Our trip was to pick up our new puppy, Zoe, miniature Boxer, in Montana. When we mentioned to our children that we were going, Ashleigh, Josiah’s wife, asked if she and Merrimac, their daughter, could go with us. Ashleigh had friends in Montana and Idaho that she would stay over to visit before flying back. She and Merrimac made this a really nice trip!
Tom (by Ashleigh Burke Coleman)
Friday, October 4, 2013-- We left the house about 9:30. We had thought that Ashleigh was meeting us at our house, but Josiah needed to go to Memphis to pick up his iPad that he'd left on the plane last week and Ashleigh had left some things in Toccopola so they met us in Toccopola. We had a little trouble getting away from our house because Gus, the stray dog we've been feeding in the barn, came to the house and wanted to be with us. After getting packed up in Toccopola we drove to Newt's in Oxford for lunch and then started on our trip while Josiah went on to Memphis. We drove to Sikeston to eat at Lambert's again since Ashleigh had never eaten there.
This time we took advantage of
their pick up and deliver service to and from the campground. The driver took
us in a side door and we didn't have to stand in line for a table. We had
forgotten to pick up orange juice, and the campground hostess let Tom drive her
truck to the grocery store before we went to eat so that he wouldn't have to
unhook everything. After supper we returned to the RV and arranged all for the
night. We stayed at Hinton RV Campground again. (c $29.00)
Saturday, October 5--Jim and Rob's birthday! We went to bed right after we returned from Lambert's--and had baths and got Merrimac to bed. Ashleigh was able to put the Pack n' Play on the dinette without moving the car seat which made life easier. We were awaked by a pretty severe thunderstorm around 5:30, but all stayed in bed for awhile as Merrimac played in her bed We were moving by about 9:30 and stopped in St. Louis long enough to see the Arch. It wasn't open since it is a Federal monument and the government is shut down. We had a little trouble finding a parking place and actually had to back up once because we had a clearing of only 8 feet ahead. When we stopped looking for a public parking lot we found a place on the side of the road that appeared to be a taxi stand because there were several taxis parked there, but wasn't. We decided to try to make it to Kansas City to eat in a barbecue place Ashleigh had heard was good, but when I tried to make a campground reservation, I found them all full because of some speedway event. I finally found a campground north of Kansas City about 20 miles. We moved to a parking lot near a Walmart for lunch. We all ate while Tom visited Walmart. When he returned and started fixing his lunch there was a small Merrimac accident with his wheat germ. It has rained off and on all day. We were lucky at the Arch to hit a pause in the rain, but it started up again as we left. We drove pretty steadily and made it to Bryant's BBQ in Kansas City by about 7:00. There was no problem getting quick service and it was good. Afterwards we drove on about another 25 miles to the Basswood Resort campground in Platte City. It was the closest one I could find to Kansas City that wasn't full, and they were only able to take us because we were relatively small. The woman running it told us that it had started as a fishing camp, and that Harry Truman used to fish there. She said that there was a house with memorabilia on the campground, I think. We were camped right next to a little pond with a nice swing by it. ($43).
Sunday, October 6--We're managing to start a little
earlier than sometimes when we travel--around 9:30. It rained most of the
day--at least during our driving, especially in the afternoon. We drove to
Hiawatha, Kansas and visited the Davis Monument in the cemetery there. It was
erected to honor the wife of the man who did it and consisted of about a dozen figures
showing the two of them at various stages of their lives. Luckily the rain held
off while we were there. We had lunch in the parking lot of a grocery store in
Falls City, Nebraska, and went grocery shopping twice! Ashleigh was able to add two more states to
her "visited" states. We then drove on to the Red Barn RV Park just
south of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We
had supper of corn beef and cabbage in the RV.
Monday, October 7--Tom got up at 5:00 and took his shower so we were on the road by 8:45. We started the drive across South Dakota. We drove through Presho and then had lunch in the RV at a rest stop. We then drove on to the cut off to the Badlands. We were able to drive part way in and Ashleigh took some pictures, but the road was closed after a few miles. We turned around and then drove on to Wall where we stopped in the drug store. Ashleigh bought Merrimac her own cowgirl boots and some moccasins. We saw snow along the side of the road that looked at least ten feet deep and many dead cows. Apparently the storm came so quickly and was so bad that the ranchers didn't get the cows to safety. I tried to call for a site, but many of the campgrounds were already closed for winter. One I called said we might get stuck in the only site they had. We drove on to Rapid City and went to the KOA, which had managed to clear out six sites. We were able to get one of them. We had supper at a very good Mexican restaurant and then got ready for bed. ($30)
Tuesday, October 8--We were up and moving really early today and it turned out to be for the best. First, we headed for Mount Rushmore. The park was closed, but we were able to get good views from the road. There was still snow on the ground and the turn offs were blocked with cones. We then drove by and stopped at the Crazy Horse Monument, where Tom and I went wild about some Native American pottery. This monument is being built with no state or federal funds, but is very slowly being built and will be magnificent when finished--even bigger than Rushmore.
After that we drove through the Custer State Park where we saw a buffalo herd, deer, and antelopes. The driving took us all morning and we made it back to Rapid City in time to eat lunch in the RV and head for Buffalo. We were in Buffalo by around 5:30. We had wanted to take Bob and Helaine out for supper, but Helaine had already fixed supper. Tom and I slept in the RV, but Ashleigh and Merrimac slept in the guest house.
Wednesday, October 9--The day to pick up Zoe! We left Buffalo around 10:00 and made it to the pickup point at about 2:30. Sarah Coates met us about 10 miles from her house because she said the roads were really bad those last miles. Zoe is really cute. She seems to enjoy playing with Merrimac and I think will be good with children. We stopped at the Flying J in Gillette and emptied the tanks. This was the same Flying J at which we waited for and had tire repairs when we were out this way another time. The repairman then was very good. We drove back to Billings and stayed at the KOA there. It was the first KOA! After we found our site, we went looking for a buffalo burger, but found plain hamburgers instead. Tom and I had pizza and Ashley had a hamburger. We went back to the KOA and prepared for bed. Ashleigh put Merrimac down, and I put Zoe down. Zoe whimpered a little, but when Merrimac started complaining Zoe quieted down and Merrimac did also.
Thursday, October 10--We had a rather leisurely time getting ready, but because of Zoe we were early. She woke us up several times during the night. We left Ashleigh and Merrimac with one of Ashleigh's friends in Billings. Another friend is going to pick them up there for a visit of a few days, and the she will drive them to Missoula where another friend will pick them up and take them to Idaho for a few days. It was a little after 10:00 when we left them and we drove on to just past Casper, Evansville, where we spent the night. We ate lunch in the RV in a rest stop on top of a hill and slightly off the interstate at Sheridan. The Bighorn Mountains almost seemed prettier when going south than when going north. I talked with a very nice couple from Syracuse, New York, who were touring on their honeymoon. They had hoped to see some of the national parks and were very disappointed that they were closed. They liked Zoe. It rained during the night, and the wind blew hard enough to rock the RV at times. We were camped in Casper, Wyoming. River's Edge RV & Cabin Resort ($34.80)
Friday, October 11--Zoe woke us up three or four times, and we got up at 6:00 because I thought it was 7:00 looking at my iPad. We stopped at Scott's Bluff to go to their Walmart. Among the other things we bought a tiny dog bed for Zoe.
Tom was the one who suggested it, and it fit her and the kennel exactly. This was a nice campground, although crowded, and had good restrooms. We had some more of the soup I made before the trip tonight. Holiday RV Park ($26.68)
Saturday, October 12--Zoe actually slept through the night until almost 6:00. Tom is having to do almost all of the driving since I've picked up a cold and am taking Benadryl, which makes me very sleepy. We stopped in Cozad, and Tom walked around. I didn't go with him because I was sleeping, but Zoe woke me up after a little while so I took her out for a walk where she enjoyed the attention of a couple of people we passed. We had talked about having lunch at the Green Apple, a small cafe on the Main Street, but Tom had noticed that the First Christian Church was having a barbecue in their parking lot and wanted to eat there. We did, and it was good. We then walked back to the RV and drove on to Lincoln. We first visited a Petsmart mainly to get a new bed for Zoe since the other one has never dried after I washed it. We also found Kong toys for her. I filled these with peanut butter as had been suggested to us, and put them in the freezer. We tried to find the public campground in the park, but after a difficult time getting to the park--the roads were more difficult to navigate because of the train tracks--we were told that the public park was no longer there. We drove on to the only campground in town and got one of their last sites. It often seems that we are able to get sites simply because the RV is relatively small and we don't tow. After we checked out our site, we went to Cracker Barrel for supper. They had the quickest service I've ever seen at Cracker Barrel. Camp a Way ($38.34)
Sunday, October 13-- Zoe only woke us (me) up once in the night and the slept until almost 7:00. We took our time getting ready and only had about an hours drive to get to Nebraska City. Once we got there we went to the Victorian Acres campground to get a site. The manager here had a good idea--she had a phone by the office and a big notice saying that if she wasn't there, someone who needed her should phone a given number and she would be right there. We had lunch in the RV at our site and then drove into the city where Tom drove around for awhile and then we walked, with Zoe, around the courthouse square. We then drove to the Wyuka Cemetery, where some of Tom's ancestors are buried. He walked around there, but I stayed in the RV. We then returned to the campground, had supper, and prepared for bed. Victorian Acres ($28.32)
Monday, October 14-- Today was the day for Tom to explore Nebraska City and its cemetery. We first went to the cemetery where he met with Jim Teeton, with whom he had already discussed his project. He found most of the graves for which he searched, but was puzzled that some of the expected graves weren't there. I was still feeling a little the worse for wear and rested in the RV while he looked. He then went to the library where he said there was an excellent genealogical collection. While he was in the library I drove to the office we'd seen of a vet and asked them to give Zoe her next shot. (Arbor Valley Animal Clinic--DA2PP-CKL SECOND VAC). They did,although they said that they usually waited three to four weeks, but since we were traveling it might be a good idea to give her the second. When Tom finished at the library, he came out to the RV, ate, and we drove on pass Kansas City to GrainValley where we stayed at Trailside RV Park ($31).
Tuesday, October 15--The weather has been dreary although we didn't have rain until night. We drove off and on through the day with a stop at a good grocery store in Fulton, Missouri. We decided to stop at Cape Girardeau rather than push on farther. The Landing Point ($34.01)
Wednesday, October 16--Zoe slept all night after going out around 9:00. We woke up about 6:45 and I took her out. We had only about 200 miles to drive to Memphis and Tom decided he'd like to go through Dyersburg rather than down I55 so he did. I still wasn't feeling well and slept much of the way. We arrived at the EZ Daze RV Campground in good time and stayed in the new part of the campground. We both agreed we liked the old part better. ($38)
Thursday, October 17--We were up and at the Southaven RV Service Center about 8:30--Zoe helped us get started early. The worked on the refrigerator, but didn't really know what was wrong with it. On the way home, we discovered that it's still not working correctly. When we're driving, the Check light comes on. I called them, but they said they would get back with us. We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Batesville and then drove home.