Flat Tire?? and Beautiful St. Clair River

Location: Algonac State Park (el. 640 ft); Algonac, Michigan 

All pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 cell phone

Stop # 5. Algonac, MI

I took my time in preparing to leave Maumee State Park since it was only a couple of hours of towing to get to Algonac. The dump station in the park could handle two RV's at the same time and the dump hose was provided by the park. This is rare, but I have seen it a couple of times before. Just as I started to dump my tanks, a lady pulled up behind me in a motorhome. I motioned to the empty dump station next to me but she hollered out the window that it was easier for her to wait instead of turning the motorhome around. OK then. 

I pulled out of the park about 10:00 with thoughts of arriving at Algonac shortly after noon. Going through Toledo, Ohio was a snap and I was through before I knew it. Detroit was next on the list. I routed myself on the outskirts as much as I could in hopes of avoiding any bad parts of town. That is the problem with going through large cities, it is hard to tell you're in a bad part of town until you are actually in the bad part, which then could be a little late. I have been in some large cities where I accidentally ended up in places where I knew I needed to get out of quickly. These have always been while exploring and not while towing Liberty. I was in one city out east, late in the afternoon, when a police car pulled up next to me at a red light. The policeman motioned for me to roll my window down. With a serious voice, he said, "Don't be in this neighborhood after dark, or you won't get out." I was going to ask him a question as to which way was out, but he rolled his window up and the light changed to green. Anyway, I consider Detroit one of those cities that I don't want to mess around in, especially while towing Liberty.

I have a Temperature/Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
on Liberty's tires. I added it after purchasing Liberty. There are large sensors that you screw on the tire valve stems 

That round thing on the valve
stem is the sensor that
unscrewed itself.

using a special device. The device is to keep any curious kids from taking them. They continuously sense the temperature and pressure of the tires and send the information to a monitor in Freedom. If any tire goes higher or lower, in pressure or temperature, than the range you program, an alarm will sound. I've 

This is the monitor that rides
in Freedom. The number on
the left is pressure and the
one on the right is
temperature. The black dots
represent the tires, including
the spar tire.

used this system for 3 years without any problems. I will admit, I pulled my hair out trying to figure how to set up the dang thing but once it was set up it has worked fine. On moving days, I turn it on while getting things situated for travel inside of Liberty. Within a few minutes, I know the pressure of each of Liberty's four tires. I did this before leaving Maumee and all tires were within a pound or two of the required 65 psi which meant we were good to go. 

So, I was approaching Detroit when the TPMS alarm went off. Of course it shocked me,,,scared me,,,, nearly gave me a heart attack captured my complete attention. I looked at the monitor and it showed a tire at 56 psi and falling quickly. When it cycled back through the tires, it was then at 54 psi. I was in the left lane of a three lane interstate because the right two lanes were rough as a cob. I found an opening and got to the outside lane just as an exit appeared. There wasn't anything at the exit except for about a dozen "oversized" escort cars apparently waiting on loads. I found a place to pull over knowing that I must have picked up a nail and was counting my blessing that the tire didn't blow. As I stopped, the pressure was down to 51 psi. As I got out of Freedom, I was glad those escort vehicles were there because this was one of those places I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I inspected the tire and didn't find any nails. Of course I couldn't inspect all of the tire so the nail could be on the bottom. I got my old style pressure gauge and TPMS special tool from the door of Freedom to check the pressure in hopes that the monitor or sensor was malfunctioning. When I put the special tool on the sensor, the sensor was loose and I heard a puff of air come out. I could unscrew the sensor without the need of the special tool. Wow, could I be this lucky? Apparently, the sensor vibrated itself loose and unscrewed itself just enough to allow air to come out as the sensor jiggled. Double wow! The escorts vehicles were preparing to leave so I quickly got my air pump and put 61 pounds in the tire before the pump stopped and needed to cool down. I said to myself that is good enough and reinstalled the sensor. I packed everything up as the last of the escorts left and climbed back into Freedom. I turned on the monitor and it showed the 61 psi in the tire. I quickly hit the on ramp and was back on the interstate. The monitor would give a reading for that tire about every 45 seconds as the system would cycle through all of the tires. I kept an eye on the monitor and the psi did not go down. It went up a few pounds which is normal as the tires heat up. I started looking for a truck stop but didn't find one and didn't like the looks of any of the exits, so I just kept going. The pressure held all the way to the campground so I was pretty sure I didn't have a nail and it was just the sensor unscrewing itself. Using my better air pump, I put 65 psi in the tire and it has held for two days, so I am satisfied as to the reason for the problem. I sure am thankful to whoever was looking out for me. I'm also very thankful they sent those escort vehicles to sit there for a while. And since I think everything happens for a reason, I need to figure out the reason. I will air up all of the tires before pulling out of here tomorrow.

