tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329771082012-02-06T22:26:11.735-05:00To view more photos in the album, click on the photosTom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comBlogger4061100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-89192145063409587012012-02-05T20:25:00.004-05:002012-02-06T22:26:11.758-05:00

Yesterday, February 4th, was our 45th wedding anniversary. We started the day by going to a local restaurant, Reb's, for breakfast. From there we went down to Sierra Vista to attend the Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering. This was the third year that we attended this gathering and we enjoyed it like it was the first. The Gathering is a 3 day event beginning on Friday evening. On

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-52908469178326173582012-02-03T19:28:00.003-05:002012-02-05T17:48:45.801-05:00

Wednesday we spent the day in the campground doing laundry and other housekeeping stuff. In the evening we went into Benson to the Horseshoe Grill with friends, Drew and Marti. A nice ending to the day. Thursday morning we went to Tucson to spend the day with my cousin Patty and her husband Braxton- the Cooley's. After taking a walk about their outside patio/pool area admiring the

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-22866873120972467162012-01-31T20:09:00.002-05:002012-02-01T18:55:56.570-05:00

Yesterday, Monday, was spent here at the campground. First item of the day was getting moved to a new site as the owners to the site we were on were coming into the park. We moved from site 70 to site 73(- and the owners on 70 are still not in the campground on Tuesday). Oh well we are moved to a site that is just as accommodating. Then a load of wash was done, a walk about the park, and a

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-18701924748425864372012-01-29T19:47:00.002-05:002012-02-01T18:31:31.412-05:00

Friday, we went to Karchner Caverns just north of Benson. We had gone to these caverns last year but just did the "Big Room" tour. So this year we took a second tour the "Rotunda and Throne Room". These caverns are about the most protected caverns other that allow tours. Tour guides lead the tours and you must stay on a paved walkway and should you touch something other than the railing along

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-8359694748878583802012-01-26T22:57:00.001-05:002012-01-26T22:57:25.685-05:00

Yesterday, Wednesday, after taking our morning walk about the campground we went for a drive around the town of Benson.  We had seen a notice here at the campground about a Poetry and Music get together this weekend at a bookstore located outside of town on a dirt road so we checked out that area for a possible something to do on Sunday afternoon.  We then rode south to Tombstone.  There seemed

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-7507505222582754002012-01-24T16:56:00.006-05:002012-01-25T17:48:31.343-05:00

Saturday we were hearing about a wind storm that was coming from the west and could be south enough to be in the Alamogordo area. When we went to bed that night we had not had any strong winds but about 2am we felt the wind. We had some rocking of the motorhome and sounds of slider awnings flapping. Upon rising Sunday morning there were still some winds but we heard the worst was north of the

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-58471698527790959242012-01-21T21:04:00.003-05:002012-01-22T00:36:31.155-05:00

Yesterday, January 20th, we spent most of the day in Carlsbad Caverns. We went in the Natural Entrance Route, a 750 foot descent that swiches back and forth for much of a mile. This route ended at a rest area in one direction or to the Big Room Route in another direction. We stopped off at the rest area for a restroom break and a snack of a shared sandwich before going into the Big Room.

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-46911477824471970682012-01-19T22:36:00.001-05:002012-01-19T22:36:24.265-05:00

Yesterday, Wednesday the 18th,  we continued our travels across I-20.  We stopped in Abilene for fuel and then thought we would grab a bite to eat for lunch.  Across the street from the gas station was a shopping area that set back from the road but a Wendy’s was along the road  and appeared to have a connecting parking lot from Wendy’s to the shopping area.  Tom turned into the Wendy’s and sure

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-47199866140772267252012-01-17T22:23:00.000-05:002012-01-17T22:23:30.291-05:00

Today was a good travel day. Leaving the campground this morning we crossed the mighty Mississippi River about 5 minutes later and entered the state of Louisiana. While crossing La.  we hit some heavy rain, but it didn't cause us any problems. With the gas Newmar, Tom would have been on pins and needles because it did not like running in the rain.  We had tried several different fixes,

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-16728746647819891402012-01-16T21:24:00.003-05:002012-01-16T22:33:04.287-05:00

Bright and early this morning, 7am, Tom went to the service area to inform Greg, the supervisor in the mechanical area, that we still had problems with the check engine light being on. Greg said as soon as he got the techs moving he would make some calls and get Ennis(?) over to work on the problem. So we packed up the motorhome and moved it over to the bay. Ennis arrived soon afterward and

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-59359117235788985922012-01-15T23:02:00.003-05:002012-01-16T21:21:01.952-05:00

This morning we had some visitors.  Mark, Chris and their dog, Teddy. Mark is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman and Chris is a retired Nurse. Teddy checked out our motorhome and then made himself at home curling up at Mark's feet. They were checking in at Camp Red Bay when we returned from our travels yesterday.  I sent an email to Mark letting him know where we were located. Their

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-30579018121161318482012-01-14T18:50:00.003-05:002012-01-15T18:26:32.788-05:00

After reading yesterday's post by Tom it is not hard to see that it was not a good day for us. Our motorhome was in the service bay all day being worked on for the yellow "service engine" light that was being displayed. A Cummin's tech worked most of the morning trouble shooting if it was an engine problem and concluded it was not so it was turned over to a Tiffin tech that specializes in these

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-75119391930179616932012-01-13T20:22:00.002-05:002012-01-13T20:22:56.830-05:00

Friday the 13th was not a lucky day for us.  Enough said.

