August 14th – Day 10

Nothing but a drive day.

We will be remember all the stuff over the last 9 days! The good, bad, ugly, and scary!

We have about a 10 hour ride, so the estimated time of arrival at 8519 Gilead Road is around 6pm.
But check the FranksHouse Facebook page for a more exact time.

We will have traveled 4,842 miles…



Huntersville, NC
Joplin, MO
Paolo, KS
Westminster, CO
Rawlins, WY
Canon City, CO
Manitou Springs, CO
Mosca, CO
Wellington, KS
Memphis, TN
Huntersville, NC

August 13th – Day 9

We are continuing our drive back east.  We’ll wake up sore I’m sure, so we’ll be a little slow going :)

We’ll end up in Memphis, TN with my friend Rick Elder.  Rick was on the very first Road Rules Trip in 1998.

I had the privilege of telling Rick about Jesus, and led him to Christ.  He’s a great guy, and has a powerful story. He is now the chaplain for the Memphis Grizzlies along with a lot of other crazy stuff that he’s going to share with our group.

We’ll have a great dinner tonight.  No peanut butter and jelly sandwiches tonight!

Lodging will be wherever Rick tells us to sleep.

August 12th – Day 8

Here it is…. the most crazy day of the trip!

Today may be the most ridiculous day in the history of Road Rules!

We will be driving to Mosca, Colorado to learn how to Wrestle Alligators at The Gator Farm.

This is the only place in the world where you can get hands-on experience with a 9-foot alligator.
We’ll learn how to handle small 2-3 foot alligators first, then gradually work up to a larger size gator (5-6 feet), then all the way up to the 9-footers!

Our class, that will go from 10:00am – 5:30pm,  and will test us in more ways than we can imagine!
I hope we pay close attention to our instructors!



If we all survive wrestling with alligators today, we’ll then travel to our lodging for the night.

It’s about a 9 hour drive.  Plenty of time for us to talk about alligators!  We’ll be staying at the Wellington KOA in Kansas.

August 11th – Day 7

We will be waking up early to do The Manitou Incline Hike in Colorado Springs.  It sounds harmless enough….



It’s only 1 mile up, but gains 2000 feet of vertical by way of 2800 railroad ties. And it’s a 4 mile stroll (or run) back down the Barr Trail’s switchbacks to our van.

This is basically stair-master on a mountain!

The views from the incline are breathtaking, and totally worth the effort.

They say it takes about 50 minutes for Olympiads, and  2-3 hours for mere mortals.

We might be in big trouble!   I’ll be packing a first aid kit, extra water, and snacks… and this is just for me!

 

After our nice little climb, we’ll get back in the vans, and drive straight to our lodging to rest and recover!

Loding tonight will be at Colorado Springs KOA. I’m sure we will sleep very well!

August 10th – Day 6

Today will we drive to Canon City, CO and visit Royal Gorge Bridge and Park for a few hours.

Welcome to The Royal Gorge Bridge – Trip Advisor’s Top Five Scariest Bridges In The World!  Completed in 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge is still America’s highest suspension bridge and the world’s second highest suspension bridge.   It may be breathtaking for some, but those scared of heights may be left gasping for air as they stare straight down over 1000 feet at the Arkansas River below through the wooden planks that both people and vehicles cross.





After enjoying some of the parks amenities like the railroad incline, cliff walk, arial tram, etc.  we will the be crossing this bridge on foot.  When we arrive on the other side of the gorge, the Royal Rush Skycoaster will be waiting for us.  The Royal Rush Skycoaster is the most awesome adrenaline rush in the state of Colorado. Imagine a free-fall tower sweeping you 70mph to hang momentarily over 1,300 feet above the Arkansas River, which looks like a tiny blue line far, far below. The Royal Rush Skycoaster is one of only 87 in the world, and was recently named the tallest and scariest Skycoaster of them all.



After changing our underwear, we’ll drive to our lodging for the evening :)
We’ll be staying at Royal Gorge/Canon City KOA.

August 9th – Day 5

Today we will take a drive to Rawlins, Wyoming.  But we won’t be taking the shortest route, but the most scenic.

Westminster, to Boulder, to Estes Park, up Trail Ridge Road to the top of the mountain (14,000 feet) to stop for lunch.
Then back down through Granby then up to Rawlins.

We don’t have to be in Rawlins until 8:00pm for a special tour of The Frontier Prison.  The Old Pen, as the Wyoming Frontier Prison is affectionately called today, is ‘haunted by history’ around every corner, and we are going to experience this history in our own privately guided tour from 9:00pm – 11:00pm.

While outlaws roamed the windswept high plains, canyons and mountains of post-Civil War Wyoming, the territorial legislature was planning a state-of-the-art penitentiary at Rawlins in anticipation of statehood. This new Wyoming State Penitentiary, which would serve from 1901 until 1981, would send a strong message to these free-wheeling desperados… Wyoming would no longer be a haven for the lawless.

Some of the West’s most notorious outlaws, including Butch Cassidy (this was the only prison to incarcerate him in North America), spent part of their lives in this place that was ‘dedicated to evil doers of all classes and kinds.’  The Frontier Prison executed outlaws by hanging and by Gas Chamber.  This is the only prison in the United States where we can be sealed in a real life gas chamber!

The Old Pen has been ranked as the 3rd scariest abandoned prison in the United States.  We’ll see.

 

Our lodging for the night will be at Laramie KOA.

August 8th – Day 4

We’ll be driving to Westminster, Colorado.  We have some friends there named TJ and Marla Schulte.
They have agreed to feed us dinner, and let us crash at their home for the night.
Should be a great night of catching up, resting, eating real food, etc.

August 7th – Day 3

We’ll be waking up about 7am for a short drive to Branson Zipline and Canopy Tours
2339 US Hwy 65
Walnut Shade, Missouri

We are going to spend about 4 hours doing 8 zip lines, 10 sky bridges, and ending with a ridiculous 100 foot free fall called the Blue Streak!

The first portion of the Canopy Adventure Combo has us trekking over running creeks, past majestic bluffs and through the lush canopy of the Ozarks by way of zip lines, suspension bridges and walkways. Additionally, you will be treated to a ride along Wolfe Creek Preserve’s fastest zip line, the Blue Streak Fast Line. This mammoth zip begins on a tower at the top of Wolfe Mountain. As you speed toward the 100 foot tower situated at the base of Wolfe Mountain you will reach exhilarating speeds in excess of 60mph while at times being nearly 160 feet from the ground!

The second portion of this adventure is called the BLUE STREAK!  After a Pinzgauer (Swiss Army Vehicle) ride to the top of Wolfe Mountain, you will zipline above the tree canopy, landing on top of the tallest tower on the property. Then we will experience an exhilerating 100′ vertical free fall!  This is an experience we won’t soon forget!







We will then drive to Kansas City for a relaxing evening as we do some CABLE WAKEBOARDING at KCWatersports.  Cable Wakeboarding is wake boarding without a boat!   You hang on to a cable that goes 20mph overhead!  It’s going to be intense.  There are only 10 cable wake boarding systems in the United States.  Pro riders come from miles around to test their skills on this 7.5 acre lake!  So will we!

KCWatersports This & That from Chris Miller on Vimeo.

Lodging will be at the Kansas City KOA.

August 6th – Day 2

On  May 23, 2011, Joplin, Missouri was struck by a massive EF 5 Tornado.

The tornado tore a path roughly a mile wide and six miles long, destroying a hospital, flattening a school, leveling a Walmart, and slamming cars into buildings.

The death toll is currently at 165 and still climbing, making this the most deadly tornado in over 60 years.  City experts say Joplin will need 900 volunteers everyday for the next 5 years to rebuild their town.

We will be volunteering from 8am-5pm doing a variety of things.  We’ll be cleaning up debris, sorting donations, working at the Joplin Worship Center loading and unloading trucks, etc.

If you’d like to see more pictures of this devastated town, click here.

Lodging with be at the Springfield KOA again.
5775 West Farm Road 140
Springfield, Missouri 65802



We will have 3 cabins again.

August 5th – Day 1

In the event of emergencies only – Cell – 708-310-2796 or 630-512-1063

You can track us …..
www.facebook.com/frankshouse for possible updates from the road
www.twitter.com/frnkshs for possible tweets from the road.

Road Rules Trip #3 starts with a “healthy” drive.

We are headed straight to Springfield, Missouri.

928 miles – 15 hours and 29 minutes.

Lodging with be at the Springfield KOA.
5775 West Farm Road 140
Springfield, Missouri 65802



We will have 3 cabins.  Each cabin sleeps 4.  We’ll figure it out :)

I wonder what we’ll do tomorrow!

July 10, 2011

This will be a travel day. The road rules travelers are 9 1/2 hours from Huntersville.

Their current plan is to leave Indianapolis around 7:30am. That will put them back around 5pm.

Greg will post the exact time that they will be arriving back at 8519 Gilead Road on the Frankshouse Facebook page.

A – Huntersville, NC
B – Lemont, IL
C – Chicago, IL
D – Lemont, IL
E – Superior, WI
F – Duluth, MN
G – Bayfield, WI
H – Albert Lea, MN
I – Kasota, MN
J – Plymouth, MN
K – Madison, WI
L & M – Sturgeon Bay, WI
N – Milwaukee, WI
O – Anderson, IN
P – Greenfield, IN
Q – Huntersville, NC

Total miles: 3,340

July 9, 2011

It will be an early wake-up call for the road rules travelers this morning! They will be driving 6 hours to Anderson, Indiana to White River Paintball, Indiana’s largest indoor and outdoor paintball field with over 125 acres of paintball.



From 1pm until dusk – or whenever they run out of paintballs – they will break up into teams and battle each other. They will have their own umpire to make sure everyone is playing fair!



After an afternoon and evening of paintball fun, they will be ready for a relaxing stay at the KOA Indianapolis.

July 8, 2011

Hey! It’s Caroline, Greg’s wife. Greg purposely did not plan the last 3 days. He wanted to be an actual participant! So, he left the last few days of planning to myself and Karrie Dobie. Between the two of us, we have 10+ trips combined as Road Rules travelers, going back to 1999. He will not know where he’s going just like the rest of the road rules travelers. We will email him or text him the itinerary {hopefully he will have network coverage!} to tell him where to go next! Fun!

They will wake up in Madison, WI and will drive 3-4 hours to Whitefish Dunes State Park located in Door County, WI.



This will be a Sabbath day for the road rules travelers ~ a day to rest. A day to explore the beauty of Whitefish Dunes.

After they have spent some time relaxing or exploring, they will hop back in the van for a quick drive west to Sturgeon Bay, WI. From 7-9 pm, they will board Harbor Lady Cruise for a Friday Night Fish Fry and Sunset Cruise along Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay.



After the sunset cruise, the road rules travelers will drive south 2 1/2 hours and stay in a Super 8 in Saukville, WI, just north of Milwaukee, WI.

July 7, 2011

Another crazy day is ahead of us!

We first start in Plymouth, Minnesota at SKYZONE INDOOR TRAMPOLINE PARK.  We’ll jump a while to get use to all the trampolines, then play 3D Dodgeball! We’ll be bouncing off the walls (literally) for a couple hours in the early afternoon.  Should be fun and exhausting! Make sure you watch the video below… pretty cool!

After we pummel each other with dodge balls for a couple hours, we will then drive 5-6 hours to Madison, Wisconsin to meet my friend Shana Martin. She will teach us her favorite sport – LOG ROLLING.

Here’s a little bit about Shana.



Shana has been involved in log rolling for the past 23 years.  She holds many amateur, semi-professional, and professional log rolling titles, and is the current three-time log rolling and two-time boom running world champion. She is a Great Outdoor Games and ESPN STIHL Timbersports Series Gold Medalist.  She is a graduate of UW with a major in Kinesiology, and is currently the Fitness Director at Supreme Health and Fitness in Madison, WI.
For more info visit: http://www.shanamartin.com

Lodging will be at Super 8 Madison, WI

July 6, 2011

After a short drive (1.5 hours) we will end up in Kasota, MN around 2pm for what might prove to be our most ridiculous Road Rules day ever!

WE WILL BE DRIVING MILITARY TANKS AND SHOOTING AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUNS!

Drive a Tank.com is the only place in the WORLD that you can drive real military tanks, crush cars, and fire authentic automatic machine guns!



My friend Tony operates this one of a kind business, and has invited us for a four hour adventure that most people will never experience!

We will then drive north towards Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Lodging will be at Super 8 Minneapolis/Golden Valley, MN.

July 5, 2011

We will be doing an all day Kayak Tour of the Apostle Islands through Living Adventure.com

We need to arrive at 8:15 to depart by 8:30am.  We paddle for about 3 hours and then are given a lunch that consists of homemade turkey pesto sandwich, crackers, homemade hummus, trail mix, lemonade, and homemade cookie)  I think we’ll be excited to eat some great food!  We will then paddle another 3 or 4 hours and return around 4:30pm

If the weather is nice, we will be kayaking through sea caves!  I have no idea what sea caves are, but it sure sounds fun!

Average water temperature of Lake Superior is 47 degrees.  Average daytime high is 65 and low is around 45 degrees.  It will be refreshingly cool!

We’ll then drive about 6 hours to our lodging location.
Lodging tonight will be at the Albert Lea/Austin KOA.

A mattress will feel good after sleeping in the van last night and a long day in a kayak!

July 4, 2011

We will spend the day in Duluth, Minnesota.  The Fourth Fest is the largest fireworks display in all of Minnesota!  Click here to see the schedule and all the stuff we’ll be a part of for the day!



After celebrating the fourth of July with our friends from the great white north, we’ll start driving east on route 2 toward Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Lodging that night will be in the van.  Ever slept in a van with 15 people when it’s 45 degrees outside?  Me neither, but I bet it’s quite challenging!

July 3, 2011

Will be going to a local church in Chicago.

After church, we’ll head out, driving to Superior, Wisconsin. It’s about an 8-9 hour drive. Heading north. Temperatures will be dropping significantly…. especially at night. Current air temps are 60 degrees. Night temps are 45 degrees. Hope they didn’t forget their jeans and hoodie!

Lodging will be at Super 8 Motel in Superior, Wisconsin.

July 2, 2011

We will wake up and drive into the heart of Chicago.  Once we find some parking (and pay $40) to park for the day, we will start our AMAZING RACE through Chicago.

There will be two teams. Guys vs. Girls.  They will be given tasks to complete all throughout Chicago.  During our time in Chicago, the famous “TASTE OF CHICAGO” will be going on.  This is the nation’s premier outdoor food festival, attracting over 1,000,000 people annually from across the country.  We will enjoy many of the unique tastes Chicago has to offer.



At 3pm we will have the ultimate movie experience at the IMAX 3D theater at the Navy Pier. The 440-seat Navy Pier IMAX Theatre. Features Chicago’s largest flat movie screen-a soaring six-story, 60 x 80-foot screen designed to enhance both 2D and 3D films.  Movie we will see – Transformers – Dark of the Moon in 3D.



Then at around 8pm we will embark on a Kayak Tour through Chicago via the Chicago River.  We will paddle about 6 miles through downtown Chicago, and end up at The Navy Pier to watch fireworks while sitting in our kayaks on Lake Michigan.  Trip ends around 11:30pm



Lodging again will be at 1 W Logan Street.

July 1, 2011

Road Rules Trip #2 for 2011 began at 11am at 8519 Gilead Road.

Fifteen People – Greg, Whitney, Tiffany, Jamison, Lauren, Bethany, Russell, Ryker, Wesley, Connor, Mitch, Mallory, Aaron, Casey, & Nicollette. 8 guys. 7 girls.  Average age of students – 16.8

One, 15 passenger van.  The van doesn’t have a name yet, but I’m sure we’ll give her by day #2.

This is an intermediate Trip.  This is not a beginner trip.  Two different trips.  I hope the students understand the difference.  If they don’t on Day #1, they will shortly.

After we re-pack our luggage, and then pack up the van, we will head directly to Chicago.

We’ll sleep at 1 W Logan Street.  Greg’s home in Chicago.

Road Rules Trip #2

We are departing for our second trip on July 1, 2011 at 11am from 8519 Gilead Road.

Follow along with us as we trek across the country.  Everyday at 6am we’ll post the plan for the day.

Today’s schedule will be posted at 11am.

Later.

See you on the road!

Sunday, June 26th

We’ll make a quick but very fun stop to ZORB in the Smoky Mountains.



After we tumble down the hill in a giant ball, we’ll be driving home.

Estimated time of arrival – 6pm EST

I’ll update the FranksHouse Facebook status with a more accurate time as we get closer.

Please be at 8519 Gilead Road to retrieve your happy traveler.

Life Concept – Looking forward to going “home”.



A – Huntersville, NC
B- Oak Hill, WV
C – Cincinnati, OH
D – Rising Fawn, GA
E – Clearwater, FL
F – Washington DC
G – Yorktown, VA
H – Doswell, VA
I – White Sulphur Spring, WV
J – Pigeon Forge, TN
K – Huntersville, NC

Total Miles – 3673

Saturday, June 25th

We will drive a short 3-4 hour drive to White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia.

We will be touring a top-secret government bunker built in 1962 hidden 720 feet underground behind the famous Greenbriar Hotel.  It’s called THE BUNKER.

Carved deep into the mountainside beneath the West Virginia Wing of the Greenbrier, is an emergency Cold War fallout shelter. Once a top secret U.S. government relocation facility for Congress, The Greenbrier Bunker is now open to anyone interested in reliving a legendary piece of The Greenbrier history. Bunker tours provide a unique and in-depth look behind the hidden doors and let you explore an aspect of The Greenbrier that no other resort can claim.

After our afternoon tour of THE BUNKER, we’ll be driving to Pigeon Forge, TN.

Lodging will be at the Pigeon Forge KOA.

Life Concept – hope for the best and expect the worst.

Friday, June 24th

We’ll be making a short drive to Doswell, VA and going to KINGS DOMINION all day.

Kings Dominion bragging rights begin with THE BEST roller coaster collection on the entire East Coast – we’re talking 15 of the wildest scream machines you’ll find anywhere!



Lodging will be at Fredricksburg/Washington DC KOA.

Life Concept – life is full of ups and downs.

Thursday, June 23rd

A busy day today…

We will start at 9am at The Trapeze School of New York learning how to swing on the “Flying Trapeze”.  We will become masters of the “Flying Trapeze”.
We’ll be ready for the circus when we are done here!
We will “fly” from 8:15-11:15am



We’ll then drive to Yorktown, VA and board The Serenity for a two-hour sunset sail.
The Serenity is a 65′ gaff rigged schooner.

Lodging – we will be staying at the Williamsburg KOA.

Life Concept – To really fly, sometimes we have to let go.

Wednesday, June 22nd

Today is a drive day. We will start at 6am.

We’ll be driving to Washington DC area.
It will take us probably 16 hours to get from Clearwater, FL to Washington DC.
I wonder what will happen in the van today!

We’ll spend the night at my dad’s house.
Gale TeSelle
12427 Sadler Ln
Bowie, MD 20715

Life Concept – It’s about the Journey.

Tuesday, June 21st

We will be assisting RCS FOOD BANK in Clearwater, Florida as they will have received 100,000 pounds of donated food the day before. We’ll be sorting, stacking, delivering, and distributing, the food from 8am-3pm.

At the end of our work day, we will then be given a bag of groceries for our group.  This bag of groceries will be our food for the day.

Lodging again will be at the St. Petersburg/Madeira Beach KOA.

Life Concept – The path to greatness starts with serving.

Monday, June 20th

Yesterday was crazy!  Crazy thunderstorms when we left Corint, KY had us trapped in a Truck Stop for about an hour and a half,  and then our lodging we had scheduled was severely damaged by a burst of small tornadoes.  We did find a place to stay in Ringland, GA.  My friends Nora and David not only provided some cabins for us at their KOA, but gave us a 10% off Father’s Day discount!

After a crazy day yesterday, (welcome to Road Rules), we are planning to arrive at Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding in Rising Fawn, Georgia at 9am for the flight of our lives!

We will take a short flight school class, then mount our hang glider and get pulled to over 4000 feet by an ultra-light airplane. We will then descend at speeds in excess of 55 mph for a 25 minute ride in the beautiful Smokey Mountains. Hopefully we’ll catch a thermal or two! – oh yeah, we’ll have an experienced pilot with us.

Instructors will let us steer, maneuver, and land the hanglider!



Once we all have completed out flight, we will finally have a long 10-11 hour drive to Clearwater, Florida.

Lodging – we’ll be staying at the St. Petersburg/Madeira Beach KOA.

Life Concept – We need courage and help to fly.

Sunday, June 19th

We’ll be a little tired, so we will sleep in some, then we’ll be going to Church at New Columbus Baptist Church.  A very small country church.  I’m sure we’ll be easily noticed…. and smelled!

After church we will have another short 6-7 hour drive to Trenton, Georgia.

We’ll spend the night at KOA in Lookout Mountain,Trenton, GA.
Check that… Plan B is to stay at the KOA in Ringland, GA.

Life concept – How do you rest?

Saturday, June 18th

Not sure what time we’ll wake up… or if we’ll even sleep well in our platform tents from last night, but we have a short 4-5 hour drive to Cincinatti, Ohio.  We just have to make it there by 6pm to be one of the first 20,000 into the  The Great American Ballpark. to receive our “RED’S MOHAWK HEADWEAR”, as we take in a major league baseball game…..



CINCINATTI REDS vs TORONTO BLUE JAYS – 7:10pm

I’m guessing we’ll be wearing these “beautiful” head pieces for awhile… at least for the next 48 hours!


We have really bad seats!  On purpose. – Section 536 – Row T – Seats 3-17

Lodging will be at 3 Springs Campground in Corinth, Kentucky.

Life Concept – Are you in the game?  Where are you sitting?

Friday, June 17th

We all met at 8519 Gilead Road at 9:00am

Most of the people do not know each other.  It will be so much fun to watch relationships form, and bonding to take place.

We’ll have to spend a little time trying to figure out how to get all the luggage we brought to fit in our van. I’m not giving them a new bag to repack their stuff in, but will let them figure out on their own what stays, and what comes with us.

Once we figure that out, we’ll hit the road and drive to Oak Hill, WV and arrive at www.aceraft.com/mud-obstacle-course where we will do a 3-4 hour obstacle course in the mud.  This event is rain or shine, but promises to get us the most “dirty” we have ever been!

We will then have access to www.aceraft.com/ace-park-and-lake where we will get “clean” with waterslides, zip lines, launch bags (blob), etc.

We will then spend the night in 2 platform tents in Lansing, WV.
888-650-1932  www.class-vi.com

We’ll be pretty tired I’m sure.  And probably still a bit dirty, since we won’t have access to a shower!

Nothing better than starting out a trip getting completely muddy with strangers!  Hope the lake is clean!

Life Concept – Dirty to clean.  Inside and outside.