Acrobats of China

October 22, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

These acrobats were amazing!

Chinese culture is great.

The acrobats skill was shocking.

This afternoon we had the opportunity to watch the Acrobats of China. They kept you on the edge of your seat with their amazing balance, grace, power, and skill. It was scary to watch the acrobats when they were so high and balanced quite precariously. Truly this show is a requirement when visiting Branson!

The acrobats had amazing balance!

Visiting new places and seeing new thins is so much fun!

Truly we are creating some amazing memories!

National Tiger Sanctuary

October 22, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

The National Tiger Sanctuary was an impressive place to visit during feeding time!

This majestic lion loved to roar and let everyone know he was head of the pride.

Today we were able to visit the National Tiger Sanctuary which is located north of Branson. It was impressive to see the lions and tigers that they had. We were able to stand quite close to the animals, although there were two wire fences between us.

It looks like this tiger wants to take a bite out of Charlene!

The white tigers were impressive.

We came for feeding time, so they gave raw chicken “snacks” to the animals. We were quite popular, so it was impressive to see them scarf down a whole chicken thigh in one bite. It was amazing to hear the lions’ deep resonating roar.

Hear the mighty lion roar!

Snack time with raw chicken.

Charlene really enjoyed the white tigers

Charlene Arrives in Branson!

October 21, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

It was wonderful for Charlene to join me in Branson!

Today was a very special day. Charlene flew to Springfield, Missouri to join me in Branson! We enjoyed driving between the towns reminiscing about living in Missouri more than 3 decades ago. When we arrived in Kansas City, we were newlyweds and I was starting my Pharm.D. program. It felt like we had come full circle, now driving through the Ozarks together as a recently retired couple.

The Ozarks are definitely southern country!

We enjoyed dinner together at a highly recommended independent hamburger shop. The burgers were fantastic! Next we drove to an area called Branson Landing. They had some nice shops and amazing fountain created by the same group that made the fountain at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

It was impossible to do justice to the fountain that incorporated water, flame, and sound into a very nice production.

As we walked through the various shops we found a local moonshine store. We sampled 4 different flavors and picked Berry Moonshine. One of the fun aspects of traveling around the US is being able to discover various wineries, distilleries, and breweries.

The local moonshine was flavorful. We picked berry flavor to buy.

Charlene enjoyed the moonshine truck!

Branson, Missouri!

October 19, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

This is a fantastic show!

It was fun to drive down to Branson from the corner of Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. Although we lived in Kansas City for 2 years, it has been a long, long time since I have visited. As I came into Kansas City, the GPS guided me through downtown and had me switch through multiple freeways. I was glad I was driving on Sunday morning because there was not too much traffic. It was fun to see Truman Medical Center again. They have a new logo, but I slept in that hospital every 4^th night during my residency! Some buildings were the same, but many of the areas have been upgraded since I lived here. It was nice to see names of roads that I recognized. I was too far to the east to see the famous Plaza, but I certainly saw signs giving directions to find it.

The Missouri changing leaves are beautiful!

The rolling hills and trees of Missouri are gorgeous. Within the Ozarks, you almost never have a straight road. It seems like you are either going up, down, left or right. Rarely is there much straight road. Once I got into Branson, I was amazed how steep some of the roads were within the city. Some parking lots are at quite steep angles. Throughout the area, the leaves are changing colors!

I have no idea how a small town like Branson, located in the middle of the Ozarks, ever became such a popular destination for so many shows. They have theaters all over town and host some very well-known musicians and shows. I do not know how it was created and sustained, but it is extremely popular. John said he heard that Branson has been described as the “Christian Las Vegas.” That seems like a reasonable description to me. When I called to make reservations at an RV park, I was told that October was extremely busy for retirees to visit. Fortunately, I was able to get a nice spot!

After the show signing CDs.

Today I went to see the Dublin’s Irish Tenors and the Celtic Ladies. I thought the show was spectacular! They sang classic Celtic songs, but also sang a range of recent popular songs too. I really enjoyed it. I still have to decide what to see tomorrow. Hmmm, there so many choices!

Missouri!

October 16, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Missouri welcomed me back to the state!

There is plenty of history in this area of the US.

I am excited to be back in Missouri! I went to school in Kansas City and did a residency at Truman Medical Center, so I have always enjoyed Missouri. However, I have not been here for decades. I am about 2 hours northwest of Kansas City in a corner of Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. I drove about 4.5 hours from Sioux Falls, South Dakota dancing along the border of Iowa and Nebraska and finally crossed into Rock Port, Missouri. When I gave Dish Network my address, I figured I would get local TV channels from Kanas City. However, Omaha is the closest city, so my local channels are from Omaha.

Wow. These guys may have the record for the fewest number of people in a town!

Sorry, this is a poor quality photo from my phone, but I love the colors!

Fall is here! I loved walking around looking at the leaves and wearing a sweatshirt because it is cool. I have been in the desert for so long, I have forgotten the beauty of Missouri fall season. I am going to spend a couple of nights here so I really look forward to breathing in the season change.

I have special memories going to Royals games in Kansas City!

When we lived in Kansas City, the Royals were very good and we enjoyed going to their games. Now the Royals seem to be good, so it is fun seeing everyone wearing Royals shirts and hats. I had forgotten how much fun we had at Royals games.

There is not a college football team in Kansas City, but everyone loves the Chiefs!

It is common for people to name businesses after the owner, but this name gives a very different meaning for a pharmacy. Is everyone stoned?

The Growing Season Ends and Pheasant Hunting Begins!

October 15, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

This RV park is filled with beautiful fall colors!

There is no question that I am in a new area when the two leading items on the local news are 1) It is going to freeze tonight, ending the growing season and 2) Pheasant hunting season begins tomorrow. I drove through much of South Dakota today and there is no question it is an important agriculture state. The top news item about the growing season ending impacts a huge number of people in the state. However, I cannot remember ever seeing that as a leading news item anywhere I have ever lived before.

The trees are beautiful.

Apparently pheasant hunting is quite big here too. People from neighboring states come to South Dakota for pheasant hunting. When I was checking into the RV park in Sioux Falls, the guy started telling me he was exciting about pheasant hunting this weekend. He said some years it was snowing when the season started, but this year it will be brisk cold. For me I would probably say very cold, but for people who live here, freezing is simply brisk cold.

There are more trees in South Dakota than what I observed in North Dakota. I really enjoy seeing the changing leaf colors. The golden yellows are beautiful. This RV park is filled with yellow trees.

How cool…. a huge corn maze!

The RV park also has a corn maze. I have seen them on TV, but never in real life. Can you imagine 100s of children running all through a maze? It is huge! This one is quite popular and families camp here from all over to go through the maze. It is closed now, but you can see how large it is.

On a crisp evening, it is nice to sit in front of the warm (electronic) fire and watch football!

“You Betcha!”

October 14, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Usually, elderly is defined as at least 65 years of age; however, I meet these guys definition of elderly!

Today I drove from the rolling hills of Minnesota to the flat plane of North Dakota. The many trees of Minnesota gave way to the open fields in North Dakota. Big gusts of wind were whipping across the plains and I needed to be careful to maintain our high profile motorhome in my lane.

The Dakotas are nice!

Well, I finally made it to Fargo! I am not sure why I wanted to see Fargo. Maybe it was the movie a number of years ago with the city name as its title. May it was them often using the phrase “You Betcha!” in the movie. I have always wanted to visit Fargo – just not visit here in winter. Mid October is as late as I want to be in this area of the country. You can tell by the vehicles and buildings, it gets very, very cold in this part of the country. Now that I have made it northwest to reach Fargo, it is time for me to pivot and head south. Quickly. It is supposed to get very cold before the weekend.

This guy can see far!

There were many, many agriculture fields that I saw in North Dakota. The soil was rich and very dark. Almost a black color where the ground had been tilled. I imagine it is very rich soil.

Normally, I do not care for long shirts and long pants; however, October means you need to dress warmly in this part of the country.

Originally, I was going to stay at an RV park in Fargo. However, to my surprise, there are NO RV parks in Fargo. Maybe the season is too short? However, an hour south of Fargo was a Casino and they had about a dozen RV spots. For $10 I got a nice space and full hookups with 30 amp electric service. I prefer 50 amp, but I can do nicely with 30 amp.

Welcome to Minnesota!

October 13, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

This was a beautiful scene of the campground in St. Cloud.

