Category Archives: Hiking

Cabrillo National Monument

Wednesday was Veterans Day and in honor of the occasion, the National Park Service waived their normal access fees. Donna and I took advantage of this by visiting the Cabrillo National Monument (CNM) in Point Loma (map), which is operated by the National Parks Service and usually charges five dollars per person for day use.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a 16th-century explorer. Historians debate whether he was Portuguese or Spanish. On June 27, 1542 he set sail from Navidad, Mexico with a flotilla of three ships – the flagship was a 200-ton galleon called San Salvador, there was a smaller, 100-ton ship called La Victoria and an even smaller 26-oared bergantin called San Miguel. They had provisions for a three-year journey. As they sailed north along the coast of Baja California, they were in uncharted waters. On September 28th, they found what is now San Diego Bay.

The Cabrillo National Monument pays homage to this explorer and also has several points of interest including the old lighthouse which was in operation from 1855 to 1891. It also provides access to hiking trails and tidepools.

I shot a photo of a relief map of the area at the cluster of buildings in the CNM. The lighting was poor and the focus in the photo isn’t great, but it gives an overview of the area that will help put the rest of the photos into context.

Relief map of San Diego Bay and surrounding area

Donna and I walked to the southern tip of CNM. The weather was breezy and the air was very clear. Looking south, we could see the coastline all the way down along Mexico and the Mexican Coronado Islands – not to be confused with San Diego’s Coronado Island. The Mexican Coronados are three islands – South Coronado, Central Coronado and North Coronado.

The coast of Mexico to the south

Coronado Islands to the southwest

If you look closely at the picture of the islands, you can see two World War II warplanes that were flying around the area. I think they were Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers.

We walked to the lighthouse and lighthouse keeper’s quarters.

Info about the lighthouse – click to enlarge

Old lighthouse and keeper’s quarters

As we walked back down from the lighthouse to the main buildings and statue, I kept stopping to take in the spectacular view and shot a few more pictures.

View toward North Island Naval Air Station

The North Island Naval Air Station is part of Naval Base Coronado which is also the home of the odd numbered Navy SEAL teams (1, 3, 5, and 7).

Another view of North Island

North Island is on the northernmost end of San Diego’s Coronado Island which isn’t really an island – it’s an isthmus with a narrow strip of land called “The Strand” connecting it to the mainland at Imperial Beach.

Pacific Ocean at the mouth of San Diego Bay – downtown San Diego on the east side of the bay is seen on the left, the strand is on the right of the photo

We walked down to the statue of Juan Rodiguez Cabrillo, then took a stroll through the gift shop. On the way, I shot a photo of an interesting sign telling about old Point Loma.

Interesting facts about early days on Point Loma

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

We climbed aboard the scooter and rode down to the tidepool area. I was surprised at the number of people wandering around the tidepools. We were on a rising tide and the pools weren’t too interesting at that point. Low tide is ideal. We saw a large sea lion sunning himself and snoozing on the beach. A park service ranger had put out cones surrounding the area to keep people away from the sea lion. Some people think they’re at a petting zoo or something, but sea lions are wild animals and you need to give them space.

We couldn’t have picked a better day to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. The air was very clear with little haze – it shows more haze in the photos than what we could actually see. The vistas were beautiful and we could clearly see the mountains in east county at least 40 miles away.

On the way home, we saw a Fresh and Easy Market and decided to stop as we haven’t been to one in years. Many of them have closed. Unfortunately, this one is also closing. They had a sign outside that said everything was 60% off the marked price. We found most of the aisles were bare, but Donna found a few bargains.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Donna went to a meetup of a minimalists group she belongs to. I just hung out at the coach. Today we’re off to the Pacific Beach Recreation Center for an afternoon of pickleball.

Happy Birthday Sara

Although the afternoons have been quite warm, the dew point is low and the dry air is agreeable. Even without clouds, the desert sunsets can be spectacular.

Beautiful sunset from our site at Usery Mountain

The evenings cool quickly. On Friday evening, after enjoying happy hour at the Red, White and Brew, Donna and I dined al fresco on grilled boneless chicken thighs at our site at the Usery Mountain Regional Park. It was so nice out, we sat outside until well after 10pm.

Dinner in the open air

In the morning, Donna asked me to scooter her to the Pass Mountain Trailhead. This seven-and-a-half mile trail has an accumulated elevation gain of nearly 1,200 feet. Most people report taking up to three and a half hours to complete the loop – Donna did it in two hours and fifteen minutes.

While Donna was hiking, I scootered over to the Ace Hardware on Power Road. I was looking for a way to add tie-down points along the walls of the trailer. I didn’t find what I was looking for there, so I went down the road to Home Depot. No luck there either. So I scootered over to the Ace Hardware on Higley, which is a well-stocked store. Strike three. I guess I’ll have to wait until we reach San Diego and order what I want from Amazon.

We wanted to rent a car to go to a celebration at the Beer Research Institute (BRI) on Stapley in south Mesa. Our friend Sara Graff’s birthday is this Tuesday and her husband Howard arranged a get-together on the back patio of BRI. We waited too long to book a rental car. Most of the places had closed at noon on Saturday – the ones that were open didn’t have availability.

Making the 18-mile ride (each way) after dark on the scooter didn’t seem like a good idea, especially since I intended to sample a couple of brews. But Howard and Sara offered to come all the way out to the park to pick us up – Sara said she wanted to meet Ozark. Still, that was really nice. Thanks, Howard and Sara!

Donna was feeling adventurous and had a sample flight with a saison, vanilla porter and coffee porter. I had a West Coast style IPA and a black IPA. The beer was good. We had a plate of appetizers that included pretzel balls with dips, southwest poutine and meat candy – yum. The meat candy is sriracha-coated candied bacon.

Sara's party enjoying the back patio at BRI

Howard and Sara’s party on the back patio at BRI

We ordered entrees as well – Howard generously picked up the tab from the open menu to celebrate his wife’s birthday. I like your style, Howard! Donna had a mac and cheese bowl with green chilies and machaca. (She figured she earned it after her hike!)

Mac and cheese with green chilies and machaca

I went for the New Mexico stacked enchiladas plate, which is layers of corn tortilla and shredded chicken with green chilies, cheese and sour cream with a sunnyside up egg on top. We were told we had to try this when we in Albuquerque, but never got around to it.

Stacked enchiladas

After dinner, it was time to break out the cake and sing happy birthday to Sara.

Happy birthday to you

Make a wish

We had a great time. Donna used the Lyft app on her phone to call for a ride home. The Lyft driver showed up within minutes and took us right into the park and dropped us off outside our coach. (If you ever want to try Lyft – or Uber – we have free ride codes we can share with you. Just ask.)

I’ve been dealing with a sore lower back for the past few days. I plan to take it easy, watch the Moto GP race from Sepang and some NFL action. Donna has plans to meet up with her friend, Julia, from Fountain Hills.

Long, Lonesome Highway

After getting up around 4am for nine straight days to crew at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, it felt good to sleep in past 7am on Monday. We took our time preparing to move on from The Vineyard where we’ve been since September 30th. In 12 days of dry camping, we used less than four gallons of water a day. But then again, we were away for 7 hours a day, only prepared meals a few times, and had access to showers at the community clubhouse.

We paid up at the office and said our good-byes to Larry and Ruth, then pulled out around 1:30pm. It was a short hop back to High Desert RV Park west of Albuquerque on I-40. We decided to go back there as it is fairly inexpensive and I would be able to dump and flush our tanks thoroughly and fill with known good fresh water before heading to Arizona.

After we set up, I took a shower. But I had a problem – the shower head was cracked and leaking. By the time I finished my shower, the crack had opened up and was spraying water all over.

