Civil War Caravan Part 2

We are at it again. This year we plan to rendezvous at Ft. Sumpter, SC, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Our blog will cover the events until we finish this years caravan in Nashville, TN.

After this caravan we have some time off and the plan is to go to the top of GA and I can search for some of my ancestors. Then we start a caravan called Springtime in Kentucky. After that we head for home, hopefully visiting relatives on the way.

This year we started our travels with way too much food. We must have squirreled it away all winter, so finding a place for all of it in the trailer took a long while. Therefore we did not leave Lincoln 'til around 12:30. We are not known for early departures and this year was no exception.

First night was at the Visalia Elks, arrived at dark, paid our fees and had dinner there. Sat at the ER's table, had good conversation and over ate on spaghetti and HUGE meat balls. We had ice cream and home made cup cakes for dessert. So much for staying on a lean mean diet.

Next day we drove to Joshua Trees spent the night at an RV park in the desert next day we drove through Joshua Tree National Forest. We had never been here and it was a delight. Next year we may leave home earlier and spend some time here. Depends on the type of year, this year is perfect, not too much snow, rain or cold.

Arrived at Tonopah, AZ last night after dark and will head for Benson, AZ today where we will spend a day or two touring. I want to visit the Biosphere. Also this will give us a chance to breathe and slow down a bit. We seem to be in a hurry and there is no reason for that.

There seems to be a screw up with the GREAT photo's we took so hopefully that will be fixed next time.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Yes, we are home.

Thought we better wind this thing up as we have been getting emails asking where we are and if we are OK.

We arrived home on April 22nd around 10:30. We planned it that way 'cause it was the Friday before Easter and we wanted to miss Sacramento traffic. It seems the whole Bay Area heads for Reno and Tahoe on Friday's and the roads can be like a parking lot.

The trip home was relatively short for us as we did not stop much to play and explore. The weather just did not allow us much free time. No pictures were taken after Santa Rosa, NM due to weather. Wind was constant, usually off the nose at 60 mph. Our gas mileage was awful, our noses ran, and our arms were tired from gripping the steering wheel.

We can almost always find some reason to stay in an area and explore. This time we didn't even want to stop long enough to buy gasoline. Speaking of gasoline.....

One of our stops was Grants, NM. I have a flying story from here that has probably been shared with many of you. Another story was when Shirley and I stopped here in '06. The first was horrendous and the second story was fun. This time however, we just rested inside the trailer.

By sharing our experiences, however, this time I learned that my aunt, two cousins, my dad and mom who was pregnant with me had an automobile accident here. I have heard of this accident all my life, but never knew where it was. Well, it seems, I have quite a history in Grants, NM.

From Grants we blew into Kingman, then fought our way over the Tehachapi mountains and into Bakersfield. Here the wind finally was not a factor any longer.  Next day we slept in and had the option of doing 12 hours home or stopping for the night and getting home a day later. Since we had had a tough drive up to now and I firmly believe "get-home-itis" kills more people than any other traveling endeavor we chose the latter plan.

We have had friends in RV's tell us about the winds etc. but had not experienced them much. Now we know. Anyway we are home, resting and  preparing for next year. We traveled this year 7,671 miles from Feb. 16th to April 22nd. Saw a lot of country we had not been in, met some very nice folks and learned a lot. Next year the Civil War caravan will continue and we are looking forward to seeing more of the country and seeing once again the new friends we met this year.

Our last night on the road in Patterson, CA

 When we arrived home and were looking around the yard, one tree had blown over, a mother duck flew out of the bush below. We investigated and found her nest with 12 eggs.

The red bush at the rear of the dry creek hides the nest and eggs.

Home at last.

Each year we see some of the most beautiful country imaginable and this sight always tops them all.

Still tired but happy.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Moving Along

We left Heber Springs, AR on Friday morning, the 15th of April. Weather was good, then we got to Oklahoma and hit wind which is getting worse by the day. We spent our first night at Tenkiller State Park near Sallisaw, OK. The bathrooms here were the worst we have ever seen. Until now I thought Claremore, OK had the worst at their fairgrounds.

Next night we stayed at Foss State Park near Elk City, OK. We were told the winds were a sustained 60 mph all the day before. Bathrooms here were nice but the showers were useless with no hot water and water literally covered the floors. Very nice park though, but we have decided to stick to the Corps of Engineer camps from now on in OK. These are very nice and are federal so they have some standards.

Some time during the night on Saturday, I began itching. Got up to investigate and I had a tick attached to my leg. The prior night, Shirley found one on her but luckily it had not burrowed in yet. So I have an almost perfect score on leaving Arkansas with a tick. I can think of only one visit where this did not happen.

Drove the next day, Sunday, to Santa Rosa, NM. En-route we saw a horrible accident, both a car and big-rig truck were burned to a crisp in the divide of the freeway. Traffic was backed up for miles. Sometimes people get in too much of a hurry.

In Santa Rosa, where we have stayed twice before we enjoyed the wind from within the trailer. Arrived about 4 p.m. and Shirley did a long over due laundry. Then we watched the Yankees win a game on ESPN. It is a regular RV park and has some of the cleanest bathrooms anywhere, so we had nice showers before leaving.

