9/24/2013 / Yellowstone to Atlanta

Subject: Moving on

This is the eighth Yellowstone to Atlanta email that was originally sent out as separate emails to family members to let them know where we were, what we were doing and give tidbits about our activities. I have copied the original emails and added some pictures for viewing. The trip started in August and ended in October.  This is the first of our extended stay trips in the Adventurer.

Howdy from the north country.  When we last reported to you we had made our 'escape' from Mitchell, SD to Forrest City, IA.  Our Garmin (nickname = Minnie because of her female voice) had a particularly hard time pronouncing Iowa.  Minnie was trying to tell me to drive down Iowa Highway 9 but called it Iowa 9 and pronounced it phonetically without any pauses 'eyeOHwuhnine' which did not sound like anything my Texas ears recognized.  Luckily Beverly caught on to the phrase and we managed to make it to Forrest City on Iowa 9.

The next day (Friday afternoon) we went to the Winnebago Visitors Center to sign up for the factory tour and met two nice gentlemen that gave us a quick overview of the afternoon’s events and invited us to look around the center.  Upstairs was a chronological timeline of the growth and development of Winnebago with exhibits.  Downstairs were numerous other exhibits and cutaways of current manufactured pieces including an old trailer from the early days of RVing and an early Class A type motorhome.  When time for the tour to begin we were carried to a theater room to watch a short video introducing us to Winnebago production techniques.  Then we loaded up on a shell of an Adventurer motorhome that was fitted with bench seats like a bus to begin the actual tour of the manufacturing facilities.

We stopped four different times to see various different manufacturing departments.  (note to self – visit factory tours on Monday afternoon through Friday morning/workers are not impressive on Monday morning and like to go home early on Friday afternoon)  One of the most impressive stops was the main production assembly facility with its multiple rows/lines of various types of motorhomes in varying stages of completion.  David and I were impressed with how many different components are actually manufactured by Winnebago versus buying them from independent manufacturers.  We also were told many times they needed additional workers to keep up with demand so we could get an application for employment at Gate 1.  Naturally we declined because we are already retired, as were most of the people on the tour.  Of course any trip to a venue is not complete unless you spend some time in the gift shop at the end of the tour.

We also met some fellow Texans on the tour.  They lived in Mt Vernon for quite some time but now live in Aubrey (not too far from Melissa).  They are visiting friends in 'eyeOHwuh.'  Matt and Rikki, they told us about a great place to eat in Aubrey called Mom’s Place on Main.  Might need to try that out when we can.

We stayed at a city park in Forrest City because the Winnebago visitors center 17 sites were all occupied.  As it turned out, we are glad because the park is situated just around the corner, has a creek running through it with a golf course on the other side of the creek.  There were just a few sites occupied and it was a quiet, relaxing place with a great view and several resident geese that gave us a symphony of honks each evening as they flew over to roost for the night.  They even had 10 public dump stations for RVers.  You can really tell the city encourages and welcomes the RV community.

Pretty much had it to ourselves

View from our spot

The one on the left seems to be saying, "What are you looking at?"

Saturday we visited a fall festival in nearby Osage called Autumn Artistry.  David and Sophie had seen it advertised on TV and it included a car show.  Well I had wondered what the farmers did when the planting, plowing, harvesting was all done.  David had suggested work on their equipment.  I think their equipment is cars and the work is restoring automobiles.  I have never seen that many restorations at a car show and all the owners just beaming that someone was looking at their handiwork.  We even saw a 68 or 69 Studebaker Avanti.  Did not know what it was when we first saw it but read it on the placard next to the car.  We got to ride a shuttle wagon pulled by a John Deere tractor as it shuttled folks from downtown to the fairgrounds for the car show and back.  Prior to boarding, David and I noticed a three sided set of tables full of homemade pies for sale.  Well one thing led to another and the ladies’ hospital auxiliary gained a contribution from each of us.  We both bought a pie to help them out (and us too)!  It was a grand day with beautiful weather and we got to mingle a bit with the local populous. 

Our shuttle with Beverly and Sophie

They had all shapes and sizes at this car show

One of about six rows of cars and this is taken about halfway down the row

Sunday was repair and wash day in preparation for leaving on Monday.  David experienced some overheating issues and he found information online that led him to a repair technique that all of us really want to work.  We also worked on the carburetor on my generator and David got it to purring like a kitten.  Quietest it has run in years.  The ladies spent most of the afternoon at the ‘laundrymat’ (yes that is how it was spelled) and a quick trip to the grocery store.  After a very good grilled pork chop, fresh corn on the cob, salad and Red Lobster biscuit meal topped off with Apple Pie (thank you ladies’ auxiliary) ala mode, we had a strategy meeting to determine our next move.

