Continuing the Journey

So, after we left Sac City, Iowa, we continued our journey west. West you say exactly were?

Plan, Yankon, South Dakota, for Susan to renew her driver's licence. Plan, stay 1 night, get up early and be #1 in line. Me go to Walmart and await the conquering heroine. Expected time to achieve this and get on the road, hum 1 hour. When did we finally leave 4 pm, Unexpected problem ? yes, 1 broken phone, many calls later and an additional $30, she was doing the happy dance.

Our final destination for the day? Bluestem Recreation area (link). Our plan, connect up with our friends from Friend, Nebraska. Tisdales's & Derr's. We arrived tired, cranky and in need of a rest. The trip was not without a few headaches which, we will leave for a later date. But arrive we did, got setup, relax and let the crazy dog run free for a while to settle down.

The highlight of the weekend, was Andy's mouth watering ribs, along with the potatoes and sweet corn. Good time was held by all around us.

Photos, well, not many in fact very few, this time around:

This is primitive camping, so solar or a generator is needed.

One of the most exciting thing that happen? When Kim, opened a compartment door on the camper, out pop Tigger the cat. Susan and I took Tigger home on Friday, as her replacement phone, had just been delivered.

Sunday was a day of packing and heading out to the Derr's family farm. Upon arrival, we released the beast. The next few hours was filled with a dark chocolate lab, running here and their checking everything our. Including the garden, many times over.

Anyway, we are here for awhile to make some changes to the Rv. The Derr's farm has room for 5 Rv's including water and 50 amp electric. So, if coming thru Friend, give a shout to Sharon and Dwight, if they are here, Alfa owners are always welcome.

Safe Journeys and Travel Adventures
DaGirls Rv Dakota and Tilly

2nd Day in our Trip to the AIBF 2017

So, lets get to our 2nd day of travel. Our stop today was in the city of SAC City, Iowa. We wound up in the Riverside Campground, located within short walking distance of the historic downtown.

On our walk around, I get the impression, this is the barn quilt capital of Iowa. In Sept. there is a Barn Quilt Fair. Here at the campground, which is very close to the fair ground we see a few more barn quilts. The paint job is still glossy, so someone is keeping them in good shape.

Our first photos were of the campground itself, not all site are satellite friendly, but who needs it, when you are in this great little town, with alot of history.

Our first history photos are of the war memorials located a short walk from the campground.

The memorials stones date back to 1892. Laying the grounds for the Civil War memorials. And continuing to the Korean conflict.  By going to the link below you can read a little more about the historic district.

Historic Square in SAC City

The inscription on this statue was very sombor:

Erected by the Citizens of SAC County, Iowa to the Memory of Her Soldier Heros of the War of the Rebellion

Our next stop was walking downtown to see the world's largest popcorn ball. On our way we saw many wonderful sites, especially this Grand old majestic house. I found out this belong to a former judge.

Once we arrived at the museum of the Popcorn ball we capture a few photos of the area:
The popcorn ball inside a museum, and taking photos, do not do it justice. So press on the link below and you can read and see photos:

Popcorn Ball

tHere are a few photos of the other building around the popcorn ball:

Before I leave you, there is 1 maybe 3 more photos I need to post:

A 3 holer.

So, safe travels from DaGirls, Rv as we make out way to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (AIBF) 2017.

Playing catch or really playing in the grass and mud

So, what really happen after July 21, 1 to 2 inches of rail fell in the Sandwich area. First thing we noticed was the pond surrounding out Alfa boat. Luckily we did not need a boat, but a bridge would have helped keep everyone dried. 

After a day, most of the water was down, and I made the decision to stay put. Boy was that a wrong decision, as the very next day, 4.5 inches of rain came down. Now we had 4 to 6 inches on water. So enough was enough, we call Good Sam (GS), and said we needed a tow. Well GS, said we can't give you a tow but we can have you winched out. What a play on words. 

This is where we ended up trying to drive out. 

