Saturday Night Racing at Thunder Hill Speedway

Our first Saturday night here at Prairie Band CasinoResort RV Park while watching NASCAR on TV, we continued to hear the roar of cars outside so we researched and found out that on Saturday nights they have racing right next to us.  Didn’t take long for us to make plans to attend the following week.

We rode our bikes to Thunder Hill Speedway since we were less than a mile from the track.  We watched the racing divisions of Casey’s General Store IMCA Sport Compacts, Bad Boyz Bail Bonds IMCA Hobby Stocks, Belleville Motor Sports IMCA N. SportMods, Heinen Repair Service IMCA Stock Cars & BSB Manufacturing IMCA Modifieds.

We have not been following any of these divisions so we picked our favorites as the race began, Jerry and  I were almost spot on most of the time with our picks ending in first or second and then there were a few where we ended in last or out.  Not too bad considering we had a great time.

The dirt was flying, not as bad as it had at the race we went when we first married so many years ago at the Manzanita Raceway in Phoenix (which is now closed) to watch the Outlaws but none the less the dirt began to dry by intermission and the clouds of dust reminded us of the big haboobs out west.

VJ and Mikey came to watch the races and it was fun as usual hanging out with them.  They left shortly before the big event but we stayed awhile longer until the dust filled the area so much that we decided to leave before the big crowd exiting.

Now remember we were on our bikes and what we could not imagine was how dark that one mile would be coming back…nobody came down the road we took and even though we have headlights they are really not that bright when it’s pitch black out.  No street lights, no houses, just woods and cornfields...fears of deer and/or other animals coming on the road would really put an end to our ride.  It was a dirt road so we could not go too fast in case there were potholes, we were already experiencing the washboard effect and any fall would end in a very bad result too.  We silently continued but once we got to the lit parking lot of the casino we both began to laugh hysterically and admitted just how scary it was and agreed we would not do this again...ever!

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Lakeside Casino RV Park

777 Casino Drive

Osceola, Iowa

877-477-5253

8/21-8/22/2014

We drove over 250 miles and the first part was on a pretty bad, slow road but then in Iowa 34 became a really nice highway with some beautiful rolling hills scenery and loads of wineries.

When you pull in to find a site at the RV Park, it becomes a game for everyone due to a few factors.  First the roads are all one way only and the sites are made for coming in at one direction so if you miss your choice the first time then you have to go out to come back in.  Then finding a site that is not cracked and broken is tough, there are only a few but we got lucky.  The roads too have so many landmines, cracks and just plain terrible.

We paid $30 since there are no discounts for a flat, long, pull through site on a concrete slab with water, electric, and sewer with cable and WiFi included.  A shuttle will pick you up by calling them, they did not make the hourly rounds as stated on the website and you will need to go to the Valet window to register.

There are no other amenities available.

We did enjoy another free buffet on Friday night since we were new members and this lovely host gave us the vouchers as we arrived in the casino.  It was Crab and Prime Rib that we really enjoyed.

As for recommendation, that is a tough call.  $30 for no amenities and for such bad sites and roads in the park but for an overnight stop if ever in the area again we would stay here but we would not go out of our way again to stay here like we did this time. 

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino

21 Blackjack Blvd

East Peoria, IL  61611

309-699-7711

8/20/14

Every once in awhile we feel the need to spread out and get a room to enjoy and that is just what we did…

Maggie got to hang out and not be used…

As for us, we took long showers, relaxed and hung around having a few of our favorite types of Bloody Maria’s with all the fixings, so it’s more like an afternoon snack.

The check in procedure was friendly and quick, just like we love it and we would recommend this place and if we are ever in the area again we would stay here.  Unfortunately they do not allow boondocking for RV’s, only semi-trucks so if we decide to stay we would need to get a room again with this view.

The casino is within walking distance but they also offer free shuttle service.  The casino is on a river boat with 3 floors for gambling, the restaurants are off the river and while trying to get our playing cards for a buy one get one offer the attendant gave us both a free buffet because the computers went down and we could not get our cards.  The buffet was good since it was free but if we had to pay for it we would have been disappointed.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Crawfordsville KOA

1600 Lafayette Road

Crawfordsville, IN  47933

765-362-4190

8/19/14

We only had about 60 miles to drive today since we needed to do laundry, luckily we stopped at a Laundromat since we had several loads to do and this place only had a few working ones in their laundry room.

We still ask ourselves why we continue staying at KOA’s when for the most part they are over charged for not so much.  When we arrived at 2pm in the afternoon the office was closed because she had some sort of appointment and would return later.  We did not have a reservation but we called the number to see if they had any availability, which they did.

We paid $40.45 with our KOA discount for a fairly flat end site with water, electric and sewer and included free WiFi.  Because it was an end site we had much more room than the other sites.  Our firepit was full and the area did need some TLC.

It was dark and quiet except for the drunken seasonals that we thought for sure would be up late but thank goodness a storm came through about 9pm and sent them all indoors.

Not the worst place we stayed but was not even close to one of the nicest either so we would not recommend to others and we would not stay here again if we are ever just passing through.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Working Scootaround at the Indiana State Fair

We arrived and got settled into our very unlevel site but we were so busy we hardly noticed until the day we loaded then we moved to a much better site for the last night.

We love working for Scootaround, not only is the work easy but we also have a great boss and the other workers are pretty cool too.

At this show we were the floaters which gave us lots of hours, something we are always happy with, we always feel if we have to be there we might as well be working as many hours as possible since it is only for a short time.  This Indiana State Fair is one of the longest ones, 17 days straight, working 10 to 15 hour days sure makes a good paycheck at the end.

There are 3 booths at this fair and we filled in for lunch hours, days off and then had our regular close shift at Booth A.  It was something different all the time for us, a few days we worked all day at one location, or worked a full day shift at one booth and then closed at another booth.  

It was nice and time flew quickly and before we knew it we were done.

We have always loved working with Scootaround and continue hoping that they would get more events in areas we love traveling.  In the meantime we will continue to work where and when we can and continue to enjoy ourselves at work.  Something that is always a goal of ours, to enjoy what we do and have fun at it at all times.

We really don't care for much of the fair food but we did taste a few of our favorites...

Strawberry Ice Cream Delight...

Chocolate Covered Cheesecake on a Stick...

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.