Spring is in full swing here near Mountain Home (Midway) Arkansas. Karen and I are eager to get to the best parts of the lifestyle here, but there is work to be done before we can sit back and relax. I do miss that part of fulltime RVing, that is just spending a few hours every now and then completing RV maintenance or planning the next part of the trip rather than now, in our new to us home, completing one thing after another and having to remind ourselves to take some time off. The best parts of RVing are the times when there is nothing required but to sit outside and visit or take a day trip touring the area.
Before I forget, thank you to everyone who added a comment in my last post! And to my family, it was wonderful to spend Easter with you.
We Moved Out of Our Storage Unit in Kansas City
We rented an 8×12 enclosed trailer for a three-day period, picking it up near our storage unit. We had also driven to Kansas City to visit our daughter and attend what should be my last trial as a police detective. This trailer and the back of our truck was the perfect size for moving out of the 5×10 storage unit. One reason we were able to pack so much in storage was having purchased two racks for the storage unit. I’m glad we bought the kind that required no tools to assemble which made it a lot easier to break down the storage shelves and move them out.
Karen had marked maybe 15 to 20 boxes as containing fragile items. Hint – no one reads fragile after having moved the first five boxes. So glad she packed everything with materials to keep the items safe. Before we moved things to storage, she had spent a lot of time, using good thick paper, to wrap our artwork individually which I highly recommend. Once we arrived back at our new home, we lined everything up in rows, sorted by item type, in the garage. For the most part we had remembered to mark the boxes on the sides rather than top, so the label was easier to read when the boxes were stacked.
Our preparation to go fulltime in an RV, regarding storage, worked perfect. The trailer cost was around $400, and we dropped it off in Arkansas a day early however there is no refund for using it less than three days.
Unpacking was like Christmas morning. And we found we had only saved a small stack to donate or dispose of. It was so good to have a storage unit while traveling to visit every now and then when in town so we could also drop off or pickup stuff for the RV.
Making Sure to Take Time to Enjoy Life
We happily met friends at the very popular White River State Park Campground below the Bull Shoals Dam. They came out later to the house for a meal. Karen and I are touring other campgrounds and resort cabins, so we are better prepared to offer advice for anyone coming to the area.
I’ve not had the fishing pole out yet this year! We have been driving to many of the lake and river access points for fun and looking for spots to fish from the bank. The lake in this area is sometimes called the Carribean of the Ozarks or Midwest as the water clarity is amazing. I’ll have to learn to fish clear water.
Decision to Sell our RV
Yup, we have decided to sell the 35′ fifth wheel and monster truck. Because after four months we still have no hitch ich or desire to go back on the road for long periods of time. And if we later decide to RV we would want something much smaller. We had thought about a rig to use for snowbirding to a warmer climate in the winter. But winter here was no big thing and only lasted a couple months. We have also talked about a very small rig for short trips and visiting family but have not decided on that yet. Frankly, we are more looking forward to this next part of our journey which is living and playing at the nearby lakes, rivers and forests. More on the sale of the RV once we start in to the process mid-April.
We were going to wait to sell the RV before Karen bought a car. Less to maintain and insure we figured. Or I should say, she agreed that would be a good idea. But, with further thought it’s a good idea to get a second vehicle now. So, I’ll do my best to keep my mouth shut as she finds the model she wants. Not driving the big truck everywhere has its benefits as well. Next week we will become formal residents of the State and start the process of moving our address from Texas.
Our New Home is a Blank Slate
Does not the above photo belong in a design magazine? Karen is having fun decorating and I’m having fun watching her smile. We both love our new home where month after month it feels like we are supposed to be here. This is the view from the sunroom to the living room area. We bought the table on Facebook Marketplace but had to order the bookcases as they are an odd size. Everything else came from our storage unit.
The owner before us ran a landscaping business before he retired and moved here from Illinois. To say the least, the flowering bushes and trees around the house are amazing. It’s been fun to see what blooms next. Karen has been taking cuttings and arranging them inside the house.
Who knew it would be so much fun to start over again.
We find ourselves once again within the pathway of a full solar eclipse. Kansas City Missouri was within the full pathway in 2017 and we watched that with friends from our driveway. Looks like we are going to do that again on Monday but from our new home in Arkansas.
Spring has sprung here in northcentral Arkansas. The neighbor said it showed up about two weeks earlier than normal. The last frost date is April 1st in Mountain Home. I’ve checked the gardening zones for planting purposes and trying to get to know the typical weather compared to Kansas City where we once lived.
I’d like to briefly explain the blog title so those who are busy or otherwise less interested will save time while still getting the message.
First, hitch ich has not set in. We don’t feel the slightest need to take an RV trip. We are heading to Kansas City in the truck the second week of March to visit our daughter and pickup our stuff in storage. Early April we will probably pull the RV out of storage, pop the slides out and wash it. Or take it to a local campground. Then take some photos in case we decide to advertise and sell it. I’ve also thought about calling a local RV/Boat dealership to trade it in for a boat and cash. We have not made a final decision. I’ll know more in April.
Secondly, softening heart is a religious thing and further explained at the bottom of this post so those that don’t care to read it will know when to move on. Softening heart, for me, and I suspect and hope others that read this now or in the future searching for happiness can learn from my experience and RV journey. Over the years in this blog, I periodically wrote about searching for happiness. First, the idea of replacing old memories with more enjoyable ones by traveling. Then deciding happiness must be in one’s mind, the way we think and how much time we avoid unhappy thoughts, allowing good ones to become a habit. Neither worked for me. What finally seems to be working is coming from the heart. It’s not so much about starting with my own happiness but recognizing the pain of others.
I kept a list of 16 blog topics by the computer. Here we go….
As always, I’ve been exploring history. Karen, dog and I have been walking different trails to include a local city park which is the site of the original settlement, first known as Rapp’s Barren, then renamed Mountain Home. It began as a trading post in the early 1800’s. The Southwest Trail extended from St. Louis through Arkansas to Texas and was the route 4/5th of the early settlers in Arkansas used for migration. The city has moved a few old buildings into the park onto what was the original settlement area. It’s not much to see but the paved trails were well done and short in distance. We also found a huge senior center where Karen had been told by neighbors she could enroll in exercise classes. One neighbor worked for Parks and Recreation before retirement and will become a go to person for information.
Senior Center on the Left
Arkansas is the only state where during the Trail of Tears period all the tribes who were relocated would have to come through, separated on three main routes. And the oldest standing log home in the state is but a few miles from here in Norfolk. We plan to visit all that in time.
We made the right decision in terms of home selection. I’ve talked to several others that are retired who first bought a single-family home closer to the lake, on a hill, and regretted it. Too much maintenance and the quality of construction was poor. One said he liked it but the distance to town, even the short ten miles, became too much for his wife to drive. I figure Karen and I skipped a step by not going with a single-family home. At least we did not move directly to assisted care living 🙂 We have all the necessary shopping within 20 minutes, which is important as I’m trying to move away from purchases on Amazon to more local shops. The sales tax is way cheaper in the rural shopping areas and thankfully there is a modern, well stocked, Dollar General down the road from home.
We now have high speed fiber optics for internet. No limits on data at $55 a month. Who knew over the years we were traveling there has been a major push to get high speed internet to rural areas. We cut the cable TV cord years ago. We have subscribed to Paramount Plus and downloaded a couple apps on the Roku TV for local news, although it’s not as up to date as live TV news. Installed a small antenna outside to get a local TV tower but the best news connection is out of reach in Springfield Missouri. Figure we will cancel Amazon Prime as the benefit of quicker delivery to an RV park is no longer a concern. Also, Prime Video is not what it used to be. Online subscriptions for streaming local TV channels are very expensive and we have learned to live without them.
Everyday something changes around here. The changes are as fun as each of the upgrades we made to the RV. Every change improves our living conditions. I’m glad we did not wait until our 70’s to move in here. I think the painting, exterior repairs and furniture moving would have been harder to do If I was older. We also depend less on local contractors who are slow to return calls. It’s okay that life around here moves slower than city life. I’m making a special effort not to focus on my aging body as I don’t ever intend to act my age nor complain about my joints. Not that I’m old but it’s easy to feel like it.
Karen is doing a fantastic job of furnishing the place. It’s nice to have enough space (1,650 sf) where she can dedicate areas for specific purposes such as a chair to sit and read. We continue to buy cloth furniture new and try and find wood stuff online. Facebook Marketplace in this area has a lot of junk. There is also competition by those who make a business of it. One guy buys up estates and ships the goods to Dallas Texas where he triples what he can sell stuff for. Can’t remember if I already reported I am moving away from buying anything that requires a gas engine because of the maintenance requirement. I’m buying all electric from one or two brands. Really love Ego Power tools. Found a secondhand trimmer for the bushes, I use the leaf blower constantly and might get a combo weed trimmer that takes add-on accessors should I ever want them such as a snow blower or tiller. Although the yard service includes trimming.
The dog is loving it. First time he has been able to chase a ball indoors further than 20′ inside the RV whenever he gets the need. He has plenty of friends in the neighborhood and can’t walk around the circle street without stopping to visit as more people are coming out with their dogs now that the days are warmer. The HOA management sends out a list with all the names and contact info for everyone in the community. Karen and the ladies take trips for lunch, shopping and recently to the hospital where Karen is thinking about volunteering. I’ve been eyeing a neighbor’s boat and thinking we need to meet. I already have a contact for river fishing but need one for the lakes. We should have our own boat in the next year or so. Karen needs a car of her own. We can afford one but are thinking it would be better to downsize the truck, sell or downsize the RV first. Again, we have not made a final decision regarding a future RV but are better than half sure a midsize truck, compact SUV and a fish/ski boat could be our final decision. More on that later.
Warning – Religious Stuff Ahead – A Softening Heart
Now to the religious stuff. For those who want to read on I intend to blend in what this has to do with my journey in the RV. This one will not be about Karen, but we share the same views 100% regarding God in our life. We are not supposed to bring religion and politics into the mix as RVers. Not for any bad reason, it’s just a way of keeping the conversation civil around the campfire. Thank you for hanging around to read what I’m about to pass along.
I’ve been pacing around two rooms in our home trying to figure out how to present this material. Yup, prayed about it which resulted in brief moments of discomfort, like a needle pushed into my chest and slowly removed three or four times. Like all good stories, this one requires a beginning and I now have it along with a good ending.
Cousins of mine sent this photo. Shown is the bowl used to baptize the fifth generation of my father’s family in Regensburg Germany.
Below on the left is the family church in Germany depicted some 20 years before the fifth generation of family was baptized within it. On the right is the same church in modern times.
This is the current church that stands upon the grounds of what was once a log church. It’s where my fifth great grandfather Elias Seneker attended years after he arrived in America. As part of RV travels, I was able to attend church there in eastern Tennessee.
This is a Missouri church my grandfather Dwight Seneker attended. There was a reunion held June 12, 1983. I have a copy of his sermon. Part of it is from Hebrews 12, verses 1-2. It begins with – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And regarding a boyhood church my Grandfather Dwight attended, he preached to a congregation in Lexington Illinois in 1956 about that church as follows: I returned not long ago – to the little country church where I went to Sunday school as a boy. I saw the pew in the corner where our class met – where I used to sit and swing my feet – my legs were too short to reach the floor. I remembered the Christmas services – I saw the spot where the Christmas tree always stood – so tall it almost reached the ceiling – and we children had helped string the popcorn with which it was generously decorated. I think even now I can smell the candles which lent their flickering glow to that most wonderful scene. As I sat there in that church I remembered the time I saw my father cry – I was too young then to know the full reason why about all that was happening there as we stood by the side of the casket of my mother. I did not fully know what any of those experiences were saying then but now, years afterward, I do understand. As I entered that little church…. I heard a word behind me, the voice of the past experience, saying, “This is the way – walk ye in it.” Would we dare walk any other way?
