Apricity West 4

April 12, 2024 - Friday 

Left Tyler, Texas at 7:15am headed for Fort Smith, Arkansas via Oklahoma. After passing a plethora of Dollar stores of all name variations, I could FEEL and HEAR the Oklahoma roads beneath me - bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, bump! But after a while the roads got smoother and we felt like we were driving through the back country of Massachusetts or New York with plush green rolling hills, fields, and trees of all shades of Spring green. We even saw a couple of free range goats grazing on the side of the road. After being in the desert for the winter, the vibrant greens are shocking my visual senses. 

Set up in Ft. Smith/Alma RV Park by 1:30 - the advantage of leaving early in the morning. This is a beautiful park with a fishing pond, paddle boats, a pool, small log cabins, and a variety of trees...

 

April 13, 2024 - Saturday

Moved on to Missouri today and we are noticing that the #1 roadkill victim is armadillo. Our destination is Kibbie and Phil’s home on Osage Beach, Lake of the Ozarks. As always, Kibbie presents a fantastic meal ...

We have a close-up view of the lake with an added attraction this trip. A pair of Canadian geese are next door - papa in the water patrolling / protecting the area while mama has been sitting on the nest (in a box) since March 18th! Her eggs will hatch within in 28 - 35 days of being laid - in the meantime she sits, without leaving to eat, drink, sleep, or even poop.

April 14, 2024 - Sunday

As we finished breakfast...

...we heard a lot of honking. There was a flock of 8 geese approaching and papa was very aggressive about turning them away. Soon after, mama got off of the nest and into the water to join her mate. It’s very unusual for her to leave so we thought the eggs were hatching. There was fluffy down in the nest blowing in the wind which I thought was the goslings, but it was her down feathers which she preened to cover the eggs.

After about a half hour, she got back on the nest so maybe she was helping protect or needed to poop, eat, or drink! We’ll never know.

We kept an eye on the nest in hopes the goslings would appear, but no luck. When it does happen, they will immediately take to the water and find a place to hide from predators. Next year the couple will return to the same nest - they mate for life. 

 

We learned a lot of cool facts about this area. The Arch in St. Louis, MO is considered the “Gateway to the West.” This is where Lewis and Clark began their trek West by boat. Overlanders often stepped off of steamboats from St. Louis in Independence where they would finalize packing for the arduous trip ahead. There is an artesian well there with pure water and other non-perishable expensive supplies. The wagons were dubbed “prairie schooners” as they set sail on land and made the choice at the fork in the road - Oregon Trail or Santa Fe Trail. Mules (a cross between a mare and a donkey) are sturdy and sure footed - and sterile. They were bred here for the purpose of pulling a covered wagon. 

Oak spirit barrels, used for storing spirits (whiskey, scotch, wine), are made in Independent Stave Company in Lebanon, MO as there are so many oak trees here.  They have been in business for 110 years… and distribute to 40 countries.

 

April 15, 2024 - Monday

Got on the road with 2 bags of goodies - one was breakfast (Egg, Sausage and Cheese MacKibbie) and two bottles of champagne to celebrate when we get home. The other was lunch of meatloaf sandwiches, chips, cookies and clementines.

Not even an hour out, we heard a grinding noise and stopped to see what happened. One of the pins that holds the car to the hitch had broken and it was veering to one side! OK - good thing we stopped and we had a spare one to replace it. 😮‍💨

 

But now we kept losing power and pulled over to call a Mercedes Service Center in the area. Was it bad fuel, cruise control, computer? We backtracked about a half hour and at 10am limped in for a service check in Columbia, MO. They assessed the situation and came out to tell us that we had gotten bad fuel - not good! It would take the better part of the day to drain the bad fuel and change the fuel filter. The biggest expense was the labor, but it sure could have been worse. I will say they treat their customers and employees right with free popcorn, ice cream, soda, iced tea, hot tea…and phone chargers! We were very lucky to have Kibbie’s goodie bags ❤️.

 

We informed the Phillips 66 station where we filled up and wrote a strong review of 1 on a scale of 1-5 on their website.  We made reservations for tonight on the other side of St. Louis in Mulberry Grove, MO - 2.5 hours away.

 

Rich hit the hay as soon as we set up, but I just had to play a few songs on my uke - it’s been a while. Can’t wait to play for my grandkids. I'm sure they’ll be impressed - LOL!

 

April 16, 2024 - Tuesday

Rise 'n shine for a 6am departure - destination Erie, PA.

It’s a longer day than we usually do, but trying to get home tomorrow. So one time zone and 5 states were traversed today. I even got to participate a couple of hours in the task of driving.

 

Sites along the way while I wasn’t driving: 

Missouri River

 

Mississippi River

Huge Cross

Dogwood trees in bloom 

Miles of traffic backed up on the other side (thankfully) due to emergency vehicles putting out a truck cab fire - the cab was literally a blackened skeleton of charred steel. 🙏

Pulled into Prescott Isles RV Park in Erie, PA at 5pm for a brief night.

 

April 17, 2024 - Wednesday 

On the road at 6am and soon crossed over the state line into New York. It's a big state and we will be in it 90% of the day. Final destination Lee, Massachusetts! This blog week we were in 10 states!

 

Arrived in Lee where my Mom, my son and his family came for a pizza party! So good to see them and give hugs and kisses. I played the songs I have been practicing for them and it was fun! Randy played Rich’s guitar while I played ukulele and Rich played harmonica. It was such a great sound. My daughter and her family are in Florida for school break so waiting to see them next week. 

 

April 18, 2024 - Thursday

Ah yes - after family gathering, a good night’s sleep in a king size bed, full internet service, streaming TV, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, etc. Feels good to be home with all the luxuries. Leanna and Lily came down to help us unload for a good hour. Now that all is inside, the putting things away begins.

 

This is the last post of Apricity West 4. It is the beginning of New England 4 which is not published as frequently - once a month as activities dictate. 

 

These are the drone pictures taken during the Texas Mud Band entertainment last week.