Sunday, November 7, 2010

LAST

As we enter the last leg of our year long loop around America’s heartland, it’s our second year of making the loop, we have been reminiscing.

Things changed dramaticly for us this year of the second loop.

January of 2010 found us basking in the sun, surf and sand of the Padre Island national seashore. We were still in our 2008 Oliver fiberglass 17’ trailer pulled by a v6 Jeep wrangler four door.

In late March we were back home in Arkansas and had bought a Ford diesel one ton dually, trading in our Jeep. At that point the big change had began.

In April we were at lake Greeson jug fishing when we got the call to come pickup our new Coleman 36’ fifth wheel trailer. Oh, yeah, Big change indeed ! With three slide outs, our useable living space had more than quadrupled ! Then there was all of that basement storage space. Well, we did, pick up the Coleman, that is,  and returned to our friends at jugfest 2010 on Lake Greeson.

The last couple of days of April we were back home, franticly throwing our stuff into the new trailer getting ready to depart for our first job of the year. We would manage Trujillo Meadows campground in Southern Colorado again. On May 5th we left for Colorado on the first leg of our loop around the heartland.

After getting the campground open, we were off of the grid completely for over 110 days.

Weeks of mild Summer days and cool nights with no Bears, followed.

The second week of September, we closed the campground down and left for the sugar beet harvest in North Dakota.

A fast blast across the upper Mid West prairies got us there in time.

Arriving in North Dakota a few miles from the Canadian Border we worked a few days during the pre pile and went sight seeing until the regular harvest began on October 1st.

A fast, furious and record setting harvest followed.

The third week of October, the beet harvest was over and we spent a couple of days rounding up our stuff and getting ready to head for Kentucky and Amazon.com.

Then followed a couple of weeks of aimlessly wandering along the shores of three, of America’s great lakes.

November second we arrived in Kentucky and are parked eight miles from our work site. We will be here until December 23rd when we will make the six hundred mile trip back home for the holidays.

As near as we can figure, we were home for sixteen days this year. The house and all of it’s demands and expense is weighing heavily upon us at this point. None the less, we are looking forward to being home for the holidays with the family.

Second year, second loop nearly completed.

No comments: