Part 4 - Travels in 2022 - Washington to Iowa

 Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - Arriving in Forest City, we went to the Winnebago Service Center. Inside I got registered for our appointment the following morning – at 7am the Motor Home had to be in the parking lot of the Service Center. 

Customer Service Center

Due to a lack of parking spaces at the Service Center, we moved 100 yards down the road to the Winnebago Visitor Center. Inside the Visitor Center I was given a parking permit for the next four nights. 

Visitors Center

We parked in a gravel section of the parking lot away from the front of the visitor center. The space was a parallel parking space with 50A electrical only, which is all that we required. As we sat in the Motor Home, we decided that it might be better to book another night in the hotel. We were scheduled there for Wednesday (6-22) and Thursday (6-23) nights. The problem we ran into was what to do from 7am on Wednesday, until we could check in at the hotel. Having Annie with us meant that we needed someplace with A/C. So, booking for Tuesday night made sense. A change to the reservations was made and we proceeded to pack the things into the Jeep that we thought we would need. This was a new experience for us and a new experience for Annie, as we have never stayed in a hotel with her. Once settled in the hotel, we temporarily left Annie in the Motor Home and went to dinner at AY Jalisco Mexican restaurant . A good meal, nothing spectacular. Picked up Annie and returned to the hotel for the night.

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 - Up early and out of the hotel by 6:30a. Moved the Motor Home from the Visitor Center to the Service Center parking lot. After the Center opened, I went inside to meet my assigned technician. Mark was assigned as the primary technician. We talked about the three issues that we had. The Basement A/C being the most critical, the dash air being the next most critical issue and finally the leaking right front passenger window that we discovered on the trip. Regarding the basement A/C, Mark felt that a replacement of the entire unit would be in order. This is an obsolete unit and parts are hard if not impossible to come by. Mark stated that he thought they could build a good enough case to get the extended maintenance insurance to cover the cost. Regarding the dash air, Mark stated that it was probably repairable without issue, but would need to troubleshoot it. Regarding the right window, he stated that they would remove it, check for damage and then reseal it. Mark stated that it would be late afternoon before they would have any information for me. I told him that they could keep the vehicle inside, as long as it stayed plugged in. Mark stated that this was possible.
The Service Center has 39 repair bays. Based on the number of vehicles in the parking lot, they appear to stay busy all the time. The Service Center will take drop in customers, but you might need to be in the area a day or two, as the customers with appointments take priority.

Winnebago holds a national rally every year in July on property they own across the road from the Visitor Center. A number of people attend the rally and get service work done just before the rally or during the rally.

Returning to the hotel, we hung out there. I had signed up for a tour of the Winnebago factory that afternoon. This was very informative. The company employees about 2,000 people from about a 30 mile range of Forest City. Stitch Craft is where they do all the sewing for all the Winnebago products, plus other outside jobs. The upholstery, curtains, drapes, whatever is sewn at Stitch Craft. After pointing out several buildings on the campus, including CDI, which is the company that paints all of Winnebago Motor Homes we moved to the assembly building. In the assembly building we watched the floors being installed in Class C Motor Homes. These were all on Mercedes Van chassis. Winnebago is the point of entry for all Mercedes Vans. The floor is the first stage in the assembly. Walls and roof are put on and then the slide, populated with all cabinet and furniture is installed next and then the interior is finished. A cart that contains all of the components for the particular Motor Home, travels with it. Each piece has a tag indicating the serial number and model number of the Motor Home under construction. There were probably 20 Class C Motor Homes on the line and I guessed 16-18 Class A Motor Homes. No photographs could be taken on the tour.

About 2p, the Service Advisor assigned to me, Al, called and stated that they had completed the removal, sealing and install of the right front passenger window. He also stated that the Extended Maintenance Company had approved the repair of the basement HVAC which would entail replacing the interior/exterior fan capacitor. The dash A/C was also just as simple, with the expansion valve being found defective. The Extended Maintenance Company agreed to cover that repair as well. Not hard problems, but ones that it took super experienced technicians to track down.
Dinner tonight was an excellent pizza from Borderline Pizza and Taco Jerry’s.

