AVALAIR'S BIG ADVENTURE, DAY 5/6

We headed out for Custer State Park, SD. 

 This is a good place to camp close to Mt. Rushmore.  

This is a cool campground with just electrical hookups, no water or sewer, but it has really tall pines surrounding every campsite.  The pads are not super level,though.  They had good showers and restrooms, too.  Custer State Park receives a 3.5 Bubba rating.

  We got there right as a huge thunderstorm rolled in.  They were forecasting 70 mph winds and huge hail.  This was a little concerning, considering we had no idea what county we were in.  70 mph winds are  nothing in Oklahoma, we see that pretty regularly.  However, it's not a good idea in a 19 foot travel trailer.  It could get ugly in a hurry.  We left it hooked to the truck, as a precaution until the storm passed.  We grabbed some sleep and headed for Mt. Rushmore the next morning.


We pulled up to a gate that looked like we were going to Disneyland.  It was 8-10 lanes wide and of course, in our governments infinite wisdom, the RV lane was the very outside lane.  There was no way I was getting all of those people to cooperate at the same time and let me cross 10 lanes of traffic.  No freaking way.  I just pulled in like I owned the place.  Should have made 2 lanes for RV's.  We lucked out, the guy that escorted us to the parking space, decided for some reason to let us park about 10 feet from the gate.  How's that for curbside service?

I did find this amusing, when we drove around the backside of the monument.  It was truly inspiring.........

Well, on to something more interesting.......Devil's Tower.

When I had booked the campground at Devil's Tower, I figured it would be in town a few miles away from the monument.  How does 50 feet from the gate grab ya?  

The lady at the desk told us that the park gates never closed and we should wait until the evening to walk around when it was cooler, so we did, since it was 107 when we arrived.  We waited until 7 pm and then drove up to the tower.  It was cool, because everyone else was long gone.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  


The KOA was pretty decent.  They had wifi (slow, but better than nothing), probably 2/3 of the lots were shaded, full hookups etc.  Some bozo ran over a power pedestal, so the electrician had to shut off the power for a short time, so he could repair what Sir Wrecksalot had damaged. 


 Also, about 2 am the local power company had a scheduled outage for some odd reason.  The campgrounds sort of forgot to tell anyone.  I was wandering around in my underwear with a flashlight trying to figure out why I didn't have power.  It was awesome.

Easy ladies, I don't usually post pics of myself in the buff.  The love letters cram my mailbox already...

The Devil's Tower KOA rates a 4 Bubba.

AVALAIR'S BIG ADVENTURE, Day 4

Heading to Scott's Bluff, Nebraska.

On our way, we passed through Trenton, Nebraska, which is just a wide spot in the road, but it had a cool old motel that I had to shoot some pics of.  I dig the vintage signs and architecture from the mid-century era.  Being politically correct had never been heard of....

They even had a phone booth out front.  My 9 year old nephew had never seen one.

I have a sign fetish.  I can't help myself.  I have to stop and take pics.

We rolled into Scott's Bluff a little while later and hiked the trail at the monument.  It's about a 2 mile walk, so wear your walking shoes.

The earliest model travel trailer I saw on the trip.

Moving on to Custer State Park, South Dakota.

AVALAIR'S BIG ADVENTURE, Day 3

So, after a 2 day stay in the hottest place in the universe, we decide to press on.  We made a stop in Oakley, KS. where we checked out the Buffalo Bill monument.  This thing is massive.

Circling the wagons............

Now, it is on to our next campground.  Our next stop is another 6 hours down the road at Lake Minatare, Nebraska. 

 It was a cool state park that had some giant trees.  All of the camping spots were shaded.  They didn't have full hookups, but the showers are decent.  They have asphalt and concrete camping pads, which are nice and level.

I'll give the Lake Minatare Campground a 4 Bubba rating, only due to the lack of full hookups.