It took about an hour for the first truck to arrive. Of course, it was not a heavy duty truck, it was a loaded with a large skid-steer. Of course your asking yourself a Skid-steer, what on earth is he going to use that for. Well, he was not really the man with the truck, he was the man with the plan, the second driver came with the truck. 

So, once everyone arrived and the equipment was on hand, they got to work:

Equipment was put in place, the guys were laying out the tow straps, wondering where to put then, so no damage to the Alfa:

The next item was in the equipment into place:

But soon, with Susan at the wheel, he was out and on the road.  Then it was on to a dryer and firmer sight, but that is another story to tell.


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Safe Travels fro Dakota, Tilly, Susan and me.

Doing a little catch up

July 17^th. Wrap up of the last few weeks. For those of you asking where we are located.
Currently sitting right about here: Link Location or just copy and paste into a browser: 41.642859,-88.624134 .

We have found this to be an ideal location for visiting family
Things have been quite around the family so, on July 10^th, we headed to Indianapolis for an overnight stay, than go in on Tuesday into the Indiana Fair Grounds. The FMCA rally started on July 12^th to the 15^th with leaving the fair grounds on Sunday the 16^th.

We found the FMCA rally to be fun and provide a good source of information. We learned of the various programs FMCA has made available to us, the RVer on the road. Whether we full time or part time, FMCA has something for you.

Now while we were there, we knew our awning would not last, and due to the placement of the slide rail water was pooling on top of the slide out, making it necessary to retract the slide during the rain.

Reading the installation manual I notice instructions for the location of the slide rail. Manual says min., 2 inches above the top of the awning roller; this provides the angle for the water to run down and off the side of the slide out. Ours was even; this allowed the pooling of water on the material.

I saw a Shade Pro truck, and ask the gentleman to come over and quote and look at the angle. He notice right away the incorrect angle. With Susan in charge, she indicated she wanted similar material as on our main awning and color. Cole showed her the same material and color, which she agreed to, he gave us a rough price of $800 to $900, and said he could do it the next day.

At around 10am Cole arrived and I help remove and install new side rails (310 inches long) at a new height and material. The slide awning material is now tight and at a good angle for the water to run down and off, keeping most if not all the water off the roof of the awning. I just want to state, that we, Rver's do not need to keep the same vinyl on our awning. The new awning material matches our current awning material and color.
When all was said and done the total cost was $785 complete. 

Also while we were traveling down the road, the usual happen in a town called  Forest, Il., or right at this address: 899 N Center St, Forrest, IL 61741.

Susan pulled over to allow the girls to take a walk and switch drivers, as we went outside, we both heard this noise, well Susan heard it, but I did something about it. Shutting down the engine. After a few minutes of looking, I saw a shredded serpentine belt, or at least 4 ribs of the belt was missing. As luck would have it, a business called TCS trucks was 50 yards away. So, off I went to talk to them and see what could be done. Do you know, even though they did not have a belt, they worked until they found a belt 10 minutes away at a NAPA store. Who cares that NAPA is the most expensive place to buy one, they worked hard to help out.

So, off we went, bought 2 different sizes, 1 smaller - 1 larger than the size called out, and back we went. Once back, they made room for me to back up into a bay and 35 minutes later and $55, less, we were back on the road. Now of course, the Horton Fan Clutch cable got broken, but hey all that does is continue to run at high speed.

Sorry for no photos but hey were we off and Susan asked me did you ever order the spare items you needed?  Well I had to say no. You see the belt from NAPA was over $75, and the belts she ordered was $10 each. But hey she got to do the happy dance. 

Oh before I forget, that week was the most expensive week we ever had, and why ? 
Well we picked up a 2015 Ford F-150 with less than 15,000 miles, 

and then we needed to set it up for towing:

So, all in all it was very costly for Susan, just so I could have a new toy, to play with.

Anyway, here are a few additional photos of our time at the FMCA rally:

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Safe Travels fro Dakota, Tilly, Susan and me.