We left the fairgrounds in Sedalia about 10 a.m., followed U.S. Highway 65 north to Interstate 70 and took it east to Columbia, where we unhooked the van and left the bus in the parking lot of the Bass Pro Shop while we found a bank to make a deposit, and then had lunch at Culvers.

If you have never had a Butter Burger at Culver’s you have no idea what you are missing. There are only a couple of Culvers restaurants in Arizona, so we had only been to one since we left Indiana last year and it was long past due. In our opinion, they make the very best fast food burger in the world, hands down.

We had considered spending a couple of nights at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Columbia (listed in our RVers Guide To Fairgrounds Camping), which has 575 RV sites with water, electric, and dump stations for $10 a night. But they had two small RV rallies going on, one a Good Sam and the other a Holiday Rambler event. There were still a lot of RV sites left, but it was early afternoon and we decided to continue on to Mark Twain Lake.

We followed U.S. Highway 63, a good divided four lane highway, north from Columbia to Moberly, and then we took U.S. Highway 24 east. In Paris we were supposed to pick up State Route 154 and follow it to Perry, but somehow we got messed up and missed our turn. Five miles later I spotted Highway U and a sign for Mark Twain State Park, and turned off onto it.

Highway U is not exactly a super highway. It was a very narrow two lane road that climbed up one short hill and then dropped down another, but nine miles later we came to the state park and found State Route 154, which we followed to Perry. From Perry it was only a few miles north to Ray Behrens Campground, a Corps of Engineers campground on the shore of huge Mark Twain Lake.

Most of the sites are electric only, but we knew the campground had a few full hookup sites too. But since we arrived about 4 p.m. on a Friday, we really didn’t expect to find a full hookup site open. As luck would have it, they actually had three full hookup sites available! We chose a nice 50 amp site, got parked and settled in. At $12 a night with either a Golden Access or Golden Age pass from the National Park Service, it’s a heck of a deal.

I would never consider having an RV without an Electrical Management System (EMS) from Progressive Industries. Our EMS has saved our bus several times from bad campground wiring. When I plugged in at the campground, the EMS went through its setup procedure, and then shut down the incoming power because it detected a problem, showing an error code.

When this happens, you can bypass the EMS by flipping a switch on the model we have, and for some people I have known, that is their first response. But to me, that’s a recipe for disaster, sort of like ignoring your antivirus software alert and downloading a suspect e-mail attachment.

I called Daryl Lawrence from Lawrence RV Accessories, who is an EMS dealer, and described the problem. After making a phone call to the manufacturer, Daryl called me back and we deduced the problem was low voltage on one leg of the 50 amp power. We could have moved to one of the other open full hookup sites, but we really don’t need 50 amps to live comfortably. So I put on a 30 amp dog bone adapter, and we were good to go.

Daryl, thanks to you and Progressive Industries for your help and for such a great product. Folks, if you don’t have an EMS system in your RV, go to Daryl’s website and order one right now. You never know, the very next time you plug into a campground outlet may be the time you fry your RV’s electrical system and everything you have plugged in inside of it. Our EMS has saved us from damage more than once, and you’ll find very few companies in this industry that stand behind their products like Progressive Industries does.

Our friends Pam and Smokey Ridgely are workamping nearby at Mark Twain Landing, and we called to let them know we were in the area, and Smokey said they were just going to have dinner at the restaurant at their RV park. Never one to pass up food, I told him to give us a few minutes and we’d join them.

It was great to see our friends again after so long, and the food was as good as the conversation. Pam and Smokey introduced us to the campground’s managers and arranged for us to leave several bundles of sample issues for their guests.

By the time dinner and desert were finished, we were both tired from our long day, and the long week of vending we had just finished, so we said our goodbyes, promised to get together again while we’re here, and headed back to our bus and bed.

Thought For The Day – When you’re finally holding all the cards, why does everyone else decide to play chess?

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I’m sure glad we moved into the Indoor Vendor area, because it was still raining when we went to bed last night! At least we are parked on the road. Almost everybody else here at Escapade is parked on grass, or what was grass before spinning tires churned it into mud. The local tow trucks are making a fortune pulling people out.

Of course, part of the problem is that people tend to panic when it gets wet. If they would just sit tight until things dry out (and the weatherman promises they will be drier by Friday when the rally ends), everybody would be better off. But people want to move early to avoid getting stuck, and in the process they create a giant mud hole and then everybody gets stuck!

The big majority of the people here are fulltimers, so it’s not like most of them have to rush off someplace. The rally ends on Friday. They could stay here in beautiful Sedalia and enjoy the town for a day or two and leave after the weekend and have no problems getting out.

Sedalia has a lot to offer, and we love the charming old downtown section, which looks like a time capsule from 50 years ago. If it were not for the modern automobiles parked on the streets, it would be easy to imagine that you had been transported back in time to a typical small town America Main Street.

I often mention the many vendors who help make up our extended family of RV gypsies, so I thought for this blog I would include a few pictures to put faces with the names.

This first couple needs no introduction to most RVers. While they are not vendors, they are icons in the fulltime RV world, Kay and Joe Peterson, founders of the Escapees RV Club.

And here is my good buddy Mac McCoy, from Fire and Life Safety, and a familiar name to blog readers. Mac and I go way back, and he’s been a good friend for many years.

This pretty lady is Carol Hill, co-owner of the RV Driving School, along with her husband Dennis. Carol loves dancing, and gives line dancing lessons at many RV events.

Next up is another familiar name to blog readers, my dear friend Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour, talking with Jim Beletti, head honcho of the Heartland Owners RV Club.

John and Lexa Comstock own Big Rig RV Accessories, and sell all kinds of top quality products to keep your RV looking good as new, when Lexa is not busy doing acrobatics and back flips from lawn chairs.

We just met Joe and Susan Briggs from Uniquely RV, vendors for neat portable solar lampposts for your favorite campsite.

Ken and Marilyn Murphy from Coil N Wrap have been vending at RV rallies for a long time and have a loyal following of customers.

Patsy Collins was holding down the SMI Braking Systems booth while husband Reggie was off gallivanting somewhere.

While not vendors, we have known and loved Sami and Earl Aeverman for years. They were so generous as to offer us the use of their lot in Aransas Pass, Texas for the five weeks we were there this past winter.

And last in the photo show, but always first in my heart is my own dear Miss Terry, pictured visiting with another longtime friend, Oz Oszman in our booth.

Thought For The Day – I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

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We have enjoyed our time here at the Higginsville, Missouri fairgrounds. Higginsville is a friendly little town, and everybody we have met in the stores, restaurants and post office has been friendly and made it a point to welcome us to their town.

Yesterday evening we had dinner at the local Pizza Hut with Jim and Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour, and when we arrived there was a big old black dog lounging in the shade by the doorway. Of course I had to stop and get my puppy fix, and I made it a point to tell Jim and Chris (who live with a poodle, of all things!) “Now, this is a dog!”

Inside, as the waitress was taking our orders, I asked her whose dog it was. We learned that it lived at a nearby farm, but spent most of its days hanging out at the town’s fast food restaurants, where everybody was always feeding it. Now that’s my kind of dog! Any mutt that hangs out at restaurants mooching free food can’t be all bad.

I mentioned that Jim and Chris have a poodle, a lovable enough mutt if you like poodles, and I do have to give Odie credit. Every time I have ever gone to their rig he comes to the door to bark a greeting at me, and every time I tell him “Hey, Odie, shut up, it’s not like you’re a real dog!”

I think Odie has decided to shun me in return. When Jim and Chris pulled into the fairgrounds the other day, I walked up to the driver’s window, and Odie was in the passenger seat looking to see who it was. Once he realized it was me, he did an about face and looked in the other direction!

The other day I went over to talk to Jim and Chris, and Odie just stayed in his chair and ignored me. But as soon as Miss Terry walked over, he came right to the door to see her. Hey, Odie, I’ve gotten the cold shoulder a lot of times in my life, it’s not gonna work!

Today we’ll leave Higginsville and go over to Sedalia to get parked and set up for Escapade. Along the way, I hope to find a truck wash to get the bus cleaned up. It is covered in oil and road grime and really needs a bath. Usually I can con my pal Smokey Ridgely from Dri Wash N Guard into cleaning my stuff at rallies to demonstrate how good his product is, but the lazy dog is workamping over near Hannibal, Missouri and won’t make it to Escapade. That’s pretty darned selfish if you ask me! What kind of friend is that? I’m seriously thinking about sending him the bill for getting the bus washed!

Thought For The Day – Would a fly without wings be called a walk?

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