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So, for my birthday I couldn’t go home, the next best thing is totally camping however. What a great time to have our friends Jen & Chris and The Wicals. We were first going to camp elsewhere, but the snow was still enough that it was only partially open. 11 Mile State Park was the next location and it worked well. I arrived late at the lake where Troy and I spent a good hour trying to find where Chris had parked his vanagon, we finally found it and parked for the night. Next morning came early but appeared to be a beautiful day. The morning was spent just relaxing and making plans for possible adventures later that day. Chris and I took a quick excursion to scout out the top of a rock bluff where it looked like we might be able to take some photographs. Both of us had a good amount of huffing and puffing at this higher elevation, but we made it to the top. The top of that bluff was beautiful. We hung out there for a while before taking a different route to the bottom. Both Chris and I decided that it was too difficult of a path for the kids so the next trip would be adults only.

After lunch the guys picked up some water and camera gear and headed out to climb the bluff again. The climb was not bad and we were racing to get to the top before the sun really set down. After we arrived at the summit we just relaxed and waited for the sun to set. With the campground so barren it was amazing how quiet it was. After a bit we all set and took some photographs of the landscape. I think we would have stayed longer, but some dark clouds were rolling in and appeared to be heading towards us. We made it back down and just as we arrived at the camp the rain started to fall. We all took cover in our buses for a bit and it quickly blew over. The remainder of the night was spent hanging around our campfire and chatting. Everyone turned in and I slept quite well.

The next morning we all left the park back a long way that Jen & Chris took. The route was a great trip full of beautiful views of Pike and surrounding mountains. On the way back we all stopped to take a tour of the petrified redwoods near there. After the tour we all took a quick trip through Garden of the Gods park. I can’t wait to go back there, it’s quite beautiful.

74755No not quite what you might think, but an addition anyway. This past weekend the boys took a road trip to Columbia, MO to pick up a 1964 Apache camping trailer. I managed to get a very good deal from a bus owner in Nebraska and via a series of hand offs it finally made it back home.

We had considered leaving Friday evening, but with temperatures dropping into the single digits and me being exhausted from several late nights, we decided to crash early and hit the road first thing in the morning. By 1:30am the boys were all on the road heading west. Most of the trip was uneventful however after turning onto I-64 a major head-wind kept the bus pretty handicapped. I didn’t even realize how much I was pushing it till we stopped just east of St.Louis and the oil light flickered. We also noticed many electrical utility crews that were all heading home after spending the week getting power back to MO from a major early winter storm that ground the state to a halt the previous week. After a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel and filling the oil, we headed off again.

Before long the bus was cruising past the sprawling city of St.Louis and into some very beautiful country of central Missouri. Most of the fields we passed were coated in a beautiful coat of white, with the sparse color of the drab brown trees or rocks just bearly breaking the monotone feel. As we drove I received a phone from our host D-Rick who made sure I had directions and was keeping an eye out for us. We arrived in Columbia with no problems and found his homestead easily. Right after pulling in I got to meet D-Rick in person. He also introduced me to a friend of his (who’s name I cannot remember) who was up for the weekend. We all spent a bit of time chatting, looking at his beautiful bus and watching the boys have a fantastic time in a snow fight. This amount of snow might seem small for most of you, however us Mid TN boys find anything more than 2″ a lot.120119

After easily hooking up the trailer, thoughts turned to food. D-Rick mentioned grabbing a bite to eat at a local pizza place, and we all agreed. Truth be told, not all agreed Stryder simply wanted a lunchable from Wallyworld, but we promised he would get it later. The easiest vehicle to ride in was D-Rick’s 66 passenger bus, so we all piled in and rode into town. My first impression of Columbia is quite nice. Just an overgrown college town that had a great feel to the place with lots of activity and neat places. Just a few minutes later, we found ourselves ordering some pizza and waiting for it to be cooked. Waiting was not a problem for the boys, who played a few games of pinball to kill the time. “Jason, Pizza’s ready” crackled over the overhead speaker, and I went to retrieve it. Pizza didn’t seem to kill the conversation and everyone proceeded to chow down. Stryder even helped when he was able to have a few slices of pizza as a “snack” and not real lunch. A young boy needs to save space for his lunchable after all. I sat, talked and ate to my hearts content with some very fun company. I also had a chance to soak up the ambiance of the establishment. Obviously a locally owned place mis matched chairs and tables were organized in a typical fashion around the many rooms. Some booths were scattered around, with a bar in the room adjoining us ready to serve drinks at a later hour. The dark and old brick wall had assorted items to add to the gruff feel. Drinks were served in plastic cups (which we got to keep) and instead of napkins, everyone was given a washcloth. While dining a group of college students entered with some familiar greek letters on their clothes. Apparently the local chapter of Delta Tau Delta were also going to have a bite to eat. I introduced myself as an Epsilon Alpha alumni and then moved back to chatting and eating.

We eventually made it back to the house and then said our goodbyes. Next stop was Wal-Mart to supply up for camping. D-Rick had suggested staying at Graham Cave State park just an hour or so east. It sounded like a good idea and we headed east. As we arrived at the park, it was a very hilly section of the state and the roads were quite steep. Fortunately the state had seen fit to clean the paths so travel was not an issue. We drove directly to the campground and near the restroom house saw a cluster of three deer. They quickly scurried off and we circled the park and picked our spot. We were not completely alone, but one other small group were camped out as well. The remainder of the night was spent cooking and playing checkers. No body wanted to enjoy the fire I had started, so I let it die down, and we all went to sleep early. Before sleep though I made the boys get out and look up at the start. I have not seen as many and as bright of stars since our trip out west in ’05. The trees somewhat blocked our view, and we went to bed.120147

The next morning we woke and started to pack. It didn’t take long with just three young men to pack. Within the hour we were pulling out the park and on to St.Louis. I had really wanted to see the Anheuser-Busch brewery, but were were a good hour or so early. The boys were up for visiting the Arch one more time so we made a detour to visit it. We packed in nearly the exact same spot as a few years ago and walked the long abandon street to the Arch. There were hardly anyone milling around, and it seemed nearly deserted. Fortunately for us there were rangers on duty and things were functioning normally. I didn’t want to spend the extra money to ride the elevator again, so we walked around the museum for about an hour and looked at the many exhibits. The anamatronics impressed Stryder the most and Wyatt liked the movie that covered how Lewis and Clark funded their famous expedition. About the time their attentions were waining we left to find the brewery.120171

I only had an address and vague idea of were to go. A quick U-turn and were were putting down a residential neighborhood that had been around for many, many years. Suddenly we came to the end of the rainbow, or perhaps the Mecca of Beer. For as large of an area as the brewery is, it certainly was quite hidden from us till we were right on top of it. I parked the bus away from everyone because of our trailer and as we walked the parking lot both of the boys covered their noses from the potent smell of fermenting yeast. The tour was schedule to start in about a half-an-hour so we took the time to look at all the neat history and gift shop that was available to view. The tour started with a trip to the Clydesdale stables where I was quite astonished by the time and money spent just for a “horse house”. The remainder of the tour was all down hill through various stages of the brewing of beer and some tid bits of history. I had a great time and the boys both either were entertained, or they simply behaved fantastic. During the tour I realized we had a “star” among us. Steve Valentine from the TV show Crossing Jordan and his (I assumue) wife were on the tour as well. Kinda neat watching them just hang out as normal slobs like the rest of us. After the walking tour, we headed to the Budweiser courtesy room for some free beer. I had a glass of 5 day old Bud, and a Rock-something or the other. Both were quite good, and I enjoyed them. The boys, being a few years shy of the minimum drinking age had Pepsi. We just hung around for a little bit, and during that time Stryder managed to spill his drink. We cleaned up, hung around some more and left. One the way out I picked up a bottle opener for the bus.120177

Getting out of St.Louis took a bit of work. I followed the signs to I-55, but apparently none of the signs indicated that I could only get on one way. Yet another u-turn and a few zig-zags in downtown later we were on the Interstate heading east. The new trailer pulls with little work and it was easy to forget it was back there. The route home was the same as we took to get there. Nothing eventful, and we arrived back home in time to visit and show off our new trailer.

Pictures of the trip are here

What a great time we had, traveling with friends to the land of North Carolina. Take a look at the pictures or read the report

Oktoberbus 2005

After having missed Buses on the River, our family was quite ready for
another wonderful camp-out. With a few possible destinations we were
quite unsure of exactly where we would go to. A few emails were
exchanged and suddenly our normal camping posse was all going to
Oktoberbus, so we opted for that.

Thursday night was spent taking the twins to a real big top circus for
their birthday, then after getting everyone in bed, we loaded up the bus
with assorted supplies and a large assortment of confectionery treats.
Early Friday morning we threw the kids in the bus and I set the helm
east at warp 9. Before we knew it we were near Knoxville where we added
Slaymaker to our carabus and were off to pick up DocRic in Roan mtn. Oh
did I mention we piddled around for a bit in Knox before leaving?
Anyway, we did eventually make it back on the road and arrived in Roan
mtn to find Ric doing an emergency surgery to some poor animal, so we
all piled out of the bus and let the kids run some pent up energy off.

Before we knew it all three of our buses were motoring down the highway
into North Carolina. As the sun was down and tummies started to growl we
took a break for some dinner. During this time Ric managed to find a
group of college students in a sage green 77 westy that were going
somewhere to camp. We managed to talk them into joining us and boom!
there were four. A short while later (after taking the tour of a few
towns city squares) we turned onto a gravel road and were greeted with a
black cat in front of a castle. Yup, MUD has been here. We quickly found
Brad and picked a spot to set camp.

The rest of the night was spent visiting old friends and setting camp.
After all the kids shut down for the night, we sat around this really
neat elevated fire pit Chris had and told jokes, talked of modern jets
in WWII and general good times. We also took to calling our new collage
age friends “the hostages”, which stuck almost immediately. The weather
could not have been nicer. Crystal clear skies, and a moon that cast a
lovely light over everything it found. Why…it was even said that if
you leave the fire and walk into the moonlight it’s like sun light. Our
new friends the hostages endeared themselves to us by bringing along
marshmallows for everyone. All I can say is they are “sooooo in”
Sometime after 2 I turned in and slept like a log.

Morning came as it has done in the past, and I was forced to leave the
warm comfort of a westy bed to take Chloe to the restroom. After that I
got come coffee brewing and milled around with the camera a bit. Later
than normal MUD got the breakfast burritos going and everyone that was
able pitched in for some great food. I especially liked the bbq chicken
someone brought, that was fantastic!!!!! After breakfast finished up
Jamie Auch showed up and I got a chance to admire his DD first hand. It
will really be something special when it’s all spit shined and has an
interior installed. The hostages left to go hiking that morning and we
all thought they would simply run away from the strange bus people
Saturday was busy for me. I worked especially hard at taking a nap under
the fantastic weather provided just for us. The kids were hard at work
carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns for the later contest. The famous
Philip & Catherine were there and I finally got the chance to spend some
time with them. There were nice enough to also play some boci ball with
us. Although with the thick grass it was mostly a pitch and hope kind of
affair with the game.

As the second game wound down it was time to start some dinner. Steph
fixed some great 3-way chili and I got to chomping down on good food.
Before long the sun was nearly down and the trick-or-treating was soon
at hand. We had to rush to get our three Star Wars children ready. They
had a great time moving from bus to bus, gathering lots of candy. Thanks
to everyone that took the time to bring stuff for all the kids. it was
appreciated. After the tour, MUD gathered everyone for the quick
disbursement of prizes. Chloe, Stryder & Wyatt all went away with neat
prizes (as well as our fair share of pumpkin pie).

With the formal festivities over for the night the only thing left to do
was enjoy ourselves. Our three oldest kiddos all hit the bed early and
were retired by 9. Olivia, however didn’t want to rest. I spent a good
amount of the night with her on my back walking from one fire to
another. My hard work finally paid off and she drifted off to dreamland.
I spent the remainder of the night enjoying the company and warming
myself at the fire. It was late into the night when the hostages
returned under their own will, turns out we weren’t that scary and they
came back to hang out and camp.

The next morning was spend like normal Sundays camping by rushing to
break down camp and get packed up. As folks left we said our good byes,
and around 11 we headed down the path home. The trip home was mostly a
normal trip except for one gas station. I was filling up the bus and
arranging the ice box in the trailer. Suddenly I hear what sounds like
water leaking on the ground. I assumed I had bumped the drain plug for
the cooler, but didn’t find any sign of leaking. Then it hit me! I ran
up to the gas pump and found at least a half gallon of gas spilling all
over the ground and gushing out of the filler neck. The stupid pump had
not cut itself off and was pumping as much gas as possible into the
ground. I got that off, and finished my transaction. Chris and I both
decided that starting a vehicle on top of a pool of gas seemed like a
bad idea, so we pushed the bus over to the side and let the gas
evaporate.

