Day 4 - Escapade
It has been raining for the last three days and now it is cold, only in the mid 40s this morning. We had to get out our heavy coats and long sleeved shirts! The storms were not severe, but a lot of rain has come down making for a soggy racetrack infield. Since it was raining, we set out to drive over to the seminar. This is what happened.
Now, this doesn't look very bad, but we could not move without spinning our tires even after Earl locked the differential. We do not have a 4X4. Luckily, the fairground staff were trying to fix things by dumping gravel along the most heavily traveled area of the infield and the guy running the Bobcat pushed us out of these ruts and onto more solid ground. We didn't dare take a chance of trying to get back to the trailer, so the truck is parked in a different area of the infield.
Here is an example of the ruts made by other trucks and the Bobcat that rescued us.
Actually, we left the truck stuck in the mud and walked to the seminar. We were rescued later in the day. The two photos above were taken in the afternoon.
After the seminar, we went over to the market to browse around and ended up buying one of the tire monitors. This is what the market looks like.
Tonight, the entertainment was provided by Escapade participants. It is called Hamorama. There are some very talented Escapees members. There were singers, musicians, a comedian, and someone who read poetry.
The sun came out late in the day. We thought, "Yea! maybe it will dry out so we can get out of here tomorrow, a day before the end of Escapade, and head to Dayton for the Hamvention (amateur radio convention) that takes place this weekend." However, it was announced tonight at the general assembly when door prizes were given out, that the fairgrounds is encouraging everyone in the infield camping area to stay put and not try to move our RVs until things dry out because tow trucks won't come into the area, if you get stuck, because they will get stuck too. They are even offering free camping for Saturday night for those of us parked here. Tonight's weather forecast is calling for more rain during the night and tomorrow morning. Also, it is COLD for this time of year. High today was about 50 and it is expected to get down to 34 tonight. Frost warnings are up. I guess we will not be going to Hamvention after all and will be in Goshen a couple more days.
Well, I guess the rain put a monkey wrench in your plans to go to Dayton. I guess you will have to try another year. It will be on YouTube.com. People have put their experiences on there in years past before, so they will be doing it again this year, I'm sure. I'm glad you got out of the mud with a little push from the bobcat. I'm sure you were real frustrated when you discovered you were stuck in the mud. I know I get frustrated when I get stuck in the mud with my lawn tractor. So, I check the ground a little closer now and if it seems too muddy, well, I just don't mow there. It will wait for a few days. And, hey, free camping is always a good thing, right?
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