Sunday, September 30, 2007

Happy Birthday, Teri

Well, today is Teri's birthday. It is a big one, half a century. I made that mark 3 years ago. It feels really good. Teri is in Logansport, In. for Grandparent's Day on Friday so I am missing her party. We had a 4 month party. We will celebrate more when she gets home on Saturday. As she is not home yet our trip is not complete. We are a pair. I do not like being apart for even one night, much less 9. It seems very hard for me to keep organization around the house without her here. When Sam and I walked in yesterday everything was neat and clean, just as she left it 4 months ago. Don't ask. I will say, it does not look the same right now. I will make a mad dash to get everything hid so she gets the impression all is neat and clean when she gets home Saturday.
Today I had a GMC motor home friend ask me about packing and organizing the 26 foot motor home for 4 months of travel. He, his wife, and bassett hound are planning a trip from Co. to Ak. and back next year. His wife is concerned. Seems they dont like the tight hallway when they meet. I told him to work on that part first and then call me back. I will say Teri and I enjoy that part of the coach a lot. Me especially. Was that ok to say? Maybe Teri won't see this, ha.
My aunt Pauline has caused something very special to happen for Teri's birthday. I won't say what right now. I know Teri won't read this before hand but just in case. She is going to enjoy this. Thanks Aunt Pauline.
Oh, I was really welcomed home at worship services this morning. It really makes me feel good to be missed. It causes me to think folks enjoy my company. I like that. Our little grandson would not get out of my lap. He was as glad to see me as I was him. I saw 3 other grandkids last nite, for first time in 4 months. They are glad I am home too, but really were looking for Granna.
I really wish I had a camera. So many good photos were missed when I was at Blaine and Diane's while we were visiting and working on the coaches. Ken was there working away. It was funny. Ken was so easy going while working on Blaine and my coaches. When he got on his he was all different. Got frustrated easy and nothing seemed to go right for him. I am exactly the same way. I don't know why. When I saw this happening to Ken I could see that I am not alone.
It is about time for evening services. I am eating with my friends at Pizza hut after church. Teri and I do that a lot on Sunday evenings. Hope everyone has a good week. For those of you still working a job, think about me sleeping in and liesurely enjoying a Monday. Thanks for the visit, I enjoyed it. Dan

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Friends Along the Way

What a ride. Teri and I are so fortunate to have friends like we do. I spent two great days at Blaine and Diane's this week and had another friend, Ken, there too. They sure spoiled Sam. I left Teri in Logansport Thursday and headed to Blaine's for some work on the coach. Teri will come home next Saturday, after Grandparent's Day at school. We worked and visited and rode around for two days at Blaine's. He owns 5 GMC motor homes and has a very nice shop with a lift. He cut my old hitch off and installed me a new one that he makes. We just had a great time. I am so blessed with friends. It must be my smile.Ha. I soaked up so much knowlege from Blaine and Ken. We sat in the shop last night visiting til midnight. Diane fed me a big breakfast, Sam too, and we left about 830 am headed to Dexter. We had a couple little minor problems but we took care of them and just kept coming. Sam was so glad to see the house. She ran straight to the door and has not gone outside yet.
I am home, but not done with my blog so come back soon. I will fill you in on a few more things and when Teri gets back I should have more pictures. Boy, supper was good tonite. Brand new box of ice cream topped off with some hot chilli meat that our daughter sent home with me. When you get old you can eat dessert first if you want. Teri and I will be taking off again soon for Tennessee so I will keep you posted on that too. Have a great evening and come back soon. I love company. Dan

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Happy Grandsons

Oh man, that old guy needs a shave. Maybe I can take care of that this weekend when Sam and I get home. The boys enjoyed riding the scooter. The little one rode too but with his granna holding hm on so we had no photographer.
It rained all night and is still raining now as I sit in Super 8 parking lot uploading this stuff here in Logansport. Am hoping for better weather Thurs so I am waiting to head south. What is the hurry anyway. A retired guy should be in no hurry, even tho he has been gone 4 months plus, from home. Teri is not coming home til next weekend so another day together. I like that.
I had a photo of my back yard from a neighbor. Seems it burned somehow. Just glad the house is still there. Will investigate that when I get home this weekend.
I do not expect to have wifi before I get home so may be Saturday when I get back on here. Teri will keep the camera so I wont have any photos until she arrives. I will then put more up. I think I can scan through some that I have omitted and find more interesting ones when I am at home, not on the side of the road looking for wifi.
So, everyone have a great day. Sam and I will leave early in the morning for Blaine's, 100 miles south of here. Work on the coach and head home Friday or Saturday. Will be about a 300 mile ride down mostly I-57 to the house. Hope to see you then and I really do appreciate everyone riding along with us on the 4 month, plus, trip in our GMC motor home. Dan






Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Corn Field

Well, I had two right answers to the pop quiz. Thanks for sending in your responses. Just checking to see if folks really pay attention to what I have to say. Wally, Teri asks if you got the curly cues on your door? The pumpkin things.
If there had only been soybeans instead of corn this year I could have wifi. Dog gone it. They are not cutting corn here yet either. Last year it was soy beans and I could easily get the wifi signal from a mile away, across the field. Not so this year. We are 12-15 miles from a safe wifi signal. By safe I mean off the street. Using Super 8 now. We checked our emails and are fixing to head back to the "ranch". I will leave early in the morning. Teri will stay until Oct. 6th so she can attend grandparent's day.
One of my neighbors sent me a picture of our back yard. Seems a fire got away from someone and nearly got our house. All of the dead grass burned. Guess I wont have to mow when I get home.
I hope to be home by the weekend, with Sam. Will likely stay at my friend's Wednesday evening and then head home Thursday. Will be a long week without Teri.
I guess that's it from here. Sorry no photos from here. This is a good sized town but Teri did not get any photos and I have been on a "mission" each time I come into town.
Say a prayer for Sam and me, that we have a safe trip home. See ya later. Dan

Monday, September 24, 2007

Monday in Logansport, In.

I was hoping Teri would get more photos today but she didn't. We have been busy just enjoying ourselves. Everyone was gone today so we came to town and then did a few chores until everyone got home from school. My scooter keeps eating the battery while it is turned off so I put a toggle switch on it today to completely take the battery out. That should stop that. Just ran back into town to exchange 2 floressant lites, I needed "cool white", ha. Rode the scooter about 30 miles this afternoon and spent a bunch of time trying to find safe wifi. Well, thought I had it here at Staples but it wont let me check my email. So, if you wrote us today I may not get it for a while. If I can find a safe spot I will pullover on my way back home. Hope everyone had a great Monday. POP QUIZ. What year was the Plymouth my cousin in Washington owns? Come back and maybe I will have some photos. They are always better than my writing anyway. I will say, Teri and I have sure seen some great places in the last 4 months. From Mo, to In, and still going. What a trip. See ya when you come back. Dan

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Leaving One State and Arriving in Another, Logansport, In.

No, I did not get up early enough to get the picture of the sun rising. Take a look at these photos backwards and you can follow us yesterday. The last one is us leaving the GMC motor home gathering. Sad. Was a good one and we got to visit with lots of our friends. We crossed parts of 3 states yesterday and had a great ride in the GMC. We got to Nikki's about 6 pm eastern time. I could not get internet working so I had to come to town and get on today. This morning we had to take Sam to the doctor. She was sick. She is fine now but we were scared. Sam will be 12 Christmas. Any time she is not up to snuff we get worried. She has been by little buddy for 12 years now and will be hard to let her go. I will, when I know the time comes as I can't let her suffer any. She has been too good to me. Was just her and me for a long time.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we arrived at our daughter's place in Logansport. The three little grandsons were in the yard waiting when we arrived. So, hope everyone has a good day. I will try to get back on in a day or so. Teri will stay here, with car. Sam and I are going to Blaine Merrel's Wednesday for some GMC work. He lives between Indy and Terre Haute. We will come home from there. Teri should be home late next week. Dan










Friday, September 21, 2007

Friday And Still in Iowa

It has been a busy week. Wally and I got the harmonic balancer on and all of the belts back in their places. I swapped out the 2 front shocks this am, This is the last day of the week long gathering of GMCers. We should be ready to roll out of here in the morning. I dont have any pictures, right now, to put up. I did put several on the other site this week. The weather has not cooperated to my liking. Wind has blown so bad it is hard to do anything and Teri and I have been outside almost all of the daylight hours. We certainly got our tans up to par, ha. It is about supper time here. We have 2 other couples and us cooking so I might get some photos then. Tonight is the last ice cream social so I am packing it in. Thanks for checking in with us. Will have a lot more stuff when we get settled from here.
Dan