My grandfather just described when he was called by God to be a minister. His mother died from ALS when he was nine years old. Nearer to the end she was not able to speak when he asked who would take care of him. She used her eyes to point to a hymnal. As the pages turned, she signaled to stop on the hymn God Will Take Care of You. My grandfather was not an ignorant man, one of his degrees was in physics. He worked on radar during World War 2. His brother once told me he believed Dwight invented the electric arc welder, having welded the bumper back on his car with electricity before anyone even knew what that was. History tells us it was invented before that incident and not by my grandfather. It was just an impressive moment for his brother, especially as granddad did the welding after piecing together parts from electric frying pans.
My own faith is not new. I’ve thought I had it in various degrees for as long as I can remember. I’ve never told anyone nor for sure never wrote about something I had always been ashamed of as a child. I had to repeat the second grade. I was “slow” to learn. Fact is my folks divorced and mom moved us around from place to place, school to school, and I was off to a slow start. I learned more when we stayed with our grandparents for what I recall as a summer. As I’ve mentioned, my grandfather was a minister, but grandmother seemed to be caught up with the Holy Spirit even more than him. She helped me with my reading. I recall her praying by placing her hands on me. Her hands were strong, like a magnet attracting metal. She told me about sin and what to do for forgiveness. She told me about being a Christian using brief descriptions a kid could grasp but required an adult to fully understand. Later, I recall stopping many times a day to ask God for forgiveness for even the most minor infractions. Kids like to put on plays. The first “play” I can remember is putting together a sermon and acting like a preacher.
I used to run to church alone to attend but that’s okay. Later, the minister at first refused to sign off on my Eagle Scout award. There was a requirement to become an Eagle Scout for a certification that you were religious. I don’t know where I got the words, but I told the minister I had an explanation as to why I had not “joined the church”. I came to church, I was mowing yards and only had change in my pocket, but I put what I could in the plate when it came around for church offerings. I had received a form to complete to become a church member, but it asked that I agree to giving an amount of money yearly. I could not agree to that, I was a kid without a fulltime job. I was heartbroken. I had worked for years to become an Eagle Scout and now I thought he was going to deny his certification. Somehow, I was able to speak up, looking him in the eyes and asking if he was a better Christian than me because he could give more or came to church every Sunday. He took the form he was to sign from my hand, signed it and pushed it back to me saying he learned something from me that day. I can recall that incident in detail because the memory was impressive.
I deleted the next few paragraphs regarding sin, repentance, divorce from my first wife with pain and more. I’ll just say I doubt that simply saying a prayer that you believe in Christ is enough to be saved. Being “born again” requires an oath to repent and do better to sin no more. Repentance is the proof that causes an increasing change in your lifestyle which demonstrates you have faith. Funny thing is, if you take repentance to heart, you actually go out of your way to sin less and don’t want to be anywhere near it. That’s a good thing. It’s healthy for the mind, body and relationships with other people. I now understand all this and thank God to have lived long enough to figure it out. The end of time is not necessarily a religious event. The end can be as quick as walking towards your front door and dropping dead from a heart attack. By then, if needed, it’s too late to change one’s ways. God only knows when the end will come. By the way I do believe in the rapture, seven years of tribulation and that many will come to faith but die for it within those seven years.
Keep reading. I’ll get to the main point in the next five minutes or less. I feel the need to explain background information.
Many of you know I retired from law enforcement. I have the retired ID card and monthly pension check to prove it 🙂 At this point in writing I was going to add some very explicit details regarding that job. Fact is I can’t describe it any better than someone can capture the essence of the Grand Canyon with a photo. I was going to describe terrible things, the screams of children, the mutilated or distorted bodies. The utter hopelessness people feel who occupy our prisons, the look of fear in an old women’s face after she was awoken in her home and raped at the corner of her bed, the endless cycle of holidays full of drunken behavior, some of which damages a child’s view of life forever. The animals that walk among us that even scare a seasoned veteran. All the needles pain, those that earned it and much worse. Knocking on a door to tell yet another family their loved one was dead. And how cops deal with it. It’s a form of combat just like the military, only we don’t get to go home after a six month or one year tour of duty. Yes, there is plenty of good things to talk about that come with the job, but that’s not the point for this blog post. Fact is, my heart was being hardened well before I ever became a cop and then it happened over a period of a long time. I passed the phycological exams to become a Military Policemen and civilian cop. To this day I’m not sure I should have passed with a high enough score, showing the stability required for the job, so I guessed phycological standards were low.
Everyone reading this can relate to a hardened heart, it occurs in more places with worst experiences than I have had in life. It’s somewhat of a human condition I suppose. The key is how to soften it. I went to two ministers regarding issues I had on the job, both did not help. One was speechless, for lack of better words. I complained to another I was tired of all the assholes that seemed to meander through life without a concern and wondered if they were right and I was wrong. That minister said it was a gift to help others and did I really want to be one of those others. Shut up, suck it up and get back out there. I will add context by describing I handle fear and threats with anger. I get angry a lot. I complain a lot. Both are symptoms of just living life and having maybe a little less ability to handle the stresses than the person next to me. All that started, as it does for many, in childhood.
Fast forward more years. It’s 2020 and the pandemic. The protests and destruction. I figure had the young adults not been out of school and out of work they would not have found time to protest, but I digress. It’s a pandemic, you must wear a mask and stay six feet way from everyone, not attend church or say goodby in person to a dying relative. But it’s okay to mass as a group, yelling whatever. My nephew was a Military Policemen with the Missouri National Guard and posted downtown in KC. One third of his platoon became ill with COVID, thank you protestors. Outside Kansas City Police Headquarters is a monument to officer’s killed in the line of duty. Protestors vandalized it. I later met a retired police commander, at a campsite, who said the Chief of Police at the time said they would fight that battle later while officers watched the names of their and my friends degraded on that monument. I’ll have to tell you that once a year I would attend the regional street gang conference when I was into gangs. Every year they had a moment of silence for Missouri cops killed in the line or duty, calling off each name. That list never included the ones that killed themselves or died of illness brought on by the stress of the job. How many can truly say they buried co-workers with any degree of frequency when they were in their 20’s and 30’s?
I found out young people in my own family protested against the police. They supported the Black Lives Matter organization. Simple minded ungrateful fools I thought. Defund the police, cause the death of more of God’s warriors, those who wear a badge. Civilians were not allowed in the room when the two FBI agents presented the facts of the killing near St. Louis that started the BLM movement. Many of us were debriefed even though we were not cops from that part of the state. Stuff was said that would never be repeated to the public. The only witness not lying was the cop whom the asshole tried to kill. Blood evidence at the scene told the story. The guy tried to get the cops gun in his patrol car, then was coming back at him when he was killed by the cop. Incidentally, the FBI also discovered the human brain sends a message to a trigger finger to shoot faster than the speed of an I-Phone cameras shutter. It’s simple, stop resisting arrest and there is nearly no chance of being shot. I’ve responded to or investigated at least six officer involved shootings. If someone can match that then they have a right to an opinion. Cops all take and consider the oath serious to uphold the greatest law of the land which is the Constitution of the United States. They put their lives on the line every day, the job can destroy family lives, but they stay on the job. Don’t support law enforcement and we have no country.
All the protesting and spare time evil has to change the morality of our country will no longer be important when the first Russian landing craft pulls onto our shores. Then people will worry more about their safety and less about changing everything good. I told one family member, well okay, put a sign on your house that you don’t like cops. The criminals will appreciate it. I have never once talked with a police officer who enjoyed killing anyone. Shooting someone includes being placed in fear, muscle memory takes over from there. All cops that have been on the job for, let’s say seven years, will be placed in a position to pull the trigger or not. The guy with the ball bat or knife who refused to drop it and takes a step towards the officer may face death. So will the officer if he or she lets that guy take a few more steps. Delay protecting yourself by a second or so, the time it takes an I-Phone camera to take a picture, then you are not going home that shift.
The protests during COVID woke a sleeping giant, they broke a seal, they stirred up the Church whose eyes continue to open wider. The progressives (or whatever) don’t understand yet what is going to happen, nor have they planned for it. In the end God wins and evil will be punished. Christians are not supposed to worry about war or rumors of war. They even know Russia and Iran are the most likely to attack Israel and in the end of times, it will take seven months for men employed full time to bury the dead. We know why the east gate of Jerusalem is sealed shut and why the cemetery is located in front of it.
I’ll get to the point. Sorry, this post has been on my mind for a week. The memories are not so good that I really want to relive them. I do recognize there are others out there who had trauma in their lives and can speak with authority about their childhood and adult experiences.
I stated earlier in this post – Over the years in this blog, I periodically wrote about searching for happiness. First, the idea of replacing old memories with more enjoyable ones. Then deciding happiness must be in one’s mind, the way we think and how much time we avoid unhappy thoughts, allowing good ones to become a habit. Neither worked for me. What finally seems to be working is coming from the heart. It’s not so much about starting with my own happiness but recognizing the pain of others.
The riots of 2020 did something good for me. It pushed me closer to the bible for answers. Nine months ago, I for once started to read every word of the bible. I’m in John 1 currently. I get sidetracked studying biblical archaeology and reading other books like The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. Get that one but buy a printed copy. Also tell yourself you are going to finish it no matter how hard it seems to be to understand. Books are awesome. Books require the reader to stick with the story or hang with the argument to the end and develop their own opinion of the contents. Compared to other forms of media, like YouTube which often tell people what to think.
Okay, this last part is hard for me to describe so I’ll just type it out and see how it goes. A few mornings ago I was up early, 7:30 is early for us retired folks. I was reading a bible study and felt something trying to drag my attention away from what I was studying. That happens a lot. It’s expected. Don’t freak out on me yet. Allow me to finish the story. That thing trying to draw my attention away from God I recognize is Satan or my own evil thoughts. I’m getting good at blocking that. That morning, I was not able to get my attention back on my studies. I drifted to thoughts of my past and began to uncontrollably cry. I did not want to wake Karen in the next room and for some reason bit down on a finger of my left hand, to muffle the noise. I don’t want to alarm her. My complete sadness was not about me. It was about all the victims of the violence, their pain. The pain and concern I’ve caused others; the memories just came pouring out. I have never experienced this before. Finally, I got the memories to stop by staring out the front window of our home. I started to tell a friend later, but he received a phone call he had to answer. Your phone might ring also and that’s okay. BUT – if you are taking to the road in an RV thinking the experience will help remove the pain of the past, if you are seeking happiness like me, I want you to know I did not find much relief by discovering new places as we travel nor was relief found by simply thinking happy thoughts. It happened, at least I hope it happened, one morning unexpectedly when my heart was softened by considering the pain of all those I have seen suffer or caused to suffer. The more I study and the more I learn about what God wants for us and why, the more I heal. I have been a sinner in the worst ways, I have repented and I’m changing my ways more each day. I will not allow myself to return to that old me, no matter what. I can’t relive the pain that comes with it. I can’t be persuaded by anyone to take one step backwards.
