Heading west again.  Truth is, when you live in New Hampshire, it’s hard to go east.  Alas, we are making our way out west for several activities over the next few months that should be awesome.  At the time of this writing, the government has not closed, and hopefully it won’t, but we will deal with what we are dealt.

First up, we should introduce our newest traveling companion – Nana.  Nana is a 10-year-old rescue dog from South Carolina.  She is a sweet girl and is in the process of training us – I hope we perform adequately.

Our first stop at General Clinton Park in Bainbridge, NY, brought us to a “I didn’t know that was a thing” thing – a Skoolie Swarm.  A Skoolie Swarm is a get-together of like-minded folks who gather like nomads in school buses, box vans, RV’s, cars, tents – you name it, for the purpose of sharing their friendship, ideas, stories, and food several times a year in varied locations.

Not all our stops are as fancy as Skoolie Swarm (which by the way we were not part of – just shared a campground).  Our next stop was at the venerable Cracker Barrel Restaurant parking lot.  Yeah baby.

On travels like these, one needs sustenance, so we stopped (for our first time) in the Columbus, OH area at Skyline Chili.  If you haven’t been, add this to your list.  This place serves (primarily) Coney’s and Ways.  A Coney is a specially made hot dog lathered in chili and onions and topped with shredded cheddar cheese.  A Way is a bowl of spaghetti covered the same way.  Sound awful?  You would be wrong – delicious!

Next up – Lincoln Trail State Park in Marshall, IL.  We stayed here because we wanted electricity (temps had been in the 90’s).  What a great campground – even though we were only here for a night!  Sadly, we will miss their special event on Halloween, where they will have approximately 300 kids trick or treating.  So cool.  Electricity and cool vibe – yes.  Full hookup, no.

We did make a BBQ stop just outside of Kansas City in Saint Peters (Pappy’s Smokehouse), but sadly, in our humble opinion, it was below average, so I won’t post pictures.  Too bad.

Our next stop put us in Ellis, KS at the Ellis Lakeside Campground.  Sites here ($25/night) offer electricity and water, and a fire pit.  There is no campground staff – you pay on the honor system, which honestly is refreshing.

The town is halfway between Kansas City and Denver, so back in the day of steam locomotives, the Kansas Pacific Railway built a roundhouse to turn the steam locomotives around.  With the introduction of diesel-powered engines (with the ability to operate in reverse), roundhouses became outdated.  Still today, while the railroad is no longer a major employer, the influence of the railroad remains a point of pride in the town.  And make no bones – the train still runs right through town!

October begins our western travels with what is a cool agenda.  But let’s see what our crack politicians have in store for us.  On to Colorado!