Near dinner time we waved goodbye to our last companion on the trip
(Slaymaker) and kept our eyes on the finish line of Mid TN. Around 9:30
we pulled into the driveway and all slept great in our own beds. Thanks
MUD for a great time!

High Country Bus Festival
July 29-31, 2005
Boone, NC

A weekend spent among friends in the hills is always nice, add a bunch
of buses to the mix and it just gets better. So we happily drove from
Middle TN for another High Country. This year we increased our HCBF
quota by one, with Olivia. I’ve been looking forward all year to her
first birthday at High Country, but I should start at the beginning I
suppose. I guess traveling on the road for a few weeks tends to make you
a bit lazy for preparation over “just a weekend” trip. I’ll assume this
was the reason we didn’t do anything to prepare until Thursday night.
Fortunately with us in the height of camping season everything was
handy. Steph and I were unsure when our departure time would be. Normal
operations is to grab a quick nap in bed then head out late pm/early am.
Feeling the adventurous soul I am I though this trip we would just head
out when everything was packed and if tired stop at a wally world for a
quick nap.

At 11 with everything and everyone packed we left the driveway and
pointed tigerbus towards it’s final destination east of us in yonder
hills. The weather was quite nice and cool, making the drive enjoyable,
but uneventful. I was good to go for a few hours, but as we approached
Cookeville I really felt the lack of sleep take it’s toll. I pulled off
the interstate and rolled into the Wal-Mart parking lot where a tour bus
was parked. We pulled the curtains and got out the pillows. I was worn
out, but trying to get comfortable up front was a challenge. About the
time I drifted off Olivia had enough of sitting still, and started to
whine. It sure appeared this situation would not work, so I started the
bus up again, and off we went further down the road. I guess the 3.75
minutes of sleep was enough to get to Knoxville. We gave this Wal-Mart
sleep another try and this time it worked. I woke with the sun just up
about three hours later, with a slightly stiff neck.

A quick assessment of the situation and time of day led me to think we
should just go ahead and pass through K-town before rush hour on Friday
got started. A quick drive and we were on the other side. Took a gas and
breakfast break for a few minutes, and headed out again. Before we knew
it we were nearly there. Before going to the camp a quick stop for a
birthday cake for Olivia was schedules. The nice bakery lady managed to
make a beautiful cake for us and within half an hour the bus was moving
down the hill towards the campground. Pulling in and crossing the new
bridge was nice. Always a great feeling seeing your first glimpse of
buses set up for camping. After registering we drove up and quickly
found our site which Brad, Ric, and Jenn were so nice to save. The kids
were unloaded and the remainder of the early afternoon was spent doing
the normal setup. In between camp tasks I managed to sneak away a few
times to visit with some old friends, and check out who was already
here. At some point Ronnie and family gave Olivia a birthday present (a
bubble blower) which seemed to be a huge hit with the kids. Also Anita
gave her a little bus gremlin bell. Thanks so much everyone those were
very thoughtful gifts.

As the tent and other misc things were finally set the remainder of
Friday was spent watching and visiting. All the while taking turns with
Olivia. She spent quite a while in the backpack on my back while walking
around. We also admired the bocce players all practicing for the big
tournament on Saturday. Dinner for the evening was courtesy an older
couple I met while in Colorado, who gave me a recipe of a great and
easy chicken pasta. Worked great and should be available in the FMBC
cookbook at a later date. All the kids enjoyed this and soon we were
back to hanging out and enjoying the weather. Most of the day the
weather was overcast which helped with the temperature. We couldn’t have
asked for a more perfect day. As the day wound down we managed to find
our kids and get them in bed. Jenn had started a very nice fire that
raged in the center of us as we all sat and enjoyed each others company.
Steph hit the bed a little bit later. I stayed up for a while then
walked to the bus as well and retired for the night.