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Still Having Fun

Teri and I have been busy helping our friend, Jim, with his store. time to slip away has been at a premium but I did get time to go get my harmonic balancer today. Wally and I piddled with it this afternoon. I hope to get it all done Wednesday sometime, if I get time. Still got two shocks to put on the front of the coach after I get the balancer on and belts all back in place.
We had a thunderstorm go through about dark. One leg of our "tent" broke but I got it before it hit the coach. Was very windy here again today. We are hoping for a calm day tomorrow. We will take whatever we get.
We had the 25th anniversary of this club tonight. That is something. We had 19 members of the original group here tonight to recognize.
Oh, Teri and I are half of the water team here. We try to keep the ice boxes full of bottled water. Our friends, Bob and Terry, are the other half. You would not believe how much water older folks drink. I dont see how they can drink that much.
Teri and I are helping with breakfast in the morning. I got to get up real early so I am fixing to hit the sack. Hope everyone had a great Tuesday. Keep the messages coming. I like it when folks tell me that they enjoy reading about what Teri, Sam, and I am doing. Dan

Monday, September 17, 2007

Friends and Ice Cream

What could be better than visiting with your friends over a bowl of ice cream? That is what we did this evening. There is always ice cream at these gatherings, all one can eat. I like this and always look forward to the ice cream socials. Good ice cream is worth good money, however here we get it with our registration fee. I can put it away. I wish we had taken the camera tonight but I could not find it and thought Teri had it. We have several kinds of ice cream available with all of the hot chocolate syrip we can pour in our bowls. Our friends, they don't need anything from us but just a visit and a friendly chat. Teri and I always make a lot of new frineds at these rallies. These are long lasting relationships. Many of the friends that we visited on this trip have been ones that we met at one of these rallies. Everyone has one of these classic GMC class A coaches so there is the common thread. With that in mind we can just walk up to folks, start talking GMC and then drift off into some useful, friend building, conversations. One of our number fell a couple nights ago and broke his neck, while inside his coach. He was to have surgery today. Teri and I want to go visit him before we leave. He is in a local hospital. This older gentleman is a full timer, meaning he has no house. He lives in his GMC coach. His wife passed away 3 years ago and he has no other family. It seems that the GMC bunch is his only family. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Well, that is pretty much it for today. I was busy all day and did not get time to take any photos, maybe Tuesday. Heurry back. Dan

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Happy Folks

Well, look at these two photos. What do you see? One is a 3 wheel vehicle built on a Kawasaki 750 motorcycle. The fella that built it, owns it. Just a regular fella with lots of talent. He pulls it behind his motor home. The other picture shows a lot of happy GMC motor home folks getting ready to eat supper. The supper is not why they are happy though. They are happy because they not only enjoy their motor home, they enjoy each other. I think motor home folks live longer healthier lives. Lots of 80 year old people here in very good health. Lots of 50 year old folks see this and realize that a stress free life is why these folks live longer. When I went to my first gathering of GMC motor home folks, I decided that I was retiring as soon as I could. Set a date, and got away from work at 52 years of age. Started feeling much better right away. Sure, I could have used more money but to get that I would have had to work longer. My line of work was begining to cause me stress that I did not like. So, out the door I went. I mean, why not? The state of Mo. would pay me to NOT show up for work anymore. I grabbed it and I have not regretted it one time. Life has pretty much been stress free ever since. Never any regret. Take a look at these kind of folks if you get a chance. Next time you go by an RV park that has a lot of folks in it, take a drive through and look. Everyone will be smiling, I promise. I found that they knew something I needed to know. I found it and retired at a young age. Life is good when you no longer have to work. Just wanted to let you guys know, I am having a blast out here. There certainly is life away from the Mo. Board of Probation and Parole. Thanks for checking in with us. We have been very busy but having lots of fun. Dan


WOW !!!

