They're really keeping us hopping!

Yesterday, while the guys were at their technical seminars [yawn], a bunch of us ladies got to learn basket weaving. This should come in handy when we're in Ohio visiting the Longaberger Basket Company in a week or so! Heck, they might even offer us a job! Actually, it was quite frustrating and took awhile to get the hang of it, but my basket turned out pretty good, considering. Or it will if I ever finish it, we ran out of time! A lot of ladies gave up on theirs and others bought extra basket kits. It was an interesting experience...

There was an ice cream social in the afternoon near the show coaches. My goodness, all we do is eat around here, good thing I lost 10 pounds over the summer! I took Gabbi for a walk instead and it is amazing how many of us have dogs and some have really big dogs. Where do they keep them inside their RVs? Turns out most sleep in their owners' bed with them... Gabbi has free reign in the front of our coach and seems content with that. I'm afraid I'd roll over and squish her if she slept in our bed!

Last night, we held our chapter dinners. We have 10 chapters ~ each chapter president picked the restaurant where their group would dine. Our chapter only had two member coaches [one of them was ours] as we have the farthest to travel, not many attend. Usually, we combine with another chapter but this time we decided not to. It was a small, intimate group of four people for dinner at Cantina Laredo Gourmet Mexican Food at Branson Landing. Every 30 minutes we got a fire and water fountain show just outside our window on Lake Taneycomo. We could actually feel the heat from the fire. The food was outstanding! They prepare fresh guacamole right in front of you at your table. Our server, Amy, was from Idaho and was very friendly and attentive. It turned out the wife of the couple we were dining with, was having a birthday that day which made it really special. Oh, and the Spanish Coffee was realllly good!

Today was extremely busy. We were up early and on a bus by 9am headed for the Titanic Museum [ http://titanicbranson.com/ ] not far away. We filled three very large buses! The museum looked just like the Titanic on the outside and we were greeted as though we were a guest boarding for a cruise. The museum employees were dressed in the clothing from the time period of the actual Titanic cruise. We were each given a boarding pass with details about one of the passengers. We would be looking for information about what happened our "character" as we took a self-guided tour throughout the museum. In the end, we would find out if we were one of the survivors or not so lucky. It was a somber experience and we learned a lot about what happened and saw a lot of artifacts that were recovered. We dipped our pinkies in a barrel of water that was supposedly the same temperature as the water that those, unlucky enough to end up in it, had experienced. It was about 28F, brrrrrrrrr. We touched a replica of an iceberg, also brrrrrrrrrr. We had our photo taken on the grand staircase, a nice memento.

A few hours after heading back to the campground, we boarded buses again, this time for Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede dinner show [ http://dixiestampede.com/branson.php ]. What a neat experience! Great food, great show and if you ever get a chance to go, don't miss it... It was the North against the South. Our group was designated as the North and after all was said and done, we won! It was very entertaining and one man from our group was chosen to participate in one of the contests on the show floor: horseshoes, but using toilet seats as horseshoes!  He'll never live that one down.

Unfortunately, neither of the places we visited today allowed cameras so I have no pictures to share until I'm able to scan the photos we bought. We got a group shot of about 70 of us, they even managed to squeeze Dolly in there! I'll leave you with this shot from our campground:


They mean business here...point taken!



Today was a gorgeous day in Branson! We are right in the heart of Branson where all the shows take place. Today, a bunch of us had lunch at the nearby Andy Williams Moon River Grill. To show you how gullible I am, one of the people in our group told me Andy Williams was going to make an appearance and I believed him! Needless to say, Andy did not show up...

A little later in the day, we got our registration packets with our schedule for the week, had our opening ceremonies [the mayor of Branson even greeted us!], and said hello to a lot of old and new friends. Turns out there are over 100 Foretravels here! This KOA park only holds 150 total so we are a big group for them. This evening, after dinner here at the KOA convention center, we were entertained by Gordy & Debbie, who regularly perform a tribute to George Strait at the Jackie B. Goode's Uptown Cafe. They were fantastic! The best part is after the show, we only had to walk a few steps to get to our RV...

Time to call it a night. We have an early morning breakfast, then seminars throughout the day tomorrow.

We made it to Branson, MO!!!!

After a long night of pouring rain, threats of flooding in the area and ceiling leaks, we woke up to beautiful sunshine! I climbed up on the roof of our RV to see why and where we were leaking the night before. It turns out we had some cracks on the shrouds that cover our A/C units but even if we hadn't, nothing would've prevented the rain, which was pouring sideways, from getting through! Just to be sure, we had our Foretravel neighbor go up on the roof as well and duct tape the cracks. He agreed that nothing would've stopped that rain from getting in and leaking through our ceiling. Our other Foretravel neighbor had water leaking from their slide outs which happens on occasion when it rains as hard as it did last night.

Along with our two Foretravel neighbors, we decided to leave Topeka around 10am and stop at Cabela's in Kansas City, KS. What a fantastic store! It's the first time Kris and I have ever been shopping at one of their retail locations and can't wait to go back again. It's kind of like R.E.I. only much more affordable in my opinion. I headed straight for the Bargain Cave looking for capri pants since they're only selling fall/winter clothes on the main floor. Kris finally found the pants he's been looking for and they were a perfect fit. We both went away happy...but where are we going to put these new clothes? The RV is already bulging at the seams. Oh well, who cares?


Inside Cabela's



Inside Cabela's



The three of us caravanned on to Branson, stopping to fuel up in Missouri. This is a full service station, they even washed our windshield! When is the last time you experienced that? The scenery all the way to Branson was really nice and the weather was gorgeous.

 We pulled into KOA in Branson around 6:30pm and will be here for two whole weeks! It'll be so nice not to have to pack up everything and leave every morning, only to unpack when we get to our next destination. Tomorrow I hope to find the energy to do some laundry, take Gabbi to play at the K9 Kamp and do some sewing/embroidery. Over the weekend there will be about 80 Foretravels arriving for our annual Grandvention which starts Monday and ends Thursday. Besides seminars, meetings and awards banquets, we'll also visit the Titanic Museum and the Dixie Stampede. About 25 of us will remain after Grandvention to take in several shows such as Clay Cooper, Allen Edwards, Pierce Arrow, Six, Branson Belle Showboat and the 12 Irish Tenors. There is a long list of other shows we can choose from if we have the time. We'd love to see Legends in Concert again!



Branson KOA



We have a busy two weeks ahead of us so I'll try to keep you posted on what's happening.

What happened to our sunshine!

What do you get when heavy rain is mixed with high winds? A shower, and then some! All I needed was a bar of soap and some shampoo and I would've been set. The rain started during the night last night and has not let up. We left Wakeeney around 11am and headed east on I-70 once again. We stopped at a WalMart during a lull in the rain somewhere near Ft. Riley to get a couple of items and ended up with a cart full and had to push it all the way to the RV in the rain. Oh and I just found out that my cousin Linda in Michigan has a son stationed at Ft. Riley. Wish I had known that earlier.

The further east we went, the heavier the rain was. We're now camped at Deer Creek Valley RV in Topeka and there's a flash flood watch until midnight! We just discovered a leak in the ceiling between the kitchen and the bedroom and had to set out a couple of Tupperware bowls and a towel to catch the water. It's not just one drip, mind you, but several... I knew things were going too smoothly, something had to give! I have no idea how I'm going to take Gabbi out for her potty break later! It's raining at a rate of up to 2" per hour. Kris is brave and went to visit the Foretravel next to us with our atlas to find out how they're going to get to Branson. There are six Foretravels headed to Branson from here tomorrow where we'll be a group of about 80 Foretravels. I am so looking forward to being in one place for two whole weeks!

Not a pleasant drive today...

