Monthly Archives: March 2010

National Park Week Offers Free Admission To All National Parks

Colorado National Monument

Spires jut skyward in Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado. Photo credit: David Muenker

Mark your calendar for a weekend or week-long getaway during National Park Week, April 17 to 25, 2010, and claim your gift — free admission to the national park(s) of your choice! Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar announced today that the entrance fee will be waived that week at all national parks. Depending on the park, you can save up to $25!

Those of you who live in our home state of Colorado have eight national parks within easy driving distance. Take at look at your great choices:

No matter where you live, chances are there’s a national park close enough to visit over a long weekend. So get out there, go sightseeing, hike some trails, and enjoy our country’s natural and cultural heritage!

Check the National Park Service website to find the parks near you.

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Up on the Roof

David preps the roof to cover the slide out with plastic. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

When the sun came out after the rainstorm, David inspected the RV and discovered a cause for the water leakage. Bits of twigs had gotten caught in the slide out seals, creating enough of an opening for water to seep in. Just to be safe, he put a sheet of plastic over each of the slide out awnings.

It has rained since then, and we still had leakage. This time he lowered the side with the living room slide out — which means the RV is not level. But it stopped the leaking. Or most of it, anyway. The problem with RV leaks is that it’s nearly impossible to find the source. They never seem to come from where you expect.

Yellow Trout Lily

One of the joys of working on the RV was discovering a lovely spring blossom in the woods alongside our site. The flower is called by a number of names: a Yellow Dog-Tooth Violet, a Yellow Trout Violet and a Yellow Trout Lily.

I call it pretty!

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“Spider & Snakes” Jim Stafford Rocks!

Jim-Cow-PattiWe laughed ourselves silly at the Jim Stafford Show. The singer/songwriter of “Spiders and Snakes” is an awesome showman, comedian and musician. He has built a 21-year career on that song’s Top 40 success as the star of his own show in Branson, Missouri.

When “Spiders and Snakes” hit the airwaves, it wasn’t a big deal with me. But it was for my younger sister, Debby. At a bar in Ft. Lauderdale, a guy struck up a conversation with her asking, “Do you like ‘Spiders and Snakes’?” She heard “spiders and snakes” the critters, not the song, and thought he was some kind of weirdo. That didn’t stop Rich from pursuing the conversation. He eventually convinced Debby that there really was a song called “Spiders and Snakes.” His come-on worked—they’ve been married for 35 years.

Watching Jim Stafford in action, I understand why he’s such a hit. He interacts with the audience, tells hilarious wholesome jokes, loves silliness and satire, and plays a mean guitar. During the intermission, he sat on the edge of the stage, posing for photos and signing autographs. Stafford ended the show playing “Malaga” on the classical guitar—I could have listened to his masterful performance for hours.

From a duct-taped guitar and cow pies to superb music and a gripping 3D movie, the Jim Stafford show entertained an audience covering nine decades of age. It looked like the kid in the booster seat was having as much fun as the World War II 63rd Infantry veterans celebrating their reunion.

They say every show varies. I can see myself going back for seconds, maybe even thirds.

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The Wet Weather Creek Flows!

“Wet weather creek.” The description of the stream that runs through Branson Shenanigans RV Park was a new one to me.  In Colorado, we’d probably use the word “arroyo.” Since our arrival more than two weeks ago, the creek bed has been bone dry. Not so today.

It started raining with a vengeance yesterday. The skies even tossed in some sleet this morning. And it’s been raining steadily all day. Except for our dog Sonya’s insistence, we wouldn’t bother to step outside. Thanks to her, David saw the creek. It was flowing with water today – a sure sign that the wet season has arrived. Soon we can expect to see green grass, flowers budding and trees leafing out.

But today, our attention focused on the “wet” of the wet season. Water has seeped under the RVcarpet where the slideouts meet the stationary wall. We discovered the problem when we stepped on the wet carpet in stockinged feet. Argh! What an icy surprise! There’s not much we can do until the rain stops. Not even snarling helps. The wet carpet simply is. I can’t say I’m loving this “what is,” as Byron Katie would have us do. But I am letting it be — and I’m dreaming of blossoming flowers.

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Calling All Writers

Is that manuscript on your desk screaming “finish me, finish me!”?  Are you balking at writing your next series of blog posts? Do you have a great idea for an article but don’t know where to begin?

The world is waiting to read your stories! Stop hesitating and take action!

If you’re ready to master your writing project, register now for the 1:1 Writing Program with Rose. You’ll get five weeks of professional coaching and instruction customized for your current writing goals. Take a look at the program description here.

Now’s the time to make your writing soar!

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Our Backpack Has Soul

Ryan Bingham teaches associate how to downsize. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

While watching Up in the Air the other night, I realized that David and I have taken a lot of the weight out of our backpack. We sold our house. We sold or donated our furniture, appliances, china, crystal and artwork. We reduced our personal photos to the absolute treasures. We scanned and shredded all files except must-keep tax and legal ones. And we reduced our wardrobe to what would comfortably fit in our RV. Phew! We got rid of a lot of stuff – much of it connected to a meaningful memory. The process was surprisingly freeing!

But, unlike Ryan Bingham, the character George Clooney plays, we still carry a lot in our backpack. They’re essentials that we’d never toss out. They’re our family, our friends, our spiritual community, our talents, our faith, our God – the essentials that fill our lives with love, meaning and purpose. They are the soul of our backpack.

Much as I adored watching George Clooney, his character would never be able to convince me to give up those precious essentials. Without soul, my life would be meaningless.

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Our First Show in Branson Revs Us Up for More!

The Rankin Brothers are performing at the Caravelle Theatre, conveniently located on the Branson strip. Photo courtesy of Caravelle Theatre

Last night we attended our first show in Branson – The Rankin Brothers Classic Music Review at the Caravelle Theatre. How did we happen to choose this show from a dozen choices within a mile of our home at Shenanigans RV Park? It chose us!

Thursday we made the rounds of nearby theaters to submit applications for part-time work. When we stepped up to the box office at the Caravelle Theatre, a lovely older woman with a warm, sweet smile and twinkling eyes was standing alongside the ticket seller. David told the two women our story about work camping at the RV park through August and looking for part-time work. While the ticket seller took our resumes, the older woman invited us to come to the show for free. Delighted by the generous offer, we said “We’ll see you Friday night!”

As we stepped up to the box office last night, I couldn’t help but wonder if the tickets would really be there for us. (There I go again, doubting the good that comes into my life!) The woman at the box office remembered us and asked for the spelling of our name so she could find the reservation on the database. When David asked who the woman was who invited us, she said, “She’s the performers’ mother.”

The show was fun, professional, with great musical performances laced with rib-tickling humor. Midway, they did a tribute to veterans – something, we’ve been told, most Branson shows do – and a moving gospel song. I kept being amazed at how many songs I knew the words to, including Buddy Holly tunes that date to when I was in grade school. The time range of the classic music review stretched from Holly to Springsteen.

Before the show and at intermission, people sitting in front and behind us struck up conversations. They were local, enjoying the benefit of “area appreciation,” when locals can attend many of the shows for $8 or $10. They generously shared insider tips. One commented, “Branson is a place you can take your kids and your grandparents; it’s a Christian town.” And he invited us to his church.

At intermission, we caught sight of the Rankin Brothers’ mother, introduced ourselves and thanked her for inviting us to this delightful show. She was as sweet, charming and friendly then as when we met her.

The Rankin Brothers’ Classic Music Review whet our appetite to see more shows in Branson – and there are lots of them! We’re going to have an entertaining six months!

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Work Camping in Branson, Missouri

As the recent New York Times article on Work Campers reported, the RV work camping movement is bigger now than ever, and many of our parks depend on work campers to survive. Although most work campers are retired and supplementing their pensions, investments and Social Security benefits, not all of them are retired. Many are like David and me, pre-retirement, pre-Social Security, and living on the road.

