June 12 & 13, 2010- Denali National Park

Saturday, June 12, we left the Fairbanks area and went south to the Denali National Park area. After checking into the Grizzley Bear Campground we went into the Park. We drove about 15 miles into the park which is as far as private vehicles are allowed. We did see a moose in the bushes eating.

From Alaska 2010-06-12

We stopped at the Visitor's Center and watched a movie of beautiful pictures of the Park in all seasons of the year. We purchased tickets for public transportation into the Park on Sunday.
This morning, Sunday,we got up early to get to the transportation center of the park to catch the 8am bus to the Eielson Visitor's Center 66 miles into the park. It was rainy and fog hung on the mountains.

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The windows of the bus were soon covered with road dirt making being able to see out the windows difficult.

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After about 2 hours of travel we stopped at a rest area where squeegees were available so the windows were cleaned, and since the rain had stopped, remained fairly clean for the remainder of the trip. On the way to the Visitor's Center we saw Golden Eagles,

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a Ptarmigan and Dall Sheep. We had hoped to see more. The return trip was better. Shortly after leaving the Visitor Center we saw a Brown (Grizzley) Bear up on a hill beside the road.

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Then we saw a couple of herds of Caribou,

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more Dall Sheep,

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a bull Moose

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and then 3 Brown Bears- a sow with 2 cubs.

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The trip took 8 hours. We packed a lunch as there is no where to get food in the park. After returning to our car and leaving the park we saw another moose along the road. It was a good day for seeing wildlife and, as the weather improved, it was a good day for taking in the beauty of the Park.

June 11, 2010 Fairbanks

This morning we left the campground in North Pole and went about 12 miles to Fairbanks. Our first stop was at the Discovery paddle boat tour to obtain reservations for the tour in the afternoon. Pioneer Park was the next stop but we found that the exhibits would not open until 12pm. So we then went to the Musuem of the North at the University of Alaska.

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We spent time in this interesting museum looking at the various exhibits. Leaving the museum we stopped at a local cafe for lunch before we returned to the Discovery paddle boat dock. The paddle boat traveled down the Chen River. A bush pilot demonstrated his float plane taking off and landing in the river.

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Then continuing down the river we saw a variety of homes along the way- nice log homes to just plain shacks. A dog sledding establishment of the late Susan Butcher was along the river.

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The boat stopped and we were given a demonstration of the dogs as they were harnessed to an ATV and the team pulled it around a lake.

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The boat stopped at Chen "village" and we left the boat to tour the "village".

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Tour guides were young college girls of native Alaskan descent.

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We returned to the boat and then the boat returned to port. A full day but an interesting day.

June 10, 2010 Tok to North Pole

This morning we left the campground and after filling up the fuel tanks we stopped at the Visitor’s Center along the Alaska Highway in Tok.  As we started to leave the parking lot a gift shop with a sign about windshield repair was seen.  Larry had gotten a chip in his windshield a couple days ago so he said he would check into getting it repaired.  Of course, Joanne and I jumped at the opportunity of getting into this nice gift shop.  The windshield was repaired and we were on our way heading towards Fairbanks.  Almost immediately outside of Tok we saw the evidence of a forest fire that was currently being extinguished. 

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We continued on the highway driving in the direction of the Alaskan Mountains.  The road, being much better than the road of yesterday, had numerous frost heaves.  About halfway of our 200 mile journey we came to Delta Junction, the end of the Alaska Highway at mile 1422. 

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We stopped at the Visitor’s Center which had exhibits outside and inside.  Leaving the Visitor’s Center we passed a section of the Pipeline as it crossed the Tanana River. 

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A few miles further we stopped at Rika’s Roadhouse restaurant for lunch.  Another gift shop was in the same building as the restaurant so we had check it out.  This shop was unique in that it carried furs.  Joanne was admiring a $5000.00 plus fur coat and was told go ahead you can try it on- well that led to both of us trying on different coats, jackets , capes and hats.  What fun- but no purchases of furs although we all ended up with souvenir jackets. 

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Moving on we continued on the Richardson Road stopping at Santaland RV Park in North Pole where we plan to stay for 2 nights as we do things in the Fairbanks area.  After eating dinner we walked the short distance to Santa Claus House, another gift shop, and saw Santa Claus .

June 9,2010 Top of the World to Tok, Alaska

Tom and I left the Gold Rush campground in Dawson City,Y.T. about 8am this morning to go to a gas station for fuel.  Larry and Joanne, after getting the 5th wheel hooked-up, went to the ferry dock to be transported across the Yukon River.  After getting the fuel we then went to the ferry dock.  Larry and Joanne were 2 RV’s ahead of us.  The ferry only transports a few vehicles at one time.  So Larry and Joanne were loaded on 2 other small RV’s and across the Yukon River they went. 

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When the ferry returned it was our turn so we were loaded on with a semi truck and then we crossed the very swiftly moving Yukon River. 

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This is a free ferry, only taking a few minutes to cross the river. 

We were now on the Top of the World Highway which climbed to heights that we felt like we were indeed on the “top of the world”.  The views were just beautiful in every direction.  There were areas that snow, now brown with road dirt, was on the roadside.  Many of the mountainsides were covered densely with spruce trees until we were above the timberline.  

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The roads were for the most part paved and in good condition through the Yukon Territory.  Crossing the Canada/USA border the roads changed to gravel, dirt roads  with washboards and mud puddles as we headed to Chicken,Alaska. 

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The scenery continued to be mountainous but there were large areas that forest fires had destroyed sometime in the past.  We drove through the town(?) of Chicken and continued on until we reconnected with the Alaska Highway to Tok where we stopped for the night.

The weather today started out being foggy in Dawson City but as we travelled up the Top of the World highway it was sunny and became warm.  Then as we passed through the area of Chicken clouds became dark and there were claps of thunder,

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finally it began to rain and then there was sleet mixed in.   Tok felt warm at first but then it stared raining here and became chilly- 50’s. 

We are staying at the Gateway Campground next to Fast Eddies restaurant, how convenient!   We did have dinner at the restaurant which we all enjoyed.  Good food and sizable servings.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 -Whitehorse to Dawson City, Y.T.

We left Whitehorse after 2 days and then departed from the Alaskan Highway taking the Klondike Loop to Dawson City, Y.T. Another beautiful drive of 330 plus miles. We passed through a few small communities. There were numerous lakes and rivers along the route.

From Alaska 2010-06-08

The weather today had periods of sun but mainly cloudy dark skies. When we arrived in Dawson City it was very cloudy and then it rained for about an hour. It is now 10:30pm and the sun is shining brightly, in fact, there are some folks sitting outside sunny themselves. It is 60 degrees. It is hard to go to bed when it is so bright outside but morning will be here too soon if I don't get to bed soon.

Monday, June 7, 2010, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Ah, a day of relaxing a bit. With our felt window coverings and our sky light and ceiling exhaust fans covered we were able to stay in bed until a little after 7 this morning. After eating an egg, spam (yes,we are eating some Spam purchased in Minnesota) and pancake breakfast and walking Travis the four of us went into Whitehorse. Waiting for the trolley to return we did walk over to the S.S. Klondike, an old paddlewheeler that was used on the Yukon River, and took some pictures. We did not go inside for the tour. Finally the trolley returned so we paid $4.00 per person to ride the trolley round-trip along the riverfront area of Whitehorse

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.

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The trolley driver was a young man that gave lots of information about the area.

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We got off at a stop and walked to a restaurant, Klondike Rib & Salmon BBQ, for lunch.

