Missouri & Iowa with the Stocks

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Dean & Linda Stock

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2006
Posts
1,195
Location
Cypress, California
Day 3 Grand Junction, CO

We are off on our adventure to Iowa (?) and Missouri.  We have done our homework, but schedules have changed, so our itinerary is going to be fluid (in fact, I fear it may look like we have been imbibing a bit!)  The main reason that we chose to visit Missouri is to spend time with our best friends at their new 31-acre pride and joy.  It is all forested, has lots of wild turkeys, Canadian geese, furry animals whose eyes glow in the dark,  a 5-acre fishing lake, and a lovely home.  They worked hard all their lives, and they deserve this piece of paradise.  Unfortunately, they will be coming back to CA in early to mid-October, because they have reservations for a week in Sedona that they had made prior to purchase.  So we may go south to them and come back north to visit the rest of Iowa?a circle route.  Right now, it?s one day at a time.

Day 1?We drove from Cypress to Las Vegas, stopping at the M Casino on the southern outskirts of town.  I discovered this place when looking for a casino my daughter could enjoy.  She?s highly allergic to tobacco smoke, and I was told that the M was all non-smoking.  It isn?t, but it has the best ventilation I?ve seen (smelled?) in any casino anywhere.  We called ahead to ask about RV parking, and a security guard met us and escorted us to a locked big-rig parking lot.  Very nice!  The buffet at the M is very large and has a lot of Asian food, as well as American food.  Hot food is hot, cold food is cold, lettuce and vegetables are crisp, and  sliced fruit is ripe.  It is very nice, but not elegant like the Wynn.  However, it?s also half the price.  It is a very large casino, very modern, and very clean.  I have stopped there 3 times, and their slots have paid me each time.  I think this is a good omen!  We are going to have a lucky trip and no problems on this trip.  My husband won at blackjack, and my friends have also had only winning experiences there.  I know that players? dollars pay for the employees and the nice facilities, but so far it hasn?t been this player?s money.  We ate dinner and rolled into Bally?s about 10:00. They have big-rig parking behind the casino, and we checked in with security once we were registered in the hotel.  They do patrols of the area where we parked the coach.

Day 2?We slept late and went to see ?The Lion King? at Mandalay Bay.  I got front row tickets for $80 total cost through travelzoo.com?and that was about 40% off.  The show was amazing?it really was an extravaganza.  Words can?t describe it?but if you have a chance to see it, don?t miss it!  We saw ?Jersey Boys? last time, and it was also terrific!  Try travelzoo for your area?they have sporting events and all kinds of performances?and they have saved us lots of money?and who doesn?t love to save money?

Day 3?We started off the day early, but on the wrong foot, and it was an omen of things to come.  I had a coupon good for a free buffet at 7 Harrah?s properties.  They listed the buffets by title, not by hotel, and I thought surely they had all the hotels in Vegas covered.  NOT!  The Paris Buffet is the only Harrah?s buffet not listed (I learned its name is ?Le Buffet?.  They had ?The Buffet? on  the coupon, but it?s at a different site in Vegas.)  Anyway, we had a delicious, if expensive, breakfast.

The RV needed gas, and Dean knew that Flying J and Pilot had merged, and that only one was still open.  So I used my handy iPhone and discovered that the Pilot was the one we needed.  AVOID THE NORTH LAS VEGAS PILOT AT ALL COSTS!!!  First, we drove into the ?AUTO? entrance, which would have worked, but the only pump with diesel was the very first one?not possible to turn that quick.  This place is beyond ?busy??and this was a weekday.  People were honking at us because they wanted out of their parking places for the store.  Dean finally pulled into the end pump, and it didn?t have diesel.  So he decided to circle around back.  We ended up in the pocket parking lot for Pilot?s KFC.  He had to detach the Jeep in order to get out of the pickle we were in.  He was going to make 2 lefts to go down to the ?TRUCK? entrance, when we saw that there was a huge truck totally blocking the 4 way signaled-intersection.  Traffic was a nightmare, so we turned right and returned to I-15.  7 miles north there is a great PETRO station.  We paid $3.96.9 per gallon.  I don?t know how that compares, but there isn?t enough savings to ever make me go back to that Pilot?and, I truly love a bargain.

