Before we take our RV too far from home, we always do a checkout trip. This time, we chose Meramec Valley Campground which is about 30 miles from where we store the RV. I was armed with all the knowledge I gained in the Basic RV Maintenance class (which I will cover soon in a post) and fortunately everything went very smoothly. Meramec Valley is a huge campground and once was part of the Yogi Bear chain. Now, it is primarily a summer community where regular campers can buy in. But they allow non-owners to stay and we always enjoy the place. I was surprised how little the trees had done their spring leafing compared to the city.
We were sitting in our camp chairs enjoying a beautiful spring day when I noticed a box turtle had decided to hang out with us. Kismet had met her first turtle last spring but she was still enthralled.
We took a 15 minute drive down Highway 44, aka Route 66 to one of our favorite places, St. James Winery and Public House Brewery. The restaurant allows dogs inside and since it was such a windy day, we opted to stay in. I had spied a truck parked outside that was making deliveries of locally grown mushrooms and sure enough, the special was a mushroom Swiss burger. It was heavenly and I savored every bite. What a treat. Carol enjoyed the black and blue burger and we both fell in love with the fries which were crispy and coated in a magical, mystery spice mix. We also did a beer tasting flight and took home a six-pack of the Irish ale which is called Flynn’s Irish Red.
After Meramec Valley, we headed SW on Highway 44 for a couple nights stay at Rustic Trails Campground near Lebanon, MO. We stopped here on our way home from the trip last spring and really enjoyed a site that over looks a small lake. Last time, there were lots of very friendly ducks but sadly, we found out a bobcat had killed them and now there are just a handful. The campground is expanding and I am anxious to see what it looks like next time.
We visited the Boat Town Brewery last time and really enjoyed it so we were excited to return. It is a quick walk from the campground. What an evening, there was a food truck serving salmon tacos and live music. Dogs are welcome and we had a lot of fun but were sad to hear the brewery is moving down the road to Lebanon, MO. This was their final night in this location.
The beer is pretty good too!!