Spring Vacation Boondocking Adventure, 2013

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So we got all the way to Amarillo and gassed up, and found that its such a small Flying J they don't have RV parking at all, and all the semi truck parking is back-in spots, which we can't easily do towing the Jeep...would require unhooking and all that...no thanks!

Onward we went, drove another 120 miles or so, and are now safely moored for the night in Sayre, Oklahoma!  Elevation 1800 feet...easier to breath but still a ways down to sea level...and only 260 miles from Muskogee...SWEET!

We'll get an early start tomorrow morning after gassing up and filling the propane tank, and make it there before the office closes to check in.  Unless the winds are minimal, we'll get there fairly late, so we'll probably stay the night in the parking lot and roll into the campground in the morning.

At last fill up, our gas mileage was 8.36...SWEET!

Almost there!

Kev

[HandyDan]

The Flying J at Amarillo has some very bad reviews.  Rude workers, bad food, and poor to no service.  You were wise to keep moving on.  Sayre is a much better place.  Glad everything is going well.  Maybe I'll come visit you again in Muskogee.  I'm leaving in the morning for 10 days of trout fishing and exploring just east of Joplin, MO.  The Scout troop is coming down for the weekend but a couple of us are staying for the rest of the week. 
Dan

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Nice Dan!  Have a great time!

So we had a wonderful night's sleep last night, and are going to stay a few more hours.  I just realized its only Thursday!  I lost a day somewhere, thinking today was Friday...lol!

After a few hours I'll gas up the rig and top off the propane tank, then we'll hit the road and land for the night at the Muskogee Flying J...only 260 miles away.  That will get us onto the faire site bright and early Friday morning where we can check in at the office and set up camp before the weekend.  I love it when a plan comes together!

Kev

[Froggy1936]

I noticed that too when traveling and stopping at any available spot for the night you can forget what day it is But its nice when you think its later than it is instead of the other way around !!   

[Stripe]

I love it when a plan comes together!

So, Which of the pups is Mad Dog Murdock?  And is the other Face, or B.A. Baracus?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  The cat has to be B.A.  That would make Barnabas the Face Man, and Sheba is a little touched, so she's Murdock... :)rotflmao

Kev

[Stripe]

Lol!! My two could only be thought of as Abbot and Costello. The Malinois would be Bud Abbot, she's always the straight man, the Husky, definitely Lou Costello..

Fredric

[Stripe]

Great, now I have "The 'A' Team" theme stuck in my head.... 
Here's a thought, Redo your rig in black with a red stripe?

Fredric

BTW, I was always told by friends I reminded them of Murdock.

[Oz]

Not new... guess what?  Yup, there's a photo floating about with an eyebrow Winnie... black, A-Team red stripe on it...  :)rotflmao

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I loved that series when I was a kid...heck, I still do!

So we made it safe and sound to the Flying J in Checotah, OK, just 24.19 miles from the faire site.

Uneventful trip, albeit a bit windy.  I wasn't looking forward to driving through Oklahoma City again, since last year the whole dang city was under road construction, but we hit it around 3:30, all the construction was done, and it was easy peasy.

Gotta say I really missed trees...give me a few months and I'll miss the cacti...but DANG this part of Oklahoma is pretty...reminds me of Pennsylvania and the rolling tree covered hills.

So we pulled in and gassed up...7.1 mpg this time...and I filled the freshwater tank and emptied the grey water while filling the gas.  Nice thing about only having grey water:  I used my garden hose drain hose, which means I just drained it right into the dump station drain without having to pay for a dump fee...lol!

We parked the rig, I took the pups out, and then went in and bought some stuff for dinner.  And some beer.  Yep...still 3.2 alcohol.  No wonder Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of obesity in the country...you have to drink twice as much...lol!

Tonight its supposed to rain and possibly thunderstorm, with rain predicted for most of tomorrow.  Its a short drive so no biggie.  We'll get a fairly early start and check in at the office, and if its not too wet pull into camp.  Otherwise we'll pull into camp on Saturday, which is supposed to be nice weather, and just stay in the parking lot tomorrow.  I love being able to boondock so easily! 

Almost there!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Arrived here at the Castle of Muskogee at around noon.  Got all our mail and checked in, and then attended the vendor meeting at 2pm.  Then had time to go down to the post office for a package that wasn't delivered, and then finally went shopping for dinner. 

Tomorrow I'll get us parked in camp...in the parking lot now...and then go pick up the workshop from our booth and come back and set it up.  The goal tomorrow is to set up the camp and workshop.  We'll take Sunday off to hit the local antique shops and flea markets, then set up the booth on Monday.  Sometime in the first few days I'll lay down a Sevin Dust barrier at our camp and set up the dog fence.  And that still gives us pretty much all of next week off...SWEET!

Kev

[Toby Tyler]

If you like to go out to eat and enjoy Mexican food, I highly recommend Hamlin's. They give you two types of dip with your chips. Salsa and a white sauce, both are very tasty. My wife is from nearby Tahlequah and we bought our '72 Brave from near Tulsa.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sounds good, Toby! 

Decided to run out and get the Sevin dust first thing this morning, lay it down, THEN bring the RV into camp.  Too cold here for the bugs to be bad yet, but if this year is anything like last year I'm going to nip them in the bud this morning.

Coffee is all kicked in, so time to go!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sprayed the whole campsite with Sevin, drove the Jeep onto the campsite to make sure the ground was solid enough for the RV since its been raining, then went back to the RV to park it. 

Yeah...the RV is a LOT heavier than the Jeep!  Sank right up to the axles...

Site crew to the rescue!  They brought over a chain and a tractor and hauled us out, then came back with 2 loads of gravel and tamped it down with the tractor.  Backed right in no problem after that.  No damage thankfully!

Patti loves her new Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner!  Takes the dog hair right up.  SWEET!

And that is pretty much all I'm doing today.  Tomorrow if the site is dry enough to drive on I'll pick up the workshop tent and tools, set up the tent and load the tools into it...and that is pretty much all I feel like getting done tomorrow.

Vacation is almost over, but we're milking it out...lol!

Kev

[JDxeper]

Seven won't control chiggers!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You sure about that?  The label says it kills ticks and other mites...chiggers are mites, right?

http://www.ehow.com/how_8192249_use-sevin-lawns-chiggers.html

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So today the plan is to break down all the boxes our packages came in and bring them and the garbage to the dumpster, change the peat moss in the toilet, set up the workshop tent and set up the tools inside, then take Patti into town so we can pick out some fencing for the dogs.

We'll probably hit some of the flea markets and antique stores while we are at it.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Got everything done yesterday no problem...workshop tent is set up and almost ready for work, the porch is all set up, and we got everything we need for the dog fencing.  I also went down to O'Reilly's auto parts and picked up a torx bit set for today's project!

The first thing I have to do today is set up the dog fence, then bring all of our stock and everything we need for the booth down to the booth so I'll have room in the compartments to store things from today's main project:

Removing the hard top off the Jeep, removing the doors, installing the relocation mirrors, the windshield rail for the summer bikini top, and then installing the bikini top of course!  Woohoo!  Goin' topless!   

I need the room in the compartments to store the rear seat, the doors, and all the hard top hardware...and the ugly sound bar which is going to go on eBay.  The hard top itself is going to be set on blocks next to the workshop tent...good place for the pups to get out of the sun or rain if we absolutely need them outside in inclement weather.

If I get it all done today, I'll set the booth up completely tomorrow, and we'll still have several days off before the faire opens...SWEET!

Kev

[moonlitcoyote]

Do you happen to know a website for that vacuum? The dog hair is so bad on my carpets I dont think we ever get it up, and it doesnt help that they are constantly shedding. I dont think I will ever get another long haired dog.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Just look up Dyson Animal canister vacuum.  Ours is model DC39.  You can see them at www.dyson.com, but if you shop around you can find them a lot cheaper than directly from Dyson.

Decided to do the fence last, since it would be a pain in the butt loading up the Jeep through a gate instead of backing the Jeep right up to the compartments.  Got all of our stock and everything needed for the booth up to the booth, then began the most important project of the day:

Got the Jeep top off today...woohoo!!!  Took off the sound bar and the rear seat and seat belts too.  Then installed the windshield channel and Smittybilt full bikini top and relocation mirrors.  Looks great and the bimini top is easy on easy off if we want to take it off completely on warm nights!  The protective cover goes on easily as well, very easily, so I'll just keep it covered every night, and on rainy days.

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them.

The soft doors are problematic.  They fit perfectly, but the latch mechanism must be made for soft tops with the hardware in place.  There is nothing for them to latch onto to stay closed!  I'm thinking a bungee cord around the roll bar will do the trick until I finally get around to getting a full soft top for this thing and 86ing the hard top altogether.

Once I got the top all unscrewed and unbolted, I found a couple of young fellows in the campground to help me lift it off the Jeep and put it where we want it...on wooden blocks of course.  Then I had to position the rails over the windshield, drill the holes for them, and screw them down.  Then it was just a matter of lining everything up and tightening it all down with velcro straps and buckles. 

The road test was pretty awesome!  Not nearly as loud as I thought it was going to be, and full air flow.  I'm loving it!

Patti was torn between loving it on the test ride, and being annoyed with her hair flying up her nose... :)rotflmao .  Gotta get those soft doors working and the Windbreaker and Tonneau in place soon!  Going to order them on the 1st.

By the time it was all done and the HUGE mess outside the rig was cleaned up from compartment shuffling, it was 4pm.  Everything is staged for the fencing, so it will get done tomorrow morning first thing.

I'll definitely post some pictures tomorrow, and then more once the rear tonneau cover arrives and the rear Windbreaker arrives.  What a fun little vehicle!!!

Kev
 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Fence all set up with the doggie watering dish hooked up to a hose...and as promised, pictures of the topless Jeep!

Here it is from a 4 different angles...ain't it sweet?









And here is my silly bum doggie Barnabas immediately claiming the hard top as his personal dog house!



He loves that pinky piggy!!!



Internet connection is ridiculously slow here, so pics will be just a few here and there. 

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

I like the new look of the Jeep. Nice doghouse too!

I want to do something like that with my poptop '79 Dodge Ramcharger but the parts market is pretty slim for those compared to Jeeps. I did find a bikini top from the windshield to the rollbar that looks pretty good.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I've got a rain cover that goes over the Jeep as well...I put it on every night just in case, and of course will keep it on the Jeep whenever they forecast rain.  I ordered the tonneau cover and Windbreaker...both by Bestop...so that will keep the whole Jeep pretty dry.  Once I align the soft doors and figure out how to keep them closed (probably with a bungee cord setup) I'll still be able to use it in the rain and or cold.

So first thing this morning I went to the booth and set off bug bombs under the counters...too many bitey sting-ee critters around here!  Now I'm off to set up the booth.  Supposed to rain for the next 2 days starting this evening.  Supposed to be nice this weekend though...woohoo!!!

Kev

[Stripe]

Nice Jeep.  I'm a snob, I like my Land Rover. Best off road vehicle in the Universe.  When I'm up in Weaverville it get's me to me n my dads gold claims.  It has a snorkel so I can traverse a couple of deeper creeks.  And it's got enough room inside to put a cot and small dresser in it for weekending. Beautiful pup btw, love the doghouse..

Wantawinnie, I have seen a couple custom stretch tops for the Ram, they go all the way to the rear. Sort of gave them a Hummer look due to the downward angle of the cover from the rollbar to the rear gate.

Fredric

[Froggy1936]

Hey Kev My sonin law has a bunch of brand new crome stuff he bought for his jeep then totaled it If your interested ill put you in touch with him  Frank