Tuesday, August 02, 2016

July 28th - Aug 1st - IA,SD,MO, KS, MO

July 28th to Aug 1st – IA, SD, MO, KS, MO
Thurs - There is a golf course with the Grand Falls resort so we decided to play today - $40 each for 18 holes including a cart. We picked up the cart at the pro shop and drove it to our site to load the clubs. The driving range is also right beside the RV area so we warmed up before starting the round. The course is beautiful and well maintained. We caught up to a foursome ahead of us after a few holes and they waved us through as they were spending time looking for balls in the rough. The weather was quite warm so we were worn out by the time we finished. We took the clubs back to the rig and then had to lend the casino a few dollars (took a long time!) before heading back for dinner.
Fri – On the road again heading south. The casino is in Iowa but we immediately hit South Dakota before going into Missouri. We looked for a RV site in St. Joseph but the 2 that we called didn't have big enough sites so we had an adventure getting diesel and carried on. I looked in the Good Sam book and found Jellystone in Lawrence. I didn't notice that it was Kansas as it was in the Missouri section but it rang a bell with Terry so I checked FB and found out that Chief & Debra are work-camping there so it didn't matter that we went a bit out of our way!! Set up and the kid who parked us got Debra on his golf cart as we told them we knew her. Chief was working but we had a nice visit with Deb before making dinner & relaxing.
Sat – Chief contacted us and suggested going to breakfast with him & Deb and then playing golf with him & a friend (Darrel). Breakfast was in downtown Lawrence which is a college town with older, restored buildings. On the way back, we drove past big, old “mansions” that are often frat houses now. Chief picked us up for a fairly long drive to a “country” golf course - $15 per person including a cart. But we all had fun. On the 13th hole, a light rain started and we decided to play through the 14th hole as it headed back to the clubhouse. When the rain got harder we said “bag it” and hustled back to the car. I had dinner ready to eat when Chief came by with Darrel & his wife to see our rig. After a beer, they invited us to their place so we took 15 minutes to gobble down dinner and walked over. Terry got a buddy burner and we ended up visiting until after midnight.
Sun – Chief deposited our buddy burner on our picnic table so we didn't go see them before pulling out this morning. A little tight so a guy kindly moved his pickup so we could make the turn at the end of our row! We took I70 toll road back to MO ($2.75 there, $3.75 back?) and headed south. We had torrential rain most of the way. The truck decided to test us by blowing the clamp again – 3 times!!! Each time Terry was able to pull the the shoulder and fix it as we definitely wanted to avoid having to tow the rig & 5th wheel. We stopped for lunch “somewhere” and had to wade through water after parking in WalMart and going across the road to Burger King. We found the RV park in Branson where we have stayed before and followed the GPS through town rather than being smart enough to go around the long way. Nice to get set up and relax. Got the name of a mechanic to contact tomorrow!!!
Mon – After a cup of coffee, Terry went to find the mechanic. He had a look at the truck and said the repair would not hold any more and we needed a new “turbo boot” which of course would have to be ordered. Terry checked with the local Chev dealer who, after a couple of phone calls, found one in Missouri that could be overnighted and get here tomorrow. But the mechanic was still looking for one online so we had a late breakfast and then went shopping while we waited. WalMart and a grocery store next door provided what I thought we needed but of course I did not grab the list when we left! The weather is hot and incredibly humid so we had to take the groceries home right away and get everything put away. Terry talked to the mechanic again and gave him to OK to order the part from Chevy so we can get the truck fixed tomorrow. After dinner we took a little walk around the park which was enough with the humidity.

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