Left Bardstown, KY and drove east across Kentucky toward Huntington, WVA. We passed several immaculate horse farms—beautiful pastures defined by either tidy white or dark brown board fencing. Gently rolling hills. These old farms used to be family-owned but are now owned by corporations or foreign investors. End of an era.
So far, all interstates we’ve travelled on have been REALLY rough!! No money is being spent on highway maintenance!! So tough on us, the motorhome and our dog, Dixie. The motorhome was her first home so she travels well. However, when we hit a rough noisy patch of road, Dixie goes airborne from her chair to my feet! So, up she comes into my lap for some reassurance. Being a rat terrier, she has large ears, built for hearing varmints. This makes her sensitive to any loud noises—they’re amplified. Once the worst is over, she returns to her seat until the next scare!
NOTE: We recommend driving the Bluegrass Parkway from Bardstown to Lexington—beautiful.
Made it around Lexington and east on I-64 to Huntington. The next segment of our trip will be far more restful. We’ve decided to explore the Ohio River Scenic Byway as we head upriver. Our pace will now be more relaxed and we can enjoy the scenery. Might even post some photos!!
1,657 miles driven so far.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
“Maritimes 2012”–Wednesday, May 16
Woke to find three high-end Prevost motorhomes parked next to us at the Jackson, TN, Sam’s Club. Possibly they were in transport, since their bumpers had stickers mentioning a leasing company. Anyway, we enjoyed the humor of being parked for the night next to expensive Prevosts in a Sam’s parking lot!
We haven’t taken any photos yet since we’re not sight-seeing exactly. We’re traveling mainly on interstates until we get further north. Bear with us—photos will be included later!
Things for which I’m grateful:
I’d spotted the fine hamlet of “Only” on our Tennessee map—it was very close to our route so I just added it as a brief stop. I mean, why not? Life is short. Well, sadly, we couldn’t visit Only. the road in was too narrow for our motorhome. If only we’d been traveling with just our truck, we’d have satisfied our curiosity!
Next place name which caught my attention was the community of “Bucksnort”. A tavern in Richard’s hometown of Colfax, WI, has this same name! Always makes us laugh! Didn’t stop today; just enjoyed the name as we passed by.
Our lunch stop was at a rest area just inside the KY state line on I-65. Very pleasant! Ironically, a truck parked right next to us was from Nuevo Leon, MX, a state in Mexico located right below the border from where we live. It was carrying steel gearbox blanks.
As we neared Bowling Green, KY, we spied a sign for a Camping World store. (CW’s corporate headquarters are located in Bowling Green.) We needed to purchase a replacement heavy duty sewer hose for our motorhome so peeled off the interstate and wound our way back towards the store. Lo and behold, it was located side-by-side with a Gander Mountain Outdoor Sports store—I felt like I’d hit the big time!! Two “toy” stores in one!! Bought a few things at Gander Mtn. and our sewer house at CW, then off we went. What a serendipitous stop!
Stayed the night at a WalMart in Bardstown, KY. We were greeted by a VERY happy-sounding mockingbird in the tree by our parking place. He stayed happy during the evening, too. Made me homesick for the mocking-birds in Retama!
We haven’t taken any photos yet since we’re not sight-seeing exactly. We’re traveling mainly on interstates until we get further north. Bear with us—photos will be included later!
Things for which I’m grateful:
1) Sirius satellite radio;At a rest area during today’s drive, I noticed a sign: “No unloading of livestock.” What??? OK, the grass was very green and lush there but I still found it amusing. Only one like it I’ve ever seen.
2) our Garmin nuvi LM50 GPS;
3) our faithful now-7-years-old Newmar Dutch Star motorhome;
4) my husband, Richard—his generous spirit, his many “fix-it” skills, his love for our dog and willingness to walk her multiple times each day (for the moment, I’m not physically able to) even when he may not want to;
5) my temporary “Handicapped” placard, which means I don’t have to walk as far or as long. Yes, my goal is that it is a temporary placard!!
I’d spotted the fine hamlet of “Only” on our Tennessee map—it was very close to our route so I just added it as a brief stop. I mean, why not? Life is short. Well, sadly, we couldn’t visit Only. the road in was too narrow for our motorhome. If only we’d been traveling with just our truck, we’d have satisfied our curiosity!
Next place name which caught my attention was the community of “Bucksnort”. A tavern in Richard’s hometown of Colfax, WI, has this same name! Always makes us laugh! Didn’t stop today; just enjoyed the name as we passed by.
Our lunch stop was at a rest area just inside the KY state line on I-65. Very pleasant! Ironically, a truck parked right next to us was from Nuevo Leon, MX, a state in Mexico located right below the border from where we live. It was carrying steel gearbox blanks.
As we neared Bowling Green, KY, we spied a sign for a Camping World store. (CW’s corporate headquarters are located in Bowling Green.) We needed to purchase a replacement heavy duty sewer hose for our motorhome so peeled off the interstate and wound our way back towards the store. Lo and behold, it was located side-by-side with a Gander Mountain Outdoor Sports store—I felt like I’d hit the big time!! Two “toy” stores in one!! Bought a few things at Gander Mtn. and our sewer house at CW, then off we went. What a serendipitous stop!
Stayed the night at a WalMart in Bardstown, KY. We were greeted by a VERY happy-sounding mockingbird in the tree by our parking place. He stayed happy during the evening, too. Made me homesick for the mocking-birds in Retama!
“Maritimes 2012” – Tuesday, May 15
Pleasant daytime temperatures here in Arkansas, and cooling each evening—a refreshing change from late spring in the Rio Grande Valley of TX where we live! It’s consistently in the 90’s by day-70’s at night down there already.
Today, we left Hot Springs, bound for parts north. Our day’s trek took us past rice fields e. of Little Rock, AR, many having the funny little cone-shaped crawfish (“mud bug”) traps placed in even rows throughout. A happy second source of income for the rice farmers! These are also commonly seen in Louisiana and east TX.
The countryside is SO green, with thick woodlands and wind-rows. So refreshing!
After a fuel stop in West Memphis, AR, we continued on to spend the night in a Sam’s Club parking lot in Jackson, TN. (Wow, are we grateful for our new blinds, particularly the night shades—complete blackout so no parking lot lights! Yay!!) The WalMart next door directs RVers to the Sam’s Club lot since Sam’s closes for the night. The WalMart here remains busy at all hours.
We’ve driven 1,130 miles since leaving home. I think I’ll note our mileage in each post just for fun. Somebody out there might be interested!
Today, we left Hot Springs, bound for parts north. Our day’s trek took us past rice fields e. of Little Rock, AR, many having the funny little cone-shaped crawfish (“mud bug”) traps placed in even rows throughout. A happy second source of income for the rice farmers! These are also commonly seen in Louisiana and east TX.
The countryside is SO green, with thick woodlands and wind-rows. So refreshing!
After a fuel stop in West Memphis, AR, we continued on to spend the night in a Sam’s Club parking lot in Jackson, TN. (Wow, are we grateful for our new blinds, particularly the night shades—complete blackout so no parking lot lights! Yay!!) The WalMart next door directs RVers to the Sam’s Club lot since Sam’s closes for the night. The WalMart here remains busy at all hours.
We’ve driven 1,130 miles since leaving home. I think I’ll note our mileage in each post just for fun. Somebody out there might be interested!
“Maritimes 2012” – Saturday, May 12-Monday, May 14, 2012
Our next destination was the Malvern-Hot Springs, AR, area to see our good friends, Larry and Sharon Thoresen, who are also our neighbors at home in Retama Village, Mission, TX. As soon as we were parked at the Cloud Nine RV Park, Larry and Sharon picked us up (including our “Miss Dixie” dog) to dine on burgers back at their house. And what a lovely home it is!! Really large to accommodate Sharon’s parents’ visits (they have their own bedroom, bath, and sitting room), and it’s such a welcoming home indeed. Larry and Sharon have many beautiful antiques and mementos. We had a wonderful evening, catching up with each other, dining on delicious burgers, brats, salads, and fresh fruit, and Dixie enjoyed playing with her buddies, Milo and Lady Bug, the Thoresen’s two cocker spaniels. What a wonderful time!
Continuing the festivities, the next day Sunday 5/13 was “Mother’s Day”. The Thoresen’s picked us up and took us to the Hotel Arlington in Hot Springs for Sunday brunch. It was elegant, bountiful, delicious, and the four of us naturally over-ate! After lunch (and to prevent us all from becoming comatose!), we wandered down a block or two to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse Museum on Bathhouse Row. Fascinating! Many of the bathhouses are to be restored. The Buckstaff is the only one already restored and functioning as a traditional bathhouse. Others, also restored or renovated, now contain more modern “spa”-type businesses while maintaining much of the buildings’ original character inside. All of the restorations have to be done according to strict National Park Service guidelines.
There are “water stations”, public access mineral water fountains throughout the Bathhouse Row area, though an additional number have had to be capped off. We also drove out to look at Lake Hamilton, a nearby summer destination—resorts, boating, fishing, and other recreation.
The whole city of Hot Springs is a National Park! Discover more at this link Hot Springs National Park. It has a rich and colorful past: the mineral waters historically have been a real draw (said to alleviate the symptoms of or cure any number of ailments!), many film stars and other popular figures often visited here, and it was also renown for being a gangster-era hang-out in the 1920-30’s. We barely scratched the surface of it and would love to return.
Our respective “schedules” the next day, Monday 5/14, didn’t work out so said fond farewells to the Thoresen’s by phone and readied ourselves for the road. Later, Richard and I drove back into town for dinner at “On the Border”, then filled 3 gallon jugs with mineral water at the water station nearest the Arlington Hotel, where we’d had Sunday brunch.
Continuing the festivities, the next day Sunday 5/13 was “Mother’s Day”. The Thoresen’s picked us up and took us to the Hotel Arlington in Hot Springs for Sunday brunch. It was elegant, bountiful, delicious, and the four of us naturally over-ate! After lunch (and to prevent us all from becoming comatose!), we wandered down a block or two to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse Museum on Bathhouse Row. Fascinating! Many of the bathhouses are to be restored. The Buckstaff is the only one already restored and functioning as a traditional bathhouse. Others, also restored or renovated, now contain more modern “spa”-type businesses while maintaining much of the buildings’ original character inside. All of the restorations have to be done according to strict National Park Service guidelines.
There are “water stations”, public access mineral water fountains throughout the Bathhouse Row area, though an additional number have had to be capped off. We also drove out to look at Lake Hamilton, a nearby summer destination—resorts, boating, fishing, and other recreation.
The whole city of Hot Springs is a National Park! Discover more at this link Hot Springs National Park. It has a rich and colorful past: the mineral waters historically have been a real draw (said to alleviate the symptoms of or cure any number of ailments!), many film stars and other popular figures often visited here, and it was also renown for being a gangster-era hang-out in the 1920-30’s. We barely scratched the surface of it and would love to return.
Our respective “schedules” the next day, Monday 5/14, didn’t work out so said fond farewells to the Thoresen’s by phone and readied ourselves for the road. Later, Richard and I drove back into town for dinner at “On the Border”, then filled 3 gallon jugs with mineral water at the water station nearest the Arlington Hotel, where we’d had Sunday brunch.
“Maritimes 2012” – Introduction (Yup, we’re on our way!!)
Despite several folks laying bets to the contrary, we actually did depart on Saturday, May 5, 2012! This latest adventure is a motorhome trip from our house in deep south Texas up to explore the Canadian Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland) for the summer. This will likely be our last major motorhome expedition. Future RV trips will be of both shorter distance and scope.
I hope to keep this blog up to date. Problem is, I find I’m better at “doing” the trip, rather than “writing” about it! Evening comes and I’m plum tuckered out. So, I hereby promise to be more disciplined. Many of our friends have asked that I post pictures to Facebook, but not all of our family or friends use Facebook. This blog seems to cover everyone! (Is there anyone without Internet access?? Really?? Very few indeed!!) I’ll post links to each installment on FB.
I hope to keep this blog up to date. Problem is, I find I’m better at “doing” the trip, rather than “writing” about it! Evening comes and I’m plum tuckered out. So, I hereby promise to be more disciplined. Many of our friends have asked that I post pictures to Facebook, but not all of our family or friends use Facebook. This blog seems to cover everyone! (Is there anyone without Internet access?? Really?? Very few indeed!!) I’ll post links to each installment on FB.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
“Maritimes 2012” – Saturday, May 5-Friday, May 11, 2012
[Our travel style is about 5-6 hours a day on the road. Our “sweet spot” for best fuel economy is about 62 mph. Thus, we usually cover only about 200-250 miles a day. Some RVers (including us) joke about belonging to the “Two or Two Club”—drive 200 miles a day and/or be off the road by 2pm! We tend to get a later start than most folks, yet are off the road by about 4 or 5pm. By the way, regarding favored departure times, there’s the 7-7:30am wave, the 9-9:30 wave, and then the “what’s-the-rush” wave, to which we belong, that leaves at about 11am, despite vague desires to leave earlier!]
Accordingly, this time, we departed from our home in Retama Village, Mission, TX, at the “crack” of 12 Noon!! Well, we made it anyway! One year, we didn’t leave until 4:30pm—made it to the Wal-Mart exactly two hours north in Falfurrias, TX!! Could have waited until the next day but we wanted to get on the road!!]
Our first night on the road this trip was spent dry-camped at the WalMart Super Center in Schertz, TX, n.e of San Antonio. It was an extremely hot evening so we’d opened most of our windows, grateful for the breeze. At 3 in the morning, I awoke to dramatic thunder/lightening, and rain drumming on the rooftop. By the time I could close the windows, wind-driven rain had come in all the windows along one side. I mopped up and returned to bed, glad I’d caught it just in time—my poor exhausted husband slept through the whole thing! Luckily, the storm cooled the air and the remainder of the night was more bearable (and quieter!).
We truly enjoy dry-camping, or parking with no hook-ups (electricity, water, or sewer). On our RV’s roof are four 100-watt solar panels which generate electricity that’s stored in our bank of six 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries. This allows us to live very comfortably; we simply don’t need hook-ups. Our lifestyle is seamless, hook-ups or not. There are 2 things for which we need our generator: running the microwave or the air conditioners. Also, it replenishes our batteries when there’s a cloudy day and we can’t receive a sufficient solar charge.
Our first destination this trip was MCD Innovations, in McKinney, TX, a suburb n.e. of Dallas. MCD makes window shades for RV’s—day shades which allow you to look out but prevent the sun and anyone outside from peeking into your RV, and night shades which are essentially “black out” shades preventing unwanted light from penetrating your RV and offering total privacy at night. All RVers have dealt with “the-parking-lot-light(s)-from-Hell” beaming into their RV and preventing a good night’s sleep. These new shades will take care of that problem!! (Wish we’d had them at the WalMart in Schertz!)
Arriving on Sunday 5/6, we spent 5 full days at MCD selecting which windows were to get shades, making a fabric choice for the night-time shades, getting the windows measured, and then, while our order was in fabrication, using this time to stow any gear which hadn’t found a “home” before we left, various chores, and doing some paperwork catch-up. The weeks leading up to our departure had been quite stressful and tiring, so we really appreciated this chance to catch our breath. McKinney is a lot larger than we’d anticipated—pretty impressive community. And MCD is a family-owned and operated company, striving to provide excellent products and service while being as “green” as possible. It’s remarkable how much material they efficiently saved from the landfill! They practice an active recycling program as well (i.e. scrap aluminum). We enjoyed our company tour.