The next morning, Donna went for a walk while I took care of the tanks and fresh water. Then we pulled out and went directly to Camping World across I-40 from the RV park. I knew I could find a new Oxygenics shower head for less money online, but we needed it now. I like the Oxygenics because it uses less water than most shower heads and still provides a good spray. Camping World had the shower head in stock so I bought it and we hit the road.

Our route took us about 60 miles west on I-40, then south on NM117. This took us through the Malpais National Monument and the Acoma Indian Reservation and across the Continental Divide. There were many interesting looking bluffs and rock formations. Donna amused herself by taking a few windshield view photos with my smartphone. At one point, we pulled off at a scenic viewpoint – a large lot with vault toilets.

Donna wanted to hike to the arch rock formation but I vetoed the idea. I wasn’t dressed for hiking and by the time I changed my clothes and shoes, made the hike and got into comfortable driving clothes again we would have burned up an hour. I wanted to keep moving knowing that we might encounter a change of plans along the way and it could be a long day. We wanted to find one of several boondocking sites Donna had researched.

High desert rock formation

View from roadside lot with trail to rock arch

Another view from the roadside lot

Highway 117 undulates – the surface contnually dips and rises over what are essentially ripples with an interval of a few seconds. At some point, Ozark got carsick from all the motion. We stopped in Quemado and Donna took Ozark out of her crate to clean up. This is the first time that has happened.

While we were driving, I heard a loud thunk from the rear of the coach. Donna went back to see what fell. She said it looked like the shower head came completely apart and was lying on the floor of the shower.

Once we hit US60 and headed west, we were on familiar ground. Donna and I traveled this route in 2005 when we rode from Mesa, Arizona to Datil, New Mexico with a group of Moto Guzzi riders. Donna and I had Moto Guzzi touring motorcycles before we switched to BMWs.

Once we were in Arizona, we climbed the White Mountains and crossed the Cerro Montoso Summit at 7,550 feet above sea level. We also gained an hour when we crossed the state line.

Rolling down that long, lonesome highway

Do you remember the show “Then Came Bronson”

We discussed our options for the night and settled on Scott Reservoir Campground near Show Low, Arizona. This is a National Forest campground in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that allows up to five nights of free camping. You must camp in a designated site – there are 15 sites with tables and fire rings – and there aren’t any hook-ups, but you can’t beat free. And the air here smells of the pine trees all around.

Pulling into the narrow dirt road from Porter Mountain Road (map) was a little scary. I didn’t know what I was getting into and hoped I would be able to get turned around. We followed the washboard surface for about half a mile, then found a turnaround. It wasn’t big enough and I had to jockey back and forth a few times before I could complete the turn. There was a large tree in the center of the turnaround and I scraped the left rear of our coach against branches. I hope the scratches will buff out!

We backed into a large, fairly level site and were set up in no time. I was surprised to find a Verizon 4G signal with full bars! I went to the back and looked at the shower head. I found the source of the loud thunk. It wasn’t the shower head – it was the handle that turns on the shower and regulates the hot/cold water flow. The set screw had backed out and the handle fell off. Next I found that I had misdiagnosed the Oxygenics shower head problem. I didn’t need a new shower head – the crack was in the fitting on the hose connecting to it. I could have bought a new hose for a third of the price of a new Oxygenics shower head kit. Doh!

I re-installed the shower handle with thread locker on the set screw and replaced the shower hose while Donna set off on her second walk of the day. She hiked a trail around the lake and then, when the lakeside trail petered out, followed a horse trail she found that led to a road that intersected with the road we came in on.

Ozark was feeling much better after we settled in – I believe it was the constant up and down on NM117 that made her queasy.

Ozark feeling better and playing

Although it was in the upper 70s when we arrived yesterday, it’s cool this morning. Our current elevation of 6,700 feet above sea level means cool nights. It’s 47 degrees outside as I type this and a cool 59 degrees in the coach. It felt good to sleep under a comforter with the windows open. The day will warm quickly under clear skies to the mid 70s. We’ve decided to spend another night here before we go to Payson for a few days to wait out the heat wave in Phoenix. We’re hoping things cool down there and we can move to Mesa by the end of the week.

