Hot Water & Hikes

    Sunday began with a short drive to downtown Hot Springs where we enjoyed breakfast at The Colonial Pancake and Waffle House and a walk along Central avenue and the The Grand Promenade.  Hot Springs is a neat little town with a fascinating history. It was once a hotbed of organized crime activity and the place to be if you were into prostitution, gambling or bootlegging. Here is a link that'll tell you all about it.
   Some photos I took during our walk around town (you can click on them to enlarge)...

                                                Standing in front of some really hot H2O

                                                              The Grand Promenade

                                                 More hot water (in the form of a fountain)

                                          I didn't meet the proprietors, but now I'm curious.

   We spent about an hour walking around downtown H.S. - a lovely little town with lots of fun looking restaurants, quirky shops and a number of (as you might guess) very nice bath houses/spas.

    Suzanne was anxious to watch Eli's return as the Giant's QB so I got her set up in front of the tv (I had to do some pretty creative audio/visual engineering to make that happen - too detailed to go into here) and Travis and I struck out on a 3 mile hike. There are several great hiking trails here in the National Park. I brought a trail map along with me that turned out to be for a different network of trails. I had also left my phone with Suzanne (as part of the aforementioned A/V setup) so in the interest of not getting lost by taking any of the many side trails Travis and I did an out-and-back on  Dead Chief Trail.  Last night I went online and printed the correct trail map and as soon as I finish this post we'll be heading out for another hike. This time we'll attempt some sort of loop.

     I found a tick crawling on my shirt later in the afternoon - so I'm going to be super vigilant about checking both Travis and myself over for the little bastards after our hike.
     This afternoon I have a couple of jobs to do. There's mold inside the vent/fan hood in the master bathroom and the only way to access it is from the roof. I'll take some cleaner, maybe some bleach up the ladder and clean that up. I need to flush and fill the fresh water tank, adjust the difficult-to-turn shower control and fire up the coach so I can use the on-board compressor to air up one of the tires on the Suzuki. I'm sure I'll find other things to do. Oh, before I head out on our hike I need to visit the kiosk and pay for another night at Gulpha Gorge Campground. In my last blog I referred to it as Hot Springs Natl. Park Campground... but it's Gulpha Gorge.
      Here's a photo I took last night before turning in showing the lighting I installed a couple days ago above the crown moulding.  Christmas colors...

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

Thanks for checking out the blog.

Hot Springs, AR

   We finally left Memphis at 11:00 Saturday morning. Our GPS put us on I40 west - through Memphis where we passed St. Jude Hospital and the biggest Bass Pro Shop I've ever seen. In a few minutes we were crossing the mighty Mississippi into Arkansas.
    We had a little over 190 miles to travel to reach Hot Springs, Arkansas - our home for the next couple of days. Hot Springs National Park has a campground that can accommodate our 43' coach. Most National Park campgrounds have a 35' limit for RVs - so when visiting National Parks we typically have to find a privately owned camping facility outside the park.
    I wanted to fuel up somewhere along the way but the right combination of price per gallon and ease of access never seemed to present itself.  As a rule I don't allow the fuel gauge to go beyond the half-way point.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Our coach has a 150 gallon fuel tank and filling a half empty tank creates the illusion, in my mind at least, that this beast isn't as costly to operate as it actually is. The other reason is that when the fuel level drops below 1/4 the 10,000 watt on-board Onan generator becomes inoperable. The fuel delivery system is designed that way so that precious diesel fuel needed to move the coach further down the road isn't gobbled up by nonessential generator use.
   We arrived at Hot Springs National Park Campground around 2:00 pm.  I unhooked the car in the parking lot as none of the sites were pull-thru.  Suzanne and I drove around the campground in the car and chose the site we thought was best - and she waited there, staking our claim while I jogged back and got the coach.  After parking and setting up we walked down to the kiosk and paid the $30 for our two night stay. That's right! With our National Park lifetime pass the nightly fee here is only $15! It's a beautiful campground with paved roads and parking pads. A privately owned campground this nice would cost at least $50 a night.