Finally, on Friday 5/10, our turn in line arrived—it was “Installation Day”!! It proved to be a long one—there were a couple of hiccups—but they got ‘er done. We’re really satisfied with our new blinds and would happily recommend MCD to everyone!
Oh, and the nighttime black-out blinds?? They’re perfect!! (I’m writing this on May 20: they’ve been tested these past seven nights—1 RV park for 3 nites, one night each in 2 Wal-Marts, 1 Sam’s Club, and now a racetrack/casino parking lot.) This was a good choice and money well-spent.
Accordingly, this time, we departed from our home in Retama Village, Mission, TX, at the “crack” of 12 Noon!! Well, we made it anyway! One year, we didn’t leave until 4:30pm—made it to the Wal-Mart exactly two hours north in Falfurrias, TX!! Could have waited until the next day but we wanted to get on the road!!]
Our first night on the road this trip was spent dry-camped at the WalMart Super Center in Schertz, TX, n.e of San Antonio. It was an extremely hot evening so we’d opened most of our windows, grateful for the breeze. At 3 in the morning, I awoke to dramatic thunder/lightening, and rain drumming on the rooftop. By the time I could close the windows, wind-driven rain had come in all the windows along one side. I mopped up and returned to bed, glad I’d caught it just in time—my poor exhausted husband slept through the whole thing! Luckily, the storm cooled the air and the remainder of the night was more bearable (and quieter!).
We truly enjoy dry-camping, or parking with no hook-ups (electricity, water, or sewer). On our RV’s roof are four 100-watt solar panels which generate electricity that’s stored in our bank of six 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries. This allows us to live very comfortably; we simply don’t need hook-ups. Our lifestyle is seamless, hook-ups or not. There are 2 things for which we need our generator: running the microwave or the air conditioners. Also, it replenishes our batteries when there’s a cloudy day and we can’t receive a sufficient solar charge.
Our first destination this trip was MCD Innovations, in McKinney, TX, a suburb n.e. of Dallas. MCD makes window shades for RV’s—day shades which allow you to look out but prevent the sun and anyone outside from peeking into your RV, and night shades which are essentially “black out” shades preventing unwanted light from penetrating your RV and offering total privacy at night. All RVers have dealt with “the-parking-lot-light(s)-from-Hell” beaming into their RV and preventing a good night’s sleep. These new shades will take care of that problem!! (Wish we’d had them at the WalMart in Schertz!)
Arriving on Sunday 5/6, we spent 5 full days at MCD selecting which windows were to get shades, making a fabric choice for the night-time shades, getting the windows measured, and then, while our order was in fabrication, using this time to stow any gear which hadn’t found a “home” before we left, various chores, and doing some paperwork catch-up. The weeks leading up to our departure had been quite stressful and tiring, so we really appreciated this chance to catch our breath. McKinney is a lot larger than we’d anticipated—pretty impressive community. And MCD is a family-owned and operated company, striving to provide excellent products and service while being as “green” as possible. It’s remarkable how much material they efficiently saved from the landfill! They practice an active recycling program as well (i.e. scrap aluminum). We enjoyed our company tour.
Finally, on Friday 5/10, our turn in line arrived—it was “Installation Day”!! It proved to be a long one—there were a couple of hiccups—but they got ‘er done. We’re really satisfied with our new blinds and would happily recommend MCD to everyone!
Oh, and the nighttime black-out blinds?? They’re perfect!! (I’m writing this on May 20: they’ve been tested these past seven nights—1 RV park for 3 nites, one night each in 2 Wal-Marts, 1 Sam’s Club, and now a racetrack/casino parking lot.) This was a good choice and money well-spent.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Alaska 2010 – June 7-9: Great Falls to Fort Macleod, AB, Canada
We were up early and drove over to Whalen Tire Inc. to have the torque checked on all our lug nuts. (We’d purchased our new tires from them just 2 weeks before.) They kindly checked the ones on our truck, too, even though we’d bought those at Sam’s Club at about the same time.
Whalen’s service is very good and we were done in no time. Off we went up I-15 toward Shelby, MT, and up to the Canadian border at Sweetgrass! We made a pit stop en route and enjoyed seeing the wind ripple through the roadside grass and in the adjacent field. The Sweetgrass Hills of Montana are beautiful. Per my spouse Richard, the wind up here is called a “Great Falls Breeze”!
There were only a half dozen vehicles in front of us as we approached the border and they moved through at a good clip. When we pulled up to the guard’s booth, he first asked for our passports. We wondered if we’d be the “random” search vehicle so were VERY relieved when asked us only 5 more things:
- How long would we be staying in Canada?
- Were we carrying any tobacco, alcohol?
- Were we carrying any firearms, mace, or pepper spray?
- Had either one of us ever been in trouble with the law?
- Were we carrying anything which we would be giving away, selling, or discarding while staying in Canada?
(We’d been advised not to wear sunglasses so our eyes could be seen at all times and to answer each question as asked. When asked if you’re traveling with any cigarettes, answer simply “Yes” or “No”. Don’t say you don’t smoke. That wouldn’t stop a person from transporting them for someone else!)
We weren’t asked about any food products. We weren’t asked if we had any pets with us, so I asked if he wished to see our dog’s Health Certificate. He replied, “Is it rabid?” I replied, “Highly unlikely!” We must have answered everything to his satisfaction because he waved us through! Go figure!
Our mileage at the Canadian border: 31,650. We’d traveled 2,268 miles from our home in Texas!
Just on the other side of the border is a “roadside turn-out” (Canadian for “pull-off” or “picnic area”) so we made our lunch stop there. Conveniently, there’s a “Welcome to Alberta” sign and a token elk herd in a fenced pasture next door. Our first photo op’s in Canada! Unfortunately, the camera gremlins “ate” my photo of the Alberta sign (yes, it was really there!) yet saved the ones on either side of it—go figure!
We proceeded north toward Lethbridge and on to the next town, Fort Macleod. Obviously, the farther north we travel, the later spring arrives. So, we were still seeing a mix of spring green and winter tan on the rolling hills of the Canadian prairies. Grain storage silos in farm lots, well-planned wind breaks around each home, and full-size grain elevators in each of the town.
Lethbridge is a big city, full of all the amenities you could need. Gold’s Gym, Safeway, Boston Pizza, and many more! Just west of Lethbridge, we got to see the Canadian Rockies for the first time. (The lighting wasn’t good for a photo. Hey, I don’t want to bore you with TOO many gorgeous mountain shots! I figured Banff and Jasper would fill that bill!)
We were pleased to see two more wind farms sprinkled between Lethbridge and Fort Macleod.
Our destination for the next couple of days was Buffalo Plains RV Park & Campground, just n.w. of Fort Macleod. It’s located about a mile shy of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, our reason for stopping here.
The RV park is small, clean, quiet, and the views from here alone are worth the visit! You can see the prairies, the Oldman River Valley, the Porcupine Hills which contain the Jump, and the Canadian Rockies. There are sweeping views in all directions!
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is the site local aboriginal people used to herd bison off a sharp sandstone cliff to their death below. This entailed a massive cooperative effort between different bands of these people and could feed all of them for many months. We’d heard of this through television programs but wanted to see one for ourselves.
A partial view of a wind farm in the distance. (Alberta’s known for its prairie winds!)
The clump of trees in the center of the photo below is our RV park. This shows our view from there to the Jump is very good.
A passing rain shower out on the prairie.
And, finally for this stop on our journey, views from our RV park of the mountains…
the sky after a storm…
and a cloud over the prairie…
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