A TRAVEL DAY TO OHIO

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31

Today was mainly a travel day. We left Singing Hills RV in Cave City about 8:00 for a 258 mile drive to Brookville, Ohio. We changed time zones in Louisville so we are now on eastern time. Jenna spent the vast majority of her time on Facebook or sleeping; consequently, I had to drive the entire way. Please feel sorry for me. Thankfully Thelma was there to guide me through Louisville and Cinncinnati. 

The Cinncinnati skyline greeted us as we started down into the Ohio River Valley.

 Our drive was uneventful but quite scenic. We passed through the Kentucky River Valley and the Ohio River Valley and saw some beautiful scenery. I am certain it will be even prettier when we return through this area in October. Tonight we are staying at the Dayton Tall Timbers KOA campground. We have never stayed in a park quite like this one. There are several hundred sites and every one is full due to the Labor Day weekend. I've not seen this many RV's in one place outside of an RV show. I guess everyone is getting in their last hurrah for the summer.

Just a small part of this RV park

We will be here until Tuesday. We plan to see the U.S. Air Force Museum sometime and do a litle exploring in Dayton. We thought we would be escaping the heat on this trip, and perhaps we have escaped some of the higher temps in Texas, but it has been unseasonably warm and humid everywhere we have gone so far. Forcast is for rain starting tonight, so maybe it will cool off as well.

Just a blog gin'

 Until next time, Happy Trails

THAT'S ONE BIG HOLE IN THE GROUND

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30

I've noticed that the front end of the pickup bounced a little bit a we were on our way the last few days. I figured that a tire was out of balance and decided to take a look. Not only was it out of balance but the tread was wearing thin on all of the tires. I knew I would need to replace them soon, but not this soon. First we went to Wal-Mart and then to Big O Tire Store. Big O didn't have anything in stock and Wal-Mart had a good price. Problem was, the tires they had wouldn't hold the necessary pressure 80 lbs. Fortunately the tech at WalMart discovered that before he installed anything. We found a tire store in Glascow that had what we needed so now "baby has some new shoes." 

A field of tobacco.

After a quick lunch at Long John Silvers we headed back to Cave City and Mammoth Cave National Park.

 Let me tell my senior friends - if you don't have a Sr. Pass for national parks, be sure to get one. They cost $10 and get you in to National Parks free. Our admission to the cave was 1/2 price - a total of $5.00. You can get one at any National Park once you turn 62. Upon our arrival at Mammoth Cave National Park, we at first signed up for the 2 hour Historic tour. When we got to orientation the Ranger said that we shouldn't go if we were claustrophobic or didn't like heights. Jenna doesn't like tight places and I am not fond of high places. Consequently, we backed out of that one and signed up for the 1 1/2 hour Mammoth Passage tour. 

       it was a long way down to the cave entrance.

The park ranger pointed out a "breakdown."  They don't like to call them cave-ins.

 We joined about 35 others and a park ranger for a leisurely stroll about 1/2 mile into the cave. It was very cool - 55 degrees - as we descended into the cave. The ranger told us that people have beeen coming into Mammoth Cave for apprroximately 4000 years. Currently there are 400 miles of cave that have been explored and mapped. He described it as a pile of spaghetti with passageways on top of each other running in every direction. It was an interesting tour - one I would recommend. The whole Mammoth Cave National Park was very beautiful - very green and well manicured in the public areas. If you come to tour, bring a jacket as it is cold down there. Tomorrow we head out for Dayton, Ohio about 255 miles. When we get there we will be just over half way to our final destination in Stowe, Vermont. Until tomorrow - Happy Trails.

THE COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER LIVES PRETTY GOOD

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29

This morning we went to Hurricane Mills to visit Loretta Lynn's plantation home.    Hurricane Mills is actually a small town located on Loretta Lynn's ranch.  Loretta and Mooney bought the 3800 acre ranch in 1966.  The ranch encompassed Hurricane Mills so they got the town in the bargain.  Over the next several years they added three more neighboring farms to their ranch to bring it to its current size.  Included in the purchase was also a large southern style mansion that was originally built prior to the Civil War.  During the war it was occupied by Union troops and used as a hospital and headquarters.

Our tour guide told us about the home's history and gave us a tour of the ground floor.  Loretta and  Mooney lived in the house for over 20 years.  After their children were all grown Loretta decided that the house was too large for just two people, so they filled in the swimming pool and built a smaller house in the backyard.  The two homes provide over 8000 square feet of space. Loretta continues to live there today.  Mooney passed away 17 years ago.

Standing on the porch at Loretta' house.

A pretty Kentucky sunset.

Following our tour, we hurriedly packed up the trailer and headed for Kentucky.  Jenna drove the entire way - most of it on winding, narrow, mountainous roads.  We arrived in Cave City at the Singing Hills RV park about 2:30.  She was as tired today as I was yesterday after the drive from Arkansas so we haven't done much this afternoon.  I've started the charcoal grill and we will soon have brats and baked beans for dinner.   Kentucky is another pretty state and we will enjoy our stay here for 2 days.  Tomorrow we plan to see Mammoth Cave National Park and do a little speluncking (spelling???).  Till then, Happy Trails

OFF TO TENNESSEE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28

I woke up about 6:30 today and took Lucy for her morning walk. Then it was back to the trailer for a quick breakfast and a long drive to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. We managed to pull out about 8:15 for the 320 mile drive. We spotted one cage with three deer as we were leaving the park. Today they get their "get out of jail free card." They are being released today. The owner said that they would open the gate and let them come out on their own. He indicated they would stick around for several days coming and going from their pen - after all this is where they get their free lunch.

We decided to take highway 70 out of Little Rock instead of I-40. Once again Thelma voiced her disapproval. It was a pretty drive across eastern Arkansas. Lots of swampy land gave way to fields of soybeans, corn, cotton, and rice. Several times we saw cropdusters flying by or preparing to take off. We stayed on 70 til we reached Brinkley and then we got back on I-40. It was a nice drive on into Memphis with mostly smooth highways and lots of truck traffic.

We arrived at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch about 4:00 and found our campsite.

You have to remember we only drive 60 mph and we stop frequently for gas, food, etc. Actually we had our choice out of a couple of hundred sites. Not many forlks are here today, but they say this weekend will be a packed house. Concerts by Loretta Lynn and a host of other country stars are planned for the Labor Day weekend.

We set up the trailer and drove around the ranch. We saw Loretta Lynn's plantation home and the mighty village of Hurricane Mills and then had dinner at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen.  

It seems she has her finger in every pot around here?  We plan to tour the home and museum tomorrow before we head out to Kentucky. I'll tell you about what we see next time. Till then, Happy Trails.

AND WE'RE OFF

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27

Our Fall Colors adventure got off to a slow start this morning!  Who would have thought that we wouldn't wake up before 7:00.  Thanks to Kim  for calling to get us up and going.  We finished gathering and loading the last minute items and pulled out of the driveway at 9:20 - destination Alexander, Arkansas - 315 miles away.  

I'm ready to hit the road!

The first 30 miles were all too frequently punctuated by Thelma - our GPS - pleading with us to "please make a U turn in 500 feet."   It seems that Thelma likes Interstate Highways while I prefer secondary highways.  I insisted that we go to Athens on highway 31 and then to Sulphur Springs via highway 19 and then take I-30 to Alexander.  Thelma finally got the idea about the time we got to Trinidad and decided to follow my direction.  After stops for fuel and lunch we arrived here around 4:30.  Arkansas is a beautiful state with good highways and nice roadside parks.  

I drove to Texarkana and Jenna brought us on to Alexander.  It's  nice to get to ride and rubberneck sometimes.  Traffic was light until we neared Little Rock, and even then it wasn't too bad.  Our destination for tonight was a wildlife rescue park about 15 miles south of Little Rock. The park is certified by the state and they receive animals through the department of Fish and Wildlife. They have 2 pens with 3 deer in each. The owner tells me they were all abandoned by their mamas - probably due to being hit by a car.  They raise the animals until they are old enough to be on their own and then they are released on the surrounding 170 acres.  No hunting is allowed on this property and it is fenced to protect them.  The owner said they have had lots of animals brought here - fox, squirrels, ducks - even mice!   It was a little tricky finding this place, but the price is right and the campsites are fine.  Besides, it's fun to see the little deer.

Tomorrow we are off to Tennessee and Loretta Lynn's Ranch.  We'll see what kind of place the coal miner's daughter has.  Till then, Happy Trails.

Note:  We don't have wifi so this will be posted tomorrow.

TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE

AUGUST 5

Kim and Jamie borrowed the trailer this weekend for a camping trip with the Ellis girls at Navarro Mills. They had a great time but were invaded by ants. That was a good reason to do a major cleaning once we got the rig back home. Jenna tackled the inside - emptying cabinets and drawers, washing and reorganizing and purging lots of unused items. Meanwhile I spent the morning working outside. The hot Texas sun has caused many of the decals on the trailer to peel off leaving a sticky residue that attracts lots of dirt. After scraping the remains of the decals I used a special cleaner to remove the offensive residue. I managed to finish before the temp reached 100 and spent the remainder of my day helping Jenna inside. We finished around 3:00. We now have a very clean (inside) trailer. Tomorrow I'll give the whole rig a thorough washing and clean out the underbelly storage area. Then it will be time to start loading up for our departure. Just 3 weeks to go!

THE PREPARATIONS BEGIN

JULY 31


Preparations for our Fall Colors tour are underway.  We plan to leave Corsicana on August 27 and arrive in Stowe, Vermont  on September 8.  Our tour will be with Adventure Caravans and will last 33 days.  During the tour we will visit sites in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York,  and Quebec, Canada.  As with our prior trips with Adventure Caravans, I am sure they have identified and scheduled visits to every interesting and enlightening venue to be found. Additionally, we hope Mother Nature will cooperate and provide us with beautiful scenery.
So far I have planned our route to Stowe, Vermont and have reserved pcampgrounds along the way.  Plans now call for us to visit Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Tennessee, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. We had hoped to visit the Corvette Museum and tour the GM plant in Bowling Green, Ky and the Airstream RV factory near Dayton, but they will be closed on the days we planned to be nearby.  Maybe we can pick them up on our way home.  We also plan to visit Renfro Valley in Kentucky on our way back in October.

Now we need to get the truck and RV cleaned up and ready to go.  I took the truck in last week for its 100K checkup, and the 5th wheel went in for new tires, a brake check, and to have the wheel bearings packed. Now it needs a good washing on the outside and a thorough cleaning on the inside before we begin loading up.