MKWe did it! 34 days, 4437 miles,17 states, 6 national parks, 4 State Parks, daily hikes, authentic local cuisine and countless laughs. We had an incredible trip! The dogs had as much fun as we did. Our older truck and camper (Bruce and Andie) both worked out great.We met our goal and “Got the Hell out of Minnesota!”
Jan. 6, 2023 Prior to leaving Snowfall In early December, I declared “there better not be much snow before we have to pull the camper out”. UGH! Immediately following a bitter below zero Christmas week, we received just shy of 16 inches of snow in 3 days. I’ve been trying to keep the camper area as…
1/15/23 Roadtrippers.com! I’ve used it numerous times when my son and I took trips and it’s free!
1/15/23 Stopped at Newbo Market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a delicious Mediterranean lunch which doubled as our dinner too once we got to the camp site! I highly recommend Pitaz in Newbo Market for an amazing chicken gyro. Not sure if you know this but Riverside, Iowa is better known as The Future Birthplace of…
A well-rested crew piled into our (t)rusty truck this morning and headed to downtown St Louis to see Gateway Arch National Park. Our first glimpse came on the freeway over 7 miles away… Wow, it is tall! (630 feet to be exact) That’s me in the white jacket We navigated around the derelict buildings near the…
Today was filled with driving from St Louis to Gulpha Gorge Campground within Hot Springs National Park. We did stop for lunch in Greenville Missouri. If you are ever in town, make sure to grab a bite at Trails End Coffee and Cafe for some excellent food, coffee and service! We hit our first traffic of the…
Rain. Work. Temps are mid 30’s in AM and get to mid 50’s.
Went to Quapaw Baths for a few hours of natural hot springs relaxation. There are 4 different temperature pools – 95, 98, 102 and 104…
Had some St. Louis BBQ in honor of Missouri. Did a challenging hike (I’m re-classifying the AllTrails rating from moderate 😉 ) But the rock striations and views of Lake Ouachita [ wosh-i-taw ] in the state park were very beautiful all over the Caddo Bend Trail!!
Let’s just say there is a lot more money put into the churches than the homes or businesses or roads! There are dilapidated abandoned buildings everywhere and obviously a very low standard of building codes. I could see how the Marty Byrdes of the world could hide money there! Stopped to support local Mexican place (in…
Woke up after a stormy night to a very wet campsite, same as when we arrived! We were prepared for high winds and potential tornados (the camp bathhouse was the safe space). Time to get out of Mississippi! What better day to head to Florida than Alan’s birthday! Stopped in Gulf Shores, Alabama for some lunch and…
Made it to St Andrews State Park near Panama City, FL. Our site is right on St Andrews Bay; a great spot to spend a week. The camp is nice and clean and quiet and the site on the water is level with full hookups and room for the dogs to wander a bit. Sun in the forecast…
Working outside in the Florida sun was in incredible. Especially knowing that it was sub zero back in Minnesota. Our last day in Florida we planned a sunset trip to Pier Park beach, a dog friendly beach just up the coast from the State Park. Fog rolled in and put a damper on the view but the dogs…
In short, we loved Savannah!! After saying goodbye to Crooked River, we stopped in downtown Savannah, GA. We walked through a small section of the city and were impressed by the unique homes and architecture. We encountered various Squares (Parks) on our walk and even found Chippewa Square (where Forrest Gump sat with his box of…
(Sorry for the delay in posts, internet has been non-existent for over a week.)Charleston, SC is known as The Holy City because of its over 400 churches. We didn’t visit any. But we did visit Magnolia Plantation which is one of the oldest plantations in the South, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. …
Next up was Conagree National Park. We would call it a little known gem. The National Park actually holds 15 World Records! Here’s the link (Conagree Records!) There are many trails for all levels. One oddity was that the speed limit signs on the drive in were all 13 and 27 mph. Conagree is known for its…
Fontana Village in the Great Smoky Mountains was the next stop on our adventure. After navigating some exciting mountain roads pulling the camper at night, we sprawled out in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom cabin! After 3 weeks in the camper it was definitely a treat to have some more space. However, there was no cell coverage…
During our stay we took a side trip over to Fontana Dam. It was the 4th tallest dam when it was built back in the 40’s. The Fontana Village we stayed at was built to house the dam workers and their families! We took a walk across the top of the dam and can now say…
We have our reasons:1. There was a cold front heading to Kentucky (our next scheduled camp stop)2. We really didn’t want to drive the Tail of the Dragon (aka “That damn road to Tennessee”) to get out of the Smoky Mountains3. We were not ready to head north to the cold yetSince we have a tiny…
FIRST…Let’s start with this handsome fellow in a fabulous scarf! Made it to Singing Hills RV Park in Kentucky after a beautiful drive up from Northern Georgia with a quick stop at a great Mediterrean cafe called Cafe Ostro. The rock formations along the highways were spectacular and the views from Lookout Mountain and Flat Top…
The many changes of the level of Lake Michigan have left behind large amounts of sand dunes and a huge long sandy beach! I’m sure this is gorgeous on a nice sunny summer day but we went on the only day we had … it was 38 and blowing rain! There is a challenging way over…
We did it! 34 days, 4437 miles,17 states, 6 national parks, 4 State Parks, daily hikes, authentic local cuisine and countless laughs. We had an incredible trip! The dogs had as much fun as we did. Our older truck and camper (Bruce and Andie) both worked out great. Just one small tire issue on the last day and…