Who the heck is Ray Behrens? I don’t know either, but here we are at his campground for four nights. I do know, “Ray Behrens” is an Army Corps of Engineers campground in Perry, Missouri located on the south east shores of Mark Twain Lake.
The campground is less than two hours from our home in St. Charles. The drive is pretty easy with just one part to keep you appreciating life. Clarence Cannon Lane is a flat, gravel road which connects Highway 19 to Highway EE. The road is wide enough for a Ford Expedition pulling a travel trailer and a large Class A RV to pass each other, but, it’s not much wider than that. I think we could have stopped and shaken hands out the drivers’ windows if we had wanted.
I kind of wanted to shake hands because the other driver took it real slow which kept my blood pressure down. Fortunately, we weren’t on that road very long, and that was the only vehicle we saw. Given there is a Love’s right at Highway 61 and Highway 19, this drive gets a “Yes, let’s go there again” even with the bumpy, gravel road.
But next time we travel down that bumpy, gravel road, Dan is going to go even slower. Because once we got to our site and all set up, inside we found our freezer door panel had broken up with the freezer. The door panel was laying face down on the floor. I think it was crying. We felt like crying. Thank heavens the freezer itself was still shut.
After checking on my “Double Caramel Magnum” ice cream bars (from Aldis), which were fine by the way, we watched a Youtube video. In the video, some nice man described the simple steps needed to have our freezer friends reconciled. We did exactly as the man said, and now all is right with the world. Or at least the freezer door in our camper. Thank heavens handy people make videos like that for people like us.
Our campsite is just lovely. The sites are spacious, and you’ll only see the neighbor’s sewer hook ups if you look real hard. But why would you want to? In the early evening, we took a short walk around the campground and discovered two trails marked “Lake Trail.” We’ll be exploring those trails. And some other stuff, too.
One other thing we did discover was that we had no ATT service. None. Zippo. Well, there might be a very weak signal at the bath house. What good is that? Thank heavens we had borrowed a hot spot from our library. It is a T Mobile hot spot which is why I am able to bring you this exciting blog post today, right here and now, in real time, as it is happening. Or at least pretty close.
I could even use that hot spot to find out who Ray Behrens was. But first, I am going to try to figure it out the old fashioned way. With my feet on the ground and talking to folks around here. My guess is that Ray was a previous COE employee who served this area for many years. I’ll let you know if I’m right in my next post about “Ray Behrens” and our time here. I hope you’ll be able to sleep tonight.
Chambers on the Road 
Very peacefully scenic! And very Betty-Method of humor. I thought about you while I was mopping the hall yesterday with my microfiber mop, which I now possess because of your recommendation–does that make you an influencer? Rosie the robot does the kitchen, dining, living rooms and hall, but she cannot step over the pet gate in the hall, so it gets the old fashioned way. I will keep the light on for Ray.
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It sounds like I am an influencer of one! The best part is you have a nice, clean floor! And Rosie makes the rest easy! Enjoy your day!
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My uncle has a 42 foot 5th wheel which he spends most of the year living in. He was telling us about how many things have broken and fallen off. But he still loves the experience of using it, so he did not want to discourage us from buying an RV. That campground looks lovely and what I imagine when I think of camping in an RV. I was just eyeing those same ice cream bars at our Aldi. I am glad yours did not melt!
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A travel trailer is like a house. It has to be maintained, and things are gonna break. We take care of any issues as soon as we can. Micro Lite is also a good quality trailer. And when we bought it, the dealer threw in an 84 month extended warranty – which we have benefited from having four times so far. However, I have heard horror stories of dealers and warranty work. Our dealer is a family owned business. When you go there, often times the owner is sitting right there out in the lobby. And the wife’s office is right by the restroom. So, we always chat with them. They have always treated us fairly, and we appreciate that!
I justified buying those ice cream bars as there is only 3 in the package. It’s my dessert when camping, and I am more active when we are camping. And the ultimate justification – it’s a “Special Buy!” However, almost anything can be justified though. Ha ha. The one I had last night was really good! And even better, Dan doesn’t like them! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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So pretty there with all those trees around. Enjoy your walk and old school socializing. I miss those days. It is better to have face to face conversations.
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I agree. I do like meeting people and talking – as well as walking. It is very nice here. Every season in life and in nature has its rewards. Enjoy your day!
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Enjoyable read and lovely photos of a beautiful place. On our provincial tour last summer, we had to take one gravel road and we swore to never do that again. Nothing was damaged but even at a slow speed, everything in the motorhome sure shook and rattled. Enjoy your time and the hiking trails!
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Thank you! Maybe someday they will pave that road. There are lots of camping sites here. Enjoy your day!
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Love those Corp of Engineers parks, they’re the best. I can attest that getting reliable internet for blogging is a constant pain in the…ah…neck. Another obstacle to blogging you may experience is finding the time when you’re having so much fun, and I hope you are. Love reading your post. —Happy days and safe travels.
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Well, I’m glad we borrowed that hot spot from the library, or we would have nothing! We are enjoying our time here. Dan sleeps a bit later than me, so I often use that time for reading and writing blogs. Thanks for your comment. I am looking forward to your Yellowstone posts, and I hope you are having trouble writing them because of the “fun” issue. Safe travels!
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At this point the blog is three to four weeks behind real time for a few reasons. Having too much fun is one. Keeping devices charged without electric hookup, moving to fast resulting in so many places to write about, and internet service or lack of are a few more. I’m looking forward to sharing everything we’ve been up to. It’s been fun.
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I look forward to it, too! But we aren’t going to Yellowstone until August 2022, so no hurry! 🙂 Safe travels, and enjoy all your adventures!
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Hi Betty. So nice to learn that you are breathing fresh air in a green park. The nature around the parks abides with tranquility and peacefulness. I wish you happy days there and enjoy your holiday. Looking forward to read more from you.
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Thank you. My grandma would always talk about how she was happy she lived by a park and had fresh air to breath. She lived until she was 98. Being in nature certainly does help me feel good. I look forward to reading your blog, too!
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Thank you Betty. I was to make a post yesterday. I got busy with other things. I will try to make the post tomorrow. You have a good evening both of you.
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Yes, things do often fall off or need fixin. I’ve often said if after a road trip you find a screw, or clip, or whatever on the floor, don’t throw it out, put it in a plastic bag and save it. Sooner or later you’ll find out where it came from. The park you are in looks so perfect. Glad you were able to get away and that there was a site available for you. Enjoy your time away.
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That is a good idea to save anything found in a plastic bag! This COE campground is really nice, and I am so enjoying it. The rest of the season here is nearly booked full. We had our reservations for a while – as well as the rest of 2021. I am working on 2022 now. With how popular RVing is now, I want to get those reservations made. Hope you’re having a good week, and safe travels!
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Betty, I always enjoy reading your camping posts. They always give me fond memories of our travels. When we were traveling in our RV we always looked for COE parks! It always surprised me how many other RV’ers had never heard of them and thought their rig was too big to fit in state or federal campgrounds. Talking to other campers and rangers is always a good way to find out things you want to know about where you are. Happy camping!
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Thank you! I can see from the photos you post, you have traveled extensively. I am sure you have many wonderful memories, and I am glad my posts remind you of some of those. Yes, I can’t believe how nice and inexpensive COE parks are. We always look for them first! Thanks for commenting, and enjoy your day!
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This post is of particular interest to me because we had reservations at this very park last fall but had to cancel due to family stuff. I had no idea a narrow gravel road was involved. Eek! Sorry about your freezer but isn’t you tube the best? I look forward to hearing the rest of the story from your trip. And I look forward to camping there one day.
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Oh yes, Youtube has saved us many times – both with our travel trailer and so many things at home. The good thing is the freezer wasn’t damaged, and we just needed to get the front panel back on. There is probably a way to avoid the gravel road, and if coming from another direction, it might be avoided, too. We went the way GPS took us. We weren’t on the road that long, but it was gravel. I’ll be posting more in the coming days. Thanks for your comment, and enjoy your day!
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