We sailed along great for a couple of hours?until I-15N came to a dead stop.  We just turned off the engine and waited.  Eventually, cars started moving slowly.  Then we saw an ?Accident Ahead? sign, and everyone had to merge into one lane?not my idea of fun, though people were very courteous.  As we passed by what must have been the accident site, they were picking up the cones, and it was totally clear sailing.  While no one likes a delay, I always think of the people involved in the accident whose day was so much worse than mine, say a prayer for them and a ?Thank you, God? for us.

I-15 in Utah is dreary, and we pushed further than we would have liked because there was a lack of spots that we wanted to stay the night.  There were rest stops, but they are our last choice.  We decided to go all the way to Grand Junction because I had in my notes that the Wal-Mart Supercenter there was wonderful.  We got into the lot at 10:00, only to be greeted by a ?NO OVERNIGHT RV PARKING? sign.  I had a long list of supplies that I wanted, too!  We had passed a Cabela?s on our way to the Wal-Mart, and we decided to give it a go.  And it worked!  So we had a quick microwave dinner at 11:30, and Dean went to bed, and I wrote my log.

We went far safely today, but I hope tomorrow will be an easier day.

Miles traveled:  508
Weather: Vegas 84? when we left?Grand Junction 62? when we arrived.
 
Oh Linda, how I love your travels.  To  write in your journal after the day you had sure shows  your commitment to your RVing friends. Sorry you had to travel so many miles in one day and that your  buffet was not as advertised.  Your homework  is impressive.  I had a little chuckle over your Pilot experience as we had  something similar yesterday at the  Pilot in Butte MT.  It is on our list to never return, but we did not have to detach, however  we did travel through a bumpy dirt lot filled with construction vehicles and moved twice to  get to a working pump.

Keep your stories coming!
 
Linda!  So glad Dean and you are on the road again and sharing your travels with us. Thanks!

Don
 
What a nice surprise to "see" you back on the forum sharing your travels (and a few travails!) with us.  I so love reading your travelogues.

Margi
 
Oh, Linda, that old Flying J at the north end of Las Vegas is awful.  You actually could have done worse by accidentally getting into the truck wash lane!  ;)  There's one entrance/exit and it's usually very crowded.  We use the T/A at the south end of town across from the Silverton casino and I would recommend it (at the Pahrump/Windmill exit) for in-town refueling.  It's easy to pull into.  It's often crowded too but not like the Flying J/Pilot at the Cheyenne/Losee exit.  The trickiest part is exiting, primarily because it's right in the middle of an "S" curve so it's nice to have another set of eyes watching.

Once again enjoying your trip report.  It will be fun to see where you end up!

ArdraF

 
Oh Linda, that Grand Junction Walmart has NEVER allowed overnight RV parking. Next time you're traveling that way, get off at Rabbit Valley (exit 2, I think) and go to the south side of the interstate. There's a big ole BLM area and you can park right at the entrance or drive in a mile or more to their dispersed camping.

I do enjoy reading your adventures.

Wendy
home in Cortez
 
Wendy said:
Oh Linda, that Grand Junction Walmart has NEVER allowed overnight RV parking. Next time you're traveling that way, get off at Rabbit Valley (exit 2, I think) and go to the south side of the interstate. There's a big ole BLM area and you can park right at the entrance or drive in a mile or more to their dispersed camping.

I do enjoy reading your adventures.

Wendy
home in Cortez

We stayed there, with the manager's permission, on June 30, 2011 (on our way home from CO), which by the way, we passed through today on I-70 and I-76.  I think I just called ahead, like I always do, and he said, "Come on in."  I always get the name of the person I talk to so that if there is a problem, it is easier to resolve. This time, I had it in my notes that it was "great" (obviously, probably because no one else was there and we had our choice of spots), and I was so tired when we got there, I didn't even think about calling on the spot.

