Author: srj641

Our self described elimination tour has come to an end. We made an honest effort to consider other states for our last stand, spending time in west coast locales, fertile northwestern farm country as well as the gorgeous western mountains. We had no problem eliminating blue managed states, a shame as several enjoy normalcy in their outstate locales in spite of being governed by idiots. Sharon and I have spent considerable time in the southeastern US, my childhood home turf, but they have failed to sway us , given our preference for four distinct seasons. Without belaboring the point we have returned to Missouri where we both have a considerable investment in terms of public service and our circle of friends. If this isn’t enough, we are home to the Chiefs, Cardinals, Royals and now……Buc-ees!

Specifically, we have purchased a home in the southwestern edge of Springfield in Battlefield. This home checked a lot of boxes, a big 3 car garage and in-ground pool being among our wants. Our new castle is bigger than our last, beautifully landscaped on another spacious corner lot. We have a penchant for all brick and a large rear patio for our outside kitchen and lolling about in the early mornings with coffee and the dog. Soon enough a new Lab, to be named Malachi or Kai for short will be joining us. We gave other Missouri towns and communities a hard look but our support system in Southwest Missouri brought us home.

Sunday, I am undergoing a MRI to assess the damage to my already re-built right shoulder in another fall, tripping over a concrete pad edge in Tennessee. Obviously, I have not mastered a reliable fall technique, complicated by the brittleness of age. A surgeon is on for a consult Thursday, and barring a near miracle, I’ll soon be under the knife again. We have not abandoned the RV lifestyle, just delaying it a bit. Our recent adventure identified several locations that were appealing making them destination locations for later trips. Exploring is in our DNA.

Enjoy what looks to be a terrific fall, with the color parade just getting going. Evenings are cooling down and mornings are delightful, inviting coffee around the fire pit. Be safe and enjoy our blessings, especially in Missouri, home sweet home.

SR

The first phase of our elimination tour is in the books. We are currently paused in Tennessee, near Sevierville, at the foot of the Smokies, a tourist Mecca. We will be back in Missouri next week after a breathtaking swing through Oklahoma, Northern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, , Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky, before our sojourn in Tennessee. To date we have travelled 11,077 miles. This jaunt has taken six months allowing us a fair measure of the regions across the west and northern plains. It has been challenging and rewarding, as we have met many folks and been exposed to the regional difference in people and geography.

We will be in Missouri for a month, catching up on medical appointments and to look at several properties we have identified as possible final camps. America is a magnificent country, but nothing thus far has blunted our zeal for Missouri. Weather extremes have played a big part in evaluating out of state home sites but the real kicker has been the wonderful attitude and practicality of Missourians. In fairness, we plan to winter in the southern and southeastern part of America, regions we have some experience with. What, in general terms, have we learned?

RV travel is refreshing, challenging and great fun. Sharon has been the navigator and logistics officer and has consistently delivered great routes, parks and side visits. This is a major undertaking, not to be taken lightly. If your unit is much longer than 30’, you will miss out on some terrific camp possibilities although there is a proliferation of up scale parks being developed including the terrific park we are currently in, having been open for two weeks! We have yet to be too cold or too hot, as our unit has performed exceedingly well with a few minor issues but nothing particularly challenging. We have become adept at both establishing camp and breaking down. We have travelled many secondary routes with only a few “wagon trails” but we marvel at the reliability of the modern trailer given the occasional stretches of poor road. We travel at a consistent 60-65 MPH, easier on the trailer, the driver and passenger. Sharon handles her share of wheel time and is completely able to set up and break down the trailer. She has mastered all of the systems, not surprising given her farm background. She is an outstanding first officer.

Cirrus, the Ram has been flawless. I am a maintenance oriented guy and we have kept up precisely with oil changes and tire rotations and truck as well as RV washes. We enjoy ramp presence, brought about by being appearance oriented. Road meals are expensive as are up scale parks being developed. We have handled minor medical issues at Urgent Cares and Wal-Mart has supplied most of our in house foods as well as Rx requirements, flawlessly. You do not need an expansive wardrobe in this lifestyle, nor do you NEED a big Class A motor coach. We subscribed to Star Link, making television super easy and greatly facilitating our ability to keep up with the world.

