Journey to Cody Part 2

So our journey continued on into Iowa which was non eventful. We landed in Sioux Falls, S.D. for a couple of days to rest.  We did go to the waterfalls the city is named for. Nit very tall but worth the visit.

Heading to Box Elder from Sioux Falls was so boring. 326 miles of boring. This is your view all the way there.




We checked into the america's mailbox campground for 4 days to so we could see the sights.  This is one area you should make an attempt to see.  First, we made our way to Wall Drugs which I understand is a necessity as RV'ers.  We shopped and bought the required tee shirts. Next we went back in time to the days of Duck and Cover at the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site.  This is a great display from the Cold War days.

Next we visited The Badlands National Park.  I can't describe the colors and formations that we saw.  The valleys and mountains, the different colors of sediment that make up the mountains is unbelievable.

 









Custer State Park was a pretty landscape, rolling hills beautiful trees and Bison everywhere.  They say there are 1300 head of buffalo in the park. We got lucky the day we were there, I think we saw all 1300.

Pronghorn

There are also many pronghorn that roam this park, not to mention prairie dogs and deer.
After Custer State Park we went to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  Not to be missed.  The carving alone is just amazing.

Avenue of States

 We were scheduled to leave Rapid City on Monday but received a call from the people we will be working for in Cody, Wy. saying don't come across the Bighorn mountains and stay out of Cody because there's no water due to the weather. So we're here in Rapid City till tomorrow. We leave in the morning for Sundance, Wyoming.

  

Journey to Cody Part 1

We have left Florida on our longest journey yet, heading to Cody, Wyoming.  We pulled out of Sand Hill Scout Reservation on Monday March, 13th. We spent the night in a Walmart parking lot so we would be first in for service at Southern RV in McDonough, Ga.  We needed our black tank valve and cable replaced and the antenna repaired.  Six hours later we were on our way to Red Top Mountain State Park so Barb could finish up her mom's estate business.  On Friday the 17th. we pulled into the Battlefield Campground in Ringgold, Georgia about six miles south of the Tennessee border so we could meet up with Barb's brother and sister in the morning before we head off towards Nashville where we hope to spend an extra day doing a little sightseeing.

After leaving Ringgold we made our way to Nashville, we actually stayed at a KOA in Lebanon, Tenn..  We got to spend a day touring downtown Nashville. Two must see places are The Ryman Auditorium and The Country Music Hall of Fame. The Ryman started out as a church in 1885 but soon became a music venue after Mr. Ryman died.  It became the home to the Grand Old Opry until years later when it fell into disrepair and the Opry moved to its current home.  After announcing the Ryman would be torn down the country music community came together to save the building. The Grand Old Opry now performs during the winter months in the Ryman again.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is the other place that must be seen. This is three stories of history, the number of gold and platinum albums hanging on the walls is just incredible.  You can spend hours looking at all of the displays.  Totally worth seeing.  We walked down to the river front to a pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland river.  Looking out you can see the Hard Rock, the amphitheater, the stadium used by the Tennessee Titans, home to the NHL Predators, and so many people out enjoying the city.

We left Nashville headed through the southwest corner of Kentucky and halfway across Missouri. Stopping in Boonsville we found a Walmart that said we could spend the night in their parking lot

Fulltime RV Living - Its not all Fun and Games

Don't get me wrong. Living the full time RV lifestyle is great, for the most part. But just like living in a house sometimes things go wrong. And sometimes you can multiply that by four. This past Tuesday was my day.

Buy this, you never know

First I went out and dumped our tanks, no problem there. Flushed until all was running clear. I closed the black valve to let the tank fill up a little bit and noticed water was still running through the clear elbow. After a few attempts to clear any debris that might be blocking the blade from closing all the way and having a really hard time pushing and pulling the handle I decided its best just to replace the entire valve. Just not today. Last year I bought a Valterra Twist-on valve just in case. Well just in case happened to be Tuesday. Problem diverted temporarily.

what a pain in the backside

Second. While I was flushing the tanks I noticed the plastic insert that covers the screw heads along the roof/wall side had split due to drying out in the sun. Now I get to find replacement cover and install that. At least its only cosmetic but still I want to get this taken care of.

