Boot Camp and Escapade Update

Last week was RV Boot Camp and this week has be Escapade in Sedalia, Missouri. Both have been highly educational.

Boot Camp was, as the name implies, intense. We did three days of seminars running from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Most were safety oriented, dealing with everything from RV fires to tire care. Heavy attention was applied to weight management (for the RV not the driver).

As we shifted into Escapade on Sunday, the seminars became more diverse. Here is an example:

Workamper News put on this seminar

I've attended a seminar covering workaming in general and another specifically about doing seasonal work for Amazon.com as a workamper. I also attended one titled "Honey let's clean the RV", one on using Picassa to manage your photos, one on how to take better digital photos, one on how to build relationships with other folks living the full-time RV lifestyle and several others.

In the evenings, the agenda shifts to entertainment. Beginning at 7:00 each night, Escapees gather in the main auditorium for door prize drawings and corny jokes.

 "There was an old sailor who had two blonde daughters..."

Following the door prize rally on Sunday evening we were entertained by Yakov Smirnoff. I can't remember when I have laughed so much. His show should not be missed if the opportunity to see it comes along.

Yakov Smirnoff - Living Happily

On Monday evening a sinus headache kept me from the entertainment (tenor George Dyre). The was no entertainment on Tuesday night while Ham-O-Rama rehearsals were going on in the auditorium. Then tonight, Ham-O-Rama!! This is the Escapade talent show.

91 year old Escapee, who has been full-timing for 35 years.

The younger end of the spectrum.

Every talent show needs a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

In addition to seminars and entertainment, there are opportunities to make contact with Escapee Chapters from across the country and a variety of BOFs (Birds Of A Feather - groups with common interest). I've checked into the Alamo and Rocky Mountain High Chapters. Chapters have monthly lunch get togethers, as well as local rallies. I've also joined the NOMADS (an outreach ministry of the United Methodist Church), BOOMERS (self-explanitory) and SOLOs ( a BOF for solo RV travelers).

Tomorrow is the wrap-up of seminars, closing ceremony and after-hours dance party. Friday morning is the Hook-up Breakfast that officially ends Escapade. I'll be hitting the road Saturday, after taking my rig through SmartWeigh, to be sure I'm operating within limits. I'll also use tomorrow to get more pictures before the crowd scatters.

Then it's on down the road for the Escapee Leos.

Bikin' to Escapade

We are now in Sedalia, Missouri and will be headed to the State Fairgrounds here tomorrow for the Escapees RV Club's RV Boot Camp. Following Boot Camp, the Escapees annual rally (Escapade) will kick-off for a week. We have been members of Escapees for over a year, but this is our first opportunity to attend one of their events.

In the information provided in preparation for Escapade, it was noted that a vehicle, bicycle or scooter will be useful to traverse the distance between the RV parking area and Escapade events. So this afternoon we went shopping for a bicycle. And we made a purchase at a local pawn shop.

 It's a Huffy Cranbrook Cruiser that apears to be brand new. It cost $44, so if it doesn't prove useful, it won't be a big loss.

As soon as we got back to the trailer I unloaded it from the back of my truck and hopped on-board to give it a try. I'm not sure what happened next, but I immediately found myself on the ground on my back with my legs tangled up in the bike. So, now I have some biker battle scars.

Following the admonition to "get back on the horse that bucked you", I got back on and rode the bike around the RV park. Then I tightened the handle bars (which were loose), inflated the tires (which were almost flat) and raised the seat (which made peddling much easier), I'm now cruising much better. Perhaps I should have made these adjustments first. They say you never forget how to ride a bike once you learn, but I can attest that taking a 40 year break does make getting back on-board a little tentative. I'm sure a few days riding will remedy that.

The rest of the day we have spent relaxing in the RV, to recover from four days on the road. The trip trough Kansas on the Santa Fe Trail was pleasant with good roads, interesting scenery and little traffic. However, when we reached Kansas City, where we crossed into Missouri, we left the secondary highways and rejoined the Interstate. This was not fun. We were shoulder to shoulder with eighteen wheelers and city traffic, which was challenging. We missed our exit to US50 to Sedalia and had to head on down I70 for a way until we could find another exit. Once we exited we found a vacant parking lot where we could park long enough to study our map and determine our revised route to Sedalia. Then we headed back to the Interstate and found that where we had exited there was no entry back onto the Interstate. So we wandered around neighborhood streets till we found our way back on track. I don't mean to be critical, but Leo is USELESS as a copilot!

The RV park at which we spent the day recuperating does not have cable or WiFi. We ran up our TV antenna and have been able to receive three channels:

• PBS
• Create
• and a channel that broadcasts Al Jazeera English News, and mystery movies from France and Italy with English subtitles.

Fortunately. my Verizon hotspot is getting good 4G connection so I can be entertained  by continuing to drill through the TV series Eureka. I'm now on Season 4, Episode 12. Got to love Netflix.

Mister Dillon! Mister Dillon!

The Leos are now in Dodge City, Kansas. We rolled in about 2:00 this afternoon, and parked for the night at the Gunsmoke Trav-L-Park. After unhitching the trailer, we took a drive through town, on Wyatt Earp Boulevard and ran into the man himself...

Today, (and every day) Marshall Earp was on patrol at the corner of Wyatt Earp Boulevard and Central Street. According to the plaque, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was a Dodge City Lawman from 1876 through 1879.

 

 As we ambled down the Boulevard, we entered the Trail of Fame. Here we found stars commemorating the famous in Dodge City History.

Of course, Marshall Earp's star was at the head of the Trail

Leo started his walk down the Trail, but seemed to be unimpressed by Big Nose Kate's star on the Trail. Perhaps he didn't know she was Doc Holiday's long time lady friend.

But further on down the Trail, he found a favorite...

As we headed back to our truck, Leo found one stray that needed to be rounded up.

But, try as he would, he couldn't get this one to move on down the trail. So I guess we'll need to track down Mister Dillon for some help.

On the road again...

Yes, after a beautiful summer in the Colorado Rockies, the Leos are on the road again. We hooked out (an old field artillery term from my days in Vietnam) about noon today. We're headed to Sadella, Missouri for Escapade, the annual rally of the Escapees RV Club. In route we are taking our time and enjoying the ride. We've got Willie's Roadhouse tuned in on SiriusXM and are rollin' along the route of the Santa Fe Trail,

Taken between Pueblo and La Junta, Colorado

The Santa Fe Trail ran between Franklin, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. We picked up the route at Pueblo, Colorado headed east. We are following the Mountain Route, which follows the Arkansas River through Kansas. Since today was our first day out, we have a lot to learn about this historic route as we make our way to Missouri. We are taking it in small increments, so we will have time to explore some of the historic points along the way.

As the signs states, this is a designated Scenic Byway. However, the scenery is somewhat different from that to which we have become accustomed during our summer in the Rockies. As we headed eastward from Pueblo, we quickly found ourselves on the Great Plains ( or what was originally called the Great American Desert).

Taken from the same location as the Scenic Trail Maker signs above.

 Remember, there are all kinds on scenery in our Land, and the Leos enjoy it all. It isn't a big streach to imagine this rolling prairie land teaming with Bison. In fact, over the next few days,we will be traveling across the mid-section of the area that has been proposed as the Buffalo Commons.

The Buffalo Commons proposal is to create a vast nature preserve by returning 139,000 square miles of the drier part of the Great Plains to native prarie and reintroducing the American Bison to the shortgrass prairie.It's a fascinating idea.

As we rolled along we imagined ourselves being travelers of the 1870's in our own covered wagon.

"Wagon Ho!!"

In fact, we didn't have to look far to see time moving backward.

Covered wagon circa 1948, I think it's a Spartan Manor.

After about five hours on the road, we pulled into our overnight stop at a state park. It was nice to kick back and relax for awhile before composing this post.

It's interesting that we have no TV or cell phone connection at this location, but my handy dandy Verizon hotspot gets me on the World Wide Web. So, post I shall!!!

And tomorrow, we're "on the road again..."


P.S: Congratulations to Maggie and Jonas...Love you two!

Rocky Mountain High

Since yesterday was my first official re-purposed (retired) day, I decided to do something I hadn't done before. So, I left Leo to guard the trailer (which means gnaw on a rawhide knot all day) and headed out to Manitou Springs to catch the Cog Railroad to the summit of Pikes Peak.

Downtown Manitou Springs, Colorado

Manitou Springs reminded me a lot of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Its historic downtown area is devoted almost exclusively to catering to tourists. Since this is Labor Day weekend, it was packed with them. If I had wanted to stop in the downtown area, I don't think I could have found a place to park my truck. The streets were lined on both sides with parallel parked cars, with motor cycles filling an any open space. Fortunately, after worming my way through town, I arrived at the Cog Railroad, where I was directed to an open spot in the RV parking section.

Along with some 200 plus others, I caught the noon train to the summit.

Preparing to leave on the noon train to the summit of Pikes Peak

I couldn't help but notice that a large proportion of the passengers seemed to be from India. Perhaps we are recapturing some of those dollars we are spending on the jobs we have outsourced there.

We boarded the train at 11:40 and started the climb promptly at noon. The first half of the trip winds through through canyons in Pike National Forest. There were little opportunities to take pictures here, since the trees where right up against the train.

Along the way our conductor shared several interesting facts and some pathetic attempts at humor. Among the facts were the following:

•  The U.S. Signal Service (an early Weather Bureau) built a telegraph station on the summit in 1873 to monitor the weather,
• One of the tourists who visited the Pikes Peak region in the late-1880's was Zalmon Simmons, inventor and founder of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company. Mr. Simmons rode to the summit of Pike's Peak on a mule, partly to enjoy the view and partly to check upon one of his inventions: an insulator for the telegraph wires which ran to the Army Signal Station on the summit. The arduous, two day trip on a mule was the only way to reach the top in those days. Mr. Simmons was awed by the scenery but determined that the views should be experienced in a more civilized and comfortable manner. He was relaxing in one of Manitou Springs' mineral baths after his return, when the owner of his Hotel mentioned the idea of a railway to the top. Mr. Simmons agreed with the concept and set about providing the capital needed to fund such a venture.
•  In 1889, the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway Company was founded and track construction began in earnest. Top wages were 25 cents per hour. Six workers died in blasting and construction accidents.
•  The spring of 1891 was a snowy one, and the opening of the line was delayed until late June. On the afternoon of June 30th, 1891, the first passenger train, carrying a church choir from Denver, made it to the summit. A scheduled group of dignitaries had been turned back earlier by a rock slide around 12,000 feet.

As we made the climb from Manitou Springs (elevation 6,500 feet) to the summit (elevation 14,114 feet) , the temperature dropped steadily. About an hour into the trip we reached approximately 12,000 feet in elevation, which was where the treeline ended. Here the only trees growing were a few Bristlecone pines.

Bristlecone Pine

Our conductor pointed out one of the Bristlecones and noted that they among the oldest trees on earth. Those on Pikes Peak are well over 2000 years old. When the Romans were building the Colosseum, they were saplings.

Above the treeline the temperature dropped rapidly, and when we arrived at the summit, the wind-chill was reported at 37 degrees.

The trip up had taken about an hour and a half, so despite the cool air, it felt good to get out and walk around. And the view was spectacular.

Reservoirs below Pikes Peak

View of Colorado Springs from the summit of Pikes Peak. You can see about 200 miles from here. That's Kansas in the distance

Cog Railway train at the summit

Quite a view

It was nippy at the top and began spitting snow while we were there. Despite the thin air at the summit (about 60% less oxygen than at sea level), I didn't expeience any breathing issues or altitude sickness. Of course, I've been living at an elevation of 8,200 feet all summer at Woodland Park.

It was the view from the top of Pikes Peak that inspired the words to America the Beautiful. It is easy to see why when you visit the summit.

I did not partake in the world famous Pikes Peak Fudge Covered Donuts at the summit. It wasn't a diet thing...the line was too long and I was afraid I'd miss the train down. I may have to take the drive up the next time I'm here so I can sample them.

After spending about 45 minutes on the summit, we re-boarded the train for the trip down. The conductor had emphasized that the alternative to catching the train was to take the 13 mile hiking trail down the mountain, so I was aboard early.

The trip down was uneventful. So much so that ALL of our Indian tourist friends went to sleep. Perhaps it's their customary way to travel by train. Or perhaps they were just coming down from a Rocky Mountain High.