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The food was good- we even indulged in some desserts- Bumbleberry Pie and Breadpudding- served warm and a la mode but the prices were a little high. This restaurant is in 2 oldest buildings in use in Whitehorse, the capitol of Yukon Territory. The specialities of the restaurant are Northern Foods- fish and wild game animals. We all had halibut in one form or the other. After lunch we walked back to the trolley and finished our ride. As we drove out of the town a coyote was seen in a field next to the road. We drove to the airport and transportation museum where a DC-3 passenger airplane is mounted on a pedestal so perfectly that it serves as a weathervane swinging around with the slightest breeze to point into the wind.

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The day started out bright, sunny and warm (70's) but this afternoon it has gotten cooler (upper 60's) and cloudy.

Sunday, June 6, 2010 Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Y.T.

Another early start to the day as we left the campground about 7:30am. A beautiful, bright sunny day to travel 260 plus miles through the Canadian Rockies. Our travels this day did not have the steep ascents and descents of the day before. We traveled along rivers most of the way, the Rancheria River, Teslin Lake and River and the Marsh Lake and River. This area was spruce and aspen trees and lakes of all sizes. Just gorgeous country! Early in our travels a black bear was on a hill next to the road eating but too quickly we were passed that pictures could not be taken. We did stop in Teslin at the Yukon Motel & Restaurant.

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This stop had more than a restaurant and Motel- Larry got fuel here, a wildlife museum with large displays of regional wildlife and, of course, the gifts shop.

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This stop was on the Teslin Lake, a very large lake in this area which we traveled along for some distance.

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We got to a campground just south of Whitehorse by afternoon. The campground we saw was dusty and unattractive but we checked in and got sites behind this dusty area on an upper level that was forested with secluded sites.

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I keep looking out the motorhome windows for wildlife but so far have only seen a squirrel.
After resting a bit we all went into town, Whitehorse, to get a few groceries and dinner. I got to bed a little past 11pm and it was still dusk-appearing daylight outside. We are staying here a second day before moving on.

June 5, 2010, Saturday- Fort Nelson to Watson Lake

We left the campground in Fort Nelson about 7:45am this morning. Most of our travels today were through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The scenery was just gorgeous- snow covered mountain peaks, lakes and rivers. This stretch of road from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake is considered one of the prettiest areas of the Alaskan Highway. The Toad River is a milky pale green color.

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Muncho Lake is surrounded with mountains, many that have snow on their peaks. The color of the water in Muncho Lake is hard to describe as it varies in coloring from green to blue.

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We saw wildlife throughout the trip today. Stone sheep were in several areas close to the roads.

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A moose was standing beside the road in a forested area.

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Buffalo were laying beside the road.

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Surprisingly, we even saw 2 female caribou.

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We stopped at a campground, Campground Services, just before Watson Lake. This is a nice campground with full hook-ups, a small grocery store and internet service in a clean pinetree setting. We did drive into Watson Lake. Tom and I had brought along a sign for the Signpost Forest. We stopped first at the "Forest" and hung our sign and looked around at, not all but, some of the posts.

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Larry and Joanne did not bring a sign along but were thinking of creating something tonight to be hung tomorrow. We then found a restaurant in a motel that was open and had dinner. Watson Lake is a small town with a small grocery store and a gas station and maybe 2 motels- it was hard to figure out what was open and what was closed.

June 4, 2010 Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

This morning we waited hoping to hear from the garage that Larry’s truck repairs had been completed.  About 10am Larry and Tom decided to go over to the garage to see what was being done.  The truck had been repaired as of last evening but they hadn’t bothered to call Larry.  Anyway,  we quickly got rounded up and left Dawson Creek moving up the Alaska (Alcan) Highway.  We passed through a few small towns but most of the route was scenery of rolling hills covered with black spruce, aspen and birch trees.  We crossed the Peace River and it’s valley.  We saw a couple deer and a dead moose along the road.  Arriving in Fort Nelson we were able to get campsites in the West End campground that also had a restaurant.  We had good prime rib dinners in the quaint restaurant/bar.  There are work campers in the campground working in the gas and oil business.  It has been cloudy most of the day with small showers of rain.

I believe it is time to attach the black felt to the bedroom windows.  It seems to be getting lighter earlier every morning and 4 am seems a bit early to get moving.

June 3, 2010 Great Falls, Montana to Dawson Creek, British Columbia

Sunday, May 30, 2010 We traveled 267 miles this day going from Hardin, Montana to Great Falls, Montana. Great Falls is a stopping place for many folks going into Canada as the border is about 2 hours away. After getting into Dick's RV Park we went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

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This is a really nice museum about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Two different movies were shown which we watched and enjoyed.
Monday, May 31, 2010, Memorial Day,we left Great Falls heading straight north to Canada. We crossed at Sweet Grass with no problems although there was a line of RV's that we had to wait in when going through customs. We were in Canada and about halfway to Alaska. The day was cold, gray and damp. We stopped in Lethbridge, Alberta for lunch at a Boston Pizza Restaurant. We stopped at a campground in Calgary- Symon's Valley- but they only had 15 amp service and the grounds were full of mud puddles. We then went a little north of Calgary to Balzac to Whispering Spruce Campground for the night.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010, we awoke to 33 degree temperatures and frost on the vehicles. The day was bright and sunny and did warm up quite a bit. Morning is coming earlier each day as the night falls later each day. Skies begin lightening up about 4am and stays daylight until 9:30pm. Out stop for the day was at a Lion's Club Campground in Whitecourt, Alberta. We were in a beautiful pine forrested environment. The scent of pine filled the motorhome.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010, we traveled about 260 miles this day to Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Milepost 0 of the Alaskan Highway.

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Stopping at a gas station for fuel Larry discovered he had a leak in his truck- busted hose or waterpump problem? After getting into the campground Larry and Tom went looking for a repair shop. One place couldn't do anything until the next day, the Dodge dealer couldn't take him in until next week. We did go into the visitor center and toured around the town. The visitor center had a film and displays about the Alaska Highway which were interesting.
Today, Thursday, June 3, 2010, has been spent getting Larry's truck repaired and our motorhome serviced. Larry finally found someplace that will repair his truck this afternoon while we have our motorhome serviced. We're keeping our fingers crossed that everything will go okay.

May 29, 2010 South Dakota to Montana

Friday, May 28th, we left Belvidere, S.D. and traveled about 140 miles to Black Hawk, S.D. just west of Rapid City.

From Alaska 2010

Our travels include driving through the Badlands National Park and a stop at the Visitor Center. After getting into the campground at Black Hawk we had some errands that needed to be done. Our step had broken 2 days before so we needed to get to an RV supplier for some parts. So while Tom went after parts I did some laundry and Larry and Joanne attended to some of their errands- groceries, prescriptions and lunch. Once the step was repaired and Larry and Joanne returned we all left to explore the area. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore taking pictures and walking about the plaza.

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Leaving Mt. Rushmore we then went to the Crazy Horse Memorial.

From Alaska 2010

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After watching a movie about this memorial and the sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, we had dinner at a restaurant on the memorial grounds- the food was not bad but the service was terrible. We spent time in the Indian Museum of North America which is a beautiful building filled with displays, crafts and souvenirs. As it started to get dark the temperature dropped so the 4 of us decided that we needed to get sweat shirts since we were going to stay for the laser light show.

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Sitting on the outside patio we watched the laser light show. This was certainly a full day.
Today, the 29th, started with Tom and I going to the grocery store while Joanne did laundry and Larry got his truck fueled up. It was almost 10am before we left the campground heading further west. Within an hour of leaving we were in Wyoming driving across the northwest corner of the state. We did stop at a rest area to eat lunch and take pictures of Devil's Tower off in the distance.

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The temperature today has been chilly- our Crazy Horse sweat shirts were worn today- and we traveled through rain from Buffalo through Sheridan, Wy. We crossed into Montana and stopped for the night at a campground in Hardin. After eating at a local Mexican restaurant that had great food the cloudy skies cleared and the sun was brightly shining. This area of the country is a beautiful green this year not the usual brown and the streams are flowing with bank high water obviously the rains have been coming on a regular basis. As we drove through Wyoming the antelope were frequently seen in the pastures and fields.

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May 27, 2010 Across Minnesota and Into South Dakota

May 26, 2010 , we departed Baraboo, Wisconsin heading west.  Crossing the Mississippi River we moved into Minnesota.  We stopped in Austin, Mn. for lunch at Johnny’s Spamarama Restaurant

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and then we went across the street to the Hormel Spam Museum. 

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In the late 1940’s through the early 1950’s  Hormel Girls toured through the country as a drum corps, a chorus and an orchestra promoting Hormel products, mainly Spam.  Going into a region the girls would fan out to go to the grocery stores in that region displaying Spam products and distributing coupons.  Hormel sales had a great increase with these girls but the expenses became too great to continue.  We continued on to Jackson, Mn.  where we camped for the night.

Today the 27th, Thursday, we left Jackson, Mn. continued on westward into South Dakota.  We stopped in Mitchell for lunch and to see the Corn Palace.  The Corn Palace is decorated each year with various types and colors of corn according to a theme.  This year’s theme was “Through the Ages”. 

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Moving on we stopped at a rest stop with a magnificent view prior to crossing the Missouri River. 

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We have traveled this route before but the view as the Missouri River comes into view is breath-taking each time.  The winds were quite strong and increased as the day went on.  We stopped in Belvidere for the night at a KOA.  We were all feeling beat so we were happy that we could get dinner at the campground and not need to cook. 

May 25, 2010 On the Move Again

After spending 9 days in Bevidere, Illinois at the Outdoor World campground we are on the move again.   Larry and Joanne left Pennsylvania on Sunday and by Monday evening they were pulling into Outdoor World.  Our Fantastic Fan’s covering over the motor fell off  last week and a call to the company resulted in them saying they would send a replacement for it and it should be to us by Monday.  So on Monday the day Larry and Joanne arrived we hoped the the fan parts also would have arrived but it didn’t seem that that happened.  We decided Monday evening that we would wait one more day but no longer.  So that was the plan Monday night.

This morning, Tuesday, one of the maintenance men came to the door with a package.  The fan parts had arrived on Monday but the address label was not clear and after opening the package and finding it was not for him he then saw the site number and brought it to us.  We then decided let’s get ready to move on.  Tom wanted to get new wiper blades before traveling on.  Larry and Joanne had some errands ( grocery items and a haircut for Larry).  So these things were addressed and probably by 11am we thought we were ready to go.  Larry then discovered that he had a flat tire on his 5th wheel.  So he called his emergency service and finally about 1pm the serviceman came to the campground but then it was thundering and pouring rain. A spare tire was put on but this was just a temporary fix until another tire was gotten.   Finally at 1:35pm we left the campground and we went to Belvidere to a tire store to get  a new tire.  We had decided that we would go about 125 miles today to a campground in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

At 4:45pm we pulled into the Fox Hill campground.  Fox Hill is a nice campground in a very quiet setting and being a Passport park it is a good deal- $20.05 for full hook-ups including 50 amps.

