We drove through rain and wind off and on all day Tuesday. Because of high waters from the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, we decided not to take a chance with taking Hwy 60/62 across the river at Cairo. It was a good thing. The roads were closed. We headed up I-24 to I-57 and crossed the Mississippi that way. The river was quite a site, spreading all over, it seemed.
Once on the Missouri side, we merged onto Hwy 60 and headed on toward Wappapello. It rained off and on, but for the most part was clear. We took Highway T north to Redman Corps of Eng. Campground. I could see the entrance to the campground, but the road was blocked. A county deputy was turning traffic around. I pulled into a gas station just short of the roadblock and walked up to the deputy to see if the campground was closed too or if only the road was out beyond the campground entrance. Sure enough, the campground was closed too. Just as I turned to head back to Pumpkin, the sky dumped on me. By the time I got back to the RV, I was soaked. I changed clothes and we called Wappapello State Park to see if they were open. They were, so we headed for it. Luckily, the gas station drive was big enough for me to turn around.
We drove the 10 or 12 miles to the State Park and just as we pulled up to the host site, it began really pouring again. Over the radio came a tornado warning for a tornado spotted on the ground heading directly at us. So, I drove on in and parked next to the shower house, ready to dive in. Once again, we foolishly waited, and once again we lucked out. As the rain began to let up, the park ranger pulled up to tell us we needed to go back and check in. Idiot. Anyway, we found a spot and the camp host showed up to collect.
The power went off about 9 pm. I ran the generator for a while. Then I noticed the neighbor had lights. The power had come back on. I shut down the generator and we went to bed.
Funny thing about this park. Last year Joyce and I were returning from a trip to NY. We decided to stop at Wappapello for the night and chore Redman Campground. When we got there it was full, in part because 1/2 off it was being renovated. So, we wound up at the State Park - like now. I'm beginning to wonder if there even IS a Redman Campground.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Land-Between-The-Lakes
The drive from Cumberland Gap to Land-Between-The-Lakes was fairly uneventful except for the weather. It wasn't too bad driving across, but was getting nasty at Land-Between-The-Lakes. I had chosen a national campground from the national park website. It was located just before the bridge leaving Land-Between-The-Lakes on the west side. I had it programmed into my GPS, but the GPS map didn't match the real world (can you imagine that?). We turned into a campground that looked like it could be the place, but it turned out to not have any facilities. We decided to go back up the road a ways to another campground we had seen a sign for, but we had to unhitch Coors to turn around. So, I drove Pumpkin to the campground and Joyce drove Coors. About 5 miles off the main road, we turned to follow the signs to the campground. Another couple of miles and then we ran into a roadblock. Apparently the lake had risen enough to close the campground. Rats! So, we turned around again (good thing Coors was already unhitched) and headed for Energy Lake campground. It was 15-16 miles off the main road in the opposite direction, but I had stayed there once with Dusty years ago and was somewhat familiar with it. We drove all the way to Energy Lake only to find the campground there closed as well. Rats, again! We drove back out and headed north. We finally found an open campground at Hillman Ferry Campground. It began pouring rain as we checked in. We finally found our site after circling around in the downpour and pulled up. Joyce was still driving Coors and got lost. She eventually found me. We got leveled and power plugged in when it began to hail. Shortly after that, the tornado warning siren went off. Our site was just across from the shower house. We were contemplating making a run for it, but perhaps foolishly, we stayed put. Before long it passed and we managed to get to bed. The next morning Ditto and I checked out the park around our campsite. There wasn't a whole lot of ground above water. I checked the transmission fluid again and it was still okay. It was time to eat breakfast and get on out of there.
Bailey's Point Campground
Our plan was to stay at Mammoth Cave National Park, but when we got there we found they did not offer electricity. When I rechecked the website, sure enough, they did not offer electricity. As it was still early, we decided to head on down to Barren River Lake about 50 miles south. We saw several deer and a beautifully antlered stag on the way out of Mammoth Park. Ditto made sure they didn't get us. Along the way toward Barren Lake, I noticed Pumpkin was leaking transmission fluid. We stopped at an auto parts store and I got some fluid and topped it off. Then we headed on. I got a bit concerned because I had failed to get enough fluid for a reserve so we stopped at a Walmart and I bought some more.
Our plan now was to camp at The Narrows Campground but somehow we missed it. Now it was beginning to get dark. The next place was Bailey's Point Campground off Hwy 252. I saw Hwy 252 and made the turn. Unfortunately, the highway made a loop around the west side of the lake and I should have gone on and made the turn at the other end. So, we wound up seeing a lot of Kentucky countryside. Eventually, we found Bailey's Point and crashed for the night. It rain hard.
The next morning I checked the transmission fluid and all was okay. We headed on to Land-Between-The-Lakes.
Our plan now was to camp at The Narrows Campground but somehow we missed it. Now it was beginning to get dark. The next place was Bailey's Point Campground off Hwy 252. I saw Hwy 252 and made the turn. Unfortunately, the highway made a loop around the west side of the lake and I should have gone on and made the turn at the other end. So, we wound up seeing a lot of Kentucky countryside. Eventually, we found Bailey's Point and crashed for the night. It rain hard.
The next morning I checked the transmission fluid and all was okay. We headed on to Land-Between-The-Lakes.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
We left Carter Caves shortly after Dusty on Easter Sunday. With all the kids gone, there was little to keep us there. We decided to head south to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The weather was shaping up pretty nasty out west toward home. We thought maybe we could get below much of it by going south. It worked this day. The weather was nice all the way to the park.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is a beautiful park. Being Easter, it was fairly empty so we had our choice of spots. We took one that looked the easiest to back into as we were only staying one night. Interestingly, many sites had huge stacks of firewood just waiting for the campers. It looked like large tree trunks had been brought in and dropped. Then a crew would cut them into firewood length and split and stack them. I don't know if that is a season-long service or if it is just from spring clean-up. Too bad we weren't staying long enough to take advantage of it. As it were, Ditto and I managed to walk the park enough to stir up other campers' dogs then we turned in for the night.
The next morning we studied the weather and decided there was no avoiding the inevitable. The storm front stretched from Arkansas to Ohio. To avoid it we would have to go to Mobile, across to Houston and come in the back door. We decided to meet it head on. Next stop would be Mammoth Cave National Park.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is a beautiful park. Being Easter, it was fairly empty so we had our choice of spots. We took one that looked the easiest to back into as we were only staying one night. Interestingly, many sites had huge stacks of firewood just waiting for the campers. It looked like large tree trunks had been brought in and dropped. Then a crew would cut them into firewood length and split and stack them. I don't know if that is a season-long service or if it is just from spring clean-up. Too bad we weren't staying long enough to take advantage of it. As it were, Ditto and I managed to walk the park enough to stir up other campers' dogs then we turned in for the night.
The next morning we studied the weather and decided there was no avoiding the inevitable. The storm front stretched from Arkansas to Ohio. To avoid it we would have to go to Mobile, across to Houston and come in the back door. We decided to meet it head on. Next stop would be Mammoth Cave National Park.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Breaking Camp
Tom, Jr had a long ways to go to get home and a short time to do it. So, they upped their departure to Saturday afternoon, hoping to get closer to home before stopping for the night. We had a wonderful time with them and were sad to see them leave. But, Monday would bring back job and school, so this would be better than starting out the week exhausted. After an Easter egg hunt, lunch and a flurry of things being thrown into the camper and truck, they were gone. Dusty and Traci stayed one more relaxing night.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Carter Caves State Resort Park - April 17-24
Tom, Jr. pulled in Monday. It sure was good to see that old pop-up camper come round the corner. That signaled girls! Three of the prettiest girls around came to camp with Grandpa. They just happened to bring along their mom and dad - oh, yes, and Mollie. Watching those grown long-legged girls crawl out of the back seat of the extended cab pickup was quite a sight. If it had been me, pieces would have been falling off, but they just shook it off and came gave me a hug. Made my day.
Their camp spot was right next door. We worked at it a while and soon had them all set up, but that Macey is a whiz at setting up the camper. She knows how and did all the "inside" work. Tom had a piece of the tent frame missing so I manufactured one from an old piece of wire I had in Pumpkin's tool drawer. That and a zip tie held the entire week.
The nearest shower/restroom building was closed for painting - so they said. Anyway, that meant bathroom chores that couldn't be taken care of behind a tree had to be taken to the restrooms at the main office building and the equivalent of 4-5 blocks away. We had bicycles handy for the trip, but between rain and plain old urgency, Coors had the job of being the restroom shuttle. A few times, Coors needed a siren and flashing red lights.
Julie did most of the meal planning and much of the preparation. Mostly, the cooking was done in Pumpkin as Julie's kitchen was outside under the awning. Sometimes it was just too windy or wet to work there.
I found a pile of firewood at a nearby unoccupied campsite and used Joyce's tricycle (w/basket) to move it to our campsite. I also had brought a couple of boxes of kindling from home. So, we soon had a nice fire going. Needed it, too. The evenings were usually chilly.
Tom and I and the three girls took a trip to Grayson in Coors to get some Julie supplies. We spotted some sites we wanted to visit, so after we got back we went to a few. We stopped at a small cave but couldn't go in. The caves were closed, at least to non-escorted tours. We then stopped at the gift shop and found a path down to a natural bridge while there. That was pretty neat. A road passed overhead on the natural bridge and a fast running little stream passed underneath. It was more like a cave with two openings at each end than a bridge. There was also a huge hole through the top up by the road. It was a long ways up to the opening. We went on the road later and stopped to look at the hole from the top side. It was a long ways down to the bottom, too.
The park had a little miniature golf course and clubs could be rented at the office. We stopped by to see if we could get a complimentary round for the girls. We used the reasoning of no bathroom near our camp. A young guy was working there and when he saw the three girls, I don't think he paid any attention to our reasoning. He just said, "Sure". But, it was near closing time so we said we'd come back tomorrow to play - which we did. And, when we did, it was quite evident the kid was taken by the girls. He didn't charge them, but he did charge Tom and I. Guess we weren't quite as appealing.
