Settled in at NAS Jacksonville

We got to NAS Jacksonville on 19 November after the Florida Good Sam Rally.  We enjoyed the rally and enjoyed seeing the folks in our chapter.  It is growing drastically and it's hard to keep up with all the members.
We got to NAS Jacksonville so we could visit with the kids for the holidays, and so Debby could get her caderacts done.  She had her appointment with her Dr., but getting the surgery scheduled is a NIGHT MARE!  The gal who does the scheduling is extreamly hard to get a hold of and DOES NOT return calls.  We are sure willing to wait our turn, but as we are limited on how long we can stay at the base RV Park, we want to know when we can expect to be scheduled so we can leave it we need to.  The old "Captian's Hot Line" no longer exists, so it appears that we are at the mercy of the scheduler.  If I could get a hold of someone to complain, I would, but I'm not sure that would do any good.  We are on a space available basis, but Tri-Care sent Debby to the base, so we did not have a choice in the matter.
I'm not going to carry on here, but I will update y'all when we find out something,

We would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Travel Safe!

Back In Florida

We left Livingston, TX and C.A.R.E. on October 2nd and headed East.  We went to Frog City Park in Duson, LA.  It was a decent park and we spent two days there.  It was about 200 miles from Livingston, TX.

When we left Frog City, we headed to  Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Resort in Robert, LA.  It was about 180 miles from Duson, LA.  We were going to stay 5 nights there under RPI at $10 per night, but hurricane Nate was headed our way, so after 2 nights we decided to leave.  It looked like travel on the day we had planned to leave would be rough weather, so it was best to head further east.

Next we headed to Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL, about 230 miles east.  This is an Escapees park and one of our favorites.  We had a nice site that allowed us to get satellite, which is a challenge there as there are lots of trees.  Debby got to go to the commissary at NAS Pensicola while we were there.  It is only about a 40 mile drive.  Of course while we were there, we got to ride out hurricane Nate.  It was not bad at all where we were.  A few miles south, at Gulf Shores it was MUCH worse.  It was a good decision to move when we did.We stayed at Rainbow Plantation until 16 October.

Next we headed further east and stopped at Alliance RV Park in Marianna, FL.  Once again, we had found a nice park.  We only stayed there a couple of days and continued heading east.  This is a small campgound of only 14 sites.  We found it under Passport America.  We chatted with the owner who really does not like PA, but knows that it is a way to get business in.  I would go back to this campground anytime I am in that area.

Next we headed further east and started our trek south stopping at Casey Jones RV Park in Lake City, FL,  We spent 2 nights there.  While we were there, we were able to go out to dinner with Dawn Frazier who went full time earlier this year.  Her husband was unable to go with us as he was working.  He is retiring in December, as is Dawn.  Casey Jones in a very nice park.  We would stop there again when in the area.

I can't find my pictures of Casey Jones, so we'll go on.  

Next we went to Three Flags RV Resort, a Thousand Trails park.  This is one of the nicer parks in the Thousand Trails system.  The folks working here are friendly and very helpful  In our first site we were assigned, we could not get the satellite, and the neighbor next to us tore through his site and I would not put out the tri-pod with him doing that, so I asked to move.  We ended up in a site that we can get satellite with the roof top dish.  We took the map and toured the area we are in to see what sites I feel we could get satellite, so when we come back, we can ask for a site that we can get satellite in.  

Tomorrow we take the coach to Alliance RV as the rear A/C died while we were here and we are only a couple of miles from them.  This is where we bought the coach, so they will take our extended warranty.  We will go there this after noon and will come back to Three Flags when the coach is done.

From here, we will head to Escapees Chapter 57 Rally in Port Charlotte at Harbor Lakes, RV Resort after which we will head to Southern Palms in Eustis, FL for the Florida Good Sam Rally and then head to NAS Jacksonville to Dr.'s visits and spend some time with the kids.

Y'all travel safe and I'll type more later.

End of our month at C.A.R.E.

We have had an interesting and fun month volunteering here at C.ARE.  C.A.R.E. stands for Continuing Assistance for Retired/Recooperating Escapees.  This was a vision of Kay Peterson, Co Founder of the Escapees RV Club.  The residents are very appreciative of the volunteers that are hear and seem to be really pleased at having the volunteers.  As you spend time here, you get to know the residents and some will steal your heart!  You really get to know them if you get the chance to drive them to places they may need to go, such at the doctors or the store to shop..  This is an experience that I would recommend to all Escapees to have.  You will not be sorry.
We have made our reservations for the trip back to see the kids in Jacksonville, stopping at the Escapees RV Park in Summerdale, AL and attending the Escapees Chapter 57 rally at Harbor Lakes RV Resort,  and of course the Florida Good Sam Fall Rally in Eustus, FL,  Then on to NAS Jacksonville for Debby to have surgery on her eyes to take care of her cateracts.  At least we will be with the kids for the holidays. 