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-28699384836562408472012-01-12T15:02:00.002-05:002012-01-12T15:02:25.597-05:00

This morning we took the motorhome over to Bay Diesel to have the front end alignment checked.  While they were working on the motorhome, Leah and I went to breakfast at Jack's.  It was nothing to brag about.  When we returned to Bay Diesel, they were finished, so we went back to the Tiffin service campground.  We only plugged the motorhome in as we wanted to find out if they had the part/s

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-25273392294327472932012-01-11T19:47:00.001-05:002012-01-11T20:33:29.889-05:00

It was another day when no work was performed on the motohome.  We are scheduled to have the front end worked on tomorrow morning at Bay Diesel here in Red Bay.  If that does not fix the wondering problem, I am not certain what our next step will be.  We still have to have a part replaced in the DEF system also but don't know when and who will do that repair. Tiffin has a ways to go to live up

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-6613254350421928492012-01-10T21:24:00.001-05:002012-01-16T21:23:15.133-05:00

Well, guess what, we are still in Red Bay, Al.  We thought our motorhome repairs would be completed today, but they were not.  A tech had to come over from the factory to check on the check engine light.  While waiting on the word to bring the motorhome into the service bay, I spoke with John another Phaeton owner that has the same year, chassis and model comparing problems we both are having. 

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-32418048947227885482012-01-09T22:37:00.001-05:002012-01-10T20:36:36.143-05:00

Yesterday, Sunday, we spent the day in the motorhome most of the day.  It was a rainy, gray day warm.  I had brought some shrimp along thinking we might have that for New Year’s eve if we didn’t eat somewhere which is what we did.  So I steamed the shrimp and made some pasta salad for our Sunday dinner.  And then we watched football games.   Saturday in our travels around south of Red Bay we saw

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-60358232164292401252012-01-07T22:01:00.000-05:002012-01-07T22:01:13.609-05:00

Today we thought we would go see a movie.  We wound up in Tupelo, Ms and went to two different movie theaters, but did not see anything we wanted to see,  The second theater we went to was located in a mall, so we walked around the mall for a bit and than went for a late lunch.  We got back to Red Bay and the motorhome just before a thunderstorm.  It looks like we are going to have a wet weekend.

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-67832892695752674052012-01-06T20:26:00.002-05:002012-01-06T20:50:43.163-05:00

We waited all day in hopes of being called into the service bay to have our cruise control problem taken care of but it just did not happen. So--- that means we will be spending the weekend here in Red Bay. Tom checked in several times today and found out that the unit being worked on apparently had some serious electrical problems that the techs were having difficulty solving. But we are

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-28759749494240831602012-01-06T11:49:00.001-05:002012-01-06T12:26:20.222-05:00

Well, we are still in Red Bay.  This morning we were due to go into the service bay at 7am.  As we were preparing the motorhome we encountered a problem.  The bedroom slide on the driver’s side would not come in.  Tom went over to the service area and talked to Stanley, our tech, who came out to the motorhome and was unable to locate a problem without further investigation.  Stanley advised us to

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-9941077542385221532012-01-04T18:53:00.002-05:002012-01-04T19:35:04.842-05:00

The weather has been cold here. The past 2 nights temperatures were in the 20's. Yesterday the temperature did not reach 40 degrees but today the temps were in the 50's and expected to be better tomorrow.Yesterday we were told that we would get to the service bay by today so we stayed around the motorhome all morning awaiting a call telling us what service bay to come to and, finally, at 11:

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-36975316034556604212012-01-03T15:41:00.001-05:002012-01-03T15:42:20.144-05:00

This morning the Audio/Video repairman stopped by.  He looked at the TV and swapped a cable between the front and midships TV to see if that was the problem with the dropped Satellite signal to the midships TV.  While running that test, he pulled the JVC Radio/GPS unit and took it to his shop to extend the GPS antenna connector.  While he was gone, the midships TV lost the satellite signal again.

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-28663240789653337042012-01-02T15:01:00.002-05:002012-01-02T19:37:43.533-05:00

The chill has moved into Red Bay and along with it is wind. Although the sky is bright blue it is downright cold outside. I'm wanting to move on further south and hopefully we will be able to do so before the end of the week. The Tiffin factory is closed yet today but will open tomorrow and we are told that someone will be here about 7:30 am to go over the issues of our motorhome. Our black

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-74188676522160582812012-01-01T18:09:00.005-05:002012-01-02T15:24:48.465-05:00

Happy New Year!! The fireworks and shooting of guns continued all evening last night and actually seemed to decrease until at midnight there was very little noise in this town. We spent the morning doing household chores. We cleaned up the motorhome after breakfast. Not being hooked up to water and sewer I am unable to do laundry in the motorhome so I took a load of laundry to the laundry

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-26400863886996484622011-12-31T21:29:00.002-05:002011-12-31T22:27:08.295-05:00

Friday the 30th was a quiet day for us. We did go to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch of a Mexican buffet that was pretty good. Afterwards we drove around the town of Red Bay getting a little more familiar with the area. Today, New Year's Eve, we decided to go to Tupelo, Mississippi for the day about 50 miles from Red Bay.  Tupelo is most famous for being the birthplace of Elvis Presley so

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-88998314312115678312011-12-30T13:24:00.002-05:002011-12-30T20:30:30.517-05:00

Thursday, the 29th, was Tom's 66th birthday. I had planned to cook something other than oatmeal for breakfast but I slept late and we had some traveling to do. So after eating oatmeal we got on the road about 9:30am. We traveled around Chattanooga, Tn. on I-24 that cut through a small section of Georgia, back to Tennnessee and then we picked up state rte.72 until we were west of

