walking in a winter wonderland |
he finally looked up! |
no power |
Lewis expresses his opinion of this weather |
walking in a winter wonderland |
he finally looked up! |
no power |
Lewis expresses his opinion of this weather |
Our stay in Mustang (Oklahoma City) was uneventful. The drive from there to Amarillo was in the fog. Not much to see along the way except fields of cotton and sorghum punctuated by wind turbines looming up from out of the fog like huge ghosts.
We planned to arrive at the Big Texan RV Ranch a day early (Sunday) to avoid a nasty winter storm that was predicted for Monday. It turned out to be a good thing for us as we were awakened in the middle of the night by booming thunder and sleet/ice pelting Beluga's roof. We've extended our stay through Wednesday and will reevaluate our departure date then.
bedroom window view |
Dave has had to make a Walmart run to get a couple small space heaters for the basement compartments. They are heated by the furnace but it doesn't seem to be enough warmth to keep something down their from freezing and stopping the flow of water to our sinks and toilet. Sheesh.
Please keep your finger's crossed that we have enough propane on board to fuel our furnace until this storm passes and the temperature begins to rise.
One bright spot in our otherwise unpleasant stay here in Amarillo was last night's delicious take-out steak dinner from the famous Big Texan Ranch Steak House next door! We always eat there when we're in this area and it was just as good eaten in Beluga. Mmmmmm
I lifted the shade and snapped this picture of our frozen neighbor... it's too d amn cold to go outside and photograph Beluga! |
We crossed the misty Mississippi River in St. Louis on our way to Wednesday's stop in Danville, Missouri. When we pulled into the Lazy Day Campground we were wet and chilly but looking forward to the next day's rest at this pleasant rural campground. It's a spot we find ourselves returning to as we move across the country in the spring and then again in the fall. The sites are large enough, the whole place is neat as a pin, the owner is very friendly and helpful and there is a nice nature trail around the wooded pond areas. Lots of space to socially distance and exercise Lewis. I checked in by phone and the owner sent me a photo of my credit card slip along with her cheerful wishes for a good stay.
We got a sound night's sleep and woke to brilliant blue skies and a forecast of 80 degree temperatures!
We spent the day relaxing and were even able to have Happy Hour outside in the warm sunshine. A treat we didn't expect to have for at least another week or so! Lewis loved rolling in the nice green grass at our site but unfortunately acquired a nasty tick while we were enjoying our G&T's. I didn't find it until the next day.....
I took the opportunity to make a favorite dessert - pumpkin eggnog pie in a pecan crust - while we were there. It will be something to look forward to at the end of each day's drive!
Last week was a busy one. Dave finished up the lower level build-out of one bedroom/closet, one bathroom, hallway with linen closet and a small alcove for reading or puzzling, etc., with another deep closet under the stairway. I'll show you a few pictures in another post.
We had the docks taken in, stored all the outdoor furniture and crocks in the rest of the lower level/basement area. Dave had a few things he wanted to do in Beluga so they were taken care of that last week also....phew! He installed a new water pump, fabricated and welded an aluminum box to line a small compartment that was showing rust inside (the only one that isn't rotationally molded plastic), replaced 0 rings in the hydraulic leveling jack pump, reprogrammed the jack pad control module, and then gave her a quick bath. We began to have a problem with our friends, the stink bugs, looking for a place to tuck in for the winter. Dave tried a few methods to remove them permanently, one made me laugh!
He'd run them down to the dock and place them in the lake (if he tossed them, they'd just fly off) - bass food he said - but that became tiresome so he gave up!
rusty compartment |
aluminum box installed |
During some of these jobs, our in-house supervisor took his job a little too seriously and caused some minor delays. He was very sorry about that, he wished he didn't do it, but he still had to stay outside until he dried. He doesn't like to be outside without us.
supervisor walked under the painting operation and got the curls painted "linen" white |
no...you have to stay out there til you dry |
Dave and Lewis continued their evening fishing appointment with differing levels of success.
this bass spit out feathers when Dave removed the hook! |
OUCH! Urgent Care here we come! |
Mmmm foot long hot dog! (John, avert your eyes) |
uh oh, another duplicate - sorry |
Lewis was busy also. He took last swims and rounded up his most favorite toys to make sure they were all in one place and ready to load in Beluga.
he always waits for approval before he jumps off the breakwall into the lake |
We stayed in Beluga our last night at the lake. The morning we left (Saturday) was beautiful and sunny. We enjoyed our last second cup with a fabulous Cronut provided by Tom and Robin for just that occasion.
Our first night's stop was in McKean, Ohio. The next night in Ohio brought us heavy rain that continued all day yesterday and last evening here in Casey, Illinois.
We'll stay here today and relax before moving on in the morning. It's so good to be back in Beluga and on the road. It will be nice when we can turn the furnace off and put away the raincoats though....
Hmmm. I had a couple pictures that I wanted to show you and I forgot to put them in the body of this post. I have a little trouble with this new Blogger format so, if you don't mind, I'll just stick them right here. The last one, of Lew with the paint stripe, is a duplicate and I can't for the life of me figure out how to remove it. If anyone has this knowledge, I'd appreciate it!
Dave and Sue! |