However, I am going to put the info you gave me in my CO state file on my computer, and we'll use it next time.

This makes 2 trips through CO without seeing you.  Dean was yammering at me just today about Quartzite and seeing ya'll there.  Driving through CO brought back great memories of the fun times we had last spring.  It's good to hear from you.

 
ArdraF said:
We use the T/A at the south end of town across from the Silverton casino and I would recommend it (at the Pahrump/Windmill exit) for in-town refueling.  It's easy to pull into.    It will be fun to see where you end up!

ArdraF

I'll add this to my NV file.  We have used that T/A several times to refuel the car, and we will use it next time.  Thanks for the reminder. 

  Dean didn't mention gas until we were leaving, so we were kind of stuck because we had already gone a several miles north.

We've never blown with the wind like we are this time.  It will fun for us to see where we end up!
 
You must have lucked out at the Jct WM back in June because it really is known as a "no overnight parking" WM and always has been. Glad you at least had one good night there ! I think you'll find Rabbit Valley a much nicer place.....just don't tell anyone about it, keep it our little secret :)

So are you going home via Cortez? Or are we going to have to get together when we're in so Cal this winter? We'll be in Anza Borrego mid-November thru mid-December before heading to the coast. And I think you are due for a Quartzsite visit....remember how much fun you had shopping?

Wendy
 
Betty Brewer said:
  I had a little chuckle over your Pilot experience as we had  something similar yesterday at the  Pilot in Butte MT.  It is on our list to never return, but we did not have to detach, however  we did travel through a bumpy dirt lot filled with construction vehicles and moved twice to  get to a working pump.

Keep your stories coming!

Thanks, Betty!  Good to hear from you, and misery does love company!  It's sad that you had to deal with the Pilot problem, too.  I am going to contact corporate, because Pilot needs better signing and to be more RV friendly.  There are competitors out there, and if they don't take simple, inexpensive steps like putting up good signage for RVers, we can go somewhere that will.

I hope my future stories are more fun-filled.  We start the "vacation" part of the trip tomorrow.
 
I'm trying to think of places along I-15. There's a nice little BLM campground on the Arizona strip. There's also a nice Passport America park in southern Utah, in Kannaraville, I think. I'll have to check my DeLorme Utah book and see what I have marked and let you know for "next time."

Enjoy the rest of your trip. At least it's not 110 degrees !

Wendy
 
Wendy said:
I think you'll find Rabbit Valley a much nicer place.....just don't tell anyone about it, keep it our little secret :)

So are you going home via Cortez? Or are we going to have to get together when we're in so Cal this winter? We'll be in Anza Borrego mid-November thru mid-December before heading to the coast. And I think you are due for a Quartzsite visit....remember how much fun you had shopping?

Wendy

Posting on RVForum is not secretive!  You have to go to the "my messages" part, and it's just like teaching.  When I find out something that is good and works, I just can't keep it to myself.  We had one school where the teachers competed with each other and kept their projects and ideas to themselves so the other teachers at that grade level wouldn't be able to use them.  My read on it was, "Who is thinking about the kids?  If we can make learning fun, exciting, and more interesting, that's what we should be doing."  They actually were so competitive and cold that a good teacher who transferred there retired early, rather than dealing with them (and, yes, I am sad to say, they were ALL women!)  Anyway, personal stuff I can keep a tight lid on, but if I find out something that makes RVing more enjoyable, I tell everyone because all of you have shared SO MUCH with me.  I know you were kidding, and I hope the next time you go to Rabbit Valley it isn't full.  If so....blame me.

