Moline and Peoria Illinois

We sure had fun in Iowa but it became time to hit the road. A short drive of 77 MI took us to Fisherman's Corner Recreation Area, a Corps of Engineers Park in Moline, Illinois.

We were only there only a few days but we found some good hikes and a fun round of disc golf. However, the highlight of the trip was meeting up with our friends. Cathy and Craig whom we first met at Imperial Bonita Estates RV Resort in Bonita Springs, Florida. As it always seems to be the case it was as if we had never been away from Florida. While it had been many years since we saw them last, we picked up right where we had left off and had a blast reconnecting with them. Until next time, Cathy and Craig!

Our next stop was 93 miles further east to Carl Spindler Campground in Peoria Illinois, a county-owned Park. This RV park is part of a marina so there are boat slips as well as RV sites. We enjoyed staying at this nice little park on the water front. We were only there a few days as well as our appointment to have new RV levelers installed in Michigan is coming up pretty soon.

Nonetheless we did have fun exploring the city of Peoria Illinois. We also made time for a beautiful scenic drive which surprised us with its elevation and the densely forested rolling hills alongside the river.

Sadly, this year seems to be the year that a lot of little things are failing on the RV. The slide out sheer bolt broke and we replaced that. Fortunately, it seems to be working. We still have a water leak from our front AC unit as the water condensation pump has failed. Locating this part on the road has been a challenge. And now it appears that our amplified antenna for our TV has failed.

But hey, it's not all fun and games on the Road of Retirement..

Menlo and Cedar Rapids, Iowa

As morning rolled around, we packed up our rig and hit the road. Since we're a little behind schedule due to the mechanical issues, we quickly headed 109 miles east to Menlo, Iowa, a tiny little farming town. We only spent one night in Menlo City Park and didn't do anything other than take a small drive around the town.

However, upon setting up while we were putting our large living room slide out, I heard a shear pin break right as it was fully extended. I went to a True Value store in a nearby town to buy a bolt to hold me over until I could find a more proper bolt to serve as a shear pin. Alas, this store was no longer in business. Fortunately I had a less strong bolt that would at least allow us to pull the in the slide on travel day.

With our new makeshift shear pin in place, our next stop was 164 miles further east to Sugar Bottom Recreation Area near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We've been to this park before and really enjoyed it. It's another Corps of Engineers Park situated on a lake with lots to do nearby.

We were primarily there to visit friends, John and Jane, whom we met on the road years ago. They now live in downtown Cedar Rapids. We spent a few evenings with them having dinner and happy hours together while rehashing old times. Although we hadn't seen them in 6 years, it was incredible how we just picked right back up as though we never missed a day apart. We feel so very fortunate to have met many life-long friends on the road all over the USA.

There was also a really nice 18-hole disc golf course at Sugar Bottom Park which we played. The front nine was much more open and friendly than the back 9 which was heavily wooded with some brutally challenging holes but it was fun nonetheless.

Before leaving the area other friends of ours, Roger and Lynn, whom we first met in Arizona contacted us! They now live real close to where we were staying so we met up with them for happy hour our last night at Sugar Bottom and once again we reconnected immediately.

As always, we also did a few hikes along the trails at the park where we happily saw lots of birds and beautiful flowers in bloom.

Once again it all too quickly became time for us to move on down the road and so off we went...

Papillion Nebraska

Our next stop would be another short drive of only 75 MI. We pulled into Walnut Creek Lake Recreation area in the city of Papillion Nebraska and set up camp. This park is a beautiful first-come first-serve park with concrete pads and some sites with 50 amp service. We were lucky to grab the last 50 amp site the day we arrived. There was no water or sewer connection at the site.

After we set up camp, I decided to check all the fluids in the RV which I do routinely. Noticing the brake fluid was low. I added a little bit of 3-Dot brake fluid and made a note to keep an eye on it.

The next morning, we hiked around the lake which was a little bit over 3 mi. around. What a nice trail this was as it looped through both wooded areas and fields while occasionally nearing some neighborhoods. We saw lots of different birds and many flowers blooming. It has definitely become much greener as we move further North and East.

One early morning I heard a bunch of birds making a lot of noise outside the RV. I went outside to investigate and was very surprised to see a Great-horned Owl about 20 ft behind the RV. I went back inside to get my camera. When I came back out I noticed there were not one but two immature Great-horned Owls. What fun that was just watching them exploring the area while I snapped off a few pictures.

Later that morning I noticed a small puddle of clear liquid under the front of the RV. At first I thought it was water since we have a failed water impeller on our front A/C which means the water flows wherever it can. As I inspected it more closely it turned out to be brake fluid, which I knew was not a good thing. I was careful not spill any when I added brake fluid earlier. I was pretty sure we had a problem with our master cylinder.

