Yet another cookout!  I still have the same belt, believe it or not!

This place is relatively close to Cleveland, where Diane, Wen's sister, lives.  We planned to go with Diane to see a Cleveland Guardians (Indians for us purists) baseball game, but were rained out.  Instead we went to the city zoo and had a wonderful time!  In no particular order, I'll just show a good many pictures of the afternoon.

WARNING

There are a lot of pictures on this post!

My Guardian Angel :)

We've been with Connie (Wen's sister) and Tom for a couple of weeks now.  We stopped for a short visit but Wendy ended up needing to get a root canal.  It's a 2+ week process and we're so thankful for being able to stay with them. 

Tom's quite a cook and we've enjoyed a couple of backyard cookouts on weekends.

Tom's discussing the finer points of his culinary expertise with his son John, and Claire.

Hannah and Charles are proof the food was fantastic.  And Charles is a chef :)

Just so you know it's not all fun and games, here's a project that was a bit of a challenge as I couldn't find much help on YouTube :) A broken door hinge....successfully replaced!

We also managed a cookout at Phillip and Kay's home.

All of these cookouts are beginning to take a toll on my belt!

Dwaine escorted us to an RV sales establishment where we emptied our holding tanks and said our goodbyes.  While there we met a salesman, who stopped to inquire about our trailer, and he told us of a place we should visit, on the way to Columbus, called Serpent Mound.  So we welcomed the chance to get off the major roads and set sail for Serpent Mound!

On the way, we stopped at an Amish store for a few goodies. 

If you look closely at the donuts on the left, you'll see 2 on the top shelf.  The one on the right is at least 9 inches across!!!  It no longer resides there :)  Yummmmmm...

This observation tower was closed as it was built in the early 1900's and is badly rusted.  The mound probably looks a lot different from the top of it.

We left Murfreesboro, TN for a visit with Nancy and Dwaine, friends we met at the music rally we attended earlier this year in Grapeland, TX.

They have a very beautiful home and we are thankful for their invitation to stay with them.

Nancy is patiently tending to one of the many, many plants around their property.  As an English teacher she teaches young Chinese students on line :)

Dwaine has a love for MGB's and Mini Coopers.  We took a spin around the countryside in his MGB!  I should have tied off my beard as it interfered with my vision on occasion :)

Dwaine works on his own vehicles to the point of removing and replacing engines and other major components.  As a retired industrial engineer he can just about manufacture anything he needs for his cars and trailer.  VERY talented!

When we met in Texas, they were sporting a cedar table he designed and I mentioned I would love to be able to make one someday.  I took many pictures of his table, knowing in the back of my mind, I would never be in a place long enough with the tools I needed to even attempt the task. 

Well, here he is making one for me!  His craftsmanship is amazing!  This little, lightweight table fits onto a trailer's outboard tire and has an extendable, adjustable leg.  I'll proudly show it in a later post, in use :) 

​I wish I had taken a picture of their basement, flooded with many kinds of musical instruments.  Maybe next time we visit.  Dwaine has quite a musical talent and wonderful, harmonizing voice.

We went to the Plain Folk Café, in Pleasant Point, OH, for brunch after Church.  It is an old 2 room schoolhouse built in 1913...The food was really good!  

The picture below shows how crowded it gets on occasion.  The picture is actually from their Facebook gallery.

A couple more pictures from Nancy and Dwaine...

These guys know how to shine!
After meeting Gavin, Colin, and Denver at the Oliver rally, we knew we were going to get these guys to ceramic coat our truck and trailer.  They are hard working, meticulous, friendly Christians and it is a pleasure knowing them.  The truck and trailer are now better than showroom quality. 

Gavin, Denver, and Colin pose with us, and you'd be right in guessing Gavin comes in handy getting to those high, hard to reach, spots!

Their "Guardian Turkey", made from old horse shoes, keeps watch over their property :) 

We were able to get in another hike.  It was supposed to only be 90 degrees today, but of course, the weather person was wrong... it was 99!  The hike turned into work.

2 casual observers kept an eye on us.

Someone needs to keep an eye on this bit of wild life :)

Colin suggested Jack Brown's Beer and Burgers for a meal.  It was delicious.  This disco ball, adorned with bras, is part of a yearly charitable fund raising event.  I had to take this picture for a dear friend, Veston, who is the world's best disco dancer :) 

We came here to escape the heat in Mississippi and were somewhat successful.  We'll be leaving today for Murfreesboro, TN, and then on to Ohio for the July 4th weekend.

