Speaking of places Ive visited I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often. I've been in

Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Fri, June 12 We had selected two places to visit today, our last day in Oklahoma City, OK (OKC). We had not expected much at either location but chose them as they had high ratings in the Oklahoma AAA TourGuide. The Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum (1400 Classen Drive, Oklahoma City, OK; 10AM-5PM daily; 405-235-4458) has a GemSite rating, which always entices us to visit such venues. Located in an older, but high-end, residential community, the Oklahoma Heritage Museum focuses on the contributions of selected citizens of OKC who have been successful. That criteria seemed broad but extended beyond those of high society and wealth, though most persons honored along the halls and walls of this museum fit into that category. The more interesting ones (in my opinion) were those citizens who were the common man like the person in your or my neighborhood who excelled beyond their perceived limits and made a significant, positive impact to a community, state, or nation sometimes a nation other than our own. Expecting to be in and out in a half-hour, we found ourselves milling through the 2nd and 3rd floors of this converted insurance company office building for almost two hours. The most interesting aspect of the museum was its emphasis on presenting its content mainly in video format. This allowed the observer to see and hear the person who was being celebrated. Often the sound track was by the honoree, while other times it was a friend or family member who spoke of the other persons commitment, dedication, skills or caring. This is a museum that inspires others to greatness and is certainly a good location for middle and high school age youth who want to aspire.Driving toward our second location, Myriad Botanical Gardens is located in downtown OKC (123 S. Hudson Avenue corner of

301 W. Reno Avenue, OKC). Once we drove there we realized we had been there on our previous visit a few years ago. We felt it was not worth dealing with downtown parking a second time, though it is a good site for first-time visitors. Lunch was a great pizza at Old Chicago Pizza and Pasta, a chain restaurant. An expected thunderstorm serenaded us during the night and we had taken the precaution to know where the storm shelter was located in the RV park just in case an unexpected tornado came calling during slumber time.

Sat, June 13 Today was a driving day with our trek being from OKC to Salina, Kansas (suh-ly-na). We expected rain to begin around 9 or 10AM, so we made haste to pack up and get on the road. Driving through OKC, like most cities on a Saturday morning, usually involves light traffic until folks start moving around 10 or 11AM. That occurred today also. We made good time to the OklahomaKansas state line where we discovered it became a toll road, the Kansas Turnpike. The fee was not bad at all. Lunch was a buffet at

Summer Trip 2015

#5: June 12 June 22, 2015

Contest Winners Each Receive

Their Very Own Compact

Combination Washer-Dryer ! !

As mention in Issue #4, Dick P. and Bill L. each knew the answer to our aviation-related quiz , so they BOTH win their very own compact combination washer & dryer for use in their camper, auto, home or other small location. Congrats guys, for your exhaustive research !

RollingHills Zoo &Museum

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1: Typical, high-quality Gaylord-Pickens A-V exhibit. 2: Displays of historic Route 66. 3: Site on old Rte. 66. 4: Same location today deserted spot.

the Kansas Star Casino on I-35. The food was a small bit above most buffets but a step below other casinos; still quite good, though. Another hour or so and we were setting up Snoopy Twoo at the Salina, KS KOA. We usually avoid KOA campgrounds due to their higher cost but found that it was closer to tomorrows destination and driving long distances to save a few dollars on camping fees doesn't always make sense/cents. This KOA was about $32, so it didnt break the bank, but spending $10 a night more for 180 days of campsites (do the math) makes a summer trip $1800 more expensive. Everything at this campground is done right: neat, very clean, very happy & hospitable staff, etc. Prior to bedtime we played four hands of Mexican Train dominoes. Sallys a tough competitor, which makes playing even more fun. Then we watched a DVD: Journey To The Center Of The Earth, followed by a nice walk around the campground, a soothing shower, and then had our evening devotion prior to Sally reading her newest novel and I typing this newsletter and glancing at emails. Aaaah sweet dreams.

Sun, June 14 Sally LOVES zoos, and I like zoos. So we drove from our campground in Salina, KS to neighboring rural area about 15 minutes away. Rain was predicted for late afternoon so we chose to spend the morning at the Rolling Hills Zoo and then spend the afternoon at the adjacent Rolling Hills (animal) Museum (625 North Hedville Road, Salina, KS 67401, 785-827-9488). Having read pricing information in the AAA TourGuide, and following our practice of phoning a venue prior to arrival, we found that the admission price had actually dropped one dollar per person ($10.35 each, senior rate). Hmmm. Zoos are expensive establishments to operate, so weve found several zoos over the years that have been a bit lackluster as most expense goes, rightly, to feed and care for the animals, while the grounds get the leftover finances.Arriving we found the entryway to the zoo park to be very inviting. The staff was very polite and helpful. In fact, everyone seemed almost happy. We chose to get admission to both the zoo and the museum (AAA had listed separate rates) and were informed the admission covered both locations. We also chose to spend $3 per person more for all-day access to the parks tram service. Off we went on a tour of the entire zoo with our guide, Brian, a young high school grad. He parked at each tram stop for 2-3 minutes to drop off & pick up passengers and left the drivers seat to come back and speak to his patrons. This made our day even more personal; a real nicety. After our trip round we began walking and viewing the entire zoo. Several of the animals were hold up in their lairs so we viewed them via the information signs posted nearby. Despite this disappointment that awaits anyone who goes to zoos, we enjoyed the two or more hours it took to walk the grounds and see its inhabitants. Our stop for lunch was very nice: good food at reasonable prices in the zoos restaurant.

Trekking through the parking lot instead of riding the tram, we arrived at the Rolling Hills Museum. We had each speculated whether the museum would be in- or outdoors. (It was in.) What kind of museum would have animals? Well it was another day of surprises. Welcome to the BIG world of terrific taxidermy. We both agreed the Rolling Hills Museum was THE hit of the day. Visitors stroll down a trail in and out of various environments in the world of nature: Africa, North America, Polar regions, Rainforest, Far East and Middle East. All of these areas were then subdivided into sub-regions with each having its own finely detailed exhibit of taxidermic animals and vegetation. This place is unbelievable: such detail, the animals in poses that you'd see if you were on a safari and looking directly at them in real life. The humans in the scenes were automatons: animated mannequins that move and gesture and speak. I was amazed to see an African tribesmans neck flex and bulge as he spoke. During our several-hour walk we spent time at a special exhibit on bats. This in itself was probably 2,000 square-feet in size with signs, charts, actual live bats, and interactive hands-on activities for folks of all ages. We left the Rolling Hills Zoo and Museum expressing our complete satisfaction with this attraction. Listed as an AAA Gem Site, we knew it was worth driving the distance and it SURELY was! Just as left the parking lot at closing time (5pm) the rain started. Thank you, Lord. (continued on page 4)

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5: Baboon at Rolling Hills Zoo only greets people he likes. Guess were friends. 6: Exhibits at Rolling Hills Museum show animals active in their habitat. Here zebras fight for their lives against hyenas. 7: A cougar finds prey in a sheep. 8: A snake charmer tells a tale of his cobra.

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Smartphone Sally SaysSally Mendola is the smarter half of the Thrifty Travelers team, according to her husband Chris. She uses an iPhone 5S. Folks interested in the daily use of a smartphone have asked if she, a non-techie, would highlight uses of a smartphone to improved travel and camping. Thats the focus of this series of articles.

