Pocahontus State Park Virginia

Got to Pocahontus Friday after I95 cost us an hour and a half between Washington and Richmond, stop and go half the way. We have electric and water but will have to go to dump station at least once during our 10 night stay.

We went to Jerry's Saturday and had a nice little walk around the Swift Creek Reservoir. They came out to the park yesterday and we went to the water center then roasted hot dogs and smores.

West Virginia

West Virginia wasn't very nice to us. We took US205 south from Wheeling thinking it would be more scenic than than I79. And that it was, but it it was up and down, over and around, about 30 mph for about 2 hour and as we got into Fairmont WV the transmission gave out. it was Sunday so we had to wait til Monday to get help, fortunately we were able to pull into the parking lot of a body shop, out of the way of traffic, but not really a safe neighborhood, but we stayed there overnight. Monday we found Melvin's Transmission Shop, and I think they did a great job rebuilding it. a tire blew out when they took the MH out for a test drive, so we wound up buying the sixth tire for this road trip. Luckily we were in a place where we could fix it promptly, thanks to Miike and his crew at Melvins.  We spent two nights in the Red Roof Inn while the RV was in the shop,tonight we are in the Cumberland Mountains at a Good Sam park, Sand Springs Camping Area, we will be here two nights then go to Pocohontus State Park in Virginia for ten nights, close to Jerry and family.

Evergreen RV Resort - Mount Eaton, Ohio

We traveled down US250 today to Mount Eaton, shunning the interstate system for a more scenic, slower stroll. A short drive of 130 mi. The RV park is top of the line, rated 10 in everything and well deserved. We could only get 1 night though, they are filled up on the weekend. The owners are hunting/fishing enthusiasts, I guess. They have bear, marlin, elk and deer trophies everywhere. We took a quick swim in the indoor pool & hot tub, then did our laundry. We are pretty much settled down for the night now. Tomorrow we'll drive about 45 miles, hopefully, to a lake campground that we don't have reservations for.

Maumee Bay State Park Ohio

This park is very nice, huge, at the southern tip of Lake Eerie. It is very green and wooded, swampy in spots, makes for great mosquitos. We spray up before going out. We see some deer and rabbits every time we go for walk, which is morning and evening, too hot during the day. We have electric but no sewer or water, but they are available at the dump station - fee $37/night. They have 2 nice beaches - 1 on Lake Eerie and 1 on an inland lake. They also have a very nice paved walking/bike trail which Jill loves.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to the great lakes and head southeast, next stop Mount Eaton, Ohio.

Birch Run MI

I hate to say it, but we are headed south, towards home. Slowly, for sure, but never the less towards home. Traveling down I75 today was a nice and easy 212 miles. Pine Ridge RV Camground is nice, shaded, full hookups and all, but they advertise full service and don't have cable or WiFi. We are here for 3 nights. The Sickenbergers, our traveling buddies, are just staying 2 nights then heading towards Maine.

We enjoyed our little 3 mile trip to Frankenmuth, a little Bavarian village full of gift shops, taffy, chocolate and fudge. We splurged on a $22 chicken dinner at the world famous Bavarian Inn. We wound up taking half of it home so it wasn't quite so outlandish. They were also having a craft fair and we enjoyed walking through the craft booths.

St Ignace & Mackinac Island

We have had a wonderful 3 night stay in St Ignace, with 1 night to go. It's a quaint little lake front village with a very clean appearance and a great boardwalk along Lake Huron. We are staying at the Straits State Park, also a fairly nice park but only has electric hookups, no water or sewer but a dump station with water at the entrance. They have a very nice walking trail through the woods to a Mackinac Bridge overlook which Jill and Karl have taken a number of times.

St Ignace has 3 boat companies servicing Mackinac Island, we chose the Star Line because they offer a package deal, boat, carriage and fort for $55. The Island is awesome! The carriage ride is essential for us oldtimers to see the Island, younger bucks can rent a bicycle and get around the Island in about an hour. The rock arch and Grand Hotel offer awesome views. The fort offers excellent views of the Island also. The weather was a perfect 75F with perfectly blue skies, the whole day was pretty awesome. We took the 9:20AM ferry because it makes a little detour for a passage under the bridge, it gives a whole new perspective of the bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the US, about 50% longer than the Golden Gate.

Friday, the 24th, we'll head towards home, but very slowly, we should be there in a month. We plan on spending 10 days near Richmond VA with Jerry & family. Next stop Birch Run MI.

Sault Ste Marie & Soo Locks

We spent 1 night at Aune-Osborne RV Campground along the St James river. We had electric and water, no sewer hookups but they did have a dump station which we used for the accumulation at Marquette. We watched a couple of barges go by on the river while we got settled and then went up to Soo Locks, a 10 minute drive, to watch a couple of barges go through. The 1st one was a small one and quickly made its way through the locks, but the 2nd one just barely fit into the lock both width ways and length ways. It took a lot longer to get into the lock and we were ushered out before the lock was flooded and the barge escaped.

Marquette & Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

We stayed 3 nights at the Ojibwa Casino RV Park in Marquette MI. Camping was free with electric service and about $8 free slot play per day, also free drinks all day. They only have 7 sites so timing is important. They do have a couple of light poles in the parking lot with electric hookups for late comers.

We spent one day at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and took a short hike to a beautiful waterfall as well as the 3 hour boat ride along the awesome cliffs of Lake Superior.

Porcupine Mountains State Park MIUP

We drove into the park on the west end and the GPS said we were there and then we found out that the Visitor Center and campground was another 25 miles. Were we ever disappointed. The campground is right on the beach of Lake Superior, and a really nice, scenic beach it is. With the water at 55F no one was swimming but quite a few kayakers. The campground, $13.50/night + $9 entrance fee + $6 fee for towed car + $10 reservation fee, was really crowded and has a real fly and mosquito problem. If you go take lots of bug spray. They were supposed to have a modern restroom and showers but they were being rebuilt so they were using a 2 unit trailer which was really inadequate.

Anyhow, the short hike to Lake of the clouds was very rewarding, a very great view of the photogenic lake and forests. We also took a short hike to the water falls in the Presque Area and what seemed like a long hike to the Summit Lookout tower where a panoramic view is awesome.

Baraboo WI

We had a real nice campsite at Mirror Lake State Park Wisconsin
The lake, tho pretty, had a lot of algae growth. Wis Dells a tourist type town was very close and we enjoyed the cheese market (really enjoying the cheese) and outlet mall. We started to see a little more insect activity as well. We stayed 2 nights as just a way point to Michigan UP.

Nauvoo IL

Nauvoo is really alive. They now have2 great pageants, the Nauvoo and the British. We enjoyed both immensely. We took in the Wilford Woodruff, Heber Kimball, John Browning and Lucy Mack Smith homes as well as the brick factory, the Trail Of Hope and the restored church tour which includes the Nauvoo Mansion, Joseph Smith home, the Smith Cemetery and the store. We also went to Carthage and took the Jail tour where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred and the city cemetery where there's a memorial headstone for William and Elizabeth Patrick Taylor. We really enjoyed the Nauvoo Brass Band and bagpipe band concerts. We also attended a full session at the Nauvoo Temple.

Council Bluffs Iowa

Visited the Mormon Trail Center and cemetery at Winter Quarters today, very interesting. Our families have several relatives buried here, mostly children. Also visited the Kanesville Tabernacle where Brigham Young was sustained as president of the church in Dec 1847 after he led the way to Salt Lake. It took less than 3 weeks for 200 men to build the tabernacle so that many members could sustain the Prophet at the same time. It was also the place that Oliver Cowdery returned to the church after being gone for 10 years. It was rebuilt in 1996.

We are staying at Lake Manawa State Park. A very nice lake filled with fishermen, boaters and swimmers. We have an electrical campsite for $20/night.

We will go to Nauvoo Wednesday.

Mitchell South Dakota

The trip down I-90 for the Black Hills is really boring. Mitchell is the home of the one and only corn palace. It's too early for the corn decoration but it'll soon be sporting lots of ears of corn they're in a major renovation so it's not as fantastic as usual, but will be resplendent come August. We're only spending 2 nights here, we're thinking of doing Cabela's tomorrow then head for Council Bluffs Iowa Sunday.

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Got to Rapid City yesterday. Got new alternator for car. It now run's fine. Drove to Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park today. Enjoyed Rushmore, herds of Bison, 1 pronghorn managed to pose for us, and lots of beautiful country and scenic highways, especially the Iron Mountain  Highway with spiral curves and very small tunnels. We were right behind a big motorhome when we came up to a small tunnel, he came to a dead stop and waved us on. I guess somehow he got turned around and headed back the other way.

Yesterday we drove down the Needles Highway which has 3 very small tunnels and 1 beautiful lake and very scenic hills. Sylvan Lake is one of the prettiest lakes in the states, probably the prettiest small lake in the world. After the Needles Highway we made our way to the Crazy Horse Memorial. We were there 18 years ago and couldn't see much development of the statue since then, but  a great difference in the visitor centers (unbelievable difference). The price of admission was also almost unbelievable, last time I think all they asked for was a donation, now it's $11/person. I guess that's what's funded the visitor center, restaurant, parking, schools and museum.

Today (Tuesday) we went to Deadwood and caught a couple of gunfights. One card player was shot accidentally in the head. He survived for 69 days without medical help, then died in a hotel room in his sleep from an aneurysm caused by a bone fragment from the wound. In the other gunfight one card player shot 2 other players after they called him out for being a cheat. Both fights actually occurred in the 1876-77 time frame in Deadwood. Wild Bill Hickok was killed and buried in Deadwood in 1876.

Wednesday we made another run thru Custer State Park. Didn't see as many Bison as the other day but had one close up view of cow & calf. They got up close & personal to Pat's open window. Other wildlife we saw included a couple of deer, prairie dogs, pronghorn and wild turkey. The ever present donkeys were fun to be around, one didn't feel bad at all about blocking the road and refused to move.

Thursday was a lay up day, got the laundry done and went out to Marco's Pizza for brunch.

Tomorrow we move on East, we've kinda wore out our welcome in the Black Hills. Our next 3 stops are: Mitchell SD, Council Bluffs IA and Nauvoo IL. We are meeting our friends from Spring Hill, the Sickenbergers, in Nauvoo on the 8th, then we'll go to the Mich UP together.

Devil's Tower

Spent 3 nights in the Devil's Tower Campground, it was great. Water provided everything else we had to provide, $6/night - what a deal. The weather was just about perfect. The campground filled up just about every night, but never seemed crowded, lots of wide open spaces. The Tower, extraordinary. Prairie dog town kinda fun to watch. Pat wasn't feeling too good so we kinda took it easy most of the time. Jill enjoyed exploring, but collected quite a few ticks in the process.

Cody, Wyoming

Spent 4 nights at the Ponderosa Campground in Cody, Wyoming. Everything here is Buffalo Bill themed. The Ponderosa charged $43/night. It was really crowded, RV;s practically on top of each other, but it's got a central location, close to everything.

We spent 1 day at the Buffalo Bill Museum, which is really 5 museums in one: Buffalo Bill Museum, Firearms Museum, Natural History Museum, Plains Indians Museum and Western Art Museum. All of them quite amazing. We had a tour featuring area animals and also a Raptor show featuring an owl, Peregrine Falcon, red tail hawk, golden eagle and turkey vulture. The firearms museum has the largest collection of guns in the world. We really enjoyed the Art Museum, featuring artworks by Remington and Proctor. We took in the gunfight at the Buffalo Bill Irma Hotel after the Museum before returning home to take Jill for a walk.

Last night we went to a chuckwagon dinner and show followed by the Cody Nite Rodeo. The dinner and show, a 3 piece western band, was really good. The Cody Cattle Company is right next to the Cody Stampede Rodeo Grounds making it easy to take in the dinner, show and rodeo in one night.

Wapiti National Forest Service Campground,

Driving out of Yellowstone East Entrance we were looking for a campground to stay cool at for a while. The first one we stopped at had a couple of loops closed due to bear activity, those loops included the water faucet, so we continued on down the road. We then stopped at the Wapiti campground. It's out of pines but has a good set of cottonwoods for shade. It's at 6,000 feet elevation and the temperature was about perfect, though a bit cool for the morning walk with Precious, our pooch.We got a pull thru site next to the Shoshone river for $10/night, electricity provided.

