Fall Break Camping with the Grands

We took a trip back to Arkansas and stayed at the Wanderlust RV park once again.
This time we had a full house.
My mom and step-dad made the trip as well.
The Wanderlust RV park has some wonderful little cabins on their property, and we were able to get a cabin for my mom and dad to stay in.









Our son, daughter-in-law and 2 grand kids also came along for the trip.
The grands haven't "camped" before, so it was time they got to check everything out, and since it was the kids Fall Break, what a better time to do just that.











Eureka Springs is a great place to explore.
The weather was just perfect, and allowed us to have evening camp fires.
The smores were cooked over the camp fires.
One evening we even popped pop corn.










We traveled the trolley downtown and shopped.
We drove to the train depot, and took a short train ride on a very old train.











The conductor was a lot of fun....he even asked our grand daughter to marry him.
Her reaction was priceless!











The trailer accommodated the group fairly well.
The kitchen would get a bit cramped, but once I let my mom know that I had it under control and all she had to do is sit and relax, all was good!!!



The grands actually liked staying at my moms cabin better than sleeping in the top bunk of the trailer.

The grands got to go on scavenger hunts and look for bears and all the things you do when you camp.
Our dog Bronco enjoyed being led around by the kids as well.















It was just nice to get away and spend some quality time with the people that we love.

Fall break is over and it is time to go back to the real world way too soon.

Big Bertha and Big Bertha's Sister Explore Eureka Springs. (9-6-15)

So far I think the Zip Line was the favorite thing we have done so far this trip, but today we are going to take a ride over to Missouri and see some friends of Chris & Diana's.
Their friends have a place over they that the park and leave the RV during the summer.











Beautiful day for a ride so we hit the road with a destination in mind.
Before we left I got a picture of our "buddy" spot with the bikes in it.
This really has been a great set up for us.




Our ride takes us through a town called "Blue Eye", which I thought was such an unusual name.
Little did I know that they had a reunion in this small town, and they even had a banner to prove it.  LOL

We find the Ozarks RV Resort and get directions at the office to the friends location.

They have a really nice and somewhat permanent set up. 

The outdoor kitchen and bar area is quite nice. 

We talked and got familiar with the area and they gave us a few ideas of places we should see around the area

They mentioned Big Cedar Lodge and said the food was really good there so with that in our mind we make plans for lunch 

Glad we got to come by and check out their home away from home. 

Back on the bikes we head back towards Blue Eye. 

We then head in a northerly direction to find Big Cedar Lodge.

Within 30-45 minutes we are our lunch destination.

The Devil's Pool Restaurant was having a brunch today. 

It was very tasty.

The whole area was so pretty and we are so glad we got to see just a small portion of the area.

There is so much history in this area, and I think it's wonderful that the owner of Bass Pro felt he wanted the area to flourish and keep a lot of it just the way it was back in the earlier years.

Table Rock Lake sure makes a picturesque backdrop for this beautiful area.

We get back on the bikes and start back towards Eureka Springs.

It was only about an hour and a half drive back.

As I write this, I realize that we actually went to the pool this afternoon after we got back, not like I posted in yesterday's blog. Oops!

It was fairly warm by the time we get back and the pool was a nice site to see.

The water was a bit cold, but after you finally get enough nerve to go it, it feels wonderful.

The guys decide to go ahead and load the bikes and start getting ready to pull out in the morning.

Let me tell you, it's a bit scary watching them pull the bikes into the trailers.  

We are on the crest of the hill, and this makes the ramp to the garage fairly high in the air.

At home we were able to extend the front jacks to make the back dip down for easy loading.

This location wasn't as easy.

They both got them in and I wish I would have gotten a video of it.

Next time I will be sure to do that. :)

Since Diana and Chris hadn't experienced the Crescent Hotel, we jumped in Big Bertha and drove downtown.

The hotel was fairly busy as they usually are.

We got to see the statue of Jesus across the treetops.  

It's a breathtaking site.

Driving Big Bertha through the small and winding streets of Eureka Springs isn't for the faint of heart.  

I'm glad I was in the back so I didn't see how close to the cars we actually come.

Chuck did great and didn't hit a one!

Back to the trailers to eat today's meal.

Diana tried a new recipe we had seen and it was smelling wonderful.

We have an awesome dinner at the trailer.

The new recipe with beans and roast was really good.

After dinner we walked the park one last time.

We have enjoyed our stay at the Wanderlust RV Park and will come back again.

I have tried to get a picture of a sign they have in the park and every time I try to get it, there are always cars parked around it.