It sure was good to get a nice nights sleep. Our location was close
enough to the creek to hear it bubble all night long. I think it helped
everyone sleep well. Soon morning came and we all gave a happy birthday
to Olivia, who was up bright and early. Breakfast burritos was next on
the agenda. I was one of the first down there and with a birthday girl
hanging on my back I started to work along with the others on one heck
of a breakfast. I spent the morning cooking eggs. Pretty standard FMBC
breakfast which went off very well. There was even plenty for the cooks
as well. After breakfast I spent a little while talking cameras with a
couple of lovely ladies (Sheila and Sherrel), and then managed to wander
around a bit. After a lovely lunch of cheese toast we rounded up the
kids to sing happy birthday to Olivia and then cake was given out. I
really enjoyed this. Something to remember. With a full stomach she
didn’t seem too interested in eating her cake, and in fact just crawled
over it while I had my head turned.

After all the festivities the Bocce tournament was beginning to form. I
grabbed my camera to take some action shots and headed down to the
pavilion. I thought there would be way too many people playing the game
so I held out from playing. Turns out there was plenty of space to play,
and I headed back up to drop off the camera and get my bocce on. I had
never even picked up a bocce ball, but like everyone says it only takes
a few minutes to learn. The rest of the early afternoon was spent
getting the hang of it. What a great fun game. I will end up getting a
set of these balls. I got teamed up with many different teams as we
swapped around. Had a great time with everyone. Thanks to Steve for
putting this on. Unfortunately the beginners luck for this even didn’t
quite help me get in the final four. While this was going on the kids
were all working on activities. I’m honestly not sure what all they did,
but some of the things were a scavenger hunt which Stryder and Chloe
were on the winning team, and home made ice cream with coffee cans. After
the tournament Jamie Auch gave me a lift into town for a few supplies.

With the ceremonies nearing camp stoves and fires started to light up in
preparation for dinner. Joining in seemed to be the thing to do. As our
clan waited for dinners to finish cooking the sky started to cloud up.
Seems the magic words to make the rain come is “no, it will just blow
over”. No sooner had I uttered those works did the rain start. Quite a
rain it was. Steph managed to get dinner off the stove and I got Olivia
out of the rain. The next hour or so was spent cooking, and eating under
all manor of tents and ez-ups. Finally the rain stopped and Buddah drove
around the camp alerting everyone of the events that had been shifted
in time by about half an hour. The only person who didn’t eat was Wyatt
so I tried to start the Coleman to heat up his dinner, however ran into
a bit of problem. I finally got it lit, but the stove took on a mind of
it’s own and started to burn water. At least that’s what it looked like.
Seems the connection tube in the stove had become full of liquid fuel
and kept feeding off itself. I kept an eye on it at the start of the
evenings festivities and it finally burned out.

I got down to the pavilion about half way through the kids door prizes,
and found a spot next to Jamie. Someone thought it would be a great idea
to give all the kids whistles. Guess what happens? If you guessed lots
of loud noises, you are correct. After that settled down the Twins and
the rest of their scavenger hunt team got awards of a toy and chocolate.
Pretty neat. They all seemed very happy with themselves. Next came the
door prizes and peoples choice awards which came in typical HCBF
fashion, with the winners happy to receive some neat prizes, and the
losers glad they didn’t get kidney beans. The evenings organized goings
on finished with the band starting pickin’. I went back to camp to help
watch Olivia, but sure enjoyed the music that made it’s way up the hill.
After getting the kiddos rounded up again and put down, Steph and I just
relaxed around another Jenn fire pit. The rest of the evening was spent
just like the night before relaxing and enjoying good company. The only
exception to this was walking over to the big screen to watch Buddahs
directorial debut from his days in school. That was a hoot, and if I
must say “Bitchin’”. Late that night it started to sprinkle so we took
this as a hint to hit the bed. Turns out the rain only lasted a few
minutes, but we went ahead and went to sleep.

Morning rolled around, and with it the dread of packing up. Naturally the
thought of it far exceeded the reality. This year we had decided to not
go on the carabus, and get back home so we didn’t have that time line to
stick with. As the buses rolled out for the carabus I sat on the old
bridge and snapped everyone that drove past. Hopefully I can assemble
something fun with it. I walked back up after they left and we finished
our packing. By this time most of the campground was empty. Ric and I
watched as one of the huge land barges (RVs) ran out of diesel and just
quit on the hill. We anticipated this guy trying to roll down the hill,
but fortunately for him, he didn’t. I nearly asked if he wanted a push
start, but decided against it. After final good byes we all headed home.
We followed Ric part of the way, and left him at Roan Mtn. The remainder
of the trip home was in and out of some pretty intense rain, that only
lasted a few miles or so. Eventually we pulled into our driveway and
unloaded the bus.

Once again we had a wonderful time. To all those I met and can remember
your name see you next time (insert name here). To all those I met and
can’t for the life remember who you are we can try next time, and
finally to all those who I didn’t meet, look for us. At some point I
will stumble through your campsite. Thanks Buddah.

Well I sit here in Red Lodge, Montana with internet access finally. We have had a fantastic time already and expect more of the same thing. I put some pictures up in the gallery to share. Enjoy
Pictures are here

I put up a review on thesamba.com. with some pictures here

Everybus 2005

Ahhhhhh! Spring is in the air, last minute bus projects not nearly done, kids
driving parents up the walls. Must be time to kick off the bus camping season.
Unfortunately this year I was only able to get off for one day from work so a
late night drive was required to make it at any decent time. Just days before I
finished the hitch needed to mount my new single wheel trailer to the bus so
this would be it’s first outing as well.

Troy Wical was on his way from Colorado, but I expected that he would be quite
further on the trip than we were by the time we left. However around the time
we started to get packed on Thursday night I received a call from Troy. Turns
out they were quite close to us and stopping by. A bit later his double cab and
family roll into the driveway. A bit of discussion and we decide to all take a
quick cat nap before heading out. By 2:45 am everyone was buckled in and ready
to go, so the trip officially began. As we approached Nashville a casual voice
came over the CB from Troy, “looks like you just lost your cot”. ??????? So
much for that. We pulled off to the shoulder and walked back expecting to see
30 pieces of something that once resembled a cot. To my surprise it only
suffered some road rash and was completely fine. Just to be on the safe side we
stowed it in the DC and continued on.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful with no major (or minor) mishaps.
Stopped in Knoxville for breakfast and coffee. I also exchanged my new GPS
which didn’t work out of the box for one that did work. Cool toy, I geeked out
with it the rest of the weekend. Other than nearly being involved w/ a semi
pileup on I-40 in Greensboro we pulled into Hagan-Stone around 3ish, and
started to setup camp. Ric and Slay had saved us some room next to the pavilion
so that is where we started. After the necessary hour of playing musical buses
trying to fit them all in place we settled on an arrangement that worked, and
proceeded to drink from red cups. As soon as the sun went down so did the
temperature. Between the very gusty winds and the temp it got COLD. Real
freakin’ cold. I think someone said 37.

Before socializing the heater situation was explored. We had 5 buses that all
had some sort of electric heaters, but only one plug. An arrangement was struck
that provided heat for anyone w/ kids, but left others out. Next year I will
bring a propane mr. buddy just in case, as I was left out in the side tent
while the rest of the family was in the bus under an electric blanket. Better
than trying to squeeze 6 people in a std westy bed though. The rest of the
night was spent visiting old friends, attaching names with faces and general
“shooting the breeze”. Got to meet Rob Laffoon finally who gave me some great
tips about traveling to Yellowstone this summer. I finally crashed around 1:30
with lots of people still up.

The morning brought light into the tent, but nary a bit of heat. The wind was
still quite strong, but I managed to wake from my slumber to take on the day.
The FMBC came through as usual with fantastic breakfast burritos, although I
feel a bit horrible since I didn’t get a chance to help out. Olivia had not
seemed herself the previous week and continued to feel bad Sat morning. I spent
most of the morning trying to comfort her and get her to sleep. I did however
get a few small chances to see all the kids enjoy the second year of the moon
bounce. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful in talking Steph in participating int
he campout competition that Greg Potts put on, and had to pass on it. The kids
also got to participate in a art contest. I didn’t get much of a chance to see
the artists at work, but sure loved the final products. Now that I had my GPS
I wanted to go geocaching, and knew of a cache in the park. Me and the kids as
well as Troy and child in tote all struck off trying to find a cache located
.88 miles from us. It was quite a hike for the kids, but in the end we found
it. This was my first cache find, and loved it. We were the fifth group from
Everybus to find it that day, so next year I might setup a scavenger hunt for
the cachers.

We made it back with no problems (but very weary children). I did miss watching
the camping competition though. I bet that was a lot of fun to watch. The rest
of the afternoon was spent looking for parts I needed and helping collect money
for the type2/vintagebus 50/50 raffle. As the day progressed the chili started
to cook throughout the camp. This created quite a nice aroma to try and peddle
tickets in. Thanks to everyone who bought in. This type of thing always helps.
MUD and his international group of judges began to see who made the best EB
chili this year, and as time approached for the dinner it became apparent that
the entries this year used quality instead of quantity. Steph and I had already
decided to cook solo this year, which was a good thing this time around as
there really wasn’t enough to feed everyone as hearty as in years past due to
less entries in the contest. Hopefully next year this will strike a chord and
everyone will bring something for the dinner.

Following dinner the award ceremony began. Our host Chris started to give out
door prizes for the lucky winners, and IIRC Bruce won the T2 raffle and took
the cash. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and after that we were treated
to some good bluegrass music. It’s a good thing I like it, because we were
right next to the band. The remainder of the night was spent sitting around and
enjoying the company. I tended to move from campfire to campfire and didn’t
stay any place real long, but had a great time visiting with everyone I met. I
turned in around 12ish and slept pretty sound.

Sunday morning was spent tearing down camp and trying to say bye to all the
people that were much quicker packing up than we were. Finally around noon we
had everything stowed. I finally found John Y right before leaving, and got to
chat for a few minutes (sorry John had to get moving). We carabused back with
Mike D, Travis, Eddie, Slay, Troy and Ric. When 421 left I-40 we split. The
trip was pretty uneventful until our Marion stop. We said our byes to Troy and
went to leave. Got in the bus and nuntin’. Engine would not turn over
what-so-ever. Messed with it a few minutes, but could not get it to start.
Relay clicked, but still no sound from the starter/solenoid. We ended up having
to tow start Butch because I was pointed uphill with no room to back up. After
getting it started she ran fine. We drug the Slaymakers to Hardees for some
good greasy food and parted ways after dinner. Had to keep the bus running at
stops so I didn’t have to push start it. With Steph taking the wheel for the
last 50 miles we pulled into the drive around midnight. Everyone was exhausted.
We rolled out of the bus and managed to drag all the kids to bed.

Fantastic trip like always. Bus ran great. I used about a quart of oil over the
trip and drove roughly 900 miles. I noticed an increase in vanagons this year
(especially syncros) and what seemed to be a reduction in the number of
eurovans. Splits and bays seemed about the same. Weather was a mix of near
freezing night temps with incredible day temps. All in all a great time.

Well after complaining about them for years I finally paid out the cash and got some Izzy Safaris. There are a few complaints as far as how it “fits” in the window opening, but I can say I’m very happy with the final product. I’ll post pictures later with some sort of a product review to follow hopefully.

Buses on the River 2004

“I double dog dare you” —
Those words were spoken to me, errr make that typed, Just a few days
before BOTR this year. I had decided I was going to go but the rest of
the family was up in the air. Rather quickly after this it was decided
that if I did go I was sure not going to leave Steph and all four kids
for an entire weekend. So as late as Thursday me and the three kiddos
were slated to appear for some fun and foolishness at the river. However
after Chris Thomas dared us to bring the three week old Olivia, we sure
couldn’t turn away from that. Our street credit could be in jeopardy for
such a horrible backing down of wills, and we sure couldn’t stand that.
By Friday it was definite that the entire clan would be making the trip
to Erwin.

Last year we left town after work, but arriving after dark to the
campground is a pain at this site. Lots of trees make quite a task of
trying to pick out the perfect spot, so we decided to go the sleep
early, leave early method. I was to meet Daniel (who was making the trip
so he could swap out his vanagon with a bay window) east of Nashville
around 2am. As usual it took longer to load up the kids than planned,
so we rolled out of the driveway at 1:30am sharp. Just as I was pulling
onto the highway, I get a call from Daniel who has already reached our
rendezvous point, but was leaking quite a bit of oil. We modified the
plan to just keep in contact and try and meet somewhere on the road. He
as slowed down by making sure he stooped every now and again to feed it
oil. I should have been able to over take him in a few hours.

Mother nature decided that a wet drive would help keep the kids quiet,
so we drove in rain nearly the entire way, but had to slow down a decent
amount to safely travel in some heavy down pours. We finally managed to
catch on the coat tails of Daniel and stayed even for the rest of the
trip on I-40. A few stops to check oil and stretch later we reached I-81
and took another stop, to rest and let the kids stretch. Daniel and his
girlfriend were quite tired (having had no sleep) and made a change of
plans to simply meet the other bus owner at that exit to swap out
vehicles. We left them there to rest until the meeting. I tried my best
to talk him into camping with the rest of us, but I’m not a great
salesman, and he had family in the area he really wanted to visit.

The drive up 81 was quite normal. You know 65 down hills and slower up
them. We took the JC connector to get to Ewrin and then decided to pick
up a few more supplies at the local Super K-mart. Apparently the “Super”
part of the name only indicates that two register lines will be open
instead of the standard one. Steph spent quite a while in there, but
Olivia was certainly not happy. However, as a nice bonus if you start
the bus and drive she immediately quiets down. Many laps of the parking
lot later Steph emerged from the K and we pushed on. As we neared the
end of the trip I was having quite a chore getting up some of the hills,
and was starting to sweat it. Fortunately it was simply a pretty severe
head wind, which let us pass after it must have decided to give the old
bus a break. Finding the campground this time was much easier in the
daytime.

Just as the burritos were finished up we arrived. Like everyone else the
campground patrol pounced quickly to pay up. As I started to look for a
place I found Ric who had saved us a prime spot. We were greeted quickly
from Chris, Jenn and Bryce (the 2nd youngest camper there). It was
really nice to see him in person. Quite the future moonie. The rest of
the morning was spent setting up camp and letting the kids run wild.
After the family all had a spot to crash for the night later I set about
showing off Olivia to whoever would listen. Visited with old friends,
and met a few new ones as well. As the day wore on, the rain we managed
to trick on our trip managed to find us. The camp quickly went into
“tarp” mode and everyone simply moved conversations to covered areas.
Later after a bit of prodding from Ric, I spent some time floating down
the river. It was much calmer this year, but very enjoyable. The sun
even managed to peek out from some clouds.

A fun ride on the farfrumfloatin back to camp awaited us at the end of
the journey.The Tootsie managed the kids games again and everyone that
participated in it loved it. All the kids were given fun prizes as well.
A bit later the award ceremonies started. Lots and lots of door prizes
and the awards. Our family was even given “Sit’s lowest in the water”
award. Something about having six people in a little 66 split. Thanks
guys what a great award. As Brad, Dawn, and Ric set to making real
supper, I fixed some good salty SPAM burgers. Yea, sure turn your nose
up at it, but I like it. The rest of the night was spent just enjoying
the company of friends, and trying like crazy to get that darn fire to
stay lit. We eventually gave up and since I was running on very little
sleep I joined the rest of the family for some R&R.

Sunday morning we woke to a picture perfect cool morning. Fixed some
coffee and ate some pop-tarts. We started to slowly tear down camp and
pack up. All the while visiting with as many people as possible. Watched
MUD work on Rics engine to take a look at the jets. (BTW anyone know
what size engine needs a 120 main?). The mechanic duo got the jet
swapped out and back in quickly. Around noon we fixed a quick lunch and
took off. As a change of scenery we drove back on HWY 108. This path cut
through some beautiful land and as amazing as it is, was quite straight.
Unfortunately due to time we eventually had to travel on the big blue
lines from the map to get back home. Butch performed perfect as I have
come to expect from her and we made a very consistent 65mph back home.

As we are leaving the Cookeville area, my cell rings again. Turns out
Daniel has had a turn of bad luck and is now stuck on the side of the
road. Fortunately, we will be driving by his location in under 20
minutes. As I start to crest a small hill I see his new westy on the
side and pull over. I joked about how he should have come camping and
then I took a quick look at the engine. His ignition was just fine, but
the carb would not adjust at all. It didn’t appear that I could do much
for him there. He made a call to AAA and when he was able to confirm he
had a tow coming we left him on the side, so we could get the kids back
home to see if these three children covered in dirt were actually ours.
I got a call later that night that he and his girlfriend were able to
get back home with no problems (although a bit later than planned).
Hopefully he can get it sorted out quickly and get it back on the road.
Around 8:30 we rolled in to home and discovered that we had in fact
actually carried the correct kids home. Everyone hit the hay as quick as
possible.

Thanks to the TN Mech for another great weekend. I love going, Steph
loves it and the three kids definitely love it. I am happy to report
that the new addition also gives it the thumbs up. Lots of people came
up during the weekend talking about how hard it must be to travel with
this large of a crew. Truth is, we enjoy the fellowship and travel very
much and don’t consider it a chore at all. I can honestly say that
traveling and camping with this small group of people has been a
blessing in my families life.