Third. While I was up on the roof looking at the plastic trim insert, I noticed a rough spot on the roof. Looks like a branch brushed against it. Its not ripped. There doesn't seem to be any leaks. But I don't want it to get to that point so I'll be putting a patch on it just for a little piece of mind.

added a lot of needed space.

Fourth. I bought a truck box that is meant to be mounted on the side of your truck rail. But because we pull a 5th. Wheel I wanted it in the back of the bed by the tail gate. My only concern was could I lift the 5^th. Wheel high enough to clear the top of the box. In order to check that I had to retract the stabilizer jacks in the back. You guessed it, they wouldn't go up or down. I finally got them to move a little, about one inch. After some research on the internet and checking several RV forums, I'm not the first to have this problem. Seems Lippert Components Inc., commonly known as LCI. is the company that makes these stabilizer jacks. I can buy an entire new set for $500.00. But why do that when the only part broken is the little electric motor to raise and lower the jacks. LCI would be happy to sell me a new motor for the low low price of $225.00.

WHAT A BARGAIN.

So from now on I'll be raising and lowering my stabilizer jacks with the handy manual crank that came with the RV. On the plus side I can raise the jacks faster than the motor ever did.

In case you wanted to know, Yes we can raise the 5^th. Wheel high enough to clear the tool box. Here's hoping for better days to come.

Safe Travels And I hope To See You Down The Road

Kick'in Back and Getting Things Done

I thought I'd give an update on what we're up to.  Its been awhile since I posted last but there's a good reason for it.  We're just kick'in back and getting some things done. I know that sounds a little crazy. How can you be doing both?  Well first of all there's not much happening here at Sand Hill Scout Reservation. The county mowers haven't hit the first water spigot so no repairs needed there, not like last year when we were constantly digging up a broken pipe. So not a lot of physical labor going on.

I've been getting some medical issues taken care of, trying to beat that end of year deadline before deductibles start again. I've gotten new glasses and have been fighting to keep my blood sugers under control, tough thing to do his time of year.

We had to make an emergency run to Atlanta when Barb's mother passed unexpectedly. We're back in Florida and have been doing a couple of mods to the 5th Wheel. We got rid of our dining table and put in a round table that we had bought about 12 years ago. It was unfinished, Barb stained it and put a nice poly coat on it. Barb's mom liked it so I lost my breakfast nook set.  We brought it back with us and it fits nicely in our dining area.  We also bought a couple of storage cubes and found a nice prefinished board to span the storage cubes. (now I can pile more stuff up there)

Reagan, Kate, Avery, you know the big jolly guy

But the best part of being back in Florida is we get to spend some time with the kids and grand kids. Between soccer games, Thanksgiving, Christmas programs, and Christmas with the kids, we've been on the move. But not that much.





I've still got some things I want to get done before we hit the road again in March. Like resealing the roof, replacing the shower head with an oxygenics shower head, I'm thinking about an NOCO GB150 battery booster (you just never know), and looking into collapsible alum. stairs for more ease getting into the RV.
Until next time, Happy New Year, and be safe

Safe Travels, And I Hope To See You Down The Road.

2 years as fulltime RV'ers

Cataloochee Valley GSMNP

Two years of being fulltime RV'ers, where has the time gone?  Actually two years won't happen until February 2017.  We are about to finish our second workamping job.  We started last March at Lonestar Jellystone park in Waller, Texas.  We had a great time and learned allot about fulltiming while we were there.  Number one thing we learned out there is, it's hotter than blazes in southeast Texas.  How hot you ask? So hot that one air conditioner will not work. So hot you learn all about Reflectix.  The heat was just unbearable. We also got rid of one recliner and put in an second refrigerator so we didn't have to drive thirty miles one way every week for groceries.

This year we are working at Yogi in the Smokies in Cherokee, NC just minutes outside of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  And I do mean minutes.  This year we were given the opportunity to be assistant managers here.  Barb is in charged with running the store/reservation area and I have been working with the maintenance department.  We're committed to coming back next year and helping to get a few more fun activities up and running.

