Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Isle of Capri?

We left Shawnee Lake this morning and headed east on I-70, on our way to Babler State Park near St. Louis. I called Aunt Iris and caught her just returning from physical therapy. She sounded quite chipper. She doesn't know how long she'll be in rehab. The doc says it depends on her progress.

We planned to stop in Booneville at the Isle of Capri Casino, where they allow overnight RV parking in a gravel parking lot. We found the casino and proceeded to the parking lot, which was down an incline and situated along the Missouri River, with train tracks between. So far so good. We found a level spot to park and started to set up.

When Ken turned on the propane, he heard a hissing sound. Not good. Bubble solution indicated that the connections from both propane tanks to the new regulator were slowly leaking. When Ken unscrewed the connections, he found what looked like some dried and crumbly pipe dope. He made a temporary repair using white teflon tape, which is not approved for propane fittings, so we'll have to find the right kind of tape soon.

Meanwhile, a very noisy freight train screamed and squealed past just yards away. Then an employee who was coming to work and parking nearby talked with Ken about the fact that the lot had partially flooded last night. Heavy rains were predicted for later tonight. Okay, on to plan B. We called the local Walmart and got permission to park there. We took down the satellite dish, pulled in the slides, and headed down the road. Two hours after we first arrived in town, we pulled into the parking lot and found a level spot out of the main traffic.


It's actually quieter and more peaceful here than at the casino, but we were looking forward to walking through the bright lights (not that we ever gamble). We're parked next to a swale which is occupied by a family of geese with half grown goslings, some bullfrogs, and lots of crickets and other insects. We have a chorus to lull us to sleep.



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