June 16-17, 2021
Campground at Barnes Crossing
Tupelo, MS
$40/evening with Good Sam membership
$80 cash or check only
Fuel for Honda
12.25 gallons
$2.79/gallon
$34.28
One hundred eighty five miles north today on highway 25 was mostly horrible. Much of the cement highway is old and could use some TLC. But, we survived the three hour ride.
We approached the drive to the campground with care. For us, it was a hard right turn onto a very narrow road. Thankfully there were no oncoming vehicles! There is no way two RVs would be able to slide on by. The Campground is lovely! Beautiful trees and foliage surround the hilly land. It is home to 54 full hook up sites that are separated by stone walls. It’s a very attractive layout, and bravo to the 5 brothers who own this piece of paradise.
We took a ride to seek out a few RV essentials…to no avail. They get put back on the shopping list. Back at the campground we sat and watched the sites fill up, and come morning all leave. Most were here as a stop over to their next destination.
On Thursday most of the day was spent cleaning and working on the website. Barry found a power washer at Harbor Freight to help keep the RV in tip top shape. Then we took a cruise along the Natchez Trace and managed to photograph a lot of beautiful scenery to add to the website for everyone’s’ viewing pleasure. Mississippi is a beautiful place to behold.
The record-breaking heat has been crazy. The weather station has been recording temps in the high 90’s to low 100’s. It’s hard to believe, but true, that we are in Mississippi and the humidity is extremely low registering anywhere between 39% and 50%! It’s hot but without the humidity it’s actually doable.
June 18-19, 2021
Piney Campground, Land Between the Lakes NRA
Dover, TN
$26/night
$10 reservation fee
$62
Fuel Patriot Express Mart
Paris, TN
2.79/gallon YAY!
53.6 gallons
$150
On to Tennessee! All in all, not a bad three hour, 185 mile drive on route 45, then 40 and then Fort Henry Road and across the large Tennessee River. Corn fields for as far as the eye could see lined all of these roadways. Piney Campground is just that…a campground. I guestimate there are 400 sites, all set up in “loops.” We weren’t able to reserve a full hook up site (10 in the entire campground). Enticed by being on the lake we opted for a 30 amp, no sewer and shared water site. In reality we were not on the water, but could see it from afar, the electrical plug was burned out, and their idea of shared water was to pull up to a water spigot along the road and fill up your tank!
Back to the office!! The staff was very accommodating. Moving us to site 384 on Sweetgum Loop was quite the upgrade. It was not shaded by trees so Barry had high hopes of getting the satellite dish to work, but not happening. So we have no internet or cell service unless we drive to the beach in the campground…where I am now. Site 384 has a water spigot…to be shared of course, but that’s fine and meeting
some people who stop to fill up. We are on a busy street so lots of people watching. Most of the patrons are Tennessee residents and after speaking with some it’s evident this the hot spot and where to be. There are many seasonal campers, with quite the set ups, and tons of kids and golf carts. Fun, fun, fun!
The campground boasts a small beach area, two boat launches, a camp store, an amphitheater and an archery area. There are also several cabins up for grabs with some accommodating up to 8. Every site is equipped with a table and fire ring.
We took a ride to Trolingers meat market and grill, back in Paris, which was highly recommended. The smells were wonderful and the air was filled with the scent of bbq. Not today. We instead chose The Olive Pit (also given high marks) where we enjoyed a portobello mushroom app (enough for six!), linguine with clams and Caesar salad and grilled chicken for a mere $35. Delicious!
Back at the campground it was cool enough to sit outside and gaze at the traffic of campers going on by…and a deer 🦌 running down the road right past our site!! And fire flies galore! A sight I’ve not seen since a child.
Saturday was a work day. Barry is determined to rig the cellular booster to the RV so we were not forced, like yesterday, to ride around looking for a signal…like I had to do right now. So let me get back to him…😩.
It was a very long day for Barry without a successful hook up. What seemed to be a rather easy task turned into a major project. One of the connectors had a broken copper wire and it has yet to be determined where the antenna will be installed and how! Grrrr! By now it’s edging on 7:00 and time to call it a day. This feat will be accomplished another day soon.
June 20-21, 2021
Bowling Green KOA
Bowling Green, KY
$60.92/evening
$121.84
Today we traveled 207 miles, 3 1/2 hours, mostly on Route 79 and lots of country roads lined with corn and wheat fields. We passed some huge livestock farms, but by far the corn and wheat farms out numbered them.
The KOA is quite nice. All sites have 50 amp full hook ups, all are pull through and many, such as ours F305, have a patio with a table and chairs, fire ring and a bench. Really nice set up on a concrete pad. They also offer tent sites with water and electricity and several cabin rentals. The campground also has a pool, mini golf, a huge chess set and horseshoes. Family-friendly…it has quite the playground for children. The office offers a few supplies and they do have laundry and bath houses. Two fishing lakes and a boat dock are also available for guests‘ pleasures.
Scottsville Road seems to be the main drag. It has a plethora of stores and restaurants. It’s always heavily trafficked. Barry’s still on the hunt for that connector…no luck after stopping at several stores. Either they were out of stock or just didn’t carry them. So, the manufacturer was called and they will be shipping him an entire new antenna set up because they, too, are out of stock. Good grief!
As soon as we arrived at KOA we immediately started searching for availability of reservations for The Mammoth Caves…NOTHING! Barry called and they did advise that at 8:00 am first come, first served tickets would be available for the self-guided short tour. We arrived at 7:30, got in a short line and by 8:00 we were in and purchased the National Park Pass ($80 each for lifetime) and passes for the self-guided tour ($4 each). We met another couple in line with us, Gary and Pat from Colorado. Very nice people with lots of common interests, so we toured the cave with them and shared boating and RV stories. We were told there was a flight of 65 stairs into and back out, but I counted no more than 30. The cave was very interesting and pretty dark with very uneven footing making it seem we were walking on marbles. Pat and I both felt like were were experiencing vertigo! Several tour guides were here and there in the cave anxious to answer questions. It took us about 1/2 hour to walk in and the same to go out.
