July-September 2013: WE ARE FAMILY - Part 2

               The family adventures continues ...                      

Bob and Donna take time out of their busy schedule
helping  fellow campers to have lunch at our campsite

Well McTraveler left Pam's Kentucky family to make a beeline to Jim's side in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. 

Jim's brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Donna, own the KOA there which makes it so easy to visit family. We so love coming here for family and the shear beauty of the Ozarks...so much to see and do.

Our niece and grand niece

While in Eureka Springs, Donna's daughter and grand baby from California came to visit which made our trip even more special.

But FAMILY isn't always about the people in you life who are blood relations. It's about the people in your life who want you to be in theirs. It's about the people in your life who accept you for who you are, support you in the things you choose to do and no matter what are there for you. It's the people in your life who love you, respect you and who you can depend on. Now That's FAMILY too. 

Ernie and family

With that said, we also had the pleasure to meet some of our RV family in Eureka Springs.  Ernie left Montana, his daughter, son-in-law and the grand kids came up from Texas; and all met in Eureka Springs.  

Yet another RV family, Kim and Don, came over from Harrison for the day to visit too. These fine folks went way out of their way to spend time with us and we so appreciate them and our time together.  The RV community is really a tight knit group who love and support each other just like kin-folk do.






So what do you do to entertain 12 people of all different ages? Well you go to Starkey Marina on Beaver Lake and rent a pontoon for the day for more family fun in the Ozarks!  Watch the video of our day on the lake here.

PerfectFamily Fun Perfection!

Family togetherness continues around the table; there's always lots of good food involved with get our togethers.  We had a scrumptious cookout, some swimming for the kids, and then S'MORES around the campfire...another perfect day.

Everyone else departed, so Jim and Bob went on a golf outing and Donna and I had our girls day too.  We toured the Eureka Springs Historical Museum which is housed in the 1889 Calif Building in the heart of the downtown Historic District. The museum tells the wonderful story of Eureka Springs start as a place of wondrous healing spring waters  ... Donna and I just love these history lessons. 

So we only had a couple of days alone with Bob and Donna before meeting up with Ernie on his Texas ranch; that will be addressed in a different blog post.  This hectic visit wasn't nearly enough quality time so as promised we were back by Labor Day. 

So we put on the KOA yellow shirts once again as workcampers for the long Labor Day holiday weekend.  The campground was a very busy sell-out!  Bob and Donna provided their campers with a watermelon cutting ... boy do campers love their watermelon! We had perfect weather and all the campers so enjoyed their stay.  

The above photos are from our countryside day trip drive to Fayettesville; our destination was the Northwest Arkansas Mall to shop for new glasses.  It was a very enjoyable, beautiful drive and had we a bite to eat while out.  Jim and I so cherish our time together.

The guys had another round of golf and the girls drove to Golden, Missouri to see the Golden Pioneer Museum.  In 1993, the Prier family of Golden, took over the Trail of Tears Museum Collection and combined it with their collection of Carnival Glass and American Pioneer artifacts to create the museum of today. They continue to add to their collections and don't see how they can cram anything else into the building. As you can see below, Donna and I had the perfect drive from Eureka Springs, across the one lane bridge in Beaver, AR to Golden, MO.

The museum collection was amazing and would take days to see it all.  We were stunned at the black light displays of Carnival glass and a gem/mineral rock collections that glowed in the dark.  It was a shame that my camera battery died right when I was going to take a photo of the glowing rocks.  We sistahs always have a great time together no matter what's on the agenda; and we thoroughly enjoyed our day at this museum ...

Maxx and Mollie get one last treat from Aunt Donna as we say our family farewells until next time.

We are so glad we made the trip back to Eureka Springs to spend extra time with family; and that the brothers got to share many meals together.

So we thank for you for making this family journey with us and hope to see you back soon for more McTraveler Adventures.

Until then, we wish you safe travels!
Pam, Jim, Maxx and Mollie

July - September 2013: WE ARE FAMILY - Part 1

¹fam·i·ly

 noun \ˈfam-lē, ˈfa-mə-\

: a group of people who are related to each other

: a person's children

: a group of related people including people who lived in the past

In human context, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence (household).

As the basic unit for raising children, Anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); avuncular (a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended family in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family.

Genealogy is a field which aims to trace family lineages through history.

To me, Family is so much more than the unemotional definitions. Webster's makes no mention of the love, bonding, support and encouragement, one's foundation to life and living, nurturing, the laughter, the tears, teasing and joking, the respect, knowing you can depend on each other, celebrating milestones or just for each day of being together ... all the essential components that bring bloodlines together as one whole family.

We're so blessed to have wonderful families on both sides.  This summer we were able to spend quality times with those we love ... OUR FAMILY. 

