Category Archives: Cat

Sour Ale

Thursday was a pretty quiet day around here. My big deal for the day was servicing the scooter. I changed the engine oil and filter and also the gearbox lube. This is required every 3,000 miles. Donna went out for about an hour on her bicycle. Later she walked to the natural foods store half a mile from here. She was disappointed in the quality of their produce though. As usual, Ozark hung out and watched the birds outside.

Ozark keeping an eye on things

I went to the office and extended our stay here at Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV park through Monday. It’s a good thing I did it when I did – the place is sold out next week! The Thursday night NFL game was entertaining. It looked like it was heading to overtime when the Broncos stunned the Chiefs in the waning seconds to win 31-24.

On Friday morning, I rode the scooter over to the community center to play pickleball. Donna walked over about a half hour after I arrived. I played for nearly three hours. I was whipped by the time we were done! We were told about a new outdoor pickleball court that will open Saturday afternoon. I don’t know if my legs can take another day of pickleball at this point though.

On Friday afternoon, I repaired the windshield washer nozzle on the passenger side. I’ve been putting it off since we arrived here. The plastic housing where the hose attaches cracked and separated from the nozzle. After thinking about it, I decided to try gluing it back together with a contact adhesive called Goop. This stuff will adhere to almost anything. The trick is to pre-fit the parts so you know exactly how you want them positioned. I applied a thin bead on both parts and allowed it set for two minutes. Then I pressed the housing into place and held it for a few minutes. That’s all there was to it. By allowing the contact adhesive to set up first, when you press the parts together, they bond immediately. It looks like it will be a good repair – time will tell.

For happy hour, Donna and I went to Duel Brewing – a Belgian-style brewery and tap room (map). Duel isn’t your run-of-the-mill micro-brewery. They specialize in Belgian-style beers that are complex to brew and unique in taste and character. I had a Belgian pale sour ale. Sour ales are so different and can be very tasty. They are made sour by intentionally allowing wild yeasts or certain bacteria to enter the wort. Usually brewmasters do everything possible to keep a sterile environment and only allow specific brewers yeasts into the fermentation. Brewing sour beer is risky – if the wild yeast or bacteria get out of control, the brew is ruined. The sour ale I tried was out of this world! Donna had a Belgian witbier called Marcel – it’s brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. She really liked it. We shared sardines and olive tapenade and cornichons with sliced baguette.

Belgian pale sour ale

We only had one beer each as we were on the scooter. When we returned to the RV park, it was filling up fast. I saw an unusual outfit in one of the sites. It was a tiny trailer that transforms into an elevated tent with a canvas room trailing behind. I wish I could have watched them put it up.

Small trailer transformed into this

Another unique RV pulled into the site next to us. It’s a medium-duty Freightliner truck with a long wheelbase and living quarters. It also has a gooseneck trailer hitch. I talked to the owners – a friendly couple from Minnesota. They use their RV to haul a horse trailer. They spend the summer in Minnesota, then haul their horses to Georgia in the winter. The truck is fairly new to them and they’re out for a few weeks of travel without the horse trailer.

Freightliner medium-duty truck – RV

Gooseneck hitch in back

On the other side of our site, we have two identical Newmar Dutch Stars. They’re traveling together – I don’t know if they’re related to each other. One has a Mississippi plate, the other Louisiana. Other than that, they are the same with a 4018 floorplan and exactly the same paint scheme. They even have similar name signs on the dashboard.

Today we’ll buy bus passes and head downtown. We’ll decide later if we want to play pickleball this afternoon.

Gray Water Drip

Amarillo Ranch RV Park was nearly filled to capacity over the Labor Day weekend (map). Lots of grills were cooking on Sunday although most people stayed indoors to beat the heat. We didn’t grill on Sunday – Donna made shrimp fra diavolo on the induction cooktop instead. Served over whole wheat angel hair pasta mixed with zucchini noodles, it was outstanding.

Shrimp fra diavolo over angel hair pasta

On Monday morning, we saw rig after rig pull out of the park as people headed home and back to their workaday lives. We started the day with a treat. Donna cooked up a frittata – which is an Italian egg dish similar to a quiche without the crust. Donna filled it with bacon, potato, mushrooms and green onions and topped it with extra-sharp cheddar cheese and fresh basil. Yummy start to the day.

Frittata for breakfast with fresh cantaloupe

A while back, I noticed our sewer hose had damage. It looked like it had been stepped on or maybe hit with a mower. The three-inch hose is reinforced with a steel wire coil inside the polyolefin hose. The steel wire was kinked near the end. I use Camco Rhinoflex sewer hoses because of the heavy-duty construction. Anyway, when I dumped the gray water, the hose had sprung a leak near the end where it had been kinked.

On Monday afternoon, we rode the scooter to Walmart. Donna bought groceries and I bought a new Rhinoflex sewer hose. We had a full load on the scooter coming back home. I took the old hose to the trash dumpster and set up the new one. I opened the gray water valve and saw water dripping from the fitting on the RV end of the hose. I closed the valve and disconnected the hose. I loosened the locking ring on the bayonet fitting that attaches the hose to the RV drain. I made sure the bayonet fitting was fully seated in the hose end, then tightened the locking ring. I opened the gray water valve again and saw water dripping from the fitting. I looked closely and saw the problem. The fitting is made from two pieces of plastic swaged together to allow the fitting to swivel. This one was defective and leaking where the two pieces are joined together. I’ll have to return it and try another. I’m not having much luck with sewer hoses.

