A New Day!

October 2, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

I remember my Mom always talking about how everything looked better in the morning. I agree. I woke up in the Freightliner parking lot and looked out the window at the sun trying to peak through the overcast sky. I remember those Midwest overcast skies when living in Kansas City, Missouri. I was told that Freightliner was swamped with work and that they would not be able to work on our motorhome until tomorrow. I asked the manager if someone could look at it to see where the problem was and if a part needed to be ordered. I was concerned that if they waited until Friday to look at the motorhome and they tried to order parts, they may not arrive until Monday. I am supposed to be at Winnebago in Iowa at 7:00 am on Monday. The manager said he would try to get someone to look at what parts were needed either just before or just after lunch. Also, they only had 2 mechanics that worked on Cummings diesel engines.

At 1:00 pm, I talked to Jose and asked whether he had been able to look at the motorhome. He said no and wanted to know who I talked with that said he should come off his current job and look at our motorhome. He checked with the manager and agreed to look at the motorhome. Jose started pouring new radiator fluid into the back of the motorhome. After a few minutes Jose crawled underneath and found the leak! He said that a connector to one of the cooling hoses had broken. He said, that it was an unusual connector and that a replacement would need to be ordered. He walked into his shop and came back about 15 minutes later holding a new connector! He told me he could not believe how lucky I was that he found a replacement connector that fit. He was laughing and surprised that they had one. I thought it was wonderful answered prayer.

He replaced the connector in about 15 minutes and then he started pouring in new coolant. He had me start the motorhome engine and we gradually added more fluid. We went on a test drive on the freeway and then back to the shop. He gave me two more gallons of radiator fluid and said I should add more in the morning. Although the diesel engine is still under warranty, the thought was that probably road debris hit the connector and broke it. Therefore, the repair was not covered by the warranty. Bummer. It cost a little under $500 to be back on the road.

It was 5:00 pm by the time I signed the paperwork and hooked up the Jeep. I got diesel at a nearby truck stop and then headed north. I found a RV park that could hold big rigs in Waco, Nebraska (in the book that John gave me for my birthday) and called them to make sure they were open. Their office closed at 7:00 pm, but I gave them my credit card and they said call them when I arrived and they would run down to take me to my site. It was 7:45 and the woman manager zipped down in a golf cart, took me to a huge 100 foot site (so I did not have to unhook the Jeep). Since we have owned the motorhome, this was the first time I have arrived at an RV park after dark. It was nice because I just had to plug in the motorhome, hook up the water hose and then open the slides. Say ahhhhhh and relax!

I grabbed my Kindle and laid down on the bed to read and relax before going to sleep. I smiled when I realized that although I have driven through parts of Nebraska before, this was the first time I had sleep in the motorhome in Nebraska. The map in our blog keeps growing with states visited in the motorhome! With that nice thought, I went to bed and fell into a deep, deep sleep.

On The Road Again!

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Usually RVing is very fun. However, sometimes you find yourself broken down in the middle of nowhere in Kansas.

After an extensive time in Amarillo with Charlene, Amy, and Neil, I am on the road again heading to our Winnebago appointment in Iowa. Charlene is going to go to Austin and visit John and Michelle later in the week. Like all good RVers, I decided to totally change my route. Rather than going east to Arkansas and then turn north, I decided to head north of Amarillo and go through a new part of Kansas, catch part of Nebraska, and maybe a little of South Dakota while going to Iowa.

I was enjoying driving and seeing the local sites through rural America. I had the satellite radio playing a classic rock station and was having fun listening to the beat. I saw numerous wind farms in Texas, the brief panhandle of Oklahoma, and Kansas. There were many, many agricultural fields. Some were corn, but others were crops I did not recognize. I had drizzle rain in Texas, fog in the southern section of Kansas, and later overcast skies as I moved north. After driving for 5 hours, I started looking for a truck stop were I could get diesel. The closest city was Salina, Kansas and it was right on my route.

It is not a trivial task to tow a motorhome!

However as I was driving, suddenly everything changed. The engine light went on, a message said I should stop the engine, and the overheating light went on. The engine temperature gauge was at the highest temperature possible. Fortunately, this two lane road had enough of a shoulder that I could immediately pull to the right and get the entire motorhome (barely) to the right of the white line. I think of all the driving I did earlier in the day where there was no shoulder at all and I would have been stuck in the middle of the lane of traffic.

I got out of the motorhome and walked to the back and there was water dripping from the bottom of the motorhome. The hitch and front of the Jeep were all wet. Somewhere, I think a radiator hose broke, so the water was probably radiator fluid.

It is complex to connect a large rig!

I sighed and got out my card for CoachNet, our trusty roadside service that I had to call once before in Montana. They transferred me to one of their technicians who agreed that it sounded like it was radiator fluid and that the motorhome would need to be towed.

CoachNet called back to say they found a nearby tow company that could come get me tomorrow morning. I told them that I was barely off the road in a remote section of Kansas and that I did not think that would be safe. They called back a few minutes later that they found a tow truck in Salina that was large enough to tow the motorhome, but they could not get to me for 2 hours. So 3 hours after my initial call to CoachNet, this massive tow truck arrived.

The tow truck driver told me to be patient because it was a big process to tow a large motorhome. He said he was very careful to do everything to not damage the motorhome. I was very impressed with everything he did to go through the whole process of getting the motorhome hooked up to the tow truck. It took just over 2 hours to get everything connected. He had to remove part of the drive shaft for towing and it was complicated to get the motorhome connected under the front axle.

As we were getting ready to go, he gave me his cell phone number and said I should call him if I saw anything go wrong or suddenly saw sparks flying. I jumped in the Jeep and started following him. It took us an hour and 20 minutes to drive to the Freightliner dealer in Salina, Kansas. Next,it took an hour and a half to get the motorhome all unhooked and put back together. While the tow truck driver worked on the motorhome, I went inside the coach to get some food. This was 9:00 pm and I was absolutely starving. I had pre-cooked some salmon and boy a piece of cold salmon and a banana never tasted so wonderful! It was fantastic to eat something! The guy at the Freightliner dealer said I was welcome to sleep in the motorhome if I wanted but that they locked the gate at midnight and it stayed locked until 6:00 am. The guy finished unhooking the motorhome just after 10:00 pm and I started getting ready for bed. With all the stress, I fell asleep very quickly and slept until after 6:00 am.

Caprock Canyons

September 16, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

This was the back of the rear-view mirror entrance permit.

With my extended time in Amarillo, I discovered a real gem. Caprock Canyons is a Texas State Park and it is beautiful. In some ways it is similar to Palo Duro Canyon, but it has its own bison herd. In fact, this state park hosts the only official Texas State Bison Herd. They are huge and magnificent!

This bad boy was giving me the eye. I was scared taking the photo and ready to run if he started charging me!

The landscape has many red rocks. It reminded me as a combination of Sedona and Kanab. It is gorgeous.

These guys are huge and impressive.

After paying my $4 fee, the ranger told me about a couple of mountain bike trails. I drove around the state park and then stopped to ride a trail loop. The ranger told me there was one section I would need to walk my bike because it was very steep and rocky. She was correct. There was no way to ride down it. I crossed a creek 3 times and had some rigorous riding. I was exhausted when finished, but completely loved the ride.

Giving me the evil eye picking through the grass.

The bison are open range in Caprock Canyons, meaning there is nothing separating you and the Bison. You are strongly urged to get no closer than 50 yards to any bison. That sounds like very good advice to me since they can weigh up to 2,000 pounds! I got out my telephoto lens to take a few pictures of these massive creatures. A couple that I saw had some intense horns, so I did not want to get too close!

Check out his tongue action.

I loved this sweat shirt in the gift shop!

Driving back to Amarillo, I passed through Armstrong county. Not everyone has a county named after them.

Places to Date

August 29, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

A great start to see many wonderful places!

A great start to seeing many wonderful places!

