lol ... don't know why y'all got what you did out of my post, but here's ollie in his younger days ... lol...

ollie is a hoot and a half...

(09-20-2026 08:17 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Ollie is cool no matter his age

The kind of person most people would get along with, enjoy in their tailgate....

not only personal but his team is so historical bad if he starts bragging about something. You feel so bad for him that you pat him on the back and agree.

He should write a "everyone loves, my sister in law" book. Even if he talks about how stupid she is and hates her politics, he would miss her if she was not around.

(09-20-2026 11:37 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(09-20-2026 08:17 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Ollie is cool no matter his age

The kind of person most people would get along with, enjoy in their tailgate....

not only personal but his team is so historical bad if he starts bragging about something. You feel so bad for him that you pat him on the back and agree.

He should write a "everyone loves, my sister in law" book. Even if he talks about how stupid she is and hates her politics, he would miss her if she was not around.

lol ... ain' no bout a-doubt it ...

I had a runnin' bud back in HS/college days who was of Chilean descent ... man, did we get some pootenanny back in the day ... he eventually married one of my exes (he's now on #4) ... I was the best man for that one ... good times!!!

(09-20-2026 11:37 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(09-20-2026 08:17 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Ollie is cool no matter his age

The kind of person most people would get along with, enjoy in their tailgate....

not only personal but his team is so historical bad if he starts bragging about something. You feel so bad for him that you pat him on the back and agree.

He should write a "everyone loves, my sister in law" book. Even if he talks about how stupid she is and hates her politics, he would miss her if she was not around.

How about a country song? It could be the B side to:
I face planted and I'm driving 1200 miles for a bowl of soup.

The Sister in law song.

(09-20-2026 11:17 AM)TripleA Wrote:  

(09-20-2026 08:17 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Ollie is cool no matter his age

Thanks for the kind words. But, you're all right, I am cool. LOL

Now, if I can just convince my grandson that I am cool I wouldn't be stewing in my shorts right now. I had a talk with him last Wednesday about ghosting. He does that. He said he was sorry but he still does it. GRRRRR, that's one thing that really pisses me off. It's like one night at work this guy was talking to ol' Nial Southard and then ol' Nial decides to take a nap and leaves the guy talking to himself. Bwahahaha, it was so funny. Blancas looks at us and exclaims, "did you see that, that sob decided to take a nap while I was talking to him"!

I'm gonna have to have a really serious talk (text) with him...again and for the last time. If he doesn't want ol' grandpa bothering him with texts then so be it, consider him a personna non grata in the texting department. I don't like to fool around.

The problem with grandkids is you can't beat them.

Time for an update. Finally did something touristy. Nancy and I had lunch today at Guy Fieri's. It was great. Had their signature Trash Can Nachos, plus a cocktail and an iron skillet choc chip cookie for dessert.

Nancy is headed back to Memphis on Thursday and I'm headed to Wall Drug and Badlands National Park.

(09-21-2026 01:57 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Time for an update. Finally did something touristy. Nancy and I had lunch today at Guy Fieri's. It was great. Had their signature Trash Can Nachos, plus a cocktail and an iron skillet choc chip cookie for dessert.

Nancy is headed back to Memphis on Thursday and I'm headed to Wall Drug and Badlands National Park.

Update. Nancy and I left Harrison AR in the Ozarks this morning and drove to Little Rock. I went to Camping World to see about selling or trading in the trailer. Its a little too much for me to handle physically, and I had trouble unhooking and getting everything ready to leave this morning. Not sure that is going to improve.

My choices seem to be:

1. Keep my current trailer, and refinance to at least get a better interest rate. BUT, I will still struggle with the physical aspects of doing the things such as hitching and unhitching, hooking up hoses and power, and hauling something that can be difficult at times.

2. Purchase a much smaller trailer. That would reduce my loss by maybe $9K, and be easier to drive, but would be quite a downgrade for trailer size and living conditions.

3. Sell the trailer at a $13K loss and buy an inexpensive truck topper that would allow me to at least sleep in the truck bed safely and above ground. That would be a huge difference in living conditions.

Right now, I'm leaning toward keeping what I have. I'll get better at learning the trailer but I will contine to struggle with the physical aspects. #2 doesn't solve that problem, and #3 is really bad for living conditions. When I get out west, I will do a lot less traveling and a lot more living. That gives a boost to #1.

(09-25-2026 07:02 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(09-21-2026 01:57 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Time for an update. Finally did something touristy. Nancy and I had lunch today at Guy Fieri's. It was great. Had their signature Trash Can Nachos, plus a cocktail and an iron skillet choc chip cookie for dessert.

Nancy is headed back to Memphis on Thursday and I'm headed to Wall Drug and Badlands National Park.

Update. Nancy and I left Harrison AR in the Ozarks this morning and drove to Little Rock. I went to Camping World to see about selling or trading in the trailer. Its a little too much for me to handle physically, and I had trouble unhooking and getting everything ready to leave this morning. Not sure that is going to improve.

My choices seem to be:

1. Keep my current trailer, and refinance to at least get a better interest rate. BUT, I will still struggle with the physical aspects of doing the things such as hitching and unhitching, hooking up hoses and power, and hauling something that can be difficult at times.

2. Purchase a much smaller trailer. That would reduce my loss by maybe $9K, and be easier to drive, but would be quite a downgrade for trailer size and living conditions.

3. Sell the trailer at a $13K loss and buy an inexpensive truck topper that would allow me to at least sleep in the truck bed safely and above ground. That would be a huge difference in living conditions.