Tonight I finally got the picture. 

Cars were still in the way, but I was able to get it anyway.

I think the words are great and something we should all remember.

Time to get some rest because we have to head back to the real world tomorrow.

Goodnight 

Big Bertha and Big Bertha's Sister Explore Eureka Springs. (9-5-15)

When we first started planning this trip, Diana had mentioned that there was a Zip Line in Eureka Springs!
Over dinner last night, we discussed all of us doing the Zip Line.
Over breakfast the discussion came up again, and it was decided that the guys would go down and get the tickets when the store opens.

The guys ride downtown to the Zip Line place, and Diana and I work on a small project she had wanted to get done.
Seems the windows in both of their doors are not frosted.
While visiting Camping World she picked up some of the static cling frosted material to put on them.
We got our paper out and traced the windows out.
Diana got her scissors in gear and before you know it she had one cut out.
I gave her a helpful hint on installing the film.
It is a lot easier to move around if you use something like sudsy water or window cleaner on the surface.
It makes it a breeze to make it fit even better.
We had both doors done by the time the guys got back from downtown.





Diana had gotten a text from Chris saying we are going on the first zip line group of the day.
We have to be at the store at 10:30am to get fit with our gear, and ride to the staging area.
We got in gear, and as the guys returned, we got on the back of their bikes and headed to our 10:30am appointment (with death??!!!!)  only kidding!








Here is the link to the Zipline Eureka Springs
Of course you have to fill out the paperwork before anything else happens.
We are then told to go into this other area and they will get our equipment sized and installed on us properly.















We have 2 really nice guys that are in charge of our group this morning and immediately they are cracking jokes and kidding with the group.
Our group is made up of 4 couples (including us) and a man with his 2 daughters, and his parents.
As we ride to the staging area, everyone is fairly quiet....but truthfully we are just holding on and trying not to fall off our seat in the bus.
I am not saying they drove wild, but with curves and bumps, it was definitely a trip you had to make sure you were paying attention to or you might end up on the ground.  LOL
The first part of the zip line is 3 or 4 short zips.
We will actually do a total of 10 zips and reach speeds of about 60 MPH.








Our guides were very helpful with getting us hooked on the line and explained everything quite well.
Getting the hang of the hand break and knowing when you need to use it was about the only thing you really needed to remember, and of course holding your feet up aka crossing your feet.

Wow, this is fun...and by the time we get the small ones down, it is time to graduate to the longer ones.
We even walk over a suspension bridge to get to one of the staging areas.

Our group of people were a bit more talkative and were really having fun as we all took our turns to hook on and zip the lines.

Each line gets a little longer, and before we know it we are about 200 feet over a canyon and zipping along a 1800 foot zip line.






Wow is all I can say.
It really was fun looking around and seeing all the green tops of the trees under you just like clouds in the sky.

I never was sure if it would bother me to be that high in the air, but I can truly say, it never entered my mind as they latch you on the line and you zip to the other side.
Chuck took a video of me, and said I nervously chewing my gum, but I really don't think I was ever scared.
You just have to remember to brake if they hold their hand up for you to do it.






On on the the longest zips, when I get over to Diana she tells me that her lanyard on her IPhone had broken, and as she got to the landing platform and uncrossed her legs, she heard something drop.
You guessed it, it was her phone.
It actually landed on the platform and dropped off the edge.
It didn't fall 2 feet, but you can imagine what we thought about.
Can you see it....all of us calling her phone down in a canyon and trying to find it with "find my phone"....and then of course realizing it was wedged in a tree somewhere with probably wild monkeys making overseas calls to their monkey family in other countries....OK. well, maybe not wild monkeys....LOL
She is a very lucky girl is all I can say.
Sure did make me tuck mine a little more tightly the next zip!





Our 2 hour tour of the tree tops is over before we know it.
We all truly had a great time....well.....actually Chuck was singing soprano due to his harness not staying in place...and you can imagine the conversation we had on that matter....LOL





We get back in the bus and make the mad dash back to the store.
They have another group right after us, so time is of the essence!!!  
Again, I am holding on for dear life to stay in my seat.
Our guides direct us to the staging room and we remove our equipment.

Great time for sure...would do it again in a heart beat...and if you find yourself in Eureka Springs, it really should be on your list of things to do.

Of course it is lunch time, and we have to make our usual stop at Grandma's Beans and Cornbread.
A trip to Eureka Springs just isn't a trip unless you go there.

The food was as good as ever....and of course the cobbler and ice cream was divine as well.