We had to use these two spots so we could stay here for the week.

We had a great time with new friends Pat, Art, and Lexie.  They are still living the life at 85!  Very inspirational :)

I wish I had taken a picture of Patti and Bill.  They were very friendly people and were very interested in our trailer.   Bill was in aircraft maintenance in the Air Force, as were Wendy and I.  But Bill worked on reciprocating engine aircraft....the ones with propellers and pistons!  I went to tech school for those aircraft but the fleet was phased out before I could work on them up in Minot, ND.  Gosh...I go back a long way!

We were able to trek another 11 miles on 2 hikes.  If I remember correctly, it was a little easier 2 years ago.

"My Wonder Woman"

Wait....HOW many miles to go!

Thanks for joining us again, blessings to you all.

We've been at the Oliver Plant for close to a week for our 2 day service appointment.  The service team is top notch and we're leaving here as "happy campers".  We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, "Meriwether's Retreat" in downtown Hohenwald, Tn.   Our hostess, Melissa, and her 4 dogs were so much fun to be around.  We really enjoyed our stay and we highly recommend them!

We talked Oliver into letting us stay for a couple more days since Hohenwald was hosting a one day music festival.

They like elephants here :) ​
A description from Wikipedia:
​​​The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is a non-profit organization licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). Founded in 1995, The Sanctuary has provided a home to 28 elephants, all retired from zoos and circuses. The Elephant Sanctuary provides these elephants with a natural habitat, individualized care for life, and the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well being. The elephant habitats are not open to the public.
At over 2,700 acres (11 km2), the sanctuary consists of three separate and protected, natural habitat environments for Asian and African elephants; a 2,200-acre (9 km2) Asian facility, a 200-acre (0.81 km2) quarantine area and a 300-acre (1.2 km2) African habitat.

"The Mother Ship"

Wendy looks on as Hannah performs her magic!

As we were pulling away to leave, our hitch started making a terrible racket and we had to go back and have it tended to.  Good thing we hadn't left their parking lot!

All fixed and ready to rock 'n roll!

Our new friend, Mike, was there to pick up his Oliver.  He practiced driving up and down the adjacent road and backed into all 7 camping spots to prepare for his solo flight home to Texas.

Inside joke for Mike....he'll get it :) 

We also met Wanda and Victor.  We really enjoyed meeting them and listening to Victor's very talented voice and guitar!  Hope to jam with them again one day.

We've been to this campground a couple of times before.  Oliver used to have this spot reserved throughout the year for new owners to camp overnight before traveling on.

I'm in luck tonight!  My favorite cook is cooking my favorite meal...spaghetti :)

New friends, Genice, Rickey and Aubie, pose for a picture before departure.  I wish we were able to get pictures of Joe and Sheila before they left.

We were able to log 11 miles of hiking over the last 2 days.  Trails were marked by paint on trees and we still managed to miss some of them.

And then there were connection issues with our app...

Which led to obstacles...

And an encounter with Sasquatch?

The park actually had the nerve to put several exercise machines atop a hill climb of about 200 feet over 200 yards of travel!  Much like the "red path of pain" I chronicled a couple of years ago, I dubbed this the "asphalt path of pain".  We did not partake of this opportunity!!!!!

These waterfalls don't exactly match the grandeur of Niagara Falls but are nevertheless very peaceful and relaxing to be next to.

This campground is on National Forest property near Hohenwald, Tennessee.  Our plan was to stay here for 6 days but we felt uncomfortable leaving our camper unattended for an extended period of time to go hiking and exploring.  There were not many campers here and people drove through at all hours.  We also needed a bit more sunlight for our solar setup as we would be without power for those 6 days.  The area was very beautiful and relaxing but we promised ourselves long ago that if something just didn't feel right, we would move on.  And so we did.

Just a few last minute pictures from the past week.  We'll be leaving tomorrow for the Natchez Trace Parkway to stay at a National Forest campground near Hohenwald, Tn.  We'll have been here for 15 days by the time we leave tomorrow.  So glad to have spent the busy, busy Memorial Day Weekend here.  It was remarkably quiet with well over 300 families each day.  No disturbances, no loud music to drown out the laughter of the children or the sounds of nature.  Very relaxing :) 

Even the gnomes were partying :)

Another rally has come and gone!  Many friends made and good times were had.  We learned much at this Oliver Trailer rally and our reservation for next year's event has already been made.  We are staying for another week at Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama, as next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and campground spots will be hard to find.

As you can see, many were in attendance :)

The line was long and steady throughout the day to get "free" lunch at the golf course food truck.  I complained, mildly of course, that the false advertising on the front of the truck sported "soft serve ice-cream" and they had none.  I was told they tried but couldn't remove the little painted sign.  I'll carry some duck tape with me next year!

I'm getting a plumbing lesson for when things go wrong.

This was an unexpected, surprise lesson.  Someone broke a leaf spring on the way to the rally.  Oliver Travel Trailer brought over a new one and we watched as an experienced fellow traveler happily helped with the installation.  This is why I carry 100 lbs worth of tools with me everywhere we go :)  I exaggerate, of course.  It's probably only 75 lbs or so.

Everyone is crazy about playing "corn hole" these days.  Even the squirrels!  We didn't see them participate but, as you can tell, they're not very good with their aim :)

Emus at the park?  What next? lol.

This is indeed a beautiful place to behold.

One last walkaround the campground revealed we have 32 trailers, out of 150, left for at least tonight.  We came across Tina and Greg, who are leaving tomorrow. They are such a sweet couple and we dearly hope to meet up with them again!  They are a lot of fun to be around :) 

We left Oklahoma on our pilgrimage to Garfield, Arkansas, for another ice cream experience.  Wendy always keeps a close eye on the weather and pointed out that our destination was supposed to get nasty, according to the forecast.  We figured to just keep an eye on things as we had 6 hours to get there.  Long story short, 50 miles from our destination we turned around and headed back because of tornados and hail.  We headed south and then west to find a rest area out of harms way and was planning to wait there until the front passed, but another wave was supposed to hit a couple of hours later.  We scrapped our plans for Garfield and decided to make a really long day of it and press on to Tunica, Mississippi.  We saddled up and followed the severe line of storms in the general direction we wanted to go, stopping at places along the way so we wouldn't catch up to the storms.  Well, the second wave was catching up to us, an event we didn't plan for.  Wendy was not amused at this new task load!  Following along closely behind one line and watching the direction of the approaching line, to deviate as needed, was quite a challenge.  The weather apps we use are most appreciated!  Wendy did great!!  We experienced a few '"firsts" on this leg.  Thirteen+ hours of driving, our first 91+ dollar gas fill up, and purposely driving at night  all added up to "quite a day".  You cannot imagine the bug splatter on the front of the truck and trailer, from the headlights!  Arrived safely at Tunica, set up camp, and had a beer!!!

Check out time after a day of bug scrubbing :)  On to the rally in Alabama!

We worked together, in Charleston, a lifetime ago and revisiting so many years later makes this nomadic lifestyle all that more enjoyable for us!  We are so blessed :)  They have a "barndominium" that was built last year and have their work cut out for themselves with clearing trees, digging through clay and moving the large rocks.  Armed with a new collection of big boy toys, Harold seems to be enjoying the tasks ahead.

We still have to check for harmful critters every morning!  A black widow spider, complete with her egg sac attached to one of my shoes, had to be relocated to the edge of the yard.  A timid tarantula may not demand an immediate response but nevertheless necessitated a relocation as well.

Harold leaned over to me and pointed to a crease in my pants leg and suggested I remove this critter.....

Tess never stops working, dawn to dusk are her working hours.  I never hear complaints, only thankful remarks as she moves from task to task.  She's quite an inspiration! :) 

Gunner is my wakeup call each morning.  He runs around and through the property chasing invisible, unwanted enemies.  My guess is he's paying back the many whippoorwills that sing all night long! 

Harold and I get a chance to work on some projects.

This doesn't look like much now but it is to become a chicken coop with a run attached, to house 5, or so, chickens in the near future.

Our bathroom flooring project.....complete!!!

One thing does concern me.  I think Harold has aspirations of continuing his dream of becoming a dentist, and he's giving me a strange look.  Yikes!!!

And Gunner seems intent on being his assistant.  Double YIKES!!!!!

It has been a wonderful week, complete with some of the best home cooking I've experienced and blessed fellowship!

On the way to our next stop we passed a couple of notable landmarks.

We can't seem to get away from the wind, as you can tell from Wendy's hair.

One night, no water, no electricity (think air conditioning), 99 degrees inside the trailer, 98 outside, howling wind (think..no way we can shut the windows for fear of losing our cooling wind... remember it's cooler outside ), dust everywhere that Wendy has to clean up later, coyotes singing to us throughout the night, and the little guy in the picture below lost its mom and had to stand next to our trailer, outside our open window, mooing for mom!  ALL NIGHT LONG!!!  Grrrrr...but all is good!  I don't think we'll do a repeat any time soon!

Our welcoming committee

Left us a going away gift :) 

See what I mean by all is good :)

We had such a beautiful night I just had to take a few more pictures of our last sunset at Oasis.

We've been here for 10 days or so and it's time to move on to Oklahoma.  Oasis SP is near Portales.  We've been here before, 3 years ago.  It was much greener and the bunny rabbits were everywhere.  So we decided to go back and visit the rabbits.  There has been a severe drought here so the landscape is very different.  But our furry friends are surviving and the many types of birds sing to us everyday.  This is such a beautiful, peaceful place.

And now for the stars of the show :)

I couldn't figure out what this bird was!

A few of the cacti and other flora

I can't be sure, but I think this is cousin It :) 

Sunsets around here are pretty nice :) 

Wendy is supposed to be a happy camper, but something is not quite right.

​Burrs!!!!!

Tumbleweeds!!!!

Our assault on Mount Oasis!!!  First, Wendy needs to prepare, as the wind is fierce!

SUCCESS!!!

This might be the first time I am caught up with our blog post before we leave for our next destination! YAY:)  Today was quite a day.  We woke up to 39 degree temps and 9 hours later it was 93!

2 stops first, since Texas makes it a long way to get there.  A quick stopover at a Cracker Barrel, in Abilene, and a Harvest Host in Brownfield.  No pictures from Abilene since we never left the parking lot, just a quick dinner and early departure.  We did get a few at the Harvest Host.

You can never tell what to expect at a Harvest Host.  We keep hoping for lush surroundings, plentiful wildlife, and hiking trails, etc, etc etc.  The people here were very friendly, however.  This is a winery, so we at least we found a flavor to our liking :)

There are 300+ acres of vines here.

These grape pickers won't be active until mid to late August through October.

Bandera was a ton of fun, thanks to Mimi for a job well done as event coordinator :)  
​

​This is our horse's owner's group photo.  Complete with our horse :)

A lull in the action afforded our jockey, Bill, and our horse, Liberty, a much needed rest from the torrid pace!

It appears someone lost a bet.

Let's be clear, the above caption pertains to the previous picture of the gentleman with the colorful hat.

On the way to our next destination we stopped at yet another Mexican restaurant :)

This came up too fast for us to hook up and skeedaddle!

Quarter size hail, did not do any damage this time.  One was golf ball sized!  The one in my hand was a typical size; I wasn't about to forage out to retrieve the lone golf ball sized one!!  Some of the Ford trucks had some damage because of their aluminum construction.

We've been here a week or so waiting for the rally to start and had a chance to visit a few sights.

We stopped at Toucan Jim's, a pirate themed restaurant with plenty of seating options!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, here are a few more pictures at the park.

This old, old, longhorn hangs out in the shade most of the day.

These 2 donkeys ended up on the wrong side of the fence somehow :)  They were successfully corralled.  No animals were harmed in this valiant undertaking... 

A breath of cool air can always be found down by the river :)

We don't really need to be careful around these gals; they're painted stones lol!

Here's another visit to an old, well-visited restaurant, Camp Verde.  ​Camp Verde started out as a United States Army post in 1855. This post was where researchers looked into the feasibility of camels in the United States. Researchers noticed that other animals panicked at the smell of camels. So, They decided against using camels and released them from the facility to roam around as they please. Residents, at this time, described that there were several beasts roaming the area. These “beasts” they referred to was the Army post’s camels. In 1861, Confederate Forces captured Camp Verde. Egyptian handlers took the camels and used them to haul cotton to Mexico. Soon after, the camels were sold to different zoos and circuses.
Today, Camp Verde is a community consisting of a cemetery, a general store, and remains of the military post. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

And, of course, a couple of pig themed items were found and made their way back to our trailer!

We're now at Skyline Ranch RV Park.  Here we'll attend another Casita Rally called Blue Bonnet.  It's an annual rally this time of year in Bandera.  It's our first time here and are looking forward to making new friends and learning some new tunes :)  We ran into a couple we met 4 years ago at our first rally at Pine Knot in Grapeland, Tx.

Charlotte and Wayne are about the sweetest couple you'd ever want to meet.  Another guitar player and ukulele/dulcimer player we're sure to have a great time with!

Our parking spot for the next 10 days.

Right down the gravel road from our spot is this beautiful, peaceful stream.

I thought Wendy was beside me taking a picture of the stream but instead was mischievously taking a "selfie"  :) 

We've been at Goodfellow for 9 days!  It's been pretty low key.  We're just passing time 'til 19th of this month to attend another rally in Bandera, Texas.  We did have a little excitement one night.  
A very fast developing storm had us departing our campsite in minutes a few nights ago.  So many things done wrong...  60 mph winds, 1+ inch hailstones, and a tornado in the mix had us running to beat the storm.  We took only what was necessary and left everything else behind.  We saw that that there was a clear path out of the storm's way so we decided to go.  The storm was 2 counties away and we felt we could escape safely.  Wendy was busy on her tablet and phone plotting out our path and watching the storm.  We have talked about what we would do in a situation like this but never considered an immediate departure at night.  I think we did the best we could under the circumstances but realize there is room for improvement.  Well, we safely evaded the storm.  No hail or heavy rain was encountered.  So, all went pretty well.  Until we came back to the campground.....  It's my first time driving at night with the camper and setting up.  I pulled a real dumb-dumb.  I figured to use the dump site on the way back into camp to save a trip later.  I thought all was going well until I saw a recoil of some sort in the side view mirror as I pulled away.  I just knew I returned the septic hose to it's place but I wasn't 101% sure so I stopped and looked around.  The septic hose was indeed all locked up safely in its compartment.  But I had driven off with the water hose still attached to the black tank rinse spigot.  The water hose stretched until it could stretch no more.  I bent the water main over to a 45 degree angle and popped the campground hose end off.  I had the water shut off and the water stand pipe, although bent, did not leak.  I'll own up to the campground admin folks in the AM.

Our spot for the duration...plenty of sand spurs!  Watch out Belle and Max (our adopted pets back in Pinopolis)!  

We did get to a Mexican restaurant, imagine that...our favorite food!

Thankfully, no live ones up there to ruin our dinner!

This was our next stop in Texas.  4 nights.  All in all a nice, quiet park.

Our neighbor across the street, Todd, was in the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) during Desert Storm.  He, of course, was in a different location than I, doing the lion's share of the work.  That rig next to his truck unravels into quite a large tent complex, complete with an A/C.

More neighbors :)

We finally got in a little hiking...5.3 miles this time :)

This could quite possibly lead to an unfortunate outcome.....

We made it!  :)
We arrived on time for a week with friends and playing music until our fingers hurt.  Wendy finally got back to playing her bass and we had a wonderful time!

Dwaine and Nancy were our next door neighbors.  Dwaine shared a "mod" with me and I will soon attempt to duplicate his table.

Here are some pictures of the grounds.  We've been to this park 3 times now and nothing really changes but for the friends and good times we have enjoyed.

I think Wendy is going to straighten me out about something.  There's no place to hide around here!

Larry and Debbie, organizers of this event, are taking a much deserved rest.  What a fantastic job they (and many helpers) did!

Time to break camp and move on.

Jan and Mike were kind enough to let me take this picture.  I was honored to shake the hand of a Purple Heart recipient! 

I caught Todd and Randy cuttin' up here.

Chick and Kathy are quite the musical duo!  They play many songs on their Ukuleles :)  We hope to see them again at the Blue Bonnet Rally next month.

We're very thankful Howard caught up with us before we left the rally.  We really enjoyed his singing and guitar playing!

Trivia question...….can anyone guess who this is?

Pre-beard :) 

After Arkansas we left for Tunica, Mississippi.  We only spent 2 nights there (in Tunica) and it was pretty tame this time, until we left in the middle of a severe weather event.  Tornadoes hit parts around us and in Texas, our destination.  Wendy navigated us around the tornadoes, keeping us 50 or so miles away, until we reached Grapeland, Texas.  At least the driving rains washed off the film of bugs from the truck and trailer.

We started out on time!  Hooray!!!!

I wish I had taken a departure picture of Gwyn and Belle.  We hope to be back to see them on Gwen's birthday, at the end of October :) 

We left for a Cracker Barrel in Adairsville, Ga. and another in Arkadelphia,Ar. 

A tight squeeze but fine since we were there first :)  Really good food and very friendly folks.

As I may have mentioned in another post or two, Wendy does not like to be cold.  She managed a pose and a smile in spite of the temps.

I thought I was seeing things when I passed a tree covered with shoes.  I missed the photo op but was able to download a picture from the internet.  You can get most anything off the internet, lol.  It turns out that many places around the country follow this tradition.  I couldn't find a reason for this practice for the one in northern Alabama.