Later, I fired up the Traeger while Donna marinated chicken thighs in sriracha sauce and lime juice. We had plenty of open space around our rig as the park had really emptied out. I cooked the bone-in thighs skin side down for 45 minutes on the Traeger wood pellet fired grill/smoker. When I took them off the grill, Donna basted the chicken with equal parts honey and sriracha and let them rest for a few minutes. This was a new recipe and it was very tasty – you have to like spicy for this one though. Donna served it with a side of colorful cauliflower rice, another new recipe.

Honey-sriracha chicken thighs

Speaking of eating, Ozark the cat has an incredible appetite. We put nearly a quarter cup of dry food in her dish in the morning. We refill it in the afternoon. By bedtime, she’s crying for more food. Donna is concerned about her getting fat. I think she’s still a growing and developing kitty – she’s about nine months old now.

Does she look fat?

We had a few raindrops overnight – hopefully it knocked some of the pollen out of the air. The ragweed pollen count has been very high and I’m feeling it.

Today I’ll return the sewer hose and run a few errands. This afternoon, I’ll take Donna to her hair appointment and have a look at the RV museum at Jack Sisemore’s Traveland.

Trail of Tears

As I wrote yesterday’s post , I could hardly believe it was September. The time flies by so quickly – in another three weeks, summer will officially be fall. Other than a couple of short walks in the Aux Arc Corps of Engineers Park (COE), we stayed mostly indoors due to the heat and humidity. Ozark the cat kept us amused. She loves to play with her toys. She has a catnip filled mouse that Donna’s mother made and two more that I bought. She bats them around, knocking them several feet away, then chases them down.

Another favorite of hers is a rolled up section of parchment paper tied to a string that Donna made. On Tuesday night, I hung it from the dining table. Ozark would creep up to it in stealth mode, then attack. She batted it like a tetherball (Wikipedia). She would roll over and bat it around with her left paw, then her right. Very entertaining to watch – and good exercise for her.

Ozark eyeing the tethered parchment toy

Ready to strike with her right paw

She got it

We pulled out of the park around 9:15am Wednesday morning and drove through the town of Ozark to I-40 (map). Our first stop was about an hour away at the Pilot/Flying J in Roland, Oklahoma. I had mapped out our next few fuel stops. I wanted to fuel up in Roland and once again before we left Oklahoma – I’ll avoid filling up in the Texas panhandle where most of the stations are pumping B20. I wrote about my fuel preferences in this post.

Our route after leaving the Meriwether Lewis National Monument in Tennessee on US64 has overlapped much of the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is a sad note in our nation’s history. On May 28, 1830, our congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This resulted in the forced relocation of Native American tribes from the southeast including the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations.

Treaties were signed that resulted in these people being moved to what was referred to at the time as the Indian Territory – presently known as Oklahoma. The forced removal and poor travel conditions resulted in the death of thousands of Native Americans. Thus the name Trail of Tears.

We drove through the Cherokee Nation on I-40 then went south on US69 through Eufaula along Eufaula Lake. Then we headed west on AR9. We had a variety of road surfaces ranging from surprisingly good on parts of I-40 to patches of heaved roads that had things banging around in the coach.

After a GPS SNAFU (which the park owner says is common with their address) we finally found the Time Out RV Park in Chickasha, Oklahoma. We’re here for one night after a long day on the road, then we’ll push on to Amarillo, Texas. We’re pushing to get to Amarillo for a few reasons. I want to put the humidity behind us, Donna wants to see a hair stylist there and we need to to sit in one place long enough to get mail and maybe an Amazon delivery or two. Amarillo should work although the RV parks there don’t look to be the best.

The temperature when we arrived in Chickasha was 95 degrees, but the humidity was under 40%. We can expect high daytime temperatures in Amarillo, but the humidity will be even lower than here.

Onward to Aux Arc

It was very quiet overnight at US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Cherokee Park. I slept soundly and we were up early. Ozark the cat was a ball of energy by 6am, racing around in the coach and finally climbing over Donna for some morning snuggles.

The wasp stings Donna suffered on Monday were red and swollen Tuesday morning. I rubbed Benadryl cream on them and she took a Benadryl tablet. She went out for a walk while I finished my blog post. I looked at routes for our short relocation. We wanted to go to another COE park near Ozark, Arkansas (map).

We programmed a route in our Rand McNally RVND 7720 GPS affectionately known as “Nally.” She rarely steers us wrong and I like the feature that allows us to input details of our rig such as height, length, weight and propane capacity. Our routes are calculated to avoid any restrictions due to size, weight and propane.

We chose a route that kept us off I-40 and we followed Arkansas State Highways through rural countryside and small towns. We were only going 80 miles, so the extra time wasn’t an issue. Once again, Ozark the cat traveled peacefully, sleeping in her crate.

As we drove through Morrilton, Donna spied a liquor store and asked if we needed to stop. I didn’t see any convenient parking and passed it by. I didn’t have any beer in the refrigerator, but I thought we would find a place to buy beer along the way.

