Humbled on the Bayou

The weather was beautiful yesterday so we decided to head out to the Sabine National Wildlife Area south of Lake Charles. This area is the largest refuge in Louisiana. At the southern end is the Gulf of Mexico. We drove the Creole Nature Trail south and got to Holly Beach on the Gulf, we were shocked at how high the homes are built - made of cement pilons and they were about 3 stories up at the base of the home. And these homes were not cheap! Looked like haciendas of Mexico. Stucco, cement, very pleasing to the eye. But of course, the rest of the town was pure devistation from all the hurricanes. Mostly Katrina, but others that have come through. All you see are foundations of homes or homes totally destroyed and off foundations, extremely large fishing vessels swept up on land and at the ports. We have heard about how bad this area gets with hurricane destruction, but to see it after so many years - amazing. If there is a home now, it's built up on stilts and made of cement. And, there is ALWAYS a large 5th wheel RV and a doulie (double tires in the back) truck sitting at the home. This is for - hitch up the RV, get your stuff in the RV, and get they heck out when a hurricane is approaching. If you look closely at the picture on the left you will see a huge fishing vessel on it's side at the port. We saw this same size ship way up on land as we were driving around. Were very surprised when the road we were traveling suddenly ended and you had to take a ferry across to pick up the road and continue. We think that due to hurricanes a bridge could not withstand the power of nature, therefore you had to be ferried across the river and this river empties to the Gulf about a mile down. First time we got a ferry ride for free. Lasted about 3 minutes once the ferry left one side and coasted across. Saw some huge ocean going vessells there in Cameron, and this river is part of the Intercoastal Waterway.


We got to Fausta's Cajun Restaurant for dinner and it was super. I guess I can't eat that kind of food - my stomach rebelled almost immediately. Today we will do some things around the RV, going to have some champaign tonite for the New Years, then tomorrow again sit - supposed to be severe thunderstorms coming in - don't want to stray too far. Temp in the 70's and very humid. Think Sunday we will head to Lafayette to do some touring. Happy New Year everyone!

Moving Day and Rain!

We pulled out of Sweetwater RV Campground by 9:30am today, trying to get ahead of rain coming in by mid afternoon where we were going. Made it to our new destination, Quiet Oaks RV Campground in Kinder, LA by 1pm and in very light rain. If the crow flew straight from here, we would be 20 miles from Texas, but alas, Interstate 10 meanders and it's about 40 miles south and west.Within a half an hour of setting up it was pouring rain really hard. And is still pouring (now 5pm). Supposed to have thunderstorms tonight, something we haven't experienced since our trip to Florida last March. Everything is running fine, it's even 60 out. And that's the low for tonight. Cats are handling the time in the truck - we road on a horsy road (bumpity, bumpity, bump) for about 40 miles today and Chip really let us know he did not like that. Can't blame him - we hated it too. Can't drive the speed limit of 70 because we would have bounced all over the road. Just turtle along at 62, nice and fine. Tomorrow 74 and sunny. We are going to try to get to some of the wildlife refugee places here along the Gulf Coast for birding/photography/hiking and then take in a cajun seafood restaurant. Friday we think we'll head to Lafayette to the Jean Lafitte National Park to the Acadian Cultural Center. And of course to MacIlhenry (Avery Island) where they make Tabasco.

We plan to go visit the Coushatte Indian Casino down the road either Saturday or Sunday. By Wednesday we have reservations at a campground in Clear Lake, south of Houston, on Galveston Bay and will move on. Can't complain about this weather - we don't have to shovel snow, we don't have coats on (light jackets or sweatshirts instead) and no set agenda to get somewhere or back. Beginning to settle into living in the RV - I am making peace with the things I don't like or can't change.

Rural Life Museum and Mississippi

Yesterday was our 'touring' day and decided to go into Baton Rouge (French for red stick - early settlers came to a place on the Mississippi where there was a bloody stick in the ground - Indians did this to mark the area) and visit the Rural Life Museum and then we went into the city and walked on the pier/boardwalk along the Mississippi. I was more impressed with the river, and the reason was that we were spoiled with the Frontier Cultural Museum in Virginia this past September. LSU has done a nice job - still needs some work, we did find that there is alot yet to be displayed but in all, everything was well marked. The silliest thing was a gray and white cat who was so friendly and escorted us around the outdoor museum. The Rural Life Museum depicts life on plantation in the early 1800's and 1900's and the amazing part - some of the buildings that were relocated to this place were used by common folk up till the 1960's. Some of the more 'oh my gosh' things was they had 3 funeral bairs made out of iron and lead, body put inside this wagon and this is how they moved the body to it's final resting place. Made the body mummified - so airtight. Also, people could see into it (alittle morbid). President Lincoln was put in one of these (without the wheels) when his body was moved back to Illinios for burial on the train. Other neat things were lots of antique sewing machines, dolls, quilts, fishing equipment for snagging shrimp, farm implements, furniture, items from slavery - what they used.

We drove then to the city proper and parked near one of the casinos and walked to the riverwalk/boardwalk. They have 3 casinos on river boats along the levees of the Mississippi, very similar to the casinos on the Ohio River. Watched the barges and tugs moving up and down the river then headed back to the campground. I pointed out to Dave the route we are taking tomorrow over the iron bridge of the Mississippi. He's a tad nervous about that - but it's the only way to our next campground. Still unseasonably chilly - was 49 yesterday. Typically it's supposed to be in the 60's this time of year. Last night - again, hard freeze but we survived. I am waiting for it to warm up a little before heading to do laundry near the office. We leave tomorrow for Kinder, LA - about 190 miles west of here, 15 miles north of Lake Charles. Will stay through the holiday and I have asked for a reservation near Clear Lake (south east of Houston, Texas) on Galvaston Bay for the following week. I just want warmer weather (it's a tad chilly taking showers in the morning!)

Frozen water hoses

They said we were to have a "hard freeze" last night - and I said, what's a hard freeze? Well, we found out. Not only did everything look like it had snowed - so very white! - but the truck looked like galvanized steel (my former steel life came out) - kinda burnished buff looking ice on the windshield - the ice was so thick! Dave had disconnected the water hose and filter and put it away the night before. We lived out of a bucket of water again - dipping into the bucket to get a cup or two of water to put into the toilet to flush. Using bottled water to brush our teeth, etc. Since we are both morning shower kind of people, we felt that after the sun had come up and Dave hooked up the water again, all would be fine. Dah. Not so. Dave should have put the hoses and filter inside the RV - in the shower - to keep warm, not stored inside the truck.

The hoses and the water filter had also frozen up. Once the sun came up and Dave was able to put the hoses and filter in the sun to warm, and once he got the water spigot going - it also being frozen - it was kinda funny to see and watch the ice come shooting out of the end of hoses when water started running. We had planned to be on the road by 9 am to go into Baton Rouge to do sightseeing, but didn't get out of here until almost 11.

So, tonight, another "hard freeze" warning and we are doing things differently. Dave filled up the water tank to about 1/3 full which is about 20 gallons of water. The tanks are inside the belly of the RV, well protected. And the hoses are also disconnected, inside the belly, with the heater on it and also on the water tanks. We will use normal pressurized water during the night, and can heat up this water we brought on to take showers in the morning. Fortunately, we think this is the last night of cold - 27 is supposed to be the lowest. Tomorrow supposed to be near 60 and Wednesday in the low 70's. Finally. We have been running the 2 space heaters only at night and not using the furnace, the space heaters keep it to about 55, and since we are in bed, under covers, no big deal. As soon as the sun comes up, it warms nice inside to 75 and we have to open the vents to let in fresh air. Lessons learned.

Louisiana Bayou

Yesterday, December 25, we decided to go to the Bayou and walk the nature trail near Lake Ponchatrain. After it had rained during the night, the wind was quite strong and the temp had dropped to about 46. Normally we would have been sniveling about how cold it was but after hearing how nasty the Christmas storm is reaking havoc on Tennessee, Alabama, Carolinas and up the coast - we have nothing to complain about. There is a hard freeze warning for tonight so we will have to disconnect the water from the RV, store the hoses inside, and Dave will have to put on the light underneath where the water valves are. There is enough heat emitted from a 60 watt bulb to make sure our water system doesn't freeze up. But, that means we will have to live with a bucket of water in the bathroom to flush the toilet. In the morning he'll rehook up the water, then we can heat the hot water tank - and life will be good. A little inconvenience, but not bad.
We were sorely disappointed with the Joyce Wildlife area walk. When we camped last winter in Old Town, FL the campground was located on the Suwanee River and they had built a boardwalk to the river. Alligators and all. This boardwalk was okay - but very slippery from the rain - was afraid I'd slip and fall right into the bayou. From there we drove towards Slidell, the town that also got wiped out from Katrina but there is Big Bend Marsh Wildlife area, so we thought we'd continue our walk and go for it. Again, sorely disappointed, but glad we did go, saw so much devastation and so much poor, and I do mean dirt poor, homes. All up on stilts and people still living in homes that were half demolished. Makes you so humble and grateful for what you have. Got back to the RV about 4pm and the sun came out - go figure. Made a nice warm dinner and Chip decided he wanted to eat at the table with us - here's a pic of him staring at Dave's glass of wine - waiting for dinner. He likes Merlot. Tomorrow we will head into Baton Rouge and visit a Rural Farmland that is sponsored for LSU. And the weather should be greatly improved, otherwise we'd go today.

Blue Sky Christmas, yes ma'm

No - Elvis isn't here. This is the first time I have been 'gone' from home for Christmas. And never have spent it in warm weather, strange. Blue skies abound and RVs decorated with their Christmas lights. Funny to see. But I like this better than snow any day. Folks here are very friendly, and when you talk with them, they all say, Yes Mam, No Mam, Yes sir, no sir! Very polite. Makes me feel like a grinch - I need to be more polite and friendly to people.

Just had a chat with the owner - she and her husband bought this place 6 months before Katrina hit - and they had plans to renovate this campground and after Katrina - lots more to do. She was begging us to stay on through New Years - they will have a 10 story high bonfire, at least 40 more RV's coming in starting on Monday, DJ and live band, fireworks, restaurant will be open, saltwater pool (I don't get that) open, etc. We will have to think about it - I am really itching to get to Texas. Dave is busy with his to-do list, by the time I came up here to do laundry, he had finished 2 of them. Guess I'll have to think up some more things for him to do.

Tomorrow we plan to go to a wildlife preserve - hike their trails. She said it was lovely but. Supposed to rain tonight, but clearing my mid day. Merry Chrismas everyone! We will talk in a couple of days. Stay warm.

Loooooosiana

We are now is a small town called Loranger, Louisiana - about 30 miles north of Baton Rouge and when we arrived it was a balmy 76 and crickets singing in the fields about 2 hours ago. This is a horse campground where kids come to adopt a horse for a week and learn how to care for one and also the campground hosts many rodeos, one of which will be New Years' Day - but we'll move before that. There are no horses now but you can see the barns and stalls and such, plus a good size arena when there is a rodeo. There are about a dozen full-timers here, and some just passing through. All in all - for $16.30 a night - we love it. And very very quiet. When we talked to the manager, she and her husband bought property 6 years ago right near here - right before Katrina. Price per acre was $6000 and right after Katrina she said that prices were $15000 per acre - everyone getting away from New Orleans. She also said the worst of Katrina was some downed trees here. But. 2 years ago they had 9 inches of snow in one day and said there was more damage from that than Katrina!

Seems lately I have been chosing campgrounds near railroad tracks, thank goodness not this one. To get you caught up to here - we left Vermilion to Walton Kentucky - 13 degrees. On to Cornersville Tennesse where it was 32. Monday and Tuesday we were in Meridian Mississippi and when we left there this morning it was 64. So - 76 and sunny and about 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico - great. We will sit here until next Wednesday and move on to Texas - probably Beaumont or Port Arthur, beginning to move down the Gulf Coast south of Houston. There is some sight-seeing things we can do here and we plan to just warm up and enjoy not wearing coats or jackets. I am even barefoot and Dave is outside in shirt sleeves. Life is good.

Texas bound

We made it out of Vermilion, OH yesterday morning in 17 degrees and some snow on the ground. Fortunately it was sunny all the way down I75 into Kentucky, specifically Walton, where we spent the night last night. Got to 13 during the night but we had the furnace on and two space heaters going and it was nice and toasty inside - about 64 degrees. When we opened up the windows this morning to get things packed up, almost all the windows were iced over. And, they have lots more snow in Walton than we did in Vermilion. Living inside not using water yet - things are still frozen from the past couple of months. We will wait until we get to Alabama to start up water inside. Instead, we shower in their bathhouse-very nice and warm and clean. This morning we headed into Louisville, KY and picked up I65 south towards Nashville. When we left it was 17 degrees and by the time we got to Nashville it had warmed up to 38. Walton got this snow 2 days ago and when we got into Nashville - boy did they have ice! Glad we avoided that. We are now in Cornersville, Tennessee for the night, which is 27 miles north of the border of Alabama and Tennessee. Not bad out - was 45 when we pulled in about 2:30pm. Supposed to get down to 28 tonight, but glad the worst is past us. Chip and Grace (our cats) are amazing - they settled down about 1/2 hour after start up and today - not a peep. Truck running fine, RV is doing great, we will head to Meridian. Alabama for 2 nights tomorrow, then head to Lake Charles, Louisiana until after Christmas. Then head down south of Houston for the New Year and possibly stay for a couple of weeks. Won't write again until we get to Lake Charles. Here's a picture of the RV last night with all the snow. Notice our new graphic on the back? Yep, we are slow going down the highway, hence the turtle.

Thoughts on Virginia/West Virginia trip

This will be the last post until December when we take off to Texas for the winter. I'll alert you when I am posting to it again. A couple of observations and notes from this trip.

West Virginia is all that John Denver sang - "Almost Heaven, West Virginia." It is wild, beautiful, very rugged, a truly outdoor person's haven. Very poor towns but very friendly people. We both liked WV - again I think because of less people. Virginia: We were about 50 miles away from Washington DC the whole time in Virginia, and just too loud, noisy, too many people and cars/traffic. People weren't as friendly. We felt uneasy at times - they have not forgotten the Civil War - they are so proud that they were Confederates. However, the Shenandoah Valley and National Park - breath taking. Pennsylvania - the area we saw was lovely, had lots of Amish, tremendous history lessons. Glad we went to the places we did - we both learned alot from this trip of early American history and how the expansion to the west happened.