Fishing in the Raven Fork river

If you like the great outdoors, you'll love being this close to to nature. Not to mention just across the mountains is Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge for all your touristy attractions.  We even went zip lining this summer, what a blast that was.  If water falls are your thing this is the place to be.  And the icing on the cake is the weather.  Nothing like Texas.  As I write this its 51 degrees outside.

Elk came down to graze

 Our season here ends on October 31st. After that we head to Florida to spend a few months relaxing and taking care of some needed medical issues.  We stay at a Boy Scout camp while in Florida.  I do a little care taking for a full hookup site behind the administration building.  The middle of February we start heading back this way so we can start again here at Yogi in the Smokies the first of March.  If you find yourself headed this way or are looking for a nice place to unwind awhile please stop in and see for yourself why this is such a family fun campground. And if you are looking for a workamping gig give us a call.

Robbing the bird feeder

Safe Travels And I Hope To See You Down The Road

Our mini vacation from Yogi Bear

We've taken a mini vacation from our jobs at Yogi in the Smokies campground this week and are spending a few days in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Today we took a little trip to see the Bushes Baked Beans Museum and Visitor Center. Located in the tiny community of Chestnut Hill Tennessee on Hwy. 411. As you go around a bend in the road, there it is. The largest packing plant you can imagine with a small white wood frame house sitting right on the edge of the road.

It was raining pretty hard

The house is the former home of A.J. Bush and his wife Sarah. This is where Bush's baked beans were born. Across the road is the museum and visitor center where you can walk through the history of the Bush Brothers family business.

They have on display and for sale every type of bean they offer. The gift shop is well stocked with a variety of items to take home with you. They have an interactive game for the young ones to play and a scale you can step on that will tell you how much you weigh in baked beans. At the end of the walk through bean history you can pose for a souvenir picture with the ever popular Duke.

There's a movie that last about 25 minutes that walks you through the canning process from start to finish and some clips of Jay and Duke discussing the secret family recipe. Outside in the parking lot there are two restored Ford delivery trucks on display that would have been used by A.J. Bush.  A.J. By the way stands for Andrew Jackson.

If you are close by or visiting the Pigeon Forge area you should try to make this a part of your itinerary, you might just be impressed.  But keep in mind they keep the Secret Family Recipe guarded quite well.

Oh by the way I weigh 205,824 baked beans.

Be Safe And I Hope To See You Down The Road

Udderly Ridiculous

A little background is needed to fully understand this. I have diabetes and when I get a cut or scrap it takes a long time for it to heal. In my current position at Yogi in the Smokies doing maintenance I'm constantly getting cut on my hands. One of the other workampers recommended Udder Cream. I'd never heard of this type of cream before. Ken explained it's purpose is to help reduce chaffing on cows from milking machines.

I was a little concerned if what he said was true or was I getting my leg pulled. He promised it was true and I could only get it at a farm supply store. Well it was our day off and we needed to go to Lowe's so why not stop at the farm supply store since it was on the way.

We stopped at the Bryson Farm Supply. Instantly I felt this was going to be a big mistake. Remember watching The Andy Griffith show set in Mayberry? Andy, Barney, and all the guys are standing around Floyd's barber shop just talking and a stranger walks in. That was me today. I being the stranger. Of course a guy walks out from behind the counter and says “Can I help you?” Having second thoughts about this being true I foolishly said I'm looking for udder cream.

He says Oh sure, right over here. Another guy in bibbed overalls says, He uses it on his cows all the time. I thought great, what am I in for. Another older man standing there wearing I'm sure a John Deere hat said its great for your hands and uses it to heal cuts. Boy did I feel better. And by the way there was a dog roaming around looking for treats and rubs on the head.

At least it all worked out. The cream does seems to work. So why can't you find udder cream at Walmart?

Our home for now

 On a better note, its beginning to warm up here and Barb picked up some flowers while we were at Lowe's. She put them in a travel trailer planter that we have next to our sign. After the last water line break the campground manager decided to buy me a new pair of boots. Barb not wanting to throw anything away put some flowers in them. At least we have a little splash of color around our site. And smooth hands.

         

         Safe Travels 

And I Hope To See You Down The Road