Compass Points: Road Trip 2010

Showing posts with label Road Trip 2010. Show all posts

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Road Trip 2010 Compilation

Monday, August 23, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Days 74-76: HOME!

No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth. Although, it’s mighty tempting to jump right about now—as you’ll see if you read all that is below.

Day 74: Terre Haute, IN to Seville, OH
We made our way still further eastward on I-70 across the balance of Indiana and into Ohio. We passed Dayton and skirted Columbus, Ohio before heading northeast on I-71. At the junction of I-71 and I-76 we took the turn on to I-76 for a few miles before looking for the Maple Lake Recreation Park. We had called ahead and found they had a back=in available but when we got there the person who had been there the previous night was still there and we were preparing to head on down the road when the owners, no doubt fearing the loss of a night’s rental, realized that a semi-permanent guest would not be back until Saturday night and that their drive through was available. Needless to say that suited us fine as we were going to be on the road quite early anyway.

We found our slot, pulled in and set up. Then we hit the pool for an hour before dinner.

Day 75: Seville, OH to Ive’s Run/Hammond Lake, PA—aka HOME

We left Seville, bright and early and headed northeast on I-76 and then onto I-80 east near Youngstown, Ohio. After that, it was “just” across PA and then north on Route 15—call it another 200 or so miles.

Only about 200 miles to go!

OOPS!
A couple days previously I had made reservations on line for the Corps of Engineers campground at Ive’s Run. I thought I had made them for Saturday night through next Thursday for one site and then from Thursday night through September 2nd for a second site. Even had the confirmation email to prove it—I thought. This would have been ideal as some foul weather from out by Lake Michigan was headed our way and we would beat it to the campground and get set up before its arrival around midnight Saturday. Somehow I had screwed up and our reservations. They were to start on SUNDAY not SATURDAY. We were a day early and everything was booked. They did have some overflow camping with no hook-ups available however. So I put some water in the freshwater holding tank and pulled into the dry camp for the night. The good news is that I finally learned how to use the refrigerator on its gas setting.

We then went home to the Aerie to see how things stood. The rain gauge said we had had between six and seven inches of rain since we left. The lawn was a mess, of course. Three large branches on the red but near the rain gauge were broken off. (Wind or critter?) The pumpkins hadn’t set many (read any) fruit but they did have some very nice vines. The winter squash had also grown lots of vines but they had also set a bundle fruit. Problem was that something (squirrels or raccoon? No visible foot prints could be seen) had eaten half of each of them so we will be lucky to get three or four. The onions looked as good as when we left except for a few that had sent up some flower heads. The contractor who said he would do the stone work and staining while we were gone had not gotten around to it yet. (I had spoken to him a few days ago and he says he got hung up on some other projects. Example: He was called in to rewire a room and ended up doing the whole house. Then there were several calls from folks who had leaky roofs. Those have to be fixed ASAP and take precedence over a job that could be considered cosmetic versus emergency care. All very understandable, but still frustrating to me.) He did have all the materials delivered and they sit in the garage and basement. The stone in the garage completely blocks my use of the ATV for awhile.

Then there was the Aerie’s refrigerator. When we left, we took what little we had in the way of frozen vegetables and meats and packed them into the fridge’s freezer compartment so we could clean out the chest freezer. Some time while we were gone the fridge went cablooey. The freezer compartment temperature rose to 38 degrees and everything defrosted. The Fridge compartment was at room temperature which ruined everything in there.

The phone had a full compliment of messages (18), nine of which came from the bank holding the loan on the Jeep telling us to call about changes to our loan status (probably due to the uncashed check from June’s payment). We’ll get some of that straightened out once we get to see our mail on Monday morning.

I went back to the trailer at the campground feeling a little sick to my stomach having seen all the work that lay ahead and repairs that need to be arranged for. It started to pour around 11:30 PM and continued all night. When I got out of bed at 7 AM, the campgrounds I was in (grass, naturally) was a marsh and it was still raining.

Day 76: Ive’s Run

Terry showed up with the Jeep at around 11 AM. We hustled to carry some stuff up to the Aerie, head down to Beiter’s Home Furnishing to see about getting someone out to service our GE refrigerator (they didn’t sell it to us, but we have bought a bunch of stuff there and they should honor our relationship), pick up the cats at Adams house (Julie and Chester were easy to get into their carry cases, Shadow not so much—but they all survived as did Dodge, Adam’s yellow lab), eat lunch, move the trailer into the reserved campsite (it stopped raining around 1 PM and remained dry skied while we were moving things about), fight with the slideout (finally used jumper cables to run the motor directly off the battery—hope it slides in using conventional means!), load the Jeep with most of Terry’s clothes, eat dinner and, now, take a deep breath. Terry is back at the Aerie. I’m in the campgrounds for the night.
The Road Trip 2010 is officially over. All that remains is the repair of the slideout and the clean-up and winterizing of the trailer.

Monday I’ll pick up all our mail as soon as the post office opens at 8 AM. Then we’ll see about getting things straightened out vis-à-vis: finding out what’s up with the Jeep loan (I’ve a feeling either the stick on label or stamp came off and it was returned to sender); getting the refrigerator fixed (Beiter’s should call early—I hope); cutting the lawn and weeding—if the rain holds off some; arranging for both the truck and trailer to get registered and inspected (the truck also need some service after logging 12K miles with just one oil change since June 9th); seeing if I can get my driver’s license renewed; look into getting my hunting licenses for PA and NY; and a ton of other things.

******
Well, Beiter's can't come until Friday, but Sears will be here this afternoon. It's still raining. THREE checks mailed out the day we left were never cashed. All were sent from a post office in Tioga Junction. That will be three stop payments and three new checks to write. (Everything handled on line went swimmingly but these three can not be done that way.) And the IRS has been dealt with. (Had to explain that even though my pension comes from the state, I was not a state employee. Never had this problem the last three years.)

Now, If you'll excuse me I've got to run to the bank to stop payment on three three month-old checks and then to the bank to mail out three new checks.

*sigh*
Wish I was back on the road again!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 73: Columbia, MO to Terre Haute, IN

A "short day" of just around 300 miles today. We left Cottonwoods RV Park in Columbia, MO at around 7 AM Central Time and made our way east across the balance of Missouri, the Mississippi River, all of Illinois and into Indiana and the Eastern Time Zone stopping at the Terre Haute by 2:30 (EDT) in the afternoon.

The blankety-blank slide out would not work when I attempted to extent the room. It took me two hours of taking the "brain" apart, putting it back together, taking the motor off the drive shaft, cutting the motors wires, checking it on the 12-volt (it worked!), reattaching the wires (it didn't work!), reattaching the motor to the chassis, and trying the bloody thing one last time (it WORKED!). The room is currently extended. Whether it retracts in the morning is another thing, although it did retract this evening when I tested it.

I guess there's a lesson to be learned here: Anything can be repaired using a combination of the right swear words and hammers. Sometimes, however, a great deal of both are needed to achieve the proper combination. This afternoon, while dripping sweat from forgotten pores, I nearly used my entire lexicon and tool chest. (There are a few I held in reserve for those truly final moments. And the 5-pound sledge was left at home.)

Then it was time for Terry and I to share a soak in the pool followed by a steak dinner and a bottle of wine.

******

Gas prices:

The price of regular in Missouri was as low as $2.35 a gallon. In Illinois it jumped to $2.75 per. When I asked a Conoco inspector who happened to be at the pumps if this was due to the taxes, she confirmed that Illinois had 24-cents more tax per gallon than Missouri.

Indiana price is back down to $2.50 a gallon. Not great but not bad either.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 71: Russell, KS to Columbia, MO

Wow! What a long, long day of driving. We left Russell in the fog at 7 AM heading east on I-70. With no plans to stop except for gas and grub, we had about 400 miles under our wheels when we pulled into the beautiful Cottonwoods RV Park adjacent to the Boone County Fairgrounds.

The day started out foggy and a cool 60 degrees but, as we moved east, it cleared and the sun heated things up. With the air temperature hitting the upper 80s, the pool was too inviting to ignore. Terry and I spent an hour soaking and sun bathing before we returned to the trailer for dinner.

******

The slide out is giving us grief again. It will extend and retract in a herky-jerky fashion moving only 6 to 10 inches at a time. And it requires several pushes of the button to get it to even move each time. I've tried unplugging the "brains" as Nick suggested back in Loveland, CO, but it doesn't seem to have done any good. I may have to see about getting some "brain" surgery done when we get back to PA.

******

We've done a little replanning of the next few days.

Thursday (Day 72) will be a relatively "short" day which will see us end in Terre Haute, Indiana. We'll lose another hour crossing the state line, however. That will put us back into the Eastern Time Zone.

We will also be celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary. Nothing special is planned.

Then, on Friday (Day 73), we'll traverse the balance of Indiana, all of Illinois and some of Ohio. Another longish day of close to 400 miles.