The golfing was fun. We played two rounds. Grandpa won both. At one point something was said about Grandpa falling down and Addey said, "Then we could knock his ball all around". Ball quickly became plural and we they had a good laugh.
Time passed too quickly. But, Thursday Dusty showed up with Traci and kids and more fun kicked in. Of course, with the arrival of Dusty came rain, resulting in some inside activities.
Their camp spot was right next door. We worked at it a while and soon had them all set up, but that Macey is a whiz at setting up the camper. She knows how and did all the "inside" work. Tom had a piece of the tent frame missing so I manufactured one from an old piece of wire I had in Pumpkin's tool drawer. That and a zip tie held the entire week.
The nearest shower/restroom building was closed for painting - so they said. Anyway, that meant bathroom chores that couldn't be taken care of behind a tree had to be taken to the restrooms at the main office building and the equivalent of 4-5 blocks away. We had bicycles handy for the trip, but between rain and plain old urgency, Coors had the job of being the restroom shuttle. A few times, Coors needed a siren and flashing red lights.
Julie did most of the meal planning and much of the preparation. Mostly, the cooking was done in Pumpkin as Julie's kitchen was outside under the awning. Sometimes it was just too windy or wet to work there.
I found a pile of firewood at a nearby unoccupied campsite and used Joyce's tricycle (w/basket) to move it to our campsite. I also had brought a couple of boxes of kindling from home. So, we soon had a nice fire going. Needed it, too. The evenings were usually chilly.
Tom and I and the three girls took a trip to Grayson in Coors to get some Julie supplies. We spotted some sites we wanted to visit, so after we got back we went to a few. We stopped at a small cave but couldn't go in. The caves were closed, at least to non-escorted tours. We then stopped at the gift shop and found a path down to a natural bridge while there. That was pretty neat. A road passed overhead on the natural bridge and a fast running little stream passed underneath. It was more like a cave with two openings at each end than a bridge. There was also a huge hole through the top up by the road. It was a long ways up to the opening. We went on the road later and stopped to look at the hole from the top side. It was a long ways down to the bottom, too.
The park had a little miniature golf course and clubs could be rented at the office. We stopped by to see if we could get a complimentary round for the girls. We used the reasoning of no bathroom near our camp. A young guy was working there and when he saw the three girls, I don't think he paid any attention to our reasoning. He just said, "Sure". But, it was near closing time so we said we'd come back tomorrow to play - which we did. And, when we did, it was quite evident the kid was taken by the girls. He didn't charge them, but he did charge Tom and I. Guess we weren't quite as appealing.
The golfing was fun. We played two rounds. Grandpa won both. At one point something was said about Grandpa falling down and Addey said, "Then we could knock his ball all around". Ball quickly became plural and we they had a good laugh.
Time passed too quickly. But, Thursday Dusty showed up with Traci and kids and more fun kicked in. Of course, with the arrival of Dusty came rain, resulting in some inside activities.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Carter Caves State Resort Park
We arrived at Carter Caves State Resort Park early in the afternoon. The place is really nice and quite empty. There are only about 5 or 6 other campers and none very close to us. Carter Caves was a second choice. We were originally planning on staying at Twin Knobs Campground in the Daniel Boone National Forest. But, at the time we were planning this trip, the Federal government was threatening shutdown and we got concerned about the campground being closed. So, I chose Carter Caves simply because it was close to equidistant from NY & Mo. As it turned out, Carter Caves was a good choice.
We got set up, leveled with power and water connected and awning reeled out. We had been towing Coors, so it wound up parked in front of Pumpkin. Later, we drove Coors to Grayson (nearest town of any size). Joyce wanted a DQ.
The DQ was a mistake. We decided to eat supper there and both ordered a shrimp basket. It took forever. When the order finally came out, I told them it was “to go” since we planned to eat outside on their picnic table. Already frustrated by the long time it took for the order, I got outside only to find they had not put any utensils or napkins in the boxes. I went back in to get some and none were in sight. I had to stand and wait quite a few minutes before I could get anyone’s attention. Finally, I got what I needed. When I went back out, the wind had picked up and it was getting chilly. To top it off, their coleslaw was crap. I don’t recommend the DQ in Grayson. But, we did get a mini-blizzard each and they were good.
We got set up, leveled with power and water connected and awning reeled out. We had been towing Coors, so it wound up parked in front of Pumpkin. Later, we drove Coors to Grayson (nearest town of any size). Joyce wanted a DQ.
The DQ was a mistake. We decided to eat supper there and both ordered a shrimp basket. It took forever. When the order finally came out, I told them it was “to go” since we planned to eat outside on their picnic table. Already frustrated by the long time it took for the order, I got outside only to find they had not put any utensils or napkins in the boxes. I went back in to get some and none were in sight. I had to stand and wait quite a few minutes before I could get anyone’s attention. Finally, I got what I needed. When I went back out, the wind had picked up and it was getting chilly. To top it off, their coleslaw was crap. I don’t recommend the DQ in Grayson. But, we did get a mini-blizzard each and they were good.
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