Louisville and Lexington, KY

Travel Dates....June 26-31, 2010

It's hard to believe we are at the end of this dream!! Our last two stops are pictured in this post. What a ride it all has been. Rick and Betty have been wonderful travel partners and we love you guys! It has been a special time together. So...here's the last chapter as we visited Louisville and Lexington, KY. But hold up...as we arrived in the city of Louisville, Rick & Betty had their turn for excitment along the highway. We were traveling on I-65 during afternoon rush hour and noticed Rick slowing down and moving to the side of the road! He lost all power in the motorhome! After several tries to restart, he called for a tow, we called for traffic assistance via 511 on our cell phone! The cars just zoomed by! The traffic assistance put up traffic cones and directed cars/trucks to the next lane. He stayed with us until the tow truck came. They took the motorhome to a repair service but of course no one was still there, so after dinner with us, we took them back to their motorhome--parked in the driveway of the repair place (outside the gate) and they slept "by the side of the road" until folks came to work! After a day and a half, the problem of bad fuel pump was resolved. That all did not stop us...
No visit to Louisville would be complete without seeing how the Louisville Slugger baseball bats are made. This was interesting for me since my great-uncle worked in a baseball factory in Dolgeville, NY many years ago (Adirondack bats). The day we were at the factory, the were making bats for Derrick Jetter! And then...Churchhill Downs. Oh, my...what a treat to tour the track early in the AM and watch the trainers work the horses. Just amazing and lots of fun. The museum there was also worth the visit. We had lunch at an old drug store just behind the track...still had a pharmacy but most of the aisles are now booths for the luc=nch crowd...fried corn bread, bean soup...yum! Then it was back to the repair shop to wait for the repairs to be completed. Can you believe the shop had a nice waiting room with a couple DVD's? We watched "Crash" and Betty and I knitted away! We all stayed at the RV park for our last night in Louisville!
Lexington was about an hour down the road...we moved to the Horse Park RV Park. It was a beautiful spot. Lots of folks take their horses for riding and showing. They are preparing for an International show in Sept. This is the 1st time this show has been held in the US. Lots of excitment and preparation going on there! We visited the Woodford Reserve Distillery, part of the Bourbon Trail. Sample were included...Betty and I especially like the chocolate Bourbon Balls!
Then it was on the Shaker Village for a nice lunch at the hotel there and a walk around the historic village. The crafts and furniture were beautiful. It was so hot (our first really hot weather this whole trip) they stopped the wagon ride early! We really enjoyed the RV park and would go there again...nice large lots, trees, grass, pool, etc.
Well, we enjoyed breakfast together and then had to say good-bye for now to our buddies, Rick & Betty. Thanks for a great adventure. We thank God for taking such good care of us as we traveled. We are so thankful for the opportunity to see this beautiful country. We are so blessed.

Leaving SD and on to Missouri

As we leave South Dakota we are a little sad, as it seems we really are heading home. But we really do have a long way to go and lots more to see and do. Along the way, we had a very interesting stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. It's one of those things that I had heard of someplace, sometime. Even my neice suggested we make this unique stop. After going around a few blocks to find a parking spot for us with the RV, we ventured into a very interesting building...covered mostly with corn and corn stalks. Now this farm girl has seen many fields of corn, but wow...this was amazing. The building is also where the local high schools play basketball. It's obviously a big deal here! Lots of seats--like a small university arena! Our next stop was the Walmart parking lot in St. Joseph's MO. This was our noisiest over-night the whole trip. Ask Randy somtime about the guy worried about his balloon getting away at 3 AM!
St. Louis, MO provided us with a good time...the Budwiser Brewery (samples included), the beautiful Cathedral, dinner with friends I had'nt seen in many years, a ride to the top of the Arch, and a fun visit to the Queen's Casino.
Nest stop....Louisville!

Wind Caves, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore & The Badlands!

JUNE 14, 15, 16, 2010....

Grr...I just lost what I had typed here and can't find it! Oh, well...here we go again!

