Grove, Oklahoma

Today we traveled from Owensville, MO to Grove, OK. We arrived at our campground and were not even going to unhook the truck since we are only here for one night, but our lot was just a little too uneven, so we unhooked. Once the truck was unhooked from the trailer, Bob decided we should go get fuel. We went for a drive to check the area out and looked for a station we had seen on our way into town that had cheap diesel fuel. ($2.74/gallon) We noticed that there are several casinos in the area, since most of it is in the "Wyandotte Nation". We decided to stop at the Grand Lake Casino for a few minutes. We each put $20.00 in and 45 minutes later we each cashed out $100.00. So, for $40.00 we made $160.00. Not bad. Normally, we would have stayed and gave some, if not all, of it back. I looked at him and said, "It's time to take the loot and scoot"...and he agreed. We left there and went to a nice Mexican restaurant for dinner.

This campground is another nice one. It's right on Grand Lake. There are a lot of lakes in this area. Since we're staying 9 nights at our next stop, we decided today that we should have broke them up to 5 nights each. Oh, well...



Sign at our park


View of Grand Lake from our campsite



I thought this was a neat sign
welcoming us to Grove


Grand Lake Casino...thank$!!!

Alpaca Ranch & Hermann, Missouri

Today we went to an open house at the Rockin' W Alpaca Ranch, which is just up the road from the campground. The alpacas are so cute and docile! I really enjoyed watching them. After the open house, we went Hermann, MO which is a nearby German town that was having a BarBQ & Brats festival at the city park. There were dozens of motorcycles in town, including several trikes. It was a really quaint city right on the Missouri River. On the way back, we stopped in "Swiss" at the Swiss Meat & Sausage Co. They had several varieties of meats and cheeses. I did find one beef tenderloin that was less than 3 lbs. and it was over $48.00. Holy shit! It was $17.95/lb. I have NEVER paid anywhere near that much for meat and I hope I never have to.

An alpaca

This brown one was my favorite.

I think it might have been due for

a shearing.

Time for a rest...

Downtown Hermann, MO

Hermann, MO

This trike (to the left) had an

8-cylinder engine...it rumbled!!!

Owensville, MO - Part II

Here's a few more pictures from the area. Lost Valley Lake Resort is absolutely beautiful I'm sure once the colors start to change it will be spectacular. We are enjoying our week here, just "chillin' out" and will leave Monday for Oklahoma.


A view of one of the lakes in
Lost Valley Lake Resort.



A waterfall in the campground
near the riding stables.


Historic Route 66 Marker in town.
We're hoping to visit a couple of the
Route 66 Museums as we travel West.


This is the view out of the window by
our table. Lost Valley Lake Resort is
very picturesque!!!

Owensville, Missouri

We arrived in Owensville, MO yesterday around 4:00. This is another one of our membership parks and it is extremely nice. It's huge (537 acres, with over 100 acres of lakes) and has so many nice features. The drawback is that it is in the boondocks, which in this area means up and down many, many hills to get here. Also, for the 2nd week in a row, our Verizon coverage is very bad. I'm able to use my air card, but not the way it should work. We drove to the next town today to try and buy an external antenna for our cell phones, only to find out that neither one of our phones will accept an external antenna. Bummer!!! We drove into town last night to find a place to have dinner. The ONLY place we found was Suzy's Cafe and it was closed. So, we came back to the campground and had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. I've been trying to post some pictures on here, but the air card won't cooperate. I'll go to one of the buildings in the park tomorrow that offers wi-fi and try to post them then.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO


The Gateway Arch


One of the lakes in our park



A sign showing what the new
indoor sports arena in the park
will look like when it's completed
next Spring.


Construction of the new sports arena.


The new clubhouse at the park


One of the animal statues in the park


This is typical of the hilly roads
in this area.


Missouri sunset

Wabash & Erie Canal Park

Today we went to the Wabash & Erie Canal Park in Delphi, IN. It was a beautiful day and the boat ride was very informative, as was the Canal Interpretive Center at the park. It was only $5.00 each for the boat ride and the park and center were free. It was a great day and inexpensive, too. We had no idea about the canals that ran through IL, IN, OH & NY in the 1800's. They were eventually taken over by the railroads, but were a large part of the history of this area in the mid-1800's.

Entrance to the park

The canal boat we rode on

Going under the 1901

Stone Arch Bridge...

it's a tight fit!

The limestone kiln that was moved

to the park and is being rebuilt on-site.

The 1873 Paint Creek Bridge

The Reed Case house - he was

an engineer at the canal and was

the area's first millionaire.

The one-room schoolhouse on

the property.

Delphi, Indiana

Today we went to Delphi, IN and visited the Wabash & Erie Canal Park. (See next post). Delphi is a stately old town and there is a lot of history here that I never knew anything about.

Delphi historical marker.

Carroll County Courthouse and statue.

Carroll County Courthouse

Statue at the Courthouse

The "Big Red" truck was for

sale at the Delphi Truck Body

Company. I'm assuming that

they added this bed to the truck

recently.

