Adios, Escapade! - Sedalia, Missouri

This morning was the test. Would we make it out or have to call a tow truck? The last couple of days have been sunny with some wind and the ground looked dry. Several rigs made it out early this morning, including our new friends, Roger & Missy Pierce. We made it out without any problems!

We drove the short one-hour trip over to Higginsville. We plan to visit (again) the Spacecraft Mfg. factory in Concordia. We are very interested in their custom-built 5th wheels and want to view their models in more detail.

Free Entertainment - Sedalia, Missouri

Today was the leaving day for a lot of Escapees. Many had to be towed out and some got out under their own power. It was interesting (and entertaining) to see some of the methods that were used to get out of the mud. In one instance it looked like a caravan...the owner's truck was hooked to the 5th wheel then two other 4x4 pickups that were hooked in series with towing straps, pulled the trailer out. In another situation, the owner used strips of plywood and made a dry path to the road . We saw another rig, with about ten guys pushing the trailer, get out of the mud.

We didn't sit around all day. We went to lunch with some new friends, then later out for ice cream (dinner). In the evening we walked over to Monty & Betty Montgomery's site (new friends met in Branson) and visited until it was dark.

We are staying another day and the weather outlook is SUNNY and breezy. Hopefully, the ground will be dried out enough for us to get out under our own power...stay tuned!

New Wireless Setup - Sedalia, Missouri

I have had it with the AT&T cellular Internet service! In most of the areas we have traveled to recently, the service is either non-existent or so slow it is unusable. I canceled the service and signed up with Verizon. Their mobile broadband covers a much larger area. Also, most of the RV'ers I have talked with agree that Verizon provides the best wireless Internet coverage.

Below is our current configuration. The Verizon USB data card is connected to a Cradlepoint CTR-500 router to allow both of our laptops to share the cellular service. The cable attached to the Verizon card connects to an external antenna which is mounted on the trailer's ladder.

Rain, Mud, More Rain, More Mud - Sedalia, Missouri

We are still at Escapade. It's been fun...learning new stuff and meeting new people. Entertainment was provided on Sunday and Monday nights. Tonight is the talent show, also know as Ham-or-Rama.

It's been raining on and off since Sunday and the ground is saturated. Since everyone is parked on the grass, it is highly probable that the wrecker companies are going to make a fortune when everyone starts leaving on Friday. There has already been three or four rigs, who had to leave early, pulled out by wreckers. The weather forecast is sunny (yeah!) the rest of the week. We are staying until Sunday. So, hopefully the ground will be dried out by then.

Escapade 2009 - Sedalia, Missouri

We left Branson this morning and drove the three hours to Sedalia for Escapade. We parked with full hookups, though the water hookup was fifty feet away. We went over to Market Row to see what RV-related goodies we couldn't live without. When we returned to the trailer, a couple we had met two years ago in Branson were parked across from us. We went over and caught up with each other's travels over the last two years.

Escapade officially starts tomorrow and this week should be busy attending seminars, nightly entertainment and visiting.

Winding Down - Branson, Missouri

We made our last visit to Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ Festival. We saw more than twenty shows during our six visits. We definitely got our money's worth out of our season passes. We made it back to the RV park in time for root beer floats and some free, live entertainment.

We'll spend the next two days washing the trailer and jeep, and getting things ready for our trip, on Saturday, to Sedalia, Missouri for Escapade 2009.

Bluegrass, BBQ and Tornado Warnings? - Branson, Missouri

Today was the beginning of the Bluegrass & BBQ Festival at Silver Dollar City. We arrived just in time to see the Link Family at one of the outdoor venues. We had seen them perform this past winter at the Paradise South RV Resort in Mercedes. About ten minutes into their performance it began to rain and the rest of their performance was cancelled. It was a good thing we had brought our umbrella. We walked over to the Opera House and waited in line (in the rain) for another show. By the time it was over the rain had stopped and the sun was out. The rest of the day was bright and sunny. We took in a total of seven shows. We wandered over to the woodworking pavilion to see if a woodworker, named Ralph, was there. We had met him two years ago and had a nice conversation.

Later in the evening we were watching the approaching weather. We decided to stay up on the chance there would be bad weather. Around 12:15am, the winds started blowing so we decided to walk up to the clubhouse before it started raining. There was no one around. In about five minutes, the city sirens sounded and the we had an unscheduled social hour at the clubhouse. The rain passed over quickly and the tornado warning was lifted by 1:00am. We walked back to the rig and went to bed.

Early Morning WakeUp Call - Branson, Missouri

Our weather alert radio went off early this morning. The warning was for severe thunderstorms and high winds. We got up and dressed just as the City of Hollister's warning siren was sounding. We put on our jackets and rushed, in the rain, up to the park's rock building. The storm passed over without incident in about thirty minutes. Later, there were reports of wind damage in other parts of Branson. Closer to Springfield, a school had its roof blown off. The rain continued on-and-off for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Later in the afternoon we went out for lunch at a local Mexican food restaurant. Note to self: Don't visit Branson in May...too much rain!

Table Rock Lake - Branson, Missouri

Since it wasn't raining today, we decided to drive around and enjoy the sunshine. We stopped at the Table Rock Lake Dam Visitor's Center. The dam was build in the '50s by the COE and created Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo. There is fish hatchery next to the dam where they raise rainbow trout.


We decided to register for Escapade 2009 that is being held in Sedalia, Missouri at the end of May. We spent the evening playing board games and dominoes with two other campers at the rec. center.

Rain, Rain and More Rain - Branson, Missouri

We spent last Wednesday at Silver Dollar City. We saw three shows at the WorldFest Festival before it started raining. We left and went back to the campground. It rained Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Silver Dollar City is closed until Friday, of this week, in order to switch over to the Bluegrass and BBQ Festival.

Today, since it wasn't raining, I decided to do some maintenance. I flushed the hot water heater, recharged the water softener, and washed the 5th wheel. We got together with some other campers for cards and games in the evening.

There is a chance of rain all this week! This weather is getting "old", real fast!