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| Ed & Johanne's Notes from the road |
| Page 30 |
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| Page 30 |
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| .Aug 1-4: We spent the weekend at The Big Red Barn RV Park, A very nice, quiet park in Carthage, Missouri.which is very near the "Precious Moments" Park and Chapel Another very nice place to visit if, you can. The grounds, artwork and stained glass are amazing. |
| .Aug 8-12: We stayed in their lot, for three nights, with minimal electricity, limited water and no sewer, we waited for the visit of an inspector from the extended warrantee company. Then the agonizing wait for parts and the technician to have time to work on the RV....on the ground....no lift available. After the 3 nights on the shop parking lot, the owner agreed to pay for an RV park for the weekend, that turned out to five nights in the most expensive RV park we ever stayed in. ($55/night). The tech checked and changed the spark plugs but determined the problem was actually a clogged catalytic converter. That had to be ordered from Michigan? |
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| . Then we went to St Louis to visit the famous Arch. The battery on my camera died so I did not get any pictures at the arch.only from a distance.. |
| .Aug 5 - 8: During our last few days the RV was still having the jerks, shudders, hard shifts??? Whatever it may be. Johanne had been checking Cottman Transmission locations and we were heading towards St Louis, MO. There was one located just to the west in St Charles, MO. We headed for that location, using Loretta, our GPS to guide us. (named for Johanne's mother) When we sighted it on the left side of the narrow, busy street, it was a disappointment. Rather run down old wooden buliding with no apparent driveway, just a clutter of old cars. By this time the RV was really acting up even though we had only gone 90 miles. We passed by the Cottman shop and stalled twice going up a rather steep hill. Near the top was a church with a large open parking lot. I pulled in, parked and walked the two blocks back to see if they would check out the RV. . |
| .Aug 4th: Our next, one night, stop was at dumpy little Meramec Valley Resort, in Cuba, MO. They dare to call it a resort.....I guess because it has a swimming pool. But, the price was good.. |
| .Aug 12-13: We finally got the call that the part had arrived just before noon....check out (campground) is noon. We hurriedly packed up and brought the RV to Cottman's and waited, and waited until the part was finally delivered and then waited for the tech to come back from another job. About 3PM we finally got underway and did a short run of 115 miles to Effingham, Illinois.to Camp Lakewood RV Park. A nice little park with cable and WiFi. AND THE RV RAN GREAT. |
| St Charles & St Louis: During our stay at Cottman we got to do some sightseeing. St Charles is the sight of the first capitol of Missouri. The old part of town is quaint, cobblestoned streets and historic buildings including the former capitol building. Another bonus is called the Katy trail, a "rails to trails" pathway that is between the old cobblestone Main Street and the banks of the Missouri river. It starts in St Charles and goes for 225 miles in a westerly direction. I wish that I could travel the whole distance. |
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| . But, the big thing was my lovely wife that would not go up in the Seattle space needle did go up to the top of the Arch, because it was all enclosed. True to form she would not lean over to look out the small windows. We arrived at the top just moments before sunset and so had a special treat. |
| .Aug 13-14: Continuing eastward on I-70 through Indiana to near the Ohio border, spending one night at Deer Ridge RV Resort, another mediocre campground, that has the nerve to call itself a resort, just because it has a swimming pool. Again, no cable or internet and only 30 amp electric. AND THE RV RAN GREAT. |
| St Charles, MO...Old Town, cobblestone streets |