Today we began our migration East. It was a short trip (110 miles), but got us moving again after three wonderful weeks in LaGrange. We are staying at the Toledo East/Stony Ridge KOA. We were shocked to get a spot on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, but at least five other transient campers have arrived since we set up camp.
This is a nice KOA with decently spaced sites. We were able to setup our Dish satellite antenna and receive signals from satellites 110 & 119. We are still within the range of the satellite spot beam for South Bend which allows us to receive their local channels (preventing us from being blacked out on today’s Rays victory in nearby Cleveland). They do have Wi-Fi here and it seems somewhat consistent, but only at 1/1 Mbps download/upload speeds. Our AT&T hotspot connection is receiving decent connectivity at 27/0.5 Mbps download/upload speeds. We were also able to receive over 40 channels on antenna allowing us to watch the LSU vs Florida State football game in HD on a local channel.
Toledo East/Stony Ridge KOA – Site #402Toledo East/Stony Ridge KOA – Site #402
While we were in LaGrange, we had my childhood schoolmate Paul and his wife Shelly over for dinner (hamburgers and grilled potato wedges). My sister and brother-in-law (Deb & Roger) joined us as well. We also went to Fort Wayne and had dinner at Bagger Dave’s with my college roommate Barry and his wife Mary Jane. Near the end of our stay, Beth’s brother Dick was on his way back from his epic van journey to Alaska and we invited him to stop in and stay with us as he passed by on US-90. He was able to park in the back yard and spent two nights with us, including another meal with my sister and brother-in-law (taco salad). We think Dick is the first of Beth’s siblings that Deb and Roger have met.
Dad, Beth, and Dick Outside the GarageDick’s Van in the Backyard
Rebuilding the Bell Stand
When my Mom’s parents sold their farmhouse they brought their farm bell to town and mounted it on their barn (they lived next door to us). The bell has been in the family for several generations. It was on the same farm when my grandmother was growing up. Based on the markings, the bell was made by C. S. Bell in Hillsboro, OH between 1875 and 1882. When Grandpa sold the house next door the bell was removed from the barn and Mom & Dad took ownership. Dad built a stand for it out of treated landscape timbers nearly thirty years ago and they were rotting, so we tore it down and built a new one.
Mom SupervisingOld Bell Stand RemovedNew Bell StandFinal Result
Testing the Bell
Trip from Cincinnati to LaGrange – 8/13/2023
Today we headed North to Mom & Dad’s house in LaGrange, IN. We left the FMCA Campground in Cincinnati at 9:30AM EDT and arrived in LaGrange at 2:30PM EDT. Mom & Dad, who had been attending a family reunion, pulled in the driveway right behind us. We stopped at the Walmart in Van Wert, OH for fuel and ate the sandwiches Beth had made in the parking lot. Shortly after we finished setting up the camper my sister and brother-in-law Deb & Roger arrived. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the back porch catching up and enjoyed our first Eckrich Hot Dogs in two years for dinner.
Today we visited the Kentucky Horse Park which was established in 1978. Many of the horses here are retired from racing and many are here due to their unique breeds. We learned quite a few interesting facts such as the very unique and rare breed, American Cream Draft, is born a very dark color but as it ages, the coat will get whiter and the eyes actually go from brown to hazel to yellow. Which is unique to this breed. Also learned that the original Clydesdale breed is usually Black/White but Budweiser breeds the Bay color into their line of horses. We saw Connor, a Belgian, which is the largest draft horse breed, who apparently loves food and often breaks out and is found wandering the premises in search of food (or just being a naughty boy). It was a fun day, most of the horses were pleasant and able to be petted.
A Suffolk Punch Draft HorseA Suffolk Punch Draft HorseA Day at the SpaBeth Harassing a Draft HorseShirePercheronShireI’m Shorter Than a BelgianDraft Horse Petting TimeBeth Was Having a Conversation with this HorseA Draft Horse from WalesOne of the Original Spanish Breeds Brought WestThoroughbredPacer/Trotter Champion
Kentucky Horse Park Campground
There was a lot of rain forecast today for the Southeast, but we managed to pack up and leave Yarberry Campground before the rain started, drive through the storm bands, and setup here at Kentucky Horse Park Campground in Lexington, KY after the storms. We departed at 10:40AM EDT and arrived at 3PM EDT. This was our first experience with this rig in fairly heavy winds, but they didn’t seem to push us around too much. We stopped for lunch in London, KY at a Tourist Information Center (which had an RV dump station). After we ate our sandwiches in the car, we pulled into a nearby Sunoco and topped off.
