Today has not been a travel day although it was supposed to have been. For the past few days we’ve been in Kansas at a state park teaching another of our RV Basic Training classes through the Girl Camper organization. That means it was a Camper College training session.

That also means that I was the only boy in the house - all the attendees were women and, of course, Peggy is one too (and an enthusiast of the Girl Camper organization and what they’re all about).

We had a really enjoyable time at one of Kansas’ state parks over the past three days with, possibly, the widest mix of different RVs we’ve had at one of these classes. There were vintage rigs, modern rigs, older rigs, motorhomes and a van. It was pretty far reaching.

We also got a sampler platter of weather from blustery and very, very windy, to very pleasant to borderline summer weather.

One of the highlights of our latest Girl Camper Camper College was teaching towing at Dutch Miller GMC

One of the highlights of this class was a visit to Dutch Miller GMC where we got to speak with the team there about towing. They brought out three different pickups and showed how different the capabilities of each of these trucks were. They even fed us lunch! What a great dealership experience and how kind of them to set this all up for us.

Originally we planned to start heading out to the next Mini Lite rally after the class had concluded but, frankly, we just wanted to sit here for a few days and regroup, record the next podcast episode and get some writing done. Like the piece you’re reading right now! How about that?

Peggy also got to visit the laundromat of this RV park where she found that there were a good number of clean machines that only charged $1.50 per use - that was true for both the dryer and the washer. Wow.

The first time I've seen a Tesla Truck in person

I saw one

On the way to this state park, we traveled from Oklahoma and along the way we naturally needed to stop for gas, and coffee, and to go potty. We really like to stop at Love’s for fuel. The spots are large, there’s a discount program and, when we buy enough fuel, we get free coffee. Nice.

This Love’s in Oklahoma was the first place we saw one of the company’s RV parks, a year or so ago as we passed through the area. Love’s is planning to open a bunch of RV parks at their truck stops so that you can stop for an overnight and get full hook-ups. I really hope to be able to interview the Love’s folks at some point about all this.

While we were there I saw a car transporter pull in and it was the first time I’ve seen one of the new Tesla Trucks in person. In fact, I saw two!

While I’m not a fan of these things I am a fan of creating a product in an industry that is so dramatically different that it’s the talk of the town. These definitely are the talk of the town.

A plane great restaurant and they’re not winging it

One evening with the Girl Campers, we went to a restaurant right on the Stearman Air Field in Benton, Kansas. This airplane-themed restaurant is called the Stearman Bar & Grill and was pretty good. They also had locally-brewed beers which I really liked. We may head back over there before we get back on the road.

Enjoying a beautiful evening while a vintage biplane buzzes the diners

What is a Stearman?

In the early part of the previous century the Stearman Aircraft Company was headquartered in nearby Wichita, Kansas. At its largest, the company had 250 employees and built aircraft for a variety of customers including the US government.

Overall the company is credited with building over 14,000 airplanes but what I was familiar with was their biplanes. I had thought these were Navy training planes but, looking at the Wikipedia page for this, I learned a lot more.

While we were enjoying our meal a number of planes took off and landed - from a traditional private single-engine prop plane to a biplane to what had to have been an acrobatic plane.

That acrobatic plane got pushed out of its hangar by a single dude who then climbed in, closed the canopy and did some pretty amazing things with that plane as restaurant patrons gawked from the outside patio.

The biplane, too, took off while we were there and did some fun stunts, but I didn’t see it doing full rotations or anything like that. It was really impressive to watch both the acrobatic plane and the biplane and, fortunately, both of them were taking off and landing repeatedly so there was a nice, up-close view.

Since we went on a Friday I usually wear a red shirt - RED - remember everyone deployed. In this case I was doubly-patriotic with my Operation Tango Mike shirt and that shirt elicited questions from a few people. I got to share a little more about one of my favorite organizations and how it’s founder has been serving our military while they serve us for two decades.

You’re the best, Ginny Cravens!

I was told that there was a brewery nearby so I’m sure that has to be fully investigated so I can report back to you here.

Overall a delightful few days here in Kansas and we hope to come back here.

I’m ratting myself out

OK, don’t read this if you are eating lunch.

On the morning we left from Oklahoma to Kansas, I got in a hurry, or distracted, or something. I used the toilet, washed with the bidet, then hopped into the shower for my morning routine. Peggy had showered before me, so we started packing up for our day of driving.

Somehow, Peggy did not make the bathroom her final stop before locking up the camper for the road. Maybe she went while she was in the house saying goodbye to our friends. We aren’t sure why today, of all days, she didn’t need to pee at the last second.

We stopped to grab some groceries, and when Peggy went into the camper to put them away, she noticed mud stains on the floor. She thought it was the red dirt from the yard we had been parked in, the spilled out of the stable steps when she folded them into the camper.

However, when she went into the bathroom to put away tissues, she found out that the mud wasn’t really mud. Remember how I didn’t add “flushed the toilet” to the list of activities above? Well, that’s because it didn’t happen. For some reason, I didn’t flush. And for some further reason, Peggy didn’t notice.

So now, our entire bathroom and camper floor has been washed thoroughly. And we added an item to our “takeoff” checklist that we never thought we would need: make sure the toilet is empty.

Trouble is following me

One last thing. While we were teaching the class a Park Ranger rolled up to the first camper in our row and started writing a ticket. What?

It turns out that everybody had paid their camping fee but somehow weren’t told that there was also a daily use fee. Whoever was at the front gate when they came in didn’t mention it or whatever.

Peggy and I did get this told to us and, when we decided to stay a few more days after class, we just bought the annual Kansas State Parks pass. It was the same money and now we have this pass.

The Ranger was very friendly and professional and worked with the hosts to make it all legit but I thought it was hilarious that a ranger busted a class of RVers.

I had also mentioned that we chose to stay a few more days after class so Peggy went on line and booked us into the same site for a few more days. The morning class ended and we all were supposed to be leaving another Ranger was knocking on our door to tell us that it was time to leave because someone else was coming into our site.

That someone else was us and, again, this Ranger was polite and professional. But I don’t think I’ve ever had two visits from two different Rangers at any campground. Kansas is on top of things.