Our time in Osage Beach with our friends Roger and Mary went by too fast! Our journeys have gone in different directions after just a taste over a month traveling together. We shall miss them, but hope to see them in the future.
Last week, when we arrived in Osage Beach, Missouri, we didn't quite know what to do for the five nights that we were to stay there. Well, we found a couple of things to kill some time....
Tuesday was a shopping day at the local Outlet Mall. Not a bad place, and we found several things that we couldn't live without, such as....
The strawberries, probably; the bacon, maybe; the peppers....probably not.
Wednesday was a golf day for Roger and I. Immediately across the street from Osage Beach RV Park is a great course called Bear Creek Valley, so of course we had to check it out! This course is phenomenal! Lots of elevation changes, lots of water and sand hazards, coupled with a kinda screwy course layout made for an interesting game. Add to that the temp of 93 deg, with a 92% humidity reading, and you had a "feels like" of 103! We were very happy to get to the cold water and soda!
Donna and Mary went shopping again.....and again....and had a good time.
Thursday was our "fixit" day. The temps were again predicted to be very high, so Donna and I stayed indoors with the ac's running, and took the opportunity to replace the electric motor that operates the window shade at the windshield of Nessie. Several days ago the motor quit, and we've been clipping an old sheet up to get a little privacy. The manufacturer, MCD, in McKinney, Texas shipped us a new motor overnight, and promised us that it would be "cake" to install. Well.....
We had to remove a number of pieces, rearrange some electrical, replace the motor and reinstall the whole works, only to find out that it didn't work. Down it all came again, fussing all the while, reinstall all the new parts (reading the instructions this time), and putting the shade back up in the window. Voila! It works!
Today, Friday the 22nd of September, we left Missouri on our westward journey home. Since Osage Beach is roughly in the center of the state, equidistant from several metropolitan areas, we've decided to explore some of the lesser known (at least to us) highways and towns as we travel. We've burnt up most of the east-west interstates, so it makes sense to see what's off the beaten path.
About a 1/2 mile from Osage Beach RV Park we merged onto US Highway 54, west toward Wichita, Kansas. We passed through a whole bunch of towns where we said to ourselves "why do people live way out here?" Roach, Mack's Creek, and Weaubleau went past; then Collins and El Dorado Springs. One hundred twenty five miles into the journey, we found ourselves in Nevada, (MO), and then crossed the line into Kansas.
You know about Kansas....
One hundred seventy two miles west of Osage Beach we rolled into Iola, Kansas.
The town began in 1859, when a site was chosen for a new town at the confluence of Elm Creek and the Neosho River. The site was owned in part by J.F. Coburn, whose wife's name was Iola......Get it? The latest census places the population of Iola at 5,704 people, who enjoy hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters.
We're firmly planted in site 33 of the Iola RV Park and Storage business. The office serves both sides, and when I went in to check in, two nice gentlemen were enjoying the cool air conditioning and watching afternoon game shows. The park is part of the Passport America system, of which we are members, so we only had to pay $12.50 for the privilege of staying one night. Full utilities are provided, the sites are level and open, and the neighbors are friendly. What more could we want?
In spite of the heat, Sasha and I went on a long walk around the park perimeter this afternoon. She particularly liked the "dog comfort area" in the shade of a bunch of trees! As you can tell, Fall is just around the corner in these parts...Oh, wait. the Equinox was at 3:00 pm (central) today!
Happy Fall!
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