Y'all travel safe and I'll type more later,

Here at C.A.R.E.

We left McPherson Campground in McPherson, KS, which was a nice campground.  The owner had not had it that long and has been making improvements, but it is a small campground, but sure met our needs.  We next arrived at Cedar Valley RV Park in Guthrie, OK.  Once again, a nice campground that met our needs.  Staying only a couple of days at each campgrounds doesn't require us to have a lot of amenities, so even the simplest of campgrounds is just fine for us.  I'm usually happy if I get satellite and can put up my Ham Antenna.

Next we went to Lazy L RV Park in Sherman, TX.  Once again, a nice campground that met our needs.  It was interesting to take this trip towards Rainbows End.  This is where we observed the Eclipse.  Only 79% coverage here.

Next we stopped at Watts RV Park in Gilmer, TX.  Debby does really well in selecting our campgrounds and once again, this one was just the ticket for us.  The campground was nice but the road to get to it left A LOT to be desired.  We survived though and enjoyed out days there.

Our next stop was Rainbows End RV Park in Livingston, TX.  This is the National Headquarters for the Escapees RV Club and home to C.A.R.E.  (Continued Assistance for Retired/Recooperating Escapees)  This is an independent living facility, where the residents live in their RV and are provided meals and a place to play games and socialize.  There is a paid staff, but rely heavily on it's volunteers.  We will be volunteers here until the 1st of October then we will be heading east toward Florida.  We have enjoyed our time here so far, and hope we will enjoy our remaining time here.

We came a little early to get here before Hurricane Harvey arrived.  I am glad to report that there was not damage or excess flooding here.  They did close the headquarters as some of the staff were evacuated, and, of course, as the mail comes from Huston, there was NO mail service.  We were surprised that we had mail delivered to CARE yesterday, which was a holiday.

We are now watching hurricane Irma, and pray that it will miss Florida and the US altogether.  I would ask that everyone pray for the same.

Y'all travel safe and I'll type more later.

What Happened to the Time?

When the kids left from Bozeman, WY we headed to 7th Ranch and RV park in Little Big Horn area.  We stayed there for a few days and enjoyed Little Big Horn National Monument and celebrated our 33rd Wedding Anniversary.  It was a very interesting area to visit.  When we left, I filled up with fuel and 10 miles down the road, the check engine light came on.  I assumed it was due to poor fuel, but later found out that was not the case.  I stopped and checked to see that the fuel cap was on correctly, and found that it was.  The next area we stopped at, I added 5 bottles of "Heat" to get rid of any water in the fuel.  That did not work either.  So we continued on.

We left the Little Big Horn area and headed to Scully Creek State Park in Medora, ND for the 4th of July week end.  We did not have hook ups there, but the campsites were spacious and the generator worked great.

We left Medora, ND and headed to Jamestown RV Park in Jamestown, ND.  We enjoyed our short stay there and then headed to Forest Hills Golf and RV Resort in Detroit Lakes, MN.  This was a very nice private resort for the Golf Club members.  We were able to get in there with RPI.  

When we left Detroit Lakes, we headed to Sioux Falls, SD.  We stayed at Tower Camp Ground and found it to be a nice campground.  

After our week at Tower Campground, we were headed to our friends, Bill and Donna Nixon, but we thought we should get our check engine light checked out to ensure it was not to serious.  We were wrong!  We spent 5 days at the Cummins Sales and Service center in Sioux Falls, SD.  It turned out that our belt had shreaded down to 4 ribs and what was gone had shreaded several electrical pieces and took out the electrical fan clutch.  $2500+ later, we headed to our friends house.  To make a long story short, they had to order parts and the last part took longer than expected to come in.

We finally left Sioux Falls and headed to Bill and Donna's in Springfield, SD.  We had a GREAT visit with them.  We can not thank them enough for the hospitality they extended to us.  Debby and I both look forward to the next time we can get up in this area and visit with them again.  Bill is very talented with wood work and make me a neat call sign plaque.

We also attended the local ham club bar b que with them and had a really good time.  Once again, we REALLY enjoyed our visit with them.

We left their place and went to York Campground in York, ND.  We only stayed one night there and yesterday we drove to McPherson RV Park in McPherson, KS.  We got here yesterday afternoon and the owner is a real nice guy who have not had the campground very long.  The sites are level, fresh rock has been laid and they have a VERY nice club house.  It is a small campground, but they will do well here I suspect, due to their attitude.  

Today Debby and I drove to Wichata and went to the commissary.  We will be staying here until Monday when we will continue our trek to Livingston, TX to volunteer at C.A.R.E.  We will spend 3 nights in OK and then head into TX.

I will try to do better about updating the blog.  We had so much going on that I just lost track of time. Y'all travel safe and I'll type more later.