When we explain our circumstances to folks, they marvel at our freedom and talk about our experience as a dream for their future. We are not finished as we will be back out in short order but are looking forward to having sticks and bricks to back us up. We watch the real estate market carefully with an emphasis on Missouri. We are looking forward to a home, pool and a new family member in the form of our next Lab who will be named Malachi or “Kai” for short. It is easy to see how folks sell out and live, permanently, on the road. As much fun as we have had, we are still enamored with the American dream of permanent home ownership. We intend, health permitting to have our cake and eat it too! To that end, I tripped yesterday and tumbled onto a stamped concrete pad, requiring stitches in the palm of my hand and a return to the surgeons for a likely re-tear of the right rotator cuff. Haste at our age is obviously counter productive. Soon I will detail our favorite stops so far… until then, have a great week.

SR

This morning, while waiting for the sunrise to break down our RV for a journey south, my mind drifted toward the topic of hair….and it’s ability to mess with your psyche. The days of arising, showering and arranging ones coiffure are long past me. I knew it was coming, I watched dad’s hairline run from his brow early on. When it comes to hair styles, probably as much a result of my early life as an Army brat as anything, I prefer a neat hairstyle. I have worn flat-tops, middle parts and side parts, with no particular preference for any of them, mostly dictated by the circumstances at hand.

While on this trip, I made one last attempt at a grow out, with the same dismal results as the last attempt. What little hair I still have grows much like an ill kept, drought suffering garden…some here, some there but all thin and irregular. Back to the razor, or “Pit Bull’ an electric shaver for hair challenged folks. I have acquiesced to Sharon’s wishes and did manage a decent, short, snow white beard that she trims with precision. Men, in particular, understand the contempt that hair has for our gender. Nothing on the pate, but a constant fight with nose, ear and eyebrow growth less you look like Ichabod Crane on a bad day.

There is a caveat to a shaved head. At least every other day you must shave your “monks crown” the strip that continues to produce on the sides of your head. Looks has never been my strong suit, and I have graduated into the jeans, and cargo lifestyle, topped with sweat shirts or pullovers, with Hoka’s to take care of abused feet. I am also not offended by dog hair having raised 5 Labs over the years. They, if you aren’t aware, are hair producers on a grand scale. Hair doesn’t bother me…..unless it shows up in something I am trying to eat, in which case it destroys my appetite instantly.

As a final note, politicians mostly seem to have great hair, or a penchant for massive comb overs. I strongly suspect a lot of what we see is acrylic stuff precisely centered on their challenged pates. On the other hand, I am in good company these days, a short beard and slick dome, and have no political future. Time to fire up Cirrus and tug the Taz M’Haul down the road.

Have a great week!

SR

This week we established our base camp in Kalamazoo, at a delightful county run park on the edge of town. Kalamazoo reminded us we are not out west any longer, with traffic and people with attitudes. That being said we made a side trip (30) miles to a lake beach in a village called South Haven. In a word, it was beautiful with a beach that rivals the Gulf Coast.

Lake Michigan is gin clear here, with gentle waves breaking on a clean, sand beach at the entrance to a harbor that is undoubtedly adorning post cards somewhere. This is where the Michigan folks, who have the means to sail really nice boats and motor craft, kept in slips that go for between 40K and 90K each, congregate. There is a neat little draw bridge that grants access to tall boats that proliferate this harbor. If you are willing to settle for a home off the beach, the real estate is just a pinch higher than inland. Beach front property here belongs to the DuPonts and Carnegie’s, with a string of zeros in the purchase price…..

We are officially in the off season and folks are pulling their watercraft out for storage everywhere you look. The charter fishermen are still going out for the abundant fish in this part of the lake, equipped with tackle much lighter than salt water guides rely on, but still substantial. This lake is deep and planer boards are necessary to get down to the bigguns.

We have taken a fair measure of Michigan and like it. The weather is described as moderately cold around South Haven, but these folks have frozen nearly to death for many years and have no concept of what we would describe as moderate. Their farms are massive and productive and of course they know apples and cherries. Their roads have been good to excellent, with the secondary roads in surprisingly good shape. If you are RV’ing, there is no necessity to ride the super slabs, which tend to be race tracks. My single complaint is their penchant for following too close. They are masters at it…

Today we ship out for Sandusky, Ohio. It is a “bump and run” stop, meaning one night, then on to what is described as super Elk Country, (Benezette) Pennsylvania. There is a herd thought to number some 1400 wild Elk that can be viewed, especially in the fall when they start moving lower.

Have a good week!

SR

We spent the better part of the day on the renowned Mackinac Island yesterday, an Island on Lake Huron, that encompasses a little over 4 square miles. It is on the historic register, with a battle during the War of 1812 being fought there. At least a decade ago, we spent another day there and not much has changed. We considered lunch at the Grand Hotel, but it appears their buffet is history, and getting a table is not likely due to its popularity. This hotel, for those who have not visited the island is a popular wedding venue and hosted several weddings this weekend, among other events. You can rent a horse at a local livery, replete with the saddle style your prefer. It was tempting, and the horses were said to be well settled, but it is a long way from the saddle to the manure coated streets for an old(er) guy like me. We passed. The town was bustling, in spite of the cool weather, with many draft horse drawn conveyances pulling wagons full of tourists around. The horses were magnificent, big, strong and committed to their life strolling Main Street. There were uniformed men, pushing handcarts equipped with brooms and shovels to remove the copious piles of horse exhaust from the streets. This method of removal left a thin coat of manure from curb to curb. Of interest, there are 85,000 bicycles licensed on the island.

We finally settled at the well known Pink Pony for lunch. It was adequate but certainly not wonderful, even with the ambiance of sitting over gin clear Lake Huron. There were approximately 10 million tee and sweat shirts for sale and fudge at every turn. The locals are referred to as fudgies, entirely appropriate. In the height of the season, 10,000 pounds of the stuff is made there daily. If you like fudge, Murdicks is described as the pinnacle here by the world travelers we know.

The ferry ride over and back was fun. These ferries get right along, piloted by young Captains who handled the boats deftly. We opted to spend a few extra bucks to ride under the bridge, another incredible engineering feat, one of many in the Great Lakes area.

If my descriptions are underwhelming, it is with reason. Mackinac Island is a must see for folks, a showcase highlighting the art of tourism, and if you have between one and five thousand a night, the Grand Hotel is, well, grand. I am guessing my many years in and around Branson, Mo. have resulted in our appreciation of the smaller towns and hamlets around our country. We eat, when we can, where the locals eat, shop with local folks and love local attractions.

Today we motor over to Leelanau and the Traverse City area for a few days. We have been there before and love the understated beauty of this region. There is a fish ladder there, adjacent to a great little restaurant, much more my style.

Have a great week!

SR

Having spent the majority of my life in America’s bread basket, it was easy for me to be lulled into the premise that we had the market cornered with our grain production. Not so. The corn fields in Minnesota are magnificent, thousands of acres of beautiful crops in the southern half of the state, each sporting a neat copse of trees and equally neat farmsteads. It is a shame this state has slid into political oblivion, led by a moronic, deceitful Governor, and is the home of riotous folks in their urban areas.

We are currently encamped in Duluth, an interesting old town on the shores of Lake Superior. The old architecture, narrow streets and wonderful table fare make it a great place to visit. We found an Italian eatery, on the waterfront, operated by a second generation Italian fellow who manned the kitchen, bar and dining area while assuming the duties of the maitre’d and reservation host. For you that might be interested, it’s name VaBene. It was small and rustic with the prep kitchen downstairs and the finish kitchen close to the bar. The food was authentic Italian fare, not lathered in the thick tomato sauces we have come to expect. It was as good as any we have EVER eaten. The area, downtown, is replete with any number of taverns and ethnic eateries with a strong Irish emphasis. I would love to say we enjoyed the mild temperatures, however they were eclipsed by incessant fog and rain, making strolling less than pleasant.

The area is also home to Duluth Trading, my official clothier these days. The store spawned a retail empire, with stores around the country and perhaps the most efficient mail order business going. I was in my equivalent of Sax 5th Avenue or Nieman Marcus. One of the perks of age is the freedom to wear functional, durable and practical clothing and they are as good as it is in that line.

Duluth is also home to old but terrific harbors where the rich(er) and famous folks berth their sailboats and motor yachts. Mind you, it is not the Riveria or some exotic Caribbean harbor, rather an entirely practical place smelling of oil with off colored water typical of a place designed to protect your equipment from the sometimes harsh winds and constant fog. No pretense here, believe me. Duluth is about the size of our Springfield, with half the city close to the waterfront and the other half “on the hill” overlooking old town. In talking to the locals, we learned that soon, the boatyard owner will be pulling all of these boats out and storing them on the parking lots. As is usual, some folks are a little sloppy in covering this expense, so he now demands full payment up front, in and out, before he moves your boat.

Our travels have taken us to many interesting places with Duluth being extraordinarily so. We love the Great Lakes and are moving on tomorrow with a short term goal of Leelenau (Mackinac) Michigan. It is easy to see why so many folks RV full time, eschewing their stick, brick and mortars for the open road. I am far too traditional (old school) to do that, but, health willing, plan to keep on keeping on as much as possible. The treasure that is Duluth, where we are ensconced in a boat yard and can easily walk downtown is the reward. Not an RV park, but a parking lot with stubbed in plumbing and hookups, that becomes a giant dry dock in the winter months. We have barely scratched the surface of new and interesting places. A last point, the roads in Duluth are abominable….and I am being kind.

Have a great week!

SR

As I write, the assassination of Charlie Kirk is being investigated by a team of the finest forensic and criminal investigators on this planet. The current administration will see to it. I know better than to speculate on this horror, as the facts, as they are uncovered, will be carefully metered to the public so as to not jeopardize the investigation. We do know that American Conservatism is under siege, from the media, the left and haters of our Republic. I am writing to state the obvious in plain language. Decency, tolerance, the rule of law, respect, and normalcy is vanishing. These concepts are the very essence of America and we cannot survive if they are not restored.

Our institutions of higher education, the legacy media, the radical left, and hatred is driving our demise at breakneck speed. It is hard to understand the motives of folks who burn our cities, attack our citizenry, and violently attack points of view not consistent with theirs. Our President has been spared death from a bullet and another would be assassin hiding in bushes waiting for his shot before being discovered and arrested. If you take issue with our slide into mediocrity, you will be a target of an errant prosecution or worse a killer bent on ending your life. If you can carry a point, make a case for reason, influence ordinary folks with logic and publicly support a Christian point of view, you won’t be met with intelligent argument today. Intelligent argument has been replaced with violence. Reason is being replaced with radical thought and action. Decency is no longer in vogue, indeed indecency is the tool of the radical left elements of our society.

Charley Kirk dared to challenge this new way of thinking and acting. He carried a flag for the unborn, Christians and traditional American values. He was dangerous to the radical element that has a foothold on our future, as he was able to challenge the new order and influence the young people who will soon guide our country. He was country eloquent, brilliant and well versed in the workings of government and the challenges presented by those seeking our demise. Most of all, he was wrapped in courage, recognizing the danger to himself and those like him yet soldiering on with faith in the Lord he worshipped. Once upon a time, collective reasoning prevailed at the polls, and the country established its course through leadership. Not today, another leader has been struck down. It is the way today, settling our differences with lethality.

We are in trouble folks. It wasn’t just Charlie Kirk who bled to death, America is bleeding, albeit not in one fatal moment, but just as surely. America is on life support and we know why. The question is, what are we going to do about it? This question is not rhetorical…..we are nearing the end and the world is watching. Are you in this fight or wringing your hands on the sideline? We must find a way forward……

SR

This week has been akin to the dust devils that populate Arizona, changing directions many times. Today we are leaving Anaconda, Mt. for Reed Point, Mt., after being schooled on the colorful history of this town of about 9,000 or so. Montana is a treasure, a state where you can easily enjoy being in the mountains or the wonderful high plateaus between ranges where the mountains are a constant vista.

Back to Anaconda. This town was formed by an industrialist as a place to smelt copper ore from mines in Butte, located 14 miles east of here. He constructed a 585’ tall chimney, made of bricks that were molded on site and stacked to make one of the highest masonry stacks in the world. The town grew with “smelters” coming in from all over with their families. We are camped at the foot of this huge operation, which is now an EPA super site, meaning the companies that were operating here have poured billions into reclamation efforts to clean up the arsenic that resulted from the production of copper. The copper produced was good stuff, 99.5% pure, and made Marcus Daly a fabulously rich man. The workers unionized, and the inevitable conflicts began, while Mr. Daly weighed his money. This county has voted for a Democratic candidate in Presidential elections since Calvin Coolidge, a natural occurrence with a union workforce. The town has opulent churches, was strongly Catholic in faith, had 57 bars and one brothel, small in size but apparently very profitable. The churches and main street buildings, to include a theater that will sit nearly 1,000 patrons at a time are, simply put, masterpieces. The town also is home to just under 600 deer that loll about on folks lawns and casually stroll down main street. For reference we are in the Bitterroot Valley. I could ramble on, but by now you get the picture. At one time, money flowed out of here by the rail car load, and Mr. Daly poured millions into the towns infrastructure and it is evident.

We began the day touring the old Montana Penitentiary, located in Deer Lodge a few miles from here. It closely resembles Missouri’s old prison with high sandstone walls constructed by a workforce of prisoners. The warden, during the early years, was progressive and ran a pretty good prison, as prisons go. It was either brutally hot in the halls or horribly cold, and as mean a place as existed at the time. It was a coed facility at first, but changed to a male only institution soon after, as the he’ing and she’ing got out of hand. Walking this facility reinforced my notion of life on the right side of the law. I am including pictures of a gallows, still standing in its original spot, designed by a prison official to expediently dispatch the only two inmates executed here. It was simple but contrived, designed to “jerk up” up the condemned rather than a fall through a trap door. It was a design failure, resulting in the prisoners taking 10 and12 minutes, respectively, to expire via strangulation rather than a clean neck break. It was still applauded, as the men twisted in the wind, as they had killed a deputy warden during their only riot. In a word, the prison was as depressing as our institution in Missouri, which predates Montana’s by years.

A note. America is rift with a terrific history that you cannot relive in books or stories told by scribes like me. You need to get out, if you are able, and taste the beginnings of the greatest nation on earth to appreciate the toil, suffering and maturation of our Republic. I never gave more than passing thought about Montana, believing it to be a state of harsh winters and big skies. A misconception corrected by a down and dirty dive into its colorful past. Enjoy the pictures, in no particular order.

SR

We are off to new adventures, completely in synch with the RV lifestyle. Y’all have a great week and be safe.

Our “elimination tour“ has taken a turn. We have only just begun to experience the northwestern United States, a beautiful part of America, but until this week have found nothing to challenge the comfort and culture of our home, Missouri. This week we have discovered why so many retired police officers and fire-fighters have relocated to this region in Idaho. It is beautiful with two monster lakes (natural, not impoundments!) anchoring the communities of Coeur D’Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho. But there is more.

These communities skirt the eastern and southern edges of Spokane, Washington, a big town with many amenities attractive to aging folks. There is an excellent medical infrastructure, plenty of shopping opportunities and too many dining opportunities to describe. The great outdoors is the draw here, with skiing and water sports in spades, and world class fishing at hand. I no longer hunt, which is unfortunate, as the big game opportunities in this region have no peer.

Down town Coeur D’Alene is drop dead gorgeous, mostly in a quaint but modern sort of way. Its vibrant shopping district offers just about all you can imagine, close to one of the nicest lakefront parks in the country. It is exceedingly clean, with campy sculptures along the sidewalks, striking civic pride and people as friendly as anywhere we have been. The region has earned its reputation as a safe, attractive and mostly affordable location to kick back after a career in policing and fire-fighting. The shop owners readily acknowledge the presence of all these emergency response folks with pride. The very liberal atmosphere of the Spokane area is checked at the border as you ease across the state line. The communities here reflect the conservative nature of the national police and fire-fighter community in general, and there is no evidence of DEI initiatives to be found.. Among the merchants, we found that every other one hails from California, a state they were all too ready to abandon.

Two days ago we slipped into northern Montana, “Big Sky Country.” With speed limits at 80 in many places, vistas that are breath taking, and streams that defy description, what is there not to like. (We are old and slow, with 65 being our normal cruise speed these days.) This state is another outdoor enthusiast’s dream. We are in Kalispell, settled by cowboys, prospectors and lumbermen. It is another really nice, clean and complete town. Without a doubt, Montana is another state we would consider for the long term. A trip to Glacier Park is on the immediate schedule, but you can do nicely drinking in the scenery and country along Montana’s roads. Magnificent comes to mind.

What an adventure. Have a great week!

SR