Today we left relatively early but stopped around 2 p.m. we were just tired of fighting the wind. Hopefully tomorrow will see it lessen somewhat. All I can say is these folks sure take their weather seriously. Tornadoes to gale force winds everywhere!

Ya' gotta admit it's beautiful.

Santa Rosa, NM. Actually the trailer is level, it's the angle the photo was taken.

Did not take a photo of Foss until we were outside of the park.

Here at Grants, NM, no photo's taken yet, just too windy.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Heading for California

We have spent four wonderful days here, just resting and doing a little visiting; got to see two aunts, two cousins and their spouses. Nice people all. The rest of the time we played. For some reason when I'm here I revert back to my childhood, no responsibilities.

We feel an obligation to send this blog now because when I read the Sacramento Bee on line this morning one of the headlines stated several people died as a result of last nights storm. Well it isn't us. We did have a terrific storm however. All you can do as we did is button down the hatches. We hitched up and were ready to go. We checked the trees around us and felt they would not topple over on us and that is about you can do.

We worried about hail dimpling our trailer but see no damage this morning. We have some small branches all over, but we are OK. The dam controls the depth of the river and it is full today. It rained hard for a few hours and we had the usual thunder and lightening. Still high and dry.

Mostly what we did.

Must be one good book.

Is this fun or what?

Yep it's fun.

Next time I'm bringing my fishing gear.

Breathe deeply now.

The weather forecast today is for more of the same, so we are heading out and heading westward. Once we get past Oklahoma, maybe it will be less interesting. One thing for sure is it changes quickly around these parts.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Heber Springs, AR

For me this is where it all started. My mother and father met near here, married and here I am, once again. Shirley and I have been here three times now and as always it's beautiful. Four years ago we had Oilcan with us. I think he liked it too.

We left MS and the Elks and drove to Lake Village, AR right after you cross the Mississippi. It is the only RV park in the area and in an old pecan grove. It is dirty, lots of deferred maintenance and not a place to return to. It is a place to spend the night and that is what we did.

Next day, the 11th, severe T-storms were forecast so we spent a lot of time with the Weather channel and on the computer before leaving toward Little Rock at 10 a.m. when the bad weather was supposed to be over. I drove the first hour and Shirley drove the next. Then we hit some real rain. We stopped to wait most of it out then continued.

By the time we reached Little Rock and later Heber Springs we were in beautiful sunshine. Now we are spending a few days here, visiting with relatives and even had the truck serviced today. Friday we will start westward.

We usually spend time on the lake here but this time we elected to camp on the Little Red River. I wish all of you could see this area. Truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Yep that's us.

Think it might be a little shallow?

Can't see it but some critter is swimming across the river.

Is that more dogwood?

After looking at the pictures, maybe we won't leave after all.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

The USA

The last few days of our caravan got a little hectic due to rain, driving, etc. So we did not get to update our map. Here we are in Florida updating the stickers.

Louisiana 

Florida 

Almost complete

We have been in all 50 states, but we have not spent the night in the rig in two of the original 48 and I don't know how we will ever "drive" to the islands. Alaska, maybe, but right now I like my trailer too much to drive there. In year three of the Civil War caravan we will make it a point to spend the night in New Jersey and Connecticut.

We have been in several Canadian Provinces but our map does not show them. If we find a map we will add it to our door.

Right now it's easy to get homesick, we are missing spring there. Here is a photo, one of our neighbors sent us of our house in Lincoln.

Home

We regrettably left Mystic Springs and drove what may be one of the most beautiful highways in the whole country, highway 49 up through Alabama to Hattiesburg, MS. We found, after being lost much of the time, a beautiful Elks Lodge and campground. Lucille our GPS took us 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Asked at a "filling" station, they had no clue, but we finally found it.

Here at last.

Looking for eagles, we did see a Kingfisher.

Very Peaceful.

The search was well worth it. This Elks, has over 500 acres, it's own lake, and all this beauty. Why are we leaving? Well there is this storm forecast........

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Mystic Springs, FL

We decided to drive to Florida, it was less than 150 miles and the trailer has not been here yet. So we left

Biloxi and ended up here at an Airstream park. Good place to rest up, there is absolutely nothing going on here at Mystic Springs. There are very nice people that seem not to be in much of a hurry, mostly just sitting around talking. It is beautiful here along the Escambia River. Quiet and very peaceful. If we did not have other plans we could spend the rest of the summer here.

Unhitched and ready to rumble

This is how the entrance looks.

The Escambia River. Not much traffic.

Where ever a person goes there is something to do or something to see. We rolled into Pensacola and visited the Navy Museum. Saw a great I-Max movie then toured the museum. It is an all day affair, but we left by three so we could beat some of the traffic.

There were Fokkers to the left of me and Fokkers to the right of me.

Go Navy! This plane flew the Atlantic in 1919.

Don't tread on me.

Remember "Flight of the Intruder?" The little lass does.

Tomorrow? Who knows.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley