Rally-ON!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Today Tony got up to head to work again, thank goodness not quite so early. It was an in-service day, but the band still had practice. I got up a little later and began work, and worked until after noon. I then decided to venture out and visit with folks for a bit, until I had an email to take care-of... more work. I'm not complaining, it really is wonderful to work where ever the Mammoth goes!

While visiting, the other owners of an ElkRidge asked if they could see our coach, so I gave a tour. They really liked the floorplan, and what we'd done to it. When we came out of the rig, we had NEIGHBORS! Finally! We had been separated from the rest of the Rally-goers by the park's restroom facilities, and felt a little exiled. So now we had neighbors, Gary and Annie, in their BigHorn. I visited with them for a bit, then decided I needed to eat dinner and get to Wal-Mart to pick up our potluck dinner ingredients.

I left and stopped at the Dairy Palace, they supposedly have "world famous hamburgers."  They had an unusually varied menu, including Salmon, Catfish, and Bison burgers, Mexican food, salads, desserts, and 32 flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream. I ordered a burger and some fried mushrooms. They were good, but not outstanding, in my opinion.

After returning to Mammoth, I hurried to get ready for our potluck Dessert Meet and Greet. We had purchased fried pies from Bakers Ribs yesterday, so I cut them in half for people to be able to eat. We had Apple, Peach and Pecan, but somehow there were much fewer of the Pecan already?? So I didn't take those.

At 7PM the Meet and Greet began, with a message from the Mayor of Canton, and his wife who spoke on the Santa's Kids charity, our 'Heartland Gives Back' initiative. There was some more club business, then introductions... then time to eat! There were many desserts and all I tried were delicious. I then visited with some of the other HL owners. After a bit, the Wii games got rolling, and we all had a good time laughing and playing. About 10:00pm, most folks were deciding to call it a night, so we headed back to our rigs. Tony got home about midnight from his football game.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

This morning, we got up and started getting breakfast ready, when we discovered tiny sugar ants in the cabinet, attracted by the syrup. We worked to rid them and cleared out the rest of the food, then I set an ant bait in the cabinet, for any that returned. 

After breakfast Tony went and did some visiting and picture-taking. About 11:15 we met to take our group picture in front of Terry's rig with the Heartland Banner, then after a few quick coach tours, we all gathered up to head over to ExploreUSA just a few miles away. They had cooked hotdogs and brats, and they were ready when we got there. It was good food, and they even had seating! We got to spend about an hour, wandering around their lot, looking at rigs. All are open, and it's nice to get to compare brands side-by-side. 

They even pulled some of the newest Heartland products up under their covered area, and had them hooked up to power, so we could see the lights, AC etc. running. There are new Landmark, BigHorn, Sundance interiors and exteriors. We had seen them at the RV show, but it was nice to see them outside, in their natural environment, without so many people in the way.

Landmark interior

Landmark slide facia

Landmark bathroom

Bighorn new front cap 

After our time at the RV dealer, we headed back to the RV park, and rested for a bit. Many folks were out visiting, since the weather was nice. Tony went out to visit, and shortly after handling some work, I went out as well. Many were touring each-other's coaches, so we got to see a couple of Landmark, BigHorn, ElkRidge, NorthTrail, and Road Warrior. It's really neat to see how others decorate and make it their own!

After a while we returned to our rig to get ready for the potluck dinner. At 6:30, we went over to help set up, but everything was done! Terry said they didn't need help, so we just hung out until others arrived. We had a great meal, and door prizes! We ended up with a $10 gift certificate for Camping World! The big prize was a Tire Pressure Monitor system from TST, worth over $300, with everyone's name in the hat... but we didn't win. 

Getting ready to potluck!

After those festivities, we decided to play games and chat. Dan, Tony, Gary, Annie and I visited for a long time about winter camping, and other rig-related issues. 

We called it quits about 10:30 again. Overall, a good time! As we left, we could see lightning in the distance, so I started watching the radar. Strong storms were headed our way, but it looked like it would be early AM before they arrived. 