We drove through stretches of hay fields and small towns with populations of two to three thousand. I didn’t see any stores that sold alcoholic beverages. As we approached a much larger town, Russellville, we saw convenience stores but none of them had beer signs. I was beginning to fear the worst – could we be in a dry county?

We found a Walmart in Dardanelle and stopped. Sure enough, no alcoholic beverages there. I asked a guy in the store and he said we had to go west to “Nublin” or get on I-40 toward Little Rock to exit 101.

I don’t get the dry county concept. It seems everyone knows exactly where you have to go to get alcoholic beverages and the dry county loses out on the sales and tax revenues. When people have to leave the county to make a purchase, who knows how many other purchases they make in the adjoining county?

Our route was taking us west, so I kept an eye out for the beer store he mentioned in “Nublin.” We were on AR22 driving next to Dardanelle Lake which is a reservoir created on the Arkansas River. We crossed into Logan County from Yell County. A few miles later, I saw the New Blaine beer store. In Arkansas, apparently New Blaine is pronounced “Nublin.” We made a quick stop and I have beer on board.

As we drove along, we saw areas where people appeared to be living on the brink of poverty and then occasionally, we would see well-maintained homes on estate-type properties. As we approached the town of Paris, Arkansas, I was astounded to see the Subiaco Abbey and Academy on the hill to the north of us. It looked like a medieval castle. It was built by Benedictine monks in the late 1800s. Here’s a link to a Wikipedia page.

In Paris, we turned north and made our way on CR309 to the COE Aux Arc Park. The name is interesting. It’s near the Ozark National Forest and across the lake from the town of Ozark. Early French explorers noted this area as Aux Arc on their maps. Historians differ on their opinion of the origin of this name. Some say that Aux Arc means Big Bend and it refers to the bend in the Arkansas River. Other say it translates to Big Bow and is a reference to the Quapaw Indian tribe in the area that carried exceptionally long bows. The name became anglicized as Ozark as that is how the French pronounced Aux Arc.

When we pulled in, we found this COE is run much more like a commercial RV park. There was a check-in lane and office where we paid $20 for a 50 amp electric and fresh water site. They had site maps and gave us a choice of sites. Since we’ve never been here before, they advised us to go to the “E” section and choose a site, then call and let them know what site we’re in.

We’re right on Ozark Lake which is a reservoir created by the COE Ozark Jeta-Taylor Lock and Dam – it extends 36 miles and has shoreline which includes bluffs and tree-lined beaches. Down river from here is Dardanelle Lake. We are loving the COE experience. The US Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates more than 600 dams in the USA and provides recreational access – including camping – at many sites.

The campsites here are all paved and mostly level. There are 64 sites, some with 50 amp power service, others with 30 amp.

Our shaded and spacious site

The sites are well-spaced and offer easy access to the lake and views. Some of them are open and sunny, others shaded by trees.

This is tonight’s windshield view

Speaking of windshield view, I noticed just before we left Tom Sawyer’s that our windshield has a large crack on the left portion of the driver’s side. I’m guessing that the pounding we took on I-40 east of Memphis started the crack and it grew from thermal influence or when I leveled the coach. The crack is about four feet long now, but doesn’t hinder my vision. When we’re stopped in one place for more than a week, I’ll see about getting it replaced.

Donna’s wasp stings seemed worse after we set up. I applied more Benadryl cream and she took another tablet. I’ll keep an eye on it. The Benadryl tablets make her drowsy. With the heat and humidity here – the temperature hit 91 degrees with more than 50% humidity – we weren’t up for much activity. This is not a comfortable climate for us. Neither of us like high humidity – we can stand the heat when it’s dry, but humidity is hard to take.

View northwest of the Arkansas River - lake

View northwest of the Arkansas River/Ozark Lake

We’ll continue west through Oklahoma and take a week’s break in Amarillo, Texas where the overnight temperatures are lower and the daytime humidity is bearable. Donna has a hair appointment there with a stylist who was recommended to her when we were in Mesa, Arizona. We also need to request mail forwarding.

Alternate Route Across Arkansas

Donna didn’t sleep well Saturday night and woke up not feeling so great on Sunday – she thinks she may have overdone it in the heat on her bike ride Saturday. She managed to go out and visit with our neighbors, Lester and Jo Ann Foreman – the people with the Vixen I wrote about in my last post. Then she pushed herself to take her a walk through the trails surrounding Tom Sawyer’s RV Park.

When she came back, I noticed a barge tow slowly making it’s way upriver. The tow was only four barges lashed together, but it was being pushed upriver by the smallest tow boat I’ve seen on the Mississippi. I wrote about the Mississippi barges in this post. The small barge tow was only moving at walking speed – in fact, I think I walk faster than it was moving. With the water level of the river so low, most of tows have been smaller than what we saw in the spring.

Donna pointed out another small tow boat, identical to the one pushing the barge coming downriver. I went outside and snapped a few photos as the new arrival made a 180-degree turn and lined up next to the tow boat to help it upriver through the bend.

