I had several goals for this trip:
* Visit with family and friends in Ohio *
* Travel with Lizzie, our cat *
* Take our time driving, visiting attractions along the way *
* Enjoy the camping lifestyle *
* Appreciate nature *
FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN OHIO
While in Ohio we parked KODIAK at a friend's house and spent a long weekend with family in a rented house on the Mohican River. The best part of the house was the river front area. It was great for relaxing, watching the river and having a campfire. Brian proved to be a master at campfires. He had one going 24/7.
In addition to watching people float by, we paddled down the river.
Brian's Comments on Mohican River: The house we rented was very comfortable. The short walk to the river was made many times. I loved having a bonfire all weekend. The 7-mile kayak trip was fun. Having the whole family there was a highlight for me. Two pregnancies are in process...should be fun at Christmas/New Years this season.
We are all looking forward to next year when there will have 2 babies in the group (Dan and Kelly are expecting in December 2017 and Mike and Mallory are expecting in January 2018).
Of course, being in Ohio includes a stop at Swenson's for a hamburger, Luigi's for pizza, thrift store shopping at my favorite spots and golfing with friends.
TRAVELING WITH LIZZIE
Brian and I came up with the idea to buy a travel trailer because Lizzie didn't like being away from us. She wasn't happy staying at home with a cat sitter or visiting my Mom's house. She liked the travel trailer and tolerated riding in the van. We even tried to get her to join us sitting outside...but she preferred looking at nature from the comfort of the air-conditioned trailer.
Of course, her favorite spot was next to Brian.
THE JOURNEY
Our first stop on the trip to Ohio was at Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia. The campground was nice, we were close to the bath house and it had a convenient shuttle to the park.
The first night we took the shuttle to the park to watch the laser show.
The second day we spent in the park. The carving took over 50 years to complete (lots of time off for fund raising). It was started by the same carver that did Mount Rushmore...and is bigger than Mount Rushmore.
We took a train ride around the mountain and a cable car to the top of the mountain. I should mention that I have a fear of heights. Being up high doesn't bother me, it is standing near the edge that is the problem. I had no problem on the top of the mountain...or riding the cable car to the top. I froze when it came to walking around at the top of the mountain. Brian was on his own and I suppressed the urge to scream for him to come back.
The park has lots to offer all ages...a museum, a 4-D movie, a dinosaur exhibit, shops and a historic village.
Brian's Comments on Stone Mountain: This was a very hilly RV park and it was a good thing the van has a big V-8 engine to pull the trailer around. We had a great time at Stone Mountain and I especially liked running around on top of that big rock.
Our next stop was Fort Boonesborough State Park in Kentucky, It is a quiet state park on the Kentucky River. In one day I biked, hiked and kayaked at the park. The scenery was beautiful and the river was calm. I kept seeing long dark things in the water and my first thought was that they were alligators...then I remembered I wasn't in Florida...these were logs.
Brian's Comments on Fort Boonesborough: Beautiful country setting. The kayak trip on the Kentucky River was a highlight for me. Bike riding the hills was tiring. My bicycle stamina is at a 4th grade girl.
Our first big stop on the way back from Ohio was at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. The afternoon after we set up camp (at Cave Country Campground), we visited the Historic Railroad Park and Museum in Bowling Green. The museum was very informative on the history of the railroads. There was also a guided tour of several restored passenger railroad cars.
The next day we took the Historic tour of Mammoth Cave. Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the WORLD. It has over 400 miles of surveyed passages (and there is more to explore). The tour lasted about two hours and covered 2 miles. The park ranger did a great job leading a tour of 125 people through the cave and shared lots of history and information about the cave. The tour included a couple narrow passages. I should mention that in addition to having a fear of heights, I am also slightly claustrophobic. It just adds to the adventure. Besides, I can handle a little stress because I am so fascinated with rocks and nature.
Brian's Comments on Mammoth Cave: Everyone should see Mammoth Cave at least once. It was a fantastic place and it is very humbling to be inside and see what millions of years of earth history has produced.
Our next stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee (Best Holiday Travel Park). A funny story...several times I have mentioned to Brian that we should visit Chattanooga, Tennessee. His response is that we have visited Chattanooga on a road trip. I didn't believe him. He would tell me that we visited the aquarium and Lookout Mountain. I still didn't believe him. Eventually he pulled up a picture on his computer from the aquarium. I still didn't believe him. So he found a picture of ME at the aquarium. Then I hesitated. Honestly, I don't remember. Now I have Cattanooga scheduled for this trip. When I mentioned it to Brian, he again said that we have been there...and the story starts again.