   The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. We had a late lunch/early dinner, I took Travis for a long walk and we settled in for the night and watched a movie.  Today we explored the town of Hot Springs.  I'll write more about that tomorrow.
    Next Saturday we'll be in San Antonio, Texas looking forward to Aaron's (our son) arrival on Sunday.  San Antonio is only 540 miles from where we are now so we have plenty of time.
   A week ago Hot Springs, Arkansas wasn't even on our radar - but it's turned out to be such a pleasant surprise that we've decided to extend our stay here one more day.
   Thanks for checking out the blog.

 

More Memphis (than we planned on)...

   So when I ended my last entry it was around 4:00 Thursday afternoon and I had just heard from Haynes Firestone. They had flushed the radiator in the Suzuki and we were good to go. I had also had them change the oil since it was about a thousand miles past it's expiration. We could have had them deliver the car to us at the RV park but since they're only a mile down Elvis Presley Blvd we decided to walk instead. Travis seemed to want to come with so I buckled him into his harness and off we went.  It was kind of cold outside but a good day for a brisk walk.
  I paid the repair bill and we headed for Walmart to pick up a few things - then back to Graceland RV Park.  As we were driving into the park Suzanne reminded me that we were almost out of tequila. That necessitated an immediate U turn!  We headed back down Elvis Presley Blvd to a liquor store we had spotted earlier. Since picking up the car I had been eyeing the temperature gauge periodically to make sure everything was cool (literally) and as I pulled into the liquor store parking lot it all of a sudden shot up and the needle pegged as far into the hot range as it could possibly go. Imagine my disappointment.
  Luckily we were right around the corner from Haynes so we abandoned the tequila run and went back to the repair shop. They apologized profusely, wrote up a new repair order, promised they'd give it top priority the next day and gave us a ride home. Travis has gotten to ride in the cab of a ramp truck and the back seat of a sedan in the past couple of days - both of which he's never done before. Every cloud has a silver lining.
  Mind you, we were supposed to leave Memphis Thursday morning. We would now be spending Thursday night and most likely Friday night at GL RV Park. Not that Memphis isn't a fun place to visit but we've done Graceland, BBQ and Beale Street - done. I was looking forward to exploring Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas - our next destination.
  The first time we spoke I had told the service manager at Haynes that I suspected the problem was with the thermostat but they seemed convinced I had just run low on coolant and that the radiator needed a flush - yah.  I finally got a call around 4:00 Friday afternoon, "Mr. Steve!" that's what Charles the service manager calls me. "Mr Steve, seems you were right, it was the thermostat!". I decided this time to let them send a driver to pick my up.  I got the car (they gave me a bit of a discount for my troubles) and headed, FINALLY, to the liquor store.
   It is now 8:30 Saturday morning. Suzanne has another hour of work to do and then we're firing up the 450 Cummins and heading southeast for Hot Springs, Arkansas. Time for me to go hook up the car and start preparing for departure.
  Oh, I completed a couple of projects on my list during our down time. There was a buckle in a wall in the master bathroom. The 1/4 luan sheathing had apparently been cut too long during assembly and at some point the stress caused it to delaminate and buckle...

  You can see the bulge in the wall. I used masking tape to establish a straight line and with a razor knife, cut away a section starting with about 1/8" on the left down to nothing at the right end of the tape. Savvy?
  Once I removed the material the sheathing flattened out. I was unable to get any adhesive behind the luan so I wedged a roll of duct tape between the window trim and the luan to hold it tight against the wall and caulked along the corner seam. In a few hours I removed the roll of tape and the caulking had done the trick. It held just fine.
   A few months ago I purchased some LED strip lighting to install behind the crown moulding that runs along both sides of the coach's interior walls. This seemed like a good time to tackle that project.
Here's what the moulding looks like. 

   It took me a couple of hours. I'm kind of fussy about this kind of work so I wanted all wires to be hidden etc. I was pleased with the results.  There's a remote and I can do all sorts of cool stuff with the lighting - different colors, fading flashing etc. A new toy.
    And Suzanne took time out from her work to bake brownies!

    Life is good.

Brisket, Blues & Boiling Radiators

 Tuesday morning found Suzanne at her laptop...

