Spartan Academy

We finished our week at Spartan Academy in Charlotte, MI. Charlotte is pronounced CharLot by the way. Spartan Motors has really put a lot of thought and effort in the training they provide RV owners. From the onsite RV parking (electric sites with water and dump stations nearby on the Spartan grounds) to the classroom facility, they show that they care.

All of the instructors were excellent and had an incredible knowledge base. A chassis in the classroom along with hands on working demonstration boards for air brake systems, drum and disc brake, comfort steering, and a Hadley air suspension was rather impressive. Other training aids included ride height sensors - pneumatic and electronic, Ujoint clip, and a table full of parts. 

In addition to learning about maintenance, the last session was about some things you could do to get off the side of the road in an emergency. This included demonstrations of changing belts and air dryer bypass. 

Spartan provided breakfast and lunch daily, and the swag bags were excellent. We didn’t win the 3 night stay at the RV resort, but there were two folks who did. The class is limited to eight coaches too. It’s helpful that the class size is not too big. Big Mike had plenty of stories to keep the training interesting too.

Part of the week of training included an inspection of your coach with a technician. Harold loved it. Of course, we had some work done while we were there. Who better to work on your chassis than the folks who built it? I feel better about going down the road, knowing that everything regarding driving has been inspected. Harold says that the coach drives so much better now.

Speaking of driving, yes, I did get behind the wheel. The training included two hours with a driving instructor from Preferred Driving and Testing, Inc. The first hour was spent in the lot learning about finding references to use when driving, backing up, and parking. The second hour was spent on the roads around Charlotte. Street driving, country roads, and interstate driving with enough turns and stops to make it interesting. I need more practice for sure, but at least I’m not totally afraid anymore.

No, Harold, you cannot blow the siren.

Mid America Windmill Museum

We had intended to overnight at the  Mid America Windmill Museum in Kendallville, IN, on our way out. The museum is a Harvest Hosts stop. However, we opted to head straight to Goshen, as it was only about an hour more of driving.

On the day we went to visit with my friend Doris and her family, we headed out to the museum. The museum grounds are just fun to see. The various windmills, some working, some not, bring to mind cattle ranches and farms. Inside the barn museum they have a couple of windmills that were locally made and one that was quite an engineering marvel.

Kendallville is home to Flint and Walling company. The company started as a windmill manufacturer and still exists today as a water pump company.

Indiana Amish Country

We’ve been staying with my cousin in Goshen, Indiana. We are definitely in Amish country. There are so many unique sights. Bicycles and safety vests abound. We saw an Amish farmer raking hay with his team. He had stopped in the field and was talking with his neighbor, who was sitting on his tractor. We saw a horse and wagon towing a fishing boat. We passed a buggy sales lot one day.

Variety stores and bulk food stores are numerous. I had to smile at the row of hats in the Amish-owned variety store. It was the first time I had ever seen Amish made clothes for sale too.

Since the Amish don’t like their photos taken, I don’t have many photos.  You’ll just have to see for yourself some day.

RV/MH Hall of Fame

With the coach getting a facelift, we’ve had plenty of time in Indiana. One of the places we visited was the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. They have quite the collection of early RVs. I was surprised by the early housecars. In some ways, things really haven’t changed a whole lot. In others, there were some really innovative designs. We enjoyed a couple of hours wandering through the units.
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The museum is a Harvest Host location.

A bird's eye view

1931 Model AA Ford Housecar

1935 Bowlus Road Chief

1969 Pace Arrow

Silver Lake State Park

We were able to camp with my cousin, his family, and friends over Memorial Day weekend. They are avid off-road vehicle (ORV) fans. My cousin had towed a cargo trailer. Vehicles just kept coming out as he unloaded - Jeep wrangler, dirt bike, 4-wheeler, golf cart, and bicycles.

Silver Lake State Park includes the only sand dunes east of the Mississippi River on which you can ride ORVs. Two days of blasting up and down the dunes along with hundreds, if not thousands, of other ORVs was quite the experience. Ok, after one trip, Harold and I decided that riding the dunes was pretty much a younger person's game.We enjoyed watching the spectacle before us. I kind of wondered if heating pads and ibuprofen sales in the area were disproportionately higher.

At the really, really nice RV resort that my cousin dubs as his favorite, Silver Creek RV Resort, the temperatures would be only a degree or two higher. However, the dunes felt much cooler. The winds coming in from Lake Michigan and the higher ground were very effective in cooling things off.  I wore a sweatshirt and was glad I did.

We did find a place where no ORVs were allowed and flew kites for a little bit. The winds were pretty gusty though. Below is a photo of family members enjoying a few minutes together. Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of the volume of ORVs that would be much more representative of the park.