We spent a lot of time sitting by the river watching mountain goats (they call them wild sheep, but they look and act like goats to me) graze on the hillside, the first night 7 of them came down to the river to drink. They had a set of twin kids and a single kid, kinda fun to watch. We also enjoyed watching the many different birds, Robins, yellow ones, yellow breasted with a black mask ones, hawks or eagles and many more varieties.

The river setting provided about a five to  10 degree F lower temperature than back at the RV, just 40 feet away. We initially signed up for 3 nights but enjoyed them so much we signed up for 4 more. Each day we waxed a portion of the motor home, completing it the last day before driving to Cody.

Yellowstone National Park

We could only get a campsite for one night in Yellowstone, they said all the campgrounds were filled up. We met the Creel's in the morning and they invited us for dinner at 6:30 pm. We decided to make the most of our one day so drove around the loop road, ordinarily a 4 hour drive. Well we missed the Old faithful show and had to wait over an hour and a half for the next one - it was well worth the wait. Then on to Mammoth on the North end. Well construction along the north west loop added another hour and a half so we made a quick stop at Mammoth and scooted back to Fishing Bridge Campground along the east loop road, I had forgotten how steep and twisty that is.

We saw plenty of Bison, a few elk and Pat saw a bear. We then met the Creel's for dinner at the Fishing Bridge Lodge cafeteria - it was a really good cafeteria with real turkey and dressing.

The fishing bridge campground has a bit of construction going on,  Two or three of the loops are closed. They charge $57/night and way in advance reservations are required. I didn't think it was possible but their mosquito population was worse than the Tetons, we could hardly  get into or out of our RV.

Grand Teton National Park

We enjoyed 3 nights at the Colter Bay Campground on Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park. We met our grandson Randy and his family at the campground and they showed us how to enjoy a dip in the icy cold Jackson Lake. You can't really get a better backdrop for great photos. The Tetons are beautiful and we enjoyed several walks along the lake shore as well as a couple of ranger presentations at the visitor's center. The $7.50 per night fee was a little more in our price range than the park in Jackson, although we did have to run our generator a little every time we ran our microwave. The temperature was about perfect, we didn't need our furnace or AC at all. One minor drawback, the mosquitoes were really big and plentiful so our bug spray really came in handy.

Erda/Jackson Hole

We enjoyed time with Doyle (Karl's brother) and Vicki. We had lunch with Mona and Beverly (Karl's sisters) and their husbands. Everyone is doing quite well, though Beverly is having gall bladder operation in about 10 days, keep her in your prayers. (Just got an update  - Beverly said it was a 35 minute operation and she's feeling fine now.)

We really enjoyed the Bar J Wranglers and Chuckwagon dinner last night in Jackson Hole. We're staying at  the Virginaian RV Park close to downtown. It's convenient and rather nice but very expensive, over $80/night. We"ll move on up to the Tetons today and hopefully find a campsite we can afford.

We'll be in the parks for a couple of weeks with little or no internet, so will add to this later.

Zion National Park

Wednesday, we arrived at Zion National Park. We're staying at the Zion Canyon Campground & RV Park Thursday we drove to St George for lunch with Karl's family, Bryce and LaRee (brother and wife), Lolene (sister) and Lisa (niece). Enjoyed reminiscing old times. Lolene, the eldest living family member, remembers the days of her youth very well.

Friday and Saturday we explored the park and enjoyed the AC of the motorhome after each trip into the 95 degree outdoors. The Springdale and Zion Park shuttle buses are very nice, every 10-15 minutes all day. They're not air conditioned but all the windows are open to keep them hospitable.

Tomorrow we'll change camps to St George, we have an appointment to get the front end aligned Monday. We expect to drive to northern Utah on Wednesday, 6/3.