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-63200800313517296572011-12-28T21:07:00.001-05:002011-12-28T21:07:52.234-05:00

Tom and I had a wonderful Christmas.   On Christmas eve we attended candle light church services at our church.  Christmas day we went down to Virginia to spend the day with Todd, Beth and our 4 grandchildren.  Todd and Beth prepared a wonderful meal of prime rib, baked potatoes and broccoli and cauliflower medley.  I added to the meal with cream of crab soup.  Rhubarb/strawberry pie, made by

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-15695285789259027072011-12-18T13:09:00.000-05:002011-12-19T15:23:34.861-05:00

Well, its been awhile since we have made a post to our blog.  When we are not on the road and busy with everyday things, Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas, the blog seems to take a back seat.  Since our last post, Google has changed the look of many of their programs.  They say they are trying to make the programs easier to use.  I guess the jury is still out on that.  One major change

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-23878510155099948462011-11-11T17:41:00.000-05:002011-11-15T15:35:51.185-05:00

Oh my, where do I begin? It has been so long since I last posted on the blog and so much has been happening. Starting with today I want to be mindful of today's date and start by saying a "thank you" to all the veterans that are honored on this day and to one special veteran, my husband, for serving in the US Navy. Now getting back to my last blog. We left the Outdoor World Campground on Friday,

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-26998719438875617182011-10-05T21:13:00.001-04:002011-11-15T15:51:44.102-05:00

Monday we continued north to Outdoor World campground near East Berlin, Pa.  We could have stayed there for 2 nights only as they were booked up for the weekend.  So we passed on staying there and continued on toward Lancaster and are staying at an Outdoor World campground, Circle M, near Millersville. Tuesday we went to Roots country market.  We love going to the markets in this area with all

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-25790487612679384932011-10-01T21:20:00.003-04:002011-11-15T15:59:13.526-05:00

We were disappointed that our plans to go to Myrtle Beach were interrupted due to motorhome problems. The exhaust system problem was repaired about the middle of September. When life hands you lemons make lemonade, so the saying goes. Tom and I had started to look at motorhomes this past January when we saw a Newmar Ventana with a bath and a half that caught our eyes at the Tampa RV show in

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-46012188289855769442011-09-08T16:32:00.002-04:002011-11-15T16:02:09.100-05:00

The cooling unit for the motorhome refrigerator arrived Tuesday afternoon. Tom had talked with JR, the repairman in Gettysburg, and JR advised that we should not bring the motorhome to his garage until Wednesday morning. We have been having lots of rain and JR is located in a low area prone to flooding so he didn't want us have a flooded motorhome. So Wednesday morning we had the motorhome to JR

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-14494853061578296052011-09-03T22:29:00.000-04:002011-09-03T22:29:28.668-04:00

We were planning to leave for the Labor Day weekend campout with the Traveling Americans on Friday.  Leah started the refrigerator on Monday evening and discovered that it did not want to work.  It appears that the cooling unit decided it no longer wanted to function.  What to do, What to do?????   Tuesday morning we called JR's RV Repair in Gettysburg, Pa and spoke with him about the problem. 

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-603263903305008442011-08-28T17:06:00.003-04:002011-08-28T17:25:58.191-04:00

The hurricane's coming, the hurricane's coming! We had been hearing that for well over a week. Yesterday morning we woke up to cloudy skies. By noontime showers of rain were beginning to fall with mild winds. By evening the rain was steady and the winds were stronger and this continued throughout the night. This morning the rain started to slack off and by 1pm we had bright blue, sunny skies

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-38151997270435618042011-08-26T16:01:00.006-04:002011-08-30T16:27:06.761-04:00

Last Friday, August 19th, Tom and I along with our granddaughter, Maddy, drove from Taneytown to Stafford, Virginia where we met up with our son, Todd, and his wife, Beth, and grandsons, Anthony and Parker, to travel down to Duck, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. We had rented a beach house in the Schooner Ridge section of Duck for a week. We had the use of club house that included 2 outdoor

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-2910319238459202542011-08-11T13:07:00.002-04:002011-08-12T17:45:37.576-04:00

Last Thursday, August 4th, we left home about noontime and traveled to Lancaster County, Pa. to a campout with the Traveling Americans. We were east of Lancaster in Kinzer at Roamer's Retreat Campground. Two other rigs from our camping group were already at the campground and then more followed on Thursday and the remainder arrived on Friday. We had 9 units in attendence which is a good

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-65411191842354140052011-07-11T21:58:00.004-04:002011-07-14T14:27:14.870-04:00

This morning we left Bulltown campground and continued our travels toward home.  The day was hot and humid and the traffic was fast moving.  About noon we were just east of Hancock, Maryland on I-70 when a loud bang occurred- we had blown a tire.From 2011-07-12From 2011-07-12  Luckily, it was a rear tire and not a front one but that was scary enough.  Tom quickly pulled to the side of the road

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-83576408914721898172011-07-11T21:49:00.001-04:002011-07-11T21:49:02.450-04:00

Last night, Saturday, we enjoyed a show at the “New Barn” at Renfro Valley Entertainment Center.  David Church was the main performer singing many songs much like the late Hank Williams.  His wife and granddaughter also did some singing.  The 2-plus hour show was very entertaining. This morning we got back on the road again.  Larry and Joanne decided that they would stay out on the road a few

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-79739494742056155482011-07-11T21:47:00.001-04:002011-07-11T21:47:01.266-04:00