I’ve told dozens in interview rooms and on the streets the hopelessness they are feeling can be cured. The answer is God. Go to church with a trusted friend and you will see. Turn away from God and he will eventually let you go forever. I never fully took my own advice. I have no idea why it finally hit me other than I’m closer to my bible than ever. I guess “I was lost but now am found”, to use a common verse. Thank you to the pandemic riots.
I’ve been a selfless jerk and I’m not proud of any accomplishment in life perhaps as much as I’m proud of what I have told you. There is no need to write more about this later so if you were turned off, please come back for a few more posts on life after RVing.
The closets and cupboards in the RV are empty. Our home for the past five years sits in covered storage for now. Our new house in Midway Arkansas, six miles outside the city limits of Mountain Home, is a work in progress. This is where we want to be for the foreseeable future. We have officially joined the 80% of fulltime Rvers who will not make it past five years on the road.
I kept a list next to the computer regarding topics for this blog post. There are 18 points I wanted to make. But for the sake of your time reading, I think it best just to answer questions someone like me might ask after reading a fellow RVer left the road. And maybe add a little about our new lifestyle unrelated to Rving.
A fellow blogger told us years ago that he had a deal between himself and wife which was if either one wanted to leave fulltime travel, then they will give the other six months notice. I’ll say that is our reason for settling down. For those just starting out, there will be plenty of times when you have a discussion to leave the road, more so in the first couple years. Usually, the six-month clock will start and end a few days later after whatever is the issue has been forgotten, replaced by a wonderful view or experience on the road during which you will want more.
We came to the point where it was readily apparent the six month clock this time was for real. Karen and I had an agreement to leave it to chance if we found a new home in north Arkansas that we would settle down, if not, we would continue to RV through the winter and maybe a spring/summer trip. As chance would have it, after researching online we toured two homes in Midway Arkansas and were sold. That’s hard to do in this real estate environment where everything is overpriced and what is left on the market is otherwise junk. We made a cash offer on a home and two weeks later wrote the check at closing.
The other side of my brain wants to add a comment about how I determined the value of a home in order to make an offer. The average home increases in value three to five percent a year and from that appreciation an owner will have to subtract the real estate agent/closing cost (7%) and add in any major improvements such as a room addition. The buyer will have to factor in the cost for any major repairs that are needed such as a new roof. The buyer can find the original price of the home and add in the three to five percent annual increase in value and what major home improvements are worth to them. In this seller’s market I think we paid maybe five to ten thousand more than this home would have otherwise been worth. But we got it for 14% under listed price, one week after the original owner passed away and the estate trustee apparently wanted to get it sold as it had sat vacant for a few months. All the proceeds went to the local hospital so I’m now fine paying a little extra rather than waiting for a buyers’ market. Here is a link for other “exit strategies” I considered before we took off fulltime traveling in 2019.
Another hint, perhaps obvious, when you decide to come off the road simply research where people retire too within whatever state you are leaning towards. They moved there for a reason! Although I suspect many will want to live near the grandkids because otherwise they would never see them. We don’t have nor expect grandchildren and found a place much different than where we last lived but within reasonable driving distance to family and our daughter.
We enjoyed our first real snowfall after years of avoiding it. Especially as the views come from the many windows of the new home and we don’t have to drive anywhere if we don’t want to – a benefit of being retired. Here in north Arkansas the winters are much shorter than what we both lived through in our past lives. And we no longer have to deal with booking campsites way in advance, all the route planning and what had become the dreaded move day. I was always apprehensive about move days but usually after less than an hour on the road, that anxiety left and was replaced by the views and experiences found while driving through places we had never been. After a while, however, those new views out the window became less impressive. I should add all the new people we met at campsites never got old and are within the best parts of fulltime RV life.
We have wonderful neighbors around our new home who are very helpful. Most are retired and moved here from distant places. It’s as if they already know the questions we would have upon arrival, such as which is the best internet service or where the water department is located. Or most important, where can we store the RV. In our case, the neighbor drove me over to where he stores his RV. We are paying $330 a year for covered storage with no electric connection. The RV will be in storage at least until the end of March when Karen and I should know if hitch itch will cause us to take a long trip. For those non-rvers, hitch itch is when you sit for a long time, as few as a couple days to a couple months and the urge to move becomes overwhelming. If hitch itch does not occur, then we will most likely sell the larger RV and truck then decide if we want a smaller rig for shorter trips or vacationing or not. We plan to take a trip to Kansas City without the RV to get our stuff out of the 5×10 climate-controlled storage unit we are glad to have paid for over the years.
Regarding stuff we still own in storage. Glad we saved the items that are hard to replace such as artwork. We both are not sad at all that we sold off most everything we owned to go on the road. I consider the price of a storage unit as if it’s insurance. Get a larger one if you want to be more insured that you will not miss your stuff and come off the road early. For us, the transition back then turned out to be a wanted change in life which does not include junk lying around we are not using.
Turns out that five year or older TV we would have kept in storage most likely would have been replaced with the more modern, and less expensive, TV we bought yesterday for the new house. Much of the furniture we sold off to go on the road was warn and needed replaced anyway. For the new house we agreed all the soft furniture items, such as cloth sofa and bed mattress would be purchased new. All the hard sided furniture we are first looking to buy at the same places we sold all or old stuff five years ago and at the same discounted rates. Turns out living in a retirement community has the added benefit of lots of estate sales. Even neighbors have come over to tell us they have an extra dining room set or whatever which they are looking to get rid of.
We are repainting the entire place to include all eight closets. Karen is having fun picking colors while I’m finding it easier than expected to be content with the imperfections of a 30-year-old home.
We spent a few weeks traveling between the RV campground and new home. Funny how we found ourselves furnishing it in the reverse order that we used to downsize our last home. We first found a nice dining room table and chairs on Facebook Marketplace. Now we have chairs to sit in and a table to add to the folding table from the RV. Then we asked around for furniture store recommendations and found one five miles from home. Bought a mattress and box springs for the floor. Now we have a place to sleep and can stop driving back and forth from the RV campground and work later into the evening painting. After a week of patient waiting, Karen found the perfect bedroom set used for $600.
I opened a contractors account at Sherwin Williams and made a list of what we needed. Paints half price and everything else is 10 to 15% off with a contractors account. Home Depo and Lowes have 10% veterans discounts which are actually easy to setup online if you have a copy of your DD-214. We painted the main bedroom and living room first which are our current living spaces. The kitchen and two bathrooms only required a little touch-up for now.
We moved most everything that is not RV specific from the RV before it went into storage. Karen decided if we continue to RV she will not want all the same kitchen, towels, bedding and stuff for vacationing or short trips and would rather handpick what we would want to move back into the RV. It was unbelievable how much stuff was actually in the RV once we got to moving it! I kept a list of whatever I moved out so it will be easy just to refer back to the list once and if we decide to move stuff back in. The RV is only 10 miles away in case we missed something which after 60 days has not been the case.
Existing paint colors in this house!
There were eight freaking paint colors in the existing home. Thankfully cans were left in the garage just in case we need to match anything. I used the cans with white colors in the closets so saved a few dollars. We are really wanting to make use of whatever the old owners left us rather than making everything new. This is a two-bedroom home which is perfect for our needs. Most importantly the homeowner’s association mows the grass and we take care of the planting beds around the home.
We decided not to go to Texas for the winter because there was so much to do inside at “home”. And once spring arrives, we have a lot of plans for outside stuff to fix. I’ll learn a couple new skills such as brick tuckpointing. We figured we would rather be inside working for the winter than during the spring. We can always take off if we change our minds.
Living in an older home is like having a daily easter egg hunt. Most days we discover something new about the place. The prior owners moved here from Chicago. The husband died years before the wife. I wished we could have found a place that was 100% perfect, maintained by a retired guy with nothing else to do. The surviving wife apparently valued nice window shades and kitchen appliances more than keeping windows caulked. Or it might just be she found it hard to get someone to do the maintenance. Just yesterday I emptied the house vacuum system container which had not been cleaned out for who knows how long. Nearby the cannister was a shelf where brushes were found. I discovered those were used to clean the vacuum cannister. Every time I find myself asking “wonder why they left that or wonder why they changed that.” I eventually discover the reason. The husband who lived here was a retired landscape architect so we will find many new discoveries in the yard once spring arrives which we are looking forward to.
We are not returning to our old way of living when it comes to a home. We moved to a life near the lake and away from the city. We are satisfied that RVing fulltime was a good thing. We never intended to visit all the states and decided long ago if there are places we miss then we will travel there in a car, plane, ship or RV someday if we still want to visit them. We are thinking it might be nice to experience a few cabins in campgrounds as well. Karen saw all she wanted on the road. I only missed Washington DC and the Grand Canyon on my bucket list.
We most likely would have never found this new home had we not been Rving and staying in areas for longer periods to explore. And we definitely would not have had the extended time with family which is sacred in our memories.
Above are wildlife photos taken from a window looking into the backyard. There are two Walmarts located within 20 minutes in either direction from home. One photo is on a route that overlooks the lake and river below the dam. We stop sometimes and marvel at what we get to experience every day and forever.
Early during the transition, I had an emotional moment thinking, wow, we have moved to a place where someday we will die. That was replaced jokingly with, at least it’s only a three-hour drive to our cemetery lots in south Missouri. We are surrounded by older people which in five years we will join the ranks of their ages. It’s a good thing we will never have to move again, a major hospital is four miles down the road and there are plenty of services for the elderly around town which is an industry here. We can continue on with the fun parts of life.
My neighbor Richard and wife have made the transition easier, for example. He still has all his stuff from their old house like a 20′ extension ladder and a woodshop. We enjoy the company and loan of tools I may never have a second use for so refuse to own. Yesterday he stopped by the house. I had a chance to invite him to breakfast somewhere as just a simple repayment for his generosity, to include Christmas dinner. Karen has already joined the lunch group where the ladies go once a month someplace to eat. Richard said he may be the one buying breakfast as he needed my help with a computer thing. Figure I’ll also help him stain his deck in the spring as I know ladders might be hard on him. In our old neighborhood, before rving, it would have been weeks or months until the neighbors bothered to have this level of a relationship. Or perhaps making new friends is influenced by the way we grew to make them on the road? No one is a stranger.
I’ll have to admit, after just a couple months in the new home the memories of living in the small, confined spaces of an RV are already starting to fade. I know from past experience in six months this new place and community will feel like a home.
We have so many things we want to do in the area. Hiking local trails, some in the national forest where building a campfire on the trail for lunch might be fun. And of course, learning the two lakes here and how to fish the different species. I can see a boat in our future. Branson is an hour away for entertainment, otherwise Mountain Home has little to offer in that arena. We are in search of a church. As times get worse for Christians it’s important to come together more often as a church family. For now we continue to watch Jack Hibbs from southern California online. I’m seven months into reading the bible start to finish and have not made it out of the Old Testament. I’ve also started organizing and preparing for more research regarding family genealogy, from Europe to Missouri. Time on the road in an RV made it possible to visit some of the very old family settlements. I’m going to write a book someday about the family, focusing on stuff one can’t find on the internet.
The future of the blog might be a question someone would have. I’ll keep writing for now but the posts will be further between. I’m guessing others could benefit from learning what we did after life in an RV and for now at least I’d like to document events. Figure I’ll download the blog contents, edit them and send it out to have a tabletop book assembled so we can look at the pictures every now and then.