On a brighter note, Gabbi made a new friend this morning back at the Wakeeney campground. Her name is Sophie and she's the same age as Gabbi [both turn two in October] and a pound heavier. They got to play together and run around in the campground store/office. Sophia makes Gabbi look small and Gabbi is usually the biggest in any group of Yorkies...LOL. Sophie was black and tan like Gabbi until she was about 9 months old, then she went silver.

Sophie & Gabbi getting acquainted

I just love this picture of Sophie

We are so fortunate to be able to travel across the country and meet so many nice people along the way that we would not have otherwise met. We miss our friends and family while we're away too...

We're almost to Branson...

It was another short day and a very windy drive with boring scenery but we made it to Wakeeney, Kansas. It is extremely windy here tonight and we're expecting a thunderstorm during the night and rain tomorrow. It's so windy, I keep thinking something's going to fly up and hit me in the head at any moment when I'm walking Gabbi. This weather is apparently just passing through as the entire next week is forecast to be sunny here.

We lost another hour today as we entered the Central Time Zone, so even though the clock says 10:45pm, it's hard to realize it's only 9:45 because I'm so tired. I should go to bed, but I still need to take Gabbi out one more time . . . hope it's not raining yet!

The campground owners here have a Yorkie named Sophie who will be 2 years old Oct 3 and weighs 11 lbs. She'd be a perfect playmate for Gabbi who weighs 10 lbs and turns 2 years old on Oct 18! I hope they have a chance to play together tomorrow before we leave.

When we got here, Gabbi and I took a long walk around the campground and I snapped a couple of pictures. The pet area is really cute. There is a spot for "country dog" and "city dog".  Next, we were walking by a tiny little wooden trailer and outside were sitting a man and his St. Bernard. The dog barked and barked at Gabbi but luckily it was on a leash. I don't know how the man and dog both fit inside the trailer. It looks like it is home made, cute little thing. Of course, I had to take a picture of our RV. The clouds were getting darker by the moment and I think there was to be a Harvest Moon tonight, but not for us...

  

Decisions, decisions!

A man, a dog and their tiny trailer





The Lanning RV [in the center]



Tomorrow, we'll be in Topeka, KS and it just so happens the campground we've reserved is filled with Foretravel RVs from the Central Plains Motorcade Club Chapter so we'll have a chance to say hello! It's always fun to run into other Foretravel RV owners.

Tonight after dinner, I sat here and finished off my pint of Whidbey Island "Mukilteo Espresso" flavor ice cream and it was delicious! We know the owners of Whidbey Island Ice Cream ~ they are Foretravel owners and always bring lots of flavors of their ice cream to share at our chapter rallies. I sure wish I had more! Then again, maybe I don't...I don't want to gain back the 10 lbs I lost over the summer! It feels so good to fit into my clothes again. Check it out at http://www.whidbeyislandicecream.com/.

Goodnight, all.





 

It's a full moon out tonight!

We left Breckenridge this morning after just one night. It was 34F when I took Gabbi out for her morning "walk", just a bit too cold for me after several days of 90F weather! It was another short day of driving and all along I-70 we saw nothing but beautiful fall scenery. I thought Utah was great, but western Colorado is just as beautiful and both states rival the Pacific Northwest. I'll never get tired of driving through Utah or Colorado.

Tiger Run RV Resort ~ Breckenridge

Gabbi enjoying the view near our campsite

 

More Portrait in Yellow

Coming into Frisco, just outside Breckenridge

The most exercise we got today was walking around Sam's Club in Arvada to do a little shopping and the long walk back to our RV which we park as far away as possible because we take up at least 15 parking spots, probably more. My lower back is starting to bug me from all the sitting while driving and we're just getting started! Where is my Teeter inversion table when I need it? Too bad it doesn't fit in the RV. I don't need another ailment, I'm still dealing with a frozen shoulder and even though it's slowly getting better, it holds me back when I need to use it most. It kept me from skiing last December so it's been almost a year since it started ~ enough already!

