a better than "OK" Trip

Friday, January 13, 2012

I left work a tad early, so that we could head to Durant, Oklahoma for the MLK Holiday Weekend. Tony had the day off Monday, so I took it off as well. We hooked up and headed out about 5:45PM. We had no issues driving the approx. 2 hours, and arrived at the Choctaw KOA approximately 8PM.  It was expected to dip below freezing, so we had to get the heat going pretty quickly. We filled the freshwater tank, so we'd have water overnight. We settled in and enjoyed the views out the window... We were in the last RV site of the first row, and had a great view of the Choctaw Casino Hotel. The exterior of the hotel has special colored lighting that constantly changes... It's mesmerizing! The only bad thing about this site was the distance away from the office; we had little or no WIFI, so that is why the blog didn't get updated while we were on the trip.

Driving in, view of the Choctaw Casino Hotel

Watching the light show out the window of Mammoth

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Today we took it easy, enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, then went exploring around the Durant area. We drove around the town of Durant. The historic downtown looks as if it is being revitalized... we picked up a map at the KOA office, suggesting so. We also saw the Durant United Methodist Church, built in the early 1920s. We also drove by the campus of South Eastern Oklahoma State University. It reminded us very much of our alma mater, ETSU, in Commerce, TX.

Durant First United Methodist Church

We then headed towards Calera, south of the Casino, and stopped in at "The Peanut Shoppe", a store specializing in candy and nut creations, such as peanut brittle and pecan logs. They had everything you could have imagined, though! Too many choices! We made some selections, and then headed back home.

The Peanut Shoppe

The day was perfect, in the high 60s and sunny, so Tony cooked hotdogs on the grill...not just any hotdogs, Omaha Steak hotdogs, that we received for Christmas from my aunt and uncle. They were delicious! Tony told me not to get spoiled, they were probably some high-dollar dogs. LOL! We even put the awning out on the rig... something we rarely get to do, due to wind/weather.

Cookin' Dogs with the awning out

After lunch, we went for a walk around the RV Park. We are at the back of the park, and there is a small pond not far from the edge of the park. I don't believe it's park-owned. Whoever does own it though,  had lots of guests! There were many ducks and a large flock of Canada geese on or near the pond. As we continued our walk, we noticed a Montana 5ver with water underneath, and water running from the site. We tried to look carefully to make sure this wasn't a horrible flooding incident... no, it looked like just a dripping hose. It may have been dripping a while though, as it looked far worse than it was.

The Pond

After circling the majority of the park, we decided to stop in at the park office. They had a Pirit (pronounced "Pirate") Heated Hose for a good price, so we decided to pick it up. The hose has a thermostat that activates heat when the outside temps get below 45 degrees. One of the issues we would need to address, though, is that the thermostat is at the male end of the hose. The male end of the hose typically attaches to the RV, in an enclosed area. We have read that this may cause the thermostat to not turn on, when the hose is actually exposed to lower temps outside. The solution is to add male/female conversions to each end, essentially swapping the ends, so that the thermostat is at the end that attaches to the supply faucet. The parts to do this are not that expensive, and can be found at most hardware stores, so we were not worried.

Later that evening, we took the complimentary shuttle and headed over to the Choctaw Casino. The World Series of Poker was going on, so the Casino was pretty busy. We ate dinner at the Casino Buffet, and then played for a while.

It was a nice relaxing day.

Sunset on the Mammoth, with Casino Hotel, in red

Sunday, January 15, 2012

This morning the wind began to pick up, and it was a little chilly. With the wind blowing at just the right direction, the freight trains traveling nearby seemed MUCH closer. Oh well, we're used to that! Tony decided to go to Durant to find the parts for the Pirit Hose conversion, while I stayed and worked on our church directory layout. We stayed around the RV Park until the afternoon, then went over to the Casino. Tony's folks had said they may come to the Casino, as well. Well, sure enough, not long after we arrived, we found them! We had a good time playing and visiting. Seems if you leave Tony and his dad alone, someone will win money. LOL! After a while, we decided to take our wins/losses and headed back to the Mammoth. Tony made spaghetti, while we watched some of the last playoff football and then our Sunday night shows, then called it quits. No, we didn't win enough to retire to Colorado, but we still had fun.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Today was our "bonus day". Usually a quick weekend trip means we're heading back on Sunday, so to get to stay until Monday was really nice. The wind had really picked up during the night, and was slightly rocking the trailer, so both of us got up early... not by choice! So, after breakfast, we crawled back in bed for a little more Z's. After getting dressed and eating lunch, we started to leisurely get the rig ready to head home. I like these kinds of departures, where the drive isn't so rushed, so we can take more time to do a little more thorough cleaning. The temps were in the 60s, just WINDY! We made sure to re-winterize the Mammoth (add RV-antifreeze to the pipes) so it will be protected from the next cold snap.

Preparing to hit the road

We decided we'd take the Mammoth straight to storage on our way home, so we packed everything up and put most of it in the truck... this makes it faster to complete the drop off when we get to storage. We pulled out about 3:30PM, and got home about 6:15PM.

A great trip with very nice weather. Even though it wasn't long and we didn't win lots of money, we are rich with memories and recharged for whatever comes next.

Dangerous winds delay departure

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Today we were supposed to leave for home, but we were again alerted that dangerous winds were in the forecast starting Friday night, and all day Saturday. There was also a chance of snow and blowing snow. High profile vehicles were advised not to travel over high mountain passes or in the foothills. We decided, that meant the Mammoth needed to "stay put" one more day. Sure enough, we were awakened around 4AM with the winds already beginning to howl. At 5AM, the power went out! A typical RV electrical system is designed to run many items without AC power, instead running off the DC battery source. This DC power would typically run lights, furnace, fridge on gas, water pump, water heater on gas, slide outs and jacks, plus the new heating pads we added. When the rig is plugged into AC Power, the battery is continually charged, and everything works fine. With no AC power, the battery must sustain all these items, and many other items do not work: All 110- volt outlets, the microwave, water heater on electric, fridge on electric and the ceiling fan. We knew our battery was weak, but we didn't anticipate needing to run on battery alone, during this trip. Once the AC power was out, we knew we were in trouble.

Wind blowing snow. Looking this direction, you should see the ski slopes in the distance.

We tried very hard to use as little power as possible, and still run the furnace to keep warm. After a couple of hours, we realized our battery was getting too low, and soon may not run the furnace! Tony hooked up the trailer to the truck and started the truck up, using the truck's electrical connection to the trailer to charge the trailer battery. This worked, but we were using the new charge as soon as we got it, to run the heating pads and furnace. Also during this time, it began to snow and the winds were howling, shaking the trailer and causing white-out conditions with the blowing snow. About 11:00AM we realized we needed to be thinking about a plan B, in case the outage lasted through the evening or night. About 15 minutes later, POWER WAS RESTORED! Thank goodness, because plan B was going to cost us $$$! We ate lunch and took hot showers, and were so very thankful to have electricity. We found out later that a gust of 124mph was recorded in Summit County, were we were. Power was out to most of the town. Cell phone service was interrupted. We were also notified that I-70 was closed for a time due to an accident near Georgetown -- where winds were predicted to be especially bad -- so we were VERY glad we opted not to travel this day!

In the afternoon, we noticed the winds were not quite as bad as they had been in the morning. We also heard that the ski resort had nearly all their lifts closed most of the morning, and now most were back open. We decided to venture into town, and take a tour of Breckenridge Distillery. They make Bourbon, Vodka and a Spiced Rum at this distillery. It was fascinating to hear how much chemistry is involved, as well as time and a little luck, too. We got to taste a sample of their products, as well.

Us in front of the Breckenridge Distillery still.