Im in charge of finding our campsite for the night; Chris does all the driving. For many years weve carried a campground directory thats the size of a phone book for a large metropolitan city. Then I started finding apps (applications / computer programs for phones). These apps have made my job a LOT easier by concentrating many campgrounds information into the palm of my hand. Plus the data is usually more up-to-date. But apps are limited by the people compiling the data; they only list those campgrounds that are in their data files, or that pay fees for posting on their app, or those that belong to their particular organization, etc. Because were the Thrifty Travelers, were always looking for the most economical (but quality) campsites available. Many federal government agencies operate campgrounds on their properties, and seniors (62 yrs. or older) with a National Parks Senior Pass (or equivalent) can get a campsite (at most locations) for half-price! Weve frequented several of these campgrounds and found them to be well run and in fine condition, but some campgrounds have limited amenities (limited or no electrical power at the individual campsites). And finding campgrounds in different geographic locations can be a daunting task. In searching for an app or other source for finding these campgrounds, plus the amenities and particulars of each, I discovered an internet website that really helps make this task easier. Lets take a closer lookGo to your web browser (I use Safari on my iPhone, but you may use a different app, so the photos shown may look different). Go to recreation.gov (.gov means youre going to a website run by a government agency) [see Fig 1]. In the box I entered the name of the city/town where I wanted to find a campground. A list of similar names came up and I selected Des Moines, IA, USA from the list. [see Fig 2] After tapping this entry or clicking Search, the following list appeared containing various results though not all may be campgrounds. Clicking on Filters (see the red oval) you may select from a list by which to reduce the choices shown. I clicked on camping under the filter categories. This list appeared with areas for camping near Des Moines, Iowa. Clicking on Map (see purple oval) will display a map showing many or all of the campgrounds listed on the left. It may be necessary to expand the map to see the individual locations better. [see Fig 3] By clicking on the first entry in Fig 2, I opened information about the first location listed, Saylorville Lake, Iowa. This page displays other options such as details of this location (see the red oval) along with photos from visitors (see purple oval). Each property may have different tabs, details, photos, etc., plus additional details (listed below the photo). Click around each page to discover a potential abundance of data to make your campsite choice a better experience. Some properties may also have a link (see the aqua oval) to their locations individual website (see Fig 4). I hope this brief overview will encourage you to venture forward on your smartphone and see what the recreation.gov website has to offer. Its as close as your phone and handy when you travel. Im starting to use it as my first source in a search for a campsite. Explore!

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Mon, June 15 As we pulled out of the campground exit headed toward Manhattan, KS I again saw the rural mail box that was made from a model of an old steam tractor. I just had to take a photo for my brother-in-law Jim. I noticed an adjacent sign telling that the equipment museum lying up the driveway was open Tuesdays through Saturday. Gosh, and today is Monday. Oh well. As I stood there a fellow drove up in a pickup truck and asked if I wanted to tour the museum free of charge. The conversation boiled down to us having to travel northeast to another museum, but I thanked him for the invitation. Back in the car I relayed the conversation to Sally who said, Why not go if thats what you want to do. So we did a U-turn and spent the next hour in a surprisingly nice, rustic museum LOADED with all kinds of historic equipment. Tom Caldwell, Vice President of a local club, the Central Kansas Flywheels, spent the entire time walking us around the clubs Yesteryears Museum and encouraging us to climb up upon all kinds of stuff from an early-1900 steam tractor that is one of the largest ever produced and the only working unit known to exist in the nation. Sally was quick to climb up and occupy the drivers seat. (Actually it took three men to drive it and two others to keep up the steam, plus it took 8 HOURS to stoke up the fire to get up a sufficient head of steam to make the tractor operative! And to get it properly aligned so as to operate a stationary saw mill took about 4 HOURS due to its wide turning radius.) Tom showed us several tractors he had restored himself, plus the museum has buildings on the property, plus a second floor full of historic memorabilia including entire businesses. Tom and I spent time talking cars, too, as hes a self-confessed muscle car fanatic. You can expect we spent time swapping tales from our youthful glory years. Thanks, Tom, for your excellent hospitality!

Hitting the road we drove northeastward to Manhattan, KS for lunch at a Famous Daves BBQ restaurant, one of our favorite chains. Lunch was terrific as expected including a free dessert of their famous bread pudding with ice cream and whipped cream. Yuuuuummmm!Our next stop was Wamego, KA on US 24, due east of Manhattan. There we toured the Oz Museum, which contains all kinds of memorabilia, videos, posters, costumes, and whatever, all related to the movie. We hadnt expected much but were very pleasingly surprised by the quality of this small store front venture. Our time inside was over an hour and we left feeling this venue was worth our time and cost of admission ($8 per adult). (Oz Museum, 511 Lincoln Avenue, Wamego, KS 65547, 866-458-8686)

9: Sally shows size of drive wheels on Reeves steam tractor. 10: Tom shows Sally a restored air compressor tractor. 11: First floor of Flywheels Museum. 9 10 11

Oz Museum in Wamego, KS. 12: Scarecrow thinks. 13: Lion walks in scary woods. 14: Tin Man waits to be discovered and oiled. 15: Dorothy Gale discovers shes arrived in the Land of Oz with her little dog, Toto. 16: Sally poses with the Tin Man. Oz Museum was very interesting and worth a visit.