McTraveler ended our 2013 Spring RV trip by arriving in Pam's hometown of Louisville, KY just in time for the 4th of July and some family celebrating.  Jim and I had decided at the beginning of Spring that we had to buy water soaker guns for the little (and big) kids so we could have some major family Summer fun ... so let the fun begin ...

Besides celebrating the fact that we are together ... we love celebrating milestones and events. We start out with our grand daughter's 4th birthday party who came from Vermont with our daughter and son-in-law. What a fun time for all ... the birthday girl, parents, grand and great grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

Our little princess is growing up too fast!

The next day, taking advantage of the kids being out of school, we head out to the Louisville Zoo. What a fun filled day for the kids and the grown ups too!

The Louisville Zoo was more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Sisters together again over the 
BIG CELEBRATION weekend

Spooning since 1954 ... we cherish the hearts that love us.

Even though we are now scattered, we make it home to share the love and catch up with each other.

We were so pleased and proud to celebrate Pam's parents 60th Anniversary.

Family arrived from all over the country to be part of this testimony of love and marriage. Mom and Dad are our shining examples of Love, Honor, Hope, Faith, and Encouragement.  Just couldn't ask for a better childhood or adulthood. Mom and Dad's 60 year legacy of love and hard work produced a wonderfully loving family.

Their legacy continues to grow.

My maternal grandfather started a family tradition back in 1974: The Collier Family Reunion. This gathering of family has been held the first Saturday every August since then. McTraveler picked up Mom and Dad from our Kentucky home and set our course for Sweet Home Alabama.

Mom became a pro at RV travel last summer when she went on adventures with us through out the northeast.  This was Dad's first trip; and even though he felt a little claustrophobic, I think he enjoyed the overall trip to my grandparents farm.  It's strange, this was my first trip back since they both passed late in their 90's; and just won't be the same but glad family tradition carries on.


As McTraveler pulled in to boondock next to the cornfield above the barn; and as the oldest grandchild of this clan, decades of good times of family, fun, and food memories flooded in and overwhelmed me.  I miss my grandparents.  Cousin Larry and his wife Phyllis purchased the Collier farm; and I'm so pleased it stayed in the family and they are lovingly bringing it back to life.  Many thanks to Larry and Phyllis for being gracious hosts and the hard work they put out to feed us and take us on Jim's first wagon mule team ride throughout the beautiful countryside. 




The family reunion was bitter sweet. I so enjoyed being with everyone; but with only a few great aunts remaining of grandpa's immediate family, I  left sad knowing I won't see some of the oldest generation again.  Mom is the oldest of her generation left. But seeing toddlers starting their first steps at the reunion, I know the circle of life continues.  

Collier Family Reunion August 2013

Circa 1894
Great Grandfather Collier as a child

Talking with and hearing the stories from the older generations, I found reunions are the perfect place to trace genealogy and had several fun days scanning hundreds of old photographs.

Early 1900's
Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother Collier

1944
Grandparents

My Grandparents attending the
1985 Collier Reunion

In mid-August we leave Kentucky to see Jim's family in Arkansas; see our WE ARE FAMILY - Part 2 blog. 

After Labor Day we head back to Kentucky; but stop in St. Louis, Missouri see see my sis and brother-in-law.  We were camped overnight at Wal-ee World and they drove up from DeSoto.  Mona and Paul introduced us to one of their favorite hang outs for good food and music ... Helen Fitzgerald's Irish Grill and Pub. We had a blast catching up, good food, music and dancing the night away.

Wish we could have spent more time with Mona and Paul; but Mona had to go back to work and we were headed to Louisville to see Mom and Dad one more time before reporting to Amazon in Campbellsville, KY. The Amazon CamperForce experience will be yet another blog post.



Mom is a fantastic cook and she put on the Southern spread for us; what a treat after a day on the road. Besides cooking, Mom is renown for her quilting ... an unbelievable fabric artist. I always try to do a project whenever I have her expertise at hand. This time I made McTraveler some new placemats and coasters. Earlier this summer, Mom made a cover for our printer out of the same fabric.




Dad is brilliant patent holder engineer; and we always have very deep discussions. The latest topic was the applications of nano technology. We live in such a fascinating world and times.

As we prepare to leave Mom and Dad's on our last night in Louisville; we are bade so long with a magnificent night sky beaming down on us.

We eagerly anticipate that you'll be back soon to read more of McTravelers RV Adventures ... and be sure to check out Part 2 of WE ARE FAMILY ... where Jim's side of our family are the shining stars!

Until then, wishing you safe travels,

Pam, Jim, Maxx and Mollie

40 years? Seriously?

LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2012

Senior Class Photo

This isn't one of my typical RV travels blogs but it's part of last years RV experiences.  Plus, I just has to sneak this one in because the memories are heavy on my mind.  McTraveler is currently (August 1, 2013) parked in my hometown of Louisville, KY.  Today we're camped at the same RV park, Louisville South KOA, as last year when we attended my 40th high school reunion.

