One Step Closer to South Dakota

 We left the plains of Kansas for the new plains of Nebraska. Traveling the plains is like driving I-5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with a few more whistle stops. The tropical depression that hit the gulf and traveled north has caused a lot of high winds, mostly crosswinds, sometimes headwinds, either way they reduced gas mileage, we did make to Nebraska in good time though.

We finally settled in to our temporary home at the Ogallala NE KOA. The sites are all gravel with full hook ups, called "buddy sites". What that means is two RVs share a site, with separate utilities for each RV, located in between the RVs. This KOA is right off the I-80 and close to amenities, has a play area for the kids, dog park for the other kids, laundry, and showers. The noise from the highway was tolerable, even with windows open. We joined KOA after learning a little bit more about their campgrounds. The campground we stayed at is categorized "Journey" because it is close to the highway. All "Journey" category are going to be near highway, they are generally overnight. They have two other categories: "Holiday" and "Resort". "Resort campgrounds are the premier campgrounds with all the bells and whistles.

Anyway, the town of Ogallala has a rich history steeped in cattle, it was the end of the trail when the cattle were being moved from Texas. In the mid 1940's the town would start a new life as tourists would flock to a newly created lake thanks to a C.o.E. project:

Lake McConaughy is the largest lake in Nebraska with about 30 miles of shoreline for fishing, swimming, and camping. This lake also provides irrigation water for 225,000 acres of farmland, and hydro-electric power to power a city of 45,000 people. Around here 45,000 people is a huge city, most of the towns we have been through sport a population between 200 and 8,000 (does not include livestock).

There are a couple of other attraction in the town of Ogallala: Front St., Mansion on the Hill, Boot Hill Cemetery, and the Petrified Wood Museum.

The museum that dumbfounded us the most was the Petrified Wood Museum, because of the wood, rock, and art displays.

Most of the displays are from twin brothers who have been doing this for almost 50 years. I am only going show you pictures because there was so much to see, I was overwhelmed.

That's all you get see, you need to see this place yourself. Time to head back home and prepare for South Dakota.

Marching Smartly North

 This is our site at Keystone Lake, Washington Irving South (Corp of Engineers (C.o.E.)) Campground  in Oklahoma. It may not look obvious, but this sight has an approximately 1 degree slope. It was necessary for us to extend our front levelers to their maximum height because of the slope. All the sites are sloped, either forward or backwards. It appears we were lucky to get a site, apparently, last year the lower (premier) sites were flooded out due to a high water levels in the reservoir. It is anticipated that the sites will not be available until next year.

Looking from Back Lawn

 While we were in Oklahoma we visited the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. It was a nice day trip in which we learned more about Will Rogers. Besides being an American Humorist, he was a proud Native American, radio show star, rancher, high school drop out, and volunteer for international tragedies. The museum has several little theaters in it enriching the public about the man. One fact I did not know was how he died. His death occurred when the plane he was traveling in with a friend went down in Alaska in 1935. In the basement is an interactive education center for the children. All but one son are buried on the grounds, a son is buried in Arizona.

Overlooking the Roger's Tomb

 

Being a Kid Again

Still a Kid

 

As you can see, things never change, even on the road. Learn more at https://www.willrogers.com/.

If anyone should ask you "where is Waldo?", you can tell them Waldo is about seven miles from Paradise... Paradise Kansas that is.

Unlike the C.o.E. park in Oklahoma where the campground is above the dam, the Sylvan Grove C.o.E. campground is below the dam. Most of the C.o.E. dam projects are earthen dams, in other words, dams like we used to built as children, only their's hold more water and you drive across them.

Wilson Dam

Sylvan Grove C.o.E. Campground

       
                                                                                                   

One of Two Playgrounds

Next time we will try one of the other C.o.E. campgrounds around the lake.

There are to a few odd attractions in the area. First we went to Lucas KS. and stopped at a house built in 1907, called "Garden of Eden", then downtown Lucas to the art district (main street). Next stop was Wilson KS to see the world's largest Cezh. egg, and have lunch. Between the two towns it was a day excursion.

The "Garden of Eden" house was built in 1907, later the owner began adding to it, with part of it paying tribute to war veterans.

 

The last picture is the mausoleum of the builder and his wife. When the mausoleum is open you can view his face through a glass plate in his coffin. You can learn more at http://www.gardenofedenlucas.org/ 

After we left we drove to the art district in downtown Lucas KS. The art district is actually their main street, and contains some neat art work. Their claim to local fame is the public restrooms, in fact, their restrooms have won awards for the most unique restrooms in Kansas.

This is the entrance to the public restrooms. Image yourself looking on a very large toilet with the seat up, and your pet Mud Raker drinking out of the toilet bowl... you now are visiting the largest toilet in Kansas. Let's talk inside. 

  

All tiles, stones, shells, and toys were individually put in place. Outside on the lawn your imagination can play as you enjoy the other displays. 

Have no fear, you can see the entire art district in less than an hour.

After leaving this fine one stop light (really one stop signal) town we headed to Wilson KS, "the Czech Capitol of Kansas", and the world's largest Czech egg. The town has history and more little eggs staged throughout the town. If you are in town and hungry, your choices are limited, we ate at the Made From Scratch Cafe.

Made from scratch means made from scratch. My Ruben sandwich is made with homemade rye bread, and freshly made potato chips. Carol's meal was pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and peas and carrots. Finally, we had rhubarb pie, totally unadulterated rhubarb, nothing else. As you can see, there was quite a bit of food, we had meals for a couple of days. Having finished lunch we stopped at the local market to pick up a few groceries before going back home to prepare for our journey to Nebraska.

More at https://www.hppr.org/post/welcome-lucas-ks-home-no-2-restroom-america;

http://www.kansastravel.org/lucaskansas.htm.

The COVID19 Adventure

This was our home from mid-March to end of May.  For those that wonder where this park is, it is located outside of Livingston Texas, between Dallas and Houston. The biggest thing Carol and I learned while at Livingston... Texas is not the place we want to be in the summer, and it isn't even summer yet. The humidity was the hardest part of the stay, then came the rains trying to drown the park. We did have some excitement one evening when a tornado touched down about 10 miles from us. 

This is Carol's new toy... a washing machine with a spin basket. As soon as she got it out of the box she was doing laundry, with great enthusiasm. The spinner removes so much water, the clothes are fairly damp, drying fast when hung outside. The unit is small enough that it fits in the shower, so Carol can wash and it will drain no problem, and it is stored there during traveling. While she is enjoying laundry I play outside cleaning the truck and trailer, go for walks, or just nap. One day was exceptionally different, I was preparing to clean the slide side of the trailer by closing the living room/dining room slide... oh no I didn't, the slide stopped moving after a loud pop. My suspicion was that one of the tracks jumped the gear... a couple days later the repair confirmed my suspicion.  What in fact happened was the gear driving the slide slipped to the right, causing the slide to not move on it's side. If you look 

 closely, you can see the groove the allen screw made in the shaft. I spent time underneath with the tech, now I have an idea of what to do if it happens again. Now that that is fixed we can finish cleaning the slide side of the trailer.

We were trying to limit how much sedimentary lifestyle by going out for nightly walks. I attached myself to one of our fellow RVers, and we walked every night, anywhere between 1 1/2 to 2 miles. After my walking partner moved on, I re-introduced myself to my digital Walkman for my longer walks, Carol and I went on shorter walks.

Finally, it came time to prepare to leave Texas for South Dakota. Par for the plan it started another cycle of rain and wind, and I'm talking rain that tried to wash our site into our neighbors site. We got on the road and headed for Texarkana to visit one of Carol's relatives. We stayed an the Elk's lodge on the Texas side of Texarkana. 

They have "four" sites, only two have 30A electric, the other two are 20A receptacles; gravel parking surface; no water or dump station. We popped in for a drink and didn't see anybody but the bartender. Before we went to see Carol's relatives we stopped by the federal building to play tourist. The building is the second most photographed federal building in the United States. If you have never been there you may be asking me why I have provided this piece of trivia. Well... it is the only federal building that sits in two states, Texas and Arkansas. Another point of interest is the fact that while the judges are appointed in one state, they can sit the bench in both states.  I was in a hurry to get back to Texas so Carol wouldn't leave, it's a long walk to her relatives house.

 It was a fun time visiting with relatives, but it was time to move on. We did a little scout sightseeing for our next visit to Texarkana. Back to the the trailer to prep for our next leg of the journey, which is Keystone Lake Oklahoma, which is near Cleveland Oklahoma.

TP Race 2020

THE RACE HAS BEGUN TO FREE ENSLAVED TOILET PAPER.

I have been doing some research on toilet (TP) paper, and discovered that TP was first discovered in the United States approximately 1859. The gentleman that first discovered it package it as flat sheets in a box, much like facial tissues today. In fact, he was sooooo proud, he had his name printed on every sheet. Later in the 1890's brothers by the name of Scott, produced TP on a roll, what you see today. Don't go an get all uppity you U.S. citizens, the Chinese were using it in the 9th century AD.

I am still trying to figure out how there was a run on toilet paper when the coronavirus is causing respiratory issues. I do know that because of the run for toilet paper has gotten out of hand, with people hoarding TP, or trying to scalp it for silly prices. Scalping tickets at a concert is child's play.

One thought is that some of the people have their heads where they don't belong, and believe they need the TP to wipe the nose after they cough.

Something I know for sure is that lawyers are struggling too; they have nothing to write their contracts on.

Today Carol and I entered the TP race of 2020. We drove 56 miles round trip, spending $43.00 for a 4 roll pack...plus a few other items. The toilet paper itself only cost $4.97, and are proud owners of this TP. Carol found a 4 pack on Amazon for $14.00, and an additional $42.00 for priority shipping, which would have been received in two to three weeks from purchase. Regular delivery time would have been sometime between early May and mid-June.

Anyway, I thank God that Carol and I are doing ok here in Livingston TX. Keep smiling, and remember that God is in control.

Awaiting the Apocalypse or Aliens

We are now in Livingston TX despite all the scares running around regarding COVID19. You will understand the title of this post once I have finished the post.

I forgot our little visit to Roswell while we were in Lakewood NM.

That's right, we stopped at the infamous UFO museum. The museum was entertaining for sure. Carol and I sat through a video regarding the events around the suspect UFO that crashed near Roswell in the 1940's. The story told of the event made the lead investigator into an idiot. All the investigating he did, and the information he shared was redirected to somewhere under lock and key. The story the government put out was a downed weather balloon, and had the lead inspector holding weather balloon pieces. For $3.00 per person it was an ok place to go for a few hours, or half day if you read everything available.

We escaped New Mexico to Texas in the heat of the Corona Virus.

After Abilene we stopped Lake Bardwell, A Corp of Engineer (C.O.E.) campground. The lake is a reservoir with several areas to camp, whether RV or tent. This one some of the least
expensive beachfront property, at $14.00 a night, or $7.00 with the senior's pass.







If there is a question about this flower, it is the Texas state flower, the Bluebonnet. These flowers along with a beautiful orange flower were everywhere in the campground. This campground was the only one of the C.O.E. campgrounds on the lake open all season. The sites are water and electric only; there is a dump station on the way to the campsites. If there was a question of social isolation, there was more than enough room between sites to ensure we didn't breath on each other.

Enough said, off to Livingston TX.

Big Hole in the Ground

We arrived at our next respite point, located in Lakewood NM. This Ranch was the second one build for Escapee members to enjoy. This park is located on part of a large 

cattle ranch.Apparently the founder of Escapee (Joe Peterson) knew the owner from childhood. Rumor is that they flew over the ranch and Joe told his friend that he wanted "that piece down there".  It is about a half hour drive either way to get to a fair sized city. One direction is Carlsbad, the other is Roswell. Between the rain drops the sunrises are spectacular This
happened to be one morning out our front door on the way to the caverns. I was excited to see the caverns, I had never been there.







From the beginning of the drive up to the caverns was a beautiful drive into the hills. You would never suspect that something as magnificent as the caverns existed.

The National Park Service (NPS) took in to account a lot when they set up the upper area outside. There are some parking spaces for RVs and buses, besides regular vehicles. People traveling with pets are not allowed to leave the pet in their vehicle, and they are not allowed in the caverns. Have no fear, NPS has kennel facilities to handle your needs. The Visitor Center has a restaurant, gift shop, and small show and tell area before going into the caverns. The cost is only $15.00 to get into the main cavern, you can buy tours into other caverns. The first thing I liked was it didn't cost us anything to get in because of our senior's park pass. The next thing I liked was the elevator. There are two ways into the cavern, walk or elevator. Carol and I chose the elevator, it was a little faster, and easier on Carol's knees, mine too, probably. You see the "Big Room" of the cavern is 750 feet below fresh air. Once at the bottom of the elevator, the doors open to a new world. NPS is upgrading lighting in the cave to make it safer, and more enjoyable. Enough talk, let's get to pictures.

The first thing that needs to be understood is that we are talking a 1 1/2 mile loop through the "Big Room". If you are claustrophobic you may not feel comfortable in the caverns.








Throughout the caverns NPS has provided names for some of the prominent formations, I will not be providing those names to encourage you to visit this national park.

Jabba Da Hut on Slim Fast

I took over 300 pictures in the caverns, Carol took a lot herself, but this is all you get. You have to go and get your own.

The caverns were our primary reason for staying in Lakewood. Next Stop is Abilene TX.

In Abilene TX we stayed at the VFW for a couple nights. Kind of pricey at $40.00 per night for non-members. Carol has relatives here, they came by for awhile then took us over to a good steakhouse in town. My ribeye provided me three meals, Carol's only lasted two. 

From Abilene we are headed to Livingston TX to see the home office of Escapee RV Club.