After some extensive discussion, we decided to make our way to Atlanta, Georgia since the rally we are attending is in three weeks.  It is amazing how the time has slipped by and before we know it, the rally is almost here.  So we leave Forrest City for a little town outside of Galesburg, IL called Knoxville, IL.

Across Eastern SD, Iowa and Illinois fields of crops without end

Hello Illinois

More corn fields, even on into Indiana

Traveling all day, we asked for a local restaurant recommendation from our hosts at the campground.  They both enthusiastically told us about the café on main street (actually the only street with businesses) which is where we ended up.  The stares we received when we entered told us all we needed to know about visitors to this town.  There ain’t none!  The wait staff was very nice and did not make fun of our Texas accents even though we sounded totally different than all the other folks in the restaurant.  We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere after the staring subsided.  I found if you smile really big and stare back, then they are satisfied you are not a mass-murderer and will not endanger their lives so they stop staring (eventually).

We have quite a system worked out between the four of us for traveling.  David is in charge of routing and mapping the destinations including stopovers.  Sophie is in charge of navigational duties and communications.  Beverly is charged with finding the perfect campgrounds on our trip and negotiation of the best rates possible.  My primary job (there is not a secondary job for me) is entertainment (usually at my expense) of the other three.  So far this arrangement is working out well (at least for me) and I hope stays intact (for my sake) the rest of the trip.

David mentioned that Beverly is batting 1,000 for her choice in campground spots so far.  He might have spoken a little too soon for today she came close to testing that batting average severely.  She worked hard all morning on finding the right spot to stop for a couple of nights in or near Indianapolis, IN.

Unfortunately, Indianapolis is not a RV campground mecca and does not have many to choose from that will fit our rigid standards.  (i.e. rigid standards = someplace to park with electricity, water and sewer if at all possible but none of the three are required, in other words any place to park is okay)  

Well she finally made her decision after lunch, only about an hour out from stopping, called and got affirmation there are two sites available for two days.  Then she dutifully punched the address into the trusty Garmin.  Minnie did her job directing me off the interstate at an exit with a Pilot station (always a good sign if you are RVing) but then Beverly says wait she is not taking me the right way.  After a few seconds of frantically reviewing her notes, she says okay go ahead and follow her it will be six of one and half a dozen of the other either way.

Well the first turn off this highway had me wondering what in the world was going on.  We turned onto a small one way road with heavy trees and foliage.  David, who was following, said it looked like we had turned off the highway and disappeared into the trees.  He was not so sure he wanted to follow but since he did not have the coordinates of our destination, he was forced to make the decision to plunge into the trees after me.  

Now you must realize when you are towing a car (which we both are) there is not any backing up in the motorhome.  You can only drive forward so dead end streets with no outlet are a huge problem.  I look over at Beverly, who by this time is shaking her head and saying things like ‘I don’t like the look of this’ and ‘I don’t know why she (Minnie) is taking us this way.’  All great comments to boost my morale at the moment.  I would have like to been a fly on the wall in the coach following us just to hear the comments about where are they going, this doesn’t look good, etc.

Anyway, we made about fifty turns onto very small back roads crossing by farmhouses and crops during the next fifteen miles or so.  The road would turn to pass by a cornfield and then make a sharp turn to go down the other side of the field.  All the time, Minnie telling me to turn right in 500 feet or to go left in 200 feet.  It was maddening.  To the point that David swears he heard the banjos playing ‘Dueling Banjos’ at the house next to the river as we passed by. (ala the movie 'Deliverance')

Finally, off in the trees Beverly spots some RVs and is ecstatic.  The rest of us, not so much, because after two more turns, we do not see the RVs any longer.  The third turn finally reveals the entrance to a large campground that is filled with many folks who live here all the time but it has over 200 sites and does take overnight travelers.  There is a miniature golf course, pond, trees and a gate that is locked at all times to everyone but the residents and overnighters.  What a sigh of relief from my bride when she found out the rest of us are more than okay with the choice.  So for now, her batting average is intact.

She claims I-65 is only 5 miles (not the 15+ miles we drove from I-74) from here.  We will see.  We are going to the Indianapolis Speedway museum tomorrow for a rest day from driving before heading out towards Atlanta again.  We will catch you up on the travels again soon and let you know how the search for I-65 turns out.