Grand Canyon/Jacob Lake

Got to Jacob Lake 5/23/2015 in the middle of a snow storm. It was cold! Staying at the Jacob Lake RV park with water and electricity. It rained all day Sunday, so we just kicked back and stayed inside most of the day. Monday we drove to the Grand Canyon. When we arrived the canyon was all fogged in, couldn't see a thing, so we went to the deli for a sandwich.

When we got back to the rim the fog had lifted and the canyon was about as clear as I've ever seen. It was great, be sure and view the photos in dropbox. We saw several deer, some bucks with velvet antlers.

Tuesday we drove to Kanab for a couple of tires. The front tires were down to the cord on the inside. The outside still had 1/2 inch of tread. We've made an appointment for wheel alignment in St George Monday.

Page AZ

We've been here a couple of nights. Yesterday was laundry and kick back day. We're planning to hike today and do Antelope Canyon Slot Canyon tomorrow, but it's cloudy today and rain is forecast for tomorrow so we'll have to wait & see. We'll be going to Grand Canyon Saturday and stay at Jacob's Lake RV Park. A few miles from the park but we'll have full hookups which be nice since a new new storm is forecast and we don't want to repeat what we went through. at Bryce.

PS: We hiked to Horseshow bend yesterday along with a few thousand other tourists. Awesome view but couldn't get the whole curve iin the picture without getting a lot closer to the edge the  I was willing to go. It's an easy 1 1/2 mile hike, halt is up but that leaves helf downhill.



Today we got up early and did the upper Antelope Slot  Canyon with a few hundred other people. It's a miracle how they can get that many people through that tiny canyon at the same time. The pictures you get in the canyon are awesome, even though 8 am is not the prime time to go. We had good sunlight, however.
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Tomorrow we pack up and travel to Jacob Lake AZ, outside of the Grand Canyon.

Bryce Canyon

Arrived at Bryce Canyon Friday in a snow storm. Arrived at about 10 am and got a choice site. We stayed 4 cold snowy nights but it was worth it. Wouldn't trade the experience for a million dollars but don't want to do it again. Our cabin batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge very well. Had to run the generator 4-6 hours a day for the furnace. We didn't run the furnace at night just added a couple extra blankets to the bed.

Besides the most beautiful sights in the world we enjoyed a couple of nightly ranger programs on astronomy and deserts.

Capitol Reef National Park

Spent 4 nights. Very nice campground, first come first served. We got there about 11 am and just barely got in. 1st three days were beautiful but it rained all day the fourth. We did a little hiking, nothing too strenuous. We took the Capitol Gorge trail and climbed up to the water tanks. We never did find the tanks. A herd of a dozen deer could always be seen around the campgrounds/fruit groves. We loved the red rock and fruit pies from  the Gifford house.

Moab and Arches

We have really enjoyed  spending time with Dee and Mearl. We've had quite a bit of rain but managed to go to Arches National Park one day. We enjoyed the walk to Landscape Arch and strolled along. We then took a ride to Mearl & Dee's mountain property where they hope to build a cabin one day. We had a great picnic on the mountain enjoying the view.

We enjoyed 2 great Mom's day dinners, one at Sunset Grill overlooking Moab and a brunch at Red Cliffs Lodge overlooking the Colorado River. The lodge has a great museum with a history of the movies filmed in the Moab area. The grill is the former home of a uranium tycoon, who went from washing his clothes in the river to flying his laundry to Grand Junction.

Tomorrow we leave for Capitol Reef National Park, then on to Bryce, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon and Zion before heading north.

Fayetteville To Moab

Monday we drove from Fayetteville AR to Wilson State Park Kansas (about 50 miles west of Salina). The park is about 7 miles off I70 and is really quiet and clean.  I imagine that during the summer it has lots of boaters/fishermen, but it was almost vacant for our weekday visit. It only has 3 full hookups at $26 per night but they also charge $5 entrance fee. It also has a lot of tent and rv sites not full hookups.

