A Day at Lake Murray and Taking the RV in for Repairs

We have been back from vacation for a few weeks now and been able to head south to our RV lot at Cedar Blue the last two weekends.  If you have been following my blog you know we had a couple of problems with the RV on vacation when it wouldn't start.  Well on our way home from Cedar Blue two weeks ago the engine just quit running right outside where we park in the city.  Thankfully it started right back up after we got it stopped and into park.  This past weekend on our way down and back we noticed the engine kind of like doing quick stalls several times.  Like skipped heart beats.  And again, on our way home while just traveling down the highway it quit running but started right back up after getting stopped.  I sure hope the repair garage can figure out what is going on.

So this is the inconvenient part about living in an RV - especially a motorhome.  The RV dealers aren't equipped to work on engines or the chassis so either they take the RV to a truck center or we do.  We are hoping whatever this is that the warranty covers it, so we have to find a truck center that is an authorized Ford repair garage which is even more limiting.  We also have to plan to be out of it for a while as many of these truck centers don't seem to care that you live in your RV.  At least the place we are going to say they will look at it on the day of the appointment.  Another place we have used makes  appointments but when you drop it off it doesn't seem to have any meaning and you just go into a cue which could be 2 weeks out!  Crazy.  We have an appointment after Labor Day and all they will tell us is they will take a look at it on the day of the appointment but make no promises after that, which I understand.  They have to diagnose, possibly order parts and repair it so it could be a day or it could be two weeks.  Who knows.  We are so very very very thankful for friends that open their home to us dogs and all when we need help and we reciprocate by house and pet sitting when they have to be gone.  They have 3 dogs, 3 cats and a bird so boarding could be really pricey for them.  We are more than happy to house and pet sit for them in their beautiful home. 

We are planning to entertain ourselves here in the city for a few weekends and then take a week in October and spend it at Cedar Blue.  We haven't seen the art museum or the bombing memorial and there are movies we want to see as well, so plenty to do around here.  We can also get some motorcycle riding in as well.  Hopefully we will get back to our lake lot sometime in September though.

During our week down there I hope to paint the trim on the shed and completely clean out and reorganize the shed.  It will be nice and cool for that project then.  We also plan to drive to Lake Texoma and scout out an RV resort to vacation at.

This past weekend we went with another couple to Lake Murray on Saturday with our waverunners and had fun.  We started with lunch in the lodge there which was good and reasonably priced.  Then off to the lake.  We had learned that it was down 5 feet and that lake is already known for shallow spots and weeds so that added a bit of stress as we had to be vigilant watching for weeds and shallow spots.  It all paid off though and we didn't get hung up in either.  Thank goodness because pulling weeds out of a waverunner can take a long time.  The water in that lake is crystal clear and a really pretty blue.  I look forward to being able to head back there next year in hope that it is full so we can relax a bit more.

The size and number of the houseboats in the marina there is mind boggling for the size of the lake.  We found several of them lashed together in a cove across from the marina.  The lake also has floating cabins in one of the coves.  They have decks and you can tie off your boats to them as well.  What a neat idea!  At one point we came across this guy who seemed to have jet packs on his feet and was way up in the air.  He was definitely causing a crowd of boats.  We have since learned they are called fly boards and are powered from a waverunner.  You have to google them.  They sell for a mere $6600!  It seemed like he was just learning how to use it and spent a lot of time tipping into the water.  He had to be tired.  We ended our day having a nice dinner at an out of the way Italian restaurant in Ardmore and then headed for the house. 

On Sunday morning we tried out a Sunday School class at Crossway Baptist Church in Sulphur and everybody was so nice.  We have been attending services there for a while when we are in Sulphur and love the preaching.  The Pastor is great to listen to.    So I think we may have found a place to create some friendships while in Sulphur.  The church is amazing in that it is very mission minded including sending people overseas as well as around the country and right at home in Sulphur.  Their beautiful new church is also debt free. 

Well that's enough for now.  I hope you have a great week. 
 
 

Our New Tornado Shelter

We finally bit the bullet and had a tornado shelter installed on our RV lot at Cedar Blue!  I cannot tell you how much comfort this gives us.  It's not pretty but if it gives us a place to go in high winds and tornadoes then it is totally worth it.  Cedar Blue has 600 lots in it and they have one tornado shelter that might hold 25 people.  In the 15 years we have owned this lot we have only had to leave our RV twice.  Once for high winds and we just sat in the car and once for a possible tornado and the rain was coming down so hard late at night that we cold only see a few feet in front of the car to drive the half mile to the shelter and then we couldn't find it.  Seriously!  The rain was coming down so hard we had no idea where to go so just sat it out in the car and prayed.  So now we have our own place to go. 

It's a 6x8 shelter that can hold about 9 people with room for our dogs in crates behind the stairs.  We have a couple of neighbors that we have shared the lock combo with so they can use it as well, if needed. 

The company that installed it actually had it done from start to finish in 2 hours and 15 minutes!  That included feathering the large amount of leftover dirt out across the hard.  What was really nice was that the didn't hit any large rocks while digging the hole.  This area is noted for lots of big rocks in the ground so once again prayers were answered. 

You can see from the pictures that it really is a monstrosity and has absolutely no asthetic value but in time we plan to grow some grass around it, plant some flowers and shrubs and try to pretty it up a bit.  I'm thinking about painting it green as well to help it blend into the ground.  They told us everything would settle a few inches so for now we are just going to let it sit and possibly this fall or next spring start to pretty it up.  I'm hoping it adds value to the lot should we decide to sell at some point. 

So now we have a tornado shelter at both the place we stay in Newcastle and Cedar Blue so to our family and friends - we are completely protected!

I want to also give a shout out to Oklahoma Shelters out of Crescent, OK.  When I was searching the web for places that might come to Cedar Blue I found this place and it is several miles north of Oklahoma City -- Cedar Blue is 80 miles south of the city.  I emailed them over a weekend and had a response with prices in less than a day.  They were very responsive by email and didn't seem to mind all my questions.  They didn't require a down payment and I was able to pay the installers out here in the boonies with a credit card and got this for under $3,000!  Money well spent don't you think?  You can also get shelters that have a flat surface (kind of flush with the ground) but I was concerned about flooding so didn't opt for that one although it would have been 'prettier'. 

John has been trying to figure out how to have a bath tub so I told him if he could come up with a pumping system maybe he could fill it with water, enjoy it and then pump it out! 

If you read any of my blogs about our recent trip you know that I beat my poor body up pretty good with a bruised bone in my foot, a cut foot, an infected leg and a bad back.  Well while cleaning up after the shelter install I slashed open the tip of my finger badly (yes the rock was dirty) so decided it was time for a tetanus shot.  I probably should have had the finger looked at but cleaned it as best as I could and bandaged it up.  We headed to a Walgreens in Ardmore and both of us got tetanus shots, had a nice dinner at Luigis and called it good.  I was already on antibiotics for my leg so I pray this will heal with no problems.

As I'm sitting her writing this on our deck the hummingbirds are enjoying the feeders.  One of them keeps flying almost up to me on the deck so I can almost reach out and touch it.  They don't seem the list bit bothered by me sitting here.  Very cool!

 

 

 

The End of Our Vacation

On our final day in the Black Hills we decided to take the girls and go for a ride to the Badlands.  This was about a 2-hour drive each way so we knew it was an all day event.  The ride up to Rapid City was pretty but from that point until we were close to the Badlands was pretty boring.  The Badlands, however, were neat to see.  Out there in the middle of nowhere are these very large stone spires and canyons.  For quite a bit of the ride we were on top of the ridge with this spires and canyons on the left and acres of grassy fields on the right.  There were beautiful colors of reds and yellows in the rock.  Archaeologists have found many fossils throughout this area.  After we finished the drive we headed up to Wall Drug which was an interesting place.  This was just a small drug store purchased by a couple in 1931.  For the first five years the store brought in no business.  The town was very small and there was no reason for outsiders to come in.  However, with the opening of Yellowstone and a highway nearby, they started marketing the business by putting up lots of signs on the highway offering free ice water.  Remember, folks traveling to Yellowstone were in old old cars and it was a long, hot, dusty drive.  The free ice water did the trick and while folks were in the store they started to purchase other items such as snacks.  Now it is a booming business with a restaurant, tons of souvenirs, and more.  As my sister said to me, it's the signs you see on the road that make it even more interesting.  I believe it is the fourth generation of the family that still runs the business.  We loaded up the girls in their stroller and headed into the store to check it out. 

On our way back to the campground we made a stop at a wood carver's outdoor business that we had been eyeing and bought two adorable carvings of bears.  One for our deck at Cedar Blue and the other for our place in Newcastle.  Can't wait to get them displayed.

Friday morning we headed out for the Grand Island KOA which is where we spent our first night on the road.  Of course we lost an hour on that trip when we drove back into Central Daylight Time.  Yuk!  The drive down to I-80 was pretty nice.  I had no idea that Nebraska could be so pretty and hilly.  Right before we got to I-80 we came into Oshkosh and stopped at a place out in the country for gas as they had lots of room for the RV.  While there one of the owners had to come out and see the girls.  So they got a bit of loving from her.  Inside they had a very clean little cafe so we had lunch as well.  Then we made a bit of a detour and drove along the north side of a lake that appears to be the largest lake in the State.  John loves lakes so he enjoyed the drive.  The road took us across the dam at the end of the lake and out to I-80.  We don't know if the lake was really low in water or if there was supposed to be as much white beach as we saw but it was interesting.  We arrived at the KOA about 7 pm.  They made and delivered pizza at this place so we had a pizza delivered to the RV for dinner, washed the windshield and front of the motorhome off and called it a night.

I had to end the vacation with one last injury.  After I washed the front of the RV and went inside to sit down I pulled a back muscle when sitting.  Ouch!  It smarted.  At least it was on our way home.  I got some rest and John drove the first half of our final day.  Then we stopped for gas and yes - the RV would not start!  Ugh.  While I was on the phone with roadside service John messed with the ignition enough that it finally started up.  Thank goodness we had enough gas to get us the rest of the way home.  During our brief stops to walk the girls and eat lunch we just left it running and arrived home with a quarter of a tank left! 

We had a wonderful vacation and thank the Lord for blessing us in so many ways - for a safe trip and so  many beautiful creations of His to see.