Smllest tow I've seen on tahe Mississippi

Smallest tow I’ve seen on the Mississippi

Helper tow boat making the turn around

Help has arrived

I organized the trailer and loaded the Traeger smoker/grill and scooter. Later I watched the Moto GP race from Silverstone in England. In typical English summer weather, rain began falling on the track just as the riders went out for the sighting lap. The start was delayed as everyone came back into the pits to switch to a wet set-up motorcycle. The race was very entertaining, but I won’t spoil it in case a reader has recorded it for later viewing.

When we were here in June, I meant to take a photo of the high water mark from May 2011. In April of 2011, storms in the Mississippi watershed had the tributaries flooding and filling the Mississippi River. Spring runoff from snow melt also contributed to second highest water levels recorded on the Mississippi in the last 100 years. The river crested at 48.7 feet in Memphis. This building in Tom Sawyer’s RV Park, which sits on higher ground than our site, shows just how high the water was. Here’s a photo.

That’s how high the park was flooded

On Sunday night, it was my turn for a fitful night trying to sleep. The pollen levels are so high, my allergies kept me awake much of the night. On Monday morning, we packed up and pulled out of our site a little before 10am. I had mapped a route to take us west on Broadway in West Memphis. This road becomes highway 70. We turned north at AR147 to get to US64. I wanted to avoid I-40. We knew from our trip last June that I-40 from West Memphis to Little Rock is horrible.

Just before we reached US64, we stopped as a train slowly crossed in front of us. I saw it slow down, then stop. There were two tracks, but the engines were stopped 150 yards past the switch. We wondered if he was waiting for another train to pass, but it didn’t make sense. With the engines and several cars past the switch there wasn’t a way for another train to reach the second track. I shut off our engine and Donna and I talked to while away the time. After about 10 minutes, I heard the train cars banging and jolting. The train was reversing back the way it came. The engine came past the switch, then cleared the road. I started our engine just before the barrier rose in front of us and we were on our way again. I have no idea what the train stopping where it did was all about. Train transportation logistics are a mystery to me.

US64 was a mostly smooth road with only a few rough sections. Again, it was slower going as we passed through small towns. Most of time we were in farm country with lots of soy bean fields and sorghum. We were only going about 200 miles. Our destination was an Army Corps of Engineers (COE) park near Morrilton, Arkansas (map).

Park entrance

We followed a narrow, winding road through a residential area, then found ourselves at Cherokee Park on the Arkansas River at Arthur V. Ormond Dam and Lock. The dam is operated by the COE and they also provide a recreation area including campsites. There are 32 paved sites with electricity and water. The water quality is questionable. I ran water from our spigot and saw pieces of vegetation coming out of the tap. Good thing we left West Memphis with a full fresh water tank. The cost for 50 amp electrical service is a reasonable $20/night.

We circled the park and chose site A15 at the east end of the park. This site is a long, level back-in site next to the river. There was one problem though. They placed the power pedestal at the extreme rear of the site. I worked around it by backing the trailer to the end of the pavement, centering the short concrete stop barrier and putting the trailer onto the grass. Having done that, I still needed the full 35′ length of our 50 amp cable to hook up to power.

50 amp cable fully extended

Donna and I walked through the park back to the entrance. We didn’t see any check-in instructions or way to pay for our site when we arrived. We couldn’t find anything on our walk either. After I came back to the coach, Donna decided to walk another lap. When she came back, I saw her by the picnic table outside. Suddenly she was screaming and calling me for help. She was being swarmed by wasps nesting under the table and got stung twice before I could get her into the coach. I had one hit me in West Memphis last night.

View from our doorstep – watch out for wasps

O dam - lock on the far side of the river and the power generator is out of view to the right

Ormond dam floodgates – lock on the far side of the river and the power generator is out of view to the right

Arkansas River on the edge of the park downstream from dam

This was our first time staying in a COE park and we didn’t know the procedure. About an hour after we set-up, the camp hosts drove up and greeted us. They took down all of our pertinent information in a log they keep and gave me an envelope to pay at a drop box when we leave. So, that’s how it works at a COE park.

While we were driving down the road this afternoon, Donna had jambalaya cooking in the slow cooker. It smelled so good! It was an amazing dish that Donna said was quick and easy to prepare with wholesome ingredients.

Jambalaya from the slow cooker

Once again, Ozark the cat traveled peacefully sleeping in her crate. We’ll move on today to another COE park in her namesake town – Ozark, Arkansas.

Closing the Loop

We opted to stay for a second night in the campground at the Meriwether Lewis National Monument. The free campsites are clean and the scenery is terrific with good hiking opportunities. It’s also very quiet. On Thursday, Donna hiked on the Old Trace trail which is part of the original Natchez Trace. The trail took her past the Meriwether Lewis Monument which is his final resting place near the Grinder stand.

Natchez Trace – wide enough for a wagon

Click to enlarge if you wish to read

Fenceline on the Old Trace

Meriwether Lewis Monument in the background

Meriwether Lewis Monument

Click to enlarge

Grinder house

For dinner on Thursday night, I grilled a pork tenderloin on the Weber Q. Donna had marinated it in a mojo marinade. She reserves half the marinade to pour over the meat after cooking. It’s one of our favorite ways to prepare pork tenderloin and, as usual, it was tender and tasty. She served it with brown rice and roasted peppers, onions and zucchini.

