WagginTailsRV

Living Our Dream


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May Projects

WOW

It has been a month since my last post. What’s with that? Well, not to make any excuse but I’ve been busy working. Resting has been a priority on my days off. So what’s happened in the past month?

IMG_0915Carol had Rotator Cuff Surgery on her right shoulder April 16th. It was time to repair an old injury that needed repair before we get real busy around Mark Twain Landing RV Resort.  She was out of work for two weeks. Now she is in PT twice weekly. The good news is she will get over this and will recuperate. The bad news is that her job duties have changed. Currently she is working the gate on the weekends. This gives her a few hours to add to my hours at the park. Once the park opens officially on Memorial Day weekend, she will be working in a float position at the swim park.

I have worked on a few of big projects during the past month – repaired a hole in a rook of one of the rustic fishing cabins, replaced the sub floor in a bathroom and part of the floor in the kitchen. And replaced 40 feet of fencing that was blown down over the winter.

The Roof

Hole in Roof

Judging from the looks of the hole in the roof, a tree branch punctured the roof then as it fell off, it pried the roof upward thus creating a strange-looking hole. And of course it rained into the hole. Fortunately the rain was not heavy and the ceiling was 1/4 paneling not dry wall.

The Floor

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The maintenance order indicated the commode was loose on the floor. Also the tile needed to be glued down. When I pulled up the loose tile, I discovered a very wet wood sub-floor. That was why the commode was not secure on the floor. After scrapping away the wet sub-floor, I realized I had to cut out about 9 square feet of flooring.

Bathroom2After clearing the sub-floor, I discovered the wetness was also in the kitchen and the vanity drain line was never connected to the main drain. This project grew each day I work on it.

Bathroom3I finally got the new sub-floor down and trimmed and laid new tile. Bathroom looks 100% better than it did.

Bathroom4Remember the wet floor also went into the kitchen? Well, to repair that required removing a small water heater. Removal was no problem. Repairing the floor was no problem. Putting the water heater in, I managed to break the cold water main line feeding into kitchen. One more thing to fix.

Bathroom5 The good news is I did get it finished. The cleaning crew did not like that they had to go back and clean the cabin after they had already cleaned it.

The Fence

Forty feet of fencing adjacent to the wave pool blew down over the winter.  The center photo was taken after the first day on this project. I had help on this one. That’s my work truck in the foreground. The right photo was the result of the morning work on day two.

Fence1The afternoon of day 2, my work buddy George is trimming the top. The center photos shows the completed fence with a door opening. Tomorrow I finish the door and make sure all panels are secured. I thought I would include a photo of the wave pool This is day two of filling the wave pool which by the way is 8 feet deep. It takes 3-4 days to fill this pool. On a busy summer day, there can be between 500-800 people in the swim park enjoying the pools and slides. The water looked inviting today especially since it was pretty warm this afternoon. The ground water temperature here is a chilly 55 degrees. I think I’ll let nature warm the water a bit.

Fence2Well, that’s a wrap for my work. Carol is still recuperating from her surgery and is completely bored with not much to do. We have found a great group of folks to work with and for at Mark Twain Landing. If you get near St. Louis or Hannibal, Missouri we would love to have you stop by for a visit.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now. (PS – I will try to update the blog more regularly.)


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Lover’s Leap

Another day off and we decided to do a touristy thing today. We decided to just drive around Hannibal, MO a bit to see what we could find. We were told about a pretty good BBQ place but we were not sure of the directions. We did find a large General Mills facility in town before we found The Sauced Hog. They claim to be the premier place for ribs, brisket and pulled pork. We will be the judge of that later. We were not ready for lunch so this will be a stop for another day.

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Hannibal is a small town of about 18,000 people. The community is best know as the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). That explains why many things in the area include the names Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. As we continued our drive, I saw a flag on the top of a bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River. We took off up the hill towards the bluff.

At the top we found Lover’s Leap, a park operated by the city.

DSCN0359Tom Sawyer wrote of many such places in Missouri. The view from the top is pretty cool. The Mississippi River may not appear spectacular but it is still the muddy Mississippi with Illinois across the river from Hannibal.

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While atop the bluff, we had a chance to share our RV lifestyle with two young couples. They both said they dream about doing what we are doing. We gave them our contact info, encouraged them to read our blog and to let us know if they had any questions.

Next on our day excursion was a stop at Walmart for a few supplies then a side trip to Palmyra, about 20 miles North of Monroe City. We were in search of a butcher shop and may have found one there.

That’s about it for our exciting day. Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.


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In Search of Spring

Today we left Paducah, KY. To make the day’s journey interesting, I thought I would search for Spring. It seems like most of the folks in the norther 2/3 of America is looking for Spring. If I could find Spring, I might be able to save Punxsutawney Phil from his demise. Fox news reports that Michael Gmoser, prosecuting attorney in Butler County, Pennsylvania said Phil’s inaccurate forecast warrants capital punishment. Remember, on Feb 2, 2013 he proclaimed that Spring would be here in six weeks. And so far, Spring has not sprung.

Off we go, searching for Spring on I-24 across at the Ohio River.

IMG_0879 Nope, Spring is not floating on the Ohio River. Maybe Spring is at the Illinois state line preparing to spring a surprise on travelers.

IMG_0882Nope, Spring is nowhere to be found. Maybe Phil hid Spring on the side of the road.

IMG_0883Not on the south side of the road. Maybe on the North side?

DSCN0293Well, it looks promising here. Lets look a little more. Maybe Spring is at the Missouri state line?

DSCN0302Or floating in the Mississippi River.

DSCN0303No, Spring is not there either. I am not sure what Phil did with Spring. I will not give up the search.

DSCN0304Still have not found Spring. I think it is time to send out Cody and MeiLing. Maybe they can find Spring.

IMG_0887Cody! Did you find Spring?
Nope, nothing here but more snow. I think MeiLing has picked up a scent.

IMG_0888Hey, MeiLing! Having any luck finding Spring?
Are you kidding me? Spring is nowhere to be found.

Phil, I tried to help you find Spring. What’s the deal man?

Lying PhilThanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.


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The Journey Continues

As we left Nashville on I-24, we noticed the environment began to change. From East Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, we drove through piney woods and forest areas. Between Huntsville, AL and Nashville, TN, the environment began to open up a bit. Crossing into Kentucky, I thought WOW – Big Sky country. It seemed weird to see openness along the highway. Also, after seeing all the brown grass in Northern Alabama, the grass in Kentucky began to green up a bit.

IMG_0871PS – Both hands were on the wheel when this photo was taken.

Needing fuel, we stopped at Walmart (Murphy Oil) in Clarksville, TN. Clarksville is named after the Clark from Lewis & Clark. Fort Campbell, about 10 miles north of town, straddles the Tennessee/Kentucky state line and is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Lots of military families live in Clarksville. We continued our northwest track on I-24 for about 100 miles to Paducah, KY. Why Paducah, KY?

The original plan was for Carol’s sister Donna from The Happy Traills and her husband, Tom, to drive up from South Texas to meet us in Paducah. Donna and Carol are quilters and wanted to visit Hancock’s of Paducah and the National Quilt Museum. Following a two-day stay in Paducah, we were going to drive together to St. Louis for a couple of days. Unfortunately, they had a mechanical breakdown in Tyler, TX and have been stuck there waiting for parts for their motor home. This meet up just aint gonna happen.

I took Carol to Hancock’s of Paducah and the National Quilt Museum. Hancock’s of Paducah is not associated to Hancock Fabrics chain. They are the leading online store specializing in quilting fabrics and supplies. Because of exhibits and classes, the National Quilt Museum has become a destination stop for quilters and fabric artists. I am always amazed to see what quilters can create from fabric and thread. Many of the quilts on display took several years to complete. Photographs are not allowed in the museum so you will need to click the link above to see some of what they have.

Paducah 1The weather forecast on the local news indicated a major winter storm was headed to St. Louis on Sunday. As we investigated this storm we discovered the forecast was for snow and hazardous driving from Saturday evening through most of Sunday. So we decided to stay in Paducah until Monday rather than take a chance of getting caught in a storm on the road.

ST Louis SnowThis weather map was from 9:30AM today. Notice the red line under St. Louis, this is our next stop. The blue represents snow. It stretches all the way to the western edge of Missouri. Snow forecast for St. Louis is for 8″-11″ accumulation. Just above Columbus is another red line just below a dark blue dot. That is Mark Twain Campground in Monroe City where we are headed next week. Forecast for Monroe City is 6″-9″ accumulation. Paducah is just below and to the right of Cape Girardeau. The green means we will get a little more rain. I think we made a good decision to stay put for a couple of days.

So today we are staying in. Carol has fixed crock pot stew with corn bread for dinner and we are enjoying a movie marathon day. Hopefully the weather will clear up Monday and we can get back on the road.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.


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What The Heck Is Going On?

That is a good question. As it turns out, Jasper, AL was a side trip to our summer gig at Mark Twain Landing in Monroe City, MO. WHAT? Yep, that’s right. After three weeks of working like crazy we have moved on. Due to reasons that we will not publish, March 15th was our last official day at Clear Creek Recreation Area in Jasper, AL.  Monday March 18th we started our journey to Monroe City which is about 25 miles west of Hannibal, MO.MTL

I received a call from Mark Twain Landing’s assistant manager Friday morning while I was waiting for repairs to be completed on our car. Carol and I called them back later that afternoon and wrapped up a deal for us to arrive around the last week in March. We planned our route and said ‘see ya later’ to our friends in Jasper. It was a bitter sweet departure since we had planned to spend the summer in Jasper. That just was not going to happen, God had other plans for us. We had completed our task in Jasper.

Route Jasper-Monroe City

First stop on our 700 mile journey was Hampton Cove, AL southeast of Huntsville, to visit Carol’s uncle. We knew there was a strong storm system moving from west to east that would bring strong winds and heavy rain. We stopped for lunch at Backyard Burgers just north of Cullman, AL. While there we decided to press on towards Huntsville. The storm system hit I-65 just as we exited I-565 loop. We stopped under an overpass and waited it out. A few minutes later, we were back on the road. Huntsville, AL is the home to Redstone Arsenal. A Saturn-V rocket is on display at their visitor’s center just off I-565. As we were approaching Redstone Arsenal, a large lightning bolt stuck the top of that rocket. Wished we were able to capture that image on camera.

We set up camped in the Walmart parking lot then drove out to Carol’s uncle’s home. After a relaxed visit, we showed them our RV, then they took us to Gibson’s Bar-B-Que. Gibson’s is a local place that got it’s start in the 20′s in Morgan County, AL. They are a popular place in Huntsville. The food was delicious. Robert & Becky then drove us back to our RV. Thanks for the hospitality.

DSCN0283 (1)Tuesday 3/19

Keeping with our tradition of avoiding national chain restaurants while on the road, we stopped at Blue Plate Cafe in Huntsville for breakfast. As we entered, we were greeted by lots of smiling wait staff milling about. After we met our waitress, Margarita, I told Carol this is a happy place. Nothing was hurried. Noticing my western hat on the table, Margarita asked if we were from Texas.  She had family in Texas and was excited when we said yes. The food was very good and is worth a trip back when we are back in Huntsville.

After a customary stop at Starbucks for drinks to go, we headed north on I-65 to Nashville, Tennessee. Our destination was Two Rivers Campground just down the road from the Grand Ole Opry House, east of downtown Nashville. One reason for picking this RV spot was because Camping World is next door. We were able to fill our propane tank for $1.99/gallon. Also, my nephew lives in Hermitage on the east side of Nashville. We enjoyed a catfish dinner at Caney Fork, then settled in for a restful night.

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Wednesday 3/20

We had a light breakfast since we were meeting my nephew in Hermitage for lunch. We also had some paperwork to complete so we stayed busy doing that. Around noon we headed to El OK Corral. We are always leery of Mexican food places when we are on the road. This place was pretty good. Of course we were there after lunch so there was no crowd. My Shrimp Chimichanga was good as was Carol’s Fajita plate. We had a good visit with Ron and his youngest son Zachery. Hope to see them again net time we travel through Nashville.

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Thursday 3/21

We wanted to visit the Pancake Pantry for breakfast but because this is such a popular place, the waiting line was out the door. We found Fido’s across the street. No wait at this place. Food was excellent and the place was filled with college kids and young adults who were tethered to their computers. You might call this place an upscale coffee shop. We shared our table with a couple of guys who looked like business type (college kids don’t wear suits). My Huevos Cubano was very good.

