South on 65

While riding on long drives, it's a great time to play with my new technology. Posts, emails, and face time have all become so much more accessible from my new mini iPad which I love, love, love!!! Of course the mini had to have an ap installed before posts would go through. Now it's good to go. I wonder if there will be a time we need an ap to eat, sleep or breath?...

Yesterday was the perfect end to the holiday week-end. We got to spend time with nieces Deb and Susan, great-nieces Rebekka and Rachael, and sister-in-law Shirley. Since Deb is from Texas and Susan is from Oklahoma, visits have been few and far between. They've grown to be strong young women (Shirley can be proud), and the little ones are just darling! It was a great visit!

Fortunately, as we started out this a.m. the wind, which dogged us all the way to Indy yesterday, has quieted down. Driving the Whale in high wind is slow going. Now we have calm wind and clear skies. Our destination for tonight is Nashville, TN. Hopefully there will be a good enough tv signal to watch the ND game.

On the road again...

As of 9:02 this a.m. we are on the road again.  Leaving Elkhart this time is so bittersweet since we will not be back again for at least 10 months.  Our stay at Eby Pines was great - a bit cold at times, but comfortable and quiet.  The combination of tons of pine trees and a bit of wind makes for an incredible whisper and an amazing aroma.  Surprisingly, the owner did not turn off the water while we were still there, but he told Jerry this week-end he would be shutting it off.  Our timing to leave was just right.

As is true of many campgrounds, the off season is time to do repairs and renovations.  Eby Pines was no exception.  The owners were installing a new entrance with concrete pads and gates.  The concrete was not entirely set by the time we had to leave.  The owners had carved out (literally) a wide path and trimmed the pine branches to the side of the concrete so vehicles could get in and out.   Unfortunately, a 40 foot motor home with a Jeep attached was just a tad too big to make it all the way through the temporary entrance without puncturing a tire on the metal concrete forms.   Solution - dismantle part of the concrete form which is what we did.  We managed to spare the tires and the concrete. Jerry's getting pretty good at threading a whale through the eye of a needle.

We were so blessed to be "home" during a number of family celebrations.  Son Chris was inducted to the county athletic hall of fame; daughter Sara hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner; and any number of family dinners took place with brother Ted and others.  We were able to spend time with some close friends but sadly not all.  Our visit next fall will include more time for friends and family and Sara's wedding.

Now we are headed south on 31 to Indianapolis to visit sister-in-law Shirley, nieces Deborah and Susan, and Deb's little girls.  Then we head south to Red Bay - AGAIN - for wiring update and one more cabinet addition.  We just can't stay out of Red Bay.

Our final destination will be Naples, Florida.  More about that later...

You can go home again

We pulled into our campsite at Eby Pines Campground just east of Bristol on November 5th, and this is the first second I have had time to type a post.  It's so good to see family and friends before we take off again for Naples, Florida. Just a few thoughts as we drove through Elkhart on our way to the campground...

In just five weeks, enough has changed in the landscape to get our attention.  Ordinary things such as road construction make the look of home different. Life moves on.

In just five weeks, life goes on with family and friends.  Catching up has been good, and it's been a clear reminder how much we love being with them. It will make leaving again bittersweet I'm sure.

The picture below marks our home sweet home at Eby Pines.  This campground is one of the few (keep in mind my limited experience) to keep the water on until bitter cold takes over.  They have only one water faucet with valves that go under the frost line.  So this is a game of "by guess and by golly."  The owner will shut the water off when it gets too cold.  Makes the stay a bit more challenging when you have to fill the water tank every four or five days.  The first morning here, the outside pipe was frozen.  Our coach pipes were fine as we have heat in the water closet where all the Whale pipes are.  Hmmmm...  a trickle of water in the sink keeps the freeze away.  It sounds like we have a small fountain in the bathroom.

The pines you see in the HSH picture surround us.  I've always been a!erson connected to smells.  All locations have distinct smells.  When we were in Red Bay there was a distinct aroma of pine and sage in the country.  What an incredible combination!  In the RV parking lot, it smells like dog food since there is a dog food factory just a mile away from the parking lot...  Here in Eby Pines, it's all pines.  And the sound in the wind is just soothing - unless it's storming (last night).

