Grove, Oklahoma, global warming, BS, where's the sun?

Monday we had NuWa perform some minor & some routine service on our trailer; then Tuesday we took it to Young's Welding (where the frame is manufactured & the suspension added) for routine suspension service. All went well. We took the NuWa plant tour both days because it was conducted by different salesmen so we got 2 viewpoints. Judy was happy because she had pecan waffles at the Grain Bin both mornings before the tours, here favorite breakfast. The weather has been wet and chilly. We hooked up Monday morning at 6:30am in the rain and dark so we could be at the plant at 7am. Fun. Tuesday we didn't have to be at Young's until 8am.

We left Chanute Tuesday at 12:30 and arrived in Grove, OK about 3:15. Another short trip but in the rain. It's been wet, chilly & solid overcast over a week in 4 different states. Bullshit on global warming.

This is our third time at Bears Den CG in Grove, it's a free membership CG conveniently located to Chanute. We are getting to know this area pretty well. Yesterday Judy went to Curves and we holed up inside all day. Today, she did Curves then we went out to lunch, the Grand Lake Casino & Chepo Depo. We picked up a couple decks of cards (and lost $10 on the slots, big spenders) then went to a favorite store....Chepo Depo. Too bad Chepo Depo hasn't made it big time like Wal-Mart. If you went inside you'd know why.

If anyone has seen the sun, please let us know where so we can head that way.

Chanute, Kansas

No pictures today, rained all day yesterday so all we did was get ready to pull out today. We left at 9:30 this morning and all was going so well we set a new personal record. We arrived in Chanute at 6:30 and travelled 494 miles. We caught a glimpse of the Arch in St Louis and going by Kansas City is was 39 degrees. When we arrived in Chanute it was 44 and down to 41 now. There were only 4 sites open in Santa Fe Park, we have never seen it so crowded. Now we can relax tomorrow before having our home serviced Monday and Wednesday. The truck ran flawlessly, joy, joy; but only got 9.3 mpg on all the hills.

Superman

Well, we got our truck back this morning and the engine is back in one big piece. We wanted to test it because we are pulling out for Kansas Saturday. It rained all day long while we drove to Metropolis, IL about 50 or 60 miles south. The truck ran fine and we put about 150 miles on it.

As you all should know, Metropolis is were Clark Kent, aka Superman, worked as a mild mannered reporter with Lois Lane and cub reporter Jimmy Olsen. Did you know Jimmy's Nikon camera that he always wore around his neck was made out of balsa wood? A real camera was too heavy. Ahh, Hollywood magic.

Illinois Garden of the Gods & the Shawnee Queen

We took a ride on an Ohio River Taxi for a couple hours this afternoon. It was a beautiful fall day, crisp & clear.
See the cave? It was in Davy Crockett & the River Pirates in 1956, and I remember watching it!! It was also used in 1962 for the movie How the West Was Won. The cave was first used (as far as the locals remember) as a tavern and then by river pirates. There was absolutely nothing on the Kentucky side of the river, 100% trees and brush. The Ohio side had a couple small towns, several nice large new homes, several cottages & a couple small campgrounds. Looks like Ohio has people and Kentucky doesn't.

Yesterday it rained all morning and was ugly in the afternoon. Judy went to Curves & I dumped our holding tanks. That was yesterdays excitement. Today we drove to the Garden of the Gods, it's a lot different that the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. We took a quarter mile hike back to the bluffs and the overlooks, we liked the views as much as the Colorado Gardens. We had a good day but it's getting cold here at night so we can't dilly dally here too much.

Will it ever run again & Popeye the Sailor Man

This past weekend we stayed put & didn't do much, Judy did Curves on Saturday and we went to church on Sunday. We allowed the weekday workers to have the weekend. Today we stopped at the Ford dealer and you can see the pictures....lots & lots of parts all over, sure hope it works when they are done. The oil leak is from the oil cooler & the oil in the coolant is from the EGR cooler. So far that's what they have found.

After that we drove to Chester, IL on the Mississippi River which is the home of Popeye's creator. The city is in a several year project of adding statues of all the Popeye characters scattered around the city, we also checked out the Popeye museum. For lunch Judy had the Popeye spinach salad & I had a Wimpy burger. Beautiful fall day down here. Dang, but a Ford Focus is awful small inside!

Busted truck & holed up in Herrin, IL

Notice anything missing the the photos? Our truck. During the rally I noticed the slight smell of diesel and found the coolant had oil in it. Yesterday the Ford dealer in Carbondale, IL said there was oil leaking at the rear of the engine that might require the removal on the cab, in addition to oil in the coolant. We pulled our trailer 25 miles south to a full hookup CG and dropped the truck off at the dealer. We are driving a rented Focus for the next two weeks until we get our truck back. Do you know how much room there isn't inside a Focus compared to a one ton dually crew cab? We drove by the dealer today and saw our truck inside being worked on. I'm optimistic the dealer will do a good job. I met the full timer a few sites from us at the CG, he's the retired service manager from the Ford dealer! He also gave me comfort that our truck should be well taken care of. At least this failure happened at a time and place that isn't going to cause us much of a problem. Guess we'll explore southern IL more than we had planned.

HitchHikers of America, International Rally

Well, it's been awhile since the last post. A very busy while. We arrived in Du Quoin, IL Wednesday 9/30 at the state fairgrounds. On Thursday afternoon six Haulin' HitchHikers couples started planning the parking of all the incoming RVs. Some of us walked the entire parking area and again Friday morning. It has been raining a fair amount and the grounds are wet. When the first HitchHiker arrived Friday afternoon we got them stuck, had the fairgrounds tractor out to pull the 2 wheel drive truck & RV out. We all had long days Saturday, Sunday & Monday waiting for the 94 HitchHikers to arrive. None were stuck after the very first one.

The best part of the rally was socializing with friends; Bill & Judye, Ron & Lois, Steve & Susy and many others. We had a great time with our friends. At the closing ceremony Judy and I won a door prize, a $500 certificate toward the purchase of a new HitchHiker, we love ours too much to consider a new one so we'll have to find someone who can put it to good use.