A little over an hour after our shopping spree, we pulled into KOA in Limon, Colorado. It's so nice to have the luxury of being able to stop for the night while it's still early. Tomorrow morning after Gabbi has a bath, we'll be leaving for Ellis, Kansas. It's a four hour drive and we're staying at a county park we camped at two years ago and really enjoyed. In just three days, we'll be in Branson for two whole weeks without moving! Can you tell I'm happy about that?

While we're away, we're having some maintenance done on our house. The logs are being sanded and restained. What a mess! We're just glad to be away while it's being done. Hope we recognize our own home when we return!  

Today was a short day...

This morning we slept a little late [7:30 for me ~ 9:00 for Kris] and left the campground at 11am. We knew today would be a short day, just over three hours from Grand Junction to Breckenridge where we will spend tonight and possibly tomorrow night. We've been coming to Breckenridge for 10 years, but never in summer/fall so this will be a real treat. They are at the peak for fall colors right now.


Yesterday in Grand Junction, just after we got settled in, I had to go out and have a talk with a lady who obviously didn't have a clue about campground ettiquette. She was walking her two dogs and if she had read the campground rules, she would've known to keep them on the asphalt until she got to the pet relief area. Well, she actually let her dog poop on our campsite's grassy area near our picnic table! I was nice about it but told her it was a big no no. Then her other dog tried to hump my leg! She feigned ignorance and asked where the pet area was, but I'm sorry, there is no excuse! If she had not picked up her dog's stuff, I would've asked her where her campsite was so I could bring it and Gabbi's over later! I could tell she was not happy as she walked off, she said, "I picked it up so you won't have to step in sh*t." This was an older lady [probably about my age, lol] and she should've known better! Sheesh, it takes all kinds. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!

Driving on I-70 eastbound through Colorado is absolutely gorgeous! We've only driven I-70 westbound from Denver Airport to Breckenridge and usually in the dark with snow. This is the first time we've been here other than in winter! Wow, it is beautiful! It was an easy drive following I-70 along the Eagle river, a tributary of the Colorado River, with lots of white water rafters and fishermen in boats and on the bank. We passed the turn offs for Aspen and Steamboat Springs and drove right past Vail which was just a portrait in yellow! The scenery is just wonderful. We were at an elevation of 10,603' just before passing by the Copper Mtn Ski Resort and could only get up to about 35mph uphill. Well, I know where we'll be visiting next February when we're back in Breckenridge, so the boys can say they skied Vail!

Just as wonderful is the Tiger Run RV Resort where we are staying at an elevation of about 9100 feet. Hopefully Kris will do OK. He rents an oxygen concentrator each year when we come here to ski, otherwise he gets severe migraine headaches from the altitude. So far, so good.

We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner in Breckenridge: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Ed & Connie, sure wish you were there with us! Afterwards, we went next door to the outdoor crepe stand and had dessert! Oh my, did we eat too much! But we couldn't resist, the line is ALWAYS too long in February when we're usually there. While we were standing there eating our crepes, the sky opened up and it started raining! That was a total surprise after the hot days we've been experiencing. Tomorrow should be sunny.



The things you see driving across country...

We left SLC at 10am this morning which is bright and early for us! Usually it's more like 11am before we're on the road. I've see people leave as early as 7, but I don't now how they do it. I have to get dressed, walk the dog for at least half an hour, fix and eat breakfast, feed the dog, take her out again, shower, pack up the RV and bring in the slides while Kris washes dishes, unhooks the electrical, water and dumps the holding tanks if needed! I'd have to get up at 5am to do all that and be able to leave by 7. Not happening. Especially after being woke up by a very loud THUNK [Kris's prosthetic leg falling down] at 3am and not being able to get back to sleep for what seemed like hours. I hate it when that happens!

The first thing we needed to do today was fuel up. We didn't have enough fuel to make it to our destination and would be traveling some pretty desolate areas. We finally found a Flying J just before a long stretch of nothing and added 116 gallons of diesel. Good, now we are good to travel all the way across Colorado and half way across Kansas.