The weather continued to dictate to us...rain, rain, rain. So we headed for the Wind Cave National Park. Below ground, it doesn't matter whether it rains or not! This cave was quite different from any cave/cavern we had ever visited. The formations were very unique and when the entrance door was opened, you could hear the wind. Our ranger guide was very good and shared all the history of the exploration of the cave and the formations. The cave is still being explored and mapped. Many miles of tunnels... We took an elevator down and then walked 450 steps further down. When you think that the early explorers of this cave had only a candle to see, it is amazing that they had any idea of what was there. The pictures were hard to get here, but let your imagination fill in the gaps. It was a great way to spend a rainy day. Never fear, the rain cleared and we made our way a little south to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. Sculptor Zorczak Ziolowski was invited by the Indian Nations to create this monument to "Let the white man know the red man has great heroes, too." (Chief Standing Bear) The monument was started in 1948 and work continues today. No public funds have been used because, Zorczak was a believer in private enterprise. There was a blasting planned for the day after we were there. As evening approached we headed to Mt. Rushmore to see the presidents...after dark and beautifully lite. As we sat waiting for darkness to fall, a ranger came on stage and delivered a monologue about the "What if's" of several great men in history, including some presidents, and how history might have been different if things had been different in these men's lives...a father had not died young, a different education....really interesting concept. She then called all the veterans in the audience to the stage to be recognized. These men and women received a standing ovation! (I was proud that Randy was one of them.) And then the lights hit the monument...Wow! We are so blessed in this country...at the same time, we really have to get grip and figure out how to get back on track! It was a full day of memorials and monuments. For our last day in this area, we drove through the Badlands and guess what we saw...yup...ROCKS! Just a little different than others, but we are beginning to see similarities as well. We are no geologists, but... We do make up some stories as we go!
Once again, we are so fortunate to be able to experience this amazing adventure. We are not really looking forward to the traffic and busy life that we will soon be encountering as we head east and south. Traffic...ugh.

From Cody to Buffalo, WY and on to Rapid City,SD

DATES OF TRAVEL: JUNE 11-13, 2010
This post is a little different than what I've done before...And I hope you get a chuckle with me.
As we left one of our favorite stops...Cody, WY...we felt like we were beginning our trek eastward and home. Strange thought with still many days and stops to go. But here's the deal as we made our way to Rapid City, SD...with an overnight stop in a quaint little town, Buffalo, WY. The drive to Buffalo was interesting because we did take the road less traveled and it was beautiful. There was one stretch of 50 - 60 miles and we saw only 6 or so vehicles! And we passed through Tensleep...population 304! The farms were prosperous and green. It was a nice change from the interstate. BUT..as we drove through the Bighorn National Forest "enjoying" all the 7% inclines and switchback curves, brakes heated and transmissions heated...and Rick's brakes went mushy. We made an emergency stop in one of the pullout vistas to give the vehicles and drivers a break. After an hour or so, away we went. As we came off the highway, Rick felt like he had no brakes left. It was a bit stressful, but by morning all seemed OK. Our overnight in Buffalo allowed the wash to get done...while Betty and I shopped in the RV gift shop. Nice and convenient, huh? The men may not have thought so, but... Before our trip, I purchased an electric pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker. For this quick stop over, I used it to prepare dinner...quickly. The cooker has become known as "The Pot" and maybe I'll write a cookbook with our RV recipes! Yum, yum---pork roast, chicken, roast beef, pork chops...even chicken and dunplings!
I digress...we made our way to Black Hawk, SD...location of 3 Rivers RV Park...near Rapid City, SD. This is our home base as we visit Wall Drug..and other point of interest. The trip to Wall was made on a rainy day when we just didn't want to be outside, so enjoy the chronicles of the trip via bill boards!