For those of you that know GMC motor homes, what do you see in these two pictures? A- A GMC motor home___ B- Not a GMC motor home. True or False?
It sure looks like my motor home dosen't it? Actually, it is a 35 foot Spartan diesel pusher, Sparta. the fella from Iowa took 3 GMC motor homes to make this real look a like coach. You have to get up on it for it to hit you something is different about this coach. First, it only has one set of rear wheels showing. Second, you can see basement storage doors down below. When you walk up to it, looks like the GMC has been fed steroids instead of gasoline. It is big. I hope to get inside in a day or two to see just what it looks like, floor plan. There has been some real time put into this machine. It looks really good. The windows, door, front grille, and windshields are all from a GMC motor home. I like what I see there. "The king of all GMC coaches".
It was a very busy Saturday. I got to visit with lots of old friends. I took several pictures. Teri went to the air port and picked up our friend, Grace Kanomata , as she had flown in from San Francisco. She is the best looking part of the Jim Kanomata family. We are helping them with their GMC buisness here as Jim has way more than he can attend to.
Well, Got to keep this one short. Big day. Heading to church in a little bit. Come back and help Jim, while trying to remove the harmonic balancer from the front of our engine. It has a problem. Have a great Sunday and come back as time allows. We appreciate all of the emails that we get. I try to answer all of them. Dan



Friday, September 14, 2007

Alive and Well in Amana, Iowa









We pulled out of Wally's this am, getting fuel, and leaving Omaha about 730. We arrived in Amana @ 1130, 250 miles later. The terrain was much different than I thought it might be. Was rolling hills most of the way across I-80. Teri got a few photos as we traveled. We took a couple as we waited in line to get our coach parked. Don't those coaches look nice? We will get a lot of pictures tomorrow as more coaches arrive. We hooked up with our friend Jim Kanomata. We are helping him with his sales at the rally. If you are a GMCer, and are here, make sure that you stop by to see, Teri, Sam, and me. We promise to greet you with a big Missouri smile. It is good to get here and see our friends that we have not seen in at least 6 months, some a year. It was terribly windy and cold today. Will need some heat tonight. The park cut the water off at 6pm due to freeze warnings. I hope everyone brings jackets. I am sure it will warm back up in a day or two. Need to find a local news network so we can get the weather predictions. Oh, I see Mr. Simpson is possibly in trouble again. Hmmm. I doubt anyone is surprised. Anyway, we got to turn in early. I got to be up and out of here by 730 am. That will be tuff on me, two days in a row. I got up only 20 minutes late this morning so I am getting better. that Pacific time zone has been hard on me. We had been in it since the first of June. Have a good Saturday. If you like seeing nice looking GMC motor coaches, come back Saturday evening. See you then, Dan

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Wally's Flag

Teri worked and worked to get this but just could not get what we wanted to share with you. Anyway, Wally's flag is really neat. Having the light on all night is great. We can see it every time we come in on the interstate from the southwest direction. It shines up over the interstate. The house is up on a hillside, carved out of the earth. This place of Wally's is just a very nice place. I could live here for sure. Will catch you from Amana, Iowa this weekend. Enjoy your Friday and come on back when you can. Sam say hey to every pet lover out there. Dan

On The Road Again

Sam and I are sitting here enjoying each other's company while we watch Nancy Grace. Sam wanted to catch up on today's news. I agreed. Wally has gone to bed. Teri and Sue are out playing cards. We will hit the road early in the morning, heading for the International GMC Rally over in Amana Iowa. We have had a very enjoyable time here in Omaha. Wally and Sue really did a great job showing us around. Tonight Wally said they had a lot more to show us. I told him we will be back and save it for then. They are coming over to the rally next week so we will get to enjoy their company more.
Teri worked most of the day. She washed and got things ready for our departure. I got her car washed up, then we went into Omaha and picked up a few things. Did not take any photos as we were not really in any scenic areas, just traffic. Wally has a flag flying out here and he keeps a light on it all night. When Teri gets back with the camera I am going to see if we can get a shot good enough to put up on the blog. It really looks great flying in tonight's breeze.
We are anxious to get over to the rally. Got lots of friends there that we will get to visit with. Some we have not seen in a year. We will be looking inside the other coaches trying to finalize the look that we want inside our coach. Teri and I plan to totally renovate the interior soon. We have been too busy with other things to take on the inside of our "2nd home". The time is nearing so we must have our ideas come together before we rip everything out.
I will be taking lots of pictures at the rally and some of them may very well find their way to this site. Come on back this weekend and see what we are doing. I know we will be 2 of two of the happiest folks there. There will be lots of smiles. I will be smiling because there is always lots of great ice cream socials. I have not had ice cream in over a week. Trying to hold off so I can really enjoy myself. Thanks for checking on us. Dan