So here I sit, Gabbi stretched out next to me [wind in her face from the vent], netbook on my lap and iced tea in the cup holder. Does it get any better than this? Hubby does the driving, I do the navigating and look for interesting things out the window.Today we see a lot of the same and for awhile, even lose our internet signal but since changing to Verizon we have a cell signal almost always. We could rarely say that when we had Nextel/Sprint. It's nice for Kris to be able to check in with his parents frequently and they can reach out for us if needed.

After a little over 4 hours of driving we found a rest stop near the turn off to Moab where we ate lunch and walked Gabbi. It's so nice having your kitchen and bathroom on board, not to mention being able to watch TV while eating and run your air conditioning. It's nearly 100F where we are. Only 80 miles togo until we're in Grand Junction! This is a pretty typical day for us on the road but the days really do go by fast... It's nice having internet while on the road!

As you can tell, there's not a lot going on today but I did take a few photos out the dirty windshield along the way. We saw some amazing territorial views and the most incredible reds, oranges and yellows in the trees on the mountainside today! My camera just doesn't do justice to the fall colors but here are a few shots.

Here are a some trucks hauling wind turbine parts as well as wind turbines on the ground.

  

We just entered Colorado and are only 34 miles from our destination. My bottom side is happy about that! But the first campground we chose was not to be. I didn't make a reservation which I normally do, and they were full due to a weekend wine festival. They pointed us to another campground a few miles down the road that we liked even more AND they had a spot for us! A few minutes later, we were all settled in. Sometimes things just work out the way they're supposed to!

Tonight I am stuffing a few Starbarks dog toys that need to go into the mail tomorrow. I'm starting to wonder if I really want to leave my Etsy online store open while we're on the road. As soon as we reach Branson we'll be busy with group activities through the end of October and I never know when I'm going to get an order. I'm still working on another project I brought along and need to finish and ship it in time for Christmas. I'm "sew" glad I have that to keep me busy. I would be at a loss without a sewing project that I enjoy!


My sewing booth aka dining booth!



Have a good night!

We're in Salt Lake City!

We always love driving through Utah, it's so clean and colorful! A couple of years ago, we found ourselves in Snowville, Utah, a tiny little town that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, on our anniversary. Yesterday, we missed Snowville on our anniversary by one day [it was two days ago]! We're not unhappy about that as there were only two diners to choose from and I believe we picked the wrong one last time! It doesn't matter where we are, we always have a good time and I'll eat just about anything if someone else cooked it!!

Yesterday afternoon, we arrived at KOA in Salt Lake City. We reserved two nights and thought about staying longer, but the Family History Library isn't open on Sundays so there's no reason to stay another night! We plan to come back in the future when we can spend more time.

As much as I didn't really want to, we got up very early this morning to catch a city tour. I'll never understand why they have to start so early! Here we are with the Mormon Temple behind us.



Kris & Shannon



Mormon Temple



We stepped back in time with a visit to "This is the Place Heritage Park",  where, on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young first set eyes on the Salt Lake Valley that would soon become the Mormon pioneers' new home, following exile from Nauvoo, Illinois. It was fun wandering through the 450 acre park with replicas and restorations of the original historical buildings and people dressed in clothing from the 1800's. The visitor center had a gift shop with the most wonderful quilts [I wanted to buy them all] and other handmade items and foods. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time in the gift shop. 





Meeting House

 


Relief Society Hall




One Room Log Cabin

We saw a lot of the city today for the first time and especially enjoyed Temple Square where, after a scrumptuous lunch, we got to spend 30 minutes listening to the organ music that is usually played in the Mormon Tabernacle but wouldn't you know with our luck, they were having a special meeting in the Tabernacle so we were directed to the LDS Conference Center! It was fabulous in any case and you wouldn't believe the size of the organ pipes unless you saw them yourself!

  



Close-up of pipes



Taken from our seats all the way in back



Organ Player ~ can you spot him above?

  

Our last stop was the Utah State Capitol building, built nearly a century ago, and extensively renovated in 2004 to include millions of pounds of concrete to bring it up to earthquake standards. The interior is made up of beautiful marble and artwork. The exterior is said to resemble the U.S. White House.





Utah State Capitol



Marble Interior

 

We were absolutely worn out at the end of the tour and returned to our RV to rest. I was going to take the free shuttle back to the Family History Library but Kris wasn't interested and I didn't really want to go by myself. Yippee, we are planning to make another trip in the future when we can spend some serious time doing what we want. Kris wants to visit Utah Biodiesel Supply, where he purchases a lot of his biodiesel supplies and maybe go skiing while I'm at the library. Works for me...

What can you say about Burns, Oregon?

From Prospect, we took a very scenic drive north around Crater Lake National Park and decided to stop in Burns where we were able to fuel up. Not much going on in Burns, although I do know a few people who have gotten speeding tickets while driving through! They apparently have a speed trap and they know you won't come back to contest a ticket. We made sure to drive the speed limit! Here we are at the Burns RV Park next to an older Prevost. It was an uneventful evening...

We spent the next night in Mountain Home, Idaho not far from the Mountain Home AFB. We camped at a KOA that had a fenced area for dogs with some fun agility equipment. Gabbi took right to it and was climbing all over the wooden structures and jumping over bars. She loves being free of her harness and leash. When it was time to go back to the RV, I had to trick her to come close enough to put it back on! I think this is the first time we've ever actually been able to wear her out. I love campgrounds that have fenced areas for dogs!

It just happened to be our 8th wedding anniversary [11th anniversary of our first date] so we unhooked the Jeep and drove to the recommended Mexican restaurant for dinner to celebrate. It was not the greatest looking place but it was close and they cooked what we wanted even though it wasn't on the menu. We toasted each other over beers and did not go away hungry. We even had leftovers! After returning to the campground, we recognized some campers who were at the same restaurant and were out walking their dog, Sugar. Gabbi had a new friend! 

We're on the road again!

After getting our housesitters settled in, it was time to hit the road again in our RV just over a week ago. We met up with nine other RVs in Canyonville, Oregon at the 7 Feathers Casino & RV Resort the first night of our motorcade club chapter's fall rolling rally. The next morning, we departed for two nights in Grants Pass where we headed straight for a 4-hour, 36-mile Hellgate Jetboat excursion that is a must if you have never done it! They take you down river where The River Wild, starring Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep, was filmed on the Rogue River. We had just watched the movie a few days earlier so it was fun to try and figure out where they had been. We disembarked and hiked up the hill to the OK Corral where they stuffed us with great food, beer and wine before heading back upriver. The temps were cooling down but we didn't mind the huge sprays of water as our wonderful boat pilot did 360s and bow dunks along the way. They really make it a lot of fun ~ do it if you ever have the chance and be prepared to get wet!

We also toured Harry & David's in Medford where they produce the gourmet food items we've all seen in the catalogs we find in our mailboxes around Christmas. We were very impressed with their operation and left with a big bag of goodies from their store. So much for our diets...

The next two nights were spent mostly relaxing at Emigrant Lake. While some drove into Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival, Kris & I unloaded our Segways and went looking for trails. We decided to ride around the lakeshore, but we didn't get very far before it was obvious it wasn't the best idea we've ever had. The water level was down and the sludge was slippery.  Fortunately, we stayed vertical long enough to back up but we had a big mess to clean up on our tires!

We decided to fly our American Flag on September 11 to commemorate all who were affected nine years ago on that day.

Next we relocated to the sleepy little town of Prospect for the final two nights of our rally where we all dined at the Historic Prospect Hotel while getting a history lesson by the owner. The last full day was spent at Crater Lake National Park. It was the first time Kris or I had been there and it was absolutely breathtaking. Never have I seen such gorgeous blue water except in tropical locations! That  evening the weather was perfect for our campfire potluck, a perfect ending to a very enjoyable week!