US 36 IL to KS What a Nice Ride

 September 15-23, 202

Thursday morning jacks up and we’re heading west to CO. This year we are following US 36 across MO and KS. Our first day was an uneventful 200 miles to Ray Behrens COE on Mark Twain Lake near Monroe City MO. We were here in 2018 with our friends Curt and Glenda, at that time we had a wooded site with quite the grade. This time we had a full hookup site with an open shot for our satellite service and Verizon was great, we could see a cell tower from our site. Ray Behrens is a beautiful campground with sites to fit everyone’s needs. Definitely, a place we’d come back to again.

Site 1A full hookups

The next day we headed into Hannibal MO to the Mark Twain Cave. While it’s a dry cave and has only a few very tiny formations the storytelling was interesting. The cave has many signatures from the 1800s to mid-1900s, one notable signature that they just recently found was Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain. All along the tour, the guide was telling the story of when Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher were lost for 3 days in the cave. We enjoyed the tour and were glad to add another cave tour to our long list of visited caves.

Afterward, we had hoped to go to the Mark Twain Brewery that we enjoyed back in 2018, alas the building has been sold and they have yet to open up somewhere else.

Saturday we headed down the road to Wallace State Park in Cameron MO, 170 miles and we arrives safely. Our site was a 30amp water-only site, which is fine for a night or two. Looking at the forecasted 100* weather coming we decided to make some changes to our plans. Instead of 2 nights we only stayed overnight. Wallace SP is a nice small park, family-friendly and busy on Saturday.

Site 70 water and electric (30amp)

Sunday we got up and on the road as we had 250 miles to travel. Our original plan had been to visit Rock Creek Station State Historical Park to see some friends nearby. Ends up they weren’t going to be in the area by then, since it was a 30amp site we wouldn’t be able to run both ACs to combat the high temps. Instead, we headed to Glen Elder State Park in Glen Elder Kansas on Waconda Lake. Another uneventful drive day, I’m enjoying not being on the interstate and taking red roads. We booked a 50amp with water site for 4 nights and 4 bars of Verizon signal. It’s in the middle of nowhere so bring what you need. They offer extended stays here, we saw lots of RVs that appeared to be more seasonal guests, but the majority of them had no utilities.

Nearby is Cawkers City, home of the largest ball of twine. Of course, we had to go check it out and of course, there’s always a geocache to be found near these types of places. Across the street from the twine was an old gas station that had been fixed up as lodging.

About 30 miles away is the Geographic Center of the Continuous United States, of course, we had to make the drive to see it.

We enjoyed morning walks around the campground, unfortunately, they were under a fire ban so no campfires. Definitely, a place we’d stay at again if in the area.

A short 110-mile ride found us arriving at Prairie Dog State Park in Norton KS for a two-night stay.

Site 2 water and electric (50 amp)

When I made our reservation I realized we would be near some of our Gulf Waters family, Francy, and Dale. Another 35 miles down US 36 was their town of Oberlin KS, where we enjoyed lunch and the grand tour of the town.

Francy's Bargain Box, a very nice thrift store

This is as far west on US 36 as we will go this year. What a pleasure it has been riding on this “red” road. We picked up US 36 in Springfield IL where it is part of I72 until the MO/IL border. I can see us driving this way to CO again.

In the morning we head into Colorado Springs where we have visits planned with our son and friends from AZ.

Until next time....

Missouri Waters

September 13-17 , 2018

It was with great anticipation that we made the 215 mile uneventful ride to Ray Behrens COE near Monroe City MO. We were meeting up with our friends Curt & Glenda and going to be traveling together for 3 weeks as we both headed south, they to AZ and us to TX. Things went well until we went to level the 5th wheel, the front jacks went all the way down. Now that in itself isn’t a problem but it twisted the bolt on the JT Strongarm stabilizers, so much so that we had to bring the front up and remove the stabilizer bar on one side. We’ll be getting that taken care of when we get to our place in TX. Our site was really wooded, very sloped downward to the back and had a skinny drive, no satellite signal but our Verizion worked great. If we are ever back to Ray Behrens we’ll get a site in a different loop.

Site 134

Before too long Curt & Glenda pulled into their site across the street from us, let the fun times begin!! Dinner and a fire, catching up and planning for the next few weeks, before we knew it, it was getting late and the mosquitos were getting bad. 

Ray Behrens has a short 2.5 mile trail that we walked earlier in the morning before the heat and humidity got too bad. We decided this was the Mushroom and Spiderweb trail. 

Glenda suggested a boat ride on the Mississippi River so the next day we headed to Hannibal MS, home of Mark Twain.

 Along with the boat ride we spent time walking the downtown area where chocolates and cheese made their way home with us.

  

Of course Curt and I had to get a geocache in, thanks Glenda for reminding us.

 A stop at the Mark Twain Brewery for a late lunch rounded out a fun day in Hannibal MO.

Our next stop was in Osage Beach at Osage Beach RV Park, a short 132 miles away. By appearances it was once a KOA, the current owners have had it for a year and are making changes. We had a Big Rig site that was a backin with decent enough spacing between rv's. Full hookups and cable for $45/night a bit pricey but for a late reservation it was fine considering Bike Fest (motorcycle rides) was going on. A day to do chores and another to explore.

Site 33

Our exploration took us out on the water, we rented a pontoon boat and once again Captain Curt kept us safe while we explored Lake of the Ozarks. On a warm humid day it was a great way to keep cool, at least until we stopped for our picnic lunch. Our 4 hour cruise went off without a hitch, before we knew it we were back at the dock. Thanks to Getaway Boat Rentals for a great boat at a reasonable price.

Dave and Curt enjoy sharing beers together and trying new ones wherever we go. Dave has finally found another use for his phone. He's now using the Untapped app to rate beers, if you're on Untapped friend him to see what he's got to say about beer. 

How to keep the flies out of your beer 

While traveling the back roads of Missouri we came up behind this tractor, it certainly amused us all.

Until next time...