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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Tip-toeing Cats to Decoying Ducks

We are not in Kansas anymore.

This is a good thing.

Tuesday morning started out with a pinkish glow everywhere.

We packed up and got ready to pull out of the campground that we were forced to stop at to a) repair our truck (check) and b) buy new tires (check).

For 5 1/2 years, every time we get ready to pull out, we ALWAYS check our lights. I stand behind the trailer, and a little to the side so that Jim can see me in his sideview mirror, and we go through the whole routine. I give him a "thumbs up" for each test.

There were no "thumbs up" that morning.

I thought maybe Jim forgot to plug in the trailer to the truck.

That would have been too easy.

Jim checked out various things but the glaringly obvious one was those cut wires that the blow out caused the day before. Yes.

Jim put on his thinking cap, told me to search something on my laptop, and within a couple of minutes I came up with the schematics for the wiring for the lights! He studied it for a couple of minutes then climbed under the trailer and did a temporary fix so we could continue on our trip. It's a good thing that Jim is so smart - AND handy!

While I was waiting for him, I sat in the truck because it was a little nippy outside. I started to laugh because I saw tiny footprints leading across the dashboard.



The day before we had to leave the windows open all night because the battery was dead. I was worried about thieves stealing things from the truck; I didn't think about a cat waltzing through it! I got out of the truck and saw footprints across the hood; even where the cat had slipped!


I was amazed how the cat even got up on the truck. Big Blue is, well, BIG!


That step to get up into the truck is at least 18 inches off the ground; those side view mirrors are about 24 inches long!

It felt good to get back on the road again, even if it was almost noon. We passed fields of sorghum.



and cotton fields,


and even a town called



By now we were getting hungry and we came across a restaurant called


It was a small, unobtrusive looking building, you know, a hole-in-the-wall, that when we walked in, the fumes from the smoked pork just seemed to dance in the air like in those cartoons where the smell just envelops you, and permeates your every pore and you feel like you died and went to heaven. My mouth started watering before we even got to the counter.


Jim and I both had pulled pork sandwiches with french fries. Just take a look at the size of this bad boy! I couldn't even finish it!

The french fries were crunchy and salty, just how I like them! Of course, there was extra barbecue sauce at the table to make that sandwich extra juicy!

We left Starvin Marvin's fat and happy, I'll tell you!

We arrived just outside of Liberal, Kansas last night. Didn't even unhook the truck. We stayed at this campground last year. It's a little odd. It's clean and everything, but nobody lives there. There is an office building but nobody is ever there. You just drive in, pick your spot, and someone comes later to collect your money! They do give you a receipt, so it's not like just anybody comes to get money.

This morning I walked over to look at the windmill.


I was surprised that there were a couple of ducks swimming around so I went back to grab my camera. As I got closer I realized that they were only decoys!


I walked back to the truck, climbed in, laughing and said to Jim, "I am such a dork!"

His reply? "NOW WHAT?"

Wouldn't you be offended?

Like as if I'm ALWAYS a dork?

Huh!

Before we left the town of Liberal, I visited "Dorothy's House" and "Land of Oz". That will be my next post. Stay tuned.

18 comments:

Brian Miller said...

oh i wanna see the land of oz...nice lookin bbq...you are not a dork...smiles.

you got a regular old macgyver there...i could not do that...

Ami said...

Dork.
LOL

When you drive through Liberal, stay to the LEFT for goodness sake!

Anonymous said...

It always amazes me how my cat gets in the rafters of my cathedral cieling? they are amazing creatures for sure..

those ducks made me SMILE and that sandwich made me hungry;)

happy travels friend

betty said...

lunch looked delicious! lots of food too! too cute with the duck decoys; I would have been the same way to get a picture to probably blog about :)

years ago a friend at the time told us about Dorothy's house; looking forward to your blog about it

I am thinking you guys will be so very thankfully when you reach Arizona

betty

becky said...

I always say "i'm starvin' marvin..." so I would've eaten there for sure! looks great!
lookin' forward to dorothy's house & the wizard of oz post, & dang, that Jim IS handy!

Valerie said...

Eighteen inches off the ground... Crikey, I'd never get in that truck. Isn't there an elevator or something...grins. I bet Pretty Prairie was nice... yes? I'm now looking forward to seeing what Dorothy's house looks like.

Unknown said...

The photos are great and the food looks YUMMY!

Lynda said...

What a fun post with lots of information. I am impressed with your resourcefulness - - - being able to find wiring schematics and then have a husband who can fix the wiring.
That barbecue - - YUM - - you should sell them your advertising. It is very enticing.
Here's my dork question cuz I'm the dork now - - why did they need decoy ducks? For decoration or to keep other ducks out of the water? Why was the tub of water sitting there? Is it for animals for drink?
And we own cats. Two of them like to sit on top of a car. We get those slide tracks down our windshield because that is how they descend to the floor.

Bossy Betty said...

Great post! I enjoyed hearing about it all, including the visit from the kitty!!!

Anonymous said...

What a clever kitty...and dont even get me started on the food...yum.

Allen said...

I just love riding along with you on your trips. Its too much fun. The last hole in the wall bbq that I went to had roaches climbing all over the tables. I pretty much quit going to places like that. ewww.

Any ways, thanks for taking me along with you!
Allen

Nancy said...

Hmmm, why the decoys? Kansas looks a bit, well, flat. Can't wait for the visit to OZ.

Teresa said...

I'm so glad that you got to visit Dorothy's House and Land of Oz. They are interesting places to see. You asked me about I-70 being a toll road... Only from Kansas City, MO to Topeka, KS and then it's not. So, you could take a side trip and see the Garden of Eden sometime when you're passing through this way.

A rootdigger said...

Love the cattle tank for kids back in the day.But draw back was usually they had cement bottoms. Oh your feet, knees and elbows would get scratched really bad.

Missy said...

I love the cats prints! LOL

Gail said...

I love the Wizard of Oz...the old one!

Wanderlust said...

What? You drove right through Kansas and you didn't even wave at me? That sandwich looks so good it's making my stomach growl!

SquirrelQueen said...

We do those light checks on the RV every time it moves and we go though the same thing with the lights. This is where it is really handy to be married to a mechanic, sounds like you have one two.

When I looked at the ducks in your photo I thought they were real too. And cats can go anywhere no matter how high.