That’s all for now other than to answer one more question someone might have which is who the heck would want to live in Arkansas? The reasons for us should be obvious if you have read this post and the two before it. Yup, it can be a small redneck state, for lack of better words. I’m glad it’s not flooded with people moving here which should keep the place livable for at least my lifetime. It’s a conservative state for the most part, although I did see a teenage girl at Walmart dressed in pajamas and wearing a six-foot dog leash around her neck. Some might want to see that as normal, but I don’t. Folks here are more likely just to take things day by day at a slower pace than the rest of the world. If it does not get done today, then there is always tomorrow. I’m welcoming the laid-back attitude that is evident in about everything we do. For example, when we went to the water department to have the service turned on we found they take checks and not debit cards. I did not have my check book. The lady said, no problem, next time you drive by just drop it in the payment box. The guy that owns the RV Storage lot said don’t worry about the extra couple weeks we would have the RV stored in December. He will start the first payment day on January first. Just move in and give him a call next time we are in the area to meet with the paperwork and payment.
As always if you find yourself in the area let us know for a visit.
We would not have envisioned still being this far north of warmer weather this time of year, but this is where we want to be so why not. We had campgrounds booked out until after the new year’s holiday along a route to Texas which we cancelled after deciding to stay here in Arkansas until December 29th. The campground outside Cotter Arkansas (near Mountain Home) alongside the White River has thinned out. Management has shut down the section along the river for the winter, so we moved to a spot on higher ground about another 25 yards from my fishing hole. It’s less windy and warmer. Although the temperatures remain sunny and in the 50’s during the day and mostly the upper 30’s at night.
We are adapting to the temperature change which to us is similar to what we experienced in south Alabama at Gulf Shores in January. My dad always said you can gain an extra week of warmer weather for every 200 miles you move south. I find that to be true. And spring comes a week earlier as well.
Karen has taken a liking to the campground chickens, waking up early to feed them and walk with the campground hostess while I have developed a friendship with the host who has taught me the best bait to use to catch trout and took me out on his flatbottom river boat for a great day of fishing in this nationally known fishery. How cool is it to grab the fishing rod and walk to the river or dock. Yes, I’m catching fish easily and kept a few for the freezer. Maybe I’ll take a photo next time.
Fishing trip with the campground owner. Bald eagles were in the distance but out of range of a good photo.
The campground owners are taking a trip to see family up north for a few days and we volunteered to take care of the chickens and greet the few arriving campers they may receive while gone. We have done that before in a couple campgrounds in the past. We tend to befriend the campground workers/owners when we stay for longer periods which is fantastic. Just avoid any campground politics (if any). A dinner or campfire is great, but we also prefer to maintain our distance when at home.
A camper had his inflatable Sea Eagle at the dock. Interesting boat with a tiny motor. We have the kayak version. Look how clear the water is! We are about 15 miles down river from the dam at Bull Shoals Lake.
Our purpose to stay longer was to take in the fall tree colors of the Ozarks and explore the towns. I saved a few videos on the trucks camera showing the fall colors but have not downloaded them. We took another trip to the banks of the Buffalo National River which is about 30 minutes from here. The tree colors over the hills were amazing.
As soon as Wyatt noticed the banks of the Buffalo River he went nuts in the truck. So we let him out and he ran and jumped in for a swim. Then decided to roll around in the dirt. I call this making a sugar cookie of his fur. Thankfully he is trained to roll on a towel if we get it spread out soon enough.
Rush Arkansas – A Ghost Town
This being our second day trip to the Buffalo National River we decided to check out a different river access point then the last. One that had a vacated old mining town within the National Parks system.
“The Ghost Town of Rush stands as testimony to the activities of a bygone era. Zinc carbonate ore was discovered in this valley in the late 1880’s and the rush was on.” Soon mines dotted the area and a town of 5000 people would form. The value of zinc ore fell, and mines were abandoned beginning in the early 1900’s. By 1960 the town of Rush was abandoned. At one time a caretaker lived next to the old general store but that eventually came to an end. Now the National Parks Service has protected the area, installed trails and signs telling the story of various buildings and foundations still remaining.
We were not dressed for a hike, and it was still tick season so we did not walk the densely wooded trail nor try and find any of the zinc mines.
I’ll also add that this part of the country, to include south Missouri are known for Zinc and Lead. Also far to the east near the boot hill of Missouri is a fault line called the New Madrid Fault. The zone had four of the largest earthquakes in recorded North American history, with magnitudes estimated to be as large as 7.0 or greater, all occurring within a 3-month period between December 1811 and February 1812. The area of Arkansas we are camped in is far enough away to avoid major damage but does have minor earthquakes at times. So far, we have never felt any. Locals says we are protected by solid rock underground unlike the next county to our east. I recall from college geology class that lose ground, such as sand, is the worst for letting shock waves travel. Many may not have recognized earthquake hardening construction during their travels over bridges in St. Louis Missouri. And Memphis is in the crosshairs for sure. According to the US Geological Survey, the fault line crosses the Mississippi River in three places.
Lunch at Gastons on the White River
My sister Mary lives in Springfield Missouri which is a two-hour drive. She helps out at a campground in Branson Missouri which is closer to an hour away. She drove over and we had lunch at Gastons Resort.
Small cabins dotted the river shoreline at Gastons.
The food and service was excellent.
That’s a first for us. This part of the White River is so popular that folks fly in and land on a grass field.
An Evolving Story
Last post a reader from New Zealand, I’ll call him a friend although we have not met, picked up on Karen and my shifting attitude about full time travel. I believe it was him posting the comment and not his wife but could be mistaken. The comment was “Your previous blogs have hinted at you both settling down sometime in the distant future if the perfect destination showed up… Reading between the lines, may I suggest you might have found it…”
And here was my response to the comment.
“It seems to be common that folks who RV the longest seem to always have a home base established after a while. A place they seem to come back to and stay for longer periods. Some do this by workcamping for longer periods, year after year at the same spot. Seems like most will eventually establish a home base near the place they lived before leaving on the road. What is different is that this place in Mountain Home is a very different place than in Kansas City Missouri where we took off from. Seems like Mountain Home is similar to places we are constantly searching out to take a vacation too.” “We look back at the past year and find a new trend for us is shorter trips in all the places we wanted to see that are in or near our home state. Seems we like it better when we travel very short distances and stay longer. I have traveled from Toronto to Honduras, from New York City to Hawaii and many points in between. When I was younger, I never found a better place than Kansas City. All this is new to me. Karen is more of a wonderer and says lets see if we get hitch itch and want to take off again. We decided just to leave it to God and see where this takes us. It’s new territory for me not to over plan the next step or stop.”
View from the campground. The lights drew us over the bridge where we discovered a large park with paved trails and a railroad memorial.
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Karen and I met an older local couple who invited us over for Christmas dinner featuring Italian food. Maybe next year we will be with family.
We camped in Arkansas one time back in 2019 alongside the Arkansas River in Maumelle. We have stayed in Branson Missouri three times and always take day trips to the area of Mountain Home, located about an hour and a half from Branson.
We have come to love the area of Mountain Home. If someone demanded we select just one area in all our travels as our favorite so far, Karen and I would agree it is the Ozark Mountains around Mountain Home. Although we have not visited half the country in our RV, we surely have visited various landscapes high on our list and especially considering trips taken before our life in an RV. The Black Hills of South Dakota or the foothills in western Nebraska would be another place we often refer people to, especially if they are taking shorter trips from Midwest states. What a great country we have with so much opportunity for travel!
Last post I commented how I was disappointed in the number of docks (and development) around Table Rock Lake in Missouri which have been allowed by the Corp of Engineers. I mentioned taking you to a place that reminded me of less developed lakes more common thirty years ago. Mountain Home Arkansas is that place. Thank God we are blessed to be able to travel and spend time living in places we never would have known about otherwise. Folks familiar with Appalachia out east will relate to this area. In fact, this area of Arkansas was settled by migrants coming from Appalachia, as did my family who went to Missouri. One side of Karen’s family originally settled in Arkansas, although her mother hated visiting grandma in the heat of the south but did well after returning to Michigan.
Our intention was to camp along the White River for two weeks. We extended another month so we can experience the fall colors. Within a 30-minute drive we can visit two large lakes, three rivers and a national forest. This area exemplifies why Arkansas labels itself the “Natural State”. This is rural Arkansas with Mountain Home being the seat for the 42,000 who call Baxter County home.
If someone wanted to visit an area with more city amenities such as museums and night life while still enjoying the outdoors, then northwest Arkansas might be preferred around Benton County which is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Mountain Home on Highway 62. Benton County in northwest Arkansas is the fastest growing area of Arkansas, having added 28% in population over ten years. That’s the home of Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B Hunt Transportation.
The Twin Lakes – Bull Shoals and Norfolk
In the 1940’s the Corp. of Engineers were hell bent to dam up every river in Arkansas. The White River system extends from the high hills of northwest Arkansas to the Mississippi. Old locks and dams allowed for deeper water and larger boat traffic until trains made it to the area. Norfolk and Bull Shoals Dams were then built, changing the landscape forever. The Corp. attempted to gain approval to dam the 135-mile-long Buffalo River without success having met their match with resistance from the local population and prominent business owners.
Bull Shoals – We have been on a hunt for a beach without a lot of rocks
I can write an entire blog post just on the fishing opportunities. But I’ll summarize with simply saying major fishing boat manufacturers are headquartered in the area for a reason to include Ranger Boats, Bass Cat, Vexus and Trident.
Bull Shoals Lake is the largest in Arkansas. The area to me appears a bit economically challenged, despite the boat manufacturers located nearby. I understand COVID hit the business areas hard and are only just coming back. Norfolk Lake is way rural but judging by the number of marinas and sandy beaches located around numerous islands and local feedback, Norfolk is a great vacation destination. I was surprised by the size of regional airports although the closest major airport is two and a half hours away in Springfield Missouri. St. Louis and Memphis are about four hours away. There is no interstate coming through Mountain Home. But you know that will not last forever as there is talk of a new interstate leading to northwest Arkansas which is currently US 412 that extends through Arkansas from New Mexico to Tennessee.
Norfolk Lake – Birds on a dead treeA top destination for record size Hybrid Bass
We found the City of Mountain Home having all the usual big box stores, with good roads and well-kept neighborhoods. But you will not find alcohol sales on a Sunday when many businesses are also closed. I’m telling ya, this atmosphere reminds me of 30 years ago. Taxes on tobacco are very high for us occasional cigar smokers, even to the north in Missouri. Home prices are lower and retired folks are a major industry. They have a 235-bed hospital and all the various specialty doctors scattered around town. If you Googled “who moves to Arkansas” you will find first place being from Texas, then California and Florida. That’s not surprising as those are the three most populous states in America! But we have discovered many who have retired here from non-other than Chicago. They appear to have little trouble fitting in. We have talked to people from Chicago at the campground who are looking for a retirement home, in town working at restaurants and see the out of state plates as we drive around. So far everyone has been great to visit with. Karen likes the smaller town Walmart (in Flippin Arkansas) and grocery store (in Gassville Arkansas) which are less busy and more inviting. I went to the local small grocery where the first time I checked out the clerk asked if I needed ice or campfire wood, as if she knew I was not from the area and a tourist. The next time she recognized me.
The Rivers – Canoeing Heaven and Internationally Known for Trout Fishing
Took a photo off a video I was watching regarding the Buffalo National River. This is where the smaller Buffalo joins the White River. The lake and river water are very clear, sometimes referred to as the Caribbean of the Ozarks. The Buffalo relies 100% on rainwater for flow.