 ...and me heading out in the car to do some grocery shopping. The Piggly Wiggly that Google  claimed was the closest grocery store to my location turned out to be no longer in existence so I crossed Elvis Presley Blvd to see what Aldi had to offer. I had to insert a quarter into a device on the handle of my shopping cart to release it from the chain that attached it to the next cart - the first time I've encountered such a contraption.  It was kind of a sketchy part of town (a good portion of Memphis is kinda sketchy) so I'm guessing shopping carts here have a habit of walking away.
   Aldi turned out to be a bust - a small store with a poor selection. Wanting to have something to show for my $.25 investment, I threw a bunch of bananas and some chicken into my cart but returned them to stock when I saw there was a single register open with half a dozen people waiting in line. On the way to the Walmart Supercenter I spotted a Kroger that looked promising... and it turned out to be just the ticket.
   I practiced my guitar for a couple of hours in the afternoon and went for a 4 mile run with Travis.  He was a good boy and didn't lollygag even a little. On our way back into the RV park I spotted this sign...

                                    We're literally staying down at the end of lonely street!

   We wanted to sample some genuine Memphis barbecue. Our RV park host recommended Marlowe's - about a two mile drive from Graceland RV Park. We both ordered the brisket and it was delicious! There are leftovers in the fridge.

  From Marlowe's we headed for downtown Memphis and Beale Street.  It was a very cool place. The section of Beale where all the hot blues clubs are located was blocked off for automobile traffic. We parked and went into the first bar we came upon, Rum Boogie Cafe.  The entertainment for this particular night was Vince Johnson and The Plantation Allstars - a good band and fun to listen to.

After enjoying a couple hours of music and libations we strolled along Beale - pausing occasionally to listen to the music coming from almost every door we passed.

Then we retrieved the car and headed back to G.L. RV Park... and here's where the story gets interesting...

    As we were pulling into the RV park (a nine mile trip) Suzanne realized she had forgotten her purse at the bar. We called RBC and were told they had found it and that it would be waiting for us behind the bar. I had to use the bathroom so I ran into the coach, took care of business and decided to take Travis along for the ride into town and back. About 3/4 of the way there I came to a stop light and noticed steam coming from under the hood.  We were in another VERY sketchy part of town but I had no choice but to pull into the Yummy BBQ & gas station across the intersection and call AAA. I went inside to ask the attendant the address so I could relay the info to AAA - he was sitting behind inch thick bullet-proof glass. Wonderful.
     Having placed the call to AAA I went back out to the car and opened the hood to see what I could see and there was no obvious break in a hose. I then crawled underneath to have a look and still couldn't locate the problem.  We decided it would be best to call for a lyft ride for Suzanne back to Rum Boogie to get her purse and then back to the RV park. Travis and I hitched a ride with the ramp truck driver as the garage we decided to take the car to was about a mile beyond the RV park.
    There must be an adrenaline rush that accompanies situations like this because lifting my 85 lb Golden Retriever 6' up into the cab of the ramp truck didn't seem all that difficult. He was a little anxious during the ride home though.
    Anyway, long story short, I got a call from the repair facility a couple hours ago and it was apparently just low on coolant. They're going to do a flush and refill.  I had visions of head gaskets dancing in my head. Bullet dodged.
 
  The adventure continues...

We've found a new place to dwell...

It rained pretty heavily Monday night which is kind of a good thing in the coach. The sound of rain on the roof tends to lull one to sleep. Our destination Tuesday morning was Memphis - about 215 miles from the Nashville KOA. Suzanne had a conference call at 11:00 am so we did as much packing up as we could Monday night before going to bed and set the alarm for 6:00 am.  The rain let up enough in the morning to make the 10 minutes of work I had to do outside in preparation for departure a little less miserable and we were on the road by 6:40.

                                                              Ready to roll

   It continued raining for the next couple of hours, not heavily but enough so that I was unable to use the intermittent  setting on the wipers.  Btw, the coach has a cool intermittent wiper function where you push the button then push it a second time anywhere up to... I think a minute and it will set the wiping 'tempo' accordingly.

