Winter Excursion 3, Day 183

Kaylee got up at 0200 this morning. She was totally unsettled about something and whined and paced the floor until I got up at 0600. Neither of us got any sleep. We have no idea what was bothering her, but it was annoying to say the least. Hopefully she never does it again!
We were packed up and were on the road by 0900 for the short drive (160 miles) to our next campground. We arrived at Lackawanna State Park just north of Scranton, PA around 1400. Our reservation was for site #54, but it was so unlevel that we were not sure we could get the camper in it. We went over to the office and luckily were able to change to site #58. Here's a pic of the site.

And here's a pic looking out from the site.

Nice campground and the day use area is also very nice.
We got some firewood split up, made dinner, and just relaxed. We are both tired after Kaylee's shenanigans last night!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 182

We woke up to a steady rain this morning and then slept in until 0900! We had a nice breakfast and waited for the rain to stop. The campsite is once again a mud hole.
We watched everyone leaving as it is Sunday. People watching (especially packing up) is getting to be our new hobby.
Later we took a drive to check out the rest of the park. The two day use areas are really nice.
We had crab raviolis for dinner that we had picked up at the farmers market. It was really good!
Off to bed early as we are leaving tomorrow, it's only 160 miles to our new and last campground for this Winter Excursion.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 181

We did a few errands this morning as Kristen and family are coming over for dinner. Cath did some cooking and cleaning, I washed the truck. I can't wait to get the truck home and do a really good cleaning job.
The weather today was perfect, but the wind was kicking. Hopefully it will dry out the campsite a little.
Here's a good pic of Lucie acting crazy and Manu in the background.

And here's baby Fran, she is a cutie!

Before dinner the kids hit the playground.

Campfire and smores after dinner and then they headed home. It is always good to see them. We had a good afternoon and evening.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 180

After breakfast we left camp and headed to the West Shore Farmer's Market in Lemoyne, PA. This market has been there since I was a little kid. Some of the businesses I still remember. We did a little shopping for some Pennsylvania goodies.
On the way back to camp we stopped at this old place. I used to work there, driving truck and delivering feed and coal. It is closed now days.

Grabbed a pic of the park sign on the way in.

It rained a little early this morning, but stopped for awhile. Then this afternoon the phones started alerting us of a tornado watch! I thought once we got a little farther north we would stop getting tornados, but I guess not. We had some thunderstorms, but that was it. The rains stopped around 1700 and the campground is still a mudhole. Kaylee was not happy.
Dinner and a movie, then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 179

Left Claytor Lake this morning at 0830. We did the 330 mile drive to Gifford Pinchot SP in Pennsylvania. The drive was fine, we did I81 almost the whole way. Here's a pic of the new site.

It is pretty much a mud hole except for the pad the camper and truck is on. Folks here say they have had lots of rain.
A little exploring tomorrow, but mostly just relaxing.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 178

We had a lazy morning and then a nice brunch. We ran a few errands and gassed up the truck. Back at camp we spent the afternoon slowly packing up as we are leaving in the morning.
Take out pizza for dinner and then we burned the last of the firewood. Toward dusk I even rinsed all the pine pollen off the truck, it looked like it was yellow.
Early to bed, we have a long drive tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 177

Our neighbors in the NY Class A left this morning around 0800. Cath & I hung out at camp and watched all the overnighters leaving. Around 1200 we were playing cribbage and the phone rang. It was our neighbors from NY. Seems they had left their wallet and eyeglasses on the windshield of the car they tow. Of course they blew off somewhere along the way. They were asking us to check the campground and some of the route they took leaving. The wallet contained his drivers license, pilot license, some credit cards, and all of his pistol permits from various states (he shoots competition). Cath and I checked out the campground with no luck. I notified the camp host and we drove (in his golf cart) the route out of the park, still no luck. We decided to take my truck and drive the 2 miles to I81 and then up to the next exit. We didn't see anything. We even drove the route twice. Later in the afternoon the camp host came over to our site. He had the wallet and all the contents! He had driven back to the entrance ramp and spotted the wallet near the end of the ramp. The contents were strewn over about 75 yds. We called our NY neighbors and they were ecstatic! We will take the wallet to them at our next campground as they are staying there also. BTW: There was a $100 bill in the wallet. The host found it also. It is now in his pocket as a nice reward!
We spent the late afternoon and evening by the fire and relaxed. It's been an exciting day!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 176

