Map Tracks

Day 82 - (10/08) NW Trip Reflections/Notes

This was our longest trip to-date.  We saw family, friends, states, provinces and many wonderful sights.



Summary
11,527 miles driven (13.8 mpg)
8,573 miles towing the trailer
16 states
2 provinces
Dick had never been in North Dakota, Montana, or Alberta.
Carol had been in all 48 states, Alberta and British Columbia


Preparations - pretty simple
Trailblazer - new tires
Trailblazer - oil change and filter
Trailer - wash and wax
Trailer - check and lube wheel bearings
Trailer - check tires and brakes


Things Fixed - stuff happened, but not much
07/30 - replaced Trailblazer ignition switch in Livingston, MT
08/30 - Trailblazer oil change and filter in Portland, OR
09/22 - replaced LED light over sink in Monterey, CA
10/01 - replaced trailer tires in Tucson, AZ
10/03 - replaced trailer hitch lift fuse in Amarillo, TX


Notes
(1) Atwood propane gas detector stopped working in OR, it isn't fixed.
(2) 4 internal rivets need to be replaced
(3) Each 7 gallon propane tank lasted about 4 weeks.
(4) Trailblazer brake issues seem to be caused by trailer weight and terrain.
(5) Canadian travel is expensive (gas $5/gal).
(6) It's hard to update the blog every day, but even worse when we get behind.
(7) Verizon's Mobile Broadband service was a great trip accessory.
(8) The original Goodyear Marathon trailer tires lasted 20,932 miles. (tread wear, not damage)

Day 81 - (10/07) Home Again

We awoke to another beautiful day and decided to enjoy the campground a bit before leaving.  This is our last day on the road.  

As mentioned earlier, this is a very nice campground.  We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in their restaurant.  The total cost for both of us was $6.  It's not a typo ...  $6 for a full breakfast, made to order.  There was even a real fire in the restaurant fireplace.

The pictures below provide a peek at some of the campground amenities.

Main office and camp store

Campsites in the woods

They provided this old west street-front to
hide their storage area

Donkeys and a farmyard for kids

Covered bridge

Water wheel

Getting ready to leave sit #49

We've been out of Ohio for 80 days.  This was a welcome sight as we got closer to home.

We arrived at the storage lot at 4pm.  It took about two hours and two trips home and back to unload.

Map Tracks

Start:  Terre Haute KOA Campground - Terre Haute, IN

East on I-70 to Columbus, OH

End:  250 miles @ Lee's RV Storage - Hilliard, OH

Day 80 - (10/06) Terre Haute, IN

This was an extra long drive day.  The effort was rewarded by a beautiful KOA campground in Terre Haute.


This is the Springfield KOA.  We're getting ready to leave.

Site #53 at Springfield/Route 66 KOA campground

Here's a little treasure.  Try The Hen House, it's a fun little family restaurant off I-44 in Bourbon, MO, southwest of St. Louis.  We stopped there for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it.


We drove the I-270/I-255 outer belt to avoid St. Louis traffic.  The Jefferson Barracks Bridge and views of the Mississippi River offered quite a welcome to Indiana.

Jefferson Barracks Bridge (at St. Louis) - Mississippi River

Barges on Mississippi River

We arrived at the KOA campground at around 7pm.  It's nicely secluded, located in a woods off I-70.  They have a small restaurant (very unusual) and many amenities.  We ordered pizza from the restaurant (made from scratch, not a box); it was excellent!  This campground joins a growing list of great ones we've found on the way home.


Map Tracks
Start:  Springfield/Route 66 KOA - Springfield, MO
Northeast on I-44 to I-270 at St. Louis
East on I-270 to I-255
East on I-255 to I-70
East on I-70 to Terre Haute, IN
End:  402 miles @ Terre Haute KOA - Terre Haute, IN

Day 79 - (10/05) Springfield, MO

The "smell of the hay" (e.g.. desire to get home) seems to be getting stronger.  We're willing to drive further and stop less than in past days.  There are no pictures for today.


We drove from Oklahoma City to Springfield, MO.  The route passed Tulsa and Joplin ... both with lots of tourist attractions.  The route followed Historic Route 66 much of the way.  There were no touring stops.


We spotted a Marie Callender's Restaurant from I-44 in Tulsa.  We exited and tried to find it, but got tangled up in construction detours.  We finally found it and had a lovely lunch (including pie).  It was our only excursion of the day.


The day ended at a very pretty and highly rated KOA campground.  Somehow we seem to attract trains.  There were active tracks next to the campground and the train whistles provided background music well into the night.


We had a light supper of peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate ice cream (see, we don't eat out all the time) and played several games of Bananagram before bed.


Map Tracks
Start:  Twin Fountains RV Park - Oklahoma City, OK
East on I-44 to Springfield, MO
End:  279 miles @ Springfield/Route 66 KOA - Springfield, MO

Day 78 - (10/04) Oklahoma City, OK

Ooh!  It's 55 degrees this morning.  We must be headed north.


We stopped for gas and saw this cool Conoco gas station in Shamrock, TX.  What a beautiful restoration!  It houses the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Information Center.

A step back in time in Shamrock, TX

Yes, we stopped in Shamrock for gas ... but, not here

The soil in Oklahoma turned red with clay.  The terrain was flat and fields seemed to stretch to the horizon.  Oil wells began to appear and Carol spotted this wind farm.  She tried to hear the "whoop-whoop-whoop" of the blades, but couldn't.

Oklahoma wind farm along I-40, west of Oklahoma City

We stopped at the Cherokee Trading Post (80 miles west of Oklahoma City) for lunch and gift shopping.  They had very nice jewelry, pottery and clothing.  The staff was very helpful.

Another unreserved campground turned out to be a "home run".  The Twin Fountains RV Park is one of the best we've seen.  Their sites and services are excellent and reasonably priced.  They get extra brownie points because the pool tables are free.  

Twin Fountains RV Park

We had dinner in the trailer and played pool (or a form of it) until bed time.  Great fun.


Map Tracks
Start:  Amarillo Ranch RV Park - Amarillo, TX
East on I-40 to Oklahoma City
East on I-44 in Oklahoma City
End:  267 miles @ Twin Fountains RV Park - Oklahoma City, OK

Day 77 - (10/03) Amarillo, TX

It's cloudy today.  This should be a good day for travelling.

The route from Santa Rosa passed Tucumcari and ended in Amarillo.  The trip was uneventful except for wind and trucks.  We had a stiff cross wind most of the way and this section of I-40 has very heavy semi-truck traffic.  The combination made for a lot of trailer sway.  We made it in time to shop at Lowe's for fuses and a hand crank extension for the hitch.  The replacement fuse fixed the hitch problem.  We now have a working hitch lift!

The Amarillo Ranch RV Resort is located just off I-40.  It's very nice and well run.  Some of the sites are a bit strange because the place used to be a mobile home park.  There was no problem getting a site without a reservation.

It seemed very important to get a steak dinner while in Texas.  So, we went to the nearby Big Texan Steak Ranch.  This is one of the biggies.  You can get a free 72oz steak dinner ... if you can eat it all in an hour.  Otherwise, they charge $1 per ounce.  They will even pick you up in a limo if you need a ride.  So much for the "ifs".  We had 6 oz steaks (note: no dessert) and were quite full.

Sorry - we have no pictures for today.

Map Tracks

Start:  Santa Rosa Campground - Santa Rosa, NM

East on I-40 to Amarillo, TX

End:  185 miles @ Amarillo Ranch RV Resort - Amarillo, TX