30 April - Our Final Day at Bull Shoals

What a fantastic final day at Bull Shoals!  It started early as our fishing guide "GI on the Fly" Paul Bobby picked us up at 7:30 am and we headed down to the boat ramp.  The cool water being released at the Bull Shoals dam to operate their power generation elevated the river levels a bit which enhanced the fishing.

The rainbow trout were biting and we caught our limit (5 per person) with some very nice fish.  Very fun to catch!

Then we ventured upstream straight out from our campgrounds and caught brown trout.  These were larger (~20") but not large enough to keep (24" min).  They fought fiercely, but we were very careful with them and returned them all back to the water unharmed.We caught 12 brown trout in 2 hours.  Fantastic fishing.  What a blast!!  Thanks Paul Bobby with "GI on the Fly" guide service!

While we were fishing, Doreen and Roxie Brotsky attended a dutch oven cooking workshop.  They prepared several different meals in the cast iron dutch ovens, and then were given a 10" (4 quart) Lodge cast iron dutch oven as part of the class!  

We finished the evening at the 178Club Restaurant with Paul Bobby, his wife Cindra, Russ and Roxie Brotsky and Doreen.  We brought in our catch of rainbow trout and they prepared them for us. We had a sampler platter of cajun, blackend, baked and deep-fried.  The fish was fantastic!

At the end of the evening I gave Paul one of my retirement coins.  I have the utmost respect for our Air Force First Sergeants and what they do for our Airmen.  I thanked Paul and his wife for their service to our Country.  Paul served as a Security Forces and Combat Communications First Sergeant at Kulis Air National Guard base in Anchorage Alaska and his wife Cindra served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Group there as a nurse.  Needless to say with two Command Chiefs and a First Sergeant in the boat, there was no lack of laughter and great conversation about our military experiences and retirement.  

Except for our brief over-nighter at Sparrowfoot State Park in Missouri, this is really the first leg of out trip.  It is going to be a hard act to follow!!  But tomorrow is another day and tomorrow brings the next leg of the trip to Scott Air Force Base family campgrounds in Bellevue IL.  The next update will be from there.

28-29 April - Reconnecting with Friends

28 April
We had lunch today with retired Chief Master Sergeant Chuck Leonard and his wife Sherri at a local restaurant today,  I served with Chuck for many years at the 132d Fighter Wing in Des Moines.  Chuck was in Supply and I was in Communications.  After he retired from the military, Chuck and his wife moved to Mountain Home AR, just a few miles west of here. This journey to New England is providing an opportunity to reconnect with many friends, relatives and military brothers and sisters.   It was nice to reconnect with Chuck!

In the afternoon we ventured over to Mountain Home AR to refuel the truck and pick up some basic supplies.  After returning to the campgrounds a long time military friend, retired Command Chief Master Sergeant Russ Brotsky and his wife Roxie arrived.  Russ and I were both in Communications our entire careers until becoming Command Chiefs.  Russ served at the 184th Intelligence Wing at Wichita KS.  They are camping in the same park that we are in.  The Brotsky's joined us at our camper in the evening and we brought each other up to date on our retirements.  Tomorrow morning Russ and I will trout fish with a retired Air Guard First Sergeant who is a fishing guide here in the area, so it will be an early night.

29 April
Heavy rain in the area so the fishing trip is postponed until Saturday morning.  Our fishing guide is Paul Bobby.  He runs a fishing guide service called "GI on the Fly", specializing in trout fishing on the White River here in northern Arkansas.  While attempting to wait out the storm, Paul, Russ and I sat under the trailer awning and talked about fishing and our military careers.  Paul was assigned to the same unit my daughter Jennifer and her husband James were assigned at Kulis Air National Guard base in Anchorage Alaska.

After lunch, the Cubs game was on so we watched it until the rain quite.

Then we headed down to the river to cast a line and see if any trout were biting.  Not so much!  One of the locals was monitoring my casts!

So, with no trout on our stringer, we headed to a local establishment with Russ and Roxie for trout dinner.

Tomorrow we will hopefully get out on the river with the guide to do some trout fishing, but the weather forecast is again not promising.  Doreen and Roxie are scheduled to attend a dutch oven clinic here in the campgrounds.  The registration fee includes instructions on dutch oven cooking, lunch prepared in a dutch oven during the class, and a 4 quart Dutch oven to take home!  What a deal!

27 April - Exploring Bull Shoals

Rain storms hit this morning about 3am but we had stowed most of the outside camping gear so other than drying some items out, there was no impact.  Today we visited the James A. Gaston Visitor Center at the Bull Shoals dam.

There was a 20 minute video that described the history of the area.  President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the construction of Bull Shoals Dam and six others on the White River as part of the Flood Control Act of 1938.  Construction started in 1947 and was completed in 1951.  The dam was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.  The entire project was designed as flood control but the secondary benefits were recreation and tourism.  I did not realize how much of a trout fishing meca the White River is below the dam.

Here is a map that shows our campgrounds and the White River area:

Daughter Michelle, son-in-law Keith and I have scuba dived Bull Shoals lake before and I hoped to this trip, but that is not looking too good at this point since I am "buddy-less".  We are still working that piece,  After the Visitor Center we made our way down to the Marina to talk with the Diver Master about scuba possibilities but he was not there.  The locals were begging for food at the dock!!

Doreen has made it a priority that we visit many lighthouses on this trip, and sure enough we found one here at Bull Shoals!  It so happens to be at the resort we stayed at while scuba diving here a few years ago.

We toured around the area to include a nature preserve, and then relaxed at the campgrounds for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow retired Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant Russ Brotsky (Wichita Kansas) and his wife Roxie joins us here for some camping, fishing and good times!  We will also have lunch with retired Chief Master Sergeant Chuck Leonard from the 132d Logistics Readiness Squadron and his wife Sherri who retired to Mountain Home AR!  Will be great to see them!

26 April - White River State Park, Bull Shoals AR

26 April
Today we traveled from Sparrowfoot Campgrounds in Clinton MO to White River State Park near Bull Shoals AR, location #2 below.  We got on the road about 8:48am and arrived about 1:15pm, 211 miles.  Today was again overcast but no rain and an uneventful travel day,  We will be here until Sunday 1 May and then to Scott Air Force Base in Bellevue IL.

White River State Park campgrounds is directly adjacent to the White River, which is immediately below the Bull Shoals dam.  Absolutely beautiful!  Crystal clear water and excellent trout fishing from what we hear.  A great friend of mine, retired Air National Guard Communications Chief (like me) and Wing Command Chief from Wichita KS, Russ Brotsky and his wife Roxie will be joining us here at the campgrounds Thursday.  Russ and I will find out for sure on Friday how the fishing is when we head out with a fishing guide, a retired Air Force First Sergeant!    Wow, a First Sergeant and two Command Chiefs on the same boat!  AIR POWER!

Check-in was seamless and the campsite was easy to park.  The camp sites are wide spread, so you are not right on top of your neighbors.

So here we are in Arkansas, so we add the colored decal to that state.  Our camping adventures have involved seven states now.  Thanks to my Wingman, retired Major General Greg Schwab, for the retirement gift of the US map for our camper!!

Liberty has found a new friend in Arkansas.  They have gray ones down here!  Black ones and also a white one in northern Wisconsin and brown ones t home in Iowa.  Diversity!

Tomorrow the weather forecast is rain so we plan to see the Bull Shoals Visitor Center and tour the dam.  For tonight, Cubs 4, Brewers 1, top of the 8th.  Let's hold 'em boys!

25 April - Sparrowfoot Campgrounds near Clinton, MO

25 April 2016
Today is the first day of our trip.  One down, 146 to go!  One campgrounds down, 27 to go!

 Yard is mowed.  House is locked.  Water and gas shut off.  Trailer is loaded.  We are about as prepared as we are going to get!  Doreen is  ready to get this show on the road!

With our house and front yard flag pole in our rear view mirror, away we went.  We got on the road right about 9am.

We drove from our home in Norwalk IA to Clinton MO (#1, below) about 262 miles.  This is one of the longest days we have planned.  Average for the trip is 172 miles per travel day.  The weather was mostly overcast with no rain.  Traffic was not bad except with the construction around Kansas City and the temporary narrow lanes, a passing semi seemed like inches from us.  We emerged unscathed and made it to Sparrowfoot Campgrounds about 2pm and will stay here just overnight only.  Sparrowfoot is an older Missouri State Park. 30 amp electric only, so we use the onboard water and sewer facilities of the camper.   Most of our neighbors are groups of fishermen with their boats.  Doreen is convinced she is the only female in the campgrounds.  Not the best place we have stayed but for just one night it will do just fine.  Since we are just staying one night we just got out two lawn chairs and enjoyed the afternoon outside.   Tomorrow we will drive to Bull Shoals AR (#2, below) and we will stay there several days.

21 April - Home for a Few Days

The "shake down cruise" to Cherry Glen campgrounds was a success.  We are now home through the weekend to reload and regroup, and then Monday morning we depart on our first of hopefully many retirement adventures!  Our fifth wheel trailer is ready and so are we!!  We will be headed for a campground just south of Clinton MO called 'Sparrowfoot" and camp there Monday.  Tuesday morning we will continue on to Bull Shoals AR where we will stay for a few days.

15 April - Cherry Glen Campgrounds Near Ankeny IA

Our 2016 camping season is officially here.  Woo hoo!  We are on our "shake-down cruise" to make sure everything is working correctly and that we are equipped for the New England journey commencing on 25 April.

So here is Cherry Glen campgrounds, a US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) park, located on the east side of Saylorville Lake just north of Des Moines.  We will be here 15-21 April.  Our son, Dan only lives just a few miles from here in Ankeny.  We enjoy the ACE parks as they are reasonably priced and well-maintained.

Friday 15 April:  This is "opening day" for Cherry Glen and it was obvious they were gearing up for the onslaught of campers rolling in today for the weekend.  We arrived at Cherry Glen about 1030 hrs and with few exceptions, the campgrounds was nearly empty which made arrival and setup uneventful!

 It is a bit breezy but warm and sunny

 Looking west towards Saylorville Lake

 Nana and I watching the Chicago Cubs game

Beautiful view of Saylorville Lake

Nana and her navigation cell at the picnic table, planning our New England journey!
















Friday evening our Ankeny grandkids joined us for an overnighter.  We had a great time at the playgrounds, going for walks, having a campfire and of course, roasting smores!

 Sticker craziness!

 Roasting marshmallows for Smores.  Hailee is experimenting with roasting a Peep, marshmallow Easter candy.

 Calvin thinks this is pretty great!

Calvin with his birthday presents.


















Saturday evening we had a soup cook-off with some friends from the Des Moines Airport Fire Department.  Was great to see Tina Carter-Shields, Fire Chief Tim Whisler, and Marty Smith.

13 April - Preparing for our Departure

Welcome to the 2016 Schellhase travel blog!  We are new to "blogging" so please bear with us as we get this sorted out. We chose the "blog" route as many of our friends and relatives are not Facebook'ers.  Hopefully you will enjoy following our travels and adventures as Ed and Doreen Do America, 2016!

We wrapped up camping last fall and took our trailer to the dealer and further to a body shop to get our front cap refinished under warranty.  These trailers have a gel-coat finish, and there is apparently a problem with the gel-coat that it fades badly.  We contacted the Jayco service department and they acknowledged the issue and agreed to have our front cap refinished under warranty.  Here is a before and after:

Gel Coat Fading (picture taken from the roof)

Front cap refinished - awaiting decal

Decal reapplied

So the camper is just about packed and we are ready for the "shake down cruise".  Before we depart for our New England trip we are going to camp locally for a week starting 15 April.   Our next post will be from Cherry Glen campgrounds near Saylorville Lake, Ankeny Iowa.