Enjoying peace and quiet in our free site

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.

Keep Out of Lowes

We were packed up early and ready to hit the road by 9:30am Friday morning. This was good timing – late enough to miss the Washington, DC rush hour traffic from Cherry Hill Park, but early enough to get a head start on the day’s travel.

We followed the I-495 Beltway west and south until we crossed into Virginia and came to I-66. The traffic wasn’t bad, but drivers made idiotic moves like changing lanes at the last instant for an exit or trying to weave their way through traffic at ridiculous speeds. We stayed out of trouble and eventually, westbound I-66 led us to a more rural setting with fewer cars.

Our next junction put us on a southwesterly course on I-81. This is a nice road with good pavement and beautiful scenery as you traverse the Shenandoah Valley. We had the Blue Ridge Mountains to our east and the Appalachians to the west. I thoroughly enjoyed driving this stretch of road.

Our original plan was to stop for the day in Buena Vista, Virginia at a Passport America RV park. After fueling up at the Pilot/Flying J in Raphine at exit 205, we decided to push on. The fuel cost was a very reasonable $2.43/gallon. We drove through Roanoke and thought we would stop at the Walmart in Dublin for the night. But the Walmart in Dublin is posted “No Overnight Parking.” Local ordinance strikes again.

Our Rand-McNally GPS shows RV parking along the route. Usually it won’t show Walmarts that aren’t okay to park in. Of course, local ordinances are always subject to change. We pushed on to Wytheville where there’s another Walmart. Donna phoned ahead and she was told the Walmart store doesn’t own the parking lot – the town owns it and they may issue a ticket for overnight parking. Having said that, she added that we would probably be okay if we parked by their lawn and garden center.

We stopped at the Walmart in Wytheville and it didn’t look good. It was posted and the lot wasn’t all that big. There was a large lot at Lowes next to Walmart but they were obviously not RV friendly. Every entrance to their lot had a steel bar on posts 12 feet high to prevent any vehicle over 12 feet (RVs and trucks) from entering. Their lot was less than half full, but they didn’t want us in there. I made a decision today that I won’t be shopping at Lowes any more.

Keep out of Lowes

We parked in an empty lot by Walmart and went in to buy a few things. After looking at our options, we decided to try a U.S. National Forest campground that Donna that found in the Escapees Day’s End Directory.

We drove about 9 miles to Stony Fork Campground (map). This campground has 53 paved sites arranged around a paved loop. The paved loop is narrow. Getting our trailer backed into a site was going to be tricky. We drove around the loop and all of the easily accessible sites were either taken or reserved. We finally decided to give it a shot at site 43. Donna got out to direct me on our Cobra 38 WX ST handheld CB and I saw a neighbor come out to watch the show. I’m sure we disappointed him when we backed into the site in one shot!

Our spot for the night

We covered about 350 miles today and I was tired. The site we’re in isn’t level – it’s low in the rear. Too low to really get the coach level. I got it as close as I dared and called it good. Raising the rear too high risks having the rear tires off the ground. The parking brake works on the rear wheels – if the rear tires aren’t in contact with the ground, there isn’t a parking brake. Once we settled in (I didn’t hook up – we’re dry camping), we walked back to the entrance to fill out a pay envelope and pay the fee for the night. There was an interesting sign at the pay station.

Bear activity

Campsite map

We had dinner for lunch yesterday (leftover asiago chicken sausage with roasted pepper, black rice with mango and black-eyed peas, and green beans with sliced almonds), so we decided to have lunch for dinner last night. Donna made a salad with the last of the baby field greens she got at the farmers’ market in Bolton Landing, NY and topped it with cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, feta cheese, black-eyed peas, deli turkey meat, kalamata olives and dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice).

Our dinner salad

We’re at an elevation of about 2,600 feet above sea level. The temperature is cooler than we’ve had in a while. We slept with the windows open and it’s a cool, but comfortable 66 degrees in the coach as I type this at 7am. Meanwhile, Donna is out hiking the Seven Sisters Trail. When she returns in a couple of hours, we’ll pack up and hit the road.

Today we plan to drive to Crossville, Tennessee. Donna found a Shoney’s restaurant there that offers free overnight RV parking in a gravel lot adjacent to the restaurant. This will set us up close to Nashville where we want to spend a few days.

Lunch on the Lake

I didn’t post Saturday morning as I had much to do. So, I’m writing this post Saturday evening and will share it Sunday morning.

On Friday, Donna’s sister Pam and her husband Gene came down from Lake Placid. Shortly after they arrived, we went to the farmers’ market at Bolton Landing. Pam and Gene rode with Donna’s other sister Linda and her husband Tom. Donna and I scootered over to Bolton Landing. It was about a 10-mile ride over the hill to Diamond Point, then up along Lake George to Bolton (map).

The farmers’ market was fairly sizable and had a number of interesting vendors. One of the booths had the largest assortment of mushrooms I’ve ever seen. They also had “Shroom Shakers” which are small spice shakers with powdered mushrooms. Donna bought the pioppino mushroom shaker. I’m not sure what she plans to do with it.

Some of the mushroom selection

It was nearly 1pm by the time we got there. I didn’t have the best night’s sleep and was out of bed before 6am. I was hungry when we started shopping around at the market and feeling the lack of quality sleep. After 40 minutes of browsing, I was ready to move on and find lunch. It was like herding cats to get everyone interested in lunch and figuring out where we were going.

We went about a mile away to a restaurant called Algonquin (map). Donna and I arrived first and snagged a table on the lower deck which is barely above the Lake George water level. We enjoyed a good meal and lots of conversation. Although it was a warm and sunny day, sitting outside on the water was pleasant.

Linda. Tommy, Gene, Pam and Donna on the Algonquin deck

After lunch, Donna and I scootered over to the Price Chopper market in Warrensburg before we headed back to the campground. I broke down and bought Dogfish IPA made in Delaware. I just can’t appreciate the New York IPAs. I relaxed for a while. The Prednisone I’m taking to counteract an allergic reaction is playing havoc with my stomach. That’s why I didn’t sleep well the night before.

We gathered at Tom and Linda’s place for happy hour. We swapped a few jokes and stories before Tom grilled burgers for dinner. We sat outside until about 10pm before we called it a day.

During the night, Donna had to call security at 2:30am. There was a group of people whooping it up outdoors somewhere in the vicinity of our site. Sometimes, in places like this, you get city people out for the weekend. They rent a cabin on the property – they’re not RVers and have no clue of RV park etiquette. Even after a visit from the campground security, they partied on until 4am. Shame on the campground management.

On Saturday morning, I wanted to prepare for our move day on Sunday. The weather forecast was calling for thundershowers after midday. So I wanted to have things packed away while everything was dry. The temperature rose quickly and it was very humid out. Donna went for a hike up Hackensack Mountain and hiked the trail in the opposite direction from the first time she hiked there about a week ago.

While Donna was out hiking, I deflated our Sea Eagle kayak and packed it away. I took some time to reorganize some of the items in our cargo trailer. It was worth the time and effort – I’m pleased with the results. I ended up working for a few hours and took the windshield covers down and packed away our chairs and the outdoor carpet. When Donna returned, she helped with the awning. I had her working the switch to pull the awning in a short distance at a time. Then I would use my push broom to sweep the tree debris from the awning so it wouldn’t get rolled up in the fabric. This was a slow process and I’m feeling it in my arms and shoulders.

All those passes back and forth along the 19′ foot awning with a heavy broom was a workout. I’ve been working on my upper body strength over the past couple of months and I’m up to doing 45 push-ups daily. After the broom workout, I didn’t need the push-ups.

