ESCAPADE AND BEYOND

 

What a great time we had!  Chuck and I were both on the volunteer crew, him, parking and I did registration.  This meant we arrived a few days earlier for orientation, and vendor & early  parking.  We also had a huge welcome happy hour, followed the next day by a wonderful thank you banquet.  Seeing all friends from far and wide. was a wonderful treat.  Opening ceremonies, were highlighted with a wonderful talk by Kay Peterson,  so inspiring, so funny, what a great lady.  Once the rally officially opened we were so busy going from one seminar to another that we were literally exhausted come the end of the day.  The nightly entertainment was outstanding.  There was a couple who sang, mostly RV related songs, (Your Awning Flapping in the Breeze, Road Alligators, Stop and Hold Your Noses, and more).  Another was a ventriloquist, who was truly a wonder.  She had Bob Pinner as a straight man for a bit, what a hoot..  And having to choose what social hour to attend was also hard as it seemed that there again we were running from one to another.

               Class of 07, those that made the social.

                                             

It was all good, the weather was wonderful, till the last night, at about time for the fireworks display, (4th of July) it came down in buckets.  But the show went on, we watched from in side the rig, all nice and dry.  What a great job the Escapade staff did.  Seemed no matter what bug-a-boo(and they had plenty, from hail stones to kidney stones) got thrown in their face, they just brushed it aside and powered on.  Thanks for throwing one great party.  Before we knew it people were hooking up and the wheels were rolling.           

Now we HAD to come up with a plan on where we were going.  Spending a week or so in the Rapid City area seemed like a fun idea, then off to Hart Ranch, where we will endure a sales pitch, all for 3 nights of camping at a 12 dollar price.  Only because some friends are there and we will get to visit with them,  They were also at the Escapade, but hardly saw them, except for one afternoon we did get in a fast game of bridge.  After that we are meandering out to Goshen, Indiana.  Attending a FROG rally.  That is Forest Rivers Owners Group.  Our little trailer is that make, so we have a welcome mat out.  It is scheduled for the 4th to 10th of August.  We have a few friends scattered along the way, which will give us plenty of reasons to stop and enjoy the scenery. 

Which reminds me of a gentleman I stuck up a conversation at a rest stop with the other day.  He was so proud……..been on the road for three weeks.  Left Dallas, traveled to the Pacific Ocean, up the coast, all the way to Canada, now here he was in Wyoming near Devils Tower.  But he was going in to Rapid City, then coming back to Devils Tower the next day, then on to Mount Rushmore, Black Hills.  Planning on being back in Dallas by the 12th.  Which took me by surprise as the day was the 9th. When I expressed my surprise he said, his fiver weighed 18,000 pounds and he had no problem going down the road at 75 miles an hour.  What fun traveling with him it must be!  wheeeeeeee

We are currently at Ellsworth AFB famcamp overflow.  Not bad, we have power, but later today will be able to move into the campground.  They have started taking reservations so for us that travel light it makes it harder to pop in.  We have been in this area several times before, which will not stop us from doing it all over again.  Love Mount Rushmore and the area.  The weather seems to go through the whole gambit each day.  From clear and sunny to severe thunderstorms.  Think we have had a storm every day since the 4th. But it usually is in the evening, today we started with clear and by 9 AM we had severe warnings, and now the sun is out. 10 AM.  LOL

Living in this small space has taken some getting used to, but all in all we have not done too badly.  (we are both still alive)  Will be nice when we are able to stay in a place for a longer period of time, then we will set up to do most of the cooking outside.  Think that will be a big help, seems like I can manage to make a bigger mess in a little area than the other way around. Eating out get old real fast, not to mention expensive.  Also looking into an induction burner to use out doors.  Looking forward to restocking this RV from the annual yard sale at Jojoba. 

Till the next time, Life is Good, Travel Easy, Travel Safe.