Note to new readers: McTraveler is the name of our class A 40' diesel pusher motor home ... we're full-time RVers who travel coast to coast ... we've been struck with wanderlust.

While following my high school alumni FB page, which is all abuzz with this years upcoming reunion which is less than a month away; I start getting sentimental.

The Class of '72 is the proud recipient of a special designation ... we were the first graduating class in the brand the new high school. Construction didn't finish to open in time to start the new school year; so our high school borrowed another schools facilities and went to night school after they finished the day shift.  That was a strange semester; getting home late in the dark and so wound up that I'd watch Johnny Carson, Star Trek, and The Twilight Zone with Dad while doing homework. Then more homework while eating breakfast.  Sure didn't leave much time just to have fun ... girls just wanna have fun. I also remember dodging bats as I walked from portable to portable in the dark ... still creeps me out thinking about it.  Finally OUR new school was finished; we claimed it and put OUR stamp on it.

Last night, Steve H. ('72) came to visit us at our campsite; and boy did we take a walk down memory lane.  What a fun, funny, wonderful evening of reliving stories.  Steve was like a brother I never had.

I'm sorry to say that due to other commitments, I won't be able to attend the 2013 Reunion, and that has me pretty bummed.  So feeling nostalgic, I take a look at my videos of last year's Class of 1972's 40th High School Reunion.  They were "glorious good old days" and watching them put a smile on my heart from seeing each of my classmates again.  But even as good as our school days were; retirement is even better ... everyday is Saturday.  We have the freedom to explore, discover, stand in awe in the middle of wild, raw nature, plus I'm still learning something new everyday.

I digress, so back to the reunion. Our class hosted the weekend long event and included all our friends from classes '73-'75.  I was sorry I didn't get to attend all the planned activities; but I'm sharing videos of the School Tour, the evening cruise on the Belle of Louisville, and the main event Dinner/Dance Reunion.

40 Years Later

What fun we had at the reunion events.  I found it so fantastic to reconnect with classmates who were (and still are) important to me; especially during the critical growing teenage years.  

Now that we're all approaching 60 ... I don't want to be grown-up anymore and having a blast by living a life on the road 

with child-like abandonment. 

Over our weekend together, we shared so many laughs reminiscing; and some tears too as we remembered those who are no longer with us.  I included those precious souls names as a tribute on the closing credits of the Dinner/Dance Reunion video. Take a moment and pause to reflect on each of their bright and promising lives; and I hope it brings a smile as you remember the best about them.

I must confess, I couldn't remember all of my classmates ... a bad case of CRS as I age.  The name tags helped, but with baby boomer eyes it was still difficult.  Just didn't seem appropriate to get a foot away and at chest level to try to read the small print on the name tags. So this year, I hope 

they hang a billboard around the attendees necks so the names can be read 

without getting so close they can smell the garlic you had for lunch.

I will miss not being in Louisville for this year's reunion hosted by the Class of '73; but I'll be thinking of you. Warning, the videos are long because I didn't want to leave any of you out.  So grab a glass of wine, get comfy, and sit back, watch at full screen with the volume up and enjoy our 40th reunion all over again.  Cheers! I'll have a glass with you.

Sorry, technical difficulties ... I couldn't upload the videos directly to 

McTraveler's RV Adventures blog. So here's the YouTube links:

The School Tour

The Belle of Louisville Cruise

The Main Event - Dinner / Dance

So, I thank you for driving down memory lane with us, and hope you'll be back soon for the next post of McTraveler's RV Adventures.

Until then, wishing you safe travels and GO MUSTANGS!!!
Pam, Jim, Maxx and Mollie

P.S.
Doug B.('72) and I who have a 50 year friendship will be holding our own mini reunion when McTraveler heads to Dallas, Texas in early September.  Jim and I look forward to spending time with Doug and Cindy.  McTraveler will be camped at The Vineyards RV Resort located between Dallas and Fort Worth.  We will also be visiting with Jim's junior high buddies Ken W. and Jenna K. in Fort Worth. Jim, Kenny and Jenna's friendship goes back 55 years!  Aren't enduring high school friendships the best?

DOUBLE FEATURE: A Ride Along plus A Park Review - Salt Lake City to Double Dice RV Park in Elko, NV

MAY 2013

Double your pleasure, double your fun ...

now I have the double mint chewing gum song in my head!  

McTraveler is leaving Salt Lake City, UT and making our way to Elko, NV for the night. The drive along I-80 goes through a lot of scenic landscape changes.  You'll see the green mountains with snow caps as you leave SLC, then by the expansive Great Salt Lake and on toward the flat desert floor vistas of the Great Basin where we found the Bonneville Speedway with salt flats that are blinding white; immediately as you cross the Nevada line you'll find mountains again and finally flatting out some as you enter into the hot, dry desert area of Elko, NV.