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Tues, June 16 Well we did it again. Arriving at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum (320 S. Esplanade, Leavenworth, KS 66048, 913-682-1331) we found it closed with a sign reading that it was open Thurs-Sat 11-5, Sun 1-5 rather than the entire week as listed in the AAA TourGuide. Luckily this was the minor of two attractions that brought us here to Leavenworth, KS, the first town established in Kansas. We walked around the downtown area and remarked how bright the business district seemed. There was a fair amount of construction with old factories being converted into loft apartments. A stop at two thrift stores brought us to lunch time. We chose to drive about 3 miles south to Lansing, KS to enjoy a very good $5 pizza buffet at Pizza Hut. This short trek reinforced our impression of sound, local economics.Our GPS guided us to our major attraction, the Frontier Army Museum at Fort Leavenworth. Times have changed and you dont just drive into a military facility anymore. It took us about 20 minutes to get clearance papers via the military police office. Then we drove a different route, through a security checkpoint, and onto the HUGE Fort Leavenworth Army camp. The sentrys directions were wrong so we rambled around the streets looking for the museum. A civilian was nice in providing directions, but she also had us off by a few streets. We finally found the museum, went inside, was given a map of interesting locations on the base, and then explored the museum. Rated as an AAA Gem Site, the rigamarole was worth it. Good exhibits were aplenty with interesting explanations of various historical events from after the American Revolution through to World War One (see #16). Chris was very impressed by the details of various battles and the military personnel discussed. He sensed that there was very little slanting of the truth. Old heroes were shown in both good and bad light, especially related to the war with the Native Americans. We started our tour at 2pm and were ushered out the door at closing time, 4pm. We decided to drive past the Fort Leavenworth military prison, now known as the United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB) (see #17). Auto traffic on base was rapidly escalating; it seemed to be quitting time. From here we drove the 5 miles back to our campsite at Weston Bend State Park in Weston Bend, Missouri for our second and last night of camping. This site is a good, inexpensive location for driving to Leavenworth, KS.

Wed, June 17 Prior to leaving Weston Bend State Park we spoke with a fellow camper who mentioned places in St. Joseph, Missouri, that were good point of interest. Sally and I had already spoken of the Jesse James house but our new friend mentioned the Patee House as being right near the other venue. We were unsure if we wanted to even take the time to stop in St. Joseph but decided, What the heck,were going that direction anyway. By the end of the day we were very happy with our decision. The Patee House was built in 1859 as the grandest hotel west of the Mississippi River. It quickly became the headquarters for the Pony Express in 1860, followed by the transcontinental telegraph in 1861. Patee House now serves as one of the finest, most diversified museum weve ever visited, certainly in a class approaching, if not achieving, AAA Gem Site status. You name it, you can probably find it here if it has to do with the history of the old West. Covering two floors and multiple rooms we were blown away with the quality of the information on many rare & interesting topics. We spent more than 2.5 hours wearing our eyes out at all there was to see. The Patee House is a must-see if you're near St. Joseph, Missouri. (We felt we learned so much about Jesse James that we chose not to visit the adjacent house were Jesse was shot to death by a fellow gang member.)

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18: Sally poses outside Patee House Museum. 19: Carousel has collection of very unusual carvings. 20: Old steam engine is touchable and very well restored. 21: Room was used for large events, maybe even dances for patrons staying at the Patee House hotel in 1860s.

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A few more hours found us near Des Moines, Iowa camping at Bob Shetler campground on Saylorville Lake, part of the Army Corp of Engineers operations. Sites are $18 and $20, depending upon location and whether you want 30-amp or 50-amp power. By having a Senior Pass to National Parks we get these campsites for 50% off ($8 and $10 per night). Nice! ! See the Smartphone Sally article in this issue for more details on such campgrounds.

