Slider Practice

The weather hasn’t been cooperating but we still managed to hitch up the new truck to the Wildcat and test out the new slider hitch. We’re scheduled to leave for Bay St. Louis, MS on the 26^th so I wanted to get some practice in with the hitch before we left. I’m much more comfortable with the function of the slider and its operation. I’m also more comfortable making sharp turns in town with the hitch left in the towing position. I learned a number of other lessons today too.

1. Snow in the bed of a pickup is just as slick as ice.

2. Having four wheel drive comes in very handy on a snow and ice covered storage lot when you‘re trying to pull 10,000 lbs.

3. When those yellow plastic Walmart wheel chocks are frozen to the ground and the tire, striking one with a hammer to knock it loose merely causes it to shatter into a number of sharp pieces of plastic.

4. The wood put under the landing gear will absorb moisture from the snow and water over the winter and will freeze to the ground and turn into something akin to a rock. After prying one of these frozen chucks free of the ground, throwing it aside in frustration will cause the wooden rock to bounce right back from the direction it came and strike you soundly in the shin. This causes a person to hop around and alternately yell in pain and utter curse words.

5. Hopping around on one foot while on ice and snow is not a good idea unless you have an awesome sense of balance. Otherwise you will probably find yourself flat on your back looking at the sky and alternately yelling in pain and uttering curse words. It will also make you question the soundness of your idea of trying to hitch up to a trailer in freezing temperatures.

If it weren’t for some strong family obligations that need to be tended to next week, I think my DW and I would have just left St. Louis today and headed to Mississippi.

Please enjoy your time on the Gulf Coast. Wish we were there, too. How long will you be there? Hollywood wants to give us a couple free nights, and they're having a birthday party for Scruffy on February 28. Maybe we can make it down there that weekend. If we go, we'll probably stay in the hotel instead of towing the trailer down.

Tater

Richard, at least you can get your Cat out, I am not sure I can even find the 5ver. We had thought about going to Fredericksburg Tx the first of March, but like I said I am not sure I can hook up to the Cat. Good luck on your trip, the rest of us up north will just have to wait.

Scruffy and Tater wrote:Please enjoy your time on the Gulf Coast. Wish we were there, too. How long will you be there? Hollywood wants to give us a couple free nights, and they're having a birthday party for Scruffy on February 28. Maybe we can make it down there that weekend. If we go, we'll probably stay in the hotel instead of towing the trailer down.

Tater

Our plan is to leave Missouri on the 26th and stop in Memphis, well just South of Memphis at E Z Daze RV park just off I-55. We have friends that live in the area and are dying to show off some brand new grandchildren to us so we will be spending all of the 27th there. We will leave early on the 28th and drive to Bay Hide Away in Bay St. Louis, MS. We plan to spend the entire month of March down there. If you and Scruffy can make it down there anytime in March we'd be happy to help Scruffy celebrate the anniversary of his 39th birthday.