2012 Summer Trip – Destination Blue Ridge Parkway

Our Summer Trip did not exactly get off to a good start.  Monday morning, I got up with a stomach virus.  We left Bloomington on Wednesday morning.

We headed south on SR 37 to Paoli, and then east on SR 150, which goes through Hardinsburg, my hometown.  I could hardly believe that it looks more decrepit now then it did when we left 5 years ago!  Even the once popular dairy bar is long closed, and grown over with weeds.  Actually, we never lived in town, but about 3 miles out in the country.

     

The nearby town of Fredericksburg is almost nonexistent now.  The old buildings are not just abandoned, but gone.

     

There are still pretty farmland areas along 150, but the crops are suffering this year due to the drought.

Once you get through Louisville, driving through Kentucky is always scenic.

           

It wasn’t long until we were rolling through the horse country near Lexington.  I spotted two of the Kentucky Quilt Trail Barns, and managed to snap a photo of one.  This is a trend of painting quilt designs on barns that has spread through several states.  Click here  or here for more information on Quilt Trails.  There’s even a blog on the Quilt Trails.

    

 

We stopped at Berea, KY for the night.  We parked at Walnut Meadows RV Park.  It looks to have once been a nice RV park, but has been neglected.    All you get for your twenty dollars now is a level pull through gravel site with water and electric, but we’ve paid more for less a few times, and the park was adequate for a couple of days.

Ron became ill in the evening with the virus I’d had.  We woke up to rain, and decided to just spend the day there, recuperating from our illnesses.

The next morning, it was still raining, but we were both feeling better, and decided to move on.  After a couple of hours, the rain lessened.  All the much needed moisture also created nice photos of steam rising from the upcoming mountains – hinting of the famous “Smoky” Mountains farther south.

There were times when the woods appeared to be on fire.

 

We took I-40 toward North Carolina.  By the time we reached the state line, showers were coming again.

 

Even with the raindrops and clouds, it was still one of the more beautiful stretches of Interstate that we’ve driven.

    

The end of the day’s trip brought good news and bad mixed with good. 

The good news?… we were able to get the very last site at Powhatan Lake Recreational Area with electric hookup. 

The bad news?… I entered the 5th wheel to hear our bedroom vent fan running.  Somewhere, thankfully after the rain quit, the wind had torn off the cover to the vent, taking the automatic switch with it.  The fan was running, open to the sky.  Had it happened during the rain, our bedroom would have been soaked!  We are very thankful that the only damage was to the fan.  We taped a garbage bag over the opening, and our makeshift repair lasted through the night, even though it poured rain at times.

The rest of the way

We left Belton on May 17, and made our way toward Indiana, a little quicker than we normally would, knowing that the end of the week was bring Memorial Day weekend, and full campgrounds.

We traveled through northern Arkansas and were surprised to learn that it is a major rice producer.  Somehow, you don’t think of Arkansas when you think of growing rice.  Field after field was green with the tiny shoots.

We saw the brand Riceland on many of the storage buildings.

 

As we traveled on through Missouri and Tennessee, the rivers we crossed were swollen with flood waters.

 

More surprising was the appearance of the trees.  The destruction was similar to that caused by straight line winds, but continued on for hundreds of miles.  We learned that night that the trees were destroyed by a winter ice storm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a night at the John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY, a favorite campground of ours.

The next two days we stayed in a small campground in Corydon, IN, to give us time to visit with family and friends in the area.

On Friday, we moved to Dania’s driveway, near Bloomington, where we spent the next 10 days.

 

Chris, Jeanne, Cassie, Cameron, Dania, Chelsey and Alyssa were all on hand for a cookout our first day there.   Chris prepared a delicious seafood boil.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the remainder of our stay visiting, and relaxing, with lots of walks through Chris’ housing development, Foggy Morning Glen.

 

 

Pictured on the right is the site of Chris and Jeanne’s planned home.  The trees were cleared from the site just days before we arrived.