By 2:30pm, I had everything loaded in the trailer, including the scooter and Traeger wood pellet fired grill. The rain held off and I thought maybe we would stay dry all day. Donna went to the store in Linda’s car and picked up some snacks and beer. We sat outside for happy hour at our table with Linda and Tommy. We could hear thunder around us and the weather radar app showed thundershowers to the north, east and south of us but it was clear over us and to the west.

The happy hour was cut down to a happy half-hour when the thundershowers found us. Large rain drops suddenly pelted down and chased Linda and Tommy home while we dashed indoors.

Last night our party neighbors were at it again. After midnight I went over to the cabin site behind us. A large group of college age kids rented the cabin and had tents set up in the sites behind it. They were playing beer pong on the picnic table and shouting at each other and cheering. I told them it was after quiet time – quiet time is 10pm to 8am. They pretty much ignored me. I called the park security and met the security guy. I told him about the partying until 4am the night before. He went over and talked to the group. Whatever he said got their attention and it was quiet after that.

Today I only have a few things to do before we hit the road. We’ll head toward Cabela’s in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. I want to purchase a few things there and it will likely be a good dry camping place for the night. From there we plan to go to an RV park near Baltimore that offers shuttle service to the train into Washington, DC.

A Day in Warrensburg New York

I’m running a little behind this morning. My laptop puzzles me at times. I upload photos from my phone to my laptop where I crop and resize them for use in my posts. The upload process is inconsistent. Sometimes after I connect my phone to the USB port, after a minute or so, my laptop recognizes the device and I can upload. Other times, a window opens and it says “scanning your device for files” and I can’t upload until it completes the scan which can take 15 minutes. I don’t understand why it does this.

Yesterday I had another twist with my laptop. I was on the web using Google Chrome when things quit working. I was given the option of optimizing Google Chrome for Windows 8. I clicked on it. Chrome works now, but it’s very annoying. I have a black bar above the tabs and if my cursor touches this bar, it expands and I don’t see the tabs anymore. Also my toolbar on the bottom of the page went away.

While I’m on this rant, I’ll add another annoying thing. I set my preferences on Facebook to show “Most Recent” because I want to see what my friends are posting. At random intervals, Facebook decides I should really be seeing “Top Stories” and it changes my settings for me. Really? Facebook knows better than me what I want to see? Why even give me the ability to choose my preferences if they’re going to change them for me? End of rant.

Yesterday morning, I scootered Donna over to Warrensburg to the Hackensack Mountain trailhead. There are a few trails there with varying degrees of difficulty. Donna went up a fairly challenging trail to the summit that included a section with ropes for pulling yourself up. After hiking the mountain trail, she walked back to the campground. She put in about five miles of hiking. Here are a few photos she shot on her hike.

Hackensack Mountain trailhead

View at the summit

Steeper than it looks – ropes for handholds

In the afternoon, we rode the scooter to the Warrensburg Farmers’ Market west of Main Street on the south side of the Schroon River on NY418. This was a relatively small market but they had some good local produce and other things like locally made cheese and honey.

Farmers’ market

Music at the market

I bought a bag of bee pollen. Some people consider bee pollen to be a super food with high nutritional value. I’ve read that it can be beneficial for people with hay fever allergies. Other people say it causes allergic reactions. I’m trying it out – we’ll see if it helps me or causes me problems. I sprinkled half a spoonful on my cereal this morning.

Yesterday’s weather was near perfect – mid-70s with partly cloudy skies. Today we should see 80 degrees with partly cloudy skies. We’re planning to take the kayak out on the Schroon River.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Hiking

Cabrillo National Monument

Happy Birthday Sara

Long, Lonesome Highway

Alternate Route Across Arkansas

Closing the Loop

Natchez Trace

Ozark the Travelin’ Cat

Keep Out of Lowes

Lunch on the Lake

A Day in Warrensburg New York

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