This morning we went out for breakfast at the Historic Lodge Restaurant that we had eaten dinner at last evening.  We all enjoyed our meals and were well fed – they had mistakenly made a 5th  meal which was brought to our table if we wanted it- some, not all, was eaten from it.  We then drove south to the town of London to a large flea market.  As most flea markets there were all things for sale

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-58874929358195290642011-07-08T22:58:00.002-04:002011-07-12T20:12:17.854-04:00

On Wednesday, July 6th, we continued our travels through West Virginia and into Kentucky, a very pretty drive through the Appalachian mountains.  Most of our travels were west on I-64 until we were near Lexington, Ky. where we then took I-75 south to Renfro Valley.  We were surprised that the campground was so sparsely inhabited.  We had stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant so we just

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-55173462500462423732011-07-06T22:48:00.002-04:002011-07-12T20:16:11.128-04:00

This morning Tom and I along with Joanne and Larry left Buttonwood Campground and travelled a southwestern route through picturesque hilly Pennsylvania.  We were headed for Renfro Valley in Kentucky.  We went 30 couple of  miles on the Pa. turnpike before dropping down to Cumberland, Maryland to pick up I-68 that took us into West Virginia where we then caught I-79 that travels south.  After

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-28214020006922360882011-07-06T22:46:00.001-04:002011-07-06T22:46:55.522-04:00

Happy 4th of July!! Friday, July 1, we left Taneytown and travelled north almost 100 miles to Mifflintown, Pennsylvania and Buttonwood Campground for a weekend with the Traveling Americans.  Six club units were in attendance plus 4 of Thelma Higgins’ family and friends.  On Friday evening Larry, Joanne, Tom, Linda and Ken Rouzer and I went to a local diner Juniata Junction restaurant for dinner,

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-21566282034817768682011-06-09T15:52:00.003-04:002011-06-10T11:11:20.520-04:00

Larry, my brother, had a painting business from which he retired. A property near Gettysburg, Pa. was in need of painting and Larry had been asked by a friend if he would do the job. Being the person that Larry is, he agreed. The house is quite unique and intriquing. Larry had told Tom and I about this place and said that we should come up one day to see it. Yesterday morning we arranged to

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-5093442541312155702011-06-07T16:39:00.004-04:002011-06-08T16:08:30.900-04:00

Friday, June 3rd, Tom and I left home once again for a weekend of camping with the Traveling Americans. This was the 5th weekend straight that we had been away for the weekend. We went about 160 miles to Sandy Hills campground on the Eastern shore of Maryland. Sandy Hills campground is an old facility with many permanent sites but it is located on the Nanticoke River which is quite a

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-47267472295189597322011-06-01T13:34:00.001-04:002011-06-01T14:33:11.098-04:00

A week ago today, Wednesday, we left home and traveled the 25 miles to Frederick Fair Grounds in Frederick, Maryland for the Maryland Good Sam Samboree. We went in early to help getting things readied for the weekend. Woody and Linda Woodruff, members of the Traveling Americans, also came in on Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon we walked around tables with pamphlets and trinkets filling the "goody

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-87389208883163711602011-05-23T21:58:00.002-04:002011-05-23T22:57:50.610-04:00

Thursday, the 26th, we drove to Urbanna, Virginia to BethPage Campground for the Virginia Samboree, our first time of being in this area.  It was about a 200 mile trip taking about 4.5 hours.  Driving into BethPage Campground almost took my breath away with the beauty of the campground.  Pretty ponds or lakes were at the entrance way, a huge water park and an overall neat and clean environment. 

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-47286420956397393092011-05-17T19:30:00.006-04:002011-05-18T22:52:36.145-04:00

Last Thursday, May 12th, we traveled to Mineral Wells, West Virginia for the West Virginia Samboree. Mineral Wells is about 300 miles to the west near Parkersburg, W.V. and Marietta, Ohio. Our route of travel was through mountainous regions of western Maryland and West Virginia. It was interesting that one area in Maryland along Keyser's Ridge near Frostburg had trees that had not produced

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-86325827316343129732011-05-11T20:18:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:35:45.258-04:00

Last weekend we were in Lancaster, Pa. at the Old Mill Stream campground with the Traveling Americans group. Thirteen rigs were in attendance, a nice turnout.From 2011-05-07 Kentucky Derby WeekendFriday evening we were on our own for dinner. Tom and I along with my brother, Larry and Joanne, went to the Revere Tavern for dinner. Saturday morning the hosts for the weekend provided doughnuts and

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-80039341112355113292011-05-03T20:20:00.005-04:002011-05-03T21:14:20.254-04:00

Our feet are itching to get out in the motorhome. We've spent a couple of weeks home and now it feels like its time to move again. We had a nice Easter Day with family. Todd, Beth and Parker and Larry and Joanne came to our house for the day. Parker had an Easter egg hunt and then kept Grandpa occupied outside much of the day. From Easter 2011-04-24Last weekend Tom and I went down to Todd and

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-53705618518274531392011-04-10T17:48:00.002-04:002011-04-10T18:08:59.800-04:00

Busy, busy week! After getting home last Saturday from our winter's journey one would think that we might stay home for a spell but that was not the case. Last Sunday we drove down to northern Virginia to visit Todd, Beth and our 3 grandchildren- Maddy, Anthony and Parker. We had a nice visit and dinner together at a local restaurant. We also got our mail that had been forwarded to them. As

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-30793329102446241232011-04-04T12:50:00.002-04:002011-04-04T16:29:29.587-04:00

Friday morning a little past 7am the Newmar tech was at our motorhome door ready to take it for its water testing.  Tom and I went to downtown Nappanee for breakfast and then returned to the factory customer service center to wait for the return of our motorhome.  It wasn’t too long before the motorhome was returned and we were able to pay our bill and be on our way.  Thursday evening I question

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-4656429705027128782011-04-04T12:46:00.001-04:002011-04-04T12:46:37.580-04:00

Monday morning we left the campground north of Indianapolis and traveled north to Nappanee, Indiana where we settled into “Camp Newmar”.   “Camp Newmar” is a name given to the area at the Newmar factory where Newmar owners can camp while having service work done on their units.  Nappanee is in the heart of the Amish country of Indiana where there are numerous horses and buggies and bicycles on

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-713990909371673352011-04-04T12:40:00.001-04:002011-04-04T12:40:13.271-04:00

The sun was shining when we got out of bed this morning but it was really cold- temperatures in the 20’s.   Brrrrr- let’s get back to the southwest!  No, we had to keep going east.  The snow that fell yesterday had been a wet snow and then during the night the temperatures dropped causing  icing under the snow. The awning over our slide out had ice under the snow that prevented the slide-out

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-65769861467992212072011-03-26T20:56:00.001-04:002011-03-26T20:56:58.271-04:00

Early Friday morning, about 4:30am, we were awakened with the sound of thunder and the presence of sharp lightning and then the pounding rain.  After we had gotten up and had breakfast the rain ended but the clouds remained.  We went to the Corps of Army Engineers Visitor Center.  The Corps built the Table Rock Dam for flood control and a source of electrical power.  There are numerous

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-27298565041454878352011-03-26T19:45:00.001-04:002011-03-26T19:45:31.774-04:00

Branson, Missouri is a town of shows- music, comedy, Chinese acrobats, karate, animal, and variety.  It was overwhelming trying to decide what to see and do.  The campground made our first selection easier by giving us vouchers for $15.00 off each ticket at the Rankin Brothers show at the Mickey Gilley Theater.  So Wednesday evening we went to see the 2 Rankin Brothers, Matt and Mark.  Both

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-44833445263990595782011-03-22T21:48:00.001-04:002011-03-22T21:48:42.259-04:00

We were back on US 60 again traveling east toward Oklahoma.  As we were leaving the Amarillo area we saw 6 or more trains sitting idly on the tracks.  Then we saw maintenance equipment moving on the tracks and at one spot there was numerous pieces of equipment and men working on the tracks.  There must have been some major problem that was being worked on.  Trains were being stopped on the east

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-41077130026926158482011-03-20T22:17:00.001-04:002011-03-20T22:19:59.519-04:00

About 20 miles south of Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon State Park where we spent the day.  Palo Duro is a beautiful canyon in this otherwise flat land.  The road goes down into the canyon.  At 6 places a creek maybe flowing over the road, today only one crossing had water flowing over the road. There are campgrounds, picnic areas and trails for hiking, biking and running. We did not get to the

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-29288213756575200302011-03-19T22:39:00.001-04:002011-03-19T22:39:44.321-04:00

We have decided to spend the weekend in Amarillo so we went to the downtown area to see whatever.  The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was our first stop.    The building was quite impressive.  The Grand Hall  is dedicated to all the inductees of the Hall of Fame and is quite grand. There are several galleries with exhibits.  We found the gallery that had write-ups

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-52871848255937691992011-03-18T21:51:00.000-04:002011-03-19T22:41:11.155-04:00

Thursday, we spent the day exploring Roswell, New Mexico, that proclaims itself as the dairy capital of New Mexico.  We first went to the UFO Museum, this is what we think of when we hear Roswell, New Mexico, not dairy.In 1947 there was an event in the Roswell area that has been unexplained and many people believe a UFO landed with aliens.  The US Air Force investigated and many feel whatever

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-19109742600666579892011-03-16T22:17:00.000-04:002011-03-19T22:47:09.395-04:00

Before leaving the campground at Magdalena, Tom checked to see if anyone was in the office to collect our money for the campsite but the office was still locked up.  According to our Passport America directory we would be expected to pay $20.00 which included tax for the campsite so we put $20.00 in an envelope and placed in the key drop box for the motel patrons.  And we were on our way

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-61755553274802053332011-03-15T22:10:00.000-04:002011-03-19T22:46:41.655-04:00

We woke up to much colder temperatures (33degrees) in Show Low but the sun’s warmth soon had the temperature up 10 degrees before we left the area.Continuing our travel on US 60, about an hour after leaving Show Low, Arizona we crossed into New Mexico.  Throughout the day we seemed to be climbing, not steep ascents but long, gradual rises that slowed us down before reaching the top.  As we went

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-91759157325574134102011-03-14T20:56:00.000-04:002011-03-19T22:46:11.893-04:00

This morning we left Mesa and travelled northeast on US route 60 to Show Low, Arizona, about 160 miles.  The multi lane road narrowed down to 2 lanes as we left the metropolitan area of Mesa and the surrounding towns.  The terrain soon became mountainous so our travels were slowed down.  As we approached the Miami/ Globe area, the so called copper capital of the world, we saw open pit copper and

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-54937894316930569812011-03-13T21:36:00.000-04:002011-03-19T21:57:44.684-04:00

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we spent at the Gypsy Gathering Rally.  It was lots to do with good seminars each day.  The seminars were interesting topics concerning maintenance issues with our RV’s, travel topics and some just fun stuff.  Often rallies have seminars that are given by vendors doing infomercials on their products which was not the case at this rally.  Tom and I went to a seminar

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-82783377192782495852011-03-07T23:01:00.001-05:002011-03-07T23:01:43.852-05:00

Saturday was our last day at the Caravan Oasis Campground as we would be moving back to the fairground on Sunday for another rally.  In preparation for the rally I washed up the dirty clothes and bedclothes and towels.  We did drive to El Centro, California, about 60 miles from Yuma, but found nothing there of interest to us so we returned to Yuma.  We had a late lunch at La Fonda Tortilla

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-55562459606370642282011-03-05T00:51:00.001-05:002011-03-05T00:51:46.386-05:00

Wednesday, the 2nd, we went to  Yuma Palms Mall doing some looking and very little buying.  And then on Thursday we returned to Marketplace, the large flea market in Yuma and, like the mall, looked and bought little.  We stopped at an RV dealer that was having an open house with a chicken barbeque lunch.  We ate lunch with a couple that are now living in Yuma and had some suggestions for places

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-47489249100097713962011-03-01T20:24:00.001-05:002011-03-01T20:24:51.956-05:00

This morning we made a trip into Mexico to the city of Los Algodones. It was less than 25 miles from the campground.  The actual crossing is at Andrade, California.  We parked the car at a lot on the U.S. side and walked across the border.  We were greeted at the Mexican side with people pushing dentists, opticians and pharmacies. Every dental office we passed had waiting rooms with

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-41637509424052474252011-03-01T20:17:00.001-05:002011-03-01T20:17:04.394-05:00

We have enjoyed just sitting back and relaxing the past several days.  Saturday was a cloudy, damp, chilly day in this desert environment and by evening it was raining.   Sunday we awoke to bright sunshine but cooler temperatures – 60’s during the day, dropping into the low 40’s at night.  Sunday morning we attended church services at a fairly new, as of 2004, United Church of Christ church that

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-47643836053716669972011-02-22T18:02:00.001-05:002011-02-24T19:17:29.595-05:00

On Saturday the 19th we drove to cousin, Patty, and her husband Braxton’s house and then went together to the Biosphere 2. Tom and I had visited this site about 8 years ago but readily jumped at the chance to return when Patty had made the suggestion.  Columbia University had taken over the Biosphere 2 when we visited before and now the University of Arizona was using the facility.  Originally

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-50669362778269320442011-02-21T15:48:00.001-05:002011-02-21T15:48:37.712-05:00

Wednesday, the 16th, we spent our last day in Benson catching up on housekeeping chores.  Thursday morning we prepared to get on the road to move to Tucson.  Before leaving we had planned to go out to breakfast with friends, Marti and Drew.  So we picked them up and went into Benson and had a nice breakfast together before getting on the road.  The trip to Tucson was a short trip of less than 1

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-29909180407806826702011-02-15T23:58:00.001-05:002011-02-15T23:58:57.865-05:00

Monday, being Valentine’s Day, we spent a quiet morning at the campground but in the afternoon went to Sierra Vista for lunch.  We thought the restaurant selection was better in Sierra Vista than in Benson.  Benson’s restaurants that we have been to have good food but they are just like down-home cafes.  In Sierra Vista we were disappointed to find several restaurants closed- don’t know why

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-82227151289601010022011-02-15T23:40:00.001-05:002011-02-15T23:40:45.315-05:00

On Saturday, the 12th, Tom and I drove down to Sierra Vista to attend the Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering.  There were 70 artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada that perform Western poetry and music.  Major stage performances are held on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon which we did not attend.  We attended the all day sessions that are held in the school on

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-27684215021291245722011-02-12T22:58:00.001-05:002011-02-12T22:58:07.917-05:00

Tuesday, February 8, was a day spent in the campground.  Tom went to a computer “Show and Tell” in the afternoon as I spent time reading.  For dinner we went to a local restaurant, “Horseshoe Café”, with a group of about 30 from the campground. Wednesday we drove to the town of Tubac, Az. for the Art Festival.  Tubac is a unique town with lots of shops, many devoted to art.  The Art Festival has

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-64232921858501184812011-02-07T22:05:00.001-05:002011-02-07T22:05:45.356-05:00

On Friday, February 4th, Tom and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary.  We were expecting our mail to be delivered that day so we hung around the campground until the delivery was made by FedEx.  We then went about 30 miles south to the town of Sierra Vista for dinner at “My Big Fat Greek Restaurant”.  We had eaten at this restaurant last year with Larry and Joanne and decided to return to

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-21027615000410334392011-02-03T17:00:00.001-05:002011-02-03T17:00:45.064-05:00

We have been in Benson for a week now and what changes in the weather.  When we first arrived the sunny temperatures were about normal for this area at this time of the year- upper 60’s during the day dropping into the 30’s at night.  Then we had a brutal change.   On Monday dark clouds rolled in and rain showers with occasional hail occurred.  Tuesday was a chilly day with temps not getting out

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-30968272964100611502011-01-29T20:39:00.001-05:002011-01-29T20:39:15.829-05:00

Tuesday, January 25th, we drove a 93 mile loop from Silver City called the Trail of the Mountain Spirits National Scenic Byway.  Traveling north from Silver City we went through the Gila National Forest on a road that had many curves and hairpin turns as we ascended and descended the mountains.  At the northernmost point we stopped at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.  We first went to

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-16198576103507573212011-01-24T21:24:00.003-05:002011-01-24T22:01:16.539-05:00

Yesterday, Sunday, we left Van Horn, Texas and continued our travels across I-10 and passing through El Paso and , finally, out of the state of Texas into the state of New Mexico. At Deming, N.M. we left I-10 and traveled north to the town of Silver City and checked into the Rose Valley RV Ranch. We did drive through the town which had most everything closed. We found a car wash to wash our

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-53162290768291109962011-01-22T21:31:00.002-05:002011-01-22T22:02:47.603-05:00

Friday, January 21, we left Corpus Christi traveling to San Antonio where we picked up I-10 and pushed on westward. North of San Antonio the flat brown country changes into hills covered with green shrubs and trees. There was bright sunshine but the air was chilly. We stopped for the night in Junction, Texas at A KOA Kampground, the only campground in the area, nice but expensive- $45.00- for

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-53945255890941182422011-01-20T21:51:00.001-05:002011-01-20T21:51:03.544-05:00

Yesterday,Wednesday January 19, we left Robert, Louisiana and travelled west crossing the Mississippi River and lots of swampland into the state of Texas.  We travelled I-10 to south of Houston where we stopped at the Riverbend RV park in Richmond, Texas.   After contacting Bree, my great niece living in Corpus Christi, we decided to travel down to Corpus Christi to see Bree and her husband,Dave.

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-43648173870062383832011-01-18T22:19:00.002-05:002011-01-18T22:46:52.870-05:00

On Sunday, the 16th, we attended church services at the campground in the morning. For lunch we rode north to Lady Lake area eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the Spanish Springs community. This area is called "The Villages" and consists of just that - villages. Golf carts of all descriptions are seen in these areas since this seems to be the transportation choice of the residents living

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-1910643852292703552011-01-15T18:16:00.002-05:002011-01-15T18:39:10.339-05:00

We are winding our time down here in Florida and looking forward to moving westward on Monday. Yesterday, Friday, we went to Clermont, just a few miles south of the campground, for me to get my haircut and to pick up a few groceries. We spent the remainder of the day doing laundry and other housekeeping duties in the motorhome.This morning Tom diagnosed a problem with our commode, called a RV

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-67484024257498184292011-01-13T22:06:00.002-05:002011-01-13T22:27:00.291-05:00

Wednesday, January 12, we went to Epcot for the day. We had tickets for 6 days at Disney Parks which had to be used within 15 days and this was the last day that we could use the tickets. It was a cool day probably not getting out of the 50's and by evening it was getting real chilly. We decided to leave before the firework/laser show- we had seen this show twice this trip. As we were leaving

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-4099139875584214732011-01-11T22:16:00.002-05:002011-01-11T22:57:34.912-05:00

On Sunday, the 9th, we attended church services at the canmpground. This campground has 2 services at the same time on Sundays. One is a traditional service and the other was described as being more "upbeat". We attended the "upbeat" service which was attended by well over a hundred people. There was lots of music with guitars and other stringed instruments. The speaker, not sure if he was a

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-26546920577228424462011-01-08T20:10:00.003-05:002011-01-08T20:31:26.928-05:00

Yesterday, January 7, 2011, we had an enjoyable day visiting with friends. Pat and George Callender and Mary and Dick Wilson now make this area of Florida their permanant residence. The Callenders, where we visited, were in a Maryland Chapter of the Newmar Kountry Klub along with us some years ago. The Wilsons were also Newmar owners at one time. Lois Howard, another previous Newmar owner and

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-71049994929476158942011-01-06T22:31:00.001-05:002011-01-06T22:31:54.842-05:00

Tom and I are working on getting our lives adjusted to not having Travis.  The pain is still with us but the tears have stopped.  We have worked at keeping busy- idle time was not good for us.  On the 2nd of January, the day of Travis’ early morning death, we got ourselves together and spent the day with Todd, Beth and our grandchildren at Magic Kingdom.  Kids are great therapy in situations like

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-1959963993053779902011-01-04T19:01:00.001-05:002011-01-04T19:01:44.493-05:00

The New Year did not start out being a happy time for us.  Travis’ health went downhill fast.  Even though Todd, Beth and the kids were here in Florida and we had planned to spend Disney time with them, we felt we could not leave Travis on December 31st and January 1st.  He had stopped eating, was having difficulty standing and was being given pain medication which seemed to help him rest.  The

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-20720526917930765952010-12-30T20:40:00.001-05:002010-12-30T20:40:49.315-05:00

On Tuesday, December 28th, we left Woodbine, Georgia and within a short time were in Florida.  The sun was bright but it was still chilly.  Temperatures were in the 20’s when we left Georgia but the warmth of the sun could be felt.  Travelling down Route 95 we decided to stop at the San Sebastian winery.  We had stopped here before and like the wines of this winery.  After taking part in a wine

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-87141921925517638012010-12-27T20:13:00.001-05:002010-12-27T20:13:55.946-05:00

Christmas eve we left home and began our travels south in search of warmer weather.  Our travels on this particular day was short as we only went as far as Stafford, Virginia to spend Christmas with Todd, Beth and Parker.  Maddy was spending Christmas with her mother and Anthony was with his dad.  We camped at Aquia Pines Campground which is about 5 minutes from Todd and Beth’s.   On Christmas

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-14769965633759925422010-11-11T16:55:00.002-05:002010-11-11T17:25:52.759-05:00

I have been lazy as far as keeping up with our blog since returning from Alaska. After a lengthy trip there is some catching up to be done on the home front and this has been one thing pushed to the side.Traveling Americans, our camping group, camps together the first full weekend of every month April through November. We were with this group for the August, October and November campouts. We