As many RV'ers know, having mechanical work done on the road is a challenge. But after a day or so of trying to find someone to work on the RV ASAP we were able to locate a mobile mechanic to come out. The mobile mechanic, Don, verified my assumption but also said he couldn't repair it on the site. Luckily for us he was able to schedule us 3 days later in their shop to have it repaired. We were really happy to be staying at a first-come first-serve park as we simply just added days until the motorhome was repaired.

We spent a whole day at Hatcher Mobile Services in Papillion, Nebraska having a new master cylinder installed. When finished we drove back to the RV park (we had already paid for another night thus, holding our site). The next morning before readying to leave, I noticed another smaller puddle of brake fluid underneath the front of the motorhome. Sigh!

I called up Hatcher Services and explained the issue and they told me to bring it back in immediately and they would look at it. We added yet another day at the park and drove the RV to the shop. Fortunately for us it turned out that it was only residual brake fluid from the repair and they admitted they probably didn't do as good a job cleaning up as they should have. They cleaned it all up, retested all the lines and connections then took it for a test drive. No brake fluid was leaking (and there was no further

charges) so we happily went back home to our park relieved to finally be able to leave the next day.

It's never a great experience having repairs done on the road. We were certainly in the right spot at the right time to get it done. Being able to add days in an RV park in the summer is never easy, but with us being in this park it was as easy as it could be.

We would be remiss if we didn't voice our appreciation for Don and the other very friendly folks at Hatcher Mobile Services! Thanks, guys!

Now that we're all fixed up, we'll get back on the Road of Retirement...

Crete Nebraska

Travel Day! Next stop would be Tuxedo Park and Camping in Crete Nebraska, just south of Lincoln. Our drive was 132 miles and thankfully it was uneventful.

Tuxedo Park is a small-town park in Crete that has 20 hookup sites, 10 with 50 amp and 10 with 30 amp all for only $20 per night. None of the sites have water or sewer so you'll want to get some water before settling in. The park itself is heavily wooded and rather scenic as it abuts the Big Blue River which was right behind our RV. We were the only ones there during our stay however the park is frequented by locals mostly for using the playground.

Shortly after we set up a small family parked across from us to use the playground and when it was time for them to leave their car wouldn't work. I tried to help them out but it turned out to be a broken serpentine belt.

The little town of Crete is kind of cool. It has most everything you need and it has some interesting architectural features on some of the older buildings. We even found a very friendly meat market called Blue River Meats. Stop by if you are ever in this area..

Another day we wanted to check out Doane University located here in Crete Nebraska. It's a private liberal arts college that focuses on student centered education. Enrollment is about 2000 and the campus was very walkable and very scenic. Our favorite building was an old mid 1800's planetarium.

We had a nice peaceful stop here in Crete Nebraska. We had one more evening of watching the butterflies working the bellflowers along the big blue river before heading out to our next stop, Papillion Nebraska.

Methodist Cove COE park, Nebraska

Travel day came again and our next planned stop would be at a lake where we'd be camping in Methodist Cove campground near Alma Nebraska. It was a really short 48 Mile uneventful drive which was nice!

Methodist Cove is another Corps of Engineers campground and as such the sites were huge. This beautiful Park is shaded by lots of trees and within view of a large lake. We love the COE parks because we can use our America the Beautiful pass and receive ½ off camping rates. Great sites, great rates!

We were only there for two nights and with it being out in the middle of nowhere we pretty much stayed close to camp. We had some leisurely strolls within the campground and around the lake on a really nice trail. Lot of plants were in bloom and we even saw lots of wild marijuana. Marajuana was planted as a hemp crop in the midwest during World War II. It escaped and can still be found growing throughout the midwest.

We also had some fun at a really nicely laid out 12 hole disc golf course. There were views of the lake from nearly every hole so it was not only fun but scenic.

Another plus was there were lots and lots of birds as well. This became our biggest entertainment during our stay. We wanted to stay at Methodist Cove longer but it was full for the weekend so we moved north to the little town of Holdrege Nebraska and stayed at their little City Park.

It was a drive of just 28 mi to our North and the park had just ten first come first served sites. There was no water or sewer but we did have 50 amps of power which was good because the temperatures were in the '90s. It was a convenient little place to stay for the weekend.

A big positive at this location was that we could walk a short distance into Holdrege where there was a brewery called Lost Way. While their beers were great, they were a little bit on the pricey side, especially considering how small this little town is. Therefore we opted to only visit one evening for happy hour.

We discovered Holdrege also had a little 9-hole disc golf course. Located in a city park the course was really fun although not overly challenging. We enjoyed the course so much we played twice in one day

We have been lucky with good weather but knowing how the weather in the Midwest can change quickly we are carefully watching. Once the weekend is over we'll head east near Lincoln, Nebraska for our next stop, so stay tuned.