I am an avid reader - and the last book I read (finished yesterday) was so deja vue! It was set in Virginia/West Virginia about 1750 and was the life of a woman who was abducted by the Shawnee Indians and managed to escape and find her way back home. This is a true story, and was written from journals and personal accounts/oral histories from the family. Mentions George Washington, General Braddock, the New River, the Shenandoah valley. Wow. Didn't have a clue this was all in it when I got the book. I was blown away when we were traveling west today out of the campground and the New River Gorge area, and went over a bridge that said it is in honor of this woman! See you in December!

Ohio and almost home

Saturday we decided to not sit in the rain - to go do something. Off we went to supposedly an ole-time hardware store in Summersville. What a bust. Was definitely not our 45 minute drive there and got caught in 3 towns with town celebrations. Made through 2 of the towns within minutes before they shut down the road - parades were about to start. Matching day - gloomy outside, gloomy and bust things to do, not a productive day.

Sunday was spent just being around the campsight, doing whatever. We packed up this morning and drove 4 hours to Cambridge, Ohio - we are camped right near Interstate 70 and 77. We will spend 2 nights here, tomorrow cleaning inside and out the RV and getting it ready for storage for a couple of months. Our plans are to MAYBE take it out in October when the 2 older grandgirls come in from Phoenix, weather permitting. If no camping, then we will get it ready to take off again the first of December for Texas. We plan to be in Texas/New Mexico this winter from December through April. We would not bring the RV back to Ohio at that time - leave it at a dealer for maintenance and return home until such time in we return to it and move up north through Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, the Dakotas, etc. Again, never bringing it back to Ohio

Sandstone Falls and John Henry

What a fun day yesterday! We started out by going to the visitor's center at an old town, Sandstone, which is about 4 miles from here. They gave us all the info on Sandstone Falls in the southern area of the New River Gorge National River park. Said we had to drive 8 miles south along the river, then 7.8 miles back up the other side of the New River. Dave got freaked out again because of the windy/twisty road going up over the mountain just to get south to a town called Hinton, then turning back up north - again a one lane road on the other side of the river. But, what a reward once we got there! Absolutely beautiful area. We spent about 2 hours piddling around there, walking out to as far as we could over the falls, watching people fish - then decided to drive back into Hinton and on to find the Graham Home which is the first settler's home in West Virginia. On the way we took pictures of people's campers - up on stilts obviously because of flooding. Separate email with more pics will show just how clever these people are in keeping up out of the flood waters. On the way there, we stopped at a roadside Dairy Queen - which was built on the side of the mountain, and the eating area was built out over the New River. Alot of people - I think this is a main attraction in Hinton. On our drive to Lowell which is where the Graham Home is, we stopped at a monument that honors John Henry - the man that beat the steel-driving hammer of the railroad fame but died from exhaustion afterward - google John Henry and read his story. Anyhow - when we stopped there was a car from Georgia - two women - Dave said he could take their picture if they wanted to while they stood infront of the statue. I think from that small act of kindness, they suggested that we follow them - they were going to the Great Bend Tunnel of John Henry's legend. We could see tracks running right into the mountain we were standing on, looking down, from below where we were at the statue. We followed them in our truck and suggested we get in their car with them after we had turned into CSX's property - they were going to drive to the tunnel - come along. They said their husbands were both employed by CSX and they are allowed on the property. Was spooky - could see a small light at the end of the mile-long tunnel - and was just blown away with the whole thing. Again, there are orbs showing up in pictures - but only show up when we were standing at the entrance. Separate email will show these pics. CSX has since built another tunnel beside this one, you can just barely make it out on the left - and CSX is in the process of making a visitor's center to honor John Henry. After leaving there, we continued on our road to find the Graham Home - found it but it had closed for the season. Today, Saturday, it's raining, will head into town later to do some shopping, but just lay low.

New River Gorge National River, WV

Yesterday we traveled to the visitor's center for the New River Gorge. I was disappointed because I thought the river would be running more - this area has been in a draught just like the rest of us and the Class 5 and higher rapids (these are for those rafters that are very very advanced) were just trickles. Was neat to see anyway - we saw this Gorge about 25 years ago when we brought our son-in-law's parents through here on a trip. This bridge is the largest single-arch span bridge in the world. You can fit the Washington Monument and then 2 Statue of Liberties on top of that Monument and still not reach the top of the bridge where the traffic is. Two times a year people bungee jump off this bridge. We went to get a snack after and saw a memorial to those jumpers who have lost their lives doing this. Fun? Unbelievable. From there we drove the Gorge scenic drive for awhile. I wanted to stop in Thurmond, which is a ghost town now withe the exception of 6 people who still live there. Dave was not happy to drive into this small little place - the road went from a narrow two lane to one lane - and there were cars and trucks passing us. No where to get off the road but scrinch by. We saw some really sad looking places, very very poor. However, once we got there - there was a railroad bridge with a one-car lane attached to it. Had to go over it to get to the town - so over we went. Glad we did. Thurmond is now part of the national park and they are restoring the town to make exhibits and such to show how the town was way back in 1900. Thousands of people lived here - coal mines were abundant, hotels, banks, and all the supportive businesses for that amount of folks. We walked the tracks to look at the exhibits inside these buildings, there were no roads - only walk by the tracks or on them. Just as we were leaving, a train came by. Pretty neat.
Today we are heading south of here, still within New River Gorge National River area - to Sandstone Falls. This is very well known and we plan on spending all day there - weather is wonderful - about 72. Weather is supposed to turn to rain tomorrow so we will hunker down and just enjoy being 'out here.'

Dawson West Virginia

Not much happened since last wrote other than awful hot weather. We left yesterday morning from Front Royal, Virginia and traveled south then west to a small town called Dawson, West Virginia. Left at 9:15 and it was 87 degrees (already) and when we got here it was 76. Last night the temperature got down to 40 - my kind of camping! It had been so hot the past 2 weeks that we had only a sheet on the bed. Last night, 2 blankets and 2 sheets. Cats froze and ended up wedged between us on the bed - snuggled.

We are not far from New River Gourge National Park and near the Gauley River - both of these are by Beckley, WV. For those who white-water raft - these are THE places to come to. We don't plan on doing that, only sightseeing.

Won't even do hiking - I broke my toe two nights ago while cleaning up inside the camper. Pretty ugly and really sore. Here's a view this morning looking out the window towards the meadow where we are camping. The old barn had an owl singing to us for quite awhile last night. The manager (that's his RV in this picture) said that deer often come up from the meadow behind them and you can see them right next to your RV. There is a walking path beyond this but he said to make sure you take a walking stick and thump the ground as you walk - 'there are copperhead snakes here and this will scare them to move on.' I don't think so!

Labor Day in VA

Yesterday, Sunday, we spent just catching up on emails, Dave doing photo editing, laundry, etc. Only went out for a short run to get drinking water and to tank up the truck. Had to even take a quick nap in the afternoon - we were up till after 1am Friday night due to the campground having a live band and then the party people did not quiet down until much later. This place is full, but fortunately we are sitting up above it all, right by the manager's RV. This is the view from our door, looking at the worker-bee's (Ed) RV and then the Manager's Montana RV. Then looking down into the transient RVs - where we were to start with. In the distance you can see the Shenandoah National Park - about 15 miles from here.