The reason I came is was to confirm my memory as to the color of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. I've told numerous people about the brilliant blue color of the lake since I first saw it 3 years ago. I also saw this campground that sits just across the RIver Road from the St. Clair River. I've seen two beautiful rivers in my travels. One is the St. Clair and the other is the Columbia River which sits between Oregon and Washington state. The blue color wasn't as bright this time because as some of the locals told me, it is a little dirty right now due to some storms.This color is more of a greenish blue but is still very nice to see. 

Algonac State Park on the left and the St. Clair on the right.

My campsite. The St. Clair River is in the distant background.

Some docks along the river. 

This is the size of a typical Great Lakes Freighter.

The Blue Water Bridges connecting Canada to the U.S. The ship on the left is an old Light-Ship that is open to tours. I toured it and wrote about in back in 2014.

This is great park located in Port Huron. The water is rushing by at a very fast speed. 

A very uncomfortable "thinking bench" but I took a picture anyway.

Just "Two ships passing in the ,,,,,,,,"

I'm only posting this one because of the gull. "Jonathon Livingston Seagull"?

I talked to these guys that were fishing. They said they catch salmon, pike, steelhead and a few others. They were saying the dirty water was going to make the fishing great. I didn't see anything caught while I was there.

A better "thinking bench" looking over the Black River as it empties into the St. Clair on the right. That is Canada in the background. 

Just a few of "cottages" on the river. If I win the lottery, I plan to buy one of these for a summer house. LOL

Tomorrow is moving day with another short haul. Tomorrow I'll be camped within a stones throw of Lake Erie. It is a state park located between Detroit and Toledo. Yep, that means I'll be backtracking through the Detroit area. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

  

Stormy Travels but Cooler Temps along Lake Erie

Location: Maumee Bay State Park (el. 600 ft); Oregon, Ohio (just east of Toledo, Ohio)

all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone

Route thru stop #4

I planned to pull out of Carlyle early due to the long tow ahead of me. I figured to start hitching up just after daylight and be on the road by 8 o'clock. I was on the road by 8 but it was nip and tuck for a while. I had checked the weather forecast before going to bed and it showed rain coming into the area but was due to hit around noon. I was OK with that timing since I would be long gone and be able to see the weather system in my side mirror as I would be driving northeast. Around 4 a.m. I awoke to a flash of lightening coming through the window shades followed by a loud crash of thunder. Immediately things started hitting the roof of Liberty. At first I thought it was rain, but then remember those dang gum ball trees I had parked under. I was being pelted by gum balls and branches from the tree. I laid there waiting for a large limb to come crashing through the roof. I grabbed my phone and checked the weather. They said to expect "strong thunderstorms with large hail and wind" for 2 hours beginning at 4 o'clock. They issued that warning at 3:45 am. Well gee wiz guys, an earlier warning would have been nice although even if I had the warning hours earlier I couldn't have done anything about it. So, the forecast called for clearing by 6 a.m. and if they were correct, I could start hitching up shortly after that and still be on the road by 8. All I had to do was lay in bed for a couple of hours while listening to the pounding on the roof of Liberty. About dawn, it dawned on me (lol), that instead of me being ahead on the storm system while towing, I would now be behind it and chasing it. I did some rough calculations and figured I would just be catching up to it as I got closer to the campground. If needed, I could slow down to let it get farther ahead. The rain stopped about 6 as predicted and since I had already been awake, I had everything tied down inside Liberty and was ready to hitch up. I walked around Liberty and did not see any limbs large enough to cause a problem to the roof. I then walked behind her far enough to see the roof all the while hoping there were no limbs sticking out anywhere. Her roof was clear and I breathed a sign of relief as it seemed I had dodged another weather bullet. As I looked around the campground I could see several other campers were not as lucky as me. A young couple with a small child had a very large limb fall and just miss their tent. Severe injuries would have resulted had it hit the tent. After hitching up and driving to the dump station, I saw moderate size limbs across RV's and cars. At least 3 foolish campers had left their awning out and were rewarded with having their awnings either ripped off or laid across their roof. Some of these RV'ers will leave their awnings out from the time they arrive at the campground until they leave. It's just a matter of time before an unexpected wind or storm like this will cause them financial and emotional heartburn.

I stopped at the McDonalds which was conveniently located at the campground entrance. Before pulling of the parking lot, I double checked the weather and the storm system. 

Typical countryside along the way. It is hard to tell if it is Illinois, Indiana or Ohio since they all looked the same to me. I'm not sure why they put the billboards so far away from the highways.

Dark clouds, then clearing a little. They alternated the entire way but I was lucky and missed all the rain until the end.

This is the "Cross at the Crossroads" in Effingham, Illinois. It is suppose to be the larges such cross in the U.S., but I saw another one like it later on that appeared to be the same size, so who knows for sure. It sure stands out on the side of the highway. 

The storm was about 200 miles ahead of me and traveling at 30 miles per hour in the same direction I would be traveling. I would be averaging 55 to 60 miles per hour. The question was would I catch the storm before getting to the campground which was 475 miles away. Sounds like a math word problem from high school with an RV and storm system instead of trains. The best answer I could come up with was it going to be close and I would probably have to slow down or stop for a while to let the storm move on some more. For 8+ hours I followed along while seeing the sky stay dark ahead of me. Everything was working out just fine until a different storm that came in from the west decided to join us about 3 miles from the campground. I found an empty school parking lot and pulled in just as the bottom dropped out with heavy wind and rain. I figured I could just relax and wait it out. It blew through in about 30 minutes after which I continued on to the campground. After getting checked in and set up, I was tired. It was a long day.

This is the storm that surprised me just before reaching the campground. It blew through in about 30 minutes though.

The campsites are large and separated from each other. I chose poorly in the setting sun is hitting the back, right (starboard quarter) of Liberty. I had thought the tree behind me would shade me from the evening sun, but I was wrong. 

Man-made beach inside of the
campground. 

The campground in on the shore of Lake Erie but the campsites are not within sight of the lake. It is a large and nicely laid out campground. I used their laundry today which is a first for me since state parks rarely have laundries and the ones that have had them, they were too nasty to use. The only thing special to see here is the lake but I drove around some just to make sure. I found the spot where a lot of train tracks end or begin. It seems Toledo is a major rail hub that services Lake Erie. I started to go to the Great Lakes Museum and tour the freighter they have on display but I just couldn't get excited enough to go. I guess I'm getting a little jaded.

I did find a nice little city park just a mile or so outside the campground. 

The lake was a little windy and there was a nip in the air. That house was in a great location.

Whoever laid out this little walkway did a great job. 

A couple of nice thinking benches. I spent a little while sitting here enjoying the cool breeze and nice view. 

I'll be pulling out of here tomorrow with a short tow of only about 140 miles to a campground on the banks of the Saint Clair River. I saw this campground from a boat tour I took a couple years ago and have been wanting to go back to camp there. I will also be able to check in on Lake Huron to see if it is as blue as I remember. The straight shot takes be through downtown Detroit but I've decided go a little out of my way to avoid it. As usual when passing close or through big cities, I'll just turn the music up to drown out the gunshots and look for bullet holes in Freedom and Liberty once I get to the campground. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.  

   

Hot, Hotter, Hottest and 2 posts in 1

Current Location: Dam West COE Campground (el 675 ft); Carlyle, Illinois
Previous Location: Cape Camping and RV Park (el 390 ft); Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Pictures are a combination in this post. Some are Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone others are Nikon D5100.

Route thru current stop #3

I've sort of fallen behind with making posts to the blog. I don't have any reason other than laziness. As you can see, this is two posts. After I left Tom Sawyer's Campground, I headed north into southeastern Missouri. Specifically, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. That is the town I lived in when I was 16 and 17. I camped here a couple years ago and wrote a pretty good blog post about it which includes the time I thought I was going to die. This link will take you to that post. It will be easier reading the rest of this post if you go to the link first:

gozatravels.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-river-will-tell-you-your-future.html 

I road around town a little bit and saw the old places but not any of the old people. Red Star Baptist Church looked as if it was deserted. I'm not sure it is even a church anymore. I sat for a while in the parking lot and just looked at. In it's heyday it drew teenagers and adults from all over. I could visualize us teenagers all over those front steps, laughing and joking and feeling good about ourselves and the church. It was a special summer, that summer of 72. We teenagers were exposed to good and evil that summer and I'm sure it tempered all of our lives.

Campsite at the COE Park. 

After leaving Cape, I drove north into Illinois and am currently camped in a nice Corps of Engineers Campground in Carlyle. My plans were to come here for 4 days while exploring the ancient Indian ruins of "Cohokia". It was the largest Indian settlement in North America. But like so many others during that time of 1000 to 1300 AD, most of the people just abandoned it and moved on. That information is what got me interested in seeing the place. However, the high temperatures kept me away. This area is in the middle of an extreme heat wave with temperatures approaching 100 degrees with heat indices in the 110 to 115 range. Too hot for me to be wandering around some old Indian Mounds. I'll keep it on my list for the next time I'm in the area. 

One great thing that I did do was have lunch with an old friend from high school. If you read the link above, you will recognize his name as being Mike Jones. The guy who went with me to Red River, New Mexico when we were 17 years of age. It was the first time we've seen each other in over 43 years. We had a nice lunch and got caught up with each others lives and relived many memories. It was a very good time.

Sorry there weren't many pictures, but most would have been repeats from the link above.

Tomorrow is moving day and it will be another long one. I planned to break it up into two days but changed my mind and will just drive. It will be a little less than 500 miles and I hope to get an early start. I've checked the weather forecast and I should get behind this stationary front that is keeping it so hot and humid around here. The prediction is to have temps about 15 degrees cooler within a couple of hours after leaving tomorrow. If all goes as planned, I'll be sleeping in an Ohio State Park on the shores of Lake Erie tomorrow evening.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

"Roll on Mississippi,,,,,, roll on"

Location: Tom Sawyer's RV Park (el. 100 ft); West Memphis, Arkansas

all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 cell phone
(click pictures to enlarge)

Stop number 1

Well, it's been a month since I've posted anything to the blog. During that time, I've been parked in Mansfield getting some updates on my son. His condition is such that I can take a short trip and return to Mansfield by the first of September. The timing works out well since the Forest River Owner's Group RV Rally will be going on during the first week of August. That is where I got several thousand dollars of free work on Liberty. The post that describes that surprisingly beneficial experience is located here:
http://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2016/08/liberty-gets-free-facelift-plus-much.html

I decided to make the first day a long haul of 380 miles since I couldn't decide about anything to see along the way. It is getting more and more difficult for me to decide about places to go and things to see along the way. I used to be torn between directions to go since I was new on the road. I know I haven't seen nearly as much as I want to see, but I find myself second guessing places to go. I will read up on a place and find a nice campground then change my mind. So, in answer to that problem, I just decided to drive. The 380 miles got me to an old campground I stayed at a couple of years ago. It is Tom Sawyer's Campground in West Memphis, Arkansas and is located right on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River. It is a great place to watch the tow boats working on the river pushing their barges up and down the river. It is like a parade as the boats and their tows pass by. I'm posting another link. It is to my blog post from 2 years ago when I was at this campground.
http://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2014/10/watching-towboats-work-and-taking-it.html 

Wow, two links in the same post. I must be getting too lazy to keep up with this blog. How about some pictures? 

There are lots of "thinking benches" along the bank. As the tows come by, people come and sit to watch them pass.

A small storm passed through during the day which left these clouds to put on a show at dusk.

One of the many tows that passed by. Pretty clouds, uh?

The tow boat,,,,, "disappearing around the bend. Roll on Mississippi, rolllll on." Some paraphrased lyrics from an old Charlie Pride song. I think of it just about every time I see the river.

Evening on the river. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading a few hours north of here. It will be another "river town", but the campground is not on the river. It is another of my old home places and again will be the second time I've camped there. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road. 

Mount Nebo and Lake Dardanelle

Location: Old Post Road Corps of Engineers Campground (el. 330 ft); Russellville, Arkansas

All pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 cell phone
click pictures to enlarge

Stop number 12. Next stop
Mansfield, LA.

As I left El Reno, the landscape changed again. Trees became more and more common. Once I crossed into Arkansas it was as if the Great Plains were but a distant memory. I chose a Corps of Engineer campground on the Arkansas river near Russellville, Arkansas. I know, I know, I remember the "bad juju" COE campground a month ago. But like I said then, I had never stayed in a bad COE campground and don't expect any more to be like that one. This is the first campground I have ever stayed in where they allow you to dump your grey water on the ground at the campsite. I'm not doing that but there are several RV's that are watering trees. 

Interstate highway 40 in eastern Oklahoma

The trees are crowding in which restricts the view to the left and right. I have mixed feelings about this "semi tunnel effect".

Nice COE campsite with the Arkansas River right out the back. That dam in the background is what brought me here. 

This is another project which my father helped build. This was earlier in his career so he would have been the Concrete Superintendent for the construction company. The dam is about 55 years old and still looking good. It is a hydro dam so it has been producing low cost electricity for all those years. 

That is the lock gate on the right. I've only seen a could tows passing by. I guess it is still too early for the harvest in the plains.

One of those concrete pours in the dam is the one that "encouraged" my older brother to go to college. He graduated high school while we lived here and started work in one of the several concrete crews my father supervised. This was intended to be a summer job before starting college in the fall. He liked the money and mentioned to my father and mother that he would just as soon work construction instead of going to college. That was a mistake. The next concrete pour, little did my brother know, but my father told the foremen to work my brother just short of killing him. When that 10 hour pour was over, my brother was covered head to toe in concrete and he was flat worn out. That evening while eating supper, he informed my parents that he had changed his mind and thought college was a great idea. He didn't learn about my father's "teaching experience" for several years after her graduated from Arkansas Tech, located right here in Russellville. Yep, my brother stayed behind while my parents, sister and I went to the next project, this time in Pennsylvania. 

The dam made a nice lake called Lake Dardanelle. That distinctive tower in the background is a cooling tower for a nuclear power plant. Wow, two environmentally friendly power plants within a few miles of each other. Arkansas, the Natural State. :)

Another view of the lake

Last view of the lake.

Sun setting over the dam. A nice breeze is keeping the skeeters from attacking but the lightening bugs don't seem to be affected by the breeze.

A view from on top of Mount Nebo. It is a nice state park on top of a mountain just a short ways away from the campground. 

Oops, this is another view of the lake. This time from way up high. Nice views from Nebo. Probably in the top 10 that I've seen around the country.

Each end of the mountain has an overlook. I was lucky to be the only one there at both. 

This is one of the better bench pictures in a long time.

That sign will make RV'ers pucker up a little tighter. 

 Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be sleeping in Mansfield tomorrow night. I'll be there at least one month. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Oklahoma; Driving Across the Prairie

Location: Lake El Reno RV Park (el. 1,400 ft); El Reno, Oklahoma

All pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone
Click pictures to enlarge

Stop number 11

The title of the post is a line from a song. If you know it, put in the comments. A fantastic prize awaits all who respond correctly. But wait,,,,, if you do so within 10 minutes of reading the post I will double your prize and you will win two, yes, two, fantastic prizes. (Just pay additional handling charges.) 
Just kidding about the prizes, but the title is a song lyric. 

As the title says, I drove across the Oklahoma prairie. The total drive on Friday was a little over 440 tiring miles, with about 300 miles of it in Oklahoma. I had planned to drive to Dodge City, Kansas before turning south but made a wrong turn in Lamar, Colorado. I didn't realize it for 30 minutes or so when I wondered why I was headed south instead of east. Oh well, I had looked at several different routes with all of them about the same mileage. The way I looked at it, I missed that turn for a reason. I just don't know the reason, but since everything happens for a reason, there must be one. I arrived in El Reno close to 5:30 in the evening which is way, way later than I usually arrive at a campground. I stopped here about a month ago. It is a city owned park with a first come, first serve system where you pay the iron ranger after getting set up. It is a nice park and I'm using it for a 3 day rest. I've dropped about 7,000 feet in elevation over the last few day and I can really tell a positive difference. The wind here in Oklahoma will drive a person crazy. It is blowing consistently at 20+ mph with gusts in the 30 mph range. It has blown this way both times I've passed through here. I will avoid Oklahoma as much as possible in the future. 

Driving 300 miles across the Oklahoma prairie had me thinking about what I had learned in high school about Oklahoma. The only two things I remembered was several Indian tribes has been relocated to the Oklahoma Territory and of course the Oklahoma Land Rush. That Land Rush happened between 1889 and 1895 when about 15,000,000 acres of land was up for grabs to whoever was quick enough to claim their homestead. The homestead was 160 acres of land and it was yours free of charge after 5 years if you improved it by either agriculture, living on it or used it for some type of industry. Most of the nearly 100,000 homesteaders used their land to raise cattle and grow crops.

Most of the homesteaders would have been in their 20's and came from all of the eastern states looking to start a new life with free land and hard work. They would have been in their 50's when the Great Dust Bowl hit this area during the 1930's. Sixty percent of the homesteaders and farmers lost their lands during that decade. The ones who survived and retained their lands, probably increased their land holdings by buying up adjacent property for very little money. As the children of the homesteaders grew into adults, many would leave the farms for the cities and when their parents passed away, the farm would have been sold. Usually it would have been sold to neighbors because it wouldn't have been the "right thing" to sell to strangers. As time went by, what started out as a 160 acre homestead may have grown 10 or 20 times in size. But, you can still see signs of the original homesteaders lives. Some of the signs are clumps of trees which were planted to surround a house and serve as a wind or snow break. Other places you could see the left overs of root cellers/storm shelters. How many hard lives had passed through this area that I was casually driving through? How many times had those fields been plowed, first by horses, then by tractors. Sometimes, it was as if I could see those ghosts still working the fields and waving to me as drove down the road. Those work days would have been long and hard with no trees for shade under which to rest and maybe eat a bite of lunch or drink some cool water. Nothing but hot sun and that dang wind. And what a wind it is,,,, I've only been here for 3 days and the wind is always blowing. I'll be glad to leave. I hope by slide toppers survive.

I believe that is wheat on the right. There were some locations that were harvesting. I don't know how many cuttings per year they get in this area.

I think that was called Indian Butte. I also tried to get the spiral vapor trail.

An old home place. They were scattered everywhere.

Another tree that had been planted by someone in the past. Picnics and dinners were probably had beneath its boughs, now, it stands alone.

Can you imagine plowing these fields with a horse and plow. Hard, hard work. Then to see it all blow away in the 30's. Wow.

Some of the old homes looked a little newer. Possibly from the time after the dust bowl and perhaps after WW2. But they all, had the trees around them.

The more trees, the bigger the house and out buildings. It would be interesting to know if that bunch of trees were the home of original homesteaders. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading to a Corp of Engineers Campground just downstream of a dam my father work on near Russellville, Arkansas. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.