Your guess is as good as mine as to what route we will be taking home---because we aren't sure of how far south we will be going.  I don't think we'll have time, but I'd love to go down to the Gulf and see the migrated ducks that left before we came in the spring of our Texas trip.  The only place I can say for sure we'll be is Missouri, and a few days in Iowa...but if we loop back, we may do all of Iowa.  If we can see you without going WAY out of our way, we will.

I'd much rather do Anza-Borrego than Quartzite.  Shopping there...yeah, right!  Dean brought that up.  Everything I bought was JUNK, except for one vegetable peeler that is awesome--I never thought I could love a peeler, but I do.

Call me, or e-mail me, when you know your SoCal itinerary.  We will definitely meet up.  Unfortunately, when I get home, I get so involved with home things that I don't look on the Forum as much as I would like.  I know that you are from the area, but we have some favorite haunts. 

Now, we have to go into the Wal-Mart in Sterling and buy what I couldn't buy last night.
 
Tom and Margi said:
What a nice surprise to "see" you back on the forum sharing your travels (and a few travails!) with us.  I so love reading your travelogues.

Margi

You always make me feel so good--even when I'm tired.  You get my "get up" going!
 
Dean & Linda Stock said:
Now, we have to go into the Wal-Mart in Sterling and buy what I couldn't buy last night.

You're in Sterling....if you have time, look at the carved trees...lots of them all over town. Can't remember if it was disease or a storm that killed off the trees and left just trunks but they're worth a drive to see.

Wendy
 
If you come near us be sure to stop in.  The buddy pad is always ready.  Besides we have your laundry bag which I found behind the dryer.
 
Wendy said:
You're in Sterling....if you have time, look at the carved trees...lots of them all over town. Can't remember if it was disease or a storm that killed off the trees and left just trunks but they're worth a drive to see.

Wendy

Sounds interesting!  I guess we could ask at a gas station for directions; AAA is closed.  I'm going to try to find them on the Internet.  You are full of interesting facts!
 
Lorna said:
If you come near us be sure to stop in.  The buddy pad is always ready.  Besides we have your laundry bag which I found behind the dryer.

You are wonderful!  I am sure Sherlock would head there right now.  We had such a good time there.  Feel free to keep the laundry bag--we have plenty.  If we get near you, we will most definitely head that way--fond memories!
 
September 24, 2011 Day 4 Sterling, CO

Once again we got up early (which isn?t our usual?we both like to sleep late), but we had miles to drive.  Quick breakfast of PB & J?no time for anything requiring prep.  We are ready to go!

Have you ever heard the saying, ?What goes up must go down??  It isn?t so!  Our Motostat antenna won?t stow.  After lots of effort and help from a technician on the phone? it finally went down at 11:45.  So much for the early start.

Good news?good roads, courteous drivers, nice scenery as we drove by rivers and creeks.  Only more good news from now on.

We shut down at a little after 7.  I had a brain burp and forgot to mention that last night we stayed at Cabela?s.  I owe them one?what a godsend.

Miles Traveled:  434      Weather?Pleasant?70?s and 80?s.  Overnighted at WalMart
 
September 25, 2011 Day 5 Lincoln, Nebraska

We decided we couldn?t make it to the capitol at Lincoln today without stressing and to slow down our frantic pace, so we slept in until a delicious 8:00.  However, we did scurry to get things stowed so we could get a reasonable start, and then I jumped in the shower.  What a shock!  Cold water only, and it was cold! 

We had waited to start our trip because the electric part of the AquaHot wasn?t working.  Dean checked it to make sure it worked before he let the repairman leave, and we had used it for the first 3 days of the trip without a problem.  We spent over $400 on that repair, so if it is possible to be cold and shivering and hot under the collar at the same time, that was me.  Dean had to dress, go outside, and flip a switch to use the electric part instead of the quicker diesel, and then I had to wait for the water to heat.  We didn?t leave until almost noon!  But the Motosat dish did go down without a problem, so that was good.