There are several rivers in the area that are tributaries to the White River which flows out of Bull Shoals Dam. The Norfork comes out of the dam at Norfolk Lake then to the White River. The state has established trout fisheries on the White and Norfork where the water is cold as it exits below the dams. I figured out why the area has airports with longer runways. Because people fly here from all over the country for the trout fishing.
The Buffalo is in its own category. It is the very first river in the country to be protected as a National River and is part of the National Parks System. Right now there is much debate as the feds are wanting to formally make the Buffalo River a true National Park. The locals are against it, saying the 1.9 million visitors are enough and changing the title from a National River to a National Park would only bring more visitors. The entire 135-mile shoreline of the Buffalo is protected. There will be little to no development and the river will remain as it has been for thousands of years.
Beyond those mountains is the Buffalo River as viewed coming out of Flippin ArkansasCampground on the Buffalo River
There are numerous equipment outfitters near the Buffalo. Many take long trips camping out on gravel bars. I’ve known about the river for many years, having backpacked with my brother all through-out south Missouri and Northern Arkansas in the National Forest. Our most memorable trip was 36 miles of the trail leading through the hills along the Buffalo. The trails were not well marked and technical. Areas of the trail can be difficult especially if you do not have rope to climb or are afraid of meeting an occasional rattlesnake.
Above are photos of myself and brother Dan as we started the Buffalo National River Trail some years ago. We spent seven nights, most of which we never saw another person. Karen says she is up to short trips on the trail where we could take a day pack and hike into a favorite point or two.
Other than to get food, there is really no real reason to leave the campground. The beauty of the area can be seen right outside our door. The trout fishing is walking distance away to a dock or if you have waders and the river is not running to high, you can stand off the bank and catch all you want to include very large brown trout. I’m holding out before I buy a three-day out-of-state permit, enjoying for now just watching everyone else catch fish. Around the nearby river bend or across the 1930’s bridge is the Cotter Trout Dock, established in 1954. A railroad bridge, built in 1907 is still used and runs high above the river nearby the campground. The train comes through twice a day and believe it or not adds to the uniqueness of the place. We spent the first two weeks camped along the river but moved to another section, still in view of the river, which is not as cold at night and less windy.
Bridge is designed to swivel in the middle to allow boats to pass through. Train comes through at 8:30 pm
The 1930’s auto bridge opened the area to travel other than by ferry or train. That’s the longest style of this particular concrete bridge design still standing in the country. Leads into the business district of Cotter Arkansas or you can go around and take the newer US Highway. The road deck is 70′ above the water as the river was navigable by larger boats when locks and dams were installed to raise the water. The campground is actually in the old riverbank.
Final Thoughts
I should probably write about retirement more. I know I would have appreciated more information when I was researching traveling in an RV regarding more specific comments about what it feels like to be retired. I have to say five years in retirement is like ten years working a job. It goes by so quickly. I can already feel the changes in my body. Karen and I figure/hope we have maybe another 10 years of excellent health if we are lucky. Maybe we will be wrong. But if that is the case, then we have already spent a third of our golden years on this part of the journey.
We decided to postpone the trip to Texas for the winter for now. We are going to hang out here until it feels like time to leave. We are tired of fitting things into a schedule. I still have a reservation in Texas for December 7th in Livingston at a new park which is larger and has plenty of space should we decide to push out the arrival date even further.
Yes, you read the blog title correctly! These were our final WEEKS in Branson. We stopped for three months which is the longest stay so far in our travels. We spent two months in St. Augustine Florida once during winter which had been the original record.
Time with Friends
My sister Mary moved her camper here, so we enjoyed each other’s company for longer periods. Our friends Bill and Sharon Weiler stopped for a few days after leaving their home on Merrit Island Florida. Last time I checked they were in the New Mexico mountains. I suspect the colder weather is a shocker! Sorry, forgot to take photos other than of their travel trailer parked next to us.
Pat and Karen McKarnin from the Kansas City area also stopped with their fifth wheel. I worked with Pat on the road at the Police Department for years. We have experienced plenty together in life. Our bond runs deep and forever. Although we were much younger when our families met, I felt like nothing had changed even as we all are now enjoying retirement. I’ve got a photo of Pat later in this blog.
And our terrific RV friends Dean and Cheri Peine of the Travels with Bentley Blog stopped by for the day. We have known this couple since I started following their blog in, I believe 2013. They lived and traveled fulltime in their RV for years and have finally come off the road. They sold their fifth wheel, a Heartland Bighorn, at the same dealership where they originally bought it and now have a smaller truck (a nice one for sure) and a travel trailer. They moved back into a sticks and bricks in the same town they once lived in and had established as a homebase parked at a local RV campground when in town. From what I understand they still enjoy the monthly Escapee Club – Ozark Chapter campouts.
Hanging Around the Campground
We stayed busy when we wanted to and because we were stopped for so long felt zero concern when we decided to take a couple days in a row just sitting around at the camper, going to the pool during the day and hot tub at night. Or swinging on the porch swing at the office eating ice cream! So relaxing….
Karen bought a bag of rocks and minerals at the campground and ran them through the small mining setup to wash out the stuff that’s worthless. She has been assembling small figures from the pieces such as a dog shown below. She had a birthday, and we enjoyed the wonderful flowers our daughter had delivered to the park. Painting rocks from a kit, to be left behind at the campground, was another hobby Karen used to pass the time. Moonlight shining between the hills and the trees starting to change to fall colors in a place we never could have expected to live is why we are doing this fulltime travel thingy.
I also have a few hobbies which I like to think include watching the “gardener” mow the grass and weed-eat. Or selecting a quick thing on the maintenance list that takes less than an hour to knock out and calling it a good day’s work. Our RV is 100% ready for travel and shiny with new wax like the day it came out of the factory. We are heading into the “wilderness” of state parks and lakes from here and I care not to clean anything or fix it until our next longer stop in Livingston Texas for Christmas and New Years.
Music Shows, Museums and More
It’s said Branson has over 100 live shows. The 1880s style theme park, Silver Dollar City alone says they have 40 daily shows and 60 shops and restaurants. The Shepherd of the Hills outdoor play is a unique experience. I’ve been to a handful of shows and quit a few of the major attractions over the years. Of course, I’m up for going anywhere Karen wants. I’d like to attend the Shanghai Circus Acrobats show the next time we are in town.
I researched and found a list of three trails I’d want to hike although we continue to use the paved lake trail that extends from the Table Rock Lake visitors center. We never took a float trip down Lake Tanycomo as I would not want to paddle back up stream. Downtown Branson has a free trolly service with six stops to get to know that area. You can be in northern Arkansas in 30 miles where we enjoyed just driving through the hills. Of course, we went to many of the local restaurants to include my mother’s favorite Grand County Buffett where I suspect I’m a wanted man after costing them much profit margin after 4:00 pm when they have chicken fried steak. There is an indoor mini-gulf course in the same complex for rainy days and the food is not typical buffet junk.
As the budget is not unlimited and we needed more time to sit around in the swinging chairs of the campgrounds office and eat ice cream, we were forced to limit the events we attended. Here are a few not so common ones:
I am a huge Elvis fan. When I was a kid, others were crazy about the Beatles while I went against the trend preferring Elvis and Johnny Cash. My favorite song was Peace in the Valley. Later in life I’d learn the origin of the words of the song and like it even more today. I’ve never been to Graceland nor ever intend to go.
I’ll not repeat many of Dean Z’s accomplishments as you can find those on his website. He started impersonating Elvis at the age of three. His goal is to make sure the music legacy of Elvis lives on. There were a lot of younger folks in the Branson concert which made him happy. His show is a tribute beginning with Elvis in his early career to the end and includes period costumes. All the music is live and includes a brass section. Several of the entertainers in Branson schedule dates to be in town and use one of the many theaters which they share with others. We caught the last show that month as Dean was heading to a European tour. The Graceland Holiday Concert Weekendin Memphis will be December 1-2 this year and will include Dean Z’s Rockin’ Christmas Show. Yup – even Graceland thinks he is that good!
I lost control of my emotions when Dean said his favorite Elvis gospel song was also Peace in the Valley and then sang a duet with the actual Elivs who appeared in a video on screen. Although Dean won the title of world best Elvis in Memphis with Jail House Rock. I did some research regarding Peace in the Valley. Elvis sang that on the Ed Sullivan Show on 1/6/57. Reportedly 54.6 million people heard him as he dedicated it to the 250,000 refugees fleeing Hungary during a Soviet invasion. That one singing of the song raised six million in donations!
Never did get to see Elvis live. He died before making it to Kansas City the year I was mowing as many lawns as possible to pay for the tickets. My stepmother had agreed to drive me to the show and attend with me. Oh well, at least I ended up having the money to buy half a dozen records.
Had to go to this one on my own as Karen was not interested. That’s fine. It’s important to take time alone in this lifestyle. The History of Fishing Museum includes artifacts back to the Eskimo and Native Americans. Was not crowded at all which allowed for a very personalized tour with the guide. The display arrangements are well done.
I asked the guide what was his favorite item? He quickly pointed out a lure which was purchase for $30,000 at auction. If it had a box it might have gone for $100,000. The owner of this museum made his money researching mold and pollen. He gets a royalty check anytime folks buy prescription allergy meds, if I heard the guide correctly. I should add the guide is an electrical engineer and his wife is the #1 condo real estate agent in town. He answered many questions about living in the area and his explanation of motor and fishing electronics in general was over the top excellent. I found my own favorite displays which did not include the world’s largest fishing lure.
Here is a good one. You put a minnow inside the cage rather than killing it with a hook.
First Skeeter Boats. Wood and they have another behind the building. Skeeter continues to offer them any new boat out of the factory in exchange. Thankfully, the owner at the museum is not interested in a new $90,000 bass boat so the originals remain in the museum.
One of those old gas engines runs at 8,000 RPM and can propel one of those boats at 50 MPH. The racing motor is under 15 horsepower!
Small engines are the most collectable. The story about Evinrude is interesting. He got tired of rowing his girlfriend (Bess) across the lake, so he invented the outboard motor. He later married her.
The entire City of Branson and surrounding areas are 100% behind veterans. Every shop and show will include a thank you in the way of discounts and public appreciation. Monuments are everywhere and elaborate. They also support first responders 100%. My friend Pat went along for a couple hours at the veteran museum. It’s not a huge place but the displays are complete and informative. I was amazed by the quality of the uniforms from all over the world which are original and are often accompanied by a brief story of how the uniform came to the museum.
Gas mask on horse
My Friend Pat McKarnin, now retired detective. Wish we could have spent a month together in the area. I suspect we will have a few fishing trips someday.
The marine veteran at the desk said his favorite display were the blades (swords and knives). I found a few of my own which included some not so happy. The next three photos are of a room outlined with all the names of United State citizens killed in World War Two.
Hope you are able to zoom in on this one. Lt. John Cooper wrote home a week before he died on Iowa Jima. The museum has many personal notes. I usually take a photo and read them later.
Weapon displays were complete to include all the pieces such as ammunition types
Organ for church. Folds up into a case
Trips to Nearby Shell Knob
Shell Knob is located about 45 minutes west of Branson. We took two trips driving the curvy hill highway, Missouri 76. My buddy Bill Weiler has friends in the area he wanted to get with before continuing his RV trip. Karen and I also spent a day at a resort with other friends. The ladies visited while the guys took the bass boat out on the lake.
Campbell Point area Shell Knob Missouri on Table Rock Lake
We got lucky, this was fall festival time which included a car show in Shell Knob. My favorite was a car an older man had started to build with his grandfather and finished it on his own. Loved the family story that went with it. I liked the Thunderbird and Shelby Cobra as well.
Missouri 39 Highway leading south into Shell Knob. The town is a location for second homes on the lake. I was put off a little by the number of docks the Corp. of Engineers are allowing on the lake. No worries, my next blog post will reveal a place where things are different in terms of lake crowding and community, like it was years ago.
We are currently camped 10 feet from the White River near Mountain Home/Flippin Arkansas. It’s 75 degrees, the trees are starting to change, and I finished cooking ribs while watching the boats drift down stream with fisherman and their trout rods. Karen is way happy, as am I, being back out in the wild.
We moved here for two weeks. More in the next posting
Photo via Wikipedia – Major Missouri River Systems
We arrived in Branson Missouri some time ago having completed our tour of Missouri lakes along the Grand and Osage River watersheds. For the third time in four years of travel, we are once again camped near the White River which is our favorite place in Missouri. The White is damned in several locations mostly along northern Arkansas extending up to Missouri here at Table Rock Lake. Eventually the river dumps into the Mississippi after traveling through immense forest areas scattered throughout the Ozarks. We leave here in October for Arkansas with the next stop being camped alongside the White River itself for two weeks. And then two weeks west of Little Rock on the Arkansas River. The fall colors will be wonderful by then. We will eventually end up in Livingston Texas on December 21st.
We have come to love America’s Best Campground in Branson where a monthly rate brings the cost down to about $25 a night on full hookups to include metered electric. We booked the stay about four months prior to arrival at site 115 which is a corner lot with some shade for the hot summer weather. Since our last visit a year ago management has upgraded their Wi-Fi which is fast and never lags even when streaming while the park is nearly full.
With time during this longer stop we downsized our clothing, replacing some after shopping at the large Tanger’s Outlet Mall. Karen continues to decorate our fifth wheel, this time replacing the bed cover with something with a bit more color. Some time ago we also had several of our favorite travel photos framed with light weight wood and secured on our walls with 3M Command Strips. All this really makes the place feel like home. Glad we waited until we were on the road to decorate as ideas change and one learns to pay attention to how much time is required to secure everything on move days.
Branson Railroad
My sister Mary camped across the street from us. She lives in nearby Springfield Missouri. She and I took a trip on the Branson Railroad. The scenery was not as good as we expected with much of it blocked by forest. But there were breaks between the trees and parts of Branson and nearby Hollister were interesting.
College of the Ozarks
My step-mother, Harriet, came down for a day and took us all to lunch at the College of the Ozarks. Kids attend the college and graduate with no debt as they are required to work 15 hours per week at one of some 160 different positions available on campus which even includes; running a dairy farm, the fine dining restaurant, gristmill, stained glass workshop, accounting office and more. The formal dining room service is impeccable and moderately priced for lunch. I look forward to going back for a visit to their Ralph Foster Museum and another meal.
We spent time driving around campus checking out the shops that are open to the public. Students mill their own grains which was a fun part of the tour for sure. Harriet – thanks for the wonderful lunch and my birthday gift. This was a day to remember.
Top of the Rock (Golf Cart Tour and Natural History Museum)
Top of the Rock is a Johnny Morris (owner of Bass Pro and Cabela’s) Foundation destination which is part of several attractions that are not-for-profit. This has to be one of the top three places to go while in Branson in my humble opinion. The golf cart tour through the mountain area, cave and over streams is worth the price alone as it is truly a unique experience we have not found duplicated in the 27 states we have traveled. Every photograph was a keeper. I’ll let a few of the photos tell the story.
Part of the fee is for a two or four person golf cart which you drive around the mountain on a paved path.
The second part of Top of the Rock for us was the natural history museum. There was more to do which we skipped such as the fancy restaurant or walking the grounds of the golf course and chapel. The museum includes mostly native American artifacts from hundreds of collections to include Johnny Morris’. The entire collection is said to be larger than what the Smithsonian has and only 20% of it is on display at this facility. For example, stone axe handles; there are not five or six examples but dozens in one display case. We found a few rather unique items owned at one time by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other historical characters. Pottery, clothing, weapons, artwork, mook scenery with ancient animals are at every turn. At first, I cut down the photos to 30 for the blog and then to 12 just to give you a feel for what the museum includes.
Otherwise – Just Chilling at the Campground and Taking Advantage of the Pool and Drives in the Ozarks Hills.
We have taken a few drives through the Ozark Hills to include a trip to Mountain Home Arkansas (a prime area for retired folks). We checked out our next campsite for October which is right on the shores of the White River. It’s shallow enough to wade and fish.
White River Campground and Cabins Near Flippin Arkansas – Our Next Stop
We phoned a friend who recommended for church we check out Woodland Hills Family Church here in Branson. The congregation converted the buildings and grounds of an amusement park. The church music was unlike anything I’ve heard in person. The songs cut right through you and at times it was hard to hold back tears. Go figure, many of the members work at the music shows in Branson. This is a non-denominational church and so far, the minister (at the third service on Sundays) is totally biblical in his teachings.
Woodland Hills Church – Branson MO
Thanks for reading. I’ll post more on Branson at a later date.
We are still in Branson Missouri today. But, to finish up the story of our tour of Missouri Lakes I offer the second part of my last posting.
After Pomme de Terre and Truman Lake we moved to Lake of the Ozarks and Stockton. Both are still within the Osage River Waterway, with Stockton being connected via the Sac River and Lake of the Ozarks being located on the actual Osage. A typical large lake in Missouri is more of a wide river with the main portion being at the dam site compared to The Great Lakes in Michigan. I have to remind myself, especially when I write enthusiastically about the Ozarks, that these features are common elsewhere in the country, especially out east from Tennessee and beyond. I hope to remember to post later what I find different about the Ozarks compared to our limited time in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Lake of the Ozarks
This is a very long lake with technically more shoreline than the State of California. Lake of the Ozarks also ranks in the top five for being the most dangerous lakes in the nation because its full of large and fast boats. It is owned by a power company as the dam generates electricity for St. Louis. Long ago the power company figured out they could make a lot of money by selling lake lots as private docks are not restricted compared to Corp. of Engineer lakes where docks and land ownership at the water line is restricted. It’s an easy drive from Kansas City and St. Louis so lots of people have lake homes or condos here. This is not the lake for Karen and me. If someone is into boating and having tons of options to eat or drink along the lake shore, then this is the place for them. The views of the Ozarks are wonderful.
I selected a relatively affordable campground located in an area where I would not be worried about towing in unfamiliar hilly areas on narrow roadways. This is a resort destination, so we expected to pay twice the rate. We camped down from the dam right on the Osage River. Unfortunately, they were running very little water from the dam, so fishing was terrible. We did not take the kayak out as I was concerned if they ran water it would be hard to paddle back upstream. At least Wyatt had plenty of opportunities to swim. Many of the private campgrounds around here have sessional renters. Ozarks Landing (also known as River View RV Park) was typical of campgrounds that cater to long-term renters in that they set aside a few spots for those of us who travel. The locals pretty much dominated the swimming pool as the kids are out of school. We stayed a week which was just the right amount of time.
Us in pull through. They also have short spots that back up to river.Seasonal renters with yards full. Everyone was nice but cliquish. Infested with Asian Carp on River Side of DamThat’s the dog swimming down river.
There were plenty of ideas for dog friendly restaurants. Wyatt is very much socialized having lived his entire life as an Rver. Dog Days Bar and Grill was on the water where there was much to see while eating. The food and customer service were awesome.
Dog Day’s Bar and GrillFor my sisters. Save this photo for my funeral pics. It’s a good one.
The lake is an hour drive from the State Capitol in Jefferson City Missouri with US 54 being a good, divided highway all the way to include further on to I-70. The only day trip we took was to nearby Ha Ha Tonka State Park which in the early 1800’s was a small town. The attraction at Ha Ha Tonka is the remains of a castle. A guy from Kansas City started to build in on a mountain top in the early 1900’s. He was killed in a car accident the first year of construction, but his son finished the job, quarrying the rock from a nearby mine. It was later used as a hotel however would burn down. We took the easy paved hike but there are longer ones along the lake and wooded areas. Pomme de Terre Lake is just west of Ha Ha Tonka State Park should one find themselves in the area.
The old town was not much and as far as I could figure out only the post office remains and sits interesting enough just a couple feet off the road. There was a mill somewhere at one time which was used as a front for a counterfeit money operation before the crooks were discovered. I also took a short hike to a natural bridge which looked more like a wide opening where a river once flowed.
View to Lake of OzarksView to Lake of Ozarks1800’s Post OfficeNatural Bridge
Looking down to Lake of Ozarks from Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Stockton Lake
I’ll summarize this Lake as simply “Wow”. A local said don’t tell anyone but he forgot to ask me to promise that! Okay, it’s not the biggest or best compared to other lakes around the country, but it’s a nice one for the State of Missouri. We had two goals in visiting Stockton. This is a lake for sailing which interested Karen and I wanted to know more about the Big Eddy Archaeology Site. Unfortunately, we could only get four nights at the Corp. of Engineer Ruark Bluff East Campground. We like to plan our travels not more than two months out. Sometimes campsites are hard to get for a big rig. If we are planning a stop at a major attraction, for holidays or a winter spot we might plan six months out.
We did not have time to do much. I offered to rent a sailboat for a day and the neighbor offered a ride in their two-person boat, but Karen declined. And the Big Eddy dig site is underwater at this point along the shore of the Sac River. This Indian ground is as important to archaeologist as the discovery of Clovis in New Mexico. The two-lane highways were a little narrow to and around the lake, but we made it with no problems.
The lake water is very clear and the wind was not a problem in the campground. Not many come here that are not local. This is the lake where our friends Shawn and Kim from Shifting Gears blog had their sailboat before living fulltime on it and in their RV at times. They are somewhere around Brunswick George last time I heard. I miss RVillage and keeping up with friends on the map view portion.
Photo from Missouri Archeology Society who claim the Big Eddy is distinct layers of continues inhabitation over a period of 14,000 years. Every now and then the river floods the area and covers one layer at a time with dirt.
Warning – religious note ahead…..
Can I explain something without upsetting the rule not to talk about religion in RV travels? When I use age of a rock or settlement as being more than 6,000 years old, I am not suggesting that I believe in the theory of evolution, most especially as it relates to the creation of man.
I believe in Genesis book of the bible 100%. It’s funny that the first few lines of the Book even cause points of argument, it’s that specific. Right now, I’m of the camp that believes there was a break in time called the gap theory. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Then the gap in time. Then it continues with verse 2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And then ” God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
Although I believe 100% that God is capable of supernatural power. Believe it or not, I have been thinking about this for more than a year after posting about the ages of I think it was the rocks in South Dakota or the monument at Scott’s Bluff Nebraska. Thanks for letting me correct my record on the subject. No one has complained in the comment section over this. Your view would be welcomed in the comments and by no way am I suggesting you are wrong if an “old earth” or “young earth” believer.
The above photo is my grill setup to include a 15′ cable lock when camped in concerning areas. The RV tip today is stupid me finally figured out why my grill flame is so weak just after the propane bottle is filled. The increased pressure of a full bottle causes the safety mechanism in the grill to click on, blocking most of the gas pressure. The fix is to turn the gas bottle handle on very slowing at first, allowing less pressure in the hose. After the hose fills, then turn the gas all the way on.
