Tunica to Holt

SunCruiser with Additions

The day before we left Tunica, MS, we revisited the River Park we had last seen in April. We were completely amazed at the level of the waters of the Mississippi, now at least 30, if not 40 feet lower than on our previous visit. It is very difficult to comprehend such a change, but it is quite an indication of just how the flooding of this water way and others that flow into it can cause so much damage to areas that lie along the banks. You can click here for the latest photos and this slide show will be followed by the shots that I distributed with the blog entry from earlier this year for you to compare.

Today was "installation day" for some new additions to our rig. For some of you that have no RV experience, you might find some things about owning an RV to be just a bit astounding. For instance, almost every manufacturer we've investigated over the time we've been keenly interested in the subject recommends using a pressure regulator for the water supply (there's no telling what you may run across from one RV Park or Campground to another and too much pressure could damage plumbing), but we've yet to run across a unit where a regulator is installed as part of the standard equipment - quite a puzzle, considering the $8 (give or take) price tag for such a device at Wall-Mart (Ok, you can spend 2 to 3 times that at your local RV dealer); however, considering the tens of thousands to millions of dollars one might pay for a new RV...what can I say? Or, how about the fact that most new "Class A" Motor Homes these days are built with an "In-Motion Satellite System" which includes a dish enclosed in a dome (see front of our roof) a controller, etc. but no receiver and (of course) you have to pay a premium to some provider or another for the service. Now, who has to watch TV "In-Motion"?? It might be neat to use this for an Internet connection while in motion, but no such luck. Oh, you can buy your own receiver and NOT get a provider and pick up some transmissions for free that you'd never want to watch.

But I digress. There's quite a list of such items but today's subject is air vents. All RV's have roof vents of one sort or another, some with fans, some larger than others, some with remote controls, etc., etc., etc. Our Bounder had two, one large and one smaller, both with covers that allowed them to be used when it rains or while driving down the road. One would suspect this would be the normal state of things - wrong! The vents ALL have covers, but if opened in the rain you'll have at least a puddle, if not a flood on the floor. If you open them while driving down the road (or forget to close them before embarking on your trip) you can expect the parts of the cover and mechanism to be scattered as far down the road as it takes you to realize you have a problem. The solution is aftermarket covers (of course). You can find them at prices ranging from the reasonable to the absurd and you can have them installed at your local RV dealer at a cost that probably will not exceed 3 to 4 times the price of the covers themselves. Or, as I did, you can search out the most reasonable price via the web and spend a couple of hours installing them yourself. Oh, naturally, in order to match the color of our "dome" which we don't use, we had to pay an extra premium. For future reference (something I never knew before)...the color black is up to $20 more than the color white [please, don't anyone tell the Crayola folks].

We've been in Florida (Holt) now for about two weeks now and are likely to remain here for quite a while. We'll eventually be exploring some locations that we never got to visit the last time we were here. If anyone should be wondering, we continue to love this RV living, the things we experience, the people we meet and the freedom.

MidSouth RV Resort

Same Tower - New NameThe MidSouth RV Resort is part of the Harrah's Hotel and Casino complex (a 2000 acre tract - formerly known as The GRAND) that is located just to the North of Tunica, MS. There are 8 other casino hotels in the neighborhood with two additional RV parks located at Hollywood and Sam's Town. Upon our arrival here a week ago, this 200 site location was only about 25% occupied, but within two days there were no more than two or three unfilled sites at any given time as folks arrived in the park in advance of the arrival of Gustav, escaping mostly from Southern Louisiana. We also heard that the other two RV parks were filled as well. There were all sorts of RV's, from small campers to the largest of motor homes filling the sites, some with as many as 10 people staying in one unit. Fortunately, the weather was sufficently nice here during the height of the period that many folks could set up for eating, etc. outdoors. The staff and facilities provided here proved to be more than adequate with the exception of the laundry facilities...pretty tough to service 200 family units (probably 600 people or more) with only four washers and driers! Click here for some photos.

The remnants of Gustav, followed by other fronts crossing the area with high winds, rain and spotty thunder storms, have caused us to extend our stay here; however, we are hoping to be back on the road and heading South within a day or two [keeping an eye on the new approaching tropical events, particularly Ike].

From Mount Pocono, PA, to Tunica, MS

After spending a few days in the Mt. Pocono Campground, we started heading West and South a bit and spent our first night on the road in Breezewood, PA, along with friends Karen and Roger. As we pulled into the small location tucked behind the local Fire Station, we were sure the place was closed; however, although it was deserted, there was an "Open" sign on the office and instructions for an honor system stay. We set up our rigs on two of the 13 available sites and proceeded to spend a comfortable and peaceful evening of solitude in the foothills of some PA mountains. The next day we proceeded through more of PA, across the slim finger of West Virginia that juts up along the Western border of PA before proceeding to a KOA near Columbus, Ohio. We then headed through part of KY on our way to Elizabeth, Indiana, where we spent two nights at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino. From there we headed back into KY and on to Nashville before heading West to Memphis and then just a bit South to Tunica, MS where we are spending a week, the first half of which was spent in watching the progress of Gustav and the next half of the week we'll be watching for conditions to return to normal in the Gulf area before resuming our journey South. Click here for a few photos along this leg of the trip.