Bass Pro Shop

Couple weeks ago we spent the day at Bass Pro Shop. O.K. Most of the day. When we walked through the main doors, there was a small coffee shop; sitting area and fire place. We went down to the fishing/boating area first. I looked around some and took some pictures. Then went and sat beside the fireplace while Sharon continued to look around.
Fireplace and the acquarium on the way to the marine area.


Interesting lights/chandeliers in this store.



Not that this is a surprise but we then went to the shoe/boot section. Found a couple of shoes/boots on sale. Now, we needed a cart. Started getting hungry so we went to Hemingways (restaurant at BP). They had a wonderful buffet - Sharon could have all the catfish she wanted. They had great pasta, ham, and carved roast beef form me. :)

buffet area


You can't forget all of the "animal scenes" etc scattered around the store. By the way did I mention the restaurant is on the 4th floor.




Close this post with some pictures of the water areas and/or acquariums.

Sharon and the Frog & Various Other Events

Thought I'd start with a recent incident. Who knew that Sharon disliked frogs so much. Let's see spiders, mice, & other various birds & animals don't seem to upset her. But have a frog jump at her from the storage area under the camper and you definitely know that something aweful has happened. She was telling me about it since I was doing laundry at the time - so sorry - no pictures or video. I did ask her if she'd like to relive it so I can film it. Her answer - well, let's just say that there isn't a video for you to watch. Apparently she tried to get rid of it but it preferred to cling to the water hose; side of the camper; rags and whatever else it could attach to. I really would have liked to see how she was trying to remove it since she refused to touch it. Well, she got rid of it and filled in the hole - now mind you the hole is the access on the bottom that the water hose feeds up. Sorry, didn't get a shot of that either. She went out & checked a couple of days ago and no frog so all must be well.

We put up our bird feeder and have had lots of birds. Here's a few pictures.




The Jelly Belly On Tour stayed at our campground a couple of weeks ago. Here's a couple of pictures of their motor home & car. And, of course, we received a "few" packages of beans and gems.




We did make it to Wilsons Creek Battlefield. Will have a separate post about that. Big news in town this past week was the grand opening of the new Hy-Vee food store. Apparently, everyone was excited about it. For the first couple of days, they were shuttling people from another parking lot about 1 block away. Amazing, isn't it. We're still finding which store we like the best. Believe we've been to at least 4 different stores now. Have found a meat market. I can firmly attest that you don't want to buy any meat pre-packaged in the stores here. Oh MY!!

Well, Packers are doing better - Sharon's not quite so mad at them at the moment. Guess, I'll see what I should do next. I'll try & get around to posting about the battlefield in the next day or two.

Wilson Creek Battlefield

Realized that I didn't finish this post and publish it. So here goes. Started this post on 10/16.

Didn't have a chance to post last week. Went to the battlefield last Friday. The visitor center was interesting and we watched a short movie about the battle that took place here. The park is a drive through and has either an cd audio (you can buy) or a number that you can call on your cell phone and listen to the updates.
Visitor Center

Our first crossing of Wilson Creek


The only original house still standing after the battle. The family came out of the shelter and helped attend the wounded after the battle.


Just a couple of pictures of the various stops we made along the way. The leaves were just beginning to change color and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.



Decided we were hungry so went in search of a restaurant. The town of Republic wasn't very far away. Ate at this cafe called Ziggy's. First time in several years we were asked if we wanted the smoking or non-smoking section. Didn't think any of these were still left. Several older gentleman aka farmers came in for coffee and dessert in the afternoon.

Lazy Afternoon

Worked today from 8 - 2. Grilled a couple of steaks for "lupper". Sharon's watching Green Bay and I'm having a lazy afternoon. Decided to play on the computer for awhile and then thought, WOW, I should update the blog for the past couple of weeks. Work is going well. We're getting accustomed to the changes. Had yesterday off, so ran some errands: Walgreens (needed some scripts), UPS store (needed to return a couple of items purchased on-line), Springfield Visitor Center (pick up some Springfield guides - we were out in the store), Lowes (thinking about getting a space heater) and the grocery store. First, went to Walgreens - got those scripts picked up. The UPS store was close by so decided to do that next. Then, we decided to find the visitor center. Knew what street it was on. How hard could it be to find. Did we get out the GPS, no, should we have - probably. Finally found it. It was on the left side of the street. No problem - just go around the block. What - no block - so drove behind a couple of motels and found a side street. Actually not too bad, there was a stop light. O.K. - so we pulled into the driveway of the visitor center. Should have taken a picture - first a small tight curve, then parking spaces about the size of a vw bug. Got the truck parked. Then, to get out of the parking lot, another tight turn and then through a bank parking lot. My - oh my. Definitely not made for pick-ups, not even sure a SUV would have had an easy time. But - no dents - no tire smudges on the curbs either. So, then decided to drive north to see where that would take us. Thought about finding a Lowes. In all of the driving around we have done, have not found any type of home improvement store. O.k. - pulled into a very large McDonald's parking lot and got out the GPS. Found one. Let's just say it was probably 10 - 15 miles from where we were and about 5 miles from the Walgreens from where we started. Only 7 miles from the campground. :) Lowe's had some great potted mums. Picked up a yellow and yellow/orange.

Now, we're hungry - Sharon wants Chinese. So plugged in Chinese restaurants into the GPS. Problem is - can't tell if fast food type or restaurant style type. Dragon Inn II sounded interesting so said - take us there. It was very near Missouri State campus - and, of course, Missouri State was playing football at home yesterday (UNI). The restaurant was a tiny little building that was take out only. O.k. find another one. There was a Chinese Grand Buffet but decided we'd try something different. If this next one wasn't o.k. then off to the buffet. Guess what. Yep, you guessed it - back towards Lowe's we go. This restaurant was called the Lotus Restaurant. This was a buffet, also. Small family owned. We stayed. Food was very good and the place was clean. The whole meal was $6.49 each. We had tea and that was included. We kept saying at least we're learning our way around. Next stop - Walmart. Decided to get groceries there, also. By this time, we just wanted to get home. Had a great day, though. Last weekend, the camper got washed. This guy came to the campground to put out a flyer. He did an excellent job. Check out the pictures of the roof and the awning.

This week we have Thursday & Friday off. We're hoping to make it to Wilson's Creek Battlefield. There's quite a few places we'd like to visit while the weather is good. Some of the gardens, etc. close by the end of November. We found out that we get in for free at the Fantastic Caverns - so looking forward to that jeep/trolley ride. Health is still pretty good. Sharon's been having some back & leg aches - we're thinking from the changes in the chairs/store/etc. At least not as bad as when in Des Moines.

First Week

Well, we've been here for one week. So far very interesting and we like it. We've worked about 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours each day. Sorry, no pictures yet. Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday we worked with the owners. Actually Monday was more of a get acquainted time. Thursday & Friday we worked with the other workamping couple. We worked Tuesday night so we took a little drive Tuesday to find our way around. It seems like everything is within 5 - 7 miles no matter which way you go. The farm roads are very interesting to travel on. They are well paved but very narrow 2 lane roads with no shoulders. We haven't traveled the speed limit yet. The ditches don't look like too much fun. It's been a little cool here in the mornings around 55 - 60. It's been cloudy most of the week. Rain off and on during the last couple of days except for today. It started in around 10:30am and hasn't quit. Guess what was the first store we had to find on our day trips. Grocery store - Nope. Walgreens, right - Nope. You're right - Bass Pro. Very nice but didn't go inside. Sharon decided to wait. So, guess we'll be spending the day there in the next couple of weeks. I guess you can't really get lost when you have the GPS to get you home. We didn't listen to it, of course, so ended up a little out of our way. Which turned out to be a very good thing. We got the best peaches at a road side stand. Very juicy and very ripe. Picked up 2 for $1. So we got 6 peaches. Big spenders aren't we. On Friday, we didn't need to be to work until 5pm so picked up some scripts from Walgreens; found a meat market - very very good. Shouldn't let us into a meat market by ourselves. Went in for a couple of pounds of stew beef and a whole chicken. Came out with more than 10 lbs of meat. Among the items were New York strips, pork tenderloins and pork butt roast. And, yes, we did get the stew beef and chicken. Nice little grocery store and meat market. Reminds me of the one my grandmother worked when while we were growing up. We were tired so decided to come home and put the items away. We'd go to a bigger grocery store Saturday morning. We have this day off. After getting home from the meat market and putting the groceries away - decided to find a restaurant close by. Didn't get to the grocery store so still not much to eat in the camper yet. So plugged the GPS back in and went to the nearest one. It was called Alli's. Food was good; prices very reasonable. Sharon got liver & onions which covered the entire dinner plate so they brought the mashed potatoes on a separate platter. She also had a small dish of cottage cheese. She ordered coffee - but said she'd never do that again. I just got a patty melt. Our entire bill including tip was less than $20. Not bad. The people were real friendly and very helpful about where to shop and the products to buy. It's always difficult to know which dairy products are good in an area for awhile. Tomorrow, we start working by ourselves and for full shifts. A full shift is a 6 1/2 hour day. We work 5 days and then have the next 3 days off. Hope to go to the civil war battlefield near here next Friday. There's been a few more things to remember working here but so far think we're doing fine. Wish the weather would warm up. Looking forward to the drive down to Branson this fall. Heard the road is just beautiful with fall leaf color. Well, that 's pretty much it for our first week.

Trip to Springfield, MO

All the planning and all the prep - still left Des Moines at 10:30am. We did pull out of the campground shortly after 9am though. Hitched up perfectly the first time. Thought that was a good omen. Started down the highway, noticed one of our storage doors flying open. Pulled over onto the "wide" (NOT) shoulder and shut the doors. We're still not sure how we missed that door. Checked and locked every door but that one. Not too bad, right!