We walk to the leather store that is next door, and spy a couple of really cute skull purses.
We are not convinced that we need them, so we don't purchase at this time, but you know there is always tomorrow.
The Harley Dealership has moved and it is just up the hill so Diana and I walk and the guys move the bikes up there as well.

It was a pretty quick run through at the dealership, but as we walk out we see this store that we had been told to go to.
It is called The Spice Boat, and next door is Fresh Harvest.
Its obvious what the Spice Boat is but Fresh Harvest, well, it is a Balsamic Vinegar shop.
It was really cool to see what they have infused with the vinegar.
They have little cups that you can test all the different flavors with.
It was pretty interesting, but as we looked at the guys faces as they walked in, we knew it was going to be a quick browse and go type of thing.

The Spice Boat had quite a few nice folding utensils for the trailer.

You know the type, the space saving ones.
Diana and I both purchased this really cool chopping thingy...
Its called a Swiss Pull Chop, and you just put the stuff in to chop and you pull the cord, like you are starting a lawn mower...LOL
Look out  salsa....theres a new kid in town.

Its time to head back to camp and take a dip in the pool.
After we take a dip, its time to think dinner.
I had made some turkey chili, and we put it in the crock pot earlier to warm up, so we know what is on the menu for this evening.

We finish our meal, and walk around the camp site again.
Couldn't help ourselves so we had to get a pictures of us with Yoda.

Enjoyed our new experience of Zip Lining  today, and all the rest of the day was fun as well.

Time to get some rest, so I will say good night!

Big Bertha and Big Bertha's Sister Explore Eureka Springs (9-4-15)

Seems that everyone got a good nights rest, and I am going to attempt to put a breakfast casserole in the oven and fix for everyone this morning.

Source

First things first, lighting the oven.

Had to get Chris to come over and show us how this is done.

Success....we have fire  ;)

I had bought some of the disposable aluminum pans thinking this would make clean up very easy.

Cooked the casserole the allotted time and looks really good.

As I put a spoon in it for serving, I notice that it hasn't cooked evenly.

Looks like its going to be a brown bottom casserole  :(

Everyone ate it, but I really wasn't happy with my morning meal.

Diana is fixing a crock pot of stew for dinner tonight, so she has got it all ready to cook while we are away.

When we checked in last night, the owners at the Wanderlust RV Park, gave us a few tips on areas we may have not ridden.
I have to say we are veterans to the area, and most of the roads have been explored, but I think they have shown us one that we haven't been on.

With that information, we plot our ride for the morning.

Chuck has messed with our satellite last night and started again this morning.
He is a bit frustrated to say the least.
We have exchanged receivers with Chris and Diana's and even put their satellite up in place of ours. 
Maybe the trees in the RV park is our issue and especially the one directly in our path of the satellite??!!!!












Time to get on the bikes and go for a ride.
We make our way to the spot in the road called "Osage AR".
There is a place called Osage Clayworks  and I would love to see what it's all about.
The ride to Osage was very nice.
The windy roads were so relaxing, and of course just breathing the air and the smell of Sweet Autumn Clematis along the way was even more of a bonus.

The Osage Clayworks was an interesting place, and the pottery was really nice.
A lady was sitting at the potters wheel learning how to make a pot with the helpful guidance of a gentleman that was a local I assumed.
He was quite patient with her, and showed her some tricks they use to get the pots so straight.
One of these days, I would like to try it!!!










As we start to leave the gentleman that owned to place asked if we had ever eaten at Low Gap.

Funny he asked,(do you think he thought we looked lost)  as I was actually trying to get a signal on my phone to google the location.
He was so kind and gave us the directions to get there.






Looks like we are going to Low Gap Cafe for lunch.

The ride was absolutely great.
We travel over the mountainous area, and enjoy the shade that the trees and mountain is providing, as the temperature keeps rising.







Before we know it, we are at Low Gap Cafe.
Man, if you blink you will miss it!!!

There was no waiting line, in fact, there was only one other couple in the cafe as we made our way through the front door.

The people at the cafe and even the people that we eating there were so friendly.
I guess this is quite a well known place to eat.

We enjoyed the food and even had dessert.
They tempted us all with this beautiful very large piece of chocolate cake.
I am a sucker for chocolate cake...so of course we had to share a piece.
Chris had coconut cream pie that looked just as yummy.
Now that we are miserably full, we will get back on the bikes and head back towards Berryville.








Now if you are not pronouncing Berryville correctly you WILL be corrected....you say it like this.... Burrie-vel....with a slight accent.  (haha...learned this a few years ago)....can't help myself, have to pronounce like the locals do.

Diana & Chris are having TV issues so we are going to stop at Berryville at the Walmart to check out what they might have to replace theirs.
They scoped out the TV's and figured out which one they wanted so we will go back to Eureka Springs and get the truck and come back to pick it up.





The day is getting quite warm, so it was good to get back to the park, and get into the air conditioned truck.
Back to Berryville we go.
You know how Walmart is, you can never go in there and not purchase something.
Seems we needed DEF for Big Bertha, so of course we purchased some.
The TV was purchased as well.


Back at camp, Chris starts removing the old TV and replaces it with the new one.
The stew that has cooked all day is really smelling good!
Before you know it we are sitting down for a delicious dinner.

There have been a lot of people move into the RV Park today and looks like it is pretty full.
We decide to take a walk around and check out the other homes away from home.
Nothing like being a nosy neighbor  :)
Diana and I had signed up on RVillage, and we see that there is someone at the park that has said hello to us, so we go and seek them out and say hello.
Enjoyed meeting them and sharing a few stories.

All in all this was a really nice day....
Looks like we have plans to Zip Line tomorrow....so stay tuned....
Goodnight  :)

Big Bertha and Big Bertha's Sister Explore Eureka Springs (9-3-15)

Do you have any plans for Labor Day?
We do, and it involves two 42' Fifth Wheels, 2 Goldwings, and a couple of monster trucks to get us to our destination.
Our plans are set in stone...LOL, and we head out on Thursday morning to our destination of Eureka Springs, AR.
Reservations have been made at the Wanderlust RV Park in Eureka Springs.
We are so excited to be actually taking a longer trip and spend some time enjoying the sites of Arkansas.

The reservations were made a couple of weeks ago, and Diana handled all this.
The lady at the Wanderlust RV Park was quite thorough with all her questions.
She is actually putting us in a "buddy" site.
This should be awesome.

Our bags are packed and we are on the road by around 10am.
This is officially the first time that we have put Snow the Goldwing in the garage area of the trailer, and she is tightened down and ready to roll as well.













We meet up with Diana & Chris on I-40 around Choctaw Road.
They weren't hard to spot pulling that long thing.  :)

Traffic is pretty heavy, but we make our way through it all, until......









Seems we have met up with a funeral procession.
Must be someone pretty important, because as we drive by the town of Shawnee, there are police officers out by their cars, saluting as the funeral procession goes by.

Some of the officers jump in the first car in the line of the saluting officers, and puts on their lights, and speeds to catch up with the procession.

Imagine this with a line a mile long of traffic behind us.
Now the new addition to the procession pulls into the center of both lanes and doesn't allow anyone to pass.
If you don't think this hasn't bottled up a highway!!!
This goes on for quite a few miles, and finally, one of the front cars to the procession pulls out of line, and takes over the last position.
At this point, he pulls into the outside lane and allows all the cars to start passing the procession.
I hope you can understand what I am trying to say, but gosh, this was quite an ordeal.
(Diana googles to see who the person might be that passed, and she finds out it was Terry Gregg.
He was a Senior Law Enforcement Special Agent know  as the Oklahoma Cowboy Cops)
and it looks like we was part of his funeral procession.

Diana & Chris later tell us that they thought there was going to be a wreck as these two cars were having a bit of an altercation.
We finally get to pull out and get back to a reasonable speed.


By this time, Chuck has had a full blown allergy attach, and he is miserable.
I haven't equipped Big Bertha with any Kleenex or anything yet, and we are going to have to make a stop and get something out of the trailer.
Finally he pulls over at a rest stop, and I go back to our rolling home and find something quickly.
Can't remember where the Kleenex are so TP paper will have to do!



We are driving the route that the nice people at Wanderlust RV Park emailed to us.
They said there are some low bridges going some of the other ways, and we sure don't want to rake off an air conditioner or anything else along the way!!!









Big Bertha and her sister did very well.
We made it to our campsite and followed the owners as they directed us to our sites.
We are on #54 and #55...buddy style!






Setting up is getting a lot easier.
Just have to remember what to do and when.
The guys unload the bikes and we get our home away from home all set up.








It is decided that we will just eat at the campsite tonight.
Diana charcoaled brats and we had a very nice first meal at the Wanderlust RV Park.



We actually have a great spot and got a real nice view of the Arkansas sunset.

A good day is a good day
A bad day is a good story
At the end of the day, It's all Good.  :)
Goodnight world.