Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Turkey Creek, Hollister, Missouri

August 13, 2019

Temperature 96

Travel Day 

KABOOM!  That brought us straight up out of bed at 4 am.  Thunder, lots of thunder and lightening dancing all around the campground.  Rain, oh yea there was rain and more rain, and more rain.  Where in the world did this come from?  It lasted for over three hours and it was intense.  Suffice to say we never got any more sleep once it started.

Today was our travel day.  Thankfully the rain and all the other nonsense had cleared out when it was time to pack up the outside.  Within thirty minutes everything was put away.  Before disconnecting completely from the mother ship we decided to just sit back and have another cup of coffee.

Come 9 am we had Little Graybeard on the bar and we were on the road.  It was quickly obvious that this was not going to be a trip with flat and level roads.,  We were in the Ozark Mountains and one mountain climb was just as bad as the next.  If you weren’t going straight up, you were going straight down.  Many of them I was in 2nd gear crawling to get to the top at 40 mph.  Thankfully, Graybeard never missed a beat, no overheating, no hesitation.  Only one scare, really kind of funny – at least now.  When I shifted back into Drive one time I had no power.  Nothing.  What?  And my dear wife said Are you sure you didn’t put it in neutral?  Now how did she know!

Mile after mile we pressed on.  Then we saw it Route 65 South Bound Closed Plan Alternate Route.  Well, come on now that was the way we were supposed to go.  There was a rest stop so we swung in to see if we could discover an alternate route.  Once again Barbara to the rescue.  She went to the information desk and they gave her the perfect alternate route.  Which it was.

Soon enough we were at our exit.  A short time after that we saw the entrance sign for the park.

A sign directing us to registration.

This is the office where you register.  This is where we caught up with two old friends, Charles and Linda, who are work campers at this park.  It was great to see them again and catch up a bit on what’s been going on with each of us.

Oh, and while we were registering we were given instructions in case of the following:  Flash Flooding!  Tornadoes!  This is a first for both of us.

This is our new home.  It’s a back in, gravel, not quite level side to side but OK back to front.  The jacks did their job in a matter of minutes.  We have FHU with 50 amp so running the AC will not be a problem.  Gertrude is very happy because she can get all the satellites on the western arch.  Bottom line, its a nice place to call home for a couple of weeks.  Plus, the price is right.

This is a view of the park one lane over.  The park is only about 1/3 full.  Lots, and lots of vacant sites.

That was on our day on The Road of Retirement.  Nothing earth shattering.  A lot of mountain climbing.  One detour.  But we’re home and we’re comfortable with where we are.  It’s nice being home to matter where you are.  Time to get some shut eye since we didn’t get much last night.

Thanks again for joining us.  We always enjoy your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

Places We Have Called Hone In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Pin Oak Creek Campground, Union, Missouri

August 12, 2019

Actual Temperature 94 Degrees Heat Index 105

My Current T-Shirt Collection

Can you say hot?  This has been the hottest day we’ve had since we left New Orleans.  And it only gets hotter from this point forward.  We stayed put today because of the possibility of storms along our intended route.  Guess what?  They never developed.  Tomorrow?  No matter what happens we go.

I did a few things outside today, but not much.  The heat was just too much to stay outside for any length of time.  I was able to get the windshield and front windows cleaned.  Tire covers are off and packed.  Tire pressure was checked, we’re good.  Under the hood, all is A-OK.  First thing tomorrow morning I’ll get us disconnected from water and sewer.  Then we’ll get the slides in and jacks up.  Finally, we’ll disconnect the electric and we’ll be free from the mother ship.  

Since it was too hot for outside work I came inside and decided to reorganize my clothing drawers.  I also wanted to see hot big my t-shirt collection had grown to.  Usually, when we go someplace new and interesting if there is a T-shirt available I’ll buy one.  Not always but most times.  Here is my current collection.  I left out my older shirts and work shirts.  I currently have T-shirts from Florida, Maine, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  I wonder how many more I’ll have before the year is over!

Time now to put them all the way.  Barbara and I worked together and reorganized my clothing drawers and now I know where each and every one is located.  Before, well before with my way of organizing I had to hunt for a certain one.  No more.  Thanks sweetie.

Time now for some Mexican Train then I’ll start packing.  Our goal is to get out early before the heat starts to build and to get off the road also before it gets really hot during the mid part of the day.  Should be no problem since we have this moving gig down to a science.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  A great day again despite the heat.  We’re definitely so blessed and so thankful for each and every day we have.  Read something today that we both believe is so true:  Don’t marry someone you can live with, marry someone you can’t live without.  Truer words were never penned.

