May 2, 2007 – Another Travel Day

What amazes me the most as we travel is the difference in landscape not only within each state but from state to state. The west/central part of West Virginia was mountainous (although not as high as yesterday’s) and the valleys were dotted with towns and rivers. Some of the valleys are less than ½ mile wide and yet the little towns existed within them. On the rivers, we saw barges and casino river boats – what a contrast.

Some pictures:


Kentucky is also a mixture. Eastern Kentucky has the mountains that go to rolling hills in Central Kentucky. We stopped at Bardsville, Kentucky ~ 2:30 PM and stayed at White Acres Campground, a Happy Camper Club Affiliate (Site 4).

Bardsville is a unique town rich in history from the Civil War and a place we would like to come back to explore. However, from 2 long days of driving, we were exhausted. So we went to the local Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries and rested. Since we were on FHU, I was able to watch my favorite shows – Jericho and LOST!!.

Miles Traveled: 315
Routes Traveled:
I-64 West
I-75 North
SR4 West
US 60 West
Blue Grass Parkway – SW

May 1, 2007 ----- Travel Day

Today was moving day. We packed up and left ~ 9 AM. We stopped for gas in the park (2.859/gallon) and were on our way.

We traveled down Route 81 South to Route 64 West crossing over 2 mountain ranges – the Appalachian and Allegany. Beautiful scenery and huge mountains.

We stopped early and are staying at Shady Rest RV Park in Shady Spring, West Virginia and they have free Wi-Fi and full hookups (YEA!!!). (I am so excited!!!). So spent the rest of the afternoon down loading emails, checking the weather for the next few days and trying to upload the blog. So those of you reading this, I have uploaded from 4/28 to 5/1. Also thanks for all the emails and well wishes. We really appreciate it. Also thanks for all the comments – they will show up today. The comment area will now be fully open and you should see the comment right after you post. (I am just learning so bear with me!).

(Now that I am in WV, all I keeping thinking about is the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads - :-))

Miles Traveled: 202

April 30, 2007 - Another Beautiful Day!

Another beautiful sunny day!! We were up early and took the hike to Rapidan Camp (4.0 miles) via the Mill Prong Trail.

The camp was Herbert Hoover’s summer retreat during the time of his presidency. Here is a picture of the “Brown House” which he named after the "White House".

And of the back porch.

Here is a picture of the huge fireplace outside. According to the sign, this fireplace was the backdrop of many news pictures of Hoover and other heads of states and countries.


There were so many wildflowers up and down the trail. Here is a picture of one of them.



Back at the MH, we just relaxed (got caught up with pictures and the blog, etc.) and talked about where we should go next. Kentucky it will be!!!

April 29, 2007 - First Full Day

Another beautiful day in the park – sunny with clear blue skies and temperature in the 70’s.

We were up early and Andy fixed the air ride hose while I straighten up the MH.

They have a new visitor center at Big Meadows that we decided to see. From the campground to the center, it is a mile. You can either walk the path alongside the roadway or take the nature trail. Of course, we took the nature trail. The deer in this park are so use to humans, they do not run away. So here are some pictures…

And one of Andy on the nature trail by the octopus tree.

The visitor center has a small museum on the history of Shenandoah National Park. After our tour, we talked with the ranger for information on hikes and programs in the area. There was a Meadow Walk in the afternoon at 2:30 that we decided to take.

So back to the campground using the nature trail and seeing even more deer. (I will not add any more pictures - :-)) We also decided to stay another day so on our way back to the visitor center for the walk, we stopped by the ranger station and talked with Ranger Hazel. Andy and I have been interested in doing campground hosting and Hazel gave us a wealth of information as well as an application. If we were interested in doing it this year, their campground host just left and they have not filled the position. (If we weren’t on our way to Alaska, we would be staying here.)

The Meadow Walk was lead by Ranger Mara. There were only a few people in the group so it was nice. The Meadows is the largest remaining open area in the park and it also contains a wetland. No one knows why the area on top of this ridge is open and over the years the forest continues to grow around it. The park service keeps 132 acres as a meadow by burning one third every year. If you look at the picture below, the green area is what they burned this past March. The burning keeps some of the plants under control while letting others grow. (You would think the other area was the burned area but apparently burning all the old growth from last year speeds up the growing process.)

Ranger Mara took us thru parts of the meadow, explaining the different ecosystems (plants, wildlife, etc.) then took us to the ruins of the Wheaty family (who lived in the meadow area for over 50 years) and to the ruins of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) camps and explained the history of both and its effect on the Big Meadows area and the Park. It was a great tour.

After the hike, we took the nature trail again (more deer) back to camp. So overall with the nature trail walks and the Meadow Walk, we did 5.0 miles today – not bad for 2 old folks.

Another wonderful supper over the campfire – life is good!! And since it was not as cold, we were able to sit out and enjoy the fire.

And our discussion tonight is where we go next. We’ve decided to head to Kentucky to the Mammoth Caves region instead of Nashville. But that may change by Tuesday.

April 28, 2007 - We're Off!!

We closed up the house and it was both exciting and sad to do the final walkthrough.

We pulled out at 6:30 AM and were on our way!

We stopped at the visitor center for West Virginia and actually did something stupid. As we pulled in, I went outside to do a check on the headlights. A man came running to me and said that a news crew was here and that a trucker had just won the lottery. He went around to the driver’s side and shook Andy’s hand while introducing himself and told us to come up to where the truck driver was. And then he went to our door and waited for Andy to come out. As he is waiting, I start having an uncomfortable feeling and wonder why he is not going to the other truckers that are pulling in. Andy comes out and the guy wants to shake his hand again, then says follow him. We look at each other, say ok, but then lock the MH. As we start to walk up to where all the other truckers are, the guy and another go racing down the parking lot. As we head back, a trucker on foot passes us and says he was just robbed. We hang around outside, checking everything and then go to the visitor center. As we are coming out, the state police are pulling in and later we heard of the robbery on the CB.
Now, what did we do right – locked the MH as soon as we got out. What did we do wrong – I should have told the guy that we would meet him where the others had gathered and somehow tell Andy to stay inside. This is what we will do next time.

We stopped at the Flying J in Winchester, VA. As we were waiting our turn at the pumps ($2.849/gallon), we saw one guy (beautiful 5-wheel and new truck); get upset – He just put gasoline in his diesel engine. God bless him. Have no clue what happened to him after he left.

The further south we traveled, the more leaves were on the trees. I just love seeing all the different hues of red and green. The Shenandoah Valley is just beautiful to travel thru. There are the mountains on both sides and the valley floor is so green. It is dotted with little towns, lots of farms (and cows and horses).

We arrived at the park ~1:30 PM. We looked over the Lewis Campground (smallest campground in the park) and all the larger spaces were taken. We moved to Big Meadows Campground where we stayed last year. We are at site H212. As we were filling with water, we were approached by a woman (forgot her name) who was doing an article for a travel magazine on larger RV’s and traveling in National Parks. So she interviewed us and took our picture. She will send us a copy of the magazine if she uses anything we said. This is really turning out to be an adventure.

As we were climbing the mountain to get to Skyline Drive, we heard a whoosh sound – like air escaping. We found out later that the line to our air ride melted. So after we set up, off to Luray we went to a hardware store to get parts to fix it.

We had the air ride put in the MH over the winter. I did not see much of a difference at first (but then we first tried it out when the MH was empty). This initial trip with the MH fully loaded – what a difference. We had a much smoother ride.

We met the couple camping across from us (Diane and Wallace). They are also on an adventure across the US in a van. Turns out Diane grew up in the same area of Scranton that Andy did. What a small world!!!

As the sun went down, it did get colder so we enjoyed our steaks over the campfire, and then moved inside. Earlier evening (9:30) for both of us..

Routes Traveled: Route 81 South, Route 33 East
Miles Traveled: 295 miles