May 18, 2010 Belvidere, Illinois

Sunday morning we left "Camp Newmar" and traveled northwest to Belvidere, Illinois. We are staying here at an Outdoor World campground waiting for Larry and Joanne before going on toward Alaska. We are north of Chicago and just south of Wisconsin. We traveled from Indiana into Illinois on non-interstate roads avoiding all the toll roads around Chicago. I have come to the conclusion that there is no good route around Chicago. While we didn't have to stop for toll roads we had to stop for far more traffic lights. We were not in a rush as the trip was a little more than 200 miles but the stop and go traffic became tedious after a time. We were glad to meet up with I-39 to travel due north. The weather here has been cool but is to get warmer as the week goes on. This campground is a nice place to hangout-it is quiet and away from heavy traffic but close to the cities of Belvidere and Rockford. This is the time to catchup on reading and relaxing. I finished reading Laura Bush's book, which I found to be good reading. The campground has a book-exchange library and I found a copy of James Micheners' "Alaska" that I have begun reading- what an introduction to traveling to that beautiful state.
I enjoy eating out but I also enjoy cooking when I'm just hanging out as we're doing here. Yesterday I roasted a chicken which we had with a wild rice/rice pilaf and broccoli. Today I used the leftover chicken added some chicken broth, beans, corn, onion, green pepper and Rotel tomatoes along with spices to make a soup with a southwestern flavor.

Saturday May 15, 2010 “Camp Newmar”

Friday morning about 11:00am we received a call from our assigned service representative telling us that our motorhome would be brought out of the service area in about a half hour for us to be able to return to it.  So we gathered up our belongings and Travis, checked out of the motel and returned to “Camp Newmar” to await the arrival of our motorhome.  Within a very short period of time the motorhome was returned with a new roof.  It was so good being back “home”.  We decided that we would stay here until Sunday.  We do like this area and the cost of staying here with full hook-ups can’t be beat (there is no charge for Newmar owners).

Today, Saturday, we rode up to Shipshewana again.  We wanted to go to a bulk food store in that area.  I wanted some flaxseeds and had been unable to find them.  Sure enough the store in Shipshewana had what I was looking for plus some things I wasn’t looking for but decided I wanted.   A  produce store next door had a few items that I purchased including rhubarb.  It has been many years since I’ve had any rhubarb so after getting back to the motorhome I made some rhubarb sauce.  Shipshewana has a large Amish population and we saw numerous horse and buggies or wagons on the roads we traveled.  There were also several areas of auctions or swap meets that had many buggies parked.

For dinner this evening we had decided to go to a local fish/chicken fry that was a fund raiser for an Amish school.  We had to wait in line for about 20 minutes and the line was even longer when we left.  The only charge for the meal was a donation.  The meal was very nice- unlimited fish and chicken strips, a scalloped potato dish, cole slaw, homemade bread and pie and ice cream.  The interesting part of the meal was being among the Amish.  There was a field adjacent to the fish fry building that  many horses with their buggies waited.  As we waited in line we passed tables that the Amish placed their hats on as they passed by.  The ladies had black bonnets that covered their white sheer bonnets.  The men mostly had black hats.  Husband and wife placed their hats together on the table.  Since the hats all looked alike I don’t know how they were able to find their hats when they finished eating but obviously they did.  Entering the eating hall, mothers of babies were approached by young girls offering to mind their babies while they got their food and ate.  And then like the Amish of Pennsylvania these folks spoke their own language- is it Pennsylvania Dutch or Indiana Dutch??

Friday May 14, 2010 Going "Home"

Yesterday afternoon we got the word that our motorhome would be finished today and we would be able to leave the Amish Inn and return to our "home". Thank heavens! Living in a motel is not to my liking. I guess traveling in the motorhome has spoiled me. No matter where we go I always feel I'm at home. Motels lack comfortable chairs and usually have a strange odor- and I can't help but think about those TV shows that talked about the bedbugs in hotels and motels.
Travis has been absolutely the best dog during all this. Of course, he has been with us everywhere. We have gone to restaurants for carryouts, most of the times, and returned to the motel to eat. Yesterday morning Tom and I went to the lobby for the continental breakfast and returned to the room to hear Travis whinning so this morning we took turns getting our breakfast and returning to the room to eat. This motel has raised their fee for having a dog in the room from $10.00 to $75.00 and if there is any damage from the dog a credit card will be charged $250.00. We had been quoted a fee of $50.00 so that is what we paid. This fee is a onetime fee not a daily rate but I think it is much too high.
This morning we are staying in the motel until close to noon unless we hear before that time that the motorhome has been returned to the "Camp Newmar" area. "Camp Newmar" is the area that has full hook-ups for owners having work done on their rigs. We will probably stay there until Sunday before moving on. Sunday we feel we will need to leave to make room for others coming in for servicing of the units.
This area of Indiana is like a step back in time. There is a large population of Amish here so horses and buggies are everywhere along with lots of bicycles. The Newmar factory employees many Amishfolk. These Amish people come to work on their bicycles at 6am and leave in the afternoon to return home to do their farming chores. While at the factory they may use the modern equipment and drive motorized vehicles but not when they leave. Yesterday we went to an Amish bulkfood store and found it closed along with the Amish schools and other Amish businesses and then we saw a sign saying a store was closed for Ascension Day. There are many craftsmen/women in this area- cabinetry, furniture making, quilting. It is a nice area to visit as it seems to move at a slower pace.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Homeless