This time in Chattanooga, we did not go back to the aquarium (I figure if it wasn't memorable the first time, I don't want to go back). Instead we went on the Incline Railroad, toured Ruby Falls cave and Rock City.
Ruby Falls was fun, particularly since we had been to Mammoth Cave a few days before. The highlight was the 145 foot falls.
Rock City was a trip down memory lane. Back in the early 1970's, my family took a road trip in the South. We started noticing the "See Rock City" barns and signs during our trip. That was back in the day when there were over 900 signs. It kept us amused for a hundred miles or so. Eventually, curiosity won out and we went off course to visit Rock City. It was a fun family memory. I was looking forward to seeing Rock City again and I wasn't disappointed. It is a nature walk that includes a spectacular view, a water fall, a couple narrow passages (even worse that Mammoth Cave), a swinging bridge (I tried, but my fear of heights kicked in and I only made a couple of steps) and a whole lot of rocks, trees (still a favorite of mine). It was a lot to take in in a day.
Brian's Comments on Chattanooga: Ruby Falls was beautiful. It was kinda tight in there with the hundreds of people who visit each day. The view from the incline railway was spectacular. It is a "must ride" attraction. At the top, walk down to the lookout. It is a view of 6 states on a clear day.
THE CAMPING LIFESTYLE
On this trip, we camped at 3 state parks (Stone Mountain, Fort Boonesborough and Reed Bingham State Park), 2 highly rated private campgrounds and 1 seasonal campground. I would recommend all of the places we stayed at. But my favorites were the state parks.
We stayed at 7 spots on this trip. At the first stop, it took Brian and I an hour to set up camp. We cut our time in half at the next stop. By the last stop we had it down to 20 minutes (great team work).
Turns out that even though Lizzie has spent most of her life with other cats, she didn't like Michelle's lively kitten, Peeta. So we spent our last couple of days in Ohio "moondocking" in a friend's backyard. Moondocking is a combination of boondocking (free camping) and mooching (using friends utilities). It worked for us and we may try it again.
The camper has a skylight that lets in lots of sunlight. That is great, except in the morning. A few days into our trip, I created a skylight shade using Reflectix and Velcro. Easy to put on and take off...and it helped keep the camper cool.
We did have a couple challenges on this trip. The first was when the coffee pot broke...just didn't turn on. That was an easy fix...buy a new one. The second challenge was the first time it rained, the vent in the bathroom leaked. When the rain stopped that was an easy fix. Brian bought some Flex Seal tape to solve the problem...until we get a new vent lid and cover.
The last challenge was not so easy to fix. While driving to our last campground (Reed Bingham State Park), the power cord between the camper and van came loose and got destroyed dragging on the road. It took a few phone calls, a trip to Walmart and Camping World before Brian was successful in repairing it.
APPRECIATING NATURE
My favorite part of camping is being in nature...the big moments (Mammoth Cave) and the little moments (birds singing). This trip was full of nature moments.
The first nature moment was when I put down the outdoor stairs on the camper in Georgia and an anole jumped off. I am not sure who was more stunned...him or me. I sure hope he finds a ride back to Florida!
The Limestone Palisades on the Kentucky River were a stunning sight from a kayak.
On the river front at Mohican, I noticed lots of holes and a few broken egg shells. I wasn't there to see what hatched, but my son-in-law, Mike, found a baby snapping turtle nearby.
White-nosed syndrome is a disease that is killing bats in North America. Bats are important to farmers for pest control and pollination. At Mammoth Cave, everyone on the tour had to walk over a decontamination mat that contained Woolite!
During our second day at Reed Bingham State Park in Adel, Georgia, I saw this gopher tortoise crashing through our campsite. I followed him into the field behind our camper and watched him start down a burrow...until another gopher tortoise came out and started fighting (knocking shells). Eventually one chased the other across the field into another burrow. That's when I looked around and saw stakes marking more burrows. I watched for more gopher tortoise activity, but never saw another.
Of course, my vacation photos are full of random pictures of trees, rocks, plants.
It was fun to find someone who also take pictures of interesting trees. Sandy shared this picture from a golf course.
NEXT ADVENTURE
Using what we learned from this trip, Brian and I have already planned our next adventure...Skidaway Island State Park in August. We are going to combine experiencing the 2017 Eclipse, touring Savannah and kayaking through the Georgia Intracoastal.