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-32359785565410490482010-08-09T14:57:00.002-04:002010-08-09T15:45:22.191-04:00

Finally I've taken the time to figure up the cost of motorhome gas and campground fees. Total camping costs were $1893.43 for 79 nights although 14 night did not cost anything (these were the nights we spent at the Newmar factory and at Outdoor World in Illinois). The average cost per night based on 65 nights was $29.13. In 2002 we paid an average of $16.59 per night. We did return to some of

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-49669428306276973162010-08-09T14:53:00.001-04:002010-08-09T14:53:22.453-04:00

After less than 2 weeks after our trip to Alaska we are heading back out today.  This will be a short trip for the weekend to Ramblin' Pines Campground in Woodbine, Maryland with the Traveling Americans.  Should be a nice weekend as the weather is great with lower humidity and sunshine.  Being with the Traveling Americans is most always a good time. We have been busy since returning home.  Our

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-89458001291314843292010-07-25T21:03:00.002-04:002010-07-25T21:58:57.144-04:00

Today, Sunday, we finished our trip but not without incident. As we tried to leave the campground at Beaver Falls we found our motorhome hung-up. It had rained last night and we were told that on Friday night there had been quite a downpour. We were parked in a grassy area that with little effort became mud. Larry and Tom tried putting boards under the wheels but no luck. The campground

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-54554260586578583512010-07-25T19:49:00.001-04:002010-07-25T19:49:22.309-04:00

Friday morning we left St. Ignace, Michigan and traveled south a little more than 200 miles to the”Bavarian” town of Frankenmuth, Michigan.  Larry, Tom and I had been to Frankenmuth before but Joanne had never been here.   We arrived there about noon in time for lunch.  After checking in and setting up the motorhome we went into the town to Zehnder’s Restaurant, famous for their chicken dinners

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-83320587694236464242010-07-22T18:36:00.002-04:002010-07-29T22:33:41.107-04:00

Today we sailed to the Island of Mackinac, well, we took a boat over to the island.  Twice a day at this time of the year (10 & 11am) the Shepler boats travel under the Mackinac Bridge on the way to the island and we were on this trip this morning. From Michigan 2010-07-22It adds a little more time to the trip but the cost is the same.  It’s a nice addition to the trip.  On the island we took a

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-45256416022450524682010-07-21T22:26:00.002-04:002010-07-29T22:37:53.820-04:00

Tuesday we traveled 277 miles from Superior, Wisconsin to Escanaba, Michigan.  Superior is along Lake Superior and Escanaba is along Lake Michigan.   This area is in the far north of United States, nice in the summer but probably not the best in winter.  There are many snow mobile trails so I surmise there is a lot of snow in the winter.  No major cities along the way only occasional small towns,

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-2474419961235952162010-07-19T22:44:00.003-04:002010-07-19T23:07:57.607-04:00

Casselton, North Dakota through Minnesota and just into Wisconsin at Superior (east of Duluth,Mn.)was our trip of 280 plus miles today. Our route today was on secondary roads, mainly Minnesota Route 10, so we traveled through little towns along the way. We made a stop at a WalMart to replenish our food supply this morning and another stop to eat lunch in our RV's. Leaving Minnesota we drove

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-38092360890938763832010-07-18T21:20:00.003-04:002010-07-18T21:36:37.933-04:00

Sunday morning we left the Medora area heading further east to Casselton, North Dakota about 300 miles. Casselton is about 15 miles west of Fargo, the last town in North Dakota before crossing into Minnesota. After moving away from the badland area we were again in farm country- grain fields but also corn fields. Another beautiful sunny, pleasant day for traveling. We are camped for the night

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-89794662645959630862010-07-17T23:47:00.002-04:002010-07-31T16:35:52.088-04:00

Friday we left Malta, Montana and traveled east 280 miles across farm lands of grain fields until in eastern Montana where the badlands appeared. Shortly after cross into North Dakota we were in Medora, a favorite stopping area for Tom and me. The Medora Campground did not have any sites with 30 or 50 amp. electric. It was a hot day, temps in the 90's, so we needed to have adequate electric

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-82115932143620890722010-07-15T21:35:00.003-04:002010-07-31T16:53:59.913-04:00

Wednesday, July 14 we woke up to sunshine that had a warmness to it to counteract the wind that continued to blow. Tuesday night before going to bed the weather was nasty- rainy, fog moved over the mountains and it was cold(low 40's). In the morning we drove back north several miles to return into Canada to Waterton Lakes National Park. Waterton- Glacier are International Peace Parks between

Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791911072767157647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-11425676015327617102010-07-15T21:34:00.002-04:002010-07-31T16:55:24.388-04:00

Brrr- it was really cold this morning at 45 degrees, windy and cloudy.  We left the Lake Louise campground heading east through Canmore and then turned south in Calgary.   It was snowing on the mountains – this is July 13th shouldn’t we be having summer?? The winds were strong and constant all day making driving a challenge.  We traveled through the farm lands of Alberta where the canola fields

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32977108.post-33491723308549194992010-07-15T21:19:00.001-04:002010-07-15T21:19:58.422-04:00

This morning we struck out from the campground and drove down the Bow Valley Parkway, a slow scenic drive from Lake Louise to Banff.  We saw deer, bear and elk along the way.  After getting to the Banff area we began driving the loop road to Minnewanka Lake where we saw Big Horn Sheep nannies and kids.   Just as we got to the lake Tom said something was wrong with the car and when he pulled over

Tom Van de Busschehttps://profiles.google.com/106638913756542801314noreply@blogger.com