Pork tenderloin with rice and roasted peppers and zucchini

Pork tenderloin with rice and roasted peppers, onions and zucchini

On Friday morning, we packed up and headed down the Natchez Trace Parkway about 16 miles, then we turned west at US64. This is a divided highway with two lanes in each direction. I wanted to avoid I-40 and US64 seemed like a good alternative. There was very little traffic and the road surface was mostly good with only a few sections of construction and rough road. It was slower crossing Tennessee on US64 due to all of the small towns. We drove through Waynesboro, Savannah, Boliver and a few smaller villages before we stopped at Walmart in Somerville (map). We stocked up on groceries, then continued down the road.

US64 hit I-40 about 10 miles east of Memphis. It was immediately apparent that US64 was the way to go. It’s an embarrassment and disgrace how our government has allowed the federal interstate highways to deteriorate. The potholes, cracks and uneven surfaces on I-40 make it barely drivable.

We crossed the Mississippi River and entered Arkansas where we had booked a site at Tom Sawyer’s RV Park. We stayed here the first week of June. Since then, we’ve completed a 4,000-mile loop that took us north to Minneapolis, across Michigan’s upper peninsula, then down through Michigan and east to upstate New York. From there we went down through Pennsylvania and Maryland, across Virginia and finally back to Tennessee. Whew – we saw a lot and had some great adventures over the last three months. Along the way, we picked up a stray cat and also added a Traeger grill.

One big difference we found here in West Memphis this time around is the Mississippi River water level. When we were here in June, the water level stage was 15 feet. When we checked in yesterday, the stage was three feet. There’s a sandbar creating an island right in front of the park. This wasn’t there before. There are fewer barges on the river as well. I’m guessing the low water level makes navigation treacherous.

Sandbar in the river

Last evening, I took a walk in the park to look at the river. Our site has us facing the water only a stone’s throw away from the river. While I was out, I saw a 2012 Newell coach. The owner, John, and his son-in-law, Lee, were sitting outside. A 2012 Newell is a million-dollar coach (it was probably over $1.5 million new). I stopped and talked to John. It’s always interesting to hear the success story behind owning a million-dollar rig. John’s story was much like many I’ve heard since we’ve been on the road. He started out 38 years ago as the sole proprietor of a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) service company. He had one truck and one employee – himself. He worked hard and established commercial contracts as well as residential service customers. Then he added a second service truck and employee. He continued to build his reputation and business. Today, he has 66 trucks and nearly 200 employees. He’s enjoying life and seeing the country while his son runs the day-to-day operation of his business. I love hearing how hard work, perseverance and being able to make the most out of an opportunity pays off.

John and Lee sitting outside John’s Newell

Radiused corners on the Newell slides

One of the things that tip off a high-end coach like a Newell or Prevost are the radiused corners on the slide-outs. These rounded corners allow the use of pneumatic slide seals. Once the slide is out, the seals inflate making an airtight seal. Before the slide is retracted the seal deflates and the slide moves freely.

We decided to stay here for three nights before we move on westward. Donna has been mapping routes to keep us off I-40 and finding places to stay as we make our way to New Mexico. She went out this morning to cycle the scenic and quiet 28-mile loop she rode several times earlier this summer.

Last night, Donna prepared pan-seared wild Alaskan salmon. She served it with the left over side dishes from the night before. Delicious!

Pan-seared salmon

Today I’m going to try my hand at smoking a beef brisket. Donna bought one the other day – it’s something I’ve never done before. I’m hoping the Traeger wood pellet fired smoker/grill makes it easy to do.

Natchez Trace

Yesterday morning, we walked across the street to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before pulling out of the Opryland parking lot. We had a quiet night with no disturbances. Our plan was to head south down the Natchez Trace Parkway to the Meriwether Lewis National Monument (map). The monument is operated by the National Park Service (NPS). It’s located just east of Hohenwald, Tennessee and features a free campground with paved roads and 32 paved sites.

Ozark the cat got comfortable on Donna's pillow before she made the bed and we headed out

Ozark the cat got comfortable on Donna’s pillow before Donna made the bed and we headed out

Our route took us around the south side of Nashville on I-440 then south on I-65. We stopped in Franklin at the Walmart to stock up on groceries. Then we detoured west on TN840. This route took us over the Natchez Trace Parkway and we had to loop back to Leipers Fork to access the parkway.

The Natchez Trace is an old forest trail. Some say it’s existed for centuries as a game trail. It was used by native Americans and became a major trail for commerce in the 18th and 19th centuries. The trail runs some 440 miles from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi and traverses the northwest corner of Alabama.

Thomas Jefferson wanted to connect the Mississippi River frontier with settlements to the north. In 1801, the US Army began blazing and improving the trail. Early settlers in the north referred to as Kaintucks would float their goods down the Mississippi River in flat boats to sell in Natchez. They would sell their goods and their boats and walk the 440-mile trek on the Natchez Trace back north. In 1810, it’s estimated that 10,000 Kaintucks walked up the trace to start another river journey. This led to commerce on the trail. Trading posts commonly called stands appeared. Settlements formed along the trace.

The development of steamboat traffic on the Mississippi river made it easier and cheaper to transport goods. In the late 1800s, the Trace lost its importance as a trade route.