Left this morning and drove to the Blue Mountain Parkway. On the parkway we headed south with the intention of picking up a magnet for our board in the camper. All the visitor centers and concessions on the parkway were closed and not scheduled to open until this weekend.
We took the parkway all the way to Stone Mountain SP. We were able to get a magnet there and then headed back to the camper.
On the way we saw a sign for the Blue Mountain Plateau Visitor Center. We stopped there and were able to get a magnet from the Blue Mountain area.

Back at camp our neighbors came over once again and this time brought a new bottle of bourbon. We talked for awhile and then they left and we had dinner. They are leaving in the morning.
The weather has been great and hopefully it stays that way.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 175

Happy Easter!
Cath made a yummy breakfast of Goldenrod Eggs and we spent the rest of the morning watching the mass exodus from the campground. All said and done there is maybe five of us left here.
In the late afternoon the weather was perfect and the campground was very quiet. Then the grass cutting started. Three lawnmowers, three weed-eaters, and three blowers. We were really surprised to see all of this on Easter.
In the early evening a few Class A's arrived. One from New York parked two sites down from us. The couple came over and introduced themselves. We offered them cocktails and they accepted. They brought their own glasses, but they were empty! They stayed until around 2000! We finally got to cook our Easter dinner, and we laughed about our new neighbors. Dinner was good, then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 174

The rain finally stopped sometime last night, but as the front passed the temps cooled down. It was 37 when I got up this morning.
We cleaned the camper up and headed into town for some last minute supplies for our Easter dinner tomorrow.
Back at camp we took a nice walk on the trails and stopped at the park gift shop. Kaylee was happy to be off leash for awhile. After that it was cribbage,people watching,
dinner and a movie, then off to bed. This camping life is really tough!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 173

The weather was terrible today. We were under tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings almost all day.
We did laundry this morning and were almost able to dodge some of these storms.
Back at camp we just hunkered down, played cribbage, and watched and listened to the rain. The campground is a lake!

A few old shows on MeTV then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 172

Left camp this morning ater a nice Birthday Breakfast of SOS and biscuits! We made the short drive (65 miles) to Fairy Stone State Park. It's a nice place in the middle of the Blue Mountains, but the campsites would be really tight for us. The sites are made for tents and small trailers.

On the way back to camp we stopped at this covered bridge. You don't see many of these anymore.

We decided to take the Blue Mountain Parkway for some of the ride back. We had no cell reception so Cath got on the map. I think we did every back road in three counties of backwoods Virginia! We were on SR 735, then SR 787, Then SR 610, and so on, and so on. Once we decided we were thoroughly lost we just headed west into the sun. We finally came out on a road we could find on the map and then we got cell reception. The one hour drive back to camp probably took over two hours...LOL
We saw this double stop sign on the way and yes we stopped twice!

Cath made me a nice B-day dinner when we got back, we relaxed and enjoyed the evening.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 171

We spent the whole day in camp relaxing and people watching.
One of our neighbors was having trouble with their refrigerator. We spent a little time troubleshooting and did find the problem although we can't fix it. He needs the electric heater coil.
Another camper (VW Van) pulled in next to us and their hose was not long enough to reach the pedestal. We lent them some hose.
Still one more neighbor had a water leak, but did not have any hose gaskets. We helped them out also.
Cath says we should go into business as camper repair persons!
We played some cribbage and just relaxed. It's been a good day and the weather has been perfect.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 170

We drove south today on RT 11 to Hungry Mother State Park. It is a really nice park, but the campgrounds are not the best we've seen, small sites and tight driveways. The park does have a nice lake and a beautiful stream. We will probably never stay there.