We leave Elkhart the day after Thanksgiving.  Before that, son Christopher flies in from a conference in New Orleans for a celebration Nov. 17.  He's being inducted in the county hall of fame for athletics.  How great to spend time with both our kids, Sara's fiance' and brother Ted before we vanish again.

Thanksgiving will be spent with Sara and Patrick and Patrick's mom, Helen before we take off for Indy Friday a.m.  We'll stop to see sister-in-law Shirley and nieces Deb and Susan before heading south west to return to Red Bay for just two more modifications.  Then on to Tampa to get the Whale "groomed" (wash and wax) before we settle in at our spot in Naples for a few months.

We'll be checking in from time to time as this is all about the journey, not the destinations...

Home sweet home at Mammoth Cave National Park

Just couldn't resist a short post today.  We really were headed for Louisville to overnight in a Walmart parking lot... but pulled off to check out the Mammoth Cave National Park.  For only $8.50 (gotta love the 

Golden Age pass for national parks / half-price), we could stay the night - no hook up.  Let's see...  Walmart or this setting?  That decision took less than two seconds.  We stopped early enough to check out the visitor center, possible tours into the caverns, which now total 390 miles of discovery, and enjoyed this great fire before dark.  This will definitely be a return trip next fall after daughter Sara's wedding in October before we head elsewhere.  

I must say we are traveling now at a much slower pace than ever before, and neither one of us are struggling with the concept of "snail's pace."

Jerry wanted to let you all know he's been looking at RV's again...  This is the camouflage model.  You can imagine my response.

Speaking of other Rv's - my brother, who is the keeper of old slides and movies from our father's years as an amateur photographer sent me this picture (below) before we started traveling.  I was unaware that when my brothers were very little, and before I was born, our parents traveled in this travel trailer.  This photo is of one of their trips to the Grand Canyon.  The entrance to the GC is much different now, for sure.  Evidently, I have this RV / nomad-ism in my blood. When we go to the Grand Canyon next spring, I plan to take a picture of our Whale at the entrance and post them side by side.

The Old Natchez Trace

The Old Natchez Trace

The Gordon house

The Old Natchez Trace

Before we left the Merriweather Lewis Park, we were able to get shots of one section of the Old Natchez Trace.  The Old Trace and the 444 mile paved Natchez Trace Parkway wind through what used to be the old southwest wilderness.  The original trail was a walking trail.  Later, as it became a main thoroughfare, the trail was wide enough to travel by wagon.  Eventually, as steam engines and steam boats became more accessible, the trail was not traveled as often.  The technology of the day reduced the Old Trace to a walking trail, much like smart phones have reduced land lines to dinosaur status.  There are parts of the Old Trace that parallel the narrow pave parkway road. I like to imagine groups of pioneers and traders walking the trail as we drive by.  We passed by the site of Sheboss Stand, the former location of one of the inns that were spaced out on the Old Trace where travelers could stop to rest and get a meal.  All those structures are gone now, but as we sit in our "stand" (the Whale) looking out over the landscape, it's not too hard to imagine the small wooden slat building with covered front porch and smoke curling from the chimney.  An inviting sight to a walk weary traveler.

I spoke too soon...  Just as I was writing about the original structures on the Old Trace being gone, we pulled off to take pictures of the Gordon house, one of the last standing structures on the Trace.  It's also one of the first brick structures erected in this area.  The house was built in 1818, but Gordon and his wife operated a ferry on the Duck River from 1801 until traffic on the Trace declined.  Mrs. Gordon lived in this house until 1859.  Pictures of the house when occupied show shutters open and a full front porch with chairs.  I had to just put up with my curiosity to look inside as the  house was closed, tightly boarded up with bars on the raised basement windows.

We continued north to complete our drive on the Natchez trace and now are on 65 north to Louisville.

Whitten Park & Natchez Trace

Home sweet home Whitten Park

We spent our last day on the Tenn-Tom checking out Fulton, TN.  As we drove by the dam and locks on the waterway outside Fulton, we were lucky enough to get there just as three trawlers were approaching the dam to go through the locks.  Although we could not get close we were able to watch as all three entered, tethered to the side, and slowly sank from view before making their way out the other end of the lock.