In 1809, Meriwether Lewis, who along with William Clark explored the upper Mississippi and the Northwest, was governor of the Louisiana Territory. He was traveling up the Trace to meet with Thomas Jefferson when he died near Grinder’s Stand. There’s much controversy surrounding his death. It was officially ruled suicide but many believe he was murdered. I read a great historical novel – a work of fiction that incorporates factual history in the story – about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Lewis’ death. I read the book about 20 years ago. I looked for it online but can’t find it. I think the title was Who Killed Meriwether Lewis.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a paved two-lane highway that follows much of the original trace. There’s limited access – only about 50 access points along its 444 miles. We didn’t realize that at first, but found the access points on the Tennesee map we picked up at the visitor center. The road is operated and maintained by the National Park Service. No commercial vehicles are allowed and the speed limit is 50 mph. The road surface is in great condition. It’s a scenic drive with many historical markers and scenic overlooks. We saw a few gangs of wild turkeys along the road and had two whitetail bucks run out in front of our rig, requiring me to brake hard.

Overlook on the Natchez Trace Parkway

I had looked at Google Earth the night before to see what the Meriwether Lewis National Monument looked like. I was leery of pulling into a park that wouldn’t allow us to get turned around and back out again. The satellite view of the campground was obscured by trees but I could see the main road had a turnaround loop at the end. We pulled off the parkway and entered the monument. When we reached the campground entrance, Donna suggested pulling over in a turnout by the entrance and walking through the campground to check it out before pulling in.

The paved roads through the campground are tight with lots of trees along the sides. There are 32 paved sites, some back-in and some pull-through. Most aren’t level. The sites are well spaced with lots of trees and vegetation separating them. There are two loops. The first loop has 13 sites and was totally unoccupied. The second loop is larger and has a bathroom (no showers). There were only a few campers there. After looking around, we thought it was doable and liked the look of site 8 which is a back-in and site 14, a pull-through.

I backed us into site 8 with Donna directing me with a handheld Cobra CB radio. The site was too short for us by a few feet – once I backed in far enough to clear the road, our slideouts were too close to trees. We pulled out of there and moved to site 14. We easily fit our 56-foot overall length in this site.

Site 14

Donna went out for a hike on a trail that leads from the campground to the original Natchez Trace. She was out for about 90 minutes and said she would not recommend the trail for inexperienced hikers or anyone nervous about being alone in the woods. It had a few water crossings and seemed to vanish in the underbrush at times. She returned covered in cobwebs as well as scratches on her lower legs from prickly vegetation. But the trail did lead to some beautiful stretches of river. Here are a couple of pictures from her hike.

Water crossing on the trail

Little Swan Creek

A park ranger came by later and stopped to chat with us. The park is very clean and quiet – it’s hard to believe it’s free. There are no hook-ups although there is a water spigot between our site and site 15. A reader commented on yesterday’s blog that they had just pulled out of this campground and said the water is really good here.

View from our doorstep

I grilled turkey burgers on the Weber Q for dinner. With the special sauce, they were very tasty on toasted onion rolls.

Last night was very dark and quiet. I slept soundly. We’ll hang out here for another night before we head west.

Ozark the Travelin’ Cat

After my last post, a blog follower named Daniel asked, “What’s up with the cat? Do you still have her?” The answer is yes, we still have and adore her and she’s become quite the traveler. At first she she was over-stimulated by travel – all of the new sounds and seeing the world flash by had her edgy. It was difficult for all of us. She would dash around the coach and be very vocal. We worried about her hurting herself and also I had concerns when she would jump up on the dash and distract me or block my vision of the side view mirrors.

Before we left Hollister, Missouri I rode the scooter to Branson and bought a cat carrier/crate which we knew we would need to take her to get spayed. After a day of travel, we decided it was best for all of us if Ozark the cat traveled in her crate. I’m happy to report that after a couple of months of travel, Ozark has accepted her crate and travels quietly in it. She doesn’t fight Donna when she’s put into her crate and usually grooms herself once inside before napping for hours. Ozark seems to have adjusted very well and seems to enjoy finding herself in new surroundings on a regular basis.

Ozark attacking a catnip toy mouse

We changed our surroundings again on Saturday, but not until after Donna took a hike on the Seven Sisters Trail. She found a variety of mushrooms on her hike – we’re not mushroom experts so she didn’t pick any. We don’t know if they’re poisonous or possibly hallucinogenic. Wouldn’t that make a memorable meal! Here are a few photos from her hike. Unfortunately the spectacular views mentioned on websites weren’t evident due to heavy foliage.

At the summit

Something took a bite of one

Looks harmless

Hmmm… is it edible?

I wouldn’t try these.

We left Stony Fork Campground in Jefferson National Forest around 10:30am. Our route took us southwest through Bristol. We saw many road signs warning of heavy traffic and stoppages. These were due to the NASCAR race at the Bristol short track scheduled for Saturday night. We came through by noon and didn’t have any traffic hassles.

The drive through the Smokey Mountains was pleasant. On a tip from the Escapees Days End Directory, Donna had already contacted the management of a restaurant in Crossville and secured permission for overnight parking in their RV/truck lot. I looked at my trucker app and found a Pilot/Flying J station only a few miles away that had diesel fuel for $2.29/gallon. With my Pilot/Flying J Rewards card I would get a seven cent discount making our cost just $2.22/gallon – the least expensive fuel we’ve bought since we hit the road over two years ago!

Before we reached Crossville, I saw a sign for truck/RV wash ahead. Our coach is so dirty, I haven’t been able to wash it properly since we were in Michigan. The road grime was bad enough, but then the rain while we were in gravel/dirt sites in New York splashed more dirt up the sides of the coach. I couldn’t stand it. We stopped at a Blue Beacon truck wash. A crew of about eight guys went at it with pressure washers. I opted for the full treatment – wash, under carriage, Rain X treatment and citrus alloy wheel cleaner. I was amazed at how they were choreographed as a team and got it done in no time at all. The full treatment cost $77 and I think it was money well spent. The coach looks good, the alloy wheels gleam and I’m happy. This is the least expensive (other than doing it myself) RV wash I’ve had.

Waiting to enter the Blue Beacon wash bay

We found the Shoney’s restaurant and their gravel RV/truck lot. After circling the lot a few times like a dog looking to lay down, we decided on a fairly level spot. Donna felt a need to pay back for the free parking and went out to pick up litter. She ended up filling six bags! One of the guys taking care of the lawn expressed his appreciation of her effort.

Clean and shiny in Shoney’s lot

We went inside and had dinner in Shoney’s. Not my favorite food and not a choice Donna would usually make, but when they offer free overnight RV parking, we feel like we should patronize their establishment.

Breakfast will be another Shoney’s meal, then we’ll head onward another 110 miles to Nashville where we’ll relax, find live music and good beer for a few days. Of course rain drops are falling on our clean and shiny rig this morning.

Up and Running Again

I didn’t post to the blog yesterday because I didn’t do much on Tuesday. In my last post, I mentioned Donna’s bike ride on Monday when she rode past the Hudson Headwaters Health Center where I was. Her route also took her past the confluence where the Schroon River empties in the upper Hudson River (map). Here are a few photos she took on her ride.

Schroon River looking west

Schroon River looking east

She got to a point where she thought she might have a missed a turn and stopped for directions at the ticket office for the tour train that runs up the Hudson River. The train doesn’t run on Mondays, but there was an employee at the office who helped Donna find her way. It turned out that it was not the route Donna had planned, but very scenic anyway.

Boarding platform for the train

Train track along the Hudson River

On Tuesday evening, I made chicken leg quarters on the Traeger wood pellet fired grill again and they were absolutely delicious. This has become a favorite dish. After an hour on the grill, I basted them with a honey-maple glaze and cooked for another 10 minutes. At 99 cents a pound, this meal can’t be beat! Donna served it with sauteed zucchini and corn with red peppers.

Honey-maple glazed chicken

Earlier in the day, Donna borrowed Linda’s car and drove to Westport on Lake Champlain to meet up with her friend, Karen Dayan (map). They had lunch and spent the afternoon together.

Karen and Donna

Karen is a long-time Ironman participant. She recently finished third in her age group at the Lake Placid Ironman. She’s qualified to compete in the Ironman Hawaii event several times and is headed to the Half-Ironman World Championship in Austria in a few weeks.

While Karen and Donna were catching up, I followed doctors orders and hung out in the coach. I used antibiotic soap and a pail of water to cleanse my feet, then let them air out without shoes and read a book. It was raining, so I had nothing better to do. In the afternoon, Ozark climbed into her carrying crate and napped. She usually only goes in her crate when we’re traveling. Maybe she’s trying to tell us it’s time for a change in scenery. She’ll have to wait a few more days – we’ll pull out of here on Sunday.

Ozark catching a cat nap

Last week, Donna’s sister Linda told me their generator wasn’t working. They have a 1800-watt portable generator that they use when they dry camp or have a power outage at home. She told me it worked fine the last time they ran it, but then it sat unused for several months and now it won’t start. I figured the fuel in the carburetor evaporated and left varnish deposits gumming up the fuel passages.

Yesterday, I couldn’t stand another day of inactivity. I started my day by deep cleaning the Traeger grill. Then I put Linda and Tommy’s generator on our table and went to work on it. I removed the side cover and the air filter housing. I saw the housing was cracked where it mounts to the carburetor.

Cracked air filter housing

Side cover removed exposing carburetor

I removed the float bowl from the carburetor. The float bowl is the fuel reservoir that meters the fuel mixture into the carb venturi. I expected to find varnish deposits. What I found was worse. The bowl had rust deposits and scaly, dry white flakes in the bottom. The white flakes were some kind of mineral left behind. I don’t know if water had gotten into the float bowl or what the origin of these deposits was – I’ve never seen this in a carburetor before.

Rust and scale in the bottom of the float bowl

I cleaned the bowl with carburetor cleaner and scraped the deposits. Then I removed the main jet from the carb body and shot carburetor cleaner from an aerosol can through the fuel passages.

When I reassembled everything, I used room temperature vulcanizing silicone sealant on the cracked air filter housing. Meanwhile Tommy went out to buy a gas can and fresh gasoline for the generator. He had to go out twice because after buying the gas can, he got side-tracked when Donna texted him and asked him to pick up something at the store. He came home with the gas can, but forgot to buy the gas. This was okay as it allowed time for the silicone sealant to set up.

By then, Donna’s parents, Duke and Lorraine Connor, arrived to spend the afternoon with us. Tommy and I set the generator on the ground. I opened the fuel petcock, switched the ignition on and set the choke. On the third pull, it started. I opened the choke and the generator ran smoothly. I think Tommy was surprised to find it running like that. I fully expected that I would have it up and running again.

Donna and her mom set out snacks on the picnic table. Unfortunately, while I worked on the generator I spilled old stinky gasoline on the end of the table. I rinsed it as best as I could, but the odor lingered.

We had a couple of rain squalls kick up, so we moved the heavy table under our awning to wait them out. The rain passed quickly the few times it fell and it was a mostly sunny day.

Donna prepared pork tenderloin skewers spiced with cumin and hot sauce and added red onion, green pepper and pineapple chunks. I cooked them on the Traeger grill and then Donna brushed them with a pineapple-ginger glaze that she prepared earlier. I neglected to take a picture of the dinner plate – it was fine meal. We had potato salad and broccoli slaw on the side and lots of appetizers from the afternoon still on the table. For dessert, we had a silken tofu chocolate pie that Donna made – no one guessed that it was made with tofu! This was yet another excellent recipe that a fellow RVer, Karin Von Kay, shared with Donna.

Donna and her parents

Last night, we watched a Netflix movie at Tom and Linda’s RV – the movie was Homefront. I couldn’t give it more than 2.5 stars on a scale of five. The others were a little more generous with their ratings.

The weather looks good this morning. I plan to change the oil and filter on our generator this morning as scattered thundershowers are in the forecast this afternoon. Donna is headed out for another bike ride.

Dry and Dusty

Today started out the way most mornings have lately. Ozark the cat becomes active shortly after sunrise. She leaps off of the bed and runs full speed to the front of the coach. She flies onto the driver’s seat and bounces up to the dashboard. She runs across the dash then jumps onto a narrow counter next to the co-pilot’s seat before hitting the floor and beating feet back to the bedroom. She runs past the bed onto the raised floor by the closet and jumps on the bed to complete her lap. Then she repeats the performance without pausing. This goes on for several minutes as I try to return to dreamland. Eventually she slows down and stays on the bed. I usually manage to doze off again until she starts walking over us.

This morning, as I was trying to go back to sleep, I thought about how many nights I’ve spent in an RV. I don’t have an exact count because I can’t remember the date we started sleeping in our coach in the driveway after we sold our bedroom furniture. I know it’s been somewhere over 750 consecutive nights in our RV though.

We first hit the road on July 23, 2013. That puts us in our 25th month of full-time RVing. During the last 25 months, we’ve covered 17,000 miles and visited 20 states. We’re often asked how long we intend to stay in our RV. Our standard answer is, “We don’t know, but we’ll know when we’re done.” The truth is, we feel like we’re just getting started. There’s so much to see and do. Every place we’ve been has something to offer.

Yesterday was a low-key day. I had a chore to tackle. Our battery banks were very dirty from driving in the rain and driving on dirt roads. Dirt build-up on the battery cases can cause voltage leakage across the terminals when the dirt absorbs moisture. I was also having a problem with a poor connection on one of the starting battery posts. I hosed down the batteries, then scrubbed with a stiff nylon brush dipped in a baking soda solution. This cleaned everything and neutralized any acid build-up. I removed the cable connector from the post that was giving me trouble and cleaned the post and connector before reinstalling it. All is well now.

I think I need to clean the batteries more often

Dirt roads left a lot of dust on the batteries

I also unpacked my mountain bike and pumped up the tires. I took a ride through the park over to the beach area on the Schroon River. I’ll probably go for a longer ride today.

In the afternoon, I prepared four half-racks of baby back ribs. When I bought the ribs at Oscar’s, they had them cut into half-racks. I cooked whole racks before. To prepare ribs, you first remove the tough, thin membrane on the bone side of the ribs. If you don’t do this, the spices won’t penetrate on that side, plus you’ll have a tough, chewy side to the ribs. I spiced the ribs with the rub I bought at Papa Joe’s in Michigan. I like dry-rubbed Memphis-style baby back ribs.

I cooked them on the Traeger wood pellet fired grill. After two and a half hours, I turned the heat down to low heat and cooked for another half hour. I thought they would be fine but they turned out to be over-cooked. I think having them cut into half racks made them cook faster. Oh well, it was a learning experience.

Baby back half-racks on the Traeger

Yesterday was International IPA Day, so I paired the baby backs with Saratoga IPA brewed in nearby Saratoga Springs.

Saratoga IPA

This IPA was more to my liking than the others from this area that I’ve tried. I know you can get good East Coast IPA, like Dogfish Head from Delaware, but I’m sampling local brews.

The forecast calls for a warming trend with the thermometer expected to hit 80 today and move well into the 80s over the weekend. It’s been dry and dusty in the campground. Next week, I’ll try to sneak a wash of the coach.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Cat

Sour Ale

Gray Water Drip

Trail of Tears

Onward to Aux Arc

Alternate Route Across Arkansas

Closing the Loop

Natchez Trace

Ozark the Travelin’ Cat

Up and Running Again

Dry and Dusty

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