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We came back to Two Rivers Campground, pulled in the slides on the motor home and headed north for Paducah, Kentucky. More on that in the next post. Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back.


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Snow?

Yep that’s right. After a week of shopping for equipment and vehicles, slowly nesting in our spot at the manager’s site, and celebrating a quiet birthday, we get snow flurries on our first day of relaxation since we’ve been here. As you can see, the is not a problem. The cold is. We are not acclimated to cold weather. Today the high temperature was 39. Tonight we will have 8 to 10 hours of below freezing temperatures.

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We have a large site near the entry of Clear Creek Recreation Area. Here is the view from the front door. That is the entry station you see there.

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This view is as you approach the entry station.

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Clear Creek has 109 sites for RVs and tents. This is one of the premium sites that backs up to the lake. Don’t be fooled by the sun and shade. It was still cold when I took this photo.

IMG_0838Corinth Recreation Area is about 30 miles or 45 minutes on the other side of the lake. We will have three camp groundmanager couples at this site. Corinth has 60 RV and tent sites. Before the gate house of Corinth, there is a very old Baptist Church on the side of the road. It was built in 1884.

IMG_0842There is an old jail house in the area I have not found yet. That will come later when we have time.

Our regional managers arrived today. Tomorrow we will review what we’ve done and start the training. Both parks open Friday March 15th. We have lots of work to do and little time to get it done. By the time we open both parks on the 15th, we will have 6 campground manager couples trained to take care of the day-to-day operations. Our regional managers will be with us until March 15th. We are looking forward to moving ahead on this project and are excited to work with new people again.

Now that evening is upon us, the temperature is dropping. I’ll let you know how we did with our coldest night. Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.


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We’ve Arrived

We have arrived after one intermediate stop. While we could have made the journey from Vicksburg to Jasper, AL (300 miles) we were not in a hurry so we opted for an overnight spot. Looking at the map, we hunted for a spot the was mid way. That is when we found Lake Tiak O’Khata Resort. This is a family owned business that is rich in history dating back to the Civil War.  We recommend this place as an overnight or destination spot.

IMG_0831One advantage of stopping here is the onsite restaurant. Food was good – especially the Caramel Cream Pie.

Saturday morning, we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast and to use their free WiFi. After taking care of downloading updates and a relaxing breakfast, we headed out about 10ish. Sunny, blue skies and temperatures in the mid 40′s lead us to Columbus, MS. Traffic was very light and roads were pretty good. We crossed into Alabama around noon on MS50/AL96.

In Jasper, AL we parked at WalMart and walked to Johnny Brusco’s New York Style Pizza. They were a bit behind in cleaning up from the lunch crowd but the pizza made up for that. We will come back to this place. Best pizza in a long while. Carol went into WalMart to pick up a couple of items while I headed to Murphy Oil for a final fuel stop for Cramalot Inn.

Johnny Brusco

Twenty miles later, we pulled into Clear Creek Recreation Area. We were greeted by Jody from forestry service. He will be our go-to person. He led us to our temporary site where we will be until mid-week. As we were setting up, a contract worker came to us to tell us he heard rushing water near an area he was working. Since we are the only folks in the park, we took off to find the problem. We discovered a water spigot that was stuck on. Of course water was running everywhere. We got the spigot closed and made note of this site so we can get that fixed later.  Other workampers will begin to arrive on Friday March 1st. Then the real work begins. The park official opens to public on Friday March 15th. We will have two weeks to get this park and Corinth Rec Area (across Lake Lewis Smith) ready.

We drove Cramalot-Inn 915 miles. She drank up 138.5 gallons of gas that cost us $501.67 and averaged 6.6 mpg. We drove Queen’s White (our car) 1051 miles. She drank up 43.77 gallons of gas that cost us $158.33  and averaged 24 mpg. RV Park expenses came to $141.33 and eating out came to $284.12. Total trip expenses, $1,085.45 or $1.00 per mile. Donations are excepted.

Today is our day to take care of laundry, do a little grocery shopping and get oriented to our new home. If you are in the area, we invite you to come visit.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.

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