After three days at James Whitten Park on the Tenn-Tom, we left this morning to travel the Natchez trail north to Nashville.  The Trace is 444 miles of history beginning in Natchez, Mississippi ending in Nashville, Tennessee.  The trace is rich in history and stories too many tell in this spot.  Natchez Trace was the lifeline through the south west of MS / TN.  Traders traveled by foot / wagon to deliver goods.  Rich tales of discoveries, ambushes, conflict and friendships help us to imagine what it must have been like to travel the Trace in 1700's.  By the early 1800's, the Natchez Trace was a heavily traveled road in the old southwest.  One of many points of interest is that as the Trace developed, several people established "stands" which were overnight inns for travelers to rest and eat before continuing their travels.  Although the sites are marked, the building are gone now, and we are left to our imagination.

 In keeping with promises we made to each to meander not rush, we drove for 40 miles stopping every so often to read road markers and enjoy the view.  We stopped for a light lunch and a nap.  Then we drove 45 more miles to set up at the Lewis Merriweather National Park.  There are no hook-ups.  Not a problem.   We are good to boon dock for at least five days if we are conservative with water use.  Besides that, the camp site is free!  Incredible view!

We will be here only one night making our way to Nashville and north tomorrow.  This is definitely a "come back to" spot.

                   

Home sweet home Lewis Merriweather National Park

Good-by to Red Bay... until next time

We pulled out of Red Bay, AL at about 5:30 p.m. Friday evening, October 26th.  Our cabinet work was being finished literally as we hooked up the Jeep and the Whale engine was running.  It's not that we were eager to move on...

We traveled all of 45 minutes to Whitten Army Core of Engineers Park near Fulton, MS.  At this time of year, the park is only a third full if that, and we got our choice of spots.  This is the view from the Whale.  Yes, that's the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  Once we plugged in and sat down with a nice glass of wine to celebrate the next leg of our journey, it sunk in how quiet and dark our campsite is. The parking lot campsite in Red Bay was a bit louder and lit up than we realized.  

Saturday was devoted to cleaning and putting the Whale back together.  We literally had three weeks of warranty and custom work being done to the Whale - constantly shifting items from one side or one end to the other so the work could be completed.  In addition to the multi-item warranty list, we had carpet removed and tile installed in the bedroom, cabinet in the bathroom, drawers to replace the computer station in the dinette, new computer station in the front corner of the driver's side slide, custom cut entry carpet, a dash cover, and lumbar supports in the front seats.  All up-grades are wonderful!  While the work was being done, we still had to live in the Whale - mildly annoying with some inconvenience, but as long as I had a bag of knitting, my computer and phone with hot spot, I'm good to go.  The best part of all the work is getting to know the techs who do the work.  While they are working, and I am stuck on the couch with all my stuff and the dog, we talked.  Daniel and Shane installed the tile on a Friday night and Saturday a.m.  Daniel and his wife are expecting their first child after a really sad miscarriage. Shane's daughter came with him Friday evening between school and the football game.  TJ and Greg installed the cabinet work.  TJ and his wife just moved into a new house.  Frankly, I don't know when he might have done the move 'cause he works in the Tiffin cabinet shop all day and installs custom work every evening.  Greg has three grown children, the youngest trying to go back to college.  Some folks reading this might think the info about strangers inconsequential, but I'm finding that as much as we have and will enjoy the places we go, getting to know the people in those places will be the richer reward.  We're all not so different.  

Today is October 28, 2012.  Today is my birthday.  The sky is clear and fall colors are brilliant.  There is just enough breeze to cause a few leaves to fall every so often.  Today I take stock of my blessings.  Jerry and I are acutely aware that many folks do not get to fulfill their life's dreams as we are doing now.  We are grateful.

I also spend time during this day in remembrance of my sister-in-law Penny who died two years ago in May from cancer.  Her birthday was October 26th.  We almost always celebrated our birthdays together doing something we both really loved.  Usually that meant we took an outing to Shipshewana, IN to shop, or we visited a new yarn shop (both avid knitters), or we made a trip to our favorite garden shop. Penny was a much better gardener than I, but I always enjoyed the thought of being good at it.  Penny was a good and very strong woman.  Related by marriage, we became very close friends.  I miss her and hope that whatever I do on this day will be in honor  both of us.

Our plans this moment are to stay on the Tenn-Tom until Tuesday a.m.  We head north to Nashville, the Louisville, and Elkhart.  We are looking forward to seeing family and friends during our brief stay "home" before we travel to Naples in search of warmth.