Rodeo Night in Cody, WY

Cody Night Rodeo! When we started making our plans for this trip, see a rodeo was on the list of things to do. Now we can check "Rodeo" off the list. Every night during the summer months there is a rodeo in Cody, WY. What fun we had...it did rain just a little, but we are tough when it comes to weather! It was a great family evening--as you can see from the pictures, there were participants of all ages, boys and girls,...and clowns! While in Cody, we also visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Museum and learned a lot about this amazing man. He did it all and certainly deserves to be remebered in history. He was quite a guy. Goggle him and refresh your memory! Randy especially enjoyed the firearms collection that was part of the museum.
We head to Rapid City next...Mt. Rushmore, Badlands and, of course, Wall Drug Store!
We are heading east! Enjoy the pictures...

Jackson, WY and the Grand Tetons

OK...can you believe it? Two posts in 1 evening/late night! But I was anxious to tell the story of today's adventure on the Snake River. We were so fortunate the sun was on our side of the mountains today! We booked ourselves on a calm float trip - we thought! Turns out the water is at it's highest level in 13 years and it is moving very fast...something like 18,000 cubic feet per second. (Don't hold me to that, but that's what I understood! All was going pretty well as our guide, Eric, worked hard to keep us smoothly floating...a tree fell near us but he managed to keep us clear of it as it floated down river with us! But...as we approached the area we were to "land" he gave us the run down of how we were going to get to shore. But...the river had a different idea! As we swiftly went past the spot we were supposed to land, Eric paddled like crazy and yelled to his partner on shore to come down stream a little and help us...as we were just about to go by our 2nd option for landing, Eric yelled to Zack..."Get in the water, Dude!" and he came in up to his waist and caught our rope to pull us to safety. If he had missed, we would have traveled at least another 8 miles before we would have had an opportunity to "land." And the water would have been faster and rougher we were told! But, we are safe and really had the ride of our lives. It usually takes about 2 1/2 hours to make the float...we did it in 1 hour 40 minites! Fast, huh?!
The rest of the day was calm and beautiful as we drove around the Grand Teton National Park. The pictures tell the rest of the story. Jenny Lake was serene and we enjoyed just sitting on a log watching the water falls. Click and enjoy!

Yellowstone National Park

The past week has presented us with lots of rain and drizzle but fear not...neither rain nor snow will stop this crew from enjoying the next chapter in the "Great Road Trip Adventure!" As we made our way to Yellowstone, the weather took a "wet" turn. So we just got our the rain jackets and long johns and away we went. We spent 3 days exploring Yellowstone National Park. Our home campground was in West Yellowstone, MT, while the park is in WY. We were able to do the 2 loops through the park and see quite a few animals and lots of beautiful scenery. And thanks to many of you, Randy had a nice birthday surprise, reading all the emails. He was really surprised and sends a big "Thank You" to all of you. His day was the sunny day of our 3 days at YNP. I do think it's a birthday he'll long remember! Hope you enjoy the photos...it was a wonderful experience. The park is about 2.2 million acres, so there is no way to share the whole story. And the next chapter should be ready very soon...The Grand Tetons. Love to all and thanks for your comments and emails. We really enjoy hearing from you. We will start our eastern movement in 2-3 days.
Click on the picture--enjoy the animals!