Camper tires needed a little air. Thought, piece of cake. Thought wrong. On Saturday, we took the truck to the gas station and fueled up. Even put in air in the duallys. No problem. All of our gadgets working well. You'd think that the camper would be the easiest, right. WRONG! :)

Someone removed the air cap from the air hose and our attachment didn't fit onto theirs. Sharon kept trying though. The tires need 80psi. When the tire dropped down to 60psi - decided to quit. Drove over to Loves. The air was in the front and we didn't see it right away. Was o.k. to fill air on one side but the hose wouldn't reach to the other side. Did I mention you had to pay for air at this one!! Glad it went to the Children's Miracle Network, at least. O.K. so what did we do. I, yes, Sandy, backed up the camper and pulled in closer. Interesting experience with semis pulling in behind us while we're backing up.

Finally, go closer and we filled up the tires with air. Now, we need to swing the camper between two gas pumps at an odd angle. Made that one with inches to spare. Wasn't much room but we made it. Think we should suggest moving the air hose? lol

So, by now, it's closer to 10:30. At 10:35, we were on I-35 heading south past the Des Moines exits. I must say the rest of it was a piece of cake. Traffic was light. No one was working in the construction zones. Even refueling was easy. We arrived at 5:30pm. 7 hours towing the camper. Thought we made pretty good time.

Met 4 of the work campers. One couple the managers. They had our schedules, name tags and everything ready. Our camper sits at the end of their storage area. We have some trees around us. Satellite dish works. The sewer connection is in an odd place. We needed 10 more feet of sewer hose. The campground supplied it. The managers brought us to our site and helped us hook up. They helped level and set up the sewer. Nice people. We had a little chat before we finished setting up for the night.

We start working tonight. They want us to get familiar with things before we start a full shift. So we work 1 - 2 hours a day until next Monday. Then we pull a 6 hour shift. So far, we're working together. Campground has lots of trees and is very pretty. The site we have doesn't have cable since we have a satellite dish. Most of the other sites have cable tv hook ups.

Didn't get any time to clean before leaving Adel. So, a little last night and most of today, we've been cleaning out some cupboards, dusting, vacuuming, etc. It's been a most productive day.

Very grateful for the slow pace at the moment. They're having a staff lunch next Sunday - we just need to attend - don't need to bring a thing. So far it seems like we'll enjoy it here. Looks like the Bass Pro Shop is within 10 miles- Sharon's even more excited.

I'm sure we'll have more later.

Monday & Tuesday

Wow, can't believe how we are NOT busy. Kind of boring in the office. That's a good thing right now. Maria's in the hospital. Went to the doctor on Monday with severe stomach cramps. They've taken x-rays and doing more tests. Found an enlarged artery in or near her colon and are trying to determine what else is wrong. It must be so difficult to be very ill and away from home and your own doctor. Her husband, Buddy, is staying at the hospital with her. He comes back to their camper to get cleaned up and then goes back. Their home is in Slidell, Louisiana. They're worried about their home also with the storm this past weekend. So, whoever reads this, please keep them in your prayers.

Just one more little thing on Sharon's house before this weekend. Thursday is paper signing day. It's getting exciting.

This week is busy with working here at the campground and getting everything ready to depart on Sunday. At least the weather is cooperating with us this week.

Looking forward to different scenery.

Last Week 8/29 -9/4

Crammed a lot in last week. On Tuesday, the 30th had lunch with Patricia and Maria. We went to Granite City. Sharon had to work at 2:30 and I went in around 4 - so we had an early lunch. Finished off the meal with a piece of their chocolate cake. Shared by all 4 of us. Forgot to take a picture. But it was truly awesome. We had been trying to find a time when all four of us were available and finally managed to find a few hours before Sharon and I head to Missouri; Maria back to Louisiana; and Patricia off to Mississippi. Some times we just marvel at the friends we have scattered across this country.

On Wednesday, I had lunch with Heidi and Colette two co-workers from days gone by. I remembered the camera on this day. We met at PF Changs. Love that restaurant.



This week they finished the work on Sharon's house for the sale. The front steps needed repairing and the garage was taken down. We drove by. No pictures. Sharon didn't want any. Looks strange being able to see through to the alley.

The weekend was very busy. We had only one RV site available all weekend. People came and went. Had wine tastings from the 4 local wineries. Jamie & Chris (owners) did the tastings. Sharon and I worked behind the desk (registering & store) and outside (escorting & delivering wood). Here are some pictures from the tastings. Don't have a picture of Chris but Jamie's in a few.



Do have a picture of Sharon and I behind the counter:

Not sure that I really like this picture. But it is what it is. :)

Sunday, August 28th

Last Sunday, my family came to the campground for a picnic/get-together. All but 2 nephews were able to attend.

Wasn't sure if everyone was going to show since it started raining late morning. Everyone persevered. We had a great time. My sister, Pam, brought her canopy (used in tailgating). So, between her canopy and our awning most people stayed dry. The sun came out later and some of the kids went swimming, some fishing, and the "adult" kids played ladder golf.

Here's a few pictures from last Sunday. I didn't think to have everyone group together for one shot. Oh no, that would be way too easy.