 

 

 

On Sunday, we made our last move for a while, to McCormick’s Creek State Park.  We will be working as camp hosts for the park for the next two months.  This is our third year to work here.

Summer Trips with the Grandchildren

July was a busy month for us, as we traveled with each of our four grandchildren. The first week was spent in Gatlinburg with Cameron, then we drove up to Ron’s brother Gary’s cabin in the hills of Kentucky for our
"Christmas in July"

The view from his cabin almost makes you feel as if you’re still in the Smokies.

Seventeen family members were able to attend.

Gary had planned the event well, right down to a “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree and animated Santa.

Everyone spent the night, then we, along with granddaughters Chelsey and Alyssa, returned to Gatlinburg.

"Our Time with the Kids"

The two weeks in the Smokies with the kids followed the same pattern with the exception of the first day with Cameron, when we took a side trip through the Cumberland Gap area. We spent some time there hiking up to the original gap through the mountains that Daniel Boone used when first crossing the Appalachians.

Our pictures here on the blog page and in the slideshow (accessible at end of this post) are a combination of both weeks, the first with Cameron, and the second with the girls. Our first day each week in the Smokies was spent driving over the mountains from Gatlinburg to Cherokee, NC.

Cameron’s week held lots of rain showers, and the views really pointed out how the mountains earned their name.

However during the next week, the views were much different.

Of course, the highlight of a drive in the mountains is the hike up to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the Smokies.

Although the dome was partially enshrouded in clouds both times, the clouds still parted enough for us to get some great photo opportunities.

Everyone enjoyed the stops along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, but perhaps Cameron most of all, as we spotted a mother bear and two cubs.

A seven mile road winds through the Artisan community. We stopped to watch a potter “throw” a dish, and really enjoyed the demonstration by a dulcimer builder.

The day we hiked to Laurel Falls was the exciting day for the girls when they had their chance to spot bears. A mother and her triplets crossed the trail while we were at the falls.

One of the little ones became alarmed and scampered up a tree. We got lots of photos before Mama decided to return for him.

Ron and I made a trip to the Smokies around 1980. One of the few attractions in Gatlinburg that looks familiar still is the Ober Gatlinburg Tram and chairlift, so we wanted the grandchildren to experience it with us again.

The tram travels about halfway up the mountain...

Then the chairlift takes you to the top...

Where a trio performs mountain music all day.

After the trip to the Smokies, we picked up our oldest granddaughter, Cassandra. Her choice of destination was much different from the others. Last year, one of her college classes was in anthropology. After reading of the Cahokia Indian Mounds in western Illinois, she wanted to see them.

We spent two mornings exploring the large area.

We were intrigued by a large “sundial” that has been recreated. It is believed that the Indians used this as their annual calendar, marking the seasons by the shadows cast from the poles.

A scenic drive along the Mississippi River

Took us to Grafton. We found the portions at a local fish market to be almost overwhelming. The catfish (one of Grandpa’s favorite choices) and the buffalo fish, lower left in picture, (Cassie and I were brave enough to try it) are caught from the river each morning, and served for lunch that day.

Along the drive a painting on the bluff caught our eye. We learned the painting is of Piasa, a legendary creature . In 1673, when Marquette and Joliet explored the area, they found such a painting, and were told by the Indians it was a “bird that devours men”. The Indians were very superstitious of the area.

We stopped for a tour atop a lock and dam on the river, although we were not fortunate enough to catch a barge making it’s way through the locks.

Our last stop of the trip was New Harmony, IN.

After viewing the exhibits and film in the Interpretive center, we walked the streets of the village. Cassie was intrigued by the two labyrinths, one of stone, and one of hedge.

It’s been a great month, traveling with the kids, and we’re glad we had the opportunity.

We are now back at McCormick’s Creek, and as soon as I can get Grandpa to wake up, we’ll be back on the job camp-hosting.

For a slide show of more photos from the trips, click here.