Monticello, Indiana

We arrived at our first stop today just before 4:00 p.m. We would have been here much sooner, but the address the park lists in the Resorts of Distinction directory would not come up on any mapping program or our GPS, so I used the GPS coordinates. BIG MISTAKE...they took us to a nasty campground on the other side of town. So, I called the campground and she gave me a totally different street address which brought us directly here with the GPS. This is "Western Horizon Resorts - White Oaks on the Lake" Resort. It is a beautiful park right on Lake Freeman. We'll be here a week, so we'll have plenty of time to explore the area. At 5:00 tonight they had a free pizza "appreciation" dinner at the cafe. They even deliver pizzas to your campsite here. Although, FREE is even better! Bob was thrilled to not have to eat leftover goulash tonight. :-) I will get some pictures of the park tomorrow and post them here. We met a really nice couple from Niagara Falls, Ontario at dinner. They are on a 5-week trip to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, etc. They are only here for 1 night, but I have a feeling we'll be running into them again as we head west.

One other thing I need to mention. We got several "thumbs up" and smiles as we were traveling today. We're pretty sure it was because of the lettering on our back window that says "This IS the life!" Thanks, Bud!!!

The view from our campsite

Another view of the park

This monarch butterfly landed on

the mirror of our truck

Found this sign in Delphi, IN -

we were surprised to see it

here and not in Florida! :-)

Paybacks are Hell!

Last night we went to dinner with Danny & Cheryl and then we thought it would be a good idea to go to Kathy & Spyros' and surprise them. Although it was much earlier than when they invaded us last week, it was fun anyway. We stayed for quite a while and had a great time. We played some Texas Hold 'Em and Uncle Bob ended up winning it all after he took over Paul's chips when Paul wanted to quit and watch a movie. :-)


This is how Kathy answered the
door...and she was SOBER! :-)


Dan & Cheryl with hats provided by Paul

Dan with his cheerleader beer holders :-)

I won't go into details about the things

those cheerleaders were doing. :-)

Dan with his cheerleader "sippy cup"

Uncle Bob does Paul proud.

Mom & Dad

We went to visit my parents on Friday. They seem to be doing so much better than they were a year ago. A year ago today was our family reunion at Kathy & Spyros' house. My Dad was slurring his words so bad then that you really couldn't understand him. He is talking perfectly clear now. That may have something to do with the fact that he was getting about 9 times as much blood pressure medication as he was supposed to. He's still having problems with is left leg, but other than that he's doing pretty good. He has a new shirt that my sister, Sue, bought for him and he is so proud of it that he insisted I take pictures of it. :-)

After we visited my parents, we went to dinner with my friend, Dianne, and her daughter, Jeni. Her husband was going with us but decided he just didn't feel too good and didn't want to give any of us his cooties. We had a great dinner at the Lion's Den and great conversation. Thanks, Dianne! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures that night.

We've been trying to get around and see as many people as possible before we leave Michigan tomorrow. We'll be going to one of our membership parks in Monticello, IN for a week and then continue our trek west. We need to be in Albuquerque, NM in early October for the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. We're really excited about it. After that, we going to the Grand Canyon, then down into AZ and California after that. Have I mentioned that "This IS the life?!?!"


My Dad

My Mom

The front of Dad's new shirt :-)

The back of Dad's new shirt :-)
If you're from Michigan, you no

doubt know that Kwame Kilpatrick

was the mayor of Detroit who is now

in prison. You gotta love this shirt!

That's some funny shit...I don't care

who you are! :-)

Thanks Al & Lisa!

Al & Lisa, some dear friends of ours from the Everest Owners Club, sent me a stained glass lighthouse that they made. It is of the St. Augustine (FL) lighthouse that we visited in April. I'm not sure which one of them chose the glass that they used, but it is perfect. The green is iridescent, the blue has swirls and the clear glass of the "light" is ridged. It is so beautiful and I was overwhelmed that they would do something so nice for me. It looks great hanging in the back window of the Everest! Thanks again, Al & Lisa...YOU ROCK!

I also received another gift from Norm & Anita, another couple from the Everest Owners Club. Norm and his son make the most beautiful wood items on a lathe. I have previously won a bowl and an ink pen that he donated for our drawings. This year I didn't win the beautiful ink pens he donated, but they mailed me one after the rally. He is so very talented!!! This pen is made from walnut and maple and he put a design of the walnut wood in the maple. It is just amazing. Again, I was overwhelmed at their kindness! Thank you Norm & Nita...YOU ROCK, too!

Labor Day Weekend 2010

We had a great weekend at Waldenwoods. Jason, Connor & Jillian came out and stayed in their tent. Danny & Cheryl were still camped next to us. On Saturday, we watched my nephew, Paul, while Kathy & Spyros went to her 30-year class reunion. They came out after the reunion with Karyn (Kathy's best friend from HS) and her boyfriend, Don. Mayhem & debauchery followed. She woke Danny & Cheryl up and they came over (she really didn't give them a choice)and they joined in the mayhem. On Monday Paul & Ericka and their 3 boys came out. It was their 13th Anniversary and we took the opportunity to give them a nice anniversary card and a sympathy card for Paul. :-)

Majestic Sunset...the sun sets

over the Majestic golf course,

surrounding Waldenwoods.

Sweet Paul sound asleep...just

before the crazies arrived. He

somehow managed to sleep

through it all.

Kathy & Karyn (AKA Edith &

Emily)

Spyros & Bob

Kathy adding "Flair Hair"

to Danny

Danny doing it the

"Cowboy Way"

Jillian with the shirt

that Andrea bought

her...it came with 4

washable markers and

you can change the

coloring every time

it is washed. She

loves it! She's such a

little artist!

Ericka reading Paul's "Sympathy

Card".

Connor, Jillian and the Bond

boys playing poker for CHIPS...

no really...they were using

Lay's potato chips for poker

chips. :-)