This is a very large campground with paved campsites. Although they are paved, they aren’t necessarily level. We saw one motorhome with its front tires nearly 2′ off the ground. Our site is not level from left to right, so we had our first experience leveling from side to side. Beth, the leveler, did fine pulling the camper up onto our leveling devices. We are getting over 200Mbps downloads and 30Mbps uploads with our AT&T hotspot, but we are starting to reach our limit so we broke out the Dish Satellite for the first time this summer and turned on the MLB package. We are in baseball heaven.
Kentucky Horse Park – Site #14Kentucky Horse Park – Site #14Kentucky Bluegrass Lovers
Today we migrated a little further North to Yarberry Campground in Lenoir City, TN. We left Riverbend Campground at 10:30AM EDT and took GA-17 North to US-64. We then took US-64 West to Cleveland, TN where we took a bypass around the city and jumped on I-75 North. The portion of US-64 that follows the Ocoee River is beautiful according to Beth. I was too busy piloting our way through all the hills and switchbacks to look. It is apparently an extremely popular place for rafting because we’ve never seen so many busses loaded with people inside and rafts on top. The campground is just a few miles South of the Lenoir City exit. We arrived at the campground at 2:30PM EDT.
Kirby Monitoring Traffic
This is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) campground on Fort Loudoun Lake on the Tennessee River. The dam is just up the road. We have a waterfront site and are quite pleased with our view. It was a bit interesting backing into the site. The pictures don’t really show how steep the hill is coming down into the site, but there were several occasions when the trailer drug the Expedition a foot or two down the hill while I had the brakes locked. We used all four of our wheel chocks before we unhooked and I was sure to leave the safety chains attached to the truck when we removed the trailer from the hitch.
Yarberry Campground – Site #15Yarberry Campground – View from ReclinerYarberry Campground – Site #15Yarberry Campground – Site #15Bathing with My Ducks
Our AT&T hotspot is achieving 80Mbps download speeds and 60Mbps up. We’ve picked up a bunch of channels on antenna (we are not far from Knoxville, TN). The sites all have 50Amp electrical hookups and water. The sites don’t have sewer connections, but there is a honey wagon that will pump out your tanks for a fee.
Vet Visit and Lunch at Hawg Wild BBQ and Catfish House
None of our road trips would be complete without a trip the the veterinarian. Upon arrival here at the campground last Friday, Beth was carrying Mercury from the car to the camper and something freaked him out to the point that Beth could no longer hold him. When he hit the ground he ran under the first camper he saw (our neighbor’s) and climbed up their entry steps (he’s trained to seek the steps when he gets scared). When they didn’t open their door for him he went on to the next camper down. Fortunately he waited on their steps and let Beth pick him up and bring him back to the camper. In the process he ripped out one of his rear toenails completely. Of course, Nurse Beth has been treating it all week, but yesterday there were signs of infection so she found a local pet clinic that was able to see Mercury today (Thursday) at 11AM. Mercury was an excellent patient and the doctor was thoroughly impressed with Beth’s nursing skills. The doctor gave Mercury a shot with an antibiotic which will actively fight infection for two weeks. She now has cats registered in 3 separate vet clinics across the country (not counting FL). Hopefully that’s all I’ll have to say about that.
Today is a rainy day so we decided to go to town and try out Hawg Wild BBQ & Catfish House. We are very glad we did. The food was delicious. We tried out their smoked chicken wings with mild buffalo sauce for an appetizer. They were excellent and the “mild” buffalo sauce provided heat for several minutes after eating a wing. I’d hate to try their “hot”. Beth had ribs for lunch which were also excellent. They didn’t need BBQ sauce, but their sauce was so good you couldn’t resist dipping the ribs in it. I decided to try their smoked Italian sausage and it was incredible. I now know the first meal I’m going to smoke when I get back to Florida. The waitress convinced me to use their hot mustard BBQ sauce as a condiment and she was spot on. As with the ribs, the sausage needed no condiment, but it seemed a like a waste of the sauce not use it. The serving sizes were huge and we will be eating leftovers for days.
Hawg Wild BBQ & Catfish HouseHawg Wild BBQ & Catfish HouseSmoked Wings with Buffalo SauceRibs, Onion Rings, & Baked BeansSmoked Italian Sausage, Fries, & Tots
Steak Over the Fire
Today (Wednesday) was our coolest day (high = 80) here in Hiawassee so we spent the day outside and built a fire to cook two nice Filet Mignon that Beth purchased at the local Ingles Market. This was also the first opportunity to use our new grilling basket that Aunt Jo got us for Christmas. The steaks were incredible. The grilling basket allowed me to get them close to the fire for searing and then back them way off for a nice slow cook. After dinner I went back out to burn up our remaining firewood. While I was at it Beth had me grill two chicken breasts so she would have meat to put on her salad (and sneak to her varmints). She said the chicken also turned out great.
Riverbend Campground – Steak NightRiverbend Campground – Steak Night
We have friends, Eric and Sue, from Sun City Center who own property just across the state line in Hayesville, NC. I met Eric when I placed him in the storage lot. He had mentioned that Sue is a dental hygienist and we happened to be in search of a local dentist so I asked him if she likes the office where she works. He said, “definitely”. So I let Beth know and next thing you know we both had appointments at that office in Sun City Center and Sue cleaned our teeth. Whenever we’re getting our teeth cleaned we catch up on where each of us has camped or is planning to camp. Beth recently told Sue that we were headed for Hiawassee this summer and Sue got excited and mentioned that they have property nearby. Fortunately for us, our week coincided with time they were spending here and they invited us out for a boat ride on the beautiful lake. Not only did they take us for a very nice ride on the lake, but then we went back to their place and they grilled pork chops and vegetables. We had a great time.
Chatuge LakeChatuge LakeChatuge Lake
Bell Mountain
We visited Bell Mountain which overlooks the town of Hiawassee and Chatuge Lake. You can drive to the top of the mountain and the road is paved, but it is very narrow and very steep. We had to backup to very small pullouts twice on the ascent to let oncoming traffic pass and considered turning around, but when we reached the top we were glad we stuck it out. The view is incredible. They allow graffiti and seem to even promote it provided that it is not vulgar. It detracts from the natural beauty for me, but that’s probably why I’m not an accomplished artist.
Bell Mountain – Brian Taking a PhotoBell Mountain – View from Parking AreaBell Mountain – Beth Taking a PhotoBell MountainBell MountainBell MountainBell Mountain – Overlooking Hiawassee
Appalachian Trail – Dick’s Creek Gap
The Appalachian Trail passes fairly close to the campground so we decided to visit the nearest crossing which is about 7.5 miles East of our campground. We didn’t go there intending to hike, but we thought while we were there we ought to hop on the trail for a bit. We went about one tenth of a mile, but it was pretty rugged hiking that was rough on the knees and hips. We don’t think we’ll be doing any thru hikes form Georgia to Maine.
Appalachian Trail – Dick’s Creek GapAppalachian Trail – Dick’s Creek GapAppalachian Trail – Dick’s Creek Gap
Riverbend Campground
Today we traveled to the North Georgia mountains and are now staying at Riverbend Campground in Hiawassee, GA for a week. We left Reed Bingham State Park at 9:00AM EDT and arrived at River Bend Campground at 4:30PM EDT (we might have made a wrong turn along the way). In order to avoid getting hung up in Atlanta traffic we took US-129 in Macon, GA to US-441 in Eatonton, GA. We stopped for gas and lunch at the Ingles grocery and gas station in Eatonton, GA. The trip was our new longest ride (7 1/2 hours) with this camper. The Expedition had no issues dragging the camper up the grades we encountered, although we did slow down on one long grade on a four lane highway because our transmission temperature was rising in the Georgia heat (low 90’s). This was the kind of grade where all of the truckers have their emergency flashers on and hang out in the right lane. We just tucked in behind one of them.
Riverbend Campground Site #H3Riverbend Campground Site #H3Riverbend Campground Site #H3Riverbend Campground Site #H3Riverbend Campground Site #H3
This is a very nice campground with 50Amp electrical connections, water, and sewer hookups. We are in Site #H3 which is right along the Hiawassee River. Apparently the campground previously had cable and then the cable companies decided they were no longer interested in providing service to the campground. So the owners managed to implement internet connectivity at each camp site using the old cable infrastructure. Each site has its own individual Wi-Fi connection. Our first and only speed test was 290Mbps download and 30Mbps upload. That’s faster than we get at home. Therefore, we are not setting up our Dish Satellite antenna. We will just stream what we can with our ROKU. We haven’t enabled our Dish service and don’t want to until we need to due to the cost. The only local channel we get on antenna is PBS.