Wyoming and Salt Lake City, Utah

Here's an update of our travels since we left Woodland Park, CO. First stop...Cheyenne, WY and our first sighting of Bison...at the RV Park/The Terry Bison Ranch. The plan was to take a walk around the ranch, but hail and torando warnings kept us in the RV! We are keeping a weather log to see what's left that we haven't experience. On we went across Wyoming via I-80, formally known as the Lincoln Highway. The road goes coast to coast from NYC to San Francisco. Our next over-night was at the Walmart parking lot in Rock Springs, WY. There were 24 other RV's with us! When we parked at about 4 pm there were 3-4 other units parked. It was amazing to watch everyone come in from the interstate! Then we made our way to Salt Lake City, UT. We think Utah is our favorite state...so clean and friendly. Our visit to Temple Square was informative. We met 2 young women who are on their mission for 1 1/2years, serving there in SLC. We attended a pipe organ concert in the Tabernacle and on Sunday we had hope to see the choir, but the crowds were so large, we had to watch on a movie screen in the conference center. This was all due to the special muscic and recognitions for memorial day. It was still worth it. It was indeed a special day. Our other adventures around Salt Lake included a visit to the Kennecutt Mine. Copper is mined there (along with gold and silver mined as copper by-products). The pit is huge and so are the trucks!! On Memorial Day we made our way to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. What a treat that was! The island was site of the farming operation of the Morman settlers to produce food for the group called Fielding Gal Ranch. As we drove around the island, we watched a herd of bison graze freely on the open range. Neat! At the ranch we found a Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. The musicans, storytellers and poets were fun and really good at their art!
We had a "cowboy" lunch...cooked in iron Dutch ovens, yummy! It was relaxing and lots of fun. And today, we finally had to leave Utah and make our way to Idaho Falls, ID. We are parked at the Elks Club with electric for our RV's provided. We enjoyed cocktail time in the club and met a couple nice folks who gave us advice about our next destinations: Yellowstone and the Grand Teton Mountains! So tomorrow we'll be on our way again, cameras poised. Weather forcast: rain...grrrrr. But, it just might change for us! Enjoy your days...check the pictures...click, click!

Pike's Peak and Our Last Night in Woodland Park

Pike's Peak or Bust...that's what the pioneers said...and the car racers...and the motorcylce racers...and the 1/2 marathon and marathon racers! I can't even imagine any of these! "The Assent" is the local race up the mountain. The last leg doesn't even seem to be on a trail. Crazy.
The 13 mile one-way run best time is just over 2 hours! Now that's amazing...but the same guy ran the 26 mile round-trip the next day in less than 4 hours! (You'll have to look up the exact times!)
Our assent on board the cog railway took us 1 hour 15 minutes! It was another wonderful experience. We've included a few pictures from our last evening with Liz and Cord...our time together has been great and we surely won't let 17 more years pass without seeing each other. Thanks for a fabulous stay, Liz and Cord! We have certainly had lots of laughs and good times on the road...
You know the drill...click on the picture and see the rest of the story!

Around Woodland Park, CO

We have enjoyed having a semi-permanent home in Woodland Park, CO over the past 5 days, while our travel partners make a quick trip back to FL. My college friend, Lizzie, (we haven't seen each other for about 17 years, we think) and her husband, Cord, have been extroidenary hosts during our stay.
The pictures will give you a glimpse of our fairly calm stay in the area. The food and fellowship have just been a blessing to us. Randy is even off getting a message this morning...thanks to Cord's connection! It is hard to say what "experience" of the stay here was the highlight...but maybe, just maybe the wolf kisses are at the top. I wasn't even nervous...LOL. We'll pick up Rick & Betty from Denver tonight and make the assent, as they say here, up Pike's Peak tomorrow morning via the cog railway. And the evening tomorrow will find us watching American Idol and eating homemade pizza with our friends! What could be better? There are a lot of pictures, so I hope it doesn't take too long to load for you. Remember to click on the picture here, then on slideshow to view. We sure do enjoy any comments you'd like to post.

The Colorado Rockies...woo hoo!

What a day this has been...After spending last night in Glenwood Springs, Co, we set out for Woodland Park, near Colorado Springs. The decision was made to travel on a "primary" road rather than a "secondary" road, which began our adventure for today! Quickly we started climbing the Rockies via US 24 heading toward Leadville. Well...up, up and around we went! And then that blue sign said, "Top of the Rockies" and the elevation sign was something over 13,000 feet! And it rained, snowed, hailed and finally sunshine! The ride was -- shall we say...an experience! The good news was the snow plow was in front of us (just in case) and I think he had some salt on board, too. But, after we got down off the mountains, it was a nice ride on in to Woodland Park. When we arrived at the RV park, we were welcomed with flowers from my friends, Liz & Cord, as well as a package from Cameron with new pictures of Nathan. That made the day just about perfect! Tomorrow we're off to the Air Force Academy and down to Cripple Creek. We dare not sit still too long! Click on the picture to see more and on slideshow to move through them. We love reading your comments.