Being Labor Day and the last official 'hooray' for end of summer camping, we are watching RV after RV pull out to go home, or coming up into the area to our left (unseen in this photo) to be stored. This campground is a year-round place, not sure if we could stay here in the winter with snow. But, fun to watch the people pack up and go.

After much discussion as to where do we go next - north, south, west - and definitely not east which is Washington DC and cazillion people, we opted to head out south, then west Wednesday for Beckley, West Virginia, about a 4 hour drive from here, where the New River Gorge National Park is. Will stay there until at least next Sunday, if not more. Today and tomorrow we clean, get caught up on things, wash clothes/linen, in general just lay low. Will not be posting to blog until this coming Thursday, after we get settled.

Shenandoah NP, again

After Hurricane Earl blew by, we were supposed to get high winds and only 75 for temp. With the high winds we decided to head back to the Shenandoah NP - we could clearly see the mountains from the campground. Drove back to the mid-entrance (Boyd Visitor Center) wanted to walk along the Big Meadows - too many people - drove the rest of the way south to the end. It actually was freezing up there! Being a holiday weekend - so many people camping in the park - all campgrounds were full. Some people got a pass to leave their car in overlook sections and hike down the Appalachian Trail, spending the night where ever they choose, then hiking back out. Ahhhhh - would be nice to do, but I am not young anymore. And, I don't think I would relax with bears hanging around.

The north and south districts are totally different in vegatation and views. We both said we liked the north for the foliage, but the south for the views. There were more historical markers and information in the southern district. Goal was to hike on the Appalachian Trail, in this picture you see the AT which marks the trail heads and a small band above the AT with imprinted data that tells you how far distance to such-and-so point. Each side gives distance, depending on where you want to hike. Along the trail you will see a band of yellow swatch of paint on a tree to mark the trail. The second tree to the right has this mark. Well, we did hike the trail, picked a trail that said you will get to a waterfall (seems to be our niche) but after walking 2 miles, DOWNHILL, decided to head back since we had to hike back UP. Sweat! Even though the temp was about 68 - sheese. But, I am so glad we did this. Was neat to see and hear things in the forest.

We drove out of the park, drove back to the 500,000 book store we went to the other day (Green Valley Book Fair) and browsed for a couple of hours, returning back to Front Royal by 7:30pm. With the high wind all day, we found some of our outdoor 'stuff' was blown across to other sites. We decided we are done sight-seeing from this campsite - will just relax the next couple of days and then move on to somewhere ? Wednesday. Haven't decided yet.

Cedar Creek National Battlefield and Belle Grove

Friday we decided to go to Cedar Creek National Battlefield and to Belle Grove plantation which is about 10 miles from here. Hurricane Earl was definitely in the east - you should have seen the cloud formations! No rain forecasted - but supposed to be hot so off we went. Belle Grove Plantation is a home built in 1785, designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the wife of the owner was the sister of James Madison, the 4th president. Again, no pictures on the inside, but was amazing to see and hear the history and how people lived. Notice how this home is so huge - and only 2 bedrooms. And one level - notice the steps going up high? Alot of furniture is still from the Hite's (that's the original family). Across the road is the Cedar Creek National Battlefield Historic Park. I had never heard of this battle in the Civil War and found out it only became a national park in 2002. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove are connected because during the battle, Major General Ramseur of the South was mortally wounded and brought here to die. At his bedside was Northern Lt. George Armstrong Custer (the same of the tragic Battle of Little Big Horn - Custer's last stand). Others who fought in this battle were William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes -future presidents! This battle was a turning point in the Civil War because the North (Union) were not doing so well, being defeated by the South (Confederates) and Abraham Lincoln was campaigning for re-election, also the Shenandoah Valley was key to provisioning the South. This battle happened in October, two weeks before election of a president. Most of the battles of the Civil War were fought here in the Shenandoah Valley, some towns had 4 battles during the 4 1/2 years. Talk about devastating your town and economy and all the lives lost. Anyhow, General Sheridan got his troops to rally and won this battle for Lincoln, the North became optomistic that Lincoln could finally end this war, re-elected him and end slavery forever. You have to use your imagination to see this battle. Even the visitor center didn't have any interpreting - just some guns/bullets/uniforms/books. Not enough money to do anything right now. "But come on back in October when we fight this battle all over again - over 4,000 people come to do this!" Ahhh, no thanks, but didn't tell him that.


Having learned that the majority of the battles of the Civil War were fought in the Shenandoah Valley - it is so fertile, many rivers beside the Shenandoah, major thoroughfare between North and South - it makes sense that everywhere we go you see "Viriginia Civil War Trails" signs and historical placques everywhere. And most battles are reinacted every year! Big business even now!

No Earl, but hot!

We stuck it out at the RV yesterday, watching the waves of clouds come in from Hurricane Earl. It did get to 100, too hot for us. No rain, did get some wind. Tomorrow is supposed to be very windy from the back side of Earl going up the coast. Strange thing is today the sky is very, very overcast, Earl is due east of us out in the ocean. Can't see the Shenandoah from the RV like you can on all other days, too hazy. We thought the campground would get pretty busy when in fact it is very desolate here. The worker-bee guy Ed who is next to us said that this Earl probably scared away alot of folks, although this weekend is supposed to be wonderful - temps in the 70's. Yeah!

Today we were going to go back to the Shenandoah but since you can't see the mountains from the campground like normal, we figured we couldn't see looking down from the top of Skyline Drive. So, instead we probably will go to Cedar Creek National Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation about 10 miles from here. We have steered clear of battlefields, but for some reason - I haven't researched it - this battle has made a National park. So, we'll go.

Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia

We hung around the RV Tuesday, just trying to stay cool. It was 96 before the day was out, funny - we delayed this trip to avoid hot weather and it keeps getting hotter! Yesterday it was 100. We needed to go do something yesterday, so we drove 60 miles south down Interstate 81 to Staunton VA to the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. This museum houses authentic homes from the English, Irish, Scottish and German people from the early 1600's and 1700's. Then you stepped into "New World" American settlements - frontier homes/farms from 1740, 1820, and 1850's. This picture is the 1820 farm. They (museum founders) went to the old world countries, dismantled the homes, brought them to VA and reassembled them just as it stood. For the American frontier homes - these came from places in Virginia - again actual homes/farms dismantled and then reassembled here. Quite impressive. And brought all the interior with them - furniture, fireplace cooking utensils, clothing, etc. The staff was working on a West African site and similar slave quarter home from a plantation was to be finished by the end of the month. The last piece was American Indian and they have it in their plans.

From there we found a bookstore that says it has 500,000 books. And do they! Unbelievable. We were on sensory overload when we walked in, and then I discovered that alot of the authors were recognizable but the books weren't. I think these were overstocks, titles that never made it big time, etc. And cheap. Every catagory you could imagine. I found 4 books, Dave found 1 for a total of $19.46. Was worth stopping and browsing for a couple of hours.

Today, again we watch for Hurricane Earl - Virginia is in a state of emergency and I don't know how that will affect me grocery shopping. Supposed to be passing through tonight, but a quick passing. Hopefully with Earl passing on, the Shenandoah will clear up and we will drive back up there again and get clearer pictures. I want to get a picture of the Appalachian Trail as it criss crosses the Skyline Drive. Maybe I'll see a bear again?!

Shenandoah NP and a Bear!