I am a member of a RV social website called RVillage (http://www.rvillage.com/). It is a way to connect with other RVers of similar interests by joining various groups. It also provides a way to connect with people when you move to a new campground or RV park. I have been entering various places as I have traveled and just discovered that it has been maintaining a map with all the places I have entered. I think it is very amazing to see all the places I have stayed in our motorhome. This includes our trip through New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas last summer. I would say this is a superb start to seeing some amazing places around the US. Obviously, there are many more places to visit.

I have loved being in Amarillo seeing Charlene, Amy, and Neil. Charlene and I had lunch today at a fantastic hamburger restaurant. I love trying new independent restaurants that are popular to locals in a community. The food is always so yummy!

I fly to California this week to give some lectures and then I will start a slow trip up to Iowa for an appointment at the Winnebago factory. I think I might go through Oklahoma, part of Arkansas, all the way through Missouri, and then into Iowa. I reserve the option to change the route multiple times since I am in no hurry. I would like to visit Branson, Missouri since so many people have talked about all the nice shows they have. It sounds very fun to me! Stay tuned! The travels will resume shortly!

Texas, Oklahoma Loop

August 25, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

It is nice to enjoy the beautiful blue skies of Amarillo!

I cruised back into Amarillo this afternoon. I am looking forward to reconnecting with Charlene, Amy, and Neil. It will be wonderful to see them! It is amazing how big Texas is. This is a huge loop and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a large section of Oklahoma, the opportunity to spend time with John and Michelle, and the chance to spend time in Abilene and Lubbock. I am also glad I identified some nice RV parks for future trips around Oklahoma and Texas.

Now it is nice to get the coach setup and enjoy the beautiful blue skies of Amarillo. I am also grateful that it is only 88 degrees. I am loving the cooler weather!

Check out the huge driving loop I just completed!

Texas, Oklahoma, Texas drive map

Songs “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue”

August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

The songs “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue” were written in this bedroom in Lubbock, Texas!

Today was amazing! I stood in the bedroom where the songs “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue” were written! All over the world people have tapped their toes to those two songs, and they were written in Lubbock, Texas, in Drummer Jerry (JI) Allison’s house and made famous by Buddy Holly. I had no idea that all occurred in Lubbock!

Buddy Holly was famous for his glasses

When I was looking at things I wanted to see in Lubbock, the Buddy Holly Center quickly rose to the top of my list. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Previously, all I knew was that Buddy Holly died tragically in a plane crash when he was very young. Today I learned that Buddy Holly had an enormous impact on music around the world. Buddy was a key rock and roll innovator. He was the first to set up the structure of a rock and roll band (2 guitars, bass, and drums), changed the way many chords were used in songs, and he wanted to have artistic control of his songs. There was a recorded interview with Paul McCartney at the Buddy Holly Center and Paul McCartney credits Buddy Holly’s trip to England as setting the stage for the Beatles getting started. Paul McCartney said the first 40 Beatles songs were strongly influenced by Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly also influenced the songs by the Rolling Stones. In fact, the Rolling Stones first hit (“Not Fade Away”) was actually written by Buddy Holly. Elton John wore unnecessary glasses to be more like Buddy Holly because Buddy was famous with his black horn-rimmed glasses. Buddy’s glasses were found after the plane crash and are on display in the Center.

Buddy Holly had a short career, but made a large impact on music!

Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock in 1936 during the Great Depression and he came from a musical family. However, what really got his creative juices flowing was seeing Elvis Presley play in Lubbock in 1955. After that, Buddy and his fellow musicians went full force to unleash their creativity. “That’ll Be the Day” was released in 1957. His career only lasted for around 18 months, but he had 25 hit records in that short time period. He died in a plane crash in Iowa in 1959. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (JP Richardson who is famous for “Chantilly Lace”), and the pilot were all killed in the crash.

Buffalo Gap

August 21, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

The judge used this actual table and court room!

After working on projects and flights in the morning, I went to Buffalo Gap in the afternoon. This is a small community southwest of Abilene. They have a well-known historic village of old buildings converted into an amazing museum.

Help! the jail is gross.

Although the town is called Buffalo Gap, the animals are really bison. They had a courtroom and actual table that used to be used by their judge in the 1870s! I sat in their chair and banged the gavel. Upstairs was the jail.

