We drove to Florence with no mishaps the, following the GPS, we drove a few miles beyond the city to the RV Park located in the country somewhere. It was one of those moments where you feel like you’ve accomplished your goal, then you pass it by, looking over your shoulder as it fades away into the distance. You want to reach back and grab it so it won’t get away. But it does, and you must move on down the road.

Eventually, we made it to Mercer Lake Road, and were rewarded with a sign leading to the elks park. It’s like a surprise because just when you think it’s never going to reveal itself, there it is. We pulled into the area, stopped to check in, and Hayden came to meet us and get it done so we could park.

The park has nearly 50 sites and there were very few in use so getting a spot wasn’t a problem. That’s good because it’s first come first served. As it turned out, #19 was open and it was about 50 feet across the parking lot from the office. An added benefit was it has sewer. Not many of them do. That was a good thing because we needed to dump.

Hayden is a character, and we got along great. He’s a retired Army Sgt Major. He said the job of managing the park was his first trip off the mountain in the last 20 years where he lived on a farm with his wife. He said he didn’t have to leave the ranch because his wife did all the shopping. With his new job for the elks, he said dealing with people is a newly acquired skill since he sold the ranch and moved down to sea level. He’s a great guy and reminds me a lot of our friend Larry, right down to the mustache.

Another added benefit it space #19 is that it has a southern exposure which means we have access to the Dish satellites. That’s very good because it was out intention to watch the super bowl this afternoon. So, the first thing I did, after getting the bus hooked up, was dial up the satellite and get it connected. It did all that and the reception was excellent.

Diane chose to cook since I’ve been driving a lot lately and she figured it would be a nice break for me. It was indeed. She made us ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cherry turnovers. It was pretty awesome.

Just before we sat down to eat, Diane paused the Dish just as the pre-game festivities started. That way we could sit and watch it together. It was paused for about 30 minutes and was working really well through the festivities, and through most of the 1st quarter of the game before it just froze. It was very perplexing. None of the remote buttons worked and I eventually had to restart the Dish receiver. That was the only way to get it going again. Start over.

Thankfully, the picture came back and we had missed about one quarter. When it froze the Eagles were up 7-0. When it came back it was 17-0. All we missed was another TD and a FG by the Eagles. We were surprised that KC hadn’t scored yet. Then, after watching their offense get pushed around by the Eagles it was evident why they hadn’t.

In the end, we were happy the Eagles won. It was more fun to watch than many of the previous SB games because there was a lot of scoring. Most of the old games were all about defense and kinda got boring when no one scored. Since we were rooting for the Eagles, this game was right up our ally.

After the game I took Max for a long walk in the woods. He was very appreciative. We walked all over the place until my feet got cold enough that I couldn’t feel them. I suspect Max’s feet were numb, too, so we went back to the bus.

That was the day. It was a good one. We will be here for two nights to recover from all the arduous driving we’ve been doing. Jennifer, our daughter, has been following us and sent a text that “… we’re only 2 hours away so why is it taking so long to get home?” She added that”…we could have driven down and had dinner with you.” Funny girl.

Everybody back home has been concerned about the knock I took on my noggin and questioned my ability to drive safely since the accident. But I’m doing just fine. Diane has confidence in me to get us home safely, so that’s what I plan to do,

That’s the spot!