Wednesday we drove from Wilson State Park to Aurora CO and camped at Cherry Creek State Park. Aurora is a southern suburb of Denver. The park is really nice, with camping spaces having plenty of room/ Camping fee for full hookup is $24 per night but they also charge $9 park fee per day, so the fee is really $33. The park is active with bicyclists and tent campers as well as RVs. We made a run over to camping world and found it in the GPS, but when we got there (24 miles through rush hour traffic) we found another RV dealer. They said they haven't been camping world for 2 years. We found most of we needed there anylway at a slightly higher price. Upon leaving Denver we saw the real camping world on the far west side of Denver.

Friday we drove the remaining distance to Moab UT through some of the most beautiful terrain in the country. The Rockies are indeed fantastic and we didn't have a bit of car trouble. We beat the trucks up the mountain but they usually passed us going down. The last time we drove through Vail CO was on our honeymoon 52 years ago, we almost couldn't believe the change. It is now a little bit like LA. Back then we stayed in a little old rustic motel (I think there was 2 in town).

We'll be driving to Capitol Reef on Monday. We hope to make at least one trip to Arces NP before we leave Moab.

Fayetteville (Razorback Heaven)

We enjoyed visiting with Joe and his family, picnicking on Saturday and Sunday. Josh led us a tour of Fayetteville. We started by going to farmer's market but it was really crowded and we couldn't find a parking place within walking distance. Then we toured the University of Arkansas campus. Old Main was dedicated in 1892 and stands today a symbol of the search for higher education. Josh is a freshman this year but plans on going on a mission before next year. Bernard recently returned from his mission to Denver and will start at BYU next year as a Sophomore.

After a picnic in a Siloam Springs park we walked through the annual Dogwood Festival and viewed the many shops. The wood furniture and other items were very interesting.

Tomorrow we leave for a state park outside of Salina Kansas.

Vicksburg

Made it to Vicksburg today. Very nice day all the way. Tomorrow we'll take in the National Military Park and downtown Vicksburg, tonight we're going to hang low. Staying at Magnolia RV Park on Miller Ave, it's not a beautiful park but it's nice and clean, filled up our propane tank.

Really enjoyed the Vicksburg Military Park. Hundreds if not thousands of  monuments. We started to take pictures of all then but soon decided that was fruitless, so just photoed the big ones. Grant spent 3 months trying to capture Vicksburg but in the end was able to cut off their supplies and patiently waited for their supplies to run out. Pemberton finally surrendered on July 4 1863, thus the Union grabbed control of the Mississippi and cut the Confederacy in two. Many say it was the turning point of the war. Twenty thousand Americans lost their lives in the battle.

We also visited the Coca-Cola museum, home of the place that Coca Cola was first bottled. After going into the shop we decided not to pay the $3.50 for the museum but did buy a souvenir bottle, which didn't take long to drink (8 oz),

1st Day in 2015 US Tour

We drove 365 miles today for our first day out on our 2015 US tour. Had a little bit of rain and wind but it was mostly just a cloudy and cool day. We didn't have to use our AC at all. We filled up at a Flying J in Tallahassee for 2.299/gal. We are settled in Eagle's Landing RV Park for the night. Getting here was kind of a fluke. We had called River's Edge RV Park, which is just down the road, and told them we were coming. The GPS had different ideas tho and brought us here for a savings of about $5/night. We plan on staying here a couple of nights, cause we just don't like to drive 2 days in a row. The sky cleared up this evening and it's now beautiful. Our new 1997 Saturn towed beautifully, It didn't seem to make much difference in the driving at all.  If you see us on the road stop in & say hi. The plan is to visit the Utah National Parks, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Nauvoo and Upper Mich as well as our 3 kids in Arkansas, Utah and Virginia.

Busch Gardens and Sea World

We bought an annual pass for Busch Gardens Tampa/Sea World Orlando and have really enjoyed many trips to both parks with family and friends. Busch held a nine week concert series and we were able to catch Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone, Fernando Valera, Memory of Ricky Nelson by his twin sons Matthew and Gunnar, Shirley Jones, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Exile with Juice Newton.We took several tame rides and one roller coaster ride (Pat didn't breathe for 3 minutes so we didn't take any more rollercoasters).

We will attending the South East Lazy Daze get to gather at Crystal River in a couple of weeks and the head for Utah in latter April for a 7500 mile road trip. We should get back home for the last 3 months of our Busch Gardens pass.