It’s been three weeks since we left Kentucky in our RV, Felix, and I figure it’s about time to report on how the trip’s gone so far. Here are the numbers:

Days out: 22

Miles driven: 806

Nights in an RV park: 5

Nights in a state park: 13

Nights in a truck stop: 4

Diesel used: 91.4 gallons (This translates into 8.82 mpg, and that includes 4 days of running the generator non-stop while we were at the truck stop AND driving in the Ozark mountains. So, not bad!)

The first leg of the trip was from Hopkinsville to St. Louis. There were a couple of family events we didn’t want to miss. We’d planned to leave around 10:00 that morning, but when I woke up at 5, I checked the weather and rain was predicted to start around 9.

Felix is 40′ long, and its front wheels were not on the concrete pad but instead, sitting in mud because it had been raining off and on most of the week before. We didn’t want to chance getting stuck, so we upped the departure time and had the RV buttoned up, disconnected, and all four wheels on the asphalt road there at the mobile home park by 8:20. The rain actually began earlier than expected, falling steadily around 8. We got soaked connecting the car trailer and getting the car all strapped in and secured, but we were on the road by 8:45.

I learned a big lesson that first day, and that is to research the roads of the GPS directions PRIOR to heading out. If I had done that, we wouldn’t have driven on the yellow-coded roads of the road atlas, which are narrow, 2-lane county roads with no shoulder room, all the way from Paducah, KY, all along the southern tip of Illinois, to Cairo, where it finally linked up with the bridge that took us across the Mississippi River and into Missouri. Dave called it a “pucker factor of 8.” I was never so happy to see an interstate as I was when we got to I-55 in Cape Girardeau!

After four fun days with family we opted to head southwest on I-44, aka Route 66, to Meramec State Park. Mondays are a great time to arrive because all the weekenders have left, and we were able to get a site with full hook-ups (electricity, water and sewer) for a discounted senior citizen rate. We’d never been to this park before and overshot the campsite, going down a dead end road where there was no room to turn our 60′ rig around without a lot of back and forth. It was about a 6- or 7-point turn. Without going into lengthy detail, let’s just say Felix has a slight boo-boo on its rear right corner.

Someone must have seen our predicament, because just as we got all straightened out again, one of the volunteer workers rode up in his golf cart. Our car hauler is 20′ long and our campsite wasn’t long enough for it, and Felix, and the car, so he helped us find a place to disconnect and park it for the time we were going to be there. We were grateful to get the trailer disconnected and relieved to finally get set up at our campsite. I felt terrible about leading Dave down a dead end road and what ended up happening to Felix, but it was an accident and luckily for me, Dave doesn’t hold grudges.

Our 4-day stay there was uneventful (that’s always a good thing.) We went into the closest town (Sullivan) only once to get supplies and mail something at the post office; otherwise, we remained at the park and Biscuit and I hiked a couple of trails. We were astonished to learn that firewood could be ordered off the Internet and delivered to one’s campsite because that’s exactly what our neighbor did.

Large, mature hickory trees grew all over the park and shaded the campsites. One day a front came through and the wind and rain caused a deluge of hickory nuts to fall. When they hit Felix’s roof, they sounded like bowling balls! Ah, the joys of camping.

Turns out October is a very popular time to camp in state parks, what with fall breaks from school and the leaves beginning their annual showy pageant. Other campers began arriving in droves on Thursday and we were grateful to be leaving the next day. We pulled out of our site around 9 in the morning and headed to the boat ramp parking lot where we’d left the trailer.

The process of hooking up the trailer and getting the car on it isn’t hard, but it is rather involved. And by this time the jack, which had gotten buggered when we first got the trailer, was even worse. It was getting harder and harder to crank it up and down; getting it fixed would have to be sooner rather than later.

The hooking up process seemed to go smoothly, nevertheless. The two ramps had been pulled out for the car to drive up on, but instead of me being ON the trailer directing Dave like I usually was, I remained alongside it, making sure the car’s wheels were centered on the ramps. Was I glad I wasn’t on the trailer! For when the front wheels cleared the ramp and started on the trailer, the back of it tilted, hit the ground with a thud, and the trailer coupler lifted off the ball. We’d forgotten to put the in the safety pin! It sure was embarrassing! Thank goodness there were no witnesses. That was another lesson learned early on in this adventure.

Sheepishly we went on our way, silently admonishing ourselves for being so stupid, and then stopped in Sullivan to top off the fuel before heading to our next stop, Springfield, where we’d located both a trailer repair facility and a Flying J where we’d wait while the trailer jack was being fixed.

Believe it or not, I was looking forward to staying at a truck stop. We are on somewhat of a budget, and this saves us about $25 a night. It’s well-lit and safe, and this particular Flying J had several yummy eateries (Cinnabon, Aunt Annie’s pretzels and a Wendy’s), great coffee, and a place to do laundry. At truck stops we can’t put out the slides and we don’t have utility hook-ups, but those are minor inconveniences. We ran the generator for the four days and nights we were there, and that 16-year-old work horse performed beautifully.

The following Tuesday we picked up the trailer, now outfitted with an electric jack and drove an hour south to Table Rock State Park near Branson. My brother and sister-in-law were coming down to meet us for a few days.

We’d never been to this state park either and it turned out to be the best possible place to stay in the Branson area. It’s close enough to be convenient, but far enough removed to be peaceful. Our campsite had electricity but no water or sewer, so we were dependent on the shower house, which fortunately was right next to us. One of the hiking trails was right alongside the campground, so Biscuit and I had a nice 2-mile walk nearly every day we were there (which turned out to be 8.) We wanted to stay longer because the fall foliage hadn’t come anywhere close to reaching its peak, but someone else reserved our spot so we had to leave yesterday.

Hot Springs was our destination, and we crossed the state line into Arkansas just a few minutes after leaving Table Rock; it’s that close. 200 miles, mostly on State Highway 65 was a leisurely ride and it took a little more than five hours to get to Cloud 9 RV Park, which really refers more to its elevation (812′) than a comparison to heaven.

We signed on to spend a week here so that Dave can drive down to Kingsland, less than 90 miles south, and take care of family business. The pups and I will be fine. Campers are mighty friendly people and there’s always something to be learned in conversation.

On a walk yesterday afternoon I met a new friend, Beth. She is a single woman who’s rather new to full-time RV living. She’s traveling with a group of other single RVers. Her story of how she decided to get into RVing intrigued me, and we had a pleasant conversation about the lifestyle, particularly the minimizing part. She said she still had too many clothes; I said I still had too many shoes. Her eyes lit up as she told me about a footstool she bought that holds six pairs of shoes. Really?!

Yep, already this trip has revealed lessons and I’m certain there are more in store. Even at our age, we’re discovering we’re never too old to learn. Until next time…!