Time to run.  Thanks for joining us again.  We always enjoy your company and comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Pin Oak Creek Campground, Union, Missouri

August 11, 2019

Temperature 87 Degrees

To Explore As Many New States As Possible, To Boldly Go Where We Have Not Been Before

Have you ever had one of those days where you just can’t get moving?  Today was that day for me.  Try as I might my get up and go had got up and gone.  Ah well there is always tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, we were supposed to move but we’ve decided to stay put one more day.  The weather report is offering all kinds of dire warnings for the direction we’re headed.  Temperatures are supposed to be in the mid to high 90’s.  There is also the chance of thunderstorms, high winds and possible hail along our route.  Tuesday looks much better for traveling so that is when we will go.

Today was sort of a weird day.  The last two days there have been kids all over the place.  The pool has been full.  There have been people walking up and down the various lanes.  Then today, right about 1 pm this place went dead quiet.  The pool was empty.  The lanes were empty.  Sites all over the place are empty.   To think as of yesterday they were turning people away.    I know the weekend is over and people have to get back to work, etc.

I went roaming around today and took a look at our home stead.  Down our lane there is a small lake.

This is the pool

They have miniature golf.

I had an opportunity to talk to Chris the owner.  He has owned the campground for the last 17 years.  He stated that they have 155 sites total, 1/3 are occupied by permanent residents, 1/3 by seasonal, and the following 1/3 are left open for transients like ourselves.  He is currently looking to put in about 30 more new sites but first he stated he has to figure out just where to put them.

Most of the permanent sites are kept really nice.  The rigs are mostly modern, well kept but there is of course always that one.  It’s about 22 feet long, it’s tires are flat, and it sure hasn’t been cleaned in a really, really long time!

Moving on.  Did you catch our map at the beginning?  In case you didn’t here it is again.  Two and a half years ago the two of us had never really been out of New Jersey.  Look at where we’ve been to date.  We find it absolutely amazing that we’ve traveled to so many different states and places.  We need some day to get to Michigan.  There’s a few, like Ohio and Maine that we want to go back to.  We also hope some day to go north into Canada.  No rush, we’re still young.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Barbara was busty cleaning and putting things in order in the kitchen.  I, however, never got moving.  Each and every time I walked outside the heat and the humidity just slapped me in the face.   Knock on wood we’re comfortable inside since the AC is doing such a fine job.  Time now to play some Mexican Train.

Thanks again for coming along with us.  We always enjoy your company and comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Pin Oak Creek Campground, Union, Missouri

August 10, 2019

Temperature 87 Degrees

Customer Appreciation Barbecue

Studebaker National Museum

Just another great day.  We awoke this morning to clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures.  There was no need to rush to get up since nothing was on the docket for today.

Later during the morning as we were taking a walk around the park Mike who is a resident workcamper stopped to invite us to the Customer Appreciation Barbecue later that day.  He explained that the owner Chris does this every year at least once for all campers.  The only requirement, bring a side dish.  Everything else including the main course – which this time would be barbecued brisket – would be provided.

Barbra got busy when we got back and made corn bread and a lemon cake to take as our contribution.  In due time we were off for the barbecue.

When we entered the hall the first thing that caught my eye was the ceiling.  They give kids the opportunity to paint a ceiling title.  Here are some of them.

Come time for the food to be brought out the hall was full.

What a spread it was.  Food aplenty for all!

I had more than enough to satisfy my hunger.

There was also a table full of desserts but I forgot to take a picture of that.  Suffice to say it was loaded and I made a visit or two to it.

While at the barbecue we were fortunate enough to sit next to Jim and Glenda.  We had a wonderful time talking to them and sharing stores of RV experiences.  Like us they are only here for a few days and then will be returning to their home in south Texas.  They shared with us another volunteer Christian organization that assists churches who have building or remolding needs.  When we returned home we Googled it, then signed up for further information,.  Will we get involved?  Time will tell.

Time now to go back to the Studebaker National Museum.

In 1915 Robert Erskine became the president of Studebaker.  Under his leadership Studebaker experienced record sales but also experienced near collapse.

 

 

Though there was talk of moving the company to Detroit ultimately the decision was made to remain in South Bend.  One of the reasons given is that leadership felt that there was a more stable labor pool in South Bend.  Erskine had also promised J.M. Studebaker that the company would never leave South Bend.