I mentioned earlier we would be spending the summer touring Missouri Lakes located generally along routes using US Highway 65. As of my last posting we have visited four lakes in Central Missouri in an area referred to as the Osage River Watershed. These lakes are Truman, Stockton, Lake of the Ozarks and Pomme de Terre. This article is the first of two parts and will cover Truman Lake and Pomme de Terre which I have plenty of prior experience with. These lakes are located within maybe 80 miles of one another. It has been relaxing to spend short travel days on the road with little to nothing required for route planning.
Truman Lake (actually Truman Reservoir)
If you are coming from far away, I would skip Truman unless you are a fisherman with a boat. This lake does not have much in the way of scenery or places to tour. The end where the damn is located in Warsaw Missouri would be my preferred area to stay. For six years I had a sessional spot on this lake to park the RV. This is my favorite lake for fishing in Missouri. Unless you are after trout or walleye then I’d go south to the White River Watershed. More on that in a later blog post. We needed a place to spend the 4th of July and Karen has family to visit near Truman. The west end for the lake, near Clinton Missouri along 13 Highway is the shallower end which is where I found a vacant campsite during the holiday. The state has made many improvements to 13 Highway which is an excellent route.
We booked a large site at the Sparrowfoot Corp of Engineer Campground (50% off with America the Beautiful Pass) two months in advance. Our spot was electric/water only. Having a fresh water spicket at the spot was nice as we had none recently. We have also been using our “blue boy” portable waste tank for weeks at a time. Most of our time was spent with Karen’s family, especially her fraternal twin brother who lives just a few miles up the road. We discovered a better county museum constructed within an old beer distributor building. I also relived a memory from my childhood with a trip to the area of H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation. Both my brother and I are Eagle Scouts and proud of it. Other than that, we hung around the campground, enjoying the down time.
Sparrowfoot COE Campground only has a few spots within view of the water. Locals camp elsewhere which leaves vacant spots during the holidays. Perfect for us!
The Henry County Missouri Museum located in Clinton Missouri was fantastic. Karen’s family wondered why we were excited to go. They had not been to the museum and have lost out on its wonders. Obviously, we have visited many museums in our travels. We are on the lookout for more unique exhibits. Once you have seen a bunch of old guns, or dishes, or rocks, American Indian stuff or whatever in several museums then you have seen them all. I appreciated the building the Henry County Museum was within and the way the staff has arranged the displays. A fine example of Americana.
Old Beer Distributor Building Clinton MissouriToday Used as a Museum
Our tour was guided by a staff member who was old enough to remember many of the people and events now depicted as ancient history. Karen did not enjoy all the memories the guide continually talked about. I found the stories to be fascinating and added value to what was on the tour. The building had been constructed near the railroad. Beer came in on the train in barrels. Was then transported by horse and wagon to the warehouse and distributed to the customer from there. This is a large building that allowed the museum staff to relocate such things as the entire contents of a doctor’s office and country store, setting up a street of old businesses within the structure.
Street inside the museum buildingBasket used to carry dead bodies. When one goes to “hell in a handbasket”Stalls for delivery horses now used to display old stuff.Our guide for the morning. They also have several restored buildings located near the main museum.
Old schoolhouse. Notice the four-sided desk in the front. An elderly gentleman was with his family to include grandchildren for a tour. He described how the individual desks had holes for inkwells. He once dipped the long hair of the student seated in front of him into his inkwell and wondered if the girl still remembered him doing that.
Who knew Clinton Missouri once was the “world’s largest distributor” of Lindstrom baby chicks. The museum had the contents of the post office used to distribute live chicks around the country. I enjoyed the Boy Scout display as well. To save space in this article I left out rooms full of 1930 – 1960 Americana.
Permit me to now pass on personal memories from childhood.
Above is an old photo of the Osage River before the damn created the Truman Reservoir sometime before 1979. I took the photo while looking down from a cliff at the H. Roe Bartle Boy Scout Camp.
I truly believe Boy Scouting set the stage for all leadership positions I would hold later in life. Karen rode along towards my old scout camp for a special treat. Scott’s Iconium Store has been in business for over 100 years. Half their business comes from the nearby scout camp. They reportedly serve hundreds of Peach Nehi ice cream floats a day. As a boy, from scout camp we would walk a couple miles or so for the special treat. Today, once inside the store I noticed more than half the scout leaders inside were female. I’d heard boy scouts had become coed. I wondered why and frankly hate to think son’s will miss out without the leadership from their fathers or other strong male role models.
Ask any current or past Boy Scout within 250 miles of H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation about Peach Nehi Floats and where to get one. They will smile and say there is only one place and that’s in Iconium. I had been on the rifle range staff at scout camp when I was 17 years old. Sitting outside the store on a bench as Karen and walked up were three scouts apparently lollygagging (spending time aimlessly). I heard one use a curse word during the conversation and really had to hold myself back from harshly correcting the behaviors.
I scanned all my photos as part of downsizing to move fulltime to RV. Old photos are now just a click away and I find myself looking at them more often than when they were in a box. That’s Lance on the left and me on the right the night we were awarded our Eagle Scott rank at age 16.
Above is a favorite photo now that I look closely for the first time in over 40 years. My proud father in the center with the tie. My baby sister Deanna is behind us. On the right, and most importantly, is a good friend of the family, Lumir F. Buresh. His son was an Eagle Scout in my troop, 91 from Prairie Village Kansas, having earned it years before me. Lumir was born in 1913 and fought under George Patton in WW2. Lumir, who had been awarded the Silver Star in combat, told me how he was promoted to Major personally by General Patton. They had so many of their tank leaders killed they needed a few new Majors. They lined up the Captains who were eligible and if Patton pointed to you then you were promoted. Lumir said they were upset after learning the Russians were being allowed to take Berlin before the US Army arrived. He eventually drove a tank into Berlin, churning up every road possible with the tank tracks. Lumir’s son, Eagle Scout Jon Buresh was appointed to the navel academy in Annapolis and became an aviator. Jon got into Vietnam during the last years of the war and passed away in 2018. Looking at the photo warms my heart. Seeing Lumir eating his cake so intently. I remember him as a happy person and a good role model.
“Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end”
Pomme de Terre Lake
It’s 5:00 am on 8/8/23. I had trouble sleeping last night as I had taken a couple cat naps in the recliner earlier. We are currently camped in Branson Missouri. Karen got the laundry done a couple days ago, using four machines simultaneously at the campground laundry. She still thinks it was a good idea not to install a laundry machine in the RV but jumps me when I say how nice it must be to do four loads at once. She reminds me how much she misses her laundry at the old house.
We decided to take it easy yesterday. It’s okay to not do anything special for a day. For those of us who think we need to be productive every waking moment I offer a tip. Complete a small task that has been on your mind that takes less than 20 minutes. Then enjoy relaxing the rest of the day with a sense of accomplishment. I had touched up the RV woodwork in under 20 minutes. We keep a tote in the front basement to fill with small stuff to leave in storage the next time we are driving past Kansas City. Every now and then I’ll use the 20-minute trick by purging something we don’t need. I could go through the clothes again and get rid of a lot regardless of if I think I’ll lose weight or not. that’s another 20-minute thing to do. Fortunately, we are often camped near outlet malls and thrift stores, so clothing is easily replaced.
We have camped at the Hermitage Area of Pomme de Terre Lake State Park many times. I have family in the area or close enough to drive in with their RV for a visit. This is our favorite spot involving a lake in this part of Missouri. If you find yourself in the area, let me know and I’ll send you my notes. If we feel strongly that we may return to the same park, we walk around and take notes regarding big rig friendly spots. In this case we also have good notes regarding other campgrounds in the area. I believe we have stopped here on four occasions as fulltimers. Certainly, having family in the area was a deciding factor. The lake is small and beautiful.
A guy laughed at the lakes name as Pomme de Terre is French for potato. I’ll not mention his name, but his initials are the same as Karen’s brother. Had he been in a history class I would teach then he would know the Osage Indians returned to the area seasonally to pull up the potato like root of a native plant. Karen, our dog Wyatt and I attended an outdoor presentation by the Park Naturalist whom we later invited over for coffee at our site.
We learned a lot about living near this lake, where there were Indian burials and how in just a few seconds it’s easy to find the fragments of rocks chipped away at to make arrowheads. I’m not sure but I may have found a broken pottery piece and something like a handheld crusher which was a larger rock with finger holds worn into it. We spent 24 days at this lake. The stay limit is 14 days, so we just doubled back after visiting another lake. A fun part of the visit was watching my sister Mary out fish me. We had figured out a spot where the white bass run in close to the shore at sunset. I went fishing in my nephew’s boat and left the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak chained to a tree on the shore to be used whenever. We kept two fishing rods when we downsized and store them in the rear bumper of the fifth wheel. Tackle was consolidated down to one box but generally put everything I’m going to use in a zip lock bag which is handy when fishing from a Kayak.
My Sister Mary’s Rig!The trails in the area are not that great relativly speaking
We took a mile hike down Indian Point Trail that opens to a view of the lake. The Park Naturalist told us to watch for the rock mounds which were Indian burials and not to move the white rocks. Unfortunately, Indian graves have been looted over time. He says if you come across single large rocks that are out of place for the area it’s probably a burial site. We found the graves and the view was worth the walk. He had traveled to Oklahoma and spent serious time with the Osage Indians to make sure he has the history right. He had information about the tribe most don’t know because it’s kept between members. He honors them by not speaking of certain things during his public talks.
We, I mean Mary, caught enough fish for a fish fry later with family. This area is rural with a few restaurants serving quality meals. One even makes their own soda pop.
Our gardener was cutting the grass and chased a black snake under the camper which decided to wrap itself around a wheel as if it was moving in. Can’t have that as I don’t like snakes. And yes, we have a gardner at most every place we camp. Life is great! A park employee removed the snake. Turned out the employee’s family settled this area in the 1800’s. This lake is located near Whiteman Airforce Base which is the home of the stealth bomber and a first strike target for Russia in the event of a war. Oh well, better to be vaporized rather than terribly wounded. A-10 Warthogs are stationed there as well. They make daily runs over the lake. Locals say the damn puts off an electronic signal the pilots train to detect and they practice gun runs on boats. Way cool. I got up one night around two am to watch the brightest lightening storm ever. I took a video and then cut out a still photo to show how the lightening was so bright it lit the area up like it was daylight.
A10 making a run over the lake. His wingman was not far behind.
Good thing for the snake I don’t eat them or he/she would have been cut up with the fish. The black snake was released unharmed.
This was two in the morning. In pitch black darkness other than when lightening came miles away.
Thanks for reading. I’ll finish part two regarding two more lakes in the next few weeks. Those will be a hidden gem at Stockton Lake and America’s second most deadly Lake of the Ozarks.
We had three reasons to visit Marshall Missouri. Karen had it on her list to see Jim the Wonder Dog, I had family who migrated to the area in the 1800’s from Tennessee and we needed a place to camp during the Memorial Day weekend.
The drive from Kansas City was easy, taking I 70 east to US 65 Highway north. Columbia Missouri, home of the University of Missouri was down the road on I 70 and further away is St. Louis. We discovered the start of the Sante Fe Trail and that Marshall is similar to towns where we would consider settling down someday. US Highway 65 runs from Minnesota to Louisiana and for the upcoming five weeks or so will be a highway we frequently travel as we have planned a tour of central Missouri Lakes.