It has been so hot here - yesterday 96 and should be the same today. We are closely watching Earl to see how bad we will get impacted. Sunday we drove to Winchester and to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Was so disappointed and wasn't sure why until driving back Dave said - that a display of oppulance. Sure, the Wood and Glass family that settled in Winchester about 1730 were successful, but sheese. The Glen Burnie house is the home that the last ancestor - Glass - refurbished from some of his money. The house was built in 1738 and it is quite impressive. The gardens were beautiful. The last of the Glass family got his friend to build miniture doll houses - and that's in the museum. Even had a visiting Elvis display from the Smithonian there. Unbelievable.


Yesterday we drove down the road to Strasburg, a town that was founded in early 1700's also, and they have a museum that houses artifacts back to 1710. Now that museum was very impressive. From there we drove to the Shenandoah National Park with the intent of driving from the north entrance to the mid entrance and hopefully getting home by 3pm. The Skyline drive is 105 miles long, we drove 56 of it. Took us over 5 hours just to drive this, then another hour to get home. I got my fix of the park - it is lovely, you ride the Blue Ridge Parkway along the tops of the mountains, have overlooks about every 2 miles, very scenic. And we came across a bear in the road. When we got to one of the visitor's center I asked if that bear was a baby. They said no, more than likely it was over 1 year old at which time the mother tells it to hit the road, you are on your own. We found out that there are over 500 bears in the park, but I don't think I want to get any closer than this!

Today we sit tight, just too darn hot, will play catch up, etc.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

My back was better so we headed to Harpers Ferry to see that national park. I had read a sentance or 2 about it in school, knowing that some guy named John Brown tried to get slaves and supporters to join him and start an insurrection to stop slavery. He didn't succeed, was caught and hanged by the government. Robert E Lee was head of the US Marines who seized Brown and his supports. Yeah, same Robert E Lee who became general of the Confederate Army. George Custer was part of this Marine Corp also. This skirmish was the start of the Civil War because people started to really question the slavery issue. Was very impressed with: what the town of Harpers Ferry looks like - still most of the old buildings from the 1780's still there - this picture shows John Brown's fort (fire enginehouse) where he held out with his supporters and was captured by the Marines and some of the old buildings; the floods that have taken a toll on the town; Meriweather Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition came through in 1803 to get outfitted with rifles, etc. for the trip out west; George Washington owned much property around this area - purchasing it when he was 16 - the man was rich!; the first school - Storer - was founded for the education of blacks, and continued for almost 100 years. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad converges here and is the main leg to move supplies from one side of the Shenandoah Valley to the Ohio Valley; Harpers Ferry was the first national armory in the country. Also, there were over 80 battles of the Civil War fought in this 50 mile radius of this town.

The Appalachian Trail goes right through here and we were standing almost at the middle point of the trail which extends between Maine and Georgia. With my back not 100% I couldn't hike to the visitor's center for the Trail, only hiked about 1/2 mile of it and said I have been there, done that (sort of). Saw a number of hikers going north and south on this trail. We saw people tubing down the Potomac River, and the tubers eventually crossed to where the Shenadoah River joins the Potomac under the railroad tressle. Pretty cool.

Back Break Move

Didn't do much yesterday other than move the RV to another spot. No, didn't get to the river as I wanted to, those are booked up until the 3rd. Instead, we moved 'up' to where the manager of the resort has his RV and where the worker-bees have their RVs. We are on a slight hill, overlooking all the craziness of where we were, and backed up into the hill. The management said we will see deer, raccoons, rabbits, and bear! And best, we will be in shade from 1pm on. So, when we take off sightseeing, at least we know the RV is in relative coolness for most of the afternoon and the cats will be okay. Worker-bees are those people who come to work at the park in exchange for free camping, this is done throughout most of the US - there are ads all the time for help like this. Wouldn't want that - the gentlemen next door puts in 10 hours a day, 4 days a week, then has 3 days off of which he drives back to West Virginia (home) to relax. No thanks.

The 'Back Break' of the title refers to me. I hurt my back somehow Tuesday, could barely walk Wednesday and in so much pain! and yesterday was a tidge better, thanks to eating tons of medicine. I looked 30 years older, leaning to one side, taking small baby steps. Today I am able to walk not leaning, and we will go to Harper's Ferry (a Civil War sight) and then to the visitor's center of the National Park.

Front Royal, VA

We packed up yesterday morning in complete fog and waited until it lifted somewhat before heading to Virginia. Knowing we were going to pass through the Allegheny Mountains on the way here, we weren't excited about driving in the fog. Cats screamed at us for about an hour until I realized that if I turned on the a/c and cooled it down, they might shut up - which they promptly fell asleep until getting here.

We are at the Front Royal, Virginia, camping near the entrance to the Shenandoah National Park, the most northern town of the park. This campground is something else - it's a Coast to Coast campground which means that members buy into it for a price and they are guaranteed a spot if they call within 3 days of coming. Since we aren't members, but members of Passport America, they leave 30 sites available for 'us'. We are packed in tightly, can't even park the truck with us - it's at an overflow area not far, but still. We have asked if there are any Coast sites available for us for the next 2 weeks and those are sitting right on the Shenandoah River. I hope we get to move.

Plan to go into town today to get info at the visitor's center, scope out what to do, etc.

Ohiopyle

Ever ride your bike in the pouring rain? That's what happened to us yesterday. We were going to go hiking at Ohiopyle State Park, on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, which is an old railroad that has been converted to a bike/hike trail connecting Pittsburgh to Washington DC. Instead of hiking it down along the rapids at Ohiopyle, we biked up on top where the railroad used to be. Ohiopyle is an Indian word meaning white frothy waters. Lots of rapids and many rafting along - could hear them as we looked down on the river. In this picture - small red blobs - were 2 rafters that we followed. Unbelievable scenery. Camping, white water rafting, horseback riding, street biking and mountain biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, a virtual outdoor lovers area. Started out going north on the trail, about a 1% incline we were told, and biked over 6 miles one-way then decided to turn around - had not biked that long of a distance in months - and got within 2 miles of where we started - and wham! Pouring rain. Still, glad we didn't miss this opportunity to see Ohiopyle and experience the Allegheny Passage Trail.

Today is clean-up day, laundry, final grocery shopping, tomorrow we leave for the Shenandoah.

Rainy Sunday

Dave and I can't remember - we think during all our trips the rain only fell at night and usually stopped mid-morning. Yesterday was the first day that it rained most of the day. So, it was a low-key day for us. Grocery shopping, surfing the internet, reading, napping, cleaning. We are changing our plans a tidge - we are going directly to the Shenandoah Mountains to camp next. With the holiday coming, campsites are filling up with reservations, so we decided to go there Wednesday, to Front Royal VA, which is at the top of the national park. We'll stay there for 2 weeks before moving on. Lot's to see and do, we aren't far from alot of Washington DC sites too.

This campground we are at - when we came in Wednesday we were one of 3 RV's parked. Then by Friday noon the swarm came. Every site taken and yesterday by 8am they started back out. Now we have 9 left, and I see 2 are packing up to go today. One weird RV: a nice big class A (bus style) came in yesterday, no car being pulled behind it meaning they are stuck here, and then proceeded to set up chairs for 8 people. We were expecting a couple of RV's to come in and park by them by dark last night, but no. Weird.

