Plumming Mod

One more minor project completed. A simple reroute in the utility bay, but one that should make life a little simpler, and I'm all about simplicity while traveling. This one I picked up from a fellow fulltimer in Carthage MO. thanks Jack. Like most RVers, I have a Y hose connector at the faucet which makes it handy to connect the second hose for flushing out the black tank. With this simple mod, I moved the Y connector to inside the utility bay with a quick connect on the main incoming water side. The two outlets run to the water filter then into the rig, the other runs straight to the black tank flush. Now when flushing the black tank, I just close the fresh water inlet side and open the tank flush side on the Y. Again a simple but handy trick I picked up from a fellow Fulltimer. Just thought I'd share this with you folks, so, until next time..............

Ozark NF, Arkansas

 We arrived back in OKC Thursday afternoon, but before heading out, I needed a long overdue wilderness fix. So Wednesday morning I plotted a course for the nearest Nation Forest land I could find. A route was put together and I was off. This trip was just a short ride north from Ft Smith along 30 miles or so of forest service roads.
 

 Along the way were several old homesteads, many of which are slowly returning to nature.

 Of course what are the Ozarks with out countless rocky creeks.

 This old storage building was built half into the side of a mountain.

 Miles and Miles of tree lined roads to help you escape from it all.

Of course the vistas aren't bad either. The only problem is finding them, as they are few and far between due to the dense foliage.
Looks like we will be here in OKC for 2-4 weeks depending on how the doctor appointments go. Sheryl's new primary care doc set her up with a few unexpected referrals, which is good, shows he cares and wants to get her taken care of. So as long as we are here, I have a short laundry list of items to get accomplished, Jeep needs an alignment and tire rotation, time for and oil change on the motorhome, getting new curtains for the front window, etc, etc, etc. Today we shampooed the carpet, boy did it need it, Sheryl couldn't believe how much dirt came up (and yes we vacuum regularly...lol)
So one project crossed off the list. Hope you enjoyed the shots and we'll let you know how the other projects go, so until then..............................  

Ft Smith, AR.

Wow, what a last few days of travel. Four days non stop, that is highly unusual for us, with a couple of long stressful ones. We made it into Ft Smith Arkansas and the Ft Chaffee Army National Guard Base RV Park. We scored a really nice spot on the lake and have just been relaxing with friends we met here. Tomorrow  we are off to OKC for a couple of doctor appointments. We are hoping  not to be tied up too long there so we can begin our journey south. I did head out today to the Ozark National Forest as I needed a wilderness fix. I'll post more on that adventure next time. So, until then...............

Lower Cato Falls County Park, WI

 Yesterday was our final sightseeing day out in the Two Rivers area. We had seen this park in the guidebook named Lower Cato Falls and thought that would be a nice little adventure out into the countryside.

 It was a nice little county park, but the falls were a little disappointing, more like steps than falls. With the mid day sun casting some harsh shadows it was all I could do to come away with the few shots that I got. Still not too bad, and would make for a nice picnic spot along the river.

The ride back to the rig was beautiful, farm after farm of what I think of when I think of farmland, red barns, silos and white farmhouses.

This will be our last post from here, tomorrow we start our journey back towards OKC for hopefully what will be a couple of quick appointments. We will be taking our time as usual, probably stretch it out to 5 or so days, no sense being in a hurry. That's all for now and we'll see you back here in a couple of days to see what other interesting sights we found along the way......................

Rawley Point Lighthouse, Two Rivers, WI

 With only a few more days left here in Two Rivers, it was another day of exploring. Yesterdays adventure took us to Point Beach State Forest and the Rawley Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1853 and is still in use today. The original brick lighthouse was dismantled in 1894 and the newer steel tower (from the Chicago Worlds Fair) was installed.
 

 Lighthouses are always cool to see. I understand this one is still in use and contains a residence, however they are very, very animate that you only view from a distance. Kinda disappointing since the lighthouse is touted as a tourist destination with in the park. Ah well, it was still a good day out!

 Interesting yard art we saw on the way

 Pretty cool mural at this buildings entrance.

Another view of town from across the East Twin River.

