Watkins Woolen Mill State Park, MO

We arrived at this beautiful State Park last Thursday, but have not had internet hookup until today. Last night, Sunday, a man arrived in his fifth wheel trailer and set up camp two spaces from us. While we were enjoying happy hour, he walked by and we hailed him for a visit. He lives in Liberty MO, and was here to spend a week while his wife went back east to visit her daughter and new baby. He is working in Liberty every day, and commuting to and from the park. His tow vehicle is an F450 Ford, V-10 with custom bed for towing. However, with fuel prices as they are, he will return on Monday with his Harley...more fuel efficient for the daily commute. He has a Hughes Internet Satellite Dish and told us that he left it open so that people he met might be able to use it. Hence, we have internet service today, a week before I our planned arrival in Smith Center at the Excel factory for our service appointment. The satellite internet is not as fast as Comcast broadband. It is billed as the speed of DSL. Better than what I was using yesterday, for sure (which was nothing).

Watkins Woolen Mill SP is an absolutely beautiful park. Seems like every park into which we have gone in Missouri is a gem. Missouri voters voted a 1/10 of 1% sales tax to improve state parks and historical areas. Improvements are in every park we have visited. Paved drive areas, gravel parking, grassy and shady camp spots, new restrooms with individual shower and dressing rooms. We have 50 Amp electricity but no water or sewer hookup. So, we have to break down and move the trailer to dump. Kind of a disadvantage, but the site is terrific. Also, Excel, our brand of 5th wheel, has made the dumping of holding tanks almost touch free, so this is the easiest we have ever had the necessary tank maintenance.

The history here is amazing, too. This is the only remaining 19th century woolen mill in the US with original equipment in place. Waltus Watkins moved from KY in the middle 1800's had a family of 9 children. He, his wife, and one unmarried sister and all the children lived in a two room cabin on the 80 acres of land he bought. A good business man, he learned how to make brick, and built a kiln. Set up a saw mill for dimention lumber, planted several orchards, cultivated fields for crops, sold dried fruit, farm produce, raised livestock, built the woolen mill, had a general store, and employed about 40 people plus three slaves. Soon he had 3660 acres. He was also a justice of the peace, served in the legislature. built a church and school for his employees and was a trustee for the nearby William Jewel College. All of his children, including the girls, had at least some college. Get this...his desk was tall so he had to stand up to work. His philosophy was that if one sat down to work, they were lazy. I think he had too much drive.

Missouri had the third highest number of encounters (skirmishes) during the civil war of all other states, but he was able to keep on the good side of both sides. Probably made blue and grey wool yardage for uniforms for both sides. The house he built also still stands and is 70% furnished with original family items. A living history interpretive staff does a great job of explaining the history.

Yesterday, we drove to Jesse James farm and birthplace. His mother continued to live there and ultimatley died here. Within a month after his murder in St. Joseph, the family was giving tours of the farm (revenue); in his day, he was extremely famous. His birth father, the Rev. Mr. James was the minister of the church that the Watkins family attended until they built their own church and school. The farm is interpreted by the staff of Clay County, Misssouri Parks. Also, pretty well done, but they could use some coaching on preservation. The racoons keep getting into the old house and chewing up things.

Today, we went to the vet for Miss Kitty. She has decided not to eat her food. Looks to us like a chewing issue. But the vet said the teeth and gums look okay. We left her for overnight for blood work, urine test and follow-up for her hyperthyroid condition. Well, we'll see what the vet says in the morning.

We will move on in a day or two. Betty wants to stop in Washington KS where service dogs are trained. This is on Highway 36 on our way to Smith Center. This should be very interesting.

Final note: Fuel in Merriam KS was $3.32 when we left. Here, in Kearney MO, the fuel is $3.09

Have I mentioned it yet??? We LOVE being retired and LOVE this leisurely life out here. But we are looking forward to seeing the family at the end of the month, back in Denver.

Hugs to you all...

Leaving Kansas City

On Monday 8/14, we will depart Kansas City and work our way north and west toward Smith Center KS. I have an appointment with the factory for some service items, and figure that I will get them taken care of while in the neighborhood. The GOOD folks at RV Sales in Moriarty NM are more than capable of doing the jobs, but I figure since I am here, well the factory should be capable, too. We want to stay at a couple MO State Parks north of here to see the sites, and hopefully the heat won't be as bad as the past month. Tonight, we had rain and the cool-down has come. However, the humidity is up. Tomorrow will tell a story, I know. The 15 day forecast is for upper 80's. Lots better than upper 90's to lower 100's.

Betty has her last physical therapy appointment Monday, early PM. Her back is doing much better with the treatments. The Shawnee Mission Medical Center is just down I-35 at 75th Street and is about 6 minutes from Merriam where we are in the Walnut Grove RV Park.

Oooo. The rain just picked up and is pelting the trailer. Lightning and thunder. Just as long as the famous winds of "tornado alley" don't kick up.

We went TV shopping with our friend Bev, today. New TV for her living room with a DVD player so the two grand daughters can watch TV close to her when they are staying over. This will be so good for her. While we were shopping, Bev's son decided he would carry the old TV from the living room to the lower level lounge area. A 37"...By himself. Darned if he didn't miss a stair carrying it down. He fell. Luckily, he fell backwards and the TV, the wall, the vase and its stand, none of that was damaged. He, on the other hand has a large bruise on his thigh and a deep gash in his hand which took stitches. He drove himself to the urgent care facility and called his mother while on the road to tell her not to worry...RIGHT! Well, he got a shot of antibiotics, a tetanus shot, a metal splint on the finger to be sure the stitch holds, and a complimentary Ace Bandage. Oh, did I mention that his mother gave him a lecture (after she found out he was okay) and his wife gave him a piece of her mind? He admits it was a "bone-head" thing to do. I wonder why TV manufacturers do not put hand grips on a TV that large. Gee, 'cause TWO PEOPLE ARE NEEDED. We surely are glad that he is okay.

We said our good-byes to Bev tonight with tears and hugs, thank yous and promises of next visits to come by both of us. This has really been a treat for us to spend this time with her as she has made the move to KC. She is looking forward to settling into her new community. (see past postings for additional discussion about our experiences over the past 5 weeks). It was REALLY hard to say good-bye. We look forward to another day and another time.

We were back in Lakewood (Lees Summit) on Wednesday as guest of our old friends and former boat partners, Wayne and Sue. It was a hot day, over 100. We all donned our swimming atire, and headed for the pontoon boat. Pulling into a cove shaded from the afternoon rays, we grabbed a float and hit the water. No shock as we climbed down the ladder. The water seems only slightly different from the air temperature. Oh, my. We had forgotten just how WONDERFUL those days on the lake had been. We floated for a long time, had a little libation and some guacamole with chips and talked and talked. As it began to get dusk, we hopped back onto the pontoon boat and toured both the east and west lakes. (Lakewood has two lakes formed in an old limestone quarry and joined by a channel. Our townhouse had been located just up from the channel where we could see boats passing between lakes.) Lakewood is now in its final development stages and is truly a community of communities. About 9PM we headed back to their home, and Wayne cooked a pork tenderloin on the grill while Sue combined the gormet accompaniment. We finally left their lovely home near midnight. What a great time in our old neighborhood with good friends. Thanks so much.

Karen and Skip entertained us in their Plaza Condo on Monday, last week, with wine and cheese, laughs and stories. Then we went out into the Plaza for a walk and up to Skip's favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. What a delight...and yes, another late night. Then on Friday, we went back to their home where the four of us took the MAX (express bus) to the convention area downtown KC for the 19th annual Elvis parade and impersonator contest. What a hoot. We saw lots of Elvis look-alikes as they paraded by: some marched in a Scottish Bagpipe band wearing kilts and Elvis hair playing "Love Me Tender" on the bagpipes; a '59 Pink Caddie convertible with Elvis waiving and throwing kisses; a velour (exterior) finished Sedan Deville with Elvis inside; and floats and other conveyances showing off their brands of Elvis. All of this led to the stage area where there was a vocal contest of Elvis music by the impersonators and this year's best was chosen. The grand finale was a gray-haired grandfather being shot out of a huge canon, projecting this aged human through the air (I have his mid-air picture!) to a large net across the open staging area. Man, how can you top the entertainment?

On Saturday evening, we went to the Grand Ballroom at the Embassy Suites near KCI airport for the Heart of America Dancesport Competition. For three hours, we watched some absolutely wonderful dancers compete for trophies, dance scholarships and money prizes. International style foxtrot, quick step, waltz, Viennese waltz, cha-cha, paso doble, rumba, jive, swing, and more. They even had pre-teen and teen competitions. Eveyone was dressed to the 9's. We thought it was better than "Dancing with the Stars" from television.

We are looking forward to being back in Colorado soon. We want to see the family and get ready for Mother's 95th Birthday party. She had a bit of a scare this AM. At 7:30, she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room because the staff at the assisted care facility could not get a nose bleed stopped. The hospital got the job done, and my brother brought her home around noon. She sounded a bit shaky on the phone this evening, so a good sleep will do her some good. But, it took a little starch out of her.

Since we are leaving this city RV Park with WiFi, I don't know when the next posting will be. If lucky, Friday or Saturday I will find a hook up somewhere and do the job. Hope you all stay well and happy.

Cheers!

One more week in Kansas City

Kansas City, well, Lees Summit, was our second home following Denver. We had lots of fun here, and we are revisiting some old haunts, as well as learning new ones. Yes, you all received a bogus message that asked you to save a website link to Walters Dance Center. You don't need to do that. My goof. The message was intended to go to Betty, but I clicked on an adjacent link and everyone was included. Sorry. Of course, when YOU visit Kansas Ctiy, Walters Dance Center will provide you with a great deal of qualtiy dance for $5.00 per person for the evening, $7.00 if you take the lessons beforehand (yes, only $2.00 more for 2 hours of instruction on the dance of the day before before the evening dance time). Pretty cool.