Right now, I'm leaning toward keeping what I have. I'll get better at learning the trailer but I will contine to struggle with the physical aspects. #2 doesn't solve that problem, and #3 is really bad for living conditions.. I need i get out west, I will do a lot less traveling and a lot more living. That gives a boost to #1.

Is one of those pop up campers out of the question?

(09-25-2026 07:06 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(09-25-2026 07:02 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(09-21-2026 01:57 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Time for an update. Finally did something touristy. Nancy and I had lunch today at Guy Fieri's. It was great. Had their signature Trash Can Nachos, plus a cocktail and an iron skillet choc chip cookie for dessert.

Nancy is headed back to Memphis on Thursday and I'm headed to Wall Drug and Badlands National Park.

Update. Nancy and I left Harrison AR in the Ozarks this morning and drove to Little Rock. I went to Camping World to see about selling or trading in the trailer. Its a little too much for me to handle physically, and I had trouble unhooking and getting everything ready to leave this morning. Not sure that is going to improve.

My choices seem to be:

1. Keep my current trailer, and refinance to at least get a better interest rate. BUT, I will still struggle with the physical aspects of doing the things such as hitching and unhitching, hooking up hoses and power, and pulling something that can be difficult at times.

2. Purchase a much smaller trailer. That would reduce my loss by maybe $9K, and be easier to drive, but would be quite a downgrade for trailer size and living conditions.

3. Sell the trailer at a $13K loss and buy an inexpensive truck topper that would allow me to at least sleep in the truck bed safely and above ground. But that would be a huge difference in living conditions.

Right now, I'm leaning toward keeping what I have. I'll get better at learning the trailer but I will contine to struggle with the physical aspects. #2 doesn't solve that problem, and #3 solves the problem of towing something, but is really bad for living conditions. I get out west, I will do a lot less traveling and a lot more living. That gives a boost to #1.

Is one of those pop up campers out of the question?

That's what I meant by truck topper. That and pop-up camper are often used interchangeably. But a topper is generally just a tonneau cover, sometimes with a tent added. A pop-up camper can be a soft or hard sided shell that is an actual camper, sitting inside the truck bed.

I was actually talking about a pop-up camper in #3.

Once you get settled and in one spot for a couple weeks it wont be as big of a deal. As far as needing help, I bet every RP parking lot you stay will have a "helper" working there. You will be long off the road or in the grave before those "few dollars" adds up to the money you'll lose by getting rid of it. If you are anything like me and most people once they age out....

asking for the help is a big hurdle. Once you get past that I think it will be simple finding someone to help when you leave. You should ask that question when you arrive.

You're right. Just in the few weeks I have been on the road, that has been my experience. These people seem to be some of the friendliest and most helpful I have ever met.

I also believe it's partly due to having such a strong interest in common.

Quick update. Not much happening yet. My sister and I spent a few days in Illinois, then a few more in Branson. Parted ways in Little Rock, then I headed back north. Two nights ago, I noticed the steel cap holding one of the sway bars in place on my hitch was bent back where the bar could come loose. If that happened at high speed, it could rip the bottom out of the trailer.

At the time, I was in Sioux City, Iowa. Drove to a hitch repair shop. They had to order a new part. Won't be here until Monday, so I am stuck here until then in a hotel. Maybe I'll get to Rushmore before it snows, lol.

lol ... best wishes, Trips...

(10-01-2026 06:40 AM)stinkfist Wrote:  lol ... best wishes, Trips...

Ha, it'll be fine. I'll get to a fun place sooner or later. I enjoyed visiting with my sister for a couple of weeks. I imagine it will be a long time before I see any family again.

Its better to get there, late, than not at all....

Always, I mean, always, look on the good side of any problem. If there's not a good side, invent one, like waking up another morning is always better than, not! Especially for someone 80 but now going on 85 lol

Why is there time restraints? It's not like the Dakotas or wherever your "permanent" home will be will simply disappear. You have at your disposal a moving apartment, any place can be a "home. If the weather is not in your favor then take the moving to it step by step, and get there when the weather cooperates. It's not like Dakota will be under snow the whole winter.

My only concern is I want to spend a month or two in the Rushmore area, and I'm so late getting there. I will likely have to cut that plan short, and return again sometime next year, since it won't be good weather there again until sometime in the spring.

Rushmore is far from anywhere else I have interest in short term. That's all. I have no schedule and no time crunch, but I don't want any part of snow, and SD is just so far away from my other places of interest.

Also, it's not like I'm worried about it, I just mentioned it, lol.

Here's the deal. My plan was to visit Rushmore, then head far west to Southern Utah, see the 5 national parks there, then move into Arizona for the Grand Canyon, etc. Those are my top 3 travel priorities.

From there, I plan to winter in Southern AZ, then move next spring up the west coast to Seattle, then over to Glacier and down to Yellowstone. And maybe southern Utah, if i dont make it this fall. From there maybe down to Texas Hill Country. So getting back to Rushmore at any time in my travels would be a pain, not to mention the extra travel costs. That's all. And don't worry, I'm not sweating any of it, lol. I just prefer no expensive backtracking if possible.

What part of southern Arizona, Triple? If you don't know Tucson and Phoenix are part of southern Arizona but I don't think you would want any part of it. They are big cities and a hassle to drive around, I know because I've meandered around those two towns. Besides, Tucson is not a pretty city and Phoenix is way to big. Try Yuma, it's not cold in the winter and it's miserbly hot in the summer but it's a small town. My son lives there but he's gotten used to the blazing heat.