Today we are going biking on the Allegheny trail. Hope to bike to Ohiopyle State Park, about 9 miles from where we will start. There is a waterfall there that is a natural stone slide. Sounds interesting.

Frank Lloyd Wright homes

We had made reservations for Frank Lloyd Wright's, an organic architec that designed and had built over 1000 homes and businesses (the Guggenheimer Art Museum in New York) in the US, homes for Saturday tours. The first home is owned by Lord Palumbo of England, he is the second owner of Kentuck Knob. Could only take photos outside of both homes, sorry. We started out bad, our 20 minute drive ended up 1 hour. We missed our first tour by 10 minutes but they let us in on the next one. And things got worse after this tour, we waited for the shuttle bus to get us back to the visitor center (they don't allow anyone to walk up to it or drive to it) which was being driven by a very old man. So, called Fallingwater (our other FLLW home) and said we were late and what can they do to accomodate us - they said not a problem. They said they would fit us in within a half an hour after we arrived.


Thankfully Fallingwater was only a 15 minute ride away and they took us into the next tour. One thing that I kept saying to the tour guide - a maintenance headache! We saw alot of signs of deterioration from the water below (freeze/thaw) and from the cantalevers of all the levels - so much weight and stress. I read that in the first month that the owners moved in after it was built, there were 50 leaks that had to be addressed. And Dave and I complain about one leak in the condo! Ugh, shame on us. Both homes very impressive in architecture and lifestyle, however Dave and I still have Taliesan West in Scottsdale AZ as our favorite so far. We chuckle that our condo is kinda FLLW in that we don't have alot of furniture, have wide open spaces, try to incorporate the window views of Lake Erie as much as possible with furniture placement, etc. Guess we have to make it a point to see the Pennfield Home in Willoughby - you can even rent this home for yourself for a price!

Wind Farm on Mount Davis

Yesterday we decided to make it a low-key day. First stopped in Rockwood where the Allegheny Trail is, a biking/hiking trail, that we will do in next couple of days. Then drove to Mount Davis, the highest elevation in PA, was sorely disappointed because the sign was in a bad way and there was no view. However, turning the corner to go back down we saw a small sign and it said it was wheel chair accessible (huh? a walking trail in the mountain handicapped accessible?) Went on the little walk and came across this sign and a cute little area with benches. Well maintained, only can think that the family has kept up this area. Very sad story - google Baughman Rock and read the entire store.

After leaving there we drove back to the campground, and saw three different wind farms. These puppies are huge! Didn't make any noise, but if they went fast, Dave said birds could not see the blades and fly right into them. I didn't realize I lined up a wind mill with an electric pole.

Today we head to Frank Lloyd Wright's Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater homes. Weather is pretty warm, not having the a/c on but all the fans. When we got back to the RV yesterday Chip and Grace were laying inside the cabinets, very lethargic, but recouped within an hour. Campground is full, lots of dogs and kids. Noisy during the day, cats don't like that, but I told them to hold their ears if they didn't like it.

Laurel Caverns and Fort Necessity

Yesterday was our first day sightseeing - decided to venture to Laurel Caverns first. This cavern is known for it's Boy Scout Climbing Merit Badge Program. The cavern has been privately owned but open to the public since it's discovery and it's feature is rapelling. We took the 55 minute tour - and at the end of the tour the guide gave us a light show to Mendell's Messiah. As caves go, and this was my 6th cave, okay. Most impressive has been Karchner in Arizona.

From there we drove to Fort Necessity National Battlefield, about 30 minutes away. This National Park is all about George Washington and his first military commission. This battle at a fort of necessity (George had to quickly build a small fort to house his supplies only when he realized he was going to be in a squirmish with the French and the Indians) was Washington's first defeat in his military career, however his leadership during this time and the subsequent Braddock Campaign proved why he was chosen as this nation's first leader. We were so impressed with the historical significance to this area, this battle of Fort Necessity started the French and Indian War lasting 7 years and is known as the first global war. Washington was clearing a road from Virginia to the Ohio Valley to open up trading routes and for expansion, and today it's called the National Road, Route 40. Portions of the original road, named at that time to Braddock's Road, are still viewable today. We hiked around the fort afterward, found the trace, and then followed a small deer along the path. Pretty cool.

Laurel Highlands at Rockwood PA

We made it here to Hickory Hollow Campground in Rockwood PA, just 15 miles south of Somerset yesterday afternoon. We are in the Laurel Highlands and the scenery here is lovely. Cats were no problem, as a matter of fact, we wondered if we had the right cats in the truck - not a peep out of either one. Will stay here for a week, going to Fallingwaters and Kentuck Knob which are 2 of Frank Lloyd Wright's homes, to Ohiopyle State Park where there are numerous trails and canoeing; Mount Davis; ride our bikes on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail which connects Pittsburgh with Washington DC; see Fort Ligonier - one of George Washington's forts; Fort Necessity; Laurel Caverns; and that's just a start. From here we will go to West Virginia to see some of the Allegheny Mountains, then head over to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Indiana and home

Phew - almost home. Should be home by 2pm tomorrow. We drove from above Madison Wisconsin to just east of Elkhart - Middlebury, Indiana today. Long, long drive - took us about 6 1/2 hours. We opted to drive around the outer most interstate of Chicago, and added at least an hour on our drive. As it was - there was so much traffic the route we traveled, I can't imagine what we would have faced had we gone directly into Chicago (Interstate 90) and through. With this big rig, we are glad we took the extra time.

We are staying in a KOA (Kampground of America) and with all the points we earned from our big trip to Maine and Canada last September, we got this site for $18. Cheapest of all the sites we did on this route. We will have put 2400 miles on the truck, about 2000 on the RV, went through 5 states, saw 4 national parks, saw 4 of the 5 Great Lakes on this trip, got some new friends (Sam and Bambi) and found our summer retreat - Sunset Bay Campground - in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Did not break anything on the RV this time - the 2 things were already broken before we left - but still have to get it back to the dealer this week.

In one year of traveling with this RV, we have been to 17 states, 12 national parks, hiked so many trails, had our feet in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Superior, seen all 5 Great Lakes, been to Canada with the rig, had some hairy experiences with things breaking, spent anywhere from $15 (Kentucky) to $58 (Bar Harbor) a night at a site, seen 9 waterfalls, met some STRANGE people and also some very warm compassionate people. Learned just what our limitations are and what the cats' breaking point of traveling is. It has been a blast - and we look forward to many more years of doing this. Our dream.

We will be in Vermilion for the month of July, probably won't head out for some time - I think I'll probably have to have surgery again on my foot - we'll see. In any case - long term - we will be leaving right after Thanksgiving in November and head to Texas for the winter, then be back home again sometime in April. I CAN'T WAIT! Will talk to you again when we head out 'on the road again'.