We were at our friend Bev's house today. Maybe unpacked 3 boxes, but had great fun with her amazing decorator items she brought from St. Louis. We mock-hung pictures, tapestries, castings and feather wreaths and actually hung some of those plus many other items. Brass and gold Italian candle sticks were arranged above the undulating kitchen cupboards, mirrors hung in the bathrooms and bedrooms, and stacked boxes of family photos were carried to the storage area for future sorting. Later in the day, Bev's delighful daughter-in-law and two CHARMING grandaughters stopped for a visit. Morgan and Molly were shrieking GORDON, GORDON when they drove into the driveway. I am in LOVE, again. I dunno, there is only 57 years difference. Not TOO bad, huh?

Unfortunately, Bev is still sick. She started out fine this AM, but the constant stress of the past couple years coupled with the move to KC, has brought her exhaustion to a head. She "PROMISED" to sleep a lot, read books, rest, do NO unpacking, not think about all the stuff to do...Yeah, right! for the next 3 days. Well, we will not be there to make her feel like she has to work, so that 's good.

And, you guessed it. We are taking Airborne, Chinese Herbs, and anything else we can think of so that WE will not get sick...just in case exhaustion is not the whole issue.

I have an appointment on Wednesday morning, EARLY, to get the diesel serviced...15,000 mile scheduled maintenance. We only bought it in October. Mercy! And today, BP announced that it will shut down the Alaskan Prudhoe Bay oil field due to corrosion in the pipeline. Diesel in KC is already at $3.32 gal...the most I have seen to date. It is supposed to go higher on this news. Oh, dear. Looks like we may change some plans to go further east, this year.

However, in August of 2007 will be a celebration of the 275th anniversary of the Keller's and Hollel's migration to America in 1732. It will be held near the family homestead in Toms Brook VA in the Shenandoah Valley. When Betty and I worked in D.C. in 1994, we visited the old homestead, the family cemetery, and sites around the area. I hope we will be able to attend this momentous occasion. Traveling 2/3 across the US for such an event will likely be a healthy fuel cost, so will want to make it pay dividends in visits to old friends, as well as in new experienices. Take a look at www.hottelkeller.org to see some of our history.

On Wednesday, we will go to Lakewood (in Lees Summit, MO) where we lived a joyous 6 years. Our friends and former boat partners, Sue and Wayne, are hosting a Kansas City cool down outing for us. Wednesday is supposed to be another HOT one, so we will go over in the afternoon, swim suits and all, and spend the afternoon on the pontoon boat...or, in the water along side. Then, Sue will prepare a pork tenderloin and the necesary accompaniments for dinner. Knowing Sue, this will be an event to behold. Man, can't wait. It will be fun to see the old neighborhood. We understand that the east lake (our neighborhood had two: east and west lakes) is nearly completely developed. Well, this will be a fun outing.

Skip and Karen, former Lakewood neighbors, had us to their Plaza Condo last night for wine and cheese (even though it was sweet with the cherries, karen, it was GOOD cheese). Then a walk around the Plaza (only 90 with 60%) until we arrived at a favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. Surf and turf...crusted shrimp and beef tenderloin. Yes, Linda, Weight Watchers would not be proud. I calculated that I used up 30 of my 35 EXTRA flex-plan points. We continue to hold our own: Betty is still in her Lifetime range, actually within 1/2 pound of her lowest weight. I am holding my own at 10 pounds ABOVE my lowest weight! Yes, Betty has MUCH better control. But, I was higher than this, and I am bring my weight back down. ...albeit slowly.

Friday, we go to Barney Ellis Plaza downtown KC for a noon parade in honor of the anniversary of the passing of Elvis on August 16, 1977. All local Elvis impersonators will be present and many will perform. Should be a HOOT! We are going with Karen and Skip and will drive to the Plaza then take a bus to town. Don't want to fuss with the traffic and the renovation of downtown KC.

Joanie and Jerry left our Lakewood (Denver) condo on the 6th and headed back to Scottsdale where it is undoubtedly cooler...HA. Betty has had lots of fun talking to Joanie on the phone to discover where they have gone, their favorite restaurants, etc. Boy, it takes an out-of-towner to teach you about your home area. We have lots of turf to cover in October and December while home from travels.

And, to our friends on the Outer Banks, Jim and Bette.....WAHOOOOOO! Bone scan is negative...the prostate cancer has not spread. Move ahead and get that Allegro BP. Full timing awaits you. Life ahead of you is EVERYTHING that you know how to handle. The Class of 2006 stands with you on this journey. Betty and I hope to see you in Quartzite in January.

Well, better hit the rack. It is after midnight in Kansas City. Pretty sleepy out. Will try my weekly update this coming weekend.

Hugs to you all.