Tonight we're off to dinner at an old German Pub and Deli for dinner, should be fun and then another day of exploring tomorrow, before getting ready to head out. That's all for now, so until next time.......................

Two Rivers Photo Walks

We've been enjoying our time here at Two Rivers, a little bit of sight seeing and a whole lot of just hanging out. The park is almost empty, which makes it very peaceful and quite most of the time. We have been visiting  with Sheryl's niece and husband off and on when we can, but trying not to over do it either. The last couple of day I have found myself with time to kill, so a couple of photo walks were in order. Like we have mentioned many times before, we love small towns and especially unique small towns like this one. Here are a few shots from around the area, hope you enjoy.

The last three were from Manitowoc, the next town over. Including the S.S. Badger (largest passenger steamship in the U.S.) and the Manitowoc Lighthouse. A WWII submarine on display at the Maritime Museum.
There's really quite a bit to see here in this area of Wisconsin and we are just pacing ourselves to get it all in.
If you would like to see more of this area, you can check out our Flickr site, just click on the Gallery page to the right. That's it for now and we'll see you back here again.........................

Two Rivers Wisconsin's Fishing Village Museum

 Two Rivers like most old sea/lakeside towns was once a thriving fishing village. The modern Two Rivers has retained a small portion of that history in it's fishing village museum set along the river. The fog gave the village an eerie old time feel and made for some interesting shots.

 Old Coast Guard Boat

 Restored Lighthouse

 Foggy Boardwalk

 Low clouds the other day reflecting the city lights back onto the water.

 A couple of sunset shots from last night as the rain moved out.

The last couple of days we've just been staying in as the rain and fog made sight seeing almost useless, not to mention just good days to stay in and do a whole lot of nothing. We are enjoying our time here, today it's sunny and warm so were off to explore the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc and pop in on our niece at work.  Ok, thats it for now and we'll see you back here before long.................

Stop N Dock RV Park, Two River WI

 Home for the next two weeks is the Stop N Dock Marina and RV Park here in Two Rivers. We were quite surprised when we pulled in and saw only a handful of RV's in the campground, considering it was the beginning of Labor Day Weekend.

 As luck would have it, the second site from the water was open and our camphost hooked us right up with it. You can't ask for a much better view.

 Couple of shots from one of the docks. It seems this is not a very well known park or marina. Considering it's Labor Day Weekend and there is a large festival in town, the park is empty, but hey, that's fine with us!!!

We are here to visit with Sheryl's Niece and her husband, they stopped by to say hey after we got all set up. We were only going to stay a week, but after seeing how nice the area, weather and our site is we are going to extend our visit for two weeks. Nothing like the full timing life to make hard decisions like that.....lol

There is a lot to explore in this part of Wisconsin, so stay tuned and see what we come up with..................

South Bend Indiana and My Childhood Home

We left the Fleetwood Service Center a little later than we wanted to, luckily our next stop was only a couple hours away. We arrived in South Bend Indiana, found a nice RV Park and settled in for the night.

 Friday morning we were off and running early as we knew we had a longer than usual drive up to Wisconsin. But first we had to stop by and see my childhood home. Several months ago Sheryl and I were looking through some old pictures and found one that had the address of the house in South Bend where I was born. Pretty cool, and thought, if we ever got up that way, it would be pretty neat to stop by and see it. Well that day finally came and we were here. Looking it up on Google maps the house was on the outskirts of town and from the looks of it, progress and growth did not creep into this part of it. The house (only one of ten in the whole area) is still surrounded by corn fields and farm land. Above is the road the house is on.

And there is was, no change in 53 years, since I was last here. Of course the trees are larger, but that's about it. I was hoping someone would be home, but seems everyone was gone and I didn't want to looks like a prowler snooping around. We just looked from the road, reminisced and took a few pictures.What a really cool feeling, I know it may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, with very limited background on any of my family, it was good to see.
After our short visit we were off and running again, we set our sights on Two Rivers Wisconsin and headed north. I was really dreading the drive through Chicago but it didn't turn out too bad, lots of traffic and crazy drivers, but traffic flowed and we were thru it on no time.
We made it into Two Rivers around 4pm, got all set up and went to dinner with Sheryl's niece. But more on all that later. So until next time................................