race I needed to qualify on another simulator. My time was well below the best time I saw; 31 seconds for the best time verses my 44 seconds for my best lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the simulated race I was in the #2 Ford Fusion starting 4th


. At


the start I was passed right away then had to dodge a couple of wrecks in front of me. T e spotter I had advised me to go high or go low to avoid the crashed cars in front of me. I managed to become more comfortable in the car, passed a few cars and fi nished 2nd


. My laps times were better in the race by 12 seconds


a lap. I was extremely happy with the result. Friday night we went to World of Outlaws and Late Model


races at the dirt track. T ere were several heats to set qualifying positions for both series. Steve Kinser was leading his heat before he had a fl at tire which dropped him back in the fi eld. T ere were 27 cars in the 25 lap fi nal heat for the Outlaws, which was won by Joey Saldano in the #71 car. Steve Kinser was charging hard fi nishing 7th


#49 driven by Johnathan Davenport. On Saturday the 24th


. T e Late Model race was won by the Liz and I went to the speedway to watch


Nationwide qualifying. T e whole process took less than an hour to set the fi eld, Kyle Busch is on the pole. We returned to the Cedar Creek aſt er qualifying, returning to the speedway for the race at 2:00 P.M. T e race started at 2:45 but there was lots of action on Pit


Road. T e cars had been pushed out onto the track and were surrounded by a throng of people. Kyle Busch led the fi rst 27 laps and started lapping slower cars on the 10th


place. lap before a


caution fl ag brought the fi eld into the pits. T ere was a long green fl ag run with green fl ag pit stops before Chase Elliot hit the wall. T e race had a very fast pace because there were very few caution fl ags. Kyle Lawson fi nished in 1st On the Sunday the 25th


we went to the busy Speedway at 4:30


in the aſt ernoon. Pit Lane was full of so many spectators we couldn’t see the cars. Aſt er opening ceremonies, Jimmy Johnson started from the pole and led the race for a long green fl ag run. He started lapping cars aſt er 50 laps. Jimmy Johnson was dominant most of the race with Kevin Harvick giving him a run for his money in the fi rst part of the race with Matt Kennesth being the only car that could touch him in the last part of the race. In the early part of the race Danica Patrick mounted a challenge to Jimmy Johnson but fell back in the fi eld nursing a sick engine. Now began the long trip home. We stayed an extra day to


avoid the Memorial Day Weekend traffi c, which was predicted to be busier than normal. We leſt Tuesday the 27th


stopping at


Lenoir City in Tennessee, driving through torrential rain in the Pisgah National Forest as we leſt North Carolina. T e second day we were in Parker-Crossroads, then into


Graceland Campground in Memphis the third night, on Elvis Presley Boulevard across the road from Graceland. We bought tickets on the VIP Tour for the 30th


. It was great a look at how


Elvis lived and we found out there really is a Jungle Room. When you see the walls covered with his Gold and Platinum records you cannot help but be impressed by his achievements. He was only 42 when he passed away. Aſt er our tour of Graceland we went for supper at Marlowe’s,


being picked up in a pink limo. Marlowe’s was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Our supper of southern fried steak was great.


16 RVT 169 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016


From Memphis we drove through Arkansas into the Ozarks


of Missouri, a very pretty drive. At our overnight stop at the Down Under RV in Turney we are treated to a massive thunder and lightning storm. We stopped in Elk Horn, Iowa to visit Jackie and Roger


Anderson, friends we met on the Southern Exposure Caravan. We spent two nights with them and they showed us around their lovely town. Elk Horn is also the home of the American Danish Museum. Our second night in Elk Horn also had an even bigger thunder and lightning storm, which was part of a tornado that tracked 15 miles south of us. In the ‘70’s the town purchased a Windmill from Denmark, took it apart, shipped it over and then re-assembled it on the present location. From Elk Horn our


trip became driving and parking. We stop at the Arch Way Museum, a museum that spans I-80 in Nebraska. We stopped on the shoulder to take a photo of the Continental Divide in Wyoming, thankfully I-80 in Wyoming is not nearly as busy as any of the highways in the east. T e drive through Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon


Windmill from Denmark.


were un-eventful, which is the best way to be when on an RV holiday. At their lovely home in La Center, WA, just north of Portland we spent a great night visiting Marge and Dave T omas who we met on the Southern Exposure Caravan. Liz and I were at the


Coho Ferry Terminal early enough to assure we would have no problem boarding. Clearing Customs was


no problem and we had a nice drive up-Island to Ladysmith. At 4:30 P.M. we were parked in our driveway, an incredible journey was over. We had travelled over 20,000


kms. We were able to stroke Galveston, Key West, New Orleans, Williamsburg, Fort Boonesbourgh, Washington D.C., Nashville, Graceland and several other items off our Bucket List but it wa s good to be home. f


Trails End RV Park, Glens Ferry, Idaho


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