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Coach


This is the only picture for today. Teri snapped it. I did not have time to take any as our time was pretty much centered on the coach today. Wally helped me do some things to the coach so it is ready for departure on Friday. We changed the oil, checked the timing, and belts. Made sure the transmission was not leaking after yesterday's work. Polished part of it as I had used diesel fuel on it yesterday to get the road tar off of it, what a mess. Sue was at work all day and this evening so we did not see her today. Wally returns to work tomorrow, 12 hour shift. I had to get all I could from him today, ha, just kidding. We did have time to visit and check the internet for a few things this afternoon. Also, Wally and I put away some of the cookies that his mom sent over. Really good chocolate chip cookies, my favorite. I am still not used to CDST yet. We left Pacific time one day and the next we were back in cstime. Maybe I will get used to it soon. Teri and I went to church tonite and met a visiting preacher from Dyersburg, Tn. just across the Ms. River from us. Turned out he is a brother to a preacher we met in Oregon. Small world. His wife is good friend to one of our friends, Beverly Finnell. Teri and I will finish up some things, run some errands tomorrow so we will be ready to leave early Friday morning for Iowa, about 250 miles. I need to do more cleaning on her car in the morning. Got one spot on the coach to finish polishing it. Got to sparkle when we pull into Amana with over 200 other coaches like our's. Oh, Sammy is doing really good. She sure enjoys the trip. She always gets lots of attention nearly everywhere we go. She likes that. I will say that she was a bit dissapointed that I would not share any chocolate chip cookies with her today though. She is over that now and is asleep in the hallway. Oh, Wally and I did sneak in a trip to Harbor Freight this morning. That is a great place for guys to look around at tools. I did not buy anything. I am already carrying home several things that we did not start the trip with so I restrained myself. Maybe we will get some pictures Thursday. Oh, I called and talked with my granddad's only living sister in law, my great aunt by marriage, age 93. She was sharp as a tack and asked about everyone back in Mo. I wanted to visit her tomorrow but she was going to be gone. Maybe next trip. Have a great Thursday and check in with us tomorrow night if you have time. Dan

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Some Shots Around Wally's Place Today

Not only did Wally and I accomplish some things today, Teri cleaned the inside of the coach while we worked outside. Got all of that North Dakota tar off the driver's side of the coach. We ran a heavier set of wires to the new refrigerator for 12 volt operation. Worked on a broken switch I had under the dash. Wally built us a little bracket to keep the door open. Tightened the bolts on the transmission pan and on back of the tranny. All of them were loose. All of that was after we spent the morning at Sam's club and a craft store Teri wanted to go visit. Take a look at Wally's garage. He maximizes his room in there. The lawn mower is not the only thing hanging from the ceiling. There is a table saw, an air tank, and much more. He keeps everything in order around his place. Look at the big sun flower he built. Also, his roof holds several antennas. And, that metal storm door, he made two of them for the doors on his home. No thief will come in through the doors. Wally has every tool I can imagine. We had a couple more projects for today but I asked him if we could hold off til Wed, oil change, check tranny fluid, timing light, and tighten the belts. We should stay busy. Tonight, Sue took us all out for more fish. Catfish fillets, one of my favorites. The Salmon of the midwest, ha. We then crashed the Dollar Tree and hung out there until closing time, 9pm. What a day. Weather was just perfect. Teri and I will pull out in a day or two for Amana, Ia. Wally and Sue will meet us there a few days later. We have lots of friends coming to Amana and it will be good to see all of them. Thanks for coming by. Oh, thanks again for all of the emails. I love hearing from those that read the blog. Dan




