The train station had one waiting room for whites and a colored waiting room.

For some reason, I was drawn to the textures of this door.

Abilene, Texas

August 20, 2015August 21, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Wow! This was an impressive museum!

Abilene is a very nice community.

After a wonderful visit with John and Michelle, I left Georgetown (suburb northeast of Austin) and drove to Abilene. There was no rain in Georgetown or in Abilene, but I was in a huge downpour about half way through the trip. The Abilene RV park is amazing because it has 100 foot pull through sites in the whole park. There is also tons of space between sites. Having elbow room is always nice to enjoy!

This was a great place.

There are many beautiful things in Texas.

As soon as I got the coach setup, I ate lunch and headed to Frontier Texas! It is a very impressive museum that is filled with videos of people playing different historic characters. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the whole afternoon looking at everything. The videos really brought the history to life. The whole museum was extremely well done.

Buffalo had a huge impact in this area of the country.

Buffalo (i.e., bison) had a huge impact in this area of the country.

Everything is big in Texas, including the skulls.

I next drove to another historic site that was a fort back when there were wars between the Comanches, buffalo (bison) hunters (they specifically said buffalo, not bison, although I think they are bison), white settlers, and US soldiers. I then found a restaurant that had a Tex-Mex version of Mexican food. Very yummy indeed!

Gorgeous flags

Breakfast Tacos in Austin!

August 15, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Wow! These breakfast tacos were fantastic!

After a wonderful bike ride where I saw 2 deer, I met John and Michelle at Tacodeli for breakfast tacos. Apparently, this is a very popular thing to do in Austin, Texas. The line was out the door when we arrived, but seemed to move fairly quickly. I do not think I have ever had breakfast tacos. These are not your standard tacos with beef and cheese, but an entire menu of different combinations of ingredients. Two tacos was a full meal and they were absolutely wonderful! Lots of yummy flavors to savor and enjoy.

Austin has been hot and humid (105 yesterday), but today there was rain at the motorhome in the morning, some cloud cover, and a nice breeze. The temperature is heating up, but it is much more comfortable compared to the previous few days. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to visit with John and Michelle!

Balcones Distillery

August 11, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Balcones Distillery was a jewel to find!

Several years ago there was an article in Forbes about a distillery in Texas that made fantastic whiskey. The article joked that they made the whiskey in a tiny location under a bridge in a not so great area of town. Since they both live in Texas, I told Amy and John if they ever found a whiskey by Balcones Distillery to buy it and I would repay them. Last Christmas they surprised me by giving me a bottle.

As I was reading about Waco today, I saw a brief mention of the Balcones Distillery and I immediately recognized the name. I looked up their address and entered it into the Jeep GPS and headed off to find them. However, they are a very difficult company to find. I drove all around with the Jeep GPS telling me I had reaching my location and it was an old tire shop. I finally pulled into a parking lot and started walking all around the area. I walked down an alley next to an old cement and steel bridge when all of a sudden I could smell something tangy. I walked a little farther and I saw a steaming still sitting right under the bridge. Literally, there were cars driving over it just a few feet above the still. I walked a little farther and I found some wooden barrels sitting outside a metal storage bin. I knew I had found the place, but I still could not find their building. Very strange! As I was walking around the barrels, a women on the telephone walked out of a small grubby building and asked if she could help me. I told her I was looking for Balcones Distillery and she laughed. The building where she works IS the Balcones Distillery. I told her I had been driving and walking all around trying to find her building. She laughed again and said she hears that all the time. Inside, there was a tiny rack of a few bottles available for sale. She told me I could buy a maximum of 2 bottles. However, at $70 per bottle for their classic single malt whiskey, I figured one bottle would last me a long time. She was gracious enough to take my picture in front of the whiskeys available for purchase. I asked if they had tours and she said they only have tours on Fridays and that all the tours are booked from now through October. Wow! Traveling to new places is so much fun and it is especially fun to find a business like the Balcones Distillery. They are not much to look at, but boy, they sure do make some wonderful whiskey!

Fiesta on Wheels

Author: Ed Armstrong