Bright and early- 6am- we had a service tech at the door of our motorhome. After a few final steps the service tech drove our motorhome to a service area and we were left homeless for a couple of days until our roof is replaced. We drove out to a McDonald's to get some breakfast. When we returned to Newmar's parking lot our service tech informed us that indeed the roof needed to be replaced as water had gotten underneath the roof. We had been given an estimate and were surprised that it was about half of what we thought it might be. The replacement would take 3 days so we had to find someplace to stay tonight and Thursday night- and that someplace had to let us keep Travis with us. The Inn at Amish Acres was recommended so we checked it out and found that after 2pm we could check in with Travis for an additional fee.
We drove to Shipshewana, about 30 plus miles, and walked about their flea market. It was cold and damp and we saw the same things for sale over and over again. Travis was allowed to walk around with us. Leaving Shipshewana we returned to Nappannee stopping at a local diner for lunch.
A little after 2pm we were in our room at Amish Acres and Travis was curled up on the bed. Being in a motel room reminds me why I like traveling in our motorhome- no matter where we are we always are home.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Nappanee, Indiana

Yesterday, Monday, we travelled from Newton Falls, Ohio to Fayette, Ohio.  After setting up in a campsite in Harrison Lake State Park we visited with Tom’s sister and her family.  Tom’s youngest brother and his family also came for a visit.  We had a nice time catching up with everyone and enjoying a delicious dinner together.  When this family gets together there is always lots of good food.

This morning we awoke to rain and as we drove to Indiana we were in rain most of the way.   Arriving at the Newmar facility in Nappannee we checked in and set up in a campsite for the night.  We have an appointment to have our motorhome’s roof repaired beginning tomorrow .  We are prepared to spend the next 2 nights somewhere other than in the motorhome.  There are several options in the area but our main concern is to be able to have Travis with us.  So tomorrow between 6a.m. and 8a.m. a repairman should come knocking on our door to get the motorhome.

On The Road Again

We are back on the road traveling again.   Travis had to have some bloodwork done on Wednesday before we left for an extended time.  This appointment caused us to reschedule a grooming appointment for Travis from Wednesday to Friday morning.  So after he had his grooming we left Taneytown and headed for Elizabethtown, Pa. for a weekend of camping with the Traveling Americans.  On Saturday the winds became blustery and the temperature dropped to a chilly level.  It was not the best weather for eating  outdoors but we managed as there was not any other choice.

This morning, Mother’s Day, we had a potluck breakfast  which the men did the cooking.  We had a nice variety of  food.  After breakfast, Tom and I got on the road a little past 10am going west toward Ohio.  It was windy a good bit of the day.  A little past 4pm we stopped for the night at a campground at Newton Falls, Ohio where the winds were very calm. 

I had received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Todd, Beth, Maddy, Anthony and Parker on Thursday for Mother’s Day.  The flowers are traveling along in the motorhome looking almost as pretty as they did on Thursday.  Tomorrow we will continue west stopping in northwest Ohio at Tom’s sister and brother-in-laws for a visit.