This morning we hiked the Little River and Birdwalk Trails. These were very nice, wide, well maintained trails. The Little River Trail had the longest boardwalk system we have ever experienced (as best we recall). The park brochure stated that the Little River Trail was 1.1 miles and the Birdwalk Trail was 0.8 miles for a total of 1.9 miles. Our hiking apps showed that we ended up walking 2.4 miles which got a little tough at the end in the 91 degree heat, but we survived and lounged guilt free in the camper the remainder of the day.
Little River Trail – Overlook 1Little River Trail – Overlook 2Me Wiping off Some PerspirationBoardwalk
At 5PM when the gnats died down, we took the cats out for play time. They thoroughly enjoyed it and after Mercury and Kirby declared that they were ready to go back in, we let Phoebe roam free. She conformed to her “free roaming rules” like a good girl and when she was done she climbed up the front steps of the camper (where she came out) and waited like a good little girl for Beth to let her back in.
Outdoor TimePhoebe Enjoying Freedom
July 25, 2023 – Arrival
Today we started our summer trip up North. We left home at 9:30AM EDT and arrived at Reed Bingham State Park at 3:00PM EDT. It was the longest ride (5 1/2 hours) that we have taken with the new camper and we weren’t sure how well the cats would take it (they’ve gotten a bit uptight in this setup on some of our shorter trips). Beth bought them a tent to hang out in while in the Expedition and that seems to have made a big difference. They all seemed pretty calm today, even while we were setting up the camper.
This is a very nice campground with 50Amp electrical connections, water, and sewer hookups. We are in Site #35 which is very shaded. The shade is a huge bonus in this 92 degree heat, but it does prevent us from even attempting to use our satellite dish. The internet connectivity makes up for the lack of satellite reception. We are getting over 50Mbps download speeds with our Spectrum phones (which ride the Verizon network) and close to 150Mbps download speeds with our AT&T 5G+ hot spot.
Site #35 – FrontSite #35 – Rear
The 92 degree temperature doesn’t feel too bad due to the amount of shade in this campsite. There were a lot of annoying gnats while we were setting up camp between 3PM-4PM, but they seemed to have calmed down after 6PM.
This week we experienced our first summer camping trip in Florida. All I can say is that it was hot. Fortunately we camped at Rainbow Springs State Park where the water temperature is 72 degrees year round. We took the grandkids with us and had a great time. We know they had a great time because they were so exhausted each night that they fell asleep by 9PM and generally slept in until 9AM (Chuckie woke up a bit earlier each day, but we grabbed him and put him in bed with us before he could wake the girls).
We camped there with our good friends Mick & Heidi and their girls Haley & Lola. On the day after arrival we piled in our cars and headed up to the main portion of the State Park known as the headsprings. This is where all non-camping patrons end up. The water in the swimming area at the headsprings is 10′ – 18′ deep and the rangers highly recommended that we not take our young grandchildren there to swim unless they were good swimmers. Therefore, we just took the hike to the nearby waterfalls and then headed back to the campground where we could swim in the river which is only accessible by registered campers and is only about 3′ deep. The kids had a great time and the girls’ swimming skills improved dramatically. They were very comfortable with their dive masks and snorkels and saw lots of fish. Unfortunately, word of the many fish scared Chuckie and he was very resistant to getting in the water. When we could convince him, it was only if he was attached to one of us. Even with that restriction, he had a good time.
During the times that we were back at the campsite, the kids had a great time riding their bikes and scooters, hanging out with Mick & Heidi’s family, and playing with their dogs S’more & Zuli. The highlight of the trip was Mick taking Penny’s training wheels off of her bicycle and training her to ride her bike. We were all very proud of her.
HeadspringsSwimming at the RiverSnorkelingThe Kids with HeidiPenny on Two WheelsEvie
The grandkids were on Spring Break this week, so we made reservations at Colt Creek State Park. We didn’t want to try to haul the grandkids and the cats simultaneously to the campground, but fortunately Mom & Dad were available to haul the kids and follow us up to the campground on Saturday.
On this trip we were in Site #20 which is on the outside of the loop and just a few sites away from the restrooms/showers. We had connectivity similar to what we experienced last time in Site #9. Our AT&T hot spot’s downloads were generally in the 5 – 10Mbps range allowing us to stream with only a little buffering. We did pickup most of the local channels on antenna, but they would come and go at different times of the day. We didn’t want to miss any of March Madness so we successfully setup our DISH satellite antenna directly behind the camper and were able to pickup all three satellites in the DISH Western Arc. The only negative with this site was that it faces South so we were in direct sunlight throughout the day. On the few days with cooler temperatures this was not an issue, but the first couple of days were fairly warm. We used our pop-up canopy in conjunction with our attached awning to avoid direct sunlight.
