Back in the BIG T



 

With the new tires we again rolled southward on the Interstates and ended up at the Little Rock North KOA on the evening of the 5th. Weather still a nice 80 degrees and sunny making for good time on the big highway ... not necessarily our most favorite kind of road but needed to make a quicker trip this time.

 

We've been in the Little Rock KOA several times and the hosts are always gracious and prompt. We got the last spot for the evening as all the rest were booked and so had to take a back-in spot. Nice concrete pad though and the left side of the Flying Scotsman was against the woods so very private.

 

Up and off again at promptly 9am on the 6th and landed at the Shallow Creek RV park just north of Kilgore, Texas ... back in Texas after about 5 months ... and it's about 90 degrees! Again we've stayed at Shallow Creek several times and it is a very nice park with all concrete pads and roadways with a super pull-thru for our rig.

When we went to plug in the power though nothing happened. Because it was pretty hot we had been using the roof air conditioners all day long on the generator so I assumed they would come back on when plugged into shore power. Nope, no power at all. Potential problems: no power at the post, bad transfer switch that I had just replaced, or a bad wire to the RV. Put the gen back on, get a/c going again, and hunt down the manager. He came by and tested the park power which was good and so he was done.

Upon jiggling the plug I found that the power was clicking on and off ... bad plug. I took the plug apart and found that the wires inside were loose from their lugs and so when tightened up ... voila ... normal power again and a happy bus and driver.

On the 7th we motored down good ol' Texas highway 21 from Crockett to Bryan and checked into the Aggieland RV park to spend a couple of days with Mom and Rich and Kerry. As we were going to be very busy in the next couple of weeks or so we decided to hit the Bryan area on the way rather than going back down there quickly after checking into the Dallas area.

All the folks there were doing great so on the 10th we headed back up to the Dallas area. This time we chose a new park on the north side of Lake Grapevine called Twin Coves and run by the city of Flower Mound. Why Flower Mound? Because we have now rented an apartment there and plan to move in on the 28th of October.

Above is the view from our patio in this really pretty park right on the lake. All concrete and brand new just opening in July of this year.

Below is something we hadn't seen before. These folks brought their sailboat in, hooked up to the site power, set up their shade tent and chairs, and enjoyed a very pretty evening in their "RV," cool. The next day they had moved the boat to the water and the day after that were gone ... pretty neat though.

A fitting close to our arrival was another spectacular sunset over Lake Grapevine from our patio.

And tomorrow the 28th we go over to the new apartment to sign the lease and watch a new couch arrive. On Monday the real movers arrive with our massive pile of furniture that was deposited in storage several years ago. Sounds like work next week for the old guys!!

Blowout!

 

We left Michigan on the 3rd and did a nice 300 plus day in 70 degree clear weather. We ran around Detroit to the west on 636 then down 23 until we crossed the border into Ohio ... really a nice road and we made great time.

 

We spent that night at the Indianapolis KOA which is an older style KOA but with some nice long gravel pull thrus for about $35 ... not bad. It's right on I-70 to the east of Indianapolis so a very convenient overnight spot.

 

Then for another 300 or so mile day we headed south on I-69 toward Kentucky, planning to stay at the Outback RV resort which we have done before. Another pretty day rolling along 69, crossed the border into Kentucky, and about 40 miles short of the RV park .... Wham!

 

70 MPH on a fairly deserted section of Interstate with about 8 feet of shoulder and we rumbled to a stop. The inner right dually had disintegrated with pieces of rubber strewn down the highway. No problem you say as the outside tire was still fine and we could slowly motor on the 40 miles ... nope.

 



Here's the reason. As the tire blew (our direction of travel is to the right in these pics) it grabbed the mud flap and sucked it up and over the good tire. The flap is made of very rigid plastic and held in place by the piece of metal below with about 8 screws. Normally it would lay flat behind the tire, but as the piece of metal was holding it against the good tire I had to unbolt it and pry the metal frame up to where you see it below.

It took about an hour to get the screws loose and pry the thing off the good tire. The Kentucky State Patrol stopped by to make sure we were OK which was nice. Before my modification started we called the Good Sam Roadside Assistance number and they said that they would get us some new rubber.

After we limped into the Outback RV park using the back roads, the Goodyear guy showed up and by 8pm that night had replaced both tires on that side for $1535. The Outback park has some nice paved pull thrus which made the replacement easier and the bus, Indy style, raises itself up off the ground on the levelers which is handy. Super service by both Goodyear and the Good Sam folks who had arranged everything. The above pictures obviously were taken later on a good piece of concrete ... and oh yeah, that's a piece of shredded steel belted radial which I later found in the front of our car.

Off down the road the next day singing to Willy Nelson's "On the Road Again"!!

Rolling Southward

Whew! Yes Wanda it's been a really busy time for the blogger since we got back from the wonderful river cruise in France. We spent the remainder of September saying goodbye to friends and relatives in Barrie; mainly having some really great lunches and dinners as the season came to a close.

 

While the leaves were turning color a bit later this year, there were enough on the yard to make it look like fall had really arrived. Most of the beautiful plants we had this year were in their waning stages and so were dragged up to the forest to regenerate and recycle. One potted plant, sitting under the umbrella, that we bought in Texas before going to Canada was stored in the basement of the bus for the return trip; pretty hardy thing.

Then the process of getting all the stuff that was our patio crammed into the belly of the Flying Scotsman for the journey south. Some things like the deck bench were wrapped up and left behind for the winter and we'll retrieve them next May or so.

And finally when everything else was stowed the last items as always were the flag and our faithful flamingoes.

 

On the 1st of October we headed through Toronto for the last time this year and hit the border at Port Huron. We went through the Nexus line with the RV but as all the lines were really backed up for some reason, our line didn't go much faster; about 45 minutes to finally get through.

Rather than stop at the KOA in Port Huron as we usually do we went to a new park in New Baltimore Michigan on the shore of Lake St. Clair. We picked it because it was near the allergy clinic in Mt. Clemens and to where we would meet our new friends Jim and Carolyn from the cruise.

The RV park was quite nice with the short shoreline on the lake, but the sites were very short and narrow. Even with a 5th wheel outfit you had to unhook and park your tow vehicle elsewhere; not practical for an overnight.

Actually we stayed two nights allowing for shopping, allergy clinic, and lunch with Jim and Carolyn at a really neat pub. Above is a closer look at the lake with a nice fire ring and seating for the guests. There was actually a ladder attached to the lake wall so that you could swim ... the water was probably warm enough but we didn't go dipping.

On the evening of the 2nd we plotted our return route. We needed to make a quicker run than our normal leisurely pace because we had decided to rent an apartment in the Dallas area and needed to get back sooner.