We decided to round our our RV lifestyle experience by becoming work campers for a six-month stint and found ourselves accepting a work camper gig with Branson Shenanigans RV Resort. Now we get to see RV resorts from both sides — the guest’s perspective and the  owner’s perspective. We receive our RV site with full hook-ups in exchange for 26 hours per week as a couple. While other female work campers and I handle reservations and other administrative duties in the office, David and the guys greet arrivals, guides them to their sites, and keeps the grounds shipshape. Oh, and we all get to clean the bathrooms one shift a week. (That freaked my sister out, so to spare her from nightmares about our getting H1N1, we promised to wear gloves and masks.)

Why Branson? Because when David met the owners at the Tampa RV Show in January, he knew we’d be happy working for them. Plus Branson offers lots of opportunities to get part-time seasonal work. Besides the appeal of an additional source of cash flow, we’re eager to immerse ourselves in a community for an extended period of time. (Six months for “on the roadees” like us is a l-o-n-g time!)

Since we are travelers, we want to get to know the culture of this place in depth. In lots of ways, Branson is like a foreign country to us. The lifestyle, the area’s predominant political, social and economic views, and the work style are considerably different from anything we have personally lived, and from any place we have chosen to live. To a great extent, our time here is an experiment to find out what we learn and how we grow when we voluntarily throw ourselves outside our comfort zone.  (Remind me of that if in future posts I cry “what am I doing here?”)

Meanwhile, David and I will continue to do our photography and writing professions. The Internet and cell phones certainly make working on the road fun and easy!

Come to Branson and say “hey!” We’d love to show you around.

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Filed under Central Plains, RV Lifestyle, RV Travel, work camper

Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee Commemorates the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March

Evocative painting in the National Voting Rights Museum portrays the Selma to Montgomery March. Photo: David Muenker

Emotion stirred in my soul as we drove the Selma to Montgomery March Byway in Alabama. Unlike the scenic byways we’re accustomed to, this byway awakened memories of a raw and brutal time in our country’s history. On March 7, 1965, 600 African Americans and white supporters set out from Selma on a 54-mile march to the Capitol steps in Montgomery. Their mission? To demand enforcement of their voting rights.

As the road leaves Selma, it crosses the Alabama River via the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge arches in the middle, blocking the view ahead. On that fateful day, state troopers waited on the other side, determined to stop the marchers. Violence erupted into what is now called Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965.

Video: Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965

We walked partway across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, adding our footfalls to the metal’s memory. I ran my fingertips across the truss’s cold steel to connect with the energy of the brave individuals who risked their well-being – even their lives — to stand for human rights.

Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama

The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when supporters of voting rights attempted to march from Selma to the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. Photo credit: David Muenker

One of the National Voting Rights Museum’s many impressive exhibits is the display of marchers’ footprints, preserved in plaster. The museum continues its endeavor to collect footprints to honor all the unsung heroes who participated. The following footage captures imagery of the marchers’ feet, their shoes revealing all walks of life.

Video: Selma – Montgomery March, 1965

Under First Amendment protection, the third attempt to march to the Capitol was successful. Marchers left Selma on March 21, 1965. Campgrounds were set up along the route for marchers to rest at night. Today, roadside markers show their location.

Four days later and 25,000 strong, they arrived in Montgomery on March 25, 1965. From the steps of the Capitol, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the speech, “How Long, Not long.”

This weekend and next week (March 4 – 13, 2010), the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee 2010 commemorates the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. Events include symposiums, recreation, concerts, parades, breakfasts and church services with Movement speakers.  The Bridge Crossing Re-Enactment takes place on Sunday, March 7, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The March Re-enactment from Selma to Montgomery starts on Monday, March 8. The Jubilee concludes with the Montgomery Re-Enactment Rally, Saturday, March 13, 12 – 1 p.m., at the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

If we were still in Alabama, we would attend the Jubilee to learn more about American civil rights, then and now – 45 years later.

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Laughs on the Road

Yesterday,  casket company semi drove down the highway with this great advice: Drive Safely. Heaven Can Wait!

Today we passed a turnoff to the town of Toad Suck! How on earth would a place get a name like that? Did young maidens kiss toads and turn them into princes? To find an answer, I googled Toad Suck and got this answer on Wikipedia:

Long ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn’t, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: “They suck on the bottle ’til they swell up like toads.” Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend and fun live on at Toad Suck Daze.

Here’s to entertaining travels!

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