Colt Creek SP – Site #20Colt Creek SP – Site #20
The kids immediately started riding their scooters in the street and quickly made friends with the kids in the site across the road. By the end of the evening they had picked up a couple of other stragglers and usually had a crew of 7 or 8 kids playing together. We grilled burgers for supper and Mom and Dad stayed to enjoy them with us. The kids continued to play until dark at which point Beth drug them down to the bath house for showers. Having played all afternoon, they went to sleep fairly quickly after their ice cream. On Sunday the kids continued playing with the neighbors all day and their only breaks were lunch and dinner. It was wonderful getting to see them interacting with other kids. They had a great time.
Since the weather forecast was for rain throughout the day on Monday, Mom & Dad came back to the campground Monday morning and took the kids back to their house so that Aaron could pick them up in the late afternoon following a meeting he had to attend.
Playing with the Neighborhood KidsLunch TimeOutdoor TimeCatching Some March MadnessNap Time
The grandchildren had Friday (2/17) off from school so we took them to Alafia River State Park campground. They stayed Friday and Saturday nights. We managed to reserve Site #5 which is closer to the lake on the eastern end of the horse loop (unfortunately there were no horses over the weekend). The site is a pull through on the inner side of the loop. Unfortunately, one of the large trees providing shade from the afternoon sun fell during Hurricane Ian, but we were still able to find shade throughout the afternoon by moving our lawn chairs around. There is a bit of a marsh next to the site, so once the sun set on the first night, which was very warm for February, the mosquitos were formidable. We were able to place the Dish Network satellite antenna far enough behind the camper to pickup all three satellites on the Western Arc. Although we have had good experiences in the past with our AT&T Mi-Fi at this campground, our connectivity from this site wasn’t great.
On Friday we brought the grandchildren to the campground, unhooked the Expedition and unloaded the firewood and other items in the truck so that Beth could zip home and pickup the cats. The grandchildren road their scooters while I finished setting up the site. Our friends Cam & Susan live near the campground and had never met all three grandchildren so they dropped by for dinner. We cooked hamburgers and pork burgers on our grill.
Alafia River SP – The Scooter BrigadeAlafia River SP – Dinner w/Cam & SusanTablet Time/Coma Time
On Saturday morning we hiked through the woods to the trailhead area where all of the mountain bikers park. While Beth and I rested the kids enjoyed the playground. While we were there we all re-hydrated and snacked and then hiked back to the campground. The hike was 2.8 miles round trip and the grandchildren did very well. Chuckie’s legs started getting tired with about 1/2 mile to go, but he gutted it out. When we got back to the campsite they immediately started riding their scooters and really never stopped other than for lunch and dinner (and Chuckie’s 90 minute nap).
Bridge CrossingScooter TimeLunch TimeScooter TimeBurgers on the FireBurger TimeBedtime with Grandma and the Cats
On Sunday morning we took a quick 3/4 mile hike around another lake southeast of our campsite and then did some last minute scooter riding before I took the kids home. I got back to the camper just in time to watch Purdue’s basketball team defeat Ohio State.
On Monday we hung out at our campsite and grilled a nice steak over the campfire for dinner. On Tuesday we ate a late lunch at The Outback. I had a blackened chicken Caesar Salad and Beth had the Spicy Meatloaf. Beth had started experiencing a head cold on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon I was feeling it too. We both felt slightly better on Wednesday, but packing up to come home and then unpacking when we got home was exhausting.
We spent the New Year’s Eve weekend camping at Little Manatee River State Park which is only a few miles from home. This is our second stay in this campground. We were in Site #11 which was about 100 yards from the restrooms. We stayed in Site #17 on our previous visit.
We were able to pickup all of the over the air channels on antenna and were achieving 20-30Mbps download speeds on our AT&T MiFi which allowed us to stream although we could have used our DISH satellite system from this site if we had needed to.
Aaron brought the grandchildren over for a visit on Monday (1/2/2023) and he helped them practice riding their new bicycles. We cooked hamburgers, hotdogs, and bratwurst over the fire for lunch.
Little Manatee Site #11Little Manatee Site #11Outdoor TimeLittle Manatee Site #11
