Casey Illinois and Saint Louis

After leaving Bear Run Campground we went to Olive Branch Campground near Lebanon, Ohio. This campground was away from the highway and very nice. The owner had recently sold a campground in Florida and was bringing this campground up to par. It was well maintained and very nice. It was Friday night and a lot of people were coming in for the weekend. Nice people, nice campground. Olive Branch Campground near Lebanon, Ohio.

We left Olive Branch on Saturday morning and boogied to Casey, Illinois. A KOA campground. I recently had seen a piece on CBS about this little town along Interstate 70. A local businessman had created a project to erect a number of large structures in an effort to bring people to the town. I personally really enjoy these roadside America things so I dragged Eileen along. The KOA campground here is the only one and it is in need of some improvements. The people however were very friendly and helped us with directions and restaurant recommendations.

It was 1:00 by the time we got set up so we decided to head to the recommended restaurant. Wow what a great place. Richards Farm Family Restaurant. It's a unique country place with excellent food. If you are on I70 and are going to pass through Casey you should make it a point to stop for lunch or dinner. Don't plan on staying here though unless you have an RV. No motels.

The town offers an interesting number of things to see. The World's largest golf tee, the World's largest wind chime, and a super big chair were my favorites. The objects are spread around town and it looks like they are located near areas that they want you to shop. It was a lot of fun. We got to go up in an enormous mailbox and I personally rang the World's largest wind chime. Pretty cool. After a couple of hours touring the city we went back to the bus, changed clothes and went to a Catholic church 15 miles away, in Greenup, Il. A very satisfying day.

Today we boogied to Saint Louis. We were concerned about the riots here but decided to come anyway. The campground adjoins a casino and is on the Illinois site of the Mississippi. We missed the turn off and after 20 minutes of riding around, crossing the river twice, taking four different interstate highways we finally found the campground. We have a view of the arch from the RV and that will be the highlight of this visit. When we checked in the clerk indicated that the casino was closed but she couldn't tell us why. We found out from one of our neighbors that there had been a shooting at the casino at 2:45 am and they had closed it for investigation. Needless to say we decided that the stars were trying to tell us something so we have decided to do laundry today and get the hell out of Dodge in the am. So my picture of the Arch out of my window is all the touring we are going to be doing in good old St Louie. Maybe next time. Tomorrow we head for Springfield Mo.
Life is Good. Tonight we sleep with one eye open. Enjoy the pictures of the biggest objects. It was fun.

Great Restaurant

Yum!

The pitch fork was at the restaurant!

Super Big Things!

Worlds largest Tee! Imagine the golf ball!

Take a seat!

World's largest Wind Chime!! I rang the chime!!

Don't know what was in the Café!

Guinness Record!

Knitting Needles and Crochet Hook!

It's a Number 2 pencil. This one might last for some time.

Jolly Green Giant Shoes!!

We walked inside. You can mail a letter here as long as you have the correct postage!!

We are being watched!

Spin this puppy!

Our only touring in Saint Louis!!

We are on our way!

Today is 9/14 and we are at Bear Run Campground near Butler. This afternoon we are going over to my cousin Kathy's house then we are going to have dinner with my Aunt Ann Kathy's mom. I'll post some pictures of our visit later.

We left home on Friday 9/8 and traveled to Fredericksburg KOA in Virginia. This is a nice campground just south of Fredericksburg but it's a little off the beaten path. The next morning we moved on to a KOA in New Columbia Pa.. This campground is just south of I80 and also a little out of the way. It is another nice campground and quiet. We met Carol and Skip and they were with my cousin Mike and his wife Diane. We hadn't seen Mike and Diane in several years and it was great to see them. They really haven't changed much.

Our visit here was to visit family and catch up. We were able to see my family but unfortunately not any of Eileen's. That would have been nice. We went to dinner with Tom and Sandi and Carol and Skip on Saturday night, visited the cemetery on Sunday afternoon, and spent a great evening at Tom and Sandi's house. They had a nice picnic set up for us and a good time was had by all. Carol brought some old albums, mom's daily log book and a bunch of old records that we hadn't had the chance to look at in the past. It was great fun going through all this. Jim and Fran, Sadie and Emerson joined us on Sunday. Fran's cousin had been married on Saturday so they were basically tied up until Sunday.
Bottom line is that it was great to see everyone. Doesn't happen often these days.

Monday we shopped and then had lunch with Tom and Sherry Keller. Sherry was with Eileen the first night I asked her out and Tom and Sherry lent me money to bye Eileen's engagement ring.
Wow great friends for over 50 years. Monday night we when to Montoursville to see the Bikers run. Every 9/11 thousands of bikers do a ride to honor the dead of 9/11/2001. It's a patriotic ride and makes you think about how our world has changed the last 16 years.

Tuesday morning we headed to Wolfs Campground in Knox/Wentlings Corners Pa. The campground is old and not in the best shape but it's about two miles from my hunting property. That afternoon we met with Steve, Dan, and Leroy Ace. They own the property behind mine and we recently had agreed to allow them to cross my property to gain access to there property. We saw the new gate that they
had build for me and walked the property with them. It was great to meet them and I'm confident this will be a good arrangement. Wednesday morning I got up early and walked the property. This place has been my escape place for many years and it's always great to spend some time here. Things are looking good for this year's hunt.

Today we took the short trip to Portersville to Bear Creek. Looking forward to seeing Kathy and Bob and Aunt Ann.