Cave of the Mound/Devil's Lake

We weathered a horrible storm Saturday nite - I think it hit Cleveland area Sunday late afternoon - but Sunday morning started as a gorgeous day. Decided to go to Cave of the Mounds which is an underground cave discovered in 1936. Impressive, but not spectacular. I think the most impressive so far was Karchner Caverns in Bisbee Arizona. Anyhow, Dave was impressed and that's good since he's the driver! This pic shows stalagtites coming down from the ceiling. I expected more color down there, and guess what? Dave said my pictures showed light orbs - ghosts, again. Guess I am a ghost/spirit magnet. I didn't feel them like I did the other day in the Delaware Copper Mine. The outside of the cave is natural gardens - prairie restoration, rain gardens, etc. Just beautiful Here's a pic of a prairie pea - there had to been over 100 species of prairie flowers. Got lots of pics of all the flowers - Dave loved using his new lens. More pics will follow separately. From there we drove into the Wisconsin Dells and drove down the main street and turned around and drove out. Talk about a tourist trap! So, instead I had Dave drive along the road of the Wisconsin River, right outside of town, and found a place - we thought - that we could get out and view the Dells (large cliff formations). Was a 4H camp and a counselor steered us to go to Devil's Lake State Park. We hiked the east bluff trail which goes along a very tall cliff overlooking the lake. Very pretty, very very tiring! Talk about a climb up, and then a very steep climb down. Pretty area. After we got back to the campground, I went to the info/store here at the camp to get popsicles for Dave and told there where we went - and they said - did we see rattlesnakes? You know we see them everytime we go there? Whaaaaaaa? Good thing I didn't know that! Yikes! Today we drive from Wisconsin Dells which is northwest of Madison, drive through Chicago which we aren't pleased about - but can't avoid - and stop in Elkhart Indiana for the night. That is a campground that we will clean the RV inside and out. We always stop at a full-hookup the night before we come home - to clean thoroughly before getting home. We should be home tomorrow afternoon. Was a fun trip - only down was not having the pets with us. They will go for sure next time.

Bye bye UP, Hello Wisconsin

Wouldn't you know it? We have been looking for eagles all this time in the UP and last night, as soon as we got back to the RV, a golden eagle came and sat in the tree above our RV for at least an hour. I think he (Sam) was saying - don't go! It flew away only when some small children came along the beach - it didn't like all the noise of those boys. Beautiful evening last night - had light rain, but listened to the fog horns of freighters passing, heard Sam screeching, and quiet solitude. With the sunset at 10:45pm, it was quite late by the time we headed to bed. About 1am Dave woke up to the moon beams spreading across the bed. Since we didn't have any neighbors, we could leave the shades up. This made it good since we could look for Sam or Bambi anytime. We kept a lookout for Bambi - the one we saw the first morning and since saw it playing in the road! And guess what? It came by first thing this morning to say goodbye also. And who was in the tree again this morning? Yep, Sam. Again, to say goodbye, come back soon. Something I forgot to mention - where we were camping - a couple purchased the adjacent property, built a $1Mil home, and are not living there because they are afraid that if something happened to them, the nearest hospital was 1/2 hour drive away. Well, if they have that kind of money - put in a helipad for helicopters. And, both of them are doctors? What are they thinking? Here's a pic of their home that is sitting empty.
Left Sunset Bay RV this morning at 9:30am and started the drive down the UP, through Michigan and into Wisconsin. No traffic, lots of fog, do deer - thank goodness! - and easy drive. When we got on I39 heading south out of Wausau, the terrain changed dramatically and you definitely knew you were not in Michigan. We are at Wisconsin Dells, not far from Madison. Will look around here tomorrow - see the Dells, maybe go to Frank Lloyd Wrights home, then head out Monday morning for Chicago and into Indiana and spend the night in Elkhart. Home Tuesday. Can't wait to see Chip and Grace - our sitter has said Chip really is missing us - he is right at the front door as she comes in, I think he must think it's us coming home.

Calumet and Museums

Last day in the UP and we decided to do some museum/history things. Weather is dreary - light rain with temp about 60. We headed south to Calumet where the National Park System has just started a historic park - dedicated to the Copper Mining museums of Keweenah County Michigan. No actual buildings are on display yet, and this park is different from others - it is in partnership with many of the towns and sites on the peninsula. Between ghost towns and mines (the Delaware mine we went through) to mansions of the people who owned the mines, to railroads to haul the copper, to the cultures and religions, lighthouses, schools, etc. there is alot to see - if you are in to history. Then of course all the outdoor things like hiking, biking, camping, seeing waterfalls, going to Isle Royale, and of course the quiet and no people!

We have now put this Sunset Bay RV resort as one of our 'must come back to some day'. The camping areas we are seriously thinking about staying for months at a time are: Old Town Florida - this was in the Panhandle of Florida and it was on the Suwamee River where we did the kayaking with the manatees this past March. Oxbow Campground in Payson Arizona. And this campground in the Upper Peninsula. We had another campground but they are putting in a water park and that blows quiet and solitude. Now, if we could just sell our home.....then we have places to go - set up this RV in the Florida or Arizona place, get a small box camper with a van to pull it, and travel between the other 2. Sounds good? Does to us.

A Day in the Wilderness

Forecast for yesterday was amazing - only 68 and sunny - so we planned to be outside all day. We started out by heading back up to the tip of the peninsula and drove up to Brockway Mountain. Way in the distance we could see a freighter going east bound, probably from Duluth to Detroit or Cleveland. If you look closely on the map you can see where we are in relation to the rest of the peninsula. The roads are something else - you would think with it being this far north that potholes and bad roads - but since it stays cold and doesn't have all the freeze thawing we have in Cleveland - great roads. However, curvy and bumpy and S-turns. And 55 miles an hour along this. Have to really watch for deer on the roads - every day we have almost hit one. From the mountain we dropped down into Copper Harbor. Found a coffee shop and reloaded our energy then walked along the north trail called Hunter's trail. Next on the list of things to do, we went to Estavent Pines where the grove of pines reach up to 300 feet tall, have a base of about 5 feet, and are at least 500 years old. We were on low energy, stumbling up and around on the path so we stopped the walk half way through and came back. Stopped at another waterfall, Mangenese Falls, could barely see it from all the foliage, but definitely hear it. Back into Copper Harbor to look around some more, stopped at an overlook by their lighthouse (can only go there by boat) and took some more pics. All in all a really nice day outside. Some thoughts and things we have found out since being here.....first, you see no pleasure boats on the water. Only large commercial fishing vessels every day. We found out that only fishing allowed is by the Ojibwa Indians since this is their jurisdiction. If you want to boat and fish, go to one of the inland lakes/ponds - of which there are 4 on this peninsula. Second - no moose, we are too far south - go to Minnesota, Canada, or Isle Royale to see them. Third - no Aurora Borealus - weather conditions are not suitable. Come back in August (yeah - and be eaten alive by flies.) Fourth - eagles and loons - where are they? They said at Brockway Mountain, or in Eagle Harbor, or Copper Harbor - didn't see any there, but did see 2 eagles fly overhead of us the first hour we got to this campground - and not since. And last - amazing clean, cold water. Said temp is 42, and definitely no vegatation in it. No ducks, no seagulls, no nothing - just rock. Totally different than Lake Erie. Heading back starting tomorrow, heading to Wisconsin Dells for a couple of days then home by Tuesday.

