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?

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally

We were up early yesterday (or at least early for us) to get ready for our move to the Sedalia, Missouri fairgrounds for the Escapees RV Club’s Escapade rally. By the time we had everything packed away, I had checked the oil in the bus, unhooked the water and electric, taken down our tripod TV dish, and hit the dump station, we were on the road a little before 9:30 a.m.

For the first part of our trip, five miles back to Interstate 70 and then ten miles east to the Concordia exit, Miss Terry followed me in the van. We got off the freeway and went to a company simply called The Truck Wash, where for $60 they cleaned off several thousand miles of road grime, diesel smoke, and oil, and when they were done our old bus was as a shiny as a new penny! That stainless steel on the bottom half is really pretty when it’s all cleaned up and you can see yourself in it.

We left The Truck Wash and drove across the street to the TA Travel Center, where we pulled into the truck lot long enough to hook the van up, and then we were back on the road. It was another 20 miles or so to U.S. Highway 65, and then nineteen miles south to Sedalia. We had to cross a bridge where traffic was down to one lane, with ten feet between the Jersey barriers on both sides, but we got through just fine and I didn’t even snivel!

Have I ever told you how much I love my PressurePro tire monitoring system? Years ago we had a flat on the Toyota pickup we used to tow behind us, and never knew it until a passing trucker honked to get our attention. By then the tire was shredded, and we had beat the heck out of the paint on the left rear quarter panel of the truck.

Between that and the front tire blowout we had on the bus last year, I am very paranoid about tire problems. It used to be that whenever we got onto a rough stretch of road, I was always worrying that we had a tire going flat. But not any more! I know my PressurePro will alert me to any potential problems before they become disasters. Many times, just for my peace of mind when we feel a rough road, I’ll manually scan my tires on the PressurePro monitor to make sure everything is okay. I’ll be honest, before we had a PressurePro system, I thought it was a neat gadget, but not really necessary. Now I consider it an essential part of our safety equipment. If and when we replace our bus with a different coach, the PressurePro goes with me!

Coming into an Escapade is always exciting for us, because to us, the Escapees are one huge extended family, and we know we’ll see a lot of our friends there. Sure enough, several people we know, including our buddies Mike and Elaine Loscher were on hand to get us pointed in the right direction, Bryan Rose got us parked, and we had a bunch of people come by to say hello. Joe and Marcia Jones spent some time visiting, as did Gene and Sandy Taggatz, Paul and Connie Anderson, and Bob and Molly Pinner, and so many others that I can’t remember everybody.

We did not realize that vendors were expected to be open from 3 to 5 p.m. until we arrived, so we hurriedly got the canopy erected that we use when vending outside at rallies, and people started coming by to see what we had to offer.

We are one of only three outside vendors at this rally, the other vendors are in a building just a few steps away. But we prefer vending from our bus, so we can run inside to check the status on somebody’s subscription, run off some more copies of the booklets and CDs we sell if we run low, or grab something cold to drink out of the refrigerator.

It’s going to be a busy and fun week, and we’re looking forward to it!

Thought For The Day – He who laughs last thinks slowest.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally

Several blog readers have written to ask what the status is on the Winnebago motorhome we looked at earlier this week. Thank you for your interest, but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen at this time. Our private financing fell through, so we’re back to square one. We’re very disappointed, but I guess it’s just not our time yet.

Yesterday we drove down to Sedalia to check things out before going into Escapade on Saturday morning. There are already a bunch of Escapees there who arrived early for pre-rally events or to work on the rally staff. We saw several people we know, including Dee Holt, our longtime friends Ron and Jerrie Lea Hopf, and Art and Caroline Fennell.

Sedalia seems like a nice town, with a population of about 20,000 people. We noted several of our favorite restaurants, so we know we’ll have plenty of places to get together for dinner with all of our RVing friends while we’re in town.

Here’s a heads up for anyone coming into Sedalia from Interstate 70 via U.S. Highway 65. Just as you come into town there is construction on a bridge and the road is down to just one ten foot wide lane, with traffic alternating in crossing. It’s only a short distance, but be aware that there may be delays with all of the RVs coming into town.

Back at the Higginsville Fairgrounds, my buddy Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour spent some time helping me with some internet issues. I am always amazed at how much this attorney-turned-geek knows about computers and the internet. She makes tasks that mystify me seem easy.

Later on Chris’ husband Jim threw some chicken and sausage on the grill, Miss Terry whipped up some goodies, and we had a nice little cookout. We enjoyed sitting at one of the picnic tables next to the walking path here at the fairgrounds, having our meal and visiting.

We’ve had an interesting experience not once, but twice lately. People who have picked up a copy of the Gypsy Journal somewhere or read the blog have noticed the names of old friends they have lost contact with mentioned, and contacted me to see if it was the same person. Both times it was, and I have forwarded on their messages and e-mail reunions have taken place. How cool is that?

Thought For The Day – Good fellows are a dime a dozen, but a true leader is priceless.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally