Monday, September 3, 2012

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.