Hannibal Missouri – Mark Twain Cave

As I drove Northeast from Columbia, the weather slowly changed into a classic fall day – breezy and cool with bright blue skies. I had called ahead to book a reservation at Mark Twain Cave RV Park, an interesting place in that it is a private operation that operates both a campground and tours of the cave located on their property.

It was nearing the close of their season so they were only at about 25% of capacity, which suited me just fine. I was given a fine site at the back of the park.  The sites here sport full hookup with one quirk: the sewer connections are near the front of the sites, far forward of everything else. My fifteen foot “stinky slinky” wouldn’t reach, so I had to pull forward and dump at departure. No biggie, but I did put a ten foot extension hose on my list for items to acquire for next year.

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Northern Kansas – The Space Between

I’ve you’ve ever driven to California from the Midwest, you probably remember driving across Kansas. I-70 bisects the the state in a merciless dead flat, arrow straight line of pavement. Hours of boredom before you can reach Denver or Kansas City is the way most travelers think about the Sunflower State, and I was no exception. This is my account of the trip that changed my mind about this “space between”.

Colorado transit

Ordinarily Colorado is a destination, a place to enjoy the spectacular Rocky Mountains after crossing trackless expanses of desert to the West or equally flat grain fields to the East. On this occasion circumstances were different. A Canadian Clipper was swiping down from the North, and the forecast was for significant snow. While this was great news for the ski resorts like Vail, Loveland and Copper Mountain ahead of me, I had no intention of being caught on the wrong side of the mountains in a snowstorm.

Accordingly, I got an early start out of Thompson Springs Utah and put my rig on Interstate 70 at the full speed limit, a rarity for me.

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Eastern Utah – Canyonlands National Park

Camp Cookery

London broil and a cob
Chicken and a sweet potater

Every ten days or so I restock the fridge in the camper. Part of that process is cooking proteins that I buy in bulk, to be portioned out in salads and such over the days between grocery runs. Chicken and salmon are my goto selections, but occasionally I find a good buy on beef, pork or lamb.

This time I found a package of “London Broil”,  a butcher’s marketing label which was applied to a nice top sirloin roast. Sliced thin it made for some fine steak salads. 🙂 As long as the Sportsman’s Grill is hot, I throw on some veggies to make the most of the coals.

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