   According to our calculations we were right on schedule and all was fine until Suzanne realized her call was actually at 10:00 am.  Well... it WAS at 11:00 EST but we are now in the Central Time Zone and she kinda forgot that.  There was no way we were going to make it to Memphis by 10:00 so at 9:30 we pulled into a rest area where she took care of business for the next hour while I read a few more chapters of  Louis L'Amour's 'The Daybreakers'.  The cell signal wasn't great but we were able to establish a hot spot so that Suzanne could fire up her Mac and do what she had to do.

    By then the rain had ended and we arrived at the Graceland RV Park around 12:30. I had purchased two 3:30 pm VIP Graceland tour tickets the night before.  The woman at the RV park desk told us she thought the mansion was closed on Tuesdays so after pulling into our site and setting up I walked the 300 or so yards to the Graceland welcome center and confirmed that the mansion was indeed open.  Suzanne finished up work at 2:45 and we headed over for our tour.  While I like his music I wouldn't say that I'm a HUGE Elvis fan - but I've always thought it would be cool to visit Graceland so it's kinda been on my bucket list for a while. It didn't disappoint!

    Some photos I took during the tour...

                                                              The Living Room

                                                               Elvis' Kitchen

                                          Pool Room - I think they said it took a crew of 6
                                        ten days to hang the fabric on the ceiling and walls

                                                        The famous Jungle Room!

                       His pink Cadillac - one of MANY cars (and motorcycles) in the collection

                                       Inside the Convair 880, one of two jets Elvis owned 

                                                            and that are on display

   There were hardly any other people visiting Graceland while we were there and it kind of felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We were the only people on the shuttle bus to the mansion, the only ones watching the orientation film and one of maybe three other couples walking around inside the mansion.  It was a unique experience. I was struck by how tacky, by modern standards, the decor inside the mansion was. Lots of paneling and, of course, shag carpeting. Most of the time during our tour was spent across the street at the expansive museum - a complex of buildings - one housing cars, motorcycles, trikes, golf carts and other vehicles. There is a building dedicated to preserving and displaying Elvis' Army clothing and other things associated with his time spent in the Army, another for his musical equipment and other personal belongings, another building displays clothing worn by later entertainers showing the influence Elvis had on how they dressed etc. Very interesting tour. Pricey....but interesting. 

    One more day in Memphis. I'll share more tomorrow.

     Thanks for reading the blog!

    

   

  

More Nashville

  Yesterday was a work day for Suzanne so Travis and I were left to fend for ourselves.  Suzanne forgot her work laptop at home (don't ask) so Aaron made a trip out to our place Saturday afternoon and sent it overnite FedEx. The next day being Sunday, we were told that the package would arrive Monday morning at 8:00.  We walked up to the KOA office a little past 8:00 and discovered the driver had attempted delivery at 7:00, an hour before the office opens, and had left a tag stating he would try again the following morning. Suzanne needed the laptop ASAP so we called FedEx and the driver made another pass at 9:38 am - phew!
   I made a list of things I want/need to do on the coach and set about checking a few of them off. One was to become a little more familiar with the coach's in-dash gadgetry. There are two display screens, each capable displaying entertainment information, GPS, and images from the 3 exterior rear facing cameras. I've never taken the time to learn all there is to know about the capabilities of this system and now seemed as good a time as any - check.
   I spent the rest of the afternoon puttering around the coach, did a load of laundry (there's a washer and dryer in the coach) and reading.  I got set up to do some guitar practicing but found out that Suzanne had a 90 minute conference call coming up shortly so that plan got waylaid. Instead I took Travis for a run. He did his usual routine - running ahead of me for the first 1/3, beside me for the second 1/3 and behind me for the final 1/3 with me having to tug at his leash and egg him on.
   At 5:30 we headed for "3rd and Lindsley", a restaurant & music venue in Nashville where we had tickets to see The Time Jumpers (with Vince Gill). The show wasn't until 8:00 but seating is first come first serve and we wanted to be assured a good view of the stage.We arrived at the club a little past 6:00 so we had a bit of a wait before the show started. Two hours, 3 appetizers and a couple of cocktails later the music began.  We had a great time!  The music was top notch and there were even a few surprise guests. For those unfamiliar with The Time Jumpers here's a link http://www.thetimejumpers.com/ .

Tomorrow: Memphis!
   

