My Dad had heart surgery in May so we stayed close to home.
We went to Dequoin, IL. for the Fleetwood RV Rally in June. We went a couple of times to Cave City just to get away. Cave Country campground is great place to get away for a few days.

Linda’s brother had surgery the last of Nov. in Fort Lauderdale. We took the RV down a stayed at Paradise Campground for a week.
We returned home for Christmas with the family. Our plans were to spend the winter in Ocala, Fl. However, Linda’s brother was starting treatment so we went to Fort Lauderdale after just a week in Ocala.
We went back to Paradise campground and stayed for 5 weeks. The weather was great every day and we did play some golf.

Well this year’s fishing trip consisted of us dodging tornadoes. We did not catch any fish as the lake was very high. We finally left and came home.

In August of this year, we went to Nashville for the taping of Larry’s Country Diner which comes on RFD tv. We then went to Branson, Mo. We saw two shows and played some golf.

We are now getting ready for a trip to Myrtle Beach for a week.

The Bounder has preformed great. We added a HD TV which we have really enjoyed.

We took the RV to Green River Lake State Park in Oct. to do a little fishing. We did not catch many fish. That is a very beautiful Park. We have noticed that Ky has state parks second to none.

As we had not had the RV on the road for some time, I checked out all the systems in preparation for the winter trip. I found the microwave had quit working. Well it was off to Skaggs RV in Elizabethtown. We have been pleased with the service we have received from them. We were there about 30 minutes and they said it was fixed. We made the big mistake of not trying it before we left. Well I waited a week before I tried it, and you guessed it, it did not work. Well back to Skaggs. They removed it from RV and said they would bring it to Harrodsburg and put it in. They did, it worked, I am happy.

We left home around 7:30 Jan. 24 and drove all day in a pouring rain. Around 3 we stopped in Cartersville, Ga.

The next day we visited Don and Dee Pine at their travel agency. We had met them when we got into travel. They also owned a Travel Professionals. We had been on a lot of trips with them in the past.

We then went to visit some friends in Peachtree city and then on to Lagrange, Ga to visit some more friends.

We finally arrived in Fredericksburg on Feb. 1. We picked out a good site for us and then started to make camp. Our friends from Nebraska were there to welcome us and invite us to breakfast the next morning.

Well it has rained for 3 days. We went bowling Yesterday because it was still raining and we could not do anything outside. We did go out to dinner with the group last night and met some new people.

Well today Feb. 5 the sun came out and it got to 65 degrees. I took Heidi to the park and she ran and ran until she had had enough and came back to the car. We had happy hour with our friends. Today I had the RV washed as it was so dirty. Looks great now. Cooked hamburgers tonight outside.

Well it is now Feb. 14 and it has been cold up until yesterday. Yesterday and today got to 70 degrees with the sun shining. However, today at 4 oclock the clouds came in and the temperature started to dive. I am now watching the last of the Daytona 500 that seems will never end and the temperature is dropped 40 heading for 25 tonight.

We have taken several trips out in the country and tried different places for lunch.

We played golf 2 times this week. We played Hidden Springs which should be called Hidden Greens. Every hole is an adventure. Next we played Buckhorn at Comfort. This was a really nice course but very busy. The fairways were all green.

We ate with the gang Tuesday morning at Winslow’s. We try to eat breakfast with the gang on Tuesday’s and dinner on Thursday. This week we had a chili cookoff at the campground. I thought Linda’s was the best but she did not win. After judging, they dumped all the chili together in one pot. I wish I had only eaten Linda’s. Some of it was very hot.

Today the 21st is Sunday and we are getting ready to head to Church. We can walk there as the sun is shining. We really like this small Baptist Church.

The beautiful scenes began to unfold upon leaving Salt Lake City. I had always heard about the great Salt Lake but had no idea what it was. Just outside of town we saw the Salt Lake with water in it. I say it that way because after that, the Salt Lake went on forever with no water, just salt. I posted a picture of Heidi and I walking on the “Lake”.

On the way to Reno, we stopped at a small campground in Nevada. The town was Winnamocca. We met a couple that told us we needed to get reservations at Napa Valley as campgrounds were few. Linda worked her magic and got us 2 nights at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.

We enjoyed our stop in Reno. We were surprised to see so many of the old casinos closed in the downtown area. We drove up to Lake Tahoe area and had lunch and enjoyed driving around the lake.

We left Reno and headed for Napa. We had to cross the Sierra Mountains on the way and let me tell you it was steep. Well, coming down the mountain and surrounded by big trucks and trying not to gain too much speed, I looked in the mirror and saw nothing but smoke.
I got off the road ASAP but was still on the hill and against the guard rail barely off the road. I told Linda to get the fire extinguisher and out the door we went. Some type of fluid was coming out under the camper. I thought at first it was antifreeze but the reservoir was still full. I noticed a hose fitting leaking and pushed on it and transmission fluid poured out from it. I checked the fluid level and it did not show on the stick. I was able to put the hose back on the fitting and it seemed tight. I sent Linda to get some transmission fluid. She went to a exit about 5 miles back and bought 11 quarts. I put 3 quarts in it and we went to the next exit and stopped at a GM dealer. He checked the fitting and could not get it loose and he put the rest of the fluid in it and we were back on the road. I was afraid the fitting might come off again so I watched it closely. It appears it was just a one time thing as I went about 4000 miles after that.

In Napa Valley we visited about 5 vineyards. The most impressive was the St. Francis just outside Santa Rosa. It was amazing how many vineyards there were in the area.

Well as we had reached our destination, it was time to start heading back home. We went up highway 101 along the coast of California and Oregon. Before getting to Oregon we stopped in the Redwood Nat. Park and drove the Valley of the Giants. These trees are so big it is hard to explain. You must see it for yourself.

The Oregon coast line was beautiful. The road went very close to the edge of the cliffs. The edge of the cliffs is protected and has not been developed.

We next headed East across Oregon and up into Washington close to Portland. Hay seemed to be the major crop in Washington and Oregon. We did see a lot of apple trees. We took highway 2 from Portland all the way to Minnesota. I would recommend highway 2 to anyone. It was straight and flat with a few small towns along the way. We came back through Montana and North Dakota. We stopped 2 nights in Minot, North Dakota and played golf.

Illinois has the worst roads of any state. They used concrete instead of blacktop on most roads and they had not been repaired in a long time.

We got back home Friday July 24 having been gone for 4 weeks. Heidi traveled well and liked to visit all the campgrounds. She met a lot of dogs and people. The most expensive gas was in California “$3.09 and the least expensive was in Illinois “$2.27. The motorhome seemed to do better in the mountains on premium fuel.

We had a great trip and did it the way we wanted. We did not have a schedule and did not drive much each day. The most we drove was 402 miles. We did that because there were not a lot of campgrounds in some areas. We had Wi-Fi in most campgrounds.

I have just touched the surface of all we saw on this trip. I will just suggest that if you have a dream go for it.

Jack

We spent 2 nights with Janet our friend in St. Jo. We had a great time and hit the road for Mitchell, SD. We visited the Corn Palace and had a great dinner at Whiskey Creek.

We headed for Deadwood, Sd and spent 2 night there. We drove around the park and visited Rapid City. We saw Crazy Horse Mountain and could not see any improvement from the last time we were there.

We left Deadwood and headed for Laramie, Wyo. It rained about all night in Laramie. It was very muddy the next morning to walk Heidi. However, she like the mud puddles.

We are now in Salt Lake City. We are in a KOA campground. Tomorrow we head for Reno but as it is 500 miles away, we will stay somewhere in between.

It has been quite cool on our trip. The Bounder has ran well and we have had no problems. South Dakota has very little traffic and good roads.

The gas prices are about the same as home. We are paying around $2.60 per gallon.

We had our first taste of the Rocky Mountains today. The inclines went on for ever and the down hills were long. The Bounder handled them well.

I will update the blog later. We are staying 2 nights in Reno and they head for Napa Valley.

We are really enjoying not having a schedule, so I do not know when we will be back home.

Jackl

Well on the way to Jamestown, we changed our mind and headed for Dale Hollow. We found a great spot at the State Park. This is one of the best Parks we have stayed in. However, it did not have internet, tv, or cell phone reception. That was Ok, I had my Dish. John, Lynn and Jake came down for a visit and to go fishing. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that they came down to Ky Lake also.

We spent the first week fishing for crappie with no success. Then we got smart and started fishing for Blue Gills. We had fun catching these fish and caught some pretty big ones.

I have spent the day, mowing the yard and doing garden work. I plan to wax the RV sometime this month. It should be a little harder than my car. The RV preformed well and all systems worked. I got to use the Air Conditioners for the first time this week and it cooled down nicely.

We are now planning our trip out west the last of June. Anyone need anything from Napa Valley? Just kidding, the RV will be full already.

I will be blogging on the West trip so keep checking.

Jack and Linda

We played golf at a course called the Tennessean. This was a very fun course as each hole was different. I had a good first nine and Linda had a good back nine.

We moved to Barren Lake on April 24 and it has rained almost every day. We had some friends down to play bridge and had fun. The fish are not biting yet and we hope it will pick up next week.

The Dish network is working well and we are enjoying it. It is a good thing we have it as there is not tv reception.

We can only stay at the Narrows for 14 days and then have to move to another park. We are moving to Baileys Point next Friday for 14 days but will not be able to leave our boat in the water as they don’t have a Marina. Maybe the fish will start biting.

We are looking next to our old west adventure. We are heading for Napa Valley. We are staying home the month of June to get ready for the trip. We will be gone until we are ready to come home.

Well everyone, that is all I have for now. I well let you know how the Barren fishing turns out.

Jack

Well the rest of the story is; Price Satellite called me and said “with the type of dish I have on the Motor Home, no service will work. Well I found that hard to believe, so I wrote Winegard Satellite Company and gave them my model number of my dish and told them what I had been told. Well they sent me back an answer that said my dish would work with Direct TV or Dish. I took the RV over to Danville to Digital on Demand and told them I wanted service for the RV. He asked which one I wanted and I said Dish and he said ok and 1 hour later, it was in. I did call back Price Satellite and told him about so he would not lose business again.

I do have to point the dish at one satellite for most of the stations and another satellite for others. However, I had expected to do this. So I came home and checked it out and it was easy.

Mission accomplished:

Jack

Ok, just a note to say the Satellite works great in Tunica. The cable at the camp ground was not good, but the dish worked great, even in a strong wind.

Please feel free to comment each day and ask questions.

Jack Preston

Jack and Linda