Jampot and Copper Mine

The day started out very overcast so we decided to head more north to Eagle Harbor, then on to Copper Harbor. Our thought was to get breakfast at the Jampot - which is run by Byzatine Ukranian Monks. Wow, talk about tasty treats! And definitely not pasties - those pies made famous by the Fins and Danish that were made out of meats and veggies. We bought pastries to last us until the end of the trip. Since this wasn't breakfast, we drove on into Eagle Harbor along a really narrow windy road on the north side of Keweenaw Peninsula. No luck there, onto Copper Harbor. Visited the information center, got our bearings and had a late breakfast, and since rain was threatening, decided to go to the Delaware Copper Mine. This is an abandoned copper mine which started operation in 1845 and stopped about 1898. A private owner bought this mine and he is now running it. It is a self-guided tour, and cold! On the surface it was 70 and below it was only 40. Brrr. He has done a nice job documenting the mine and what happened and how miners worked. I have to say - there were ghosts down there - even Dave said he had to get out because he was so uncomfortable. Will send pictures under separate email. Oh - and this guy and his wife own pet skunks - got to pet this pretty little girl - her coat is so soft! Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny - will go back to Copper Harbor, do some hiking, go to the top of Brockway Mountain to see the eagles that they say are numerous, and go into Calumet to another historical mining museum. Not sure yet when we are going to leave here.

Wolves Howling and Fog Horns

Last evening as Dave was walking the garbage up front and stopped in his tracks - wolves howling! He came back and said - you hear that? Well, how could I not? And we heard the pack howling again later, then again this morning. Then, he when he came back after the garbage run he said, did you see the bear trap? What? Where? He talked with the owner and he said that there is a bear that roams around and right now they know it's about 20 miles more north on the Keweenaw Peninsula (this spit of land we are on). Okay, so now I am thinking - are we safe? But then you hear the kids running around and out here without any parent yelling, and I calmed down. We have almost hit deer 2 times - standing right on the road and we had to slam on the breaks and honk the horn to get the kids running. The only thing I haven't seen is a moose - you would think they would be everywhere. And they are from what the locals said. I spent last evening with my feet in Lake Superior - at first I was going to cry from it being so cold, but then I think they became numb from the cold. Anyway, since my foot was still swollen and hurting from the hike a couple of days ago, no icing, just Lake Superior. Watched the fog come in and out - the fog is another factor. It is sunny and beautiful one minute and then bam - the fog rolls in. I discovered that when the wind starts up, the fog rolls in. Wind stops, fog goes away. This is the passway for freighters leaving and returning to Duluth so you can hear the engines of the freighters even though you can't see it. But, you do hear the fog horn. Again, pretty awesome. Did I mention that we are parked at the end, by the boat house? When I first called and said we were a really big RV, high profile, long truck - need extra space - the owner Bill said - well, just put you at the Boat House. You will be alone, but it's really a premier spot. And it is! From this picture you can see why it's called the boat house! And yes, that was a working boat that they took out fishing, and now resides here. We have our RV right in front of this, against the lake.

God's Country UP

We are here at Sunset Bay RV Resort - right on Lake Superior - and I do mean on the lake. We decided we will not leave here for a long long long time - it is so beautiful, eagles flying overhead, freighters sounding their fog horns, just heaven! If you look at this picture and look to the very right of the land - we are camped under that last pine tree. Breath-taking! There is a lot to see here on this part of the UP, and tomorrow we will begin our tourist stuff. We have paid until Friday but we are thinking - heck with Minnesota and Wisconsin - let's stay here as long as we can and enjoy! Foggy today but at times the sun comes out and temp is about 66. Lovely! Will be going to see a copper mine tour, stop by the Ranger station for Isle Royale which we aren't going to, maybe do some ATVing here - can use theirs and they have their own paths. You ever booked some hotel and wondered what the heck you were doing - when you pulled up and thought - oh no. Well, that's just what we thought as we pulled in - but are we surprised. Like the time we booked a hotel in Del Ray Beach CA in a run down hotel (we thought) and it turned out to be the best! This place will hold dear to our hearts for a very long time.

Hiking Pictured Rocks NP

Yesterday we packed up our hiking gear and went to Pictured Rocks NP to do some hiking. Dave wanted to go to Beaver Lake and hike which is within the park, and I wanted to see some falls. We started out at Miner's Castle overlook which we saw during our boat ride - but saw it from land. Pretty spectacular! From there we drove into Beaver Lake area which was an unpaved road, steep grades, and one lane most of the way. Dave was very nervous and at one point the truck skidded sideways toward the edge - did I say this was unpaved AND a huge dropoff? Whooohooo! The hiking trail into Beaver Lake was just beautiful - but very rugged. They said it was an intermediate class trail - but we went anyhow. Got to the lake and saw one beaver and then hiked further to Lake Superior's Twelve Mile Beach which is also part of the National Park. Again, blown away at the scenery.

Drove on to Miner's Falls where we again had to hike it in - fortunately this path is very even, you could tell it is visited alot. We figured we hiked in total yesterday about 7 miles. My foot and Dave's knee were killing us by the time we got back. I had to ice my foot for most of the evening - after I stood in a feezing Lake Superior for awhile. Spent the evening with a glass of wine and sitting on the beach at the campsite. Lovely day - temp only got 72 and again at night the temp drops down to 50. Today we need to grocery shop - I have already done laundry, and we'll grab lunch out, then go hiking again at Munising Falls. Tomorrow we pack up and head farther north along the UP.

Easy day at Munising

Our original plans to hike in Pictured Rocks was nixed. Dave wasn't feeling up to par - so we opted to just go to the Ranger Park station, get literature on the park, do some grocery shopping and then head back to the campground. Weather is very cool - but for the Yoopers, this is typical for summer. Gets down to 50 at night, yesterday's high was 71. Since Munising is in a protected bay of Lake Superior, the winds are usually from the land onto the water. Still brisk. Then by 6ish pm the winds die, then reverse from the lake. Brrr. People around us have their furnaces on at night, we instead just close everything down and put an extra blanket on.


We are enjoying sitting at the beach and staring out at life. A couple of things we noted - it stays light very late here. I checked sunrise/sunset - sunrise is same as Vermilion - about 5:54am. But sunset is 45 minutes later! No wonder some of these campers with small children are still running around at 10:15pm. It really doesn't get dark until 10:45. Another thing we noticed - lack of sea birds and ducks. Since the lake is so clean - wonder if that's got anything to do with it.


Today we will definitely go hiking at Beaver Lake within the park. There is a falls that we want to go to that during the cruise we didn't see.

Picture Rocks National Park cruise

We left St. Ignace yesterday morning in a light rain and drove 2 hours northwest to the top of the UP and got to Munising here with a beautiful sunny sky. We didn't have problems with the RV like we thought we would so the hook up and drive was really nice. One thing to do and put on your 'bucket' list of things to do before you die - do the drive along the top of Lake Michigan (and it's the southern shore of the Upper Peninsula) - it's absolutely stunning. I learned that from now on I need to keep a camera in the car to take pictures as we are driving.

Once we got here to the campground - different story. They first put us in a sight right at the water's edge - as a back in place - but our truck is too long and we couldn't maneuver the swing into the site. So, then we moved to another - only a dead tree limb was hanging down and would have scraped the top of the unit - so moved again. We still have a nice site although not full hookup - so have to monitor our water/waste output.

Not sure of the weather so we decided to do the evening/sunset cruise that goes out on Lake Superior and see the Picture Rocks. Absolutely stunning! Got back to the site at 10:30 and it was still light out. Today will are going into the park and do lots of hiking. You cannot see the rocks from the park so we are glad we did this cruise. One of the places we want to go in the park is Beaver Lake which was formed by beavers and is the largest natural - made lake in the US.