On the way back to camp we stopped at Rural Retreat Fishing Lake. It is a nice place, but we could not find the campground. We think it may not have opened yet as there was a gated area we could not get into.

Spent the late afternoon people watching and walking.
It's been a good day and all is well in the Boss Camp.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 169

The rain finally stopped this morning around 0730, but the wind continued. The wind knocks the pine cones off the trees and they hit the camper roof causing Kaylee to think someone is shooting a gun. Hopefully the weather calms down so our dog can calm down!
Here's a pic of the new site. This is a really nice State Park.

DId a few errands today and hung out at camp. Got everything set up as we are here until next week. We should get a few rain free days and hopefully get everything dried out.
We finally got Kaylee back to normal in the afternoon. She is still a good traveling dog!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 168

It rained almost all night, but stopped around 0700. It was just enough time to get everything hooked up and ready to travel. We left Fall Creek Falls, TN at 0830.
The first part of the drive was fine, but when we got on I40 (yeah, we broke our rule) the wind was kickin' by butt! We dodged bad weather almost the whole trip, but it was raining when we got to Claytor Lake SP, VA.
We got set up in the rain, then the storms hit and lasted until around 1800.
We did take-out pizza for dinner, watched a few shows, then hit the sack. Storms hit throughout the night and Kaylee was beside herself. She kept us up half the night. The winds started around 0300 and that made Kaylee even crazier!
Pics of the new site tomorrow when the weather calms down.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 167

The rain started early this morning. We all stayed in bed until almost 0800. A few cups of coffee and then Em and I left to tour the park. We saw both of the waterfalls and I got this pic of her and Boody at Cane Creek.

We had a nice brunch and then Em got word she had to return home as the weather is turning bad. Severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes are forecast. She left around 1400. Cath and I spent the afternoon watching movies and relaxing.
Weather forecast is not good and tomorrow is a travel day, so we got everything packed up today.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 166

We spent the day at camp, did a little camp maintenance, and enjoyed the nice weather.
Emily showed up in the afternoon. It was great to see her and she is doing wonderful in her new job. We talked for awhile, had a nice campfire, and a good steak dinner.

The sunset this evening was the best we've seen here. We spent the evening by the fire and caught up on family.

Rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, but today was nice!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 165

We drove to Russell Cave National Monument this morning. Very interesting place with a very long history. We got another stamp in the passport, that thing is getting full!

Here's the cave entrance. The stream is beautiful.

Many artifacts have been found at this cave dating back thousands of years.

Stopped at the store on the way back to pick up a few things.
Our campsite is on a cul-de-sac with five campsites. It has been empty all week, but when we got back there were reserved signs on the other four sites. Later in the afternoon four Class As came rolling in. We feel like the poor folks now!

Turns out all these folks are from Michigan. They travel around to dog shows (frisbee, racing, and agility competitions). They have 17 dogs with them! 

We had a great evening sitting around the fire with them and we all shared a few toddies and lots of stories..

Winter Excursion 3, Day 164

We set a new record today. We visited four different State Parks!
First stop was Cumberland Mountain SP. Nice place and the campground is very nice. We may stay there some day. The park is a few miles out of Crossville, TN, so we had to stop at the bakery outlet and pick up some TastyKake stuff.

 Next stop was Burgess Falls SP.

It has a nice waterfall and the river was raging from all the recent rains.

Edgar Evans SP is interesting. It is located near a TVA dam. It is very hilly and all the campsites are on a steep hillside by the lake. Sites are decks on "stilts", we've never seen anything like it.

Last stop was Rock Island SP.

This was the most interesting because of the waterfalls.