Sure enough, 1:45 my iPhone went off, suggesting storm warnings in the area. About 3:00am, the thunder woke me up, and from 3:00 to 4:00 I listened and watched the storm blow in. Luckily it was just heavy rain and some wind, nothing severe. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

At 8:30, when I finally woke up, Tony was already dressed and ready to head to the rally continental breakfast. I told him to go and bring me back something. By 9:30 he still wasn't back, so I figured he was visiting. I texted him, and although the food was gone, he said he was having a good visit. I ate in the rig and started getting ready for us to leave. It was surprising how spread-out we got for just 4 days! About 10:30 Tony arrived, and we finished packing and getting ready to head home. 

Once the rig was hooked up and ready to go, we took our Eileen pic and went over to the group to say our good-byes. Many were staying over another day, so we were sad to have to leave. We gave hugs and handshakes, and by noon (checkout) we were pulling out.

Eileen at Mill Creek Ranch Resort... Many Heartlands in the background!

Tony pulling out (taken from our site) 

We got home fairly quickly (it's about a 40 min drive!) And collapsed for the afternoon, then unloaded the Mammoth and Tony took her back to storage. We had a great time at the Rally, it went very smoothly and Terry and Carol did a great job as Chapter Leaders.

The Inaugural North Texas Rally

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012

This morning was the day we were headed to Canton, TX for Heartland Owners Club Inaugural North Texas Rally. Last year we attended a rally here, but it was really held by the South Texas chapter, in an attempt to get a NTX Chapter started. In June, Terry & Carol H. stepped up to become the Chapter leaders. We had 15 rigs signed up, but two have had to cancel. 

Well, Mammoth was a little dirty with black streaks, since we'd had a lot of rain in the past few weeks. We had talked about giving her a bath, but since I was out of town last weekend and the weather wasn't cooperating, it didn't work out. This morning, I somehow woke up early and decided to do a quick job of at least getting the black streaks off. It took about an hour and 15 minutes, and I ran out of black-streak remover, so I guess I was lucky... she does look better!

 Washed Mammoth!

I worked to get the rig loaded and ready, so when Tony came home from work there wan't much to do. We were on the road by 4:15pm. We got to Canton about 4:45. 

The RV park office

We were greeted right away by Terry and Carol and Lou and Bette, folks we'd met at the Rally in Cody, WY this June. They invited us to dinner, so we joined them. We went to Vals italian, it was very good. 

We didn't do anything after dinner, just headed back to get ourselves set up and situated. We had a minor glitch with the power, and had to use the power pole on the site next door, but it will be fine. The park said they would send someone out tomorrow.

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012

Today Tony got up super-early to head to work. I got up a little later, and started working in my home-office-away-from-home. About mid-morning, more rigs began to arrive, and by mid afternoon, we had 10 rigs here! 

Heartland Rigs as far as the eye can see.

Another picture of the HL rigs.

I worked on and off all day, visiting in-between. About 5:00 I went around to see what was going on. Terry showed up inviting folks to dinner. We decided to go eat at Baker's Ribs. Tony called saying he was headed back to Canton and we decided he'd just meet us there! He got there right as we were sitting down to eat. We had a great meal and visited. Tony and I picked up some of their great fried pies for the potluck dessert get-together tomorrow.  After dinner, we walked around the rally area and visited with a few folks. We saw some lightning in the distance, so we decided to head in. The VP debate was on, so we found a HS football game on another station to watch. ;) We got a few sprinkles, but not too much.

The rally officially starts tomorrow, but we're having fun already!

Labor Day Getaway for Mammoth

Labor Day Getaway for Mammoth

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A few weeks ago with Mammoth home for some minor mods and such, we discovered that we had a large screw in the ODS rear tire. We took the tire off ourselves and took it in for repair. Unfortunately, they said it's in a place they don't feel confident having this tire in regular service, so we had them move it to the spare. We also decided to make sure we had full metal valve stems on all tires, so that our tire pressure sensors would not flex the rubber stems. We added the repeater for the tire pressure monitor, a new RV Lock, and upgraded all of our (1141) lights in the coach to LED bulbs.

Screw in the tire, making bubbles!

LED bulb

RV Lock and handle modification, to make sure the folded handle clears the door lock. 