Soon a flurry of activity of new construction took place transforming the old wagon works factory into a modern auto plant.

In 1920 the horse drawn business was sold.  Out of 5,000 wagon makers in the U.S only Studebaker successfully made the transition from building horse drawn equipment to manufacturing automobiles.

In 1923 Studebaker built an 800 acre outdoor laboratory west of South Bend.   Note the pine trees that spell Studebaker.  They still stand today.

Then came the Great Depression of 1928 which hit Studebaker especially hard.

In 1935 Studebaker came out of Receivership and a dinner was held to celebrate.

Those chosen to lead the emerging company were

At first sales were lackluster.  For example,

Shortly after things would change.  In a bold move that payed big dividends Robert Lowery was hired in 1936 to head Studebaker’s design studios.

Though there was neither a 1938 or 1939 on the floor there were these two cars.

Over 85,000 Champions were sold in 1941

The little engine that could.

This is another first from the Lowery team.

Then came WW II and all production of automobiles ceased.

This was the last car Studebaker built before it retooled for the war effort.  No new automobiles were built after January 31, 1942.

Studebaker’s contribution to the war effort.  First,

Second, the B-17 Bomber Engine

Third, the 2 1/2 ton US6 truck

After the war ended it was a seller’s market.  Studebaker introduced all new styling in 1947 and entered its most profitable era ever.

This truck featured interchageable front and rear fenders.

This 1947 Studebaker Woody Wagon is the only one known to exist today.

This Studebaker was offered in a wide variety of models from the standard pickup to a heavy duty 2 ton unit.  This was Studebaker’s best selling truck series.

From trucks back to cars.  This car was made in the peak year of production for Studebaker.  This car featured a new for 1950 automatic transmission.

The Bullet Nose look was the work of the Lowery design team.  I will admit I was always partial to this look and wished that someday I could own one of these.  Alas, it was never meant to be.

Unfortunately, early on in the 50’s Studebaker was in serious trouble as a company.

In 1957 hoping to revive sales the all new Hawk was introduced.  But sales still continued to decline.

There was a glimmer of hope in 1959 when the new Lark was introduced.  It proved to be a rousing success.  This was the first year that Studebaker recorded a profit since 1953.

Yet the success was only short lived.  Struggling to survive Studebaker offered the all new Avanti in 1961.  Though demand was strong it suffered production delays and could not fulfill its promise.

Here is one very special Avanti.

That cooler is not for cold drinks, it is actually a part of the intercooler system for the engine’s supercharger!

The end came for the South Bend plant in 1963.

This is the last car to come out of South Bend.

After production ceased in South Bend Studebaker consolidated all production in their Hamilton, Ontario plant.

Unfortunately, Studebaker was not to be.  On March 17, 1966 Studebaker of Canada closed it’s doors.

This was the last Studebaker to roll off the Canada assembly line.

Today, though Studebakers are no longer produced their legacy lives on.  The Studebaker spirit is alive and well in The Studebaker Drivers Club, The Antique Studebaker Club and the Avanti Owners International Association.  

And its presence in South Bend remains strong.  Clement Studebaker’s house is now a restaurant, a golf club and a school.  The proving grounds are now a county park and the pine trees that spelled out Studebaker are a popular picnic destination.

Quickly now, one more stop.  Jump on the elevator with me and lets go down to the Visible Storage System.  This is a collection of odds and ends of all kinds.

Down here we found the Studebaker that Barbara’s family once owned.

Next we have.  Note how the actual driver watched the road from the trunk – with a video monitor in the nose.

Then this car that shows that the engineers at Studebaker were always thinking of new possible new cars.

 

There was lots more down here, come see for yourself one day.

Our tour of the Studebaker National Museum is finished.  But pictures really do not do justice to these fantastic automobiles.  Put it on your bucket list and someday come view them for yourself.  You will not be disappointed.

Our day on The Road of Retirement has come to an end.  It’s been another wonderful day in every way.  We’ve traveled it together, hand in hand, singing our song.  We met two wonderful people who hopefully we’ll keep in touch with from this point on.  We had one whale of a meal courtesy of the campground’s owner, Chris.  Chris, by the way, has been the owner of the campground for the last 17 years.  It has been in his family even longer than that.  The pride he has in it is evident everywhere.

Thanks again for joining us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

.