After returning back to the Mammoth, we took it easy for a while and decided to see if our new friends Dan and Ruth Ann would like to join us for dinner out. We decided to go to a nice steakhouse in Frisco, not too far from Breckenridge. We figured the crowds wouldn't be as bad. Dan and Ruth Ann passed on the dinner, but said yes to getting together later. We drove to Frisco, but couldn't find the restaurant that we were looking for. We ended up at another steakhouse instead: The Blue Spruce Inn - Old Town Steakhouse. We walked in, and happened to get a table! (Reservations are recommended!) We ended up having a wonderful, intimate, delicious meal... I had surf and turf, and Tony had the prime rib. It was amazingly good! Since our wedding anniversary is Jan 1, we decided this was our "Anniversary Meal". It was one to remember.

After dinner, we got together with Dan and Ruth Ann,  played a game, and visited. We decided to call it a night about 9PM since we needed to get back to the rig to start packing up for leaving in the morning. We worked about an hour to store things we didn't need and start to get the rig ready, then hit the hay... remember, we'd been awakened at 4AM, and up since 5AM! Oh well, HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! It's midnight somewhere!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

This morning, we packed up and prepared Mammoth for the journey back. Tony even winterized the pipes (adding RV antifreeze), so we can be ready for any future freezing temps. Even though we left later than we'd like, we were hoping to make it to Amarillo today. We started down I-70 and had no issues, traffic was not too bad and the roads were 99% clear. Many of the areas still had snow on the ground they received the day before we started our journey to Breck!  We saw lots of great scenery along the way, I guess that  made the long-distance drive seem to go by faster. We had no problems during the entire drive to Amarillo, arriving about 10:15PM, at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

Capulin Volcano with snow

About the time we were getting ready to go to bed, Tony got the unfortunate news that his grandmother had passed away. We were not surprised as she had not been doing well before we left, but were under the impression she was doing better. I guess it was her time to finally go home to Heaven, and we are glad she is no longer in pain here on Earth.

Sunset as we drove through New Mexico

Monday, January 2, 2012

We headed out about 8AM, and returned home about 4:30PM. We unloaded Mammoth and crashed. Boy, what a fun time, I'm sad for it to end, but it's also nice to be welcomed home with a flood of meows, purrs and kitty lovin', from our precious cat. (He's 18, and doesn't  like to travel.)

We will definitely return to Tiger Run Resort and Breckenridge!

Now Mammoth needs a BATH!


(Whoops! Pic was to come of Mammoth needing a bath. But Tony gave her one!)

Windy, snowy day and MORE skiing

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Today we were awakened early in the morning hours with howling winds, and blowing snow! By the time we go up and started breakfast, there was at least an inch of snow on the ground. We watched clouds flying by, dumping snow here and there, but mostly, we watched snow blow around, along with anything else not nailed down. We decided to stick close to home and not try to venture out into the wind to go skiing. It would not have been much fun either, as later in the day we saw they had closed a few lifts due to the high winds. These were not your average winds, either! 18mph sustained, with gusts to 50mph+, in some cases. There had also been a warning to those traveling, no high profile vehicles recommended over the high passes and the foothills into Denver. After feeling these winds rock our Mammoth with stabilizers down, I can imagine what that might do while driving.

After the sun came out in the afternoon, we decided to make a run to WalMart, in Frisco, CO just about 5 miles down the road. We bought discout lift tickets and a few other things we needed, then we drove down the Main Street of Frisco. It looks like a noce place to visit and shop, if we had more time.

We headed home, and Tony cooked a wonderful spaghetti meal. We had a little issue with two of the three burners on the stove not wanting to light, be we aren't worried, the weather could be a factor. We have had to refill two propane tanks already this trip, so maybe there is some air in the line causing the issue.

After dinner we watched one of my all-time favorite movies, "Better Off Dead", a teen movie from the 1980's staring John Cusack, that has a skiing theme. One of the noted quotes from the movie, a suggestion on how to ski a dangerous slope: "Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn!" Seems to apply to life, too, sometimes.

All in all, a relaxed day.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Today we got up early and got ready to go to the slopes. Breckenridge had 3 inches of snow, and the day was sunny and temps were milder than usual. We anticipated large crowds would eventually be doing the same thing, too! I had picked up some supplements yesterday (called SportLegz) that are recommended to help keep you from getting leg cramps during exercise, so we took them before hitting the slopes. We have taken them before, and they work! It's just hard to find them in stores when we go skiing. Well, the conditions were great, and the weather was perfect. Only the lift lines became the cramp in our day. We skied 14.3 miles today, and really had a great time.