Hopefully I have enough internet signal to post some pic's. Looking forward to heading West. Tomorrow we head for Lebanon Ohio then to Casey Il. to see the giant wind chime.

Hope you enjoy this year's trip. Nice to have you with us.

Add Mike and Diane Carol and Skip

Everybody looking young

Saturday night dinner

Carol and  Skip

Tom and Sandi

Bill and Eileen

We miss all these folks!!

Sunday Night at Tom and Sandi's

Graham Family, Including the dogs Gracie and Stella!!

Don't know who won the game!

Brother Tom giving me advice!

Emerson is growing!

Sadie is growing also.

Bikers for 9/11 memory!

Patriotic Spectators!

Canoe Creek!

Love this Place!

Graham's Woods!

My Grandfather's home in Clarion. 

This now houses the Clarion County Chamber of Commerce!

650 Main Street, Clarion Pa.

Mama Flo and Pops 

Mom's mom and dad!

Another Year Passed Preparing to Depart 9/8/2017

Its been a little over a year since I've posted anything. During that timeframe we visited SF for Seb's first day of school then we went to SF and flew to Mexico in late December. Seth and family joined us and we had a grand time. All of this of course was not motor home related travel but a great time.

In January we went to the RV show in Tampa and the day before it started we bought a new Allegro Bus at Lazy Days. It was a zoo there because of the show so we decided to return to Florida in June to get the punch list done. That was probably not the best decision we made because we were there over 22 days and not all of the issues were completely resolved. The quality control on new motor homes from Tiffin and other manufactures is worse than it was back in 2006 when we bought the first one. The best result of our marathon at Lazy Days is that we met new travel friends. Suzanne and Charles Alexander. They are from Kentucky and their taste in motorhomes is excellent. They bought the same bus, same color, but a different floorplan than us. We will try to connect with them at the end of this trip.

We are heading to Pa. to visit whatever family will see us, then to Clarion to visit the hunting property, then to Butler to visit Aunt Ann. From Butler we head West to California. Seth and family are coming to the Bay area for their 10th Law School Reunion. Hopefully we will have a couple of days with them and the Ekman family. It is really nice to get them all together.  It's also a major challenge.

Look for us on the road. I think this is our 7th time across the country and I'm looking forward to it just as much as the first time.

Out with the old in with the new! Transferred all the stuff and hit the road!!

Another happy camper!

Our salesman Paul Thomas. A Pa. Native.

Lots of pain in that one word SOLD!

Ain't she PRRRETY!

Graham Reunion, Aunt Ann, Boogie Home, Summary (8/12 - 8/18)

We are home now and in the process of cleaning out the RV and adjusting from the Nomadic lifestyle. On 8/12 we left our Angola Indiana campground and headed to Bear Run Campground in Portersville, Pa. My last remaining aunt lives here with her daughter nearby.

Because it was near Aunt Ann's 92nd birthday, and many of the cousins were going to be in the area we put together a small "Cousins Reunion". One and a half days of sharing pictures, stories, and talking family. It was great. We basically visited with Aunt Ann, ate, drank, and talked. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up on each others lives. It's always nice to know that I'm not the only one starting to show my age.

On 8/16 we packed up and headed home. We had stops in Winchester, Virginia and a final stop in Ashland , Virginia. The campground in Ashland is directly across the highway from a large Bass Pro Shop. This Bass Pro has a restaurant in the store so we ate and shopped. We also took and hour or so to look at new RV's in a large dealership nearby. Maybe the dream is still alive.

On Thursday 8/18 we drove the remaining miles to Emerald Isle. I always feel sad when these trips end because I love seeing this country so much, but I will also admit it's nice to see the homestead.

I will try to summarize our trip below but I have to say that parts of this ride offered some of the best scenery we have seen during our six trips west. Surprisingly California, Nevada, are very unique and Idaho is off the wall gorgeous on the west side. The people we met in Idaho, even a New Jersey transplant, were exceptionally nice. A great place to visit.

Trip Summary:

Drove through 23 states
Visited  three National Parks and two National Monuments
Drove 8,484 miles in the bus and 1,674 in the car a total of  10,158 miles
We stayed in 36 campgrounds

Some Highlights:

Hot Springs National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Canyon De Chilly in Arizona
Durango and Silverton Railroad Ride
Antelope Canyon on Navajo Reservation near Page Arizona
Purchases in Sedona
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Camping in the Redwoods/Henry Cowell State Park (The Redwoods)
Visiting Sadie and Fran
Visiting our California Family
Lake Tahoe
Snake River Stampede (Rodeo)
Canyon Pines RV Pollock, Idaho
The entire ride up the west side of Idaho
Jet Boat ride to Hell and Back (Snake River Idaho/Oregon into Hell's Canyon)
Comstock Country RV, Big Timber Montana
Everything about Cody Wyoming except the forest fires
Devils Tower and the ride through the Bighorn Mountains
Saint Josephs Indian School and the Akta Lakota Museum
The Cousins Reunion

Other things were nice but these were my highlights!!

I hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did. I do hope that we can continue to travel the country as long as our health allows. This is a great way to see our beautiful country. Until next time. Remember Life is Good take the time to enjoy every day.

My first home Michigan City, Indiana

My TV viewing spot for 69 days.

The Reunion Group minus Bob

There's Bob.

The Cousins.

Fine looking family!