I had a final few small items fixed on the motorhome today and then I headed north. Usually, snowbirds head south this time of year, but I bucked the trend and headed north. Forest City is only about 15 miles south of the Minnesota border, so I was cruising through the Minnesota countryside in no time. There were many agricultural fields as I headed towards Minneapolis.

The fall colors are beautiful.

Many of the fall leaves have been falling from the trees. I still saw colorful fall leaves, but many were on the ground. I was able to sneak through most of Minneapolis before rush-hour traffic. It is an interesting experience to be driving a long vehicle (about 65 feet motorhome and Jeep combined) and have cars going by and in and out of lanes all around. I basically picked a lane and tried to not change lanes and kept cruising.

After living in the desert for so many decades, it is nice and refreshing to see fall leaves up close.

I stopped in a RV park in St. Cloud. No one was in the office, but they left a plastic box outside the table with a registration page. I filled out the form, wrote a check for $20 and drove around to find a site with 50 amp electrical service.

There are corn fields everywhere in the midweat!

I was getting set up and discovered there was no water. I tried several camp site and no water was available anywhere. I talked with some other campers and they said the owners just blew air in all the water lines to close down the water for the winter. It is supposed to freeze in a couple of days so they got the campground all ready for the Minnesota COLD winter. I thought I might do a load of laundry, but with no water, that plan went out the window.

I walked around the area and enjoyed the countryside and fall colors. I had a chance to meet a couple from Minnesota that just started living fulltime in their motorhome this past summer. They were staying in Minnesota through this weekend and then were headed to Florida. Another man came over to talk with us and he has been living fulltime in his motorhome for 6 years. I really enjoy comparing stories. I like to ask people where they are headed next. You get all kinds of responses. I think they thought I was a bit odd for wanting to visit Fargo, North Dakota. We are scattering in different directions.

Leinenkugel’s Brewery

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Leinenkugel’s brewery is a fun place to visit!

I had no idea that Leinenkugel’s Brewery was so close in nearby Chippewa Falls. Neil and I have enjoyed drinking Leinenkugel’s in Amarillo. For only $5 you can sample 5 different beers and they give you a shot glass. The lobby was fun because they had many different displays highlighting their different beers. You could buy a Leinenkugel canoe paddle for $50. I am sure the paddles are decorations for many dorm rooms around here. The brewery tour was interesting to learn the history of the company and how and when they developed different beers. I was quite impressed that the buildings they started using in 1867 are still in operation today. It was interesting to learn about their German heritage and how they modified production to other things during prohibition.

These were popular signs for people to buy when I was visiting.

I do not always like sweet beers, but I really liked the shandy flavors, especially berry. I also enjoyed their Octoberfest and Honey Weiss beers. I would highly recommend visiting Leinenkugel’s Brewery.

I almost bought a paddle.

Shandy beers were started at Leinenkugel’s brewery.

Hello Wisconsin!

October 10, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

I love this paint job. This is in the camp site next to me.

Wisconsin is a beautiful state. I really enjoyed driving across Wisconsin and saw dairies, rivers, crops, and colorful trees. The second week of October is a great time to visit Wisconsin because the high temperatures were nice in the 60s and the leaves have started to change. The rich red and golden yellow leaves are spectacular. I loved driving along seeing all the contrasting, bright colors.

This is one of the most beautiful camp sites I have ever had!

I drove through Madison where the University of Wisconsin is located and it made me think of the Copper Bowl game in Tucson years ago when Wisconsin played. I still remember Amy and John wearing their sweat shirts at the game.

Very picturesque RV park.

I stopped in Osseo, Wisconsin and am staying at an absolutely beautiful RV park. There are large grassy areas all around the sites and they are extremely roomy. This is truly one of the most gorgeous campgrounds I have seen. There are many activities scheduled for kids and they are having a Halloween decorating contest for the campsites this weekend.

The fall leaves are gorgeous!

The first thing I did after getting the coach all set was to walk to a nearby store and buy some cheese curds. They were ranch cheddar cheese flavored and absolutely delicious! After that I walked all around the RV park. They have a skate park and a basketball court. I have never seen that in an RV park. The pool is closed for the season, but they also have a huge “jumping pillow” and miniature golf course. This is a destination campground for families and quite full this weekend.