AVALAIR'S BIG ADVENTURE, Day 1/2

The trip starts at high noon, in a parking lot behind Chick-Fil-A.  I met up with the rest of the caravan, my younger sister, her husband and 2 kids pulling their newly acquired 28 ft travel trailer and my parents in their 21 foot Toyota mini motor home.

The local po po took our pic for us....at least it wasn't downtown.

We left out on our grand adventure with a 6 hour drive ahead.  Not much to see for the first  couple of days.  Our first stop would be the most daunting.  It would test the Avalair's capabilities in a hurry.  When we left Oklahoma is was a cool 98 degrees.  Everyone was looking forward to going North, because we have always heard it's cooler up north, yes?  Well sort of......

Let's try 110 degrees.......

Welcome to the hottest place on the earth......

The first night we stayed in a state park in Scott City, KS.  There was a nice lake, but trees were scarce.  The first thing we found out was tat my A/C design was lacking.
  The problem was that the cavity under the bed, where the air conditioner was mounted would confuse the thermostat into believing that the temperature in that area was the room temperature, thus shutting off the compressor.  I am going to have to modify the bed to have a return air route to help circulate the room air.  The 8,000 BTU unit wouldn't keep up.  I had to make a run to the local Ace hardware store and buy a fan to help push the air out into the room.  It's a minor thing, but annoying, nonetheless.


On our voyage to find a hardware store, I made a wrong turn and found one of the coolest houses on the planet.  This house was built in 1906 and kept in the family for generations.  The current owner told me that the house had been owned by elderly heirs, so the insides were basically like new.  These folks must be master gardeners, because this place looked like Busch Gardens.

We did find a cool historical site. "Battle Canyon" was the last battle to ever happen between the US troops and the American Indians.

Meanwhile, back at the camp.......

We stayed at the campground for 2 days and then pressed onward.
My buddy at work says I need to give campground ratings on the blog using a 1-5 numbering system.  I need a cool rocket symbol or travel trailer etc.  
After a lot of thought,  I came to the conclusion that I will rate them in "Bubbas." 1 Bubba being the worst and 5 Bubbas being the best you could ever ask for.

I'm gonna give the Lake Scott campground a 3 bubba rating .

AVALAIR'S BIG ADVENTURE, THE DAY BEFORE

I'll be honest with you, I feel a bit nauseous right now.  I have that uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I am forgetting something.

This is not my first shake down run.  I have been building hot rods for 30 years now and I have had plenty "maiden voyages."  None have been encompassing 8 states and close to 3,000 miles.  I usually have a few runs around town to see what shakes loose.  Not this time. 
 Over a year ago, we set a deadline date.  We have to or we would never finish. We thought it would be plenty of time.  I find myself watching my countdown timer app on my phone.  I have 12 hours left as I type this. 

 We decided to take my parents, sister, brother-in law and their kids to Yellowstone.  I am a firm believer in seeing everything the U.S.A has to offer before traveling abroad.  That's overseas, not a traveling broad.......

There's a difference.......

The plan is to leave from Oklahoma then travel through KS, NE,SD, ND,WY, UT, CO then back to KS and home to OK.
All without a full on "cage match" between family members.  2 weeks is a long time to spend with anyone, especially from the same gene pool.

In the red corner hailing from Oklahoma City, at 5 foot 9 inches tall.......The undefeated, uncontested  terror of terrors .....The Amazing Fighting Family Members!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have 16 days to cover some of the coolest sites in the American parks system.  We are taking 2 travel trailers and 1 mini motorhome.  We should average about 6 hours and under each driving day.  Some days we will have a base camp and travel around in our pickup, but most require some driving.  My lovely assistant (Mama Root), who is a big time planner, has a play by play itenerary.  We generally like to travel with no particular place to go, but in order for us to make our reservation deadlines etc, we have to stay on course.  I fully expect to drive all this way only to find a sign similar to the one at Walley World in the movie "Vacation".

THE BIG NASTY

This is the one thing that I have been wanting to change since I brought it home.  The "Big Nasty" is the rock guard on the front of the trailer.  It appears to be home made. At some point, someone had to replace the front glass and decided that it was worth the effort to build one.  

Nice work, huh?

The original design is not too bad, however I feel that the original designer and the guy that was infatuated with roof coat tar are not the same guy.  The guy that fabricated the framework did a pretty good job.  The roof seal is another story.

 This bozo was using the roofing sealant for chrome paint.  He painted the rock guard frame and fiberglass insert, the roof caps (that can be polished to a mirror finish), the door jambs, the piano hinges, just about anything you can imagine.

Let's add some happy trees to that rock guard........shall we?

The first thing I wanted to do was to get that nappy, sealant covered fiberglass out of the frame.

Then I spent about 2 hours removing the goo from the frame with lacquer thinner.

Then, I started on something that I have been wanting to do for a year.....polish on the frame.

I originally was going to have a really cool piece of aluminum with a design pressed into it, but I am out of money and time.  I started searching for a suitable substitute.

I stumbled upon this junk dealer in downtown.  He was housed in a 1920's building and there is no way they have any idea what they have in their inventory.  It was like visiting Fred and Lamont.

Hey Pops, here comes that crazy travel trailer guy again...

I did come away from there with a brand new piece of 1/4" fiberglass sheeting for a mere $5.36.  Not bad, huh?

I have had this idea in my head of a rocket ship that would represent the Atomic era.  This trailer was built right at the peak of the space race.  In 1959, those pesky Russians landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon.  Well, the USA could not be outdone, so we did it in 1962.  The model name on our little space toaster is a Mark II.  That was a common name for rocket weaponry in those days.
How's that for a history lesson?  I always did so good in school, the teacher gave me a special chair and a special hat.  None of the other kids got one.  She must have recognized the high IQ.

I have a hot rod buddy that is a fireman/graphic artist.  His name is Brian Neeley and he owns Inkling Designs, in Bethany, OK.  I called Brian and told him about this idea I had.  It was a crazy idea, but he knows that generally, when I call, it has to do with  crazy ideas.  I am surprised he doesn't block me in his phone. 


 So, I proceed to tell Brian about my 66"x 26" blank canvas, also known as a rock guard.  I could have just painted the rock guard silver and it would have just blended in and you would have never paid much attention to it, but I can't just leave that alone.


I had a picture in my mind that would help tie all of the late 50's- early 60's space race vibe together.  I pictured a cartoon rocket ship with a 50's sort of "Stardust" type of font for the name.


  I had originally thought about free handing it and airbrushing the background, but that was way too labor intensive and I am not that talented.  I called Brian and asked him how hard it was to do vinyl wraps.  He said that he had a friend that was also a screen printer that had a large vinyl machine and it would be a nothing deal.  The hardest part would be the art.  So, I started searching the web for examples of clip art etc. Once the art was found, I sent it all to Brian and over a few weeks, we hashed out what we needed.  Once the design was finalized we sent it to his printer friend.  


Anyway, I decided to add some stiffeners to the back of the fiberglass using countersunk rivets. 

Then I filled the areas around the rivets with a little glazing putty to make sure there were no low spots.

Then I taped the fiberglass edges to the kitchen table.

Then, I removed about an inch of the backing on one end of the vinyl.  Squaring up the vinyl with the fiberglass backing, I stuck it down starting in the middle and working my way out.

Only pull off as much backing as you can handle in one setting.  It takes two people, no way around it.  Have the other person hold up the excess roll and keep it tight.

I used a rolled up dish towel as a squeegee, as per my buddy Brian.  He says a lot of the harsher squeegees will scratch the finish.  This stuff is pretty forgiving, which is a good thing.  I don't suggest this for newlyweds or bipolar couples.  It can get stressful if you let it.

With that finally done, I had to put it back in the frame without scratching it.  I reinstalled the guard on the trailer without a lot of problems.  I still have to make the arms to hold it open, but that is gonna hafta wait until tomorrow.

So, what do you think?  Better?  I think so....