The campground here was also very nice and we may stay here one year.
Back at camp we sat by the fire and enjoyed the weather. It was almost 80 today with very little humidity.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 163

We awoke to a beautiful, sunny, and cool morning. We had a quick breakfast and then left camp to explore.

First stop was Lynchburg, TN. We were there last year, but had to go back as Cath keeps breaking all of my Jack Daniels glasses. We grabbed lunch there and headed back to camp.

On the way we stopped at Tims Ford State Park. It's a nice park, but our camper would not fit on most of the campsites there.

Back at camp we relaxed and enjoyed the weather. Our neighbors came over around 1700 and we sat by the fire and swapped stories until 2000. A late dinner, then off to bed. The weather was perfect today.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 162

Kaylee woke us up at 0530 wanting to go out. We think she knew it was going to rain and didn't want to get her feet wet. By 0630 it was pouring and the storms continued all morning.

Later we took a drive around the park. We ran into this herd on the "Scenic Drive".

The rain continued on and off the rest of the day. We played some cards, had a nice dinner, and listened to the rain on the roof.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 161

After a short drive we arrived at Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN. We had looked at this park last year while we were camped near Chattanooga. We picked out site B109 as one of our favorites. Here's a couple pics of the site.

There is plenty of firewood around for the taking as the park is cutting down diseased trees and bucking them up so campers can burn them.

On the drive into this park we passed many RVs going the other way. It is Sunday and the weekenders have to leave for work or school. The campground is almost empty.
Towards evening we were visited by about a dozen deer. They were right behind the camper.

Once again the forecast is for big storms tonight. Rain on the roof makes for good sleeping.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 160

We spent the morning food shopping and stocking up on supplies for our stay at Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN.
In the afternoon we played some cribbage. Afterward we sat by the fire and people watched.
The forecast is for rain tonight, so we got all the outdoor stuff packed and ready to travel. We have a new light for our flagpole and I use a zip tie to secure it. As I was packing up the flagpole I thought I cut the zip tie off, but as soon as I heard "snip", the light went off. Seems I cut the wire to the solar panel! A repair will be in order tomorrow.
Off to bed, travel tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 159

Laundry Day! We got finished with that by 1300.
Back at camp we had a lazy afternoon. I walked Kaylee and got this pic from the overlook.

Cath made yummy spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We sat by the fire and watched all the weekend campers arriving and getting set up. The campground is almost full.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 158

We ran a few errands this morning and spent the rest of the day at camp.
In the early afternoon we took a nice walk through the Japanese Garden here at the park. In a few weeks it will be really nice when all the plants bloom.

Here's the tea room.

Back at our site we sat by the fire until dinner and put everything away as it is going to rain heavy tonight.
I've already been working on next year's trip. I think this camping stuff suits us!

Winter Excursion 3, Day 157

We met Ronnie Jr. and Jen for lunch at Big Ed's Pizza. This place has been in business since 1961. The pizza was excellent and the beer selection was really great.

After lunch we headed back to camp.

  

We got this shot at the Overlook in the park.

Of course Kaylee has to get in the pics also!

We spent the afternoon by the campfire and told stories. It was good to see them again.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 156

We headed back to the US Space and Rocket Center for our bus tour of Redstone Arsenal.
Cath got this pic of me next to the statue of an Army Aviator.

This plaque is at the base of the statue.

First stop on the tour was the ISS Payload Operations Center. We got to see the Ops Center, and live videos from the ISS. The technology is amazing!

We next went to the original test stand for rocket engines.

These stands were eventually shut down due to the rocket engines becoming larger and more powerful. Toward the end of their use The noise could be heard as far away as Birmingham and the vibrations felt in Montgomery (3.2 on the richter scale).

The entrance to the old engine test stands.

A rocket engine used on the Space Shuttle.

Rocket Park at Redstone Arsenal.

The bus tour was well worth it.
We met Jerry and Carolyn for dinner at Rosie's Cantina. The meal was excellent, some of the best Tex-Mex we've had.
Back at camp a little night cap by the fire then off to bed.