This leg of our 2013 Spring RV Trip also included a first ... a cattle drive outside of SLC where the cowboys were herdin' 'em doggies underneath I-80 ... what a fun sight to behold!  That was never expected ... did a double take then snapped a photo.

                                                  Now I have the Raw Hide song going through my head!

Because of the weather, we chose not to boon dock overnight ... just didn't want to have to run the generator all night for A/C.  So we found the Double Dice RV Park in Woodall's Directory and they did give us the Good Sam discount.  Like the name says, we're in Nevada, so everyone has some sort of gaming on property, even the RV park has a casino.  We didn't gamble, but later on we felt we had lost enough money just by staying here.

Campground Views

The park is a glorified gravel parking lot, but we were grateful to find anything with hook-ups on this long lonely stretch of road.  The staff was nice and said to go pick and site and let them know one we settled into.  The vast majority of the 100 park sites were allotted to permanent residences so there were little to chose from.  I peeked into the laundry and showers ... both areas are dirty coin operated messes.  

We did go to the on-site bar restaurant and had  a just okay meal ... but it was nice not to cook after driving all day.

Suffice it to say, we enjoyed the beautiful drive and endured the overnight campground.  Overall rating of this fine establishment get a big fat D.  I was surprised when I just looked at Trip Advisor and they had one excellent, six very good, and four terrible.  We felt the park rated in the terrible range.

We're sorry you had to visit our virtual campground but hope you'll only stay at this campground as a last resort.  But we do hope you enjoyed the ride along to our misadventure.  We promise better adventures at our next stop in Reno, NV ... see you there.

Until then, wishing you safe travels,
Pam, Jim, Maxx and Mollie

RV PARK REVIEW - SLC KOA - McTraveler's eyeballs are popping out from greenery overload - that's a good thing!

MAY 2013

After our adventures throughout southern Utah's red rock/orange sand country (BTW Jim had had enough rocks); McTraveler made it's way north to Salt Lake City.  What a nice change to see green, white, and blue.  Real trees! Lush greenery and flowers everywhere, white snow capped mountains, and beautiful blue sky views of  downtown SLC.

Downtown Salt Lake City

A light rail system is a very short walk
from the campground

The SLC KOA is the closest RV park to downtown and right off North Temple Street where you will find a light rail system for your tourist adventures.  It's also located on the western side of the city; which is where we wanted be to for an overnight. Tomorrow McTraveler will be going westbound on I-80 towards Elko, NV then onto Reno, NV to see friends. Note: To and from the interstate there will be some city street driving.

The location is not your typical campground in the woods (let's go hiking and fishing) but a really beautiful urban campground for taking in the sights of a big city; or an overnight that's convenient to get back on the interstate.  We thought they did a really good job with the grounds to make it a natural setting as possible.  Again, we had been green (forest) deprived the last several weeks.

Views of the campground.
Here we enjoyed the smells of pines and flowers; unlike our last campground's smell of musty mud.

The staff was very courteous, professional, and helpful with giving us tips of things to do while you're here.  It was nice to feel welcomed.  They appreciated our business and wanted us to have a good experience in their campground.  After weeks of spotty phone and internet service and no cable TV, we were all over the electronics here.

CAMPGROUND AMENITIES50

• 50 Max Amp
• 80'Max Length
• Wi-Fi
• Cable TV
• Pool (5/25 - 9/7)
• Hot Tub / Sauna
• Propane ($)
• Kamping Kitchen
• Pavilion
• Tour Shuttle ($)
  

• 5 Buck Pizza
• Tours
• Coin Operated Laundries
• 2 RV/Car Washes
• Media Center
• Barber Shop
• Nico's Mexican American Cafe
• Free Temple Square Shuttle

So nice to have a paved site with grass and trees

We enjoyed our overnight stay and would stay again if in the area.  Our overall rating for the Salt Lake City KOA is a solid B+.  We hope you found our review helpful.  If you've stayed here, we'd love to hear your view.  We welcome all comments.

Now, we thank you for visiting our virtual campsite and hope you liked the s'mores.  We eagerly anticipate that you'll be back soon to read more of McTravelers RV Adventures.

Until then, wishing you safe travels,

Pam, Jim, Maxx and Mollie

DIRECTIONS

I-15 Northbound and Southbound and I-80 westbound -  take Exit 308 (airport), 1.5 miles on I-80 West to Exit 118 (Redwood Rd.), turn right on Redwood, go 1/4 mile, turn right on North Temple Street. Go 1/4 mile. Turn left at the light marked 1460 W. Turn right into the park.

I-80 Eastbound - take Exit 115 (North Temple) stay on North Temple Street 3.5 miles.Turn left at the light marked 1460 West. Turn right into the park.

GPS address:  110 N 1460 W, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116