A Test of our Patience and it is Great to Have Awesome Friends

As I mentioned in my last entry, we had a plan. On May 13, we would first take the trailer up to my friend, Bob's house to moochdock in his driveway, while he and his wife were out of the country. The plan was to then go to the lake the next day to start a 2 day sailing class. After the class was completed I planned to go back to the ranch to get the boat and bring it up to Lake Stockton and put it in the water for the first time. That is of course if during the class I determined that I hated sailing and would then go back and sell the boat and move on to other endeavors.

In the previous two weeks I had spent about $1500 on the truck doing the 200K mile service and replacing the rear brakes for the 4th time. The truck seemed to be running perfectly for the 2 hour tow up to Bob's. Just as I was pulling into his driveway the truck just died. It would crank, but it would not start. My truck was in the driveway, but the trailer was now blocking both lanes of traffic. It is not a very busy road, but I still felt the need to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Kim ran up the hill to Bob's house to see if Bob could pull me off the road. I (being a Ford guy), had to suffer the indignity of being pulled by Bob's Chevy into his drive and up the hill to a place where we were somewhat level. We then used his truck to help me unhitch and leave the truck in a place where a tow truck could get to it.

The problem was that I had my first sailing class the next morning at 9AM. Bob is a great friend and offered to let me use his truck to get back and forth to the school. THANKS Bob!!!

I was up early on May 14. I called the Ford dealer in Bolivar, Missouri and arranged to have the truck looked at. I also arranged a tow truck to come out and get the truck. Kim would stay with the truck and trailer and hand off the keys. I would head off to my school. Everything went as planned until they called later in the day and told us they did not have anyone to look at it that day, they had two techs out.

The school went very well. It was two ladies and myself and Mark the instructor. We did some boat prep and then went out on the water. I actually sailed for the first time in my life and guess what? I LOVED IT! No need to sell the boat. We had good wind, Mark said it was over 10 knots. All I know, is there were whitecaps and we were moving along quickly. Each student took a turn at the helm. I learned a couple of very valuable lessons which will stay with me as long as I am sailing. I also gained confidence in the strong winds.

The next day there was almost no wind. I was not sure what we were going to do when I got to the dock. Mark said, "Go Sailing". I was amazed that we could move around very well in almost no wind. We did not go very fast, but we could still move. The combination of the two days and the very different wind conditions was an excellent combination for me. During the second day sail, I took the on-water test and did OK. Then, when we were off the water, I took the written test. I am happy to say, I made a 96. Before the class I was given a book that was about 120 pages packed with basic sailing information. I read it three times and all of that studying payed off. I think it also helped a great deal to do all of the work on the boat to help with the terminology.

When I got done with the test, I got the bad news from the Ford dealership. The truck had major problems. I called the next morning and tried to talk to the service advisor. He was not making sense and his pricing was unbelievably high. I checked with some other shops and then talked to another good friend, Dan (who owns an auto shop) and he told me that he could come up to Bolivar from Republic, Missouri and get the truck and fix it for me. I met him at the dealership and got a very cryptic diagnosis that I paid for and helped Dan load the truck on his car trailer.

I took this quick shot of the truck on the trailer heading away from the Ford dealer.

I got a call from Dan a day later with more bad news, the problem with the truck was not the Fuel Injection Control Module, as the Ford Dealer said it was, it was actually the High Pressure Oil Pump. The HPOP is about $1600. It was a lot of work, but he would try to get it back to me the first of the next week.

To add to the test, one of the AC's on the rig was having issues. It was in the 90's so AC was needed. I determined it was a bad fan motor. I made the drive to Springfield to get one and installed it myself with the help of a YouTube video. That went well.

Over the weekend, our oldest Granddaughter graduated from High School. Congratulations Hannah!

Our daughter Shannon had a very busy week going, so she asked if we could watch Amelia. Of course we said yes. She is just so cute, you can't say no to that girl. Here she is giving Bob's dog her daily petting.

On May 22, I got the call that the truck was ready. Dan saved me a bunch of money and got it fixed fast. The total was still a little over $3K. I drove to the ranch from his shop and the truck was running perfectly. I hitched up the boat and hauled it back to Bob's house. All went well.

