schedule.
Monday June 20, 2011
We got up at about 8 AM. I went out to visit a nearby cache that I had found before. I wanted to grab a travel bug, but the ones listed were gone.
We got underway at about 11 AM. The road was a lot smoother going further east. Again today was an uneventful drive. We did stop several times to return phone calls and bought fuel in Grants, NM.
Our original plan was to stay in the Albuquerque area. Gerri found a park east of the city in Cedar Crest, the Turquoise Trail Campground and RV Park. Even considering the ¼ mile dirt road to the park and dusty gravel interior roads, this is a jewel of a park.
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Just as we entered the campground I saw some small animal standing in the road, a prairie dog. Looking around we saw a lot of them and many holes with dogs looking out.
I decided to hook up everything and have a shower.
Super was leftovers from Bonita Michoacán and tamales with a tomatillo sauce.
This park is at about 7000’ so the air was cool with no need for the A/C. One bummer was a tree interfered with TV reception when the wind blew. I was too lazy to move the coach to get better reception.
Tomorrow we plan to drive to Amarillo, TX, about 270 miles.
We got underway at about 11 AM. The road was a lot smoother going further east. Again today was an uneventful drive. We did stop several times to return phone calls and bought fuel in Grants, NM.
Our original plan was to stay in the Albuquerque area. Gerri found a park east of the city in Cedar Crest, the Turquoise Trail Campground and RV Park. Even considering the ¼ mile dirt road to the park and dusty gravel interior roads, this is a jewel of a park.
I decided to hook up everything and have a shower.
Super was leftovers from Bonita Michoacán and tamales with a tomatillo sauce.
This park is at about 7000’ so the air was cool with no need for the A/C. One bummer was a tree interfered with TV reception when the wind blew. I was too lazy to move the coach to get better reception.
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| A baby prairie dog |
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday June 21, 2011
Today was another uneventful travel day across part of New Mexico and Texas to a RV park in Amarillo, TX. Today we drove a distance of about 270 miles.
There were a few choices of parks in Amarillo, I choose the Wonderland RV Park at 2001 Dumas Road. I choose it over others because of the distance from the Interstate. What I didn’t know was that Dumas Road, also known as US-287 is a controlled access route with a lot of traffic noise. It wasn’t awful for tired travelers. The only other problem with the park wasn’t their fault. On a GPSR when the address 2001 Dumas Road is entered you will get the wrong directions. If you plan to stay here you should call for better directions.
Man, it is some flat country across most of New Mexico and Texas, but it is the arid high country that I love.
I checked for nearby geocaches, but the closest was over a half mile and I didn’t want to unhook the Jeep.
It was warm at the RV Park, but we were able to open the windows at about 7:30 PM and enjoy the fresh air.
Gerri still isn’t feeling well, so Glenna and I had supper by ourselves.
Some TV time and then to bed. We plan to arrive in Shawnee, OK tomorrow afternoon and be there until the 30th.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday June 19, 2011
From Two Gun, AZ.
We got up at 7AM with plans to leave Las Vegas by 9 for our 2011 trip. Turns out we had to wait until the pharmacy opened at 10. We were out of town by 11. The wind varied from head on to across, but we made pretty good time and collected a lot of bugs on the windshield.
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The drive was uneventful, but the northern Arizona scenery is great. We got as far as the Meteor Crater RV Park. It’s a nice park and we have stayed here a couple of time before. The park roads are all gravel and they have wide long spaces. It’s far enough off the Interstate to be quiet, especially with the wind howling toward the Interstate. Surprisingly the wind doesn’t kick up any dust, it probably has all blown away with the wind. The wind has blown every time we have been here.
I got happy Father’s Day wishes from all the kids, Kathleen on Facebook and Curtis and Todd by phone calls.
We got up at 7AM with plans to leave Las Vegas by 9 for our 2011 trip. Turns out we had to wait until the pharmacy opened at 10. We were out of town by 11. The wind varied from head on to across, but we made pretty good time and collected a lot of bugs on the windshield.
I got happy Father’s Day wishes from all the kids, Kathleen on Facebook and Curtis and Todd by phone calls.
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