RV There Yet?

This morning I got up early, 5:30AM, to go fishing with my friend Mike Collins and his father-in-law, Earl.  While loading the truck, Earl cut his arm and required some medical attention.  After we got Earl taken care of we noticed that the lights on the boat trailer weren’t working.  We stopped at the gas station down the road and Mike and I tried to troubleshoot the problem.  It appeared to be a fuse in the truck so we replaced it, but the brake lights and the turn signals still didn’t work.  Mike decided this was not an issue so we continued on our way.  On our way to Lake Limestone we took a wrong turn and ended up on a road with no access to the lake.  Darn GPS.  We turned around and tried again.  When we arrived at the marina, we discovered that the marina was closed.  Due to this we were unable to buy any bait for fishing, so we said, “the heck with it” and headed for home.  Just down the road we saw a bait and tackle shop that appeared to be open so we turned around.  We stopped by the tackle shop and discovered that it was also closed, but a local fishing guide, who is not the owner of the shop, opened it and allowed us to buy some bait.  So fishing was back on again.  We headed back to the lake and by the time we got the boat on to the water it was almost 10:30AM.  This was five hours after all of us got out of bed and the lake is only an hour drive from Mike’s house.  We fished for almost three hours and during that time I caught a 14-inch crappie, Earl caught a small catfish that was too small to keep and Mike didn’t get to fish because his time was spent driving the boat and helping Earl.  So after approximately three hours of fishing we packed up and headed for home.  It was a strange day but it was a fun day.  My worst day of fishing beats the best day of work anytime. 

Yesterday Barbara and I, along with our friends Judy and Mike, dropped Hopper off at the vet. Hopper had to go in for surgery to repair a torn ACL in his back right leg. So we didn’t sit around and worry about Hopper, we did anyway, we headed to Waco to visit the Waco Mammoth National Monument. In 1978 two men were walking along a dry stream bed when they came across a bone sticking out of the ground. Their find was reported to nearby Baylor University and it was discovered that what they found was a bone from a Pleistocene age Columbian Mammoth. The owner of the land, understanding the importance of the find, donated the land. Since that time, the area has been turned over to the National Park Service and an indoor excavation building has been constructed. So far there has been several mammoth and camel skeletons unearthed and they believe more are likely present. Camels are native to north America. After travelling to the National Monument we stopped by the Russell Stover factory for ice cream and other sweet treats. Yum!

This morning, we traveled back to pick up my little boy after what appears to be a successful surgery. We really missed him last night. I woke up three times last night and each time I instinctively looked for my little boy. The vet told us that for a dog his age, almost 16, he came through the surgery remarkably well. He had his knee repaired, his teeth cleaned and a skin tag removed from his forehead. He’s now home and resting, hopefully comfortably. He should be up and around again in a couple of days.

We found out today that our little boy needs surgery on his back right leg to repair a torn ACL. So he’s scheduled for surgery on Monday, September 27th. Please keep him in your prayers. Due to this our arrival on the west coast will be delayed by a couple weeks. Hopefully, we’ll all arrive sometime in November happy and healthy.

Last night Barbara and I took a sunset, dinner cruise on Table Rock Lake aboard the Showboat Branson Belle. We were treated to a magic act, a live music show, featuring music from the 60’s to today and a fantastic dinner. The meal was comprised of a green salad, roastbeef, chicken, garlic mashed red potatoes, greenbeans, a dinner roll, our choice of beverage and dessert. After dinner and before the show we took a stroll around the deck and enjoyed the moon light reflecting off of the water.

When the Branson Belle was first constructed, it was moved into the lake on ramps lubricated with bananas. Yes bananas! That means before the Branson Belle took float on the water it slipped and fell, into the water, on banana peels, over 1,000 of them. Again, I did not use my good camera. I used my pocket size point and shoot, 6 megapixel camera, so please be kind.

On Friday, after we finished our golf cart tour, Barbara and I toured the nearby natural history museum. The museum focused mostly on the Indians of the Ozark Mountains, but also had information on most of the major tribes in North America. Please be kind when you view these photos as I did not have my good camera with me so I used my cell phone camera, and I am terrible taking photos with my cell phone. In addition, Barbara took some of these photos so we can blame her. LOL!

On Thursday Barbara and I traveled south to the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri. Today Barbara and I enjoyed a 2.5 mile trail through the mountains, over bridges, some covered, and past many waterfalls in a golf cart. Yes a golf cart. I chose this trail so that Barbara could enjoy the scenery too. Usually, Barbara stays behind and just enjoys my photos. She really enjoyed the trip. There is even a bar (The Bat Bar) inside of a limestone (CaCO₃) cavern along the trail. Both of us enjoyed a cold strawberry lemonade. Barbara thinks that the rocks here look like large Lego blocks snapped together.

Yesterday Barbara and I traveled from Indiana to St. Louis so that we could visit the Gateway Arch one more time before we head back to the west coast. The arch is truly an engineering masterpiece. It does make me wonder if we will be able to excel in engineering and science, in the future, with educators now lowering the standards to accommodate some students. One of the things that we really like about the arch is their visitor’s center. They provide a movie that chronicles how the arch was constructed, from the design to final construction, why the arch was built in St. Louis and the adventures of Lewis and Clark. All in all it makes for a great time in St. Louis. And for those of you who are baseball fans, the Cardinals play just a few blocks away.

For the past three nights Barbara and I have been staying at the Kentucky Horse Park campgrounds. Yesterday we visited the horse park. This is a beautiful park. When I first saw it I thought of the Kentucky Derby. While at the horse park we learned a lot about horses, got to meet some former champions and got to see different breeds of horses perform. It made for an enjoyable day.

Today Barbara and I traveled north to visit the Ark Encounter and study ark-e-ology. This is supposed to be a replica of Noah’s Ark. Of course the exhibit focuses on theology and Barbara and I learned a lot. However, it provided more questions than answers. I don’t agree with a lot of what they’re teaching, but I do believe in God and evolution. Some believe this is not possible, but if you think about it logically, it’s not that hard. It was very interesting and we had a wonderful time.

On Saturday, with the rally over, Barbara and I headed north, 22 miles, to the Twin Mills RV Park for the Labor Day weekend. On Sunday, after breakfast I grabbed my sling pack and hiking pole and took a hike. Now what most of you would call a walk, I call a hike. In this part of the country there are no mountains or even hills to climb. When the glaciers last receded, approximately 11,000 years ago, it left this part of the country “FLAT”. In fact, in most places you could lay down a carpenter’s level and 90% of the time the bubble would be in the middle. Yes it is that flat here. So due to the fact that I carry my sling pack, hiking pole and usually walk several miles, I call it a hike. On Monday morning I hiked the south side of the RV park.