Me on the lift (in blue)

Lift lines

Peak 8 base area

After we returned home, we had a knock at the door. Our new friend Ruth Ann stopped by to drop off a sweetbread dessert that she had made! We gave her a tour of our coach, messy as it was with ski stuff dumped everywhere. Oh well! You can tell we're right at home in the Mammoth.

After resting a while, we started planning our trip home, and realized there were some weather issues we need to consider. Another Severe Wind Warning was going into effect, and snow was predicted, as well. We decided staying put was in our best interest, so Tony headed up to the office to pay for another night, and I got our water filled again. As I was doing so, another Heartland Owner's Club member pulled in with their Road Warrior. We'll try to go by and meet them tomorrow.

Dinner was wonderful leftovers, and then relaxing, we watched one of the series of "The National Parks -- America's Best Idea" and I worked on the blog.

I can't believe this year is almost over. We've really enjoyed all of our Mammoth travels.

More Skiing and enjoying the RV life.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Today we took a leisurely approach and decided to sleep in and hang around the trailer. We decided to go skiing only a half day today, because our legs were still hurting slightly from before. We ate lunch and headed for the slopes, this time exploring Peak 8 and 9. We had a good time, but we couldn't go quite as long this day. Only 5.2 miles.

View of the slopes from the entrance to Tiger Run

Beaver Run Super Chair at Peak 9

Tony had set up the crock pot with chili-fixins before we left, so when we got back to the trailer, it was filled with the smell of chili! it was great to have another meal ready when we got back. We ate dinner and watched the movie "The Help", which Tony had rented on his iPhone for the trip. It was really good. We watched the news, and were forewarned of extremely high winds and possible snow starting tonight and on into Thursday.

New found slopes, and friends

Monday December 26, 2011

Today we got up and got ready for skiing. We had already scoped out the remote parking, where a shuttle would take us to the gondola, which would take us to the ski slopes. We had no trouble getting to the slopes, and had a great day skiing Peak 7 & 8, including green, blue, and even a black run! Thanks to an iPhone app, Tony tracked our runs and found we skied 7.2 miles.

Driving into town from Tiger Run

Peak 8, not too crowded yet!

Us after a fun day of skiing.

We had a great time, as lift lines weren't near as bad as we'd expected, and the runs were very much to our liking. The snow was not bad either, not too chewed up for this time of year and as little snow as they've had. Tony had prepared the crock pot with a pot roast before we left, so when we got back from skiing, dinner was done!

About the time we finished dinner, there was a knock at the door. Dan, the fellow Heartland 5ver owner, had stopped by to invite us to eat dinner/visit. We decided to pass, but set up a possible plan for tomorrow. We didn't do much the rest of the evening, and our legs were barking, but what a good day!

Tuesday December 27, 2011

Today we decided to give our legs a rest, and go shopping downtown, instead. We had a good lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, and we enjoyed visiting the local artist coop gallery to see unique pieces of local art. We realized that our three-hour time limit was up, so we didn't get to see everything. Oh well, it'll still be there.

Walking down main street, there's a good view of the slopes.

We headed home and took a nap, then met up with Dan and Ann for dinner. After dinner, we had a lovely time visiting them in their 2011 Landmark Rushmore, swapping ski, RV, faith, scrapbooking, golfing and travel related stories. It was really nice!



All over, a blessed day.

Mammoth goes to ski

Friday, December 23, 2011

Today we headed west, with the goal to get to Amarillo, or further if we could. Our final destination was Breckenridge, Colorado, but there were snowstorms in northwestern New Mexico, the corner of Colorado and the panhandle of Texas, that had us concerned. Parts of the highways were closed for a time. We headed out by 6:45am, and made good time. The road to Clayton, NM was closed, and so was our alternate route, further into New Meixco, so we stopped in Amarillo and got to visit family, go out to eat, and then open Christmas gifts. Overall, it was a wonderful time, even if we didn't get to our intended destination!