Finally, Saturday (Day 74) will see us make the final leg of our journey to Ive's Run on Hammond Lake just a short hop from our PA home. I just made reservations for a week and a half at Ive's Run. That will give us time to clean out the trailer and, perhaps, get it inspected before I take it to get the slide out repaired and then back up to the Bolt Hole.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 70: Colorado Springs to Russell, Kansas

We left Colorado Sp[rings early (7 AM) on Tuesday morning and headed east first on Route 24 to Limon and then on I-70. Near the Colorado border at Burlington, we stopped to tour Old Town. It's a collection of buildings--stores, workshops, and homes--from the 1880s through the 1920s. They are carefully maintained and stocked with appropriate furniture and tools of the day. They also have a huge collection of horse drawn buggies and wagons; antique tractors; and motor vehicles. We spent two hours roaming around and could have spent more time here. Very much worth the stop. I took lots of pictures but won't be able to edit and post them at this time.

After eating our lunch in Old Town's parking lot, we resumed our trip east on I-70 crossing into Kansas and then into the Central Time Zone. We succeeded in making our way to Russell, Kansas, childhood home to a young Bob Dole and Arlen Specter.

Tomorrow we have no stops planned as we head to Columbia, Missouri some 375 miles east of Russell.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 69: A Day of Rest!

After returning to our campground and taking a dip in the pool and hot tub, we had dinner at Patti's apartment Sunday evening. It's a cute little place off Rockrimmon in Colorado Springs.

She's some interesting neighbors for being in town as she is.

Momma Muley

She looks a bit haggard.

She may be skin and bones (you can see her ribs) but, man!, what a set of ears she has!

Three youngsters.

Two of these are hers. The third belongs to another doe who seemed willing to let her's hang out with the twins. That other doe looked much fatter. Perhaps Momma is also feeding the third fawn as well as her own!

Joyce, Jerry, Annette (a member of Jerry's ballooning team) and the two of us had a mice simple meal of hamburgers and hot dogs. Conversation was light, however, as we had to keep poking one another to stay awake.

******

Monday was declared a day of rest! Joyce had the day off but was cleaning. Terry and I would do the same. Annette would head home (Aurora) after spending the night with Patti. Patti would do what ever Patti wanted...per usual. Terry also stitched away the afternoon while I edited pictures and made some posts.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Terry and I will head east, first following Route 24 to Limon and then hopping on I-70. We've one stop planned near the Colorado-Kansas line. We've been told Old Town is pretty neat and we should get there just about the time we need to take a break anyway.

Where we will stop for the day is anyone's guess. Much depends upon how long we stay at Old Town and the loss of an hour as we pass into Kansas. Either Oakley, KS (long stay) or Wakeensey, KS (shorter stay) will be the choices. (I had a plan but stopping at Old Town will make it moot.)

In any event. Once into Kansas, we'll be heading home with stops only to sleep.

Road Trip 2010: Day 68: Hot Air Ballooning

(Sorry if this loads slowly I had lots of pictures to share and couldn't think of how to break them up.)

The alarm went off at 5 AM on Sunday morning and we headed out to meet the crew for some hot air ballooning over the mountains in South Park. When we opened the trailer door, we noticed two things: 1) there was a breeze and 2) it was raining. Neither was a good sign. But, like Alaska, if you don't like the weather you can either wait five minutes or drove five miles; it WILL be different.

Sure, enough, when we met everyone at the Safeway on Colorado Blvd., the rain was a memory and the air was still. There would be a much larger crowd this day than in the past. Previously, when we had gone out with Jerry and Joyce (co-owners/pilots of the balloon) it had been one balloon and one crew of, perhaps six or seven of us. Today we had three balloons and closer to 25 people.

Before we could launch, however, we had to get to South Park. easy enough to do. You get on Highway 24 and head west over Ute Pass and then Wilkerson Pass. It was interesting to see all the development that has occurred between those two passes. Woodland has really grown. Not as much as the area from Colorado Springs to Castle Rock on I-25, but it has grown nonetheless. It's close to 50 miles from Colorado Springs to South Park and when we arrived there were already two balloons in the air and two more preparing to launch. All had lifted from a site a little further west of where we were going to play. Jerry believes that three of them may have been commercial outfits--two from the Springs area and one from Breckenridge to the north. The fourth may have been there to help one of the commercial guys out with some extra passengers. It didn't matter, they were far enough away that they would not bother us.

We had three pilots and crews: Itchie on the west had the smallest crew and would need help to launch. Jerry in the center had himself and five experienced and semi -experienced (Terry and me) crew members. Bob had a large crew but it included four novices of about 14 years of age.

Bob's crew gets ready.

Itchie's crew gets things ready.

Itchie's team (L) and Jerry's Team: Tempus Fugit

Two of the earlier arrivals are aloft.

Bob and Jerry's balloons get some air.

Itchie is shorthanded.

After the balloon is laid out and the lines attached to the basket's superstructure, one person grabs the top line while others inflate the balloon with forced air from a large fan. Another person will walk the edges of the balloon stretching it out and looking for any tears or flaws. One of Itchie's crew held Jerry's top line and our ground crew would later help him (Itchie) get aloft.

Terry runs the fan while Debbie and Patti hold the mouth open.

Once enough air is forced into the envelope to permit it, propane flame is added to the mix. This is where the hot air comes in. The pilot must be careful, however, that the flame does not touch or come near the balloon cloth.

Bob's balloon get some hot air.

Once the hot air is added to the mix, the balloon begins to lift off the ground and stand upright. Time to add some weight to the sides of the basket or, like the Wizard of Oz, the pilot could find himself launched without passengers!

Jerry gives 'er the gas!

Passengers on board, the ground crew can release their weight from the basket and we have lift off!

Bob takes off with the two young girls as passengers.

Bob goes up, up, and away!

Not long after Bob's launch, Terry and I were in the basket with Jerry and on our way up. Our ground crew, now free from duty (for awhile) went to help Itchie get his balloon up.

Terry, Jerry and I were on our way UP! Sorta.

There comes a time to remember that space is three dimensional (ask Kahn about that). Jerry had to watch out for Bob who was somewhere up above us.

Thinking in 3-D is a must.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, Itchie's balloon begins to fill.

Bob continued upward with his young charges and Jerry opted to hug the ground and scoot underneath him.

Bob took the high road.

Itchie's balloon is getting there.

Bob heads down to switch passengers.

Itchie's balloon is up.

Bob hits the deck to switch passengers.

We just continued to contour (fly really, really close to the ground). Except for when we had to jump over a house in the middle of our flight, most of our time was spent within 5 feet of the ground. We could have looked a rattlesnake in the eye or plucked a bouquet of Indian Paint Brush. It's not as easy as it sounds to keep the balloon that close to the ground without hitting. Jerry did a great job. (Not a perfect one, however, we did a couple of bump-and-swings!)

Bob gets new passengers. Itchie gets some altitude.

Itchie's flight didn't last long. The wind when he took off, carried him in a big semicircle. First he went north, then west and finally south toward the buffalo fence. (Yeah, there's a small herd on the other side and it's best not to piss them off.) Discretion being the better part of valor, he set down only a short distance from where he launched.

Bob had a short flight with his second pair of passengers as the wind began to increase and swirl. They had a bit of a bumpy landing after only a few minutes flight.

Jerry, hugging the ground could also feel the wind pick up as it carried us toward Wilkerson Pass to the east. He opted to set down a short distance from a ranch road that formed a T with Highway 24. As we touched, bounced and bounced again before leaning over, we had some curious critters come look us over.

The curious gather.

The chase vehicle and ground crew arrive.

Patti jumped out to grab the top line and straighten out the balloon as Jerry spilled air from the envelope. The horses didn't help at all.

Once things were down and the balloon gathered in Patty tried to get up close and personal with the horses. But they spurned her and headed right to Terry. They spotted a soft touch! A few rubs on the forehead and they went to check out the chase vehicle.

Hey guys! It's a Bronco!

Nope. No food in here either.

With all the balloons gathered, it's time to head back to Ground 0 for the telling of the tales and an important rite of passage for the novices flying with Bob's team.

Bob gave them a brief, semi-accurate history of ballooning.

The no-longer novices stand for initiation into the balloonists' world order.

Then they were told to kneel and place their cup of sparkling cider on the ground before them. It was explained that they must drink their cider without using their hands. (For those over 21, this is usually champagne.)

The history of ballooning having been explained,
they are told of one final rite of passage.

As the dutifully bend forward to make the attempt, they are baptized into the world of ballooning.

They are baptized into the balloonists' club.

Then it is party time!

It's picnic time in South Park

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 3)

We had dinner at Joyce's house along the Front Range between the Air Force Academy and Monument.

We were not the only guests, two other couples along with Jerry (former husband) and Patti (his sister) were to be on hand. But we were outnumbered by the hummingbirds.

Joyce said that most of the adults that were feeding at her place during the summer have already headed south. What she has now are some of the young of the year and migrants from further north. Most of the hummers are Broad-tails (they look exactly like the Ruby-throated Hummers we have back east) but there were a few Calliopes mixed in. The only way to tell them apart is by the length of the tail: the Calliopes have short tails and their wings, when folded are just a hair longer than their tail. We did see a few but I got no pictures.

Joyce also said that the few Rufus hummingbirds she gets are migrants on their way south. They migrate north along the western side of the Rockies and south along the Front Range. We didn't see any of those on Saturday evening.

The foxes also didn't come in for their dinner but that may have been because of the large number of dinner guests (human) in attendance and the fact that they had gotten fed that morning when they ate like little pigs.

We had an enjoyable evening talking with everyone there.

Then we set up a date for hot air ballooning on Sunday morning at 5:45 AM at Safeway on Colorado Blvd.

With that early start looming ahead, we got back to our trailer and hit the sack.

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 2)

After spending a few hours at the zoo, we took a spin through the Garden of the Gods. Traffic was high, parking was scarce but we did manage to drive around the loop roads once or twice and even found a couple of parking spots that were available.

If I lived here, I would spend a lot of time walking the trails of the Garden. Sun, clouds, seasons make this a place that changes minute-by-minute.

And if you get tired of looking at the rocks nearby, you can look over at Pikes Peak.

Having driven about the Garden of the Gods twice, we then headed east of I-25 and cruised the streets of the old city of Colorado Springs. Most of the stuff on the west side of I-25 is pretty new and is geared toward the tourist trade. The stuff on the east side is where the real residents live. Colorado College, several magnificent churches, the Pioneer Museum, the Numismatic Museum of Money and many more attractions await the person who spends time east of I-25, but we were just cruising and made no stops along our way for we had a date for dinner.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 1)

First the good news: We slept in! All the way to 7 AM! Then we ate breakfast at the KOA Campground's Wagon Wheel Cafe. All you can eat blueberry pancakes which translated into two pancakes the size of a dinner plate and half inch thick...each. (Terry got the biscuits and gravy: two biscuits split and pan seared in butter and then smothered in sausage gravy.)

We decided we needed to do some walking after that breakfast so headed off to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in southeast Colorado Springs. What a great place! The entire zoo is built into the side of the mountain making it a tiered gardens. It was sunny and warm so many of the animals were a little on the lethargic side but the giraffes--one of the largest collections of such animals in any zoo--were up to a little entertainment...for the price of a snack cracker...or ten.

Giraffes at the Zoo

A boardwalk around the enclosure gets you up close and personal...and at an eye level...to the giraffes. Makes slipping them a cracker...or twenty...nice and easy.

Giraffe at the Zoo

We took the tram ride to the top of the zoo and got a real birds-eye view of the place as well as the Colorado plains east of I-25. Heck, we might have been able to see Kansas if anything stuck up far enough.

Looking east from the top of the tramway.
There's a reason this is called "The Front Range."

There's a monument to Will Rodgers up on the side of the Cheyenne Mountain, too. Privately constructed by a man who thought highly of Mr. Rogers who was born in Oklahoma and died in a plane crash in the Arctic. Why here? Who knows.

Monument to Will Rogers.

It was pretty easy to get up close and personal with many of the animals. They were either directly below you on the slope or just above you. Some shared the tier with you.

Crowned Crane

Meerkat

Zebra

Okapi

Fat little western chipmunks roamed the zoo looking for gullible (or sloppy) kids upon which to prey. They also could be seen in many of the larger animal enclosures. But I do not think there were any in with the Okapi because the okapi, while not carnivores, shared their pen with some guys who were:

Ground Hornbill

Wallaby

Tiger

Grizzly Bear (or, perhaps, a Brown?)

Porcupine

Peacock

While most of the animals (excluding the birds and the chipmunks) were content to lay back and take it easy, the hippos seemed to have the best idea for how to spend a sunny, warm afternoon.

Hippos

We left the zoo to roam around town a bit before going to dinner at Joyce's house.

Compass Points

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Road Trip 2010 Compilation

Monday, August 23, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Days 74-76: HOME!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 73: Columbia, MO to Terre Haute, IN

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 71: Russell, KS to Columbia, MO

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 70: Colorado Springs to Russell, Kansas

Monday, August 16, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 69: A Day of Rest!

Road Trip 2010: Day 68: Hot Air Ballooning

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 3)

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 2)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Road Trip 2010: Day 67: Saturday in Colorado Springs (Part 1)

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