Reunion with Casita friends

My Quartzite friend, Wendy, arrived finally to visit me. We went out to eat that evening & visited my dad. This full-time RVing is a very strange & not understood idea to my dad, so it seemed like a good idea for him to meet one of my closest camping buddies. The next evening then, another Casita gal (Debbie), who lives around the corner from my dad, decided to come camp with us (all of an 11 mile trip for her). And she even brought food & fixed us some great bacon-wrapped hamburgers. Had a fantastic visit talking Casita stuff outside in the refreshing cool weather that rolled thru just for that weekend. One day, I took Wendy over to visit one of my high-school friends, & then another day we made a trip to Walmart & ate at a Chinese restaurant. Overall a lazy week tho.

After a week, we hooked up & traveled to a COE campground near Shell Knob MO (west of Branson on Tablerock Lake) that is centrally located for some Ozark sightseeing. Unfortunately, the curb-side tire on Wendy’s Casita failed about an hour from the campground. We don’t know if she ran over something or if it blew out or what, but her tire was totally shredded by the time road assistance got it changed. We spent one day in Branson, having lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, visiting the Visitor Center at Tablerock Dam, & later had frozen custard at Andy’s. And of course, a stop at Walmart again before returning to the campground.

Another day, we visited Roaring River where a trout-loving cold stream gushes out of a small cave.

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we wandered over to & around the eclectic, mountainside town of Eureka Springs AR next. While eating lunch, it poured outside & never stopped sprinkling until we returned to MO. The café had this intricate mural on the side of the building. Wendy got a new top & a pair of earrings.

We also drove west to visit Thorncrown Chapel, a little church with glass walls, nestled in a dense stand of trees.

 

 

We spent some days just hanging around inside the A/C enjoying whatever we wanted. We left on Thursday before Labor Day weekend to return to the quiet, little campground near my hometown to wait out the holiday crazies. On the way, we stopped in Springfield for Wendy to get three new trailer tires so she’s good to travel many more miles. I got to have some Springfield cashew chicken again while in town. A cool front had come thru too & dropped both the temperature & humidity level so I actually slept with the windows open.

As with most RVers tho, Wendy’s plans changed slightly, so she decided to take another couple of weeks to just unwind here in MO without having to travel anywhere. Labor Day afternoon, we hooked up & traveled a half hour to camp at the COE campground on Stockton Lake (much cheaper than the campground near my hometown where we survived the holiday). We spent two glorious, lazy weeks looking out on a little bay. We had another wine night & visited my dad a couple of times. We drove around town & the west side of Stockton Lake. AND, our Casita friend Debbie spent another night camped near us. Every time she shows up, the weather cools off. However, the day she picked me & Wendy up to go to Red Lobster in Springfield for Wendy’s birthday, it poured all the way down & back, quitting only about 15 minutes away from the campground.

After more than 4 weeks camping together, I (almost tearfully) waved goodbye as Wendy finally headed west. I was so envious tho since I hate this hot, humid weather. I’m returning to Branson to get things wrapped up for my expected Nov 1st escape to the West.