Monday, September 10, 2007

Productive Day in Omaha


We woke up to rain this morning. It rained til after noon. Got the car and coach all washed up outside in the rain. Easy to wash when it is raining. Wally then took Teri and me to Walmart and the post office. Teri did a bunch of picture printing while Wally and I looked at "men stuff" and I got some oil to change the coach before we leave here later this week. Wally is a handy guy to know. He can do about anything, really talented. Teri got a couple of fotos of Wally. One while he was making something for me and another of him standing beside his biggest project of the day. Teri is real happy tonite. She has real stainless door panels for her new refrigerator. We have some great friends and are thankful for these folks being in our lives. Sue had to work today so Teri cooked our supper. It was Mexican night in Omaha. Mmmm good. We got some good visiting in today while we worked on stuff. Not sure what we will do tuesday. Wally is off work until Thurs. I think we may run to Sam's Club and Radio Shack. I need to clean the road tar off the coach. Maybe get oil changed, and got to check that oil leaking from the transmission. I hate any kind of leaks. I know that I have got to run a heavier 12 volt wire to the new refrigerator, may get that done. We will see. Thanks for stopping to check on us again. We really appreciate you doing that. Come on back when you have time. I might have some good photos up. Dan




Sunday, September 9, 2007

Sunday in Omaha and Council Bluffs, Ia.

Well, today we had quite a tour of Omaha, then over the river to Council Bluffs. What a place. We first went to the Morman Museum. Then we took the Lewis and Clark run. Got to go to a museum and then to a fort that has been rebuilt to the original specs. Sue and Wally have really treated Teri and me great. I mean Sue had supper ready for us when we got here yesterday. Wally could not let her upstage him so tonite he was the cook and we ate fish on the Missouri River. Check out the last foto. Does it look like we were talking? No stinkin way. We were trying to choke ourselves. Boy, the hushpuppies were just right for me. We started our day by attending worship services. The folks there were great. We were visited with by nearly half of the 100 folks there, it seemed. We could not get out the door after services for the folks talking with us and asking questions. Lots of questions from the ones that found out we were on a 4 month trip in our motor home. It was great. And, the singing was really great. The song leader hit every starting pitch perfect, with no pitch pipe. I think it is great that God does not require intrumental instruments in worship. We can sing from the heart and not worry about trying to hang in there with man made instruments messing us up. He knew what He was doing, for sure.
Not sure what is in store for Monday. I think they are calling for rain. That is ok, makes it easier to wash the coach and the car. They both need it really bad. North Dakota was not good on the clean vehicles. Also, I noticed the transmission has a leak. Need to check that out and find the squeaking belt. Oh, Wally may have enough stainless to do the doors on Teri's new refrigerator. How about that? Wally is quite the talented fella. The things he can do, especially with metal, is an art. I will see if he will allow me to take a few photos of his work and put them on the blog. He and I have been having a great time just sitting and visiting. We share so many thoughts and ideas that it is hard to believe. Wally can actually make thoughts come to life. I normally have to find and pay someone. I mean, this guy actually hangs his big riding mower in the garage and parks his car under it. Totally amazing. I will show you just what I am talking about if it is ok with him. I mean, this guy lives in an underground home. A dream of mine that won't come true but I have always dreamed of it just the same.
So, everyone is in bed asleep except me. Guess I better start thinking about going that way. Once again, this area is quite a place that Teri and I would never have known, even visited, if not for Sue and Wally. Thanks guys. Check back Monday night, I hope to have more photos. Dan















Oh, while we were eating our fish a boat came by and some girl flashed us good, raising her shirt. The deal is, when the present owner bought the restuarant he closed the dock to keep boaters from coming to his resturant half clothed. Now, those folks come by and flash the place. I guess they are showing him, aye? Oh well, made for an interesting conversation.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Idaho, Montanna, North & South Dakota

These are a few shots that we got along our 1350 mile trip from Rob's to Wally's. First one is Larry ahead of us after we pulled out from Rob's. Most of the rest are just shots that we took along the way. A couple are from the Free Campground in Columbus, Mt. The last one is the sunset that Teri shot from the rear of the coach as we traveled Friday evening. Hope you enjoy seeing them. We really enjoyed traveling and taking them. Dan























































































































Omaha, Nebraska

For those following along with us, we are in Omaha now. We arrived at Wally's place sometime around 5 pm today. Over slept again. Was raining. We finally pulled out of the Aberdeen SD Walmart about 11 am in not only rain but tough winds. It was cold. Roads were not good in the rest of SD either. Really rutted up bad. Sure was glad to hit the Iowa line. Not only was the pavement good but the gas prices were lower. Was paying over 3 bux for fuel in SD. I think we did about 380 miles in 6 hours. Stopped for gas once and pulled off at a Walmart. I have been looking for another flight joy stick and every Walmart has been sold out until we stopped at Brookings. I left mine with Teri's dad. He needed it and I knew I could find another one somewhere along the way. I guess the little boogers are popular though but finally got it. We had a very nice visit with Wally and Sue and she had a great supper waiting for us when we arrived. We visited until just a few minutes ago.
Well, no photos tonite. Maybe I can sort through them in a day or two and get some up for you. Thanks for checking on us. Will catch you Sunday. Dan

Friday, September 7, 2007

Aberdeen, South Dakota

We have had a great ride across the country. LAst evening we stopped at a free campground in Columbus, Mt. Was great, right on a nice little river. Had a campfire and everything. Over slept this morning so we did not get out of there until 9 am cst. Arrived here in Aberdeen, SD this evening at 810 pm. Best time to pull into Walmart parking lot, just getting dark.
We have bunches of photos to share. Not putting them up tonite. Too tired to sort through them. Also, am getting wifi signal that is a little marginal so don't want to take a chance on getting everything messed up. We hope to arrive in Omaha Saturday afternoon. Looks like 380 miles. Just a short hop for us. If we don't make it we will be there Sunday, not a big deal.
Let me say this, hiway 12 is a great road for any sightseer, whether in an rv or an automobile. We got back on 12 at noon today, in Mt. drove about 400 miles on it, 2 lane, all the way to Aberdeen. All of it was nice except the part in ND. That stretch was rutted where they were not working on it. They had poor constuction zone "lead cars". I say that because we were last in a string. Was in a 5-7 mile section under construction. We had to dodge heavy equipment and when we met the lead car going back I stopped her and told her she left me behind. I was not happy. Oh well, I got over it. The rest of the road is just great. Speed limit is fast so we came right on along. Everything was functioning as it should have been. The coach climbed the mountains, with the car behind, just great.
We followed Larry for 120 miles in Idaho on 12. We seperated at Misoula Thursday at noon.. Was just great visiting with Rob and Larry. Oh, I find no publishing of the free campgrounds and dumps on 12 in Idaho. They are everywhere.
Well, hope everyone has a great weekend. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Oh, we saw all kinds of game today. From antelope to pheasants. The pheasants were everywhere in SD. Guess that is why it is the state bird. Should be a law that hunters must use 22 rifles to hunt them. They fly like a chicken. One can pluck them from the air with a sling shot. I know that for a fact, just don't ask. Anyway, with a little luck at getting up on time, we will make Omaha tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for checking on us. Will have photos soon. I really appreciate all of the email notes about the blog. Dan

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

What a Day

We have had one great day. Rob took us everywhere. He first fixed us breakfast. Look at the view from his table. Also, notice the view from our coach. I hate it but we are pulling out in the morning. Larry and we will ride together to Missoula where he goes north and Teri and I head south and east. We are heading to SD then to Omaha. May not have internet for a few days. If we do I will upload some stuff. We have just had a full day of it. Ran over to LOLO pass. See the pic of Teri and I? Larry was in Idaho and we were in Mt. He took the foto. Had supper in a lodge near the pass. Those fotos of us eating and sitting in the old chair were taken at the lodge where we ate. Hope all of you have a good rest of the week. Should you ever get close to hiway 12 in Idaho, take it. What a scene. Make sure you contact Rob ahead of time to make sure he is home. You will not regret it. Rob is a super guy. Cant wait to get back out here and maybe stay a couple days longer. His hybrid Camry really rides and performs well. Got to sign off. Larry is in the coach and we are visiting. Will have to part company in the morning. Thanks for stopping by. Pray that we have a safe trip to Omaha. Will let you know when we get there. Come back later in the week and see if we are back. Dan