Thurs, June 18 Our plan for today? A choice of art museum, Iowa historical building, model train museum, or botanical center. As often occurs our plans changed. On our way toward the model train museum we gave into temptation and visited two yard sales, buying just one item. But they WERE right on our route honest! The model train museum was several miles outside of town but the ride was very nice through rolling countryside. Not expecting much, Sally read that the museum was in the basement of a residence. Upon arrival we were pleased to see that someone owned a long basement. Aaaalright! Going inside the greeter explained the long U-shaped path we were to follow to see the entire layout. Plus we were given a sheet with 125 features to spot in the various scenes, which included the categories of: New York; Washington, DC; Pennsylvania; Ohio; Florida; Kentucky-Tennessee; Mississippi; Texas-Oklahoma; Colorado; San Francisco; Oregon; Washington state; Iowa; Missouri; Kansas; Arizona; Frontier Era; Wyoming; The Dakotas; and Omaha. There were O-gauge Lionel trains hustling by all the time. The dioramas had operating features with several activated by push buttons. Often the room lights would dim and night scenes would illuminate. It was later revealed by personnel that they operate everything by hand; there is no digital control systems in use. The fact that we spent over two hours wandering up and down the aisles in this basement speaks to how well this train layout was constructed. Sally loves miniatures and train layouts and she was VERY pleased with what she saw at Trainland USA (Colfax, IA 50054, 515-674-3813).Driving back to Des Moines we stopped to eat a late lunch at Jethros BBQ, noted in several publications as being one of the best barbecue restaurants in the nation, receiving plenty of awards for their delicacies. The smoked specialties just didnt inspire us so we chose a bacon-burger with bleu cheese on the side (for Sally) with a side of onion rings. Though the burger was quite good we felt their meals might be priced in line with their publicity, though the onion rings were exceptional. Goes to show that everyones taste is not the same.

Our final stop was unexpected, and a jewel Sally pulled out from under her magicians hat: a visit to a salvage business. A local publication listed the West End Architectural Salvage company, in downtown Des Moines, as an unusual and interesting spot to visit. This old, four-story brick warehouse reminded Chris of his Uncle Nicks bakery in Buffalo, NY. Inside the walls were crammed with tens of thousands of old, salvaged items that could be used in

architectural decorating (see photos above). The variety was staggering with pieces ranging from auto parts, to wooden beams, lamps & fixtures, saloon bars, furniture, toys, door latches & locks, tin ceiling tiles, ceramic tiles; you name it it was there. And the prices made you mourn all that stuff you threw out: a) when you were a kid, b) when you made your last move, and, c) when

22: Airport scene in California. 23: Paper trains were popular during WWII as metal was rationed. 24: Road cork-screws up mountain in this scene where an auto accident has resulted in a traffic tie-up. 25: All operations are controlled by skillful hands within this control room, with only a portion of the room visible.

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your spouse told you to clean the basement or garage. No wonder this business has been seen repeatedly on the DIY network. (West End Architectural Salvage, 22 SW 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-243-4405, westendsalvage.com)

Fri, June 19 Today was a driving day with some 260 miles to cover; a lot more than we like to handle in one day. Our destination? Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Back-To-The-Fifties Car Show to be held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in St. Paul this Saturday & Sunday. We ran across info about this event just a week ago and decided itd make a great Fathers Day gift for yours truly. What came with it was great difficulty in finding a campsite everything within many miles was filled up either because of Dads Day or the car show. We finally found one about twenty miles away in Somerset, Wisconsin yep, we had to go to the next state to find room for our little trailer.On our way heading north on I-35 Sally remembered that the Winnebago RV manufacturing plant was less than 20 miles off our route in Forest City, Iowa and they published having factory tours. A phone call secured us a reservation for the 1pm excursion. After a 20-minute overview video we rode a tour bus to various buildings to take a very comprehensive 90-minute walking tour through several buildings. Winnebagos construction practices are very impressive with the most unusual fact being that Winnebago melts and extrudes their own aluminum extrusion stock from which they make parts, plus aluminum extrusion stock for other companies in construction and other industries.Back on the road we searched for supper and soon found ourselves in a l-o-n-g traffic jam on northbound I-35. It was backed up for miles. A MN state trooper had passed us on the shoulder with lights flashing so we hoped traffic would pick up. After 15-25 minutes with no improvement in sight we searched for an alternate route off the clogged interstate to get us to Owatonna, Minnesota for supper. Exiting we found not one, not two, but THREE state troopers in the center median a half-mile off the interstate, with windows open, and Im sure a traffic solution conversation in the making between them. I wasnt impressed, but maybe there was nothing they could do anyway. Following supper at Culvers Frozen Custard we drove past St. Paul, MN to Somerset, Wisconsin to our campground, Float-Rite Amphitheater and Campground. We felt ancient as every camper we saw was under 30 years of age, and there were a lot of them. What drew them to this location is still unknown to us but it appears this venue hosts music concerts, though none was listed that we could see. The staff was nice in finding us a site away from the loud youngsters, and at $40 a night we felt we should be entitled to some consideration. (They even waived the auto and garbage fees for us, though I still wonder if wed have been expected to pull our trailer in by hand (if we paid no car fee) and if a garbage fee is something new in WI as weve never had to pay for that elsewhere before.) This is probably the most weve paid thus far for a site. Float-Rite also provides tubing down the adjacent Apple River (additional fee). Float-Rites brochure lists over 700 campsites with concert space for 32,000 people. The grounds have three buildings with toilets in two for men and women, and the remaining building having toilets and THREE showers per gender for the entire campground. (Hmmm 700 sites X 2 people by 3 showers. Stinks.) After setting up the trailer we went to take our showers and found them to be coin operated at $1.00 per ?? minutes. We chose to hold off one night. The water didnt seem that hot anyway. Were anxious to see tomorrows surprises.

Sat, June 20 It rained all night and into the early morning, so we were unsure if wed go to the Back To The 50s car show today. Checking our iPhone weather apps we found the rain would stop within a half hour, so up-and-at-it was the trumpet call. Within another half-hour we were on the road to St. Paul, MN. Parking at Minn. St. Fairground events is usually hectic but we found on-street parking about six blocks from the main gate. A local guy was selling the $10 admission tickets for $9 each (he bought a batch from NAPA parts store for $8 each and said, You save a buck, I make a buck. Thanks!) We got right in and didnt have to wait in the ticket line. Arriving around 11am we were surprised at all the cars in the streets; the fair grounds are actually cordoned-off city avenues. As time passed we realized the number of show cars might actually reach their advertised quantity of 10,000 vehicles! We walked for over four hours and looked at cars. Lunch was a mere snack of tater tots with a choice of toppings. We selected cheese, bacon bits and sour cream. Yummy! Finally, at 3:30pm, we chose to call it quits; our legs were aching. Leaving the grounds they gave us hand-stamps and reminded us the show ended at 10pm tonight. We found

26: Display of miniature Winnebago motorhomes. 27: View of lobby of factory tour services, the beginning of 90-minute tour.

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a short cut back to our car, drove a mile away and ate dinner at KFC buffet for $7.49 each including drink. Surprisingly it was very good. Weeellll you guessed it we drove back the mile, parked free in an adjacent lot we hadnt seen and spent another two hours wandering around and seeing cars we missed the first four+ hours. We met several car-folk and shared interesting stories while they showed us their rides(cars). We had a great day untilAs previously mentioned, Float-Rite (Amphitheater and) Campground leaves a lot to be desired. We decided to take showers tonight. The cost is $1 (4 quarters) for 3-4 minutes. This wouldnt have been so bad if the floors were clean, the paint wasnt pealing off the walls, and the faucets were labeled correctly. (The clock was ticking and I wasnt getting warm water, until I figured out the faucet worked in the opposite direction of the labeling: hot in the direction of cold and vice versa. At least the spray head in my shower worked. Sally had to change showers as the first shower-head dribbled water rather than sprayed a pattern.) I will say I saw at least four employees with Security stenciled on their t-shirts, so it made me feel safer hmmm, I wonder from what!