On The Road Again

    We left home a couple days ago and are headed for Palm Springs, California to spend Christmas with Suzanne's (my wife) family.  My son, Aaron will be flying to and rendezvousing with us in San Antonio, TX on the seventeenth of this month for the final leg of the Palm Springs run. He'll be flying back to DC a few days after Christmas. Suzanne and I will spend the next couple of months meandering around the country. We'll probably head for northern California to visit with her sister in Napa for a few days... and from there... who knows? We're kind of going to play it by ear.  I'm going to try to blog regularly - if not daily, hopefully every other day.
    We left home around noon on Friday, drove to the RV storage facility in Manassas to retrieve the coach. 

  From there we trekked out Rt.66 to I-81 south to Ft. Chiswell, Va. - about a 280 mile day. Suzanne will be working remote for most of our journey and we decided it would be best to put some miles behind us the first couple of days, taking advantage of her three days off. Then we'll slow down, spending several days at a time in different locations - allowing her to settle in at her work station in the coach without having to pack up early each day in order to get to the next RV park and set up for work by 9:30 each morning. Make sense?
   The end of our second day on the road, yesterday, found us 370 miles further from home in Nashville, TN. Our original plan was to head south on Rt. 75 out of Knoxville but we made a last minute decision to head for Nashville and Memphis instead.
    Suzanne went online while we were motoring down the interstate and scored a couple of tickets to last night's Grand Old Opry performance at the old Ryman Auditorum. I went for a run at around 4:30. I showered, we had a cocktail and headed for the shuttle stop. There's a shuttle that will pick you up here at the Nashville KOA and drop you off in downtown Nashville for a very reasonable $10 round trip fee.  We had called earlier in the afternoon to let them know we would be waiting at the Shuttle stop at 8:00. 8:00 came and went. At 8:20 we called the shuttle company to find out what the hold up was and were told the reservation was somehow misplaced... and forgotten about. Unfortunate. We hurried back to our campsite, got in the car and drove the 15 miles into town. Luckily parking was not an issue.  The show was a lot of fun...and the seats were great! 

   This morning Suzanne decided she wanted to go to church. While she was away I spent some time puttering around the coach and doing a little cleaning - inside and out. When she returned from church we packed Travis into the back of the car and headed into town for a walk around Centennial Park where there is a full-size replica of the Parthenon!  Here's a link if you're curious... Parthenon?

                                                      Hot dogs at the Parthenon. Score!

   I did a little more exterior cleaning on the coach this afternoon (windshield bug removal etc.) and now we're relaxing with a couple of margaritas.  Tomorrow night we're going to a bar called 3rd and Lindsley to see The Time Jumpers. Should be fun!

'Til The Cows Come Home...

  The forecast for the week of April 10th looked fantastic so we decided, on the spur of the moment, to head for the Shenandoah once again. I cleared/rearranged my teaching schedule for the week and Suzanne gathered together everything she needed to work from the coach for the next several days.  We phoned the Luray KOA on the way to the Prince William County Fairground (where we store the coach) to make our reservation and were surprised to learn that they were pretty heavily booked for the week! Luckily they had 2 sites left that would accommodate a 43' motorhome and a car. Neither of the sites would have been our first choice - but most all the sites at this campground are spacious with a nice view of the mountains and #33 was no exception.

   By the time we got set up it was time for supper. Since it had been a hastily planned trip we hadn't had a chance to do our food shopping before leaving home. Not looking forward to grocery shopping then cooking dinner at 8:00 in the evening, we opted instead to dine at Rancho Viejo, the local Mexican eatery then do some light grocery shopping across the street at Shopper's Value Foods. We would buy the bulk of the food needed for the weekend the following day at Food Lion. Here's an example of why we prefer Food Lion to Shopper's Value Foods...

   The KOA in Luray is a quiet, peaceful campground bordered on all sides by farmland, which is one of the reasons we enjoy spending time there. A small section of pasture on the other side of a barbed wire fence and adjacent to site #33 is a popular late afternoon bovine gathering point.

    Sunset over the Massanutten Mountains...

    It was, as usual, an enjoyable weekend in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.