Thursday, June 23, 2022 - Today Annie got to go to Nose to Toes Pet Grooming and Daycare. Conveniently located across the street from the Hotel, we dropped her off for the day and then went and did laundry. About 11a Winnebago called and stated that the Motor Home was done and ready to be picked up. We arrived and my Technician Mark brought the Motor Home out. He explained what had been done and pointed out that the seals on the roof and along the walls and “beauty” trim should be replaced. He suggested using a wax and grease remover to take off the existing sealant and then using a multi purpose sealer made by Henry to replace it. He stated that it would take about 10 tubes of sealant for the entire coach. After paying the bill, we relocated the Motor Home back to the Visitor Center, same spot, pulled it in and turned on the A/C and left it. We planned to run the A/C all night and then check it in the AM. If all is good, we will move from the Hotel to the Motor Home, hang out in Forest City and leave on Saturday morning.

A trip to Mason City, IA was next on the list to visit Walmart and restock supplies for the trip home. Dinner tonight was from A&W after we picked up Annie. Reservations were made at RV Parks for the remainder of the trip. Last night in the Hotel.

Friday, June 24, 2022 - After completing our morning routine, we packed the Jeep with everything brought out of the Motor Home. When we arrived the Motor Home was comfortable at the 74 degrees we had set the thermostat at when we left the previous evening. After unloading the Jeep and putting things away, we sat back and relaxed for the rest of the day. By the time we leave at 8:30a tomorrow morning the HVAC will have had almost 48 hours of operation time.

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - Heavy thunder and rain storm came in about 2:30a and continued until after 6a. Annie was pretty scared and the pounding rain on the roof of the Motor Home did little to induce sleep. The positive is that the front right window did not leak. After breakfast, we secured everything for travel and were on the road by 8:30a. Travelling back toward the center of Forest City on US69, we turned east onto Iowa9 to I35. At I35 we headed south for the entire 200+ mile drive to Eagleville, MO. Pulling into the Eagle Ridge RV Park, we were assigned a FHU pull through site. The owner stated that she and her husband had purchased the RV Park last fall and that this was their first summer operating it. They are working hard at getting things in shape and making upgrades. This is a gravel road park with most of the spots arranged for back-in, on grass parking. The park has been in existence since the 60’s and was not designed for the “big rig” RVs of todays world. Another park with the power, water and power at the back of the site.

Sunday, June 26, 2022 - Up and on the road early today. More miles to travel today than yesterday. After stopping for fuel at Love’s, we were headed south on I35 toward Kansas City. At Cameron, MO we turned west on US36 going past St. Joseph, then turning south on US75. Both US36 and US75 were very good two to four lane roads. In the Topeka, KS area, we merged onto I70 west to Salina where we pulled into the KOA for the night. This KOA is a large park with a mix of back-in and pull through sites. We were given a pull through between two giant cottonwood trees. We were on the outside edge of the park and the property line was delineated with a panel fence. The space was comfortable, but the two trees made the thought of pulling out in the morning a little concerning, based on how close we were to the fence. Cable TV entertained us for the evening.

Monday, June 27, 2022 - After carefully extracting ourselves from between the Cottonwoods and the fence in the RV Park, we headed west on I70 for a short distance before turning southwest on KS156 to Great Bend. At Great Bend we again continued southwest on US56 through Larned, KS, and Garfield, KS where the road changed to US56/US183. Another road number changed it to US50/US183. We arrived in Dodge City, KS and after wandering around, following two GPS units to roads that did not exist on the ground, we finally called the Dodge City KOA and had them talk us into the RV Park. This park is all paved roads and a choice of pull through or back-in, on gravel or concrete pads. Getting setup by about 1PM, the rain started and did not stop until late evening. Needless to say, we stayed inside. OTA TV and satellite TV along with books kept us occupied.