The drive was uneventful?some slowdowns because of roadwork, many courteous drivers, and more cows and corn.  Dean had a free birthday dinner coupon for Famous Dave?s BBQ, and it was after 9:00 when we got parked, so we went out to dinner.  We had delicious food, great service, and it was a nice way to reward Dean for all his hard work driving.

Tomorrow will be a fun day; we will go to the capitol and a gem-rated state museum..

Miles traveled:  365 Stayed at the Sam?s Club on 27th St.
 
September 26, 2011 Day 6 Lincoln, Nebraska

We almost got through the whole day with only joy and not one problem!  We started off the day with a trip to the Capitol.  Dean carefully logged in where the RV park was and hit ?SAVE?.  We just bought an updated GPS disc, and it hasn?t earned my trust, so I noted an unusual name of a restaurant near us, ?Runza? just in case there was a problem.

We arrived in the Capitol at 12:15, and the first thing I noticed was the saying above the entrance, ?The Salvation of the State is the Watchfulness in the Citizen.? This typified everything in the Capitol, which is very citizen-centered.  The front doors were rich with symbols; everything in the capitol stood for virtue, people, or love of the state.

Tours were on the hour.  We hadn?t eaten yet, so we went to the caf?, which was very nice.  Food was reasonably priced, and our sandwiches were loaded with goodies?mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. 

At 1:00 we met our enthusiastic guide, Jamison.  He talks even faster than I do, and he is a walking history of Nebraska and its history.  He told us that this is the third capitol building.  The first two fell down in less than a total of 50 years!  They were made from Nebraskan limestone and sandstone.  This capitol is built from Indianan limestone, and Jamison says it will last forever?or at least 100 years. The columns in the lobby were solid pieces of Italian marble with intricate carvings of horses, sheep, and corn at the top recognizing their role in the economy of the state.  EVERYTHING is symbolic! It was built between 1922-1932, and they paid for it as they went.  They are truly a balanced budget state.  Atop the capitol exterior bronze dome is The Sower.  He holds a basket and is spilling seeds.  He acts as a lightning rod, and he has the scars to show for it. (Picture 1)

Mosaics abound?in the floor, in the form of murals on the walls, on the 15-20 domes (Picture 2).  They are rich with symbolism. The first floor mosaic was Apollo, then
Earth Mother who provides the spirits of soil, animal life, and vegetation.  He was followed with individual mosaics of each of the spirits.  Then there were 3 circular mosaics representing the past, present, and future.  They added the wall mosaics at their centennial in 1967.  Picture 3 reflects their pioneer heritage and the role of the railroad?the main reason Nelaska, which means ?flat land? in Lakota, became a state.  Each wall mosaic tells a story.  My favorite was this one about a 15-year-old schoolmarm, Miss Minnie Freeman.  The blizzard of 1888 caused the temperature to drop from 50?F to -40? (90 degree change) in one hour.  The children safely huddled in their schoolroom until its roof blew off.  Miss Freeman tied the children together, and they walked ? mile to the steps of her boardinghouse, where they were safe.

A young 26-year-old woman designed all the floor mosaics.  She was aided by a Nebraskan historian.  One of my favorites was four intertwined circles?Earth, wind, fire, and air.  Another recognized all the fossils found in the state.  The state fossil is the Columbian mammoth.  He is named Archie, and he was discovered by chickens.  A farmer saw his chickens eating what he thought was soft limestone, and discovered it was actually a fossil mammoth.

They had a few statues of their most famous citizens?Willa Cather, General Pershing, and Buffalo Bill, whose ranch you can still visit.  He did many performances here, one of which he would like to forget.  As he was riding a bronc, his hat flew off, and his hair went with it, revealing his bald head.  Back then, hair was synonymous with masculinity, so it was a very embarrassing moment.  And, if you did go bald, men never considered wearing a wig?those were just for women.  So, it was a double whammy!

When the capitol was founded, there were only 3 trees, as far as the eye could see.  Only 3% of the state was forested.  But, the pioneers planted lots of trees, and Nebraska founded Arbor Day.  On the first Arbor Day, they planted one million trees!