Zion, Bryce and Arches National Parks

We have been enjoying Utah sooo much. It is truly beautiful and interesting. I have tried select a sampling of picutres just to give you an idea of the variation of the ROCKS! Each day has been ... what can I say...awesome! And the weather has really cooperated. The drive from Kanarraville (near Cedar City, UT) to Moab (Arches) was just beautiful as the parks. Last night in Moab, we took a break and enjoyed a jet boat ride down the Colorado River about 40 miles. We saw rock climbers (not something any of us thinks we'll try) going up the walls. Most of the climbs take 2 days to reach the top.
We will make it to Woodland Park, CO tomorrow evening. Randy and I will stay there several days while our travel partners make a quick trip back to FL. We will spend some time with a college friend of mine. Now the stories we tell and remember won't be posted here! We have traveled over 3000 miles and lots of gas in our 19 days out on the road. More statistics will be added soon. What an adventure. Click on the picture, then on the slideshow to catch up on our National Park visits.

2010-05-11

Well, we did get back on the road Sunday afternoon....only to experience high winds and....yup, that's a sand storm! This happened within an hour of getting back on the road! The police actually closed I-40 just behind us for several hours! So our friend, Lucky, was right not to put our 5th wheel on his low-boy. We arrived in Williams, AZ finally. The drive was pretty difficult-Randy did a great job. You cannot believe how hard the winds were...gusts over 45 mph. (On a side note, yesterday and today the winds were 70-100 mph--hurricane strength. Monday afternoon we made the trek to the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon so we could be there for sunset. It was beautiful. We had planned to do a helicopter ride,but...oh, yeh, the wind! And this RV really rocked in that wind last night. Enough of that. Today we had a nice drive down to Sedona and saw the red rock formations...cool stuff, and visited a chapel built right into the rocks. We are thankful again that we are safe and are looking forward to seeing Bryce and Zion National Parks by the weekend.
Again, click on the picture, then click on slideshow button above the 1st picture to see what we've been up to.
We enjoy your comments, so keep them coming

2010-05-09

Happy Mother's Day all you Mom's out there in Blogger Land! This has been one of the most unusual that I've ever had. From somewhere along I-40 near Holbrook, AZ, we sit while waiting for repairs to our 5th wheel. Yesterday, as were driving from Albuquerque, NM to Williams, AZ, we lost a wheel off the 5th wheel. Thank goodness Randy felt something and looked in his mirror to see a tire rolling across the westbound lanes of I-40 (later found on the other side of the eastbound lanes)!
Fortunately, everyone else on the road was able to avoid our tire! But...what to do now? We drove 4 miles at about 20 mph, called the insurance company, and waited. They had a terrible time finding someone with a "low-boy" trailer that would haul someplace for repair. We were allowed to park in the parking lot at the Petrified Forest National Park overnight (now that's another story) and wait for action. The pictures in the slideshow tell to story. We are now at the repair parking lot waiting for solutions...to be continued. Hopefully we'll be at the Grand Canyon ... maybe by nightfall! Love to all. And please keep us in your prayers.
AND TO SEE SLIDE SHOW, CLICK ON PICTURE, THEN CLICK ABOVE THE 1ST PICTURE ON THE SLDESHOW BUTTON TO SEE MORE PICS.....

2010-05-09

2010-05-07

Santa Fe, New Mexico and surrounding area! We have had a great experience in the Santa Fe area. Lots of new things to see and learn. I didn't know what "Tuff" was, do you? Every day has been filled with good times. Today was a bit different, flat tire for us and Rick and Betty tried to get their awning repaired---wrong part installed and then uninstalled! Patience is still a good thing to have. The weather has been perfect here...a nice change from TN! Tomorrow/today (it's 1:30 AM here---oh,my, didn't realize it was so late!) we will go to Williams, Arizona for several days and visit the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and points around there. Hope you are all doing well. And thanks for the comments! Click on Randy to see some new pics...then click on "slideshow" just above the 1st picture. Hope you enjoy.

Westward Ho I

I think you can click on the picture and see a slide show of our stop in Oklahoma City. Let me know if it works.
B

Pictures can speak

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial....

Tornado Sirens at 4:00 AM....

What would you do if your bed buddy woke you up at about 4:00 AM and said: "The sirens are going off! Get up!"? As for me, I jumped out of that bed without hesitation! We were dressed, shoes and all in a flash, grabbed our wallets, woke up Rick & Betty and headed for the concrete block wash house just a few feet from our RVs....praying pretty feverishly! Only about 6 or 8 other campers joined us there. Apparently the other folks didn't hear the sirens. And I think Randy can't hear, sometimes... Anyway the warning was removed from Shelby County at about 5:00 AM, so back to bed we went.

Our original plan was to visit Graceland this morning, then head to a state park in Dardanelle, Arkansas. After a little delay, trying to get the weather facts straight and settling our nerves, that was just what we did. A visit to Graceland is certainly a step back in time...and music history. It is hard not to dance a little when you hear Elvis sing, isn't it? The gold and platinum records are unbelievable. He truly was a gifted musician. One of the new things I learned on this visit was about his love of grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Betty & I enjoyed one for lunch! That may become our stand-by lunch for this adventure.

We hit the road about 2 PM. As we drove north west out of the city, the results of the night storm were very evident. The fields were completely under water and many home were really islands...water surrounding them. But off we went to our next stop at Dardanelle Lake State Park, near Russellville, Arkansas. Three GPS's couldn't get us there! After 3 phone calls to the visiter's center there, we finally found our way. We did see some magnificent homes around the lake in the mean time. Once we arrived, we wished we were staying for more than an overnight. It was beautiful. We woke up to cool temperatures and clear skies. We are so thankful for this time.

And tonight Sunday, we're in Oklahoma City. And the ride was over roughest road we've ever been on. South Carolina I-95 is nothing compared to this! After we set up camp and relax with a cool beverage, we drove in to downtown to visit the Memorial at the site of the OKC bombing of the Murrah Federal Bldg. It was quite a moving sight to see and understand all the symbolism of the memorial.

So there you have it....wonder what adventure will be next as we head to Amerillo, TX and Albequerque, NM

Looking for Elvis...

It's the end of our second day on the road. Yes, we did leave home/Florida yesterday morning about 7:00 AM. After meeting Betty & Rick in Lake City, coffee cups filled, gas tanks filled and lots of excitment in the air, we headed west.
Traveling to Montgomery was quite pleasant. It was a beautiful day. Rolling hills and lots of trees--just a great day. Up early, we hit the road for Memphis. The drive took us to Birmingham, across to Tupelo, MS and finally arrived at the Graceland RV park on Elvis Presley Blvd. Dinner tonight was ribs at the Rendezvous...yum, yum. We tried to stroll down Beale Street, but the line to check ID's was around the block, so these old folks just took a little carriage ride (our driver was from St. Augustine) and checked out the Peabody Hotel. A Graceland visit is our plan for the morning...hopefully the rain and tornado will pass us by!
I promise to get some pictures up tomorrow! Love to all.T

Yippee!

And away we go...Day 1 begins in just a few hours. The lawn has been mowed and the RV refrigerator is packed. We will meet our travel partners at 8:30 in the morning.
Oh, that's early for this retiree! There is so much excitment in the air, we can hardly stand it. Thanks for keeping up with us.

It's really happening!

So this is our first photo...getting ready to head out soon. Most everything is packed and ready. Last trip to Wal Mart tomorrow! Hugs & kisses to the kids and babies. Keep us in your prayers. More to come very soon

Westward Ho

April 26, 2010....The real countdown is here, finally. The final tests are just about done...the ice maker works, the generators fired up, jugs of water are on board, and the rocking chair for Brenda is in the storage bay. Food is transferred, maps are collected, knitting bag is ready and the satellite radio and TV are even ready to go. We are taking off in just a couple more days. This is a test run of the bolg efforts.