Jim the Wonder Dog
A Missouri Governor signed a bill making Jim the official Wonder Dog of the State. He was born in 1925 and became a local legend due to his alleged remarkable abilities. Karen has an original copy of the book about his life and for years had it on the list to visit him. Jim was a Llewellin Setter (bird dog). Among his abilities include predicting the winner of the Kentucky Derby five times, understanding his owner when asked to pick out objects such as specific trees, car license plate numbers, colors and more. He performed before the Missouri Legislature and State Fair. Newspapers and Magazines wrote about Jim who was eventually featured in Ribley’s Believe It or Not. His owner refused to sell Jim or use him to make a profit. And of course, he was a fine hunting dog estimated to have found over 5,000 birds. The Marshall Missouri Welcome Center is within the Jim the Wonder Dog Museum. An adjacent park is built at the location of an old hotel Jim’s owner ran. Karen spent two hours with the museum staff. I found the tour of sites to be amusing.
The most visited grave in the local cemetery is Jim’s which is the only one with a gravel trail to its location behind the main cemetery building. His owner wanted him buried with his family but that was not allowed so he was buried just outside the cemetery grounds. Years later the cemetery expanded around the grave which ironically now places Jim amongst the human burials. We took time to locate Jim’s owners grave as well.
Family in Brunswick (Chariton County) Near the Missouri River
I’ve mentioned before that traveling fulltime in an RV allows extended stays while completing genealogy research. We have been to a portion of Virginia, Tennessee and southern Missouri on a quest to find original material and take photographs. I had always heard one family member migrated to central Missouri. I figured Brunswick was a German town but discovered it was named after a place in England. Located along the Missouri River, Brunswick became a key riverboat port where migrants landed along their path west. St. Louis is considered the Gateway to the West where folks walked along the Boone’s Lick Road to a river crossing in Arrow Rock Missouri which is part of the Louis and Clark Trail and beginning of the Sante Fe Trail.
We were in the area around Memorial Day weekend. I had time to research a fraction of the details regarding my own family’s migration to the area. Most befitting we were able to visit the area of three graveyards, taking photos and video to share with family as a memorial tribute. What a gold mine of family history, far more involved than descendants of my great-great-great grandfather who traveled on to southern Missouri. At least two more generations would make the trip to Chariton County. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet any surviving family.
I love to check out old churches, especially if there was a chance an ancestor attended them. Brunswick is somewhat run down but we found a nice place to get a sandwich and eat in a courtyard. Along the main street hanging from light poles were photos and names of this year’s high school graduates. Brunswick is the home of the world’s largest pecan 🙂
We spent an entire day traveling to family graveyards. One of which is located in the trees at the end of a very long road that dead ends at the front door of a farm home. Family occupied the farm as late as the 1930’s but I had no idea who owned it recently. I also know that friends don’t knock on the front door of farm homes in rural Missouri (they go around back). We missed visiting that one graveyard although I parked just out of shotgun range down the road to see if someone would come out of the house and allow us onto the property.
Place to Park Over a Holiday Weekend – Happy Times Campground in Marshall Missouri
We cared a lot more about where we parked for a few days during our first couple years on the road. You learn just finding a campground with available spots out of the way for the holidays is good enough, far away from the holiday weekend crowds.Happy Times Campgroundwas good enough to use as a home base while touring both sides of the nearby Missouri River. State parks in the area were full and in the case of Arrow Rock State Park, too small for our big rig. At least we had full hookups as we look forward to an upcoming six weeks with minimal utilities. Camping behind the Ram Dealership was a bonus as the truck needed an oil change and I could walk home rather than wait in the lobby. Chevy and Ford are nearby.
We took a short-day trip to Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park where that family donated their homestead. Karen particularly enjoyed the small Indian Culture Center. Remarkably, this would become our first interaction with the Osage Indian culture which we have been experiencing elsewhere after leaving Marshall. For now I’ll just comment that a major movie is coming out in October called the Killers of the Flower Moon. Karen downloaded the book to read in advance and says it is awesome. On the drive to the park we noticed the lush farmland those traveling the trail west surely would have fallen in love with.
Village of Arrow Rock Along the Sante Fe Trail, West of Boone’s Lick
The United States received lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River as part of the Treaty of Paris with Britian after the Revolutionary War in 1783 which doubled the size of our nation. Twenty years later France transferred control of land west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana Purchase) to include St. Louis Missouri which as you know was on the west side of the river and having been founded in 1764 by fur traders. Generally, you will find cities along major rivers in this area to be relatively older than those found further inland because of reasons to include reliance on rivers for transportation.
The Louisiana Territory transferred to the United States in two sections. First the lower section in December of 1803 and the upper in March of 1804. Lewis and Clark took off on their expedition just months later in May of 1804 after meeting up in St. Charles just outside St. Louis Missouri. Of course, this is the area where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers come together.
“Beyond a thin thread of a genealogical connection, there were various functional links between the Boone and the Clark family.George Rogers Clark had supported Daniel Boone’s Kentucky settlement with his mobile militia. Boone’s son, Nathan, at age twenty-six, was at the head of a company of dragoons that escorted General William Clark up the Missouri to meet with the Osage Indians and begin building Fort Osage (near current Independence/Kansas City) by 1808. Upon their arrival Clark dispatched Nathan to the Osage villages to summon them to the treaty.” (Daniel Boone Long Hunter Role Model by Joseph Mussulman). The Missouri Territory was originally known as theLouisiana Territory but was renamed by the U.S. Congress on June 4, 1812, to avoid confusion with the new state of Louisiana which had been admitted to the Union on April 30, 1812. Clark served as the Governor of the Missouri Territory which was admitted to the Union in 1821 as a state.
Lewis and Clark had reported finding salt springs along the Missouri River about 128 miles westward from St. Charles. Sons of Daniel Boone, Nathan and Daniel Morgan, setup a mine to collect the salt. A road was quickly established between St. Charles and Franklin Missouri near the salt springs in an area that became known as Boone’s Lick. Riverboat ports were established as this area became a primary thoroughfare for settlers moving westward. The trail to Sante Fe New Mexico originated in Franklin at the end of Booneslick Road. Later it connected to larger trails to include the Oregon and California Trails. Independence Missouri and other towns became known for equipping settlers as they began migration west.
Incidentally, as a child my father took me to a hilltop behind one of Kansas City Missouri Police Stations to the grave of Daniel Morgan Boone and his wife. That area was later marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and is a small park and part of the original Daniel Morgan Boone farm. Who could guess that Karen and I would someday visit the intersection of the California and Orgon Trails as part of our journey living fulltime in an RV.
Outside Scottsbluff Nebraska in 2021 miles down a dirt road we found the Oregon Trail to cross the California Trail.
Settlers crossed the Missouri River via a ferry just west of Boone’s Lick. A settlement called Arrow Rock Missouri had been established at the ferry crossing and benefited by housing and equipping settlers. It was cheaper to continue on the trail overland rather than by riverboat on the Missouri. Lewis and Clark had noticed bluffs in the area shaped like arrows on June 9, 1804. Today, US 24 Highway runs along the path of the Sante Fe Trail towards Independence/Kansas City Missouri. A riverboat landing was established further west, known as Westport Landing, which became the town of Kansas and later Kansas City on the Missouri side of the state line.
The Village of Arrow Rock, population 56, continues to be occupied today with half the hamlet being within the borders of a state park. Upon arrival we talked with two residents who moved to the area for its peaceful surroundings. One came from the Boston area and said family still wonders why they would want to live in Missouri. They are in the process of fixing up a historic home and are members of the group who runs local businesses and keeps the town in good repair. I had noticed the rock lined ditches to the sides of their main street and recalled the ditches in Natchez Mississippi that were built by slaves. The lady from Boston doubted the ditches in Arrow Rock were built by slaves. I looked it up and they were built at least by former slaves. By 1880 half of Arrow Rock’s population were former slaves. Dr. John Sappington, an American physician known for developing a quinine pill to treat malarial and other fever diseases, set aside land for a cemetery specifically for his enslaved people which is now a state historic site in Arrow Rock. This cemetery at the site include information on the sacrifice of individuals in the history of this little town. Generations are buried in the cemetery as late as 2012.
We spent about five hours in Arrow Rock but could have spent two days. There is a small RV Park but it’s not very big rig friendly. The wonderful state park visitors center has displays from Boone’s Lick so we felt no need to travel over the river to see the remains of the salt mining operation in person.
We had to eat here. Longest continually operating tavern/hotel/restaurant west of the Mississippi. Wonderful food and management allowed me to go upstairs for photos of the living quarters where settlers packed in for rest on the trail.
As is typical we took our food outside to enjoy the surroundings.
Now that’s a tiny Post Office. Claiborne Fox Jackson was once the Postmaster in Arrow Rock. He was later Governor of Missouri at the start of the Civil War. One can also tour General Sterling Price’s home in Chariton County. This is Little Dixie.Fort Sumter SC heard the first shot of the Civil War on April 12, 1861. The battle in Boonville Missouri occurred two months later, just before the first battle of better-known Bull Run/Manassas. Missouri ranks third in total number of civil war battles.
And here is a big attraction in Arrow Rock. The Lyceum Theater. Folks in town, to include those in Marshall where we camped, raved about the quality of the plays held here.
We enjoyed the state park visitors center where the approach is over a man-made stone bridge. Inside are frontier displays to include artifacts from Boone’s Lick. I noted some artifacts had made the trip from the Shenandoah Valley (Interstate 81) in Virginia as did my family before settling in Tennessee then in Missouri. All the sites, other than the ferry crossing, in Arrow Rock are along a walking tour. We parked the truck on main street for the day.
You can drive down a narrow dirt road to the ferry crossing. The trail and crossing are on private property and include wagon wheel ruts.
Best photo I could get of what I believed to be the bluffs Lewis and Clark noted as arrow shaped. I don’t see an arrow through the overgrowth.
Marshall Missouri is Similar to a Town Where we Would Settle
No, we are not looking to settle in Marshall after we come off the road. We just seem to be drawn to rural communities. More specifically in their county seats of government. That’s been a regular theme regardless of what State we find ourselves in.
Years ago, a question was asked on the Good Sams forum regarding how long people tend to travel fulltime in an RV. I came away with the understanding only 20% will remain on the road after five years. I’m hoping for six years but am constantly on the lookout for possible places to live permanently. We start our fifth year in August. I asked Karen to pick the spot of our next home. She wants me to pick it. We both agree we can live anywhere. Thankfully we agree a county seat in a rural area with access to a lake would be preferred. Some place we can enjoy the outdoors, little traffic, all the required shopping, medical care and at a reasonable cost of living. Driving to see family becomes less of a concern when you are used to traveling weekly. We have no grandchildren which most of the time dictates where folks we meet on the road decide to settle down. We domiciled in Texas with the intent of settling there. Livingston Texas is rural, a county seat and near a big lake. Thankfully it’s also the home of the Escapees RV Club. We like southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. But there are more states to see before we pull the plug.
I recommend not making a huge deal out of where you find an RV park or campground. There is a reason a park is located in a specific place. Who knew there was so much to see around out of the way Marshall Missouri. It was a good place to find an available spot during a holiday.
Wish the aviation museum would have been open on a holiday weekend! That comes with living in small town America. I’m glad the staff had the day off.
We are on stop three of a five lake tour. I’ll combine all that into the next blog post. We are currently located near Clinton Missouri and will be in Branson by July 17 for a longer stay before heading south through Louisiana to Texas.
Our Future in an RV 