    Next Friday we head for Charlotte, NC by way of Asheville. Suzanne has a business meeting to attend in Charlotte on the 26th. Having seen very little of that part of the country, we though it would be nice to take a little extra time and explore... On Tour!

Oh Shenandoah ...

  This is our first outing of 2017.  The coach had to be de-winterized and there was some Spring cleaning to be done.  I had spent a couple of days earlier this week cleaning the exterior and buffing out the wheels (priorities) but we hadn't done any major housework before tucking her away for the winter.
  Since the forecast called for rain on Friday (our planned departure day) I lobbied for a Saturday departure for the sake of maintaining the shiny exterior I had worked so hard to achieve... but Suzanne had her heart set on spending Friday night in the Shenandoah so we stuck with the original plan.
  We didn't hit rain until we rolled into Front Royal - about 25 minutes from our destination. It wasn't a heavy rain - the heavy stuff had fallen the night before and thankfully had washed away most of the dirt on the roads. Still, by the time we arrived in Luray my shiny coach wasn't nearly as shiny as it was when we left the storage facility in Manassas an hour and a half earlier.
   We arrived at the KOA around 5:00 pm, uncoupled from the car and slid into our premium pull thru site with a perfect view of the Massanutten mountain range to the west. Suzanne began organizing things inside the coach as I set about de-winterizing and immediately... there was a problem.
   When I turned on the water at the post I saw water flowing out of the plumbing bay - the compartment housing the valves for draining the grey & black tanks, filling the fresh water tank etc.. There was a large crack running the full length of the "whole house" water filter housing. Apparently, I hadn't completely purged the system of water when winterizing. Water had settled to the lowest point in the system (the filter), froze, expanded and split the filter housing. We hopped in the car and headed for the local hardware store, arriving 5 minutes after it had closed. Whaa. We drove across the street to a Tractor Supply store where they had (or so it seemed) just what I needed. We excitedly drove back to the campground only to discover it was the wrong size. Whaa #2.
   There is a Camping World located in Winchester, Va. about an hour drive from Luray and that's where we found the proper replacement part the next morning. We had no fresh water Friday night but hey.... it's camping!
   After replacing the filter housing I turned the water supply back on and went inside to start opening faucets to purge the system of antifreeze. Surprise number 2, a diversion valve beneath the galley sink (connecting to yet another water filter) was cracked. Again, it was obvious that water had settled in the valve and froze. I quickly removed the valve, bypassing it, then went from one fixture to the next opening hot and cold faucets, running the clothes washer and dish washer, flushing the two toilets - long enough to allow the pink colored antifreeze to completely flush from the plumbing. All seemed well...
   Until a knock came at the door...
   A concerned neighbor had noticed water flowing from the bottom edge of the port-side full length slide. There was another leak!
   I quickly turned off the water supply once again and opened the small exterior door that allows access to the rear of the refrigerator and the ice maker drain valve. I could see where the water had been collecting along the inside of the slide's exterior wall but it wasn't obvious where the leak was.  I went inside, emptied the fridge and discovered the problem - another filter. This had been my first time winterizing this coach. We've never had a residential refrigerator in an RV before. It never occurred to me (nor did it state in the owner's manual) that there was a water filter in there and that it should be removed during winterization.

                                                      All set up - water issues resolved

    With all the plumbing problems solved we were able to relax and look forward to spending the next three days in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. A trip to Walmart for food and other supplies, a supper of grilled steaks with baby potatoes and salad and it was time to settle in for the night and watch a little tv.

                                   Suzanne relaxing in her recliner with a glass of pinot grigio

   The next day we decided to hike to Kennedy Peak. We packed my backpack with some water, snacks and Travis' collapsible water bowl, hopped in the car and headed for the trailhead - which is about 6 miles from our campsite.

     Other highlights of the trip included ice cream at Flotsie's, our favorite soft serve vendor...

    A carillon concert at Luray's "Singing Tower"...

    A run along the Hawksbill Creek...

   Afternoon margaritas, burgers, evening fires and a cigar...

   Despite the initial plumbing complications it was a fun five days in one of our favorite places in the world. The fact that it is located just a couple of hours from our home is a bonus!

   Stay tuned for more adventures On Tour!