Sun, June 21 HAPPY FATHERS DAY (though your reading it a bit late). Our first stop today was worship at Christ Lutheran Church ELCA, in Somerset, Wisconsin, just two blocks from our campground. The folks were great, we enjoyed worship and the fellowship time of coffee and apple pie after worship was a nice opportunity to get to know folks a little better. From there we drove to Minneapolis to the MIA: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404, 612-870-3000 / 888-642-2787). Not only is this one of the largest and nicest art museums weve ever visited, its collections and styles of mediums are one of the most diversified. And its FREE admission, too! Our schedule resulted in only three hours time for viewing and we feel we hit all the high points but another hours time would have been appreciated except they were literally walking us out the door.

Mon, June 22 Upon waking we were greeted by an expected rainstorm. By the time we finished our morning coffee the rain was over and we were able to pack up and hit the road without getting wet. Thank you, Lord! We left Somerset, WI and drove northwest toward St. Cloud, MN. Our goal today? Visit a botanical garden in St. Cloud and camp there tonight. Along our route we had a nice buffet lunch at the Pizza Ranch buffet, a decent chain with pizza, salad, fried chicken and other similar items. Reaching St. Cloud we easily found the Munsinger Gardens adjacent to the Clemens Gardens. Both were free to visit and bordered the Mississippi River that begins up north a hundred miles or a bit more. Though smaller than some, these gardens were nonetheless very pretty and definitely worth our stop. A few miles away we found our campsite for the night: St. Cloud Campground (2491 2nd Street SE, St. Cloud, MN, 320-251-4463). This is a very nice, clean, and well-maintained campground thats almost picture perfect. They even have a heated pool but we were so involved with phone calls and such that we never got around to taking the plunge in the evening. Tomorrow well head further west to the MinnesotaNorth Dakota border. We

28: 50s Nash looks cool w/ flames. 29: Model-T hot rod fire truck. 30: Eatery has definite 50s theme.31: Estimated 10,000 cars on exhibit with crowds thought to number 50,000 to 80,000 bodies!

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32: Monks made mural from colored sand held together with glue. Amazing detail. 33: View of three floors of MIA art museum.

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hope to visit some friends from Florida who are temporarily here, then travel on to Fargo, ND. North Dakota is one of only two states we have not visited on our journeys, the other being Hawaii were waiting for the bridge to be completed before we drive there!

Watch for Issue #6 in two weeks. Visit our website for back issues & other neat stuff: www.thriftytravel.info

34: One of the fountains at Clemens Gardens. 35: This decorative gate was erected by a local Rotary Club. In the background is the Miss-issippi River. Farther to the right of the gate 36: is a hosta garden, part of the Munsinger Garden. This setting was very nice along the river.

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Tips on How to Make Your Vehicles Rear View Camera Work Better with Your TrailerLast year, after finally buying a new pull vehicle, we thought using its new rear view back-up camera would make hitching up to our trailer an instant breeze. But we found that uncontrollable, varying light conditions made the viewing inconsistent, that is, sometimes I could easily see the trailers hitch coupler (the part that attaches the trailer to the hitchs ball), and yet other times it was hard to view the coupler. Hmm. Was there any easy solution? Sure!The problem was that the contrast between the hitch coupler and other items in view wasnt significant enough to distinguish the coupler from other things on the screen. Giving the coupler more contrast would make it easier to see. When I arrived home I instantly found some white, oil-based enamel paint and an old artists paint brush. First I cleaned the top of the coupler with some spray carburetor cleaner. (Acetone may be too strong & remove the black paint.) Next I painted a white spot on top of the hitch coupler. Then I painted a white stripe on the leading edge of the coupler. (See yellow arrows) This gave the coupler a greater contrast (white & black), which made visibility a lot better. Now when I back up toward the trailer it is much easier to see the h i t ch . No te the V-shaped protector adjacent to the ball on the cars hitch. I welded this bumper protector out of scrap aluminum plate, just in case I accidentally hit the car into the hitch. Commercially-built units are available online. A: Backing toward trailer. B: Getting closer. C: Almost under the coupler. D: Success! Perfect alignment. Yellow lines of camera are calibrated in 3-foot increments between tiny lines on edges.

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C D