The next morning, we took the boat to the Marina and raised the mast and launched it for the first time. It was hot, but with the help of Mark (my instructor and person we bought the boat from) we got it done. We motored out and went for swim. Amelia was still with us, so she got to go for the first ride in the boat. We rented a boat slip for a month for $175 with electric. So, we will settle down and go sailing for the next month. It was tough and very expensive, but we got it done. Here is the boat in her new home.

The next day, Kim and I went out for our first sail. I will write all about that in my next entry.

Repair and Refit of Sailboat

We brought the boat to the ranch on April 16. We found a few things of concern in our pre-purchase inspection, but because we were not able to put it in the water, we were not sure if the boat will even float. The first money we spent was on new tires for the trailer. The trailer appears to be very well built. We feel that it and the motor could easily be worth the $2400 we paid for the entire package. So, we are thinking we got the boat for free. 

We started the first day going over the boat and making a list of projects that are needed to be completed before we could put it in the water to see if we even like sailing. 

The first order of business was to get the boat as water tight as possible. We had a good forecast for the first week, with no rain. We focused on getting the water out of the boat and keeping it out the first time it rained. 

A strange thing happened the first evening. I had a terrible allergic reaction to something. We still do not know what it was. Kim thought it might be mold in the boat, so she spent her first 12 hour day doing a total clean of the entire cabin. When she was done the boat looked 100% better. 

I spent much of the first week working on the companionway hatch cover. I decided to make it out of some red cedar that I have had for many years. It has been strip stacked and drying for over 25 years. The hatch that was with the boat was badly weathered and made out of plywood. It was a problem, but the biggest problem was the threshold and the frame. The wood was cracked and rotten. I decided to replace the entire hatch frame. Here is the end result:

I would like to add a special THANK YOU!!! to my Dad. He has loaned me all of his woodworking tools to use. I was able to do some very intricate work with the help of many of those tools. 

We then decided to put up the mast. I have watched many videos about how to do this. We did this for two reasons. First to see how to do it and second, to get the mast out of our way. We did have one little incident when were we stepping the mast, but in the end we got it done.

You can see the stepping crutch I made out of some old wood.

The mast is 30 feet tall from the water line.

Here is our outboard motor. It is a  mid 80's 15hp Johnson

I did some testing on the outboard. It ran fine, but had a problem with the electric start. I found the problem and it now works perfectly. 

After working some very long days for about a week and a half, we went to Shannon's to watch her 6 kids while they were on a cruise. We really needed the break. I am not sure how much of a break it was. That family goes at full speed all of the time. We celebrated Isabella's 12th birthday and enjoyed our time with the grandkids. 

I stayed at Shannon's for 7 days and Kim stayed for the entire 10. We then got back to work and finished up the project. Here is a list of all of the things we have completed. 

        ○ Sand all wood on boat

○ Treat all wood

○ Install both side rail drains

○ Build companionway door

○ Install all wood

○ Install door and hatch

○ Hook up battery

○ Test interior lights

○ Install outboard

○ Secure battery 

○ Extend cables

○ Test outboard

○ Repair stancions

○ Repair mast light

○ Step mast

○ Remove and Repair Port deck rail

○ Replace halyards

○ Measure anchor line 

○ wash topside and hull

○ polish and wax hull and deck

○ repair trailer lights

○ new wiring

○ install depth finder

○ fix rudder = This turned into a 3 day project

○ seal hatch on starboard side

○ Fix front hatch

seal chain plates 

○ install new bow light

○ new light bulbs

Build leg for table

Buy battery charger 

Reinstall short wall

Install and test rigging 

Install hasp on door 

Check windex installation 

This was our list, but there were a number of other small projects that were not on the list.

On May 12, we were ready to take it to the lake. At least that was the plan. May 13th was a day that changed everything. That is a story all unto itself. I will write all about that day and what followed in my next entry. 

Time to Shift to Another Gear

As I wrote in my last entry, we are taking on a new challenge. We have been living in our trailer for 5 years and 5 months. We have been retired and traveling for 4 years and 5 months. We love our life and have had an amazing time. We love to travel and see new places. We have very little desire to see the same places we have seen before unless it involves seeing family or friends.

I have a history of change. I tend to want major changes in my life on a regular basis. About the time a particular place or job or activity gets comfortable, I am ready to do something else. We both knew this going into our vagabond lifestyle, so it did not come as a surprise to Kim or myself.

I would not say that we have become bored with the RV life. I would say that we would like to continue to travel via RV part of the time, but we would like to travel differently part of the time also. We want to expand our horizons to include many places we have not yet seen. We would like to visit some places that you can not see via RV. Like islands and  other continents. The problem is, I HATE AIRPLANES! I have spent so much time cooped up inside an airplane during my working years that when I retired, I never wanted to fly again! So, what is the solution? You guessed it, A BOAT!

We love boats. We have a powerboat and love to spend time on it. The problem is that it is pretty expensive to explore in it. It is a ski boat and does not have any sleeping quarters. We are also concerned that we only have one mode of propulsion. If the engine dies, we need to get towed. So, I have been considering sailboats. For the past year, I have been studying everything I can find about sailing and sailboats. I have been driving Kim crazy with my one minded fascination of the thought of buying a sailboat and using it to explore new places. If you know me, you know I get obsessed with new things and learn at a nauseating level. The main problem with this entire idea is, I HAVE NEVER SAILED A SAILBOAT!

When we arrived back at the ranch in Missouri on April 2, my plan was to go to a local lake and take a sailing lesson. The best sailing lake in the area around the ranch is about 2 hours away. It is called Stockton Lake. I have never been on the lake or really even seen it. We do most of our boating on Bull Shoals or Table Rock. They are very large lakes with beautiful shorelines with countless bluffs and coves to explore. We have only seen a small part of each of these lakes. Stockton is a smaller lake with fewer bluffs which provides excellent wind for sailing. Many people in the sailing community have said it is one of the better sailing lakes in the US.

On April 9, we went up to Stockton State Park Marina to talk to the people there about getting signed up for a class. They were nice, but told us they would call us to set up a time to schedule a school. We then asked for permission to walk the docks and check out the sailboats. That was interesting, but I did not really know what I was looking at.

We then drove over to Orleans Trail Marina to see what kind of boats they had there. When we got out of the car, we were immediately greeted by this fellow named Mark. We told him we were there just to educate ourselves, he stayed with us for over 3 hours showing us boats and just talking about sailing. We looked at one particular boat that was full of water. We both looked at it and said no way, let's move on. Mark told me this was a very good boat and we should consider taking it home and doing much of the work ourselves. It also came on a nice trailer. That is important to us. We want a smaller starter boat that we can take from lake to lake and learn to sail and explore new places. Well, to make a long story short.  A week later, we bought that boat. It is a 1983 Hunter 22. It was really rough, but what I read and what Mark told me, it was a good buy at $2400. It came with the nice trailer and an outboard motor. Yep, I bought a sailboat and had never sailed in my life. Here are a few pics:

That is just the beginning of the story. Come back to see if we can fix it up and get it in the water. Also, I have to study and go to school. Will I pass the test?

This is just part of a much larger dream. We want to learn to sail first. Then, we will see if we both like it and if we want to move up to a larger boat and maybe some day try some ocean sailing. It could be an interesting journey or a big train wreck. But hey, train wrecks can be entertaining.

Mammoth Cave National Park

I am writing this from my daughters house in Ozark, Missouri on the first of May. We have been back in the Springfield area since April 2. To say we have been busy since our return would be an enormous understatement. We are currently staying in Ozark to watch six of our grandchildren, while Shannon and Brian are on a cruise to celebrate Brian's 40th birthday. I normally don't do much writing while I am in this area because our life feels "normal". Well, it has been anything but normal since we have been here. I do plan to write about it, I just hope I can find the time and inspiration to do so. For now, I want to finish our trip this past winter, so that is what this entry is all about.

We arrived in Cave City, Kentucky on March 25. It was a short 80 mile drive through the rural countryside of Kentucky. We really enjoyed the drive. We chose to stay at Singing Hills RV park and Campground because it is a Passport America park. The rate was $20 per night for a full hook up site with 50 amp. The park was not all that special and the normal $40 rate is a bit high high in our opinion. The PA rate is limited to two nights. We stayed 3 nights and were given a $30 rate for the third night. We had good Verizon cell signal and good OTA TV coverage. I did not take a picture of our site. We did meet a couple of other campers, but now that time has passed, I do not recall their names. One couple from Canada in a Titanium came by for a drink after I had to stop them and say hello. Us Titanium owners have to stick together. We also spent some time visiting with our next door neighbors that were on their maiden voyage in their beautiful brand new Cedar Creek. They used to own a sailboat, so we talked about that for a long time.

We came to the area to visit Mammoth Cave National Park.

We started our visit on Monday by going to the visitor center and walking around the exhibits. They were very interesting and explained why this area is full of caves including the 400+ miles of mapped passages of Mammoth. It is the longest cave in the world. Many new passages are discovered and mapped each year. The only other place in the US that has this same geology is our home area of the Ozark mountains in Missouri and Arkansas. We decided to then take a hike and see the area around the VC. The hills in this area are very steep, so hiking can be difficult. There are miles and miles of hiking and biking trails in the park.

Nice viewpoint of the area

We walked down to the beginning of the River of Styx. The river just appears from under this huge rock face.

It had been raining quite a bit in the previous few days so the water was brown and stirred up. We then had the long uphill walk back to the Natural Entrance of the cave. You can buy tickets for a short tour of this part of the cave for $5 each and does not require a reservation. It was a good deal and a way to go underground without getting too claustrophobic.

The cave was large and wide, so it was easy walking. This area of the cave was used to produce some nitrite during the Civil War. There is some old machinery still in the cave. Flash photography is not allowed inside the cave, so my pictures inside this area did not turn out well.

The next day, we had a reservation for a guided tour called Domes and Dripstones. We were warned that you need to make reservations in advance. We were able to get two spots on this tour about two weeks before our visit.

We left the VC in busses and went about 10 miles to a small entrance. We then went straight down through a crack in the rocks about 300 feet. It was tight and steep. My camera worked fairly well with the available lighting that was provided by tour lights.

Mammoth cave has very few of the formations we have seen in other caves due to the fact that there is very little water flowing through the cave. We did have a number of stops to hear the rangers talk to the group. The information was good, but we knew most of it by visiting the exhibits the day before in the VC. At the end of the tour we did get to a part of the cave that does have some water flow and has some good formations.

We really enjoyed our time at Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave is interesting, but not spectacular. If I was to compare it to other caves we have been where Carlsbad is a 10, Mammoth would be a 2. Sorry Mammoth, just my opinion. That is the problem with going to Carlsbad first. I think that makes 32 of the National Parks we have seen in the past 4.25 years. We have also seen about 20 National Monuments. It has been an amazing journey.

We were then about 450 miles from the ranch in Missouri. We chose to make two more stops. On March 28 we drove to Hillman Campground in the "land between the lakes". This is an area where two lakes were formed by the damming of the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers. This is a National Recreation Area. We had a nice camp spot right by the lake.

It rained much of the time we were at Hillman. We never left the campground and just relaxed and read. I did take a few walks around the park. The strange thing about this park is that they allow seasonal campers. We had many rigs around us, but were still all alone. It was strange. I did see something a bit unusual while were were there. They were installing one of the prefab bathrooms that we have seen in many federal campgrounds.

This one came in three sections

Lifted in place by a crane

We stayed at Hillman for 2 nights. We then made the 150 mile drive into Missouri. We chose a COE park on Lake Wappapello just north of Poplar Bluff. We scored an awesome site overlooking the lake. We were way above the lake.

That is our rig way up there.

We had some nice views of the lake, but it got pretty cold

We did head into Poplar Bluff for Easter Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It has been in operation for 125 years.

On Monday, April 2, we made the final 150 mile drive to the ranch. We had a great trip. After spending 7 months last year at the ranch we were ready to get back on the road and this trip showed us why we love this lifestyle so much.

Now it was time to get back to life in Missouri. We were looking forward to spending time with the Grandchildren and getting things done at the ranch. That was the plan until we did something really crazy! In my next entry I will write all about what we did, and where this decision may take us. I guess that is why I call this blog "Shifting Gears".