We decided to use the Labor Day holiday as a good excuse to get away to Shreveport, Louisiana, (about 2.5 hours away) for the weekend. It had been a little over a month since our last trip, and we were itching to go again. 


Tony had the first football game of the season on Friday, and it was a long, hot night. He didn't get home until 2AM! But Saturday morning the Mammoth was ready by 11:15AM and we headed out East. We had a nice drive... I always love driving through the Piney Woods area! We arrived at Tall Pines RV park about 3PM. The park was in a nice area, near the edge of Shreveport. There were lots of tall pine trees, of course! The office was also a fully-stocked RV parts store, and they did RV repair work there, as well. We noticed a few Heartland rigs were staying here also!

On the road again!

Entering Louisiana

Tall Pines RV Park entrance sign

Our full-hookup site with concrete pad, cable, picnic table and chairs

After settling in, we took a much needed nap, then got up and decided to head to town to find something to eat. I had looked up some places online, and we attempted to locate what was to be a seafood place. However, we ended up in a not-so-nice part of town, and opted not to stop. We tried another restaurant I'd also found, and again were turned away by the neighborhood (a fence with barbed wire surrounded this one!) Tony decided we need to stick closer to the RV park, so we headed back and ended up at Cracker Barrel. We seem to eat at these only when traveling! It was busy, but we had a good meal, and even had leftovers. 

After dinner we headed to the nearby Wal-Mart, for a few items we forgot. Tony ran in to get them while I waited in the truck. Some dark clouds from some pop-up storms seemed to be headed our way, and sure enough, it started raining while I was waiting for him. It was a short-lived shower, and by the time we got back to the RV Park a few miles away it had stopped raining. The sunset made the clouds look pink!

Here comes the rain!

Mammoth as the sun sets (front cap illuminated by street light)

We enjoyed a quiet evening watching Cable TV. (We only have over the air TV at home, so we got to watch one of our favorite shows that was running multiple shows back-to-back:  Pawn Stars!)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Today we got up and Tony cooked the most wonderful french toast! While we were eating, we noticed the neighbors across from us in a Heartland Landmark looked like they were packing up to leave. We waited until they were done with the teardown, and then Tony went over to introduce himself and connect with the Heartland Owners Club members. After visiting briefly, Tony wished them well, and they were off. Wish we could have met them sooner!


We hung around the RV for a while, and I did some Hairball Creative work. This park is very quiet, with mostly bigger RVs and 5vers. We didn't see many folks out and about, and those we did, were not out long. Maybe because of the humidity? It was quite high. After lunch, we headed over to the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel. 

The scenic tour

crossing the Red River (a Riverboat Casino in the distance)

We explored the Casino at the Horseshoe, which is actually a barge on the river. Riverboat casinos are legal in Louisiana. These casinos range from small boats to extravagant Las Vegas-style resorts, where only the casino is in the water. The term "riverboat" has come to mean anything floating in the water, so many casinos consist of large buildings on anchored barges right next to shore.
We played for a bit, but didn't walk away richer, unfortunately. Just for signing up for their "players card", Tony did win a free buffet dinner, so we decided to eat there at "The Spread" and had a nice meal.
We headed back to the RV park as the sun was setting.

The Horseshoe Casino "Riverboat"

Downtown Shreveport

This evening I did some Hairball Creative work and we enjoyed just relaxing.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Today we got up and had breakfast, and did a few projects around the trailer. We paid for an extra half-day, so we could leave as late as 3PM, instead of normal check-out at 11AM. After lunch we started to pack up and get ready to go home. I went up to the office to buy a few things we needed for the rig, and look at their LED bulbs. We still have the dining table fixture, the stove vent-a-hood, and a couple others that I'd like to replace with LEDs at some time. The store manager was very nice and let me take one of the bulbs down to the rig to try out before I bought it. I'm glad I did, it was a much more bluish tone, and we didn't like it. 


After we got the rig ready to go, we took our Eileen pics and a few others, and headed back home. 

Eileen at Tall Pines RV Park, Shreveport, LA

The office/store at Tall Pines RV Park

The temps had creeped up, and it was 100 degrees when we got home. We unloaded quickly, and Tony took Mammoth back to storage. 


All in all, another quick trip we wished had been longer. There is more to see and do in Shreveport, so we'll be back at some point.

Dippin' Dots and Blue Beacons

Monday, July 23

Today we got up a little later than we should have to get on the road by 10AM, like we had planned. Oh well, we have to be out by 11. So we started with the chores of putting away stuff, strapping down furniture, and general cleaning, which we do each time we move. I also took our Eileen picture.

Eileen at San Antonio KOA

Tony started on the "outside stuff" which is raising the jacks, dumping tanks, checking air in the tires and hitching up. Well, at one point, I needed to ask him a question. I went looking for him, and he was not around! My immediate thought was, "OK, who is he visiting with, now?" When we are RVing, Tony doesn't know a stranger, it seems!

In a minute, he came walking up from the direction of the office. Immediately he said, "You know we can't go on a trip without adventure!" I said, "OH NO, now what?" Tony had discovered that the inner dual tire on the truck was low and had a nail in it, so he now had to go and find a tire shop to get it taken care of. He had gone to the office to ask for advice. While he went to get the tire looked after, I finished up the inside and getting ready.

We finally pulled out about 11:30, on our way back home. 

Getting ready to roll

Heading out the entrance

We decided to stop at Buc-ee's again, to give it the real look-see and get something to eat. Mainly because we were starving -- we knew we could "fit" in their parking lot, and it wouldn't take long to get a meal. I also finally ate some Dippin' Dots!! For about 2 months, there has been a billboard near Terrell advertising: Dippin' Dots - Buc-ee's - New Braunfels ...so of course, now you know, advertising works!!

Dippin' Dots cookie dough ice cream

Buc-ee's

The trip was fairly easy again, as we took the 130 Toll Road around Austin. As we drew near the DFW area, we decided to try out the Blue Beacon Truck Wash. They wash Big Rig trucks and trailers. http://www.bluebeacon.com/ We had heard good things about them on the Heartland Forum, so we decided to see if it was a good idea if we need the Mammoth washed in the future. She was still a little buggy and dirty from her trip to Wyoming, plus the bugs from this trip. WOW, we were amazed! It took them about 15 minutes to clean her and the truck, and apply Rain-X finish rinse. MUCH BETTER! The truck even looks RED-ER!

We got home and really looked her over, and the wash isn't perfect as a hand-wash would be, but much quicker and much better than before. We will definitely consider this in the future!

Mammoth and the truck, all shined up

We arrived home about 7PM and got unloaded. Another good RV trip. Can't wait to go again!


P.S.  Here's the billboard:

Locks and Fajitas

Sunday, July 22

Today Tony again headed off to TBA Convention, while I stayed in to work. I decided to get dressed shortly after Tony left, and then decided to put the awning out to help keep the rig cool. When I went to open the door, I could not!! The lever that locks the deadbolt from the inside would not move! I could not figure out how this could be? Yes, Tony locks the door when he leaves, but I've never been locked in! I fought with the door for about 10 minutes, then decided I could just remove the door lock assembly from the inside. I took it apart, and found I was still trapped. the deadbolt was engaged into the frame, and there was no way for me to remove it. I started to get a little worried, was I going to have to go out the emergency window? LOL! What a sight that would be! I happened to look out the window and see the neighbor in the rig next to us, looking into her basement compartments. I quickly opened the window and asked for assistance. She said this has happened to them before, so she was glad to help. I gave her the key through the window, and she unlocked the door. Problem solved! It just so happens we have a new keyless entry door lock on order, but it didn't arrive before we left for this trip. We'll have it installed before our next one, I am sure of it! I going to make a point to bring this up on the forum, so that others can be aware.


In the early afternoon, something told me to go to the KOA store for ice cream. Sure enough, there was a pint of red velvet cake ice cream, my favorite! It was a yummy treat. This is the second KOA that has had it. (I think it calls my name!)


When Tony was done with the Convention sessions, I picked him up and we went out to eat at La Margarita, in the Market section of downtown San Antonio. They have very good fajitas there. We had a good meal, and then headed back to the Mammoth for a relaxing last evening here. After I did a little work, we settled in to watch West Side Story. This happens to be one of our favorite musicals, and is the theme of the THS band's halftime performance this year.


We probably should have done more to get ready to leave tomorrow, but didn't. Oh well! We'll be fine....

Beating the Heat and DCI show

Saturday, July 21

Today Tony headed of to TBA convention, while I stayed at the trailer and worked and other things to keep me occupied. I had hoped to go and explore the Tweety's RV supply in Boerne, TX, but they apparently are not open on Saturday. (I tried to call, got a recording stating as such.) I mostly stayed inside, in the cool. There was no wind to speak of, so I tried extending the awning to help keep the rig in the shade a bit more, and found it keeps it a little cooler. YAY!


About 4pm, I drove over to the convention center to pick Tony up (got myself turned around -- should have used the GPS!), so that we could go to the Drum Corps International (DCI) show. For those who don't know, this is like marching band on steroids!! They call it "Marching Music's Major League".  Performers must be 21 years old and younger. Corps from all over compete in shows all over the US, showcasing their marching, brass playing, percussion, and colorguard talents. (They do not use woodwind instruments.) Their performances are quite elaborate, and extremely well executed. These groups start auditions and practices in the fall, but the performance doesn't begin until summer... and then it's 24-7 DCI, as these groups travel, practice and perform every day, all summer long. (Tony and his brother were in the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, when they were college-age.)


We had a real hard time finding parking because the Alamodome has limited spaces and with this event being the Southwest Championship Show with more than 30 corps in attendance, the Corps take up a large area for their busses and staging. We ended up having to park at Sunset Station, and walking about 2 blocks, but it wasn't too bad. We were lucky that the temps have not been too terrible here, 97 was the high. It's just the humidity! 50%! The best part about this show, is that it is in the air-conditioned INDOORS!!


We arrived just in time to see The Colts perform. Wow, they have come a long way. We enjoyed their performance, and the crowd really enjoyed it too. We watched 16 Corps perform. WOW, that's a lot of great music and marching!  We really enjoyed the Blue Knights show, as well as the Madison Scouts show. But the show that blew me away was Carolina Crown! Unfortunately the Blue Devils scored better, but I really thought CC had a better show. All year these Corps perform, garnishing ratings, ultimately leading them to the World Championship, this year being hosted in Indianapolis, IN. If you happen to be able to catch this, sometimes they rebroadcast the finals on PBS or ESPN II. If there is a show near you (check out dci.org) GO SEE IT! You will be truly amazed what our young people can do.

Carolina Crown about to perform

Outside the Alamodome after the DCI show, with the
Tower of the Americas in the background

After we got back to the Mammoth, we crashed for the night. Overall, a  good day.

Enjoying the comforts of HOME.

Friday, July 20th

Today we got up and had breakfast, and I did some Hairball Creative work. Tony researched the bus route to make sure he knew how to get to the Convention Center, and headed out after lunch, while I stayed home.


Before he left, he put ingredients for a pot roast into the crock-pot. All afternoon I got to smell that roast cooking!! During the day I did some more Hairball Creative work, and I also looked into trying to locate some Heartland BigHorn floorplans that we are interested in seeing in person. Unfortunately, of the four dealers I called that had a website with one listed, none actually had one on their lot. Oh well, we'll just wait to see what happens in our neck of the woods. We're not buyin' anything anytime soon.

my office in the Mammoth

About 7PM Tony got back from the Convention and riding the bus, and I had food ready and waiting when he walked in the door. We had a great meal, and enjoyed being in our own "home"... quite a departure from the past 18+ years, where when we've come to SA for Convention, we've stayed in a hotel, and had to eat out.


After dinner we went for a walk around the park, and saw many Heartland products. Did not get to meet any of the owners, but that's expected, it was almost too hot to be outside. This park is well established with many full-time residents. The park is well maintained, lots of trees and decent-sized sites. Folks that were out, were friendly. The pool was also very popular, full of families/kids. 

our Mammoth

After the walk, we headed back to the cool inside. Once the sun was lower, the two ACs had no problems keeping the rig cool. We each discussed our day, and just relaxed. Tony said he planned to take the bus again tomorrow, but would have to get up about 6:15 to make sure he was ready and out at the stop in time. We hit the hay early.