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 - Today we explored Dodge City, KS. Known for the TV show 'Gunsmoke' with James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone and others. We found that the locals liked to associate Dodge City with Bat and Ed Masterson, Wyatt Earp and a few others. 

Entry sign and overlook

Sculptures made from horse shoes welded together

Informational sign at the overlook

Dodge City, known as the Queen of the Cowtowns, is very much centered around the cattle industry. Just at this overlook you can see the feed yards of two of the biggest beef producing companies, Excel Corporation and National Beef. 

The Feed Yards

Dodge City was founded in 1872, the same year that the first train arrived. They have been in the cattle business ever since with a large amount of their cattle having been driven up from Texas.

After driving to the overlook on the outskirts of town, taking photos of the entry signs, we headed to the Visitor Center. Arriving there, we found we were just in time to catch the next Trolley Tour of the City. The tour was interesting, taking you through the town and pointing out the various statutes and other markers, describing the historical buildings and the like. 

If Deadwood, SD claims Wild Bill Hickok as their hero, then Dodge City, KS lays claim to the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and his brother Ed. All three serving time in law enforcement in the city and the county. Wyatt even convinced John Henry (Doc) Holliday to come to Dodge City.  Doc would be a dentist in the daytime and a gambler at night.

After the tour, we headed to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Again another good meal, but nothing special.
After lunch, is was on to the Boot Hill Museum. The museum focuses on the history of the "real Dodge City" and not the fictional version portrayed in Gunsmoke. In fact the only reference to Gunsmoke is the statute of James Arness, and a couple businesses bearing names of characters, The Miss Kitty Café being one. Now there real was a Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, the real Dodge City and the fictional one. A re-creation of the  Long Branch Saloon is at the Boot Hill Museum, though it resembles the original and not the fictional. All in all it is a great museum, again with people dressed in period attire.

Looking down "Main Street" in the Boothill Museum

Long Branch Saloon at the Boothill Museum

Businesses along the Main Street in the Boothill Museum

Cattle is the largest industry in the region with companies such as Cargill, Excel Corporation and National Beef having processing facilities there. Agriculture is next with production of Corn, Milo and Wheat. This is a town we could go back to and spend another couple days.

Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - Today, we head to one more overnight stop before getting home - Oasis RV Park in Amarillo, TX. Leaving Dodge City, we travelled south on US283 to Minneola, KS where we turned on to US54/US160 going through Mead, Kismet and Liberal before entering Oklahoma. US54 took us through Hooker, OK, Guymon, OK and finally Texhoma before we crossed back into Texas. At Stratford, TX we turned south on US287 travelling through Dumas and finally turning west on Loop335 which takes you around Amarillo on the north side, depositing us at I40 for a quick westward drive of a couple miles to Arnot Road and the Oasis RV Park. We have been coming to this park since they opened 15 or so years ago. A paved Park with concrete pads. It boasts a hot tub, swimming pool, fitness center, wind and sun. OTA TV is good here as is satellite TV. Dinner was at Outback Steakhouse before retiring for the night.

Thursday, June 30, 2022 - Today was an easy drive. Leaving the The Oasis RV Park, just before 9A, we got on I27 and made the 120 mile drive to Lubbock. After stopping at the Love's Truck Center by Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport and fueling, we were back in the storage facility by 11:45A. After loading the Jeep with the essentials, like the laundry, we arrived home, unloaded the Jeep and started the water heater. We then surveyed the condition of the yard, which our former lawn care service left in a mess, and started the work of getting our Internet Service restored. The technician will be here between 8a and 12 noon tomorrow. Another trip to the Motor Home was made to bring back another load of items from the Motor Home including most of the contents of the refrigerator and freezer.

The Trip is over. It was fun, interesting and educational - But, it is nice to be home.