Sunset in Amarillo, TX

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Today we again got up super-early, wished our relatives a Merry Christmas Eve, and headed out. The roads were surprisingly clear, for having just been closed the day before. We had no trouble at all getting from Amarillo to Raton, and over Raton Pass. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground and evidence of heavy drifting. It was quite a sight!

Sunrise with the Mammoth in the side mirror

Mammoth getting fuel in Dalhart, TX

Going over Raton Pass

Capulin Volcano National Monument

We can see mountains!

Large herd of Antelope

Rest area

We decided to stop for lunch in Trinidad, at a McDonalds which advertised RV friendly parking. At first it appeared as though the restaurant was right off the highway, but once on the service road, we realized we would have to drive around a city block and over a bridge and cross some railroad tracks to get to it. No big deal, right? Except that there was 6" of snowy packed slush everywhere, and piles of snow lining the lanes. Needless to say, I think we earned those big macs and half the lot to park... 4x4 and a little snow-plowing of our own got us there, and back out... Unless it's all clear, we won't be back.

RV parking at McDonalds in Trinidad, CO

We pressed on, and soon realized we'd need diesel before we got to Denver. I checked our "Next Exit" book to find the nearest truck stop, and we took the exit. Unfortunately, the location wasn't clear, and there was a similar gas station at the same corner, so we passed it up. Upon doing so, we missed the entrance to I-25 and had to take another adventurous snowpacked route to get back to the truck stop to fuel up. The truck and trailer didn't have any issues with this, but it did slow down our progress. LOL!

Once again on the road, we figured we were not that far from our final destination. Only 120 miles to go, and even though we'd arrive after dark, we couldn't see stopping as an advantage when we were so close. The drive into Denver and around the loop went fine, and soon we were on I-70. Not my most favorite of roads because of the fast local drivers, but we maintained our safe speed and made it through the Eisenhower Tunnel and down to Frisco, just fine.

Sunset from I-70

Eisenhower Tunnel

I-70

We got to Tiger Run Resort in Breckenridge about 5:25, and got checked in. We then worked to get water, electricity and heat going, not worrying about having the 5ver all level... It was in the low 20s already! Once we got hooked up, Tony made a quick dinner and we settled in to get warm. I think we were in bed by 9pm. Our heating pads and extra precautions for winter staying all worked as planned.

We're in site 339

Sunday, December 25, 2011 Christmas Day

We woke up way too early today, but probably because of our early rising the two days prior, and the time change to the Mountain Time Zone. We enjoyed seeing all the Christmas posts on Facebook from friends and relatives all over. The morning temp was a brisk 10 degrees, so we snuggled in for a while. About mid morning Tony got out and worked on a few things we didn't get to last night, like setting the stabilizers and hooking up cable. He also refilled our freshwater tank. The sun was shining, and it felt good outside! We ventured out to see if we could get some groceries that we did not bring. As we left, we stopped and met Dan Mayer, a fellow Heartland owner, from Austin, who was outside working on his satellite hookup. I had been chatting with him on the forum and we had been emailing back and forth about road conditions on the way to Breck. He invited us to the Pot Luck supper the Resort will have at the clubhouse tonight.

Luckily, the CityMarket supermarket was open, so we got what we needed, and came back home to eat lunch. After relaxing a bit, we ventured out to see where things were around town. Many stores downtown were open, I guess since its a big tourist destination. It was busy! After that, we drove through the Resort to see what was what. There are many individually owned cabins here, but also individually owned RV spaces. Some are even combo, where you can have a cabin and an RV space. These 'lots' are expensive, but supposedly become money-makers, As the Resort can rent your space or cabin when you are not using it. The Resort has many amenities, and is very well cared for. When we got back home, Tony baked cookies.

At 5, we headed over to the Pot Luck, and had a nice time visiting with Dan and his wife, Ruth Ann. We'll probably visit more with them during our time here. We came home and prepped our gear for skiing tomorrow, then crashed to watch tv and catch up on the blog and other Internet folly. All said, it was a very relaxing, lazy Christmas Day.

A Family Reunion for Mammoth

October 5-9, 2011

Wednesday, the Mammoth headed to Canton, TX and Mill Creek Ranch, for the Texas Chapter of the Heartland Owner's Club Rally.  Their scrolling sign said, "Welcome Heartland Owners Club Rally." Tony headed out after school, and I joined them later that evening. The Rally was to be held Friday and Saturday, but there were already a few rigs there! Tony had already been visited by a few of the attendees and our Chapter Leaders, Jay and Stella. 

The next morning, Tony headed back to work before sun-up, and I stayed around the trailer for some work, even though I was technically supposed to be off for the day. After a while I decided to stop working and go for a walk, to see what was happening around the park. I met some of the group, sitting around and having coffee. It was like visiting old friends, as many of them are active on the forum, and they are just as helpful and friendly in person! After a while I got an urgent message from work, so I had to say goodbye. After much trial and error, I realized I needed to go outside the park to see if I could get a firewall-free wifi signal to  do some changes to a file on my work computer. Once I returned, I again decided to visit with folks and relax a bit. I showed a couple of people the Mammoth, as well.

Once Tony got finished with school for the day, he came back to the RV park, and we had dinner. He brought Baker's BBQ, as there was one right at the exit to the RV Park! It was wonderful. Even though Tony was tired, we went for a walk and met up with some more folks that were hanging out and visiting. About 9:30pm, the group started to thin, so we said good night. Both of us had to work the next day.

Friday, we both went to work. I got back about 5:30pm, so I walked around the sites and took pictures... It had filled up! We had 26 sites full of Mammoth's brothers and sisters and cousins: Landmark, BigHorn, BigCountry, ElkRidge, Sundance, and NorthTrail were all represented. I decided to stop and visit with a couple from Mansfield, JD and Glenda. We had a lot in common, and talked for a long time! Tony got back to the park about 11:30pm, after his football game. (Terrell lost, 56-6 to Forney.)

Saturday morning we slept a little late... it was after 8 before we got up. We had a wonderful breakfast, and got ready to go over to the RV Dealer nearby, ExploreUSA, for some of the Rally's festivities. We got to go through many of the Heartland rigs, and then they hosted a fish fry for us! It was good food and company, but they needed more seating for us all. After the food, every couple got to put their tickets into the hat for a drawing for one of two 32" televisions! We didn't win, but what a nice giveaway! After that we headed back to the RV Park to visit about starting a North Texas Chapter of the Owner's Club. Jay kept looking our way and dropping hints! We would love to be a part of it, but not sure we can devote the time to do it justice, right now.

 

After the meeting, we took a needed nap, then got ready for the pot luck dinner. Tony and I prepared a pot roast and had put it into the crock pot right after breakfast. It was delicious! There were too many dishes to try them all, but everything I tried was out of this world! After dinner, we had door-prize drawings, and everyone walked away with a prize, and some, two! 

After that many folks headed back outside to gather and visit. I decided to stay and play Mexican Train, a dominoes game, with 7 others, and we had a blast. The facility had to close at 10pm, so we stopped play. We walked out and discovered it had started to rain! This is the first real rain we've seen in a month, and I can't recall when we were in the Mammoth last when it rained. It was welcome! Tony had been hanging out with JD, while Glenda and I were playing dominoes. We exchanged info with them, so we could keep in touch.

Sunday morning we were slow to get moving, so Tony slipped out and got us donuts. Wow! I had the best Apple Fritters! why is it everything tastes better in the Mammoth? We were watching the radar and realized that heavy rain was on its way, so we decided to go ahead and get ready to leave. We packed everything up, took Eileen's picture, said our goodbyes, and got out by 11:45am. 

We took Mammoth straight back to storage and unloaded. It finally started raining in Terrell by mid afternoon.

Overall, we had a great time, and really enjoyed visiting and meeting new folks and "old" forum friends. We are looking forward to the next Rally opportunity!