In 1937, Nebraska enacted law to become the only unicameral legislature in the U. S., and it is the only non-partisan legislature, as well.  They decided these steps would save time, talk, and money.  We noticed that the hallways are very poorly lit and had the feel of a brick tunnel.  They also do not have air-conditioning.  The offices, on the other hand, are very brightly-lit, and all of them have patios or balconies.  This is done intentionally so employees will not congregate, chat, and socialize in the hallways and they will spend more time working hard in the offices.

There are 49 lawmakers.  Their terms are 4 years, and they may serve 2 terms. They can sit out one term and come back and serve 2 more terms, and so on.  Each represents 37,000 people.  They make $12,000/year, and receive no benefits?no insurance, retirement, no anything!  They meet starting in January for 90 days in odd years, 60 in even years.

Nebraska is big on openness and citizen participation.  By law, there is a public committee hearing for every bill, and people pack the large committee rooms.  Nebraska is the only state with that requirement.  Nebraska was the first to televise their sessions, and the first to put an electronic board up to show the lawmakers? votes.

We had to stand outside the unicameral (they have turned that word into a noun) and try to photo through glass. There are 3 beams across the room.  They represent the 3 nations that Nebraska has been part of.  The castile lion represents Spain, then fleur de lis represents France, and the bald eagles represent the U. S.  There are many marble columns (Picture 4) in the chamber, each from a different country, representing the various ethnicities of their population.

The Old Senate was no longer needed when they became unicameral, but look at these doors!  I loved them! (Picture 5) And, just like everything in this capitol, they are full of symbolism and corn.  Look at the corn cob door handles, the sunflower lock, the thunder and lightning, the way the Indian man looks at the moon and the Indian lady looks at the sun, causing an X, which has even further symbolism, the thunderbird, lightning, and thunder.  The doors weigh 75 pounds each, but you can open them easily with your finger tips because they have wonderful ball-bearing hinges.  These Nebraskans think of everything!

Their Supreme Court (Picture 6) meets 1 week per month for 10 months.  They hear 25 cases/week.  Each attorney has ONLY 10 MINUTES to present his case.  Cases are appeals, death-penalty, or impeachment.  The justices enter from a door hidden by the wood panels behind the center justice?s chair.  Above their heads is the inscription, ?Eyes and ears are poor witnesses when the soul is barbarous.?  The ceiling in the court is intriguing.  (Picture 7  I don?t have the words to properly describe its beauty, and of course it has symbols?corn, acorns, wheat, and more.

This capitol is #2 in my Most Favorite Capitols list.  There are virtuous sayings everywhere.  If the lawmakers live and act consistent with  90% of what their surroundings say and represent, this is the way democracy should work.

Our hour-long tour lasted over 1.5 hours, and by the time we left the gift shop (Yes, Ardra, I bought a book), it was after 3:00.  We hurried to the Nebraska History Museum, and it was excellent (and admission was by donation).  It had many interesting exhibits, and is worthy of its AAA gem-rating, but we only had a little over an hour and saw about 5% of it. Maybe we?ll have time to go back tomorrow.

When the museum closed at 4:30, we were mentally tired?our brains had been intensely listening and learning for 4 hours.  We just wanted to go back to the RV and relax, but it was not to be.  Dean plugged in the ?SAVED? place, and followed the GPS directions.  It took us back to the Sam?s Club where we boondocked last night.  I had my back-up plan?the restaurant with the odd name.  I put it in my I-phone, expecting an address to pop  up, only to discover that they have more than 10 restaurants here in Lincoln, none of which had a street name that coincided with our park, so that was no help.  We put in the intersecting street names, got lost again.  We wandered around for quite a while?no, Dean would not consider stopping at a gas station for directions?and using my i-phone I got directions using the intersection names, and we almost drove right by it.  There was a true feeling of EUREKA!

Staying at Lincoln Race Course Campground?FHU, $45/2 nights
 

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