On our way home…detour! Barry decided to take a ride down to the ferry dock…and then decided to board the ferry! He drove the car onto the flatbed and just a few minutes we were on the other side of the river. This route took us onto long roads with nothing but trees. Finally a bit of civilization, large horse and corn farms, and small convenience stores and local mom and pop-type restaurants. Beautiful scenery! We also came upon Nolin River Dam…absolutely beautiful! It was a fun detour and we were fortunate enough to come upon an Amish farmers market. The Peaceful Valley Farmers Market in Brownsville was a find! So many options to choose from! We left there with two large bags of produce for a mere $20. Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and, oh so tender, leafy lettuce. They also sold home made soaps, pickled vegetables, jams, freshly picked herbs, plants from their greenhouse and furniture made to order…it was gorgeous! It was a great little shopping experience.
I was so concerned that we would not be able to get in to any of the many tours for Mammoth so I booked a Lost River Cave tour for the afternoon. Now, this area has an extremely interesting story. The long story made short is it was home to prehistoric visitors during 12,000 BC to 7500 BC. It was a civil war oasis providing fresh water and a camp for thousands of Union and Confederate troops. In the 1930s Lost River Cave was a unique spot for dining and dancing. From 1934-1950 it was a hot spot for church picnics and proms. Unfortunately, after that it became a dumping ground and our guide advised that in 1990 a group of volunteers began to clean out the debris…including appliances, cars, general trash, etc…taking 8 years to accomplish what it is today. Now the cave can be rented for weddings and events. The boat tours and the venue help pay for the conservation and the venue, in the cave, probably can accommodate about 50 people and it is a lovely setting very nicely decorated. Very cool! There is also a butterfly habitat along with walking trails, but when our tour was done it was raining so we could not indulge in those activities. Instead we had a limo-type golf cart awaiting our return to the office and parking lot. Nice touch!
June 22-23, 2021
Hilltop Campground
Goreville, IL
$30/evening
$60 cash or check
Pull through w/full hook ups
Long ride today due to road construction. Two hundred two miles took 4-1/2 hours. We started out on Western Kentucky Parkway; then Route 69 S; onto I-24 W. All of the roads were pretty smooth sailing.
Hilltop is a small campground with pull through sites and full hook ups offering 20 or 50 amp electric. Other than a bath house and laundry it offers no other amenities. The sites are gravel and grass with a fire ring and picnic table. The owner provides free wood for campfires! Even better it was piled up just across the road from our site.
There are many vineyards within a 25 mile radius of this campground. Many who stopped by this area recommended Blue Sky Vineyard. It was about a 15 minute drive along desolate country roads. The Vineyard was a score with regards to the property and wine. The main building is surrounded by many vineyards, a large, lush yard, a lake and a stone waterfall. The yard is scattered with tables and chairs that sit under the biggest umbrellas I have ever seen. We sat on the patio overlooking the yard, lake and waterfall. It was quite calming and the weather just hit the mark at 75* with no humidity. We were disappointed with the food. The menu consisted of a few appetizers and sandwiches. We ordered turkey and cheese and ham and cheese. They were bland and the bread was cold and dry. Would not recommend the food.
Wednesday we headed north on I-57 to Marion for the closest car wash 15 minutes away and a few necessities. Goreville has NOTHING. We stopped at a Circle K for gas. Yikes and yikes!! $3.15 for regular????? 12.8 gallons and $38.50 for a fill up. Back at the campground Barry gave the RV batteries some TLC, truly in need of a liquid quench.
After some maintenance we rewarded ourselves with another vineyard visit. Today we chose Blue Stars Vineyard, also not far from camp. Nice scenery, but not to compare with aBlue Sky’s magnificent views. The wines were of a much better quality than yesterday and I even tried their wine slushy…very good! But, the food choices… just as bad as yesterday. Fool me once, but not twice. The pictures on the menu were not what’s served. We ordered the Asiago crusted bread and artichoke dip…it looked really good….NOT. We received a small plain loaf of French bread and a small plastic bowl of artichoke dip. Had to have something to snack on with the wine. It was okay but we were not ordering sandwiches only again to be disappointed. Buyer beware…
Our last stop before heading home was Fern Clyffe State Park…a mere few minutes from Hilltop. Beautiful! They offer quite a few RV sites (no sewer, shared water, some with electricity and a dump station) all surrounded by high-sky trees, playgrounds and a lake where we saw people fishing. And, “boat rock” was quite the site to see.
June 24-25, 2021
D & W Lake Camping and RV Park
Champaign, IL
$38/evening
$76
Back in/full hook ups/view of the lake
Traveling on I-57 was grueling. Another day of construction, pot holes and rattling coming from everywhere in the RV…in particular the doors. We got Panda and her cage issues solved, but we really need to work on the noisy doors. We have padded with felt, rubber pads and even tried a bungee cord…all to no avail if there is nothing other than an extremely smooth road. Very annoying, making for an arduous time. To top things off for, about the last hour, we drove right into a massive weather front of a monsoon storm to include lightning strikes and hail…yes, hail! We could see it coming as the sky grew very mean and ominous. It was nearly 2:00 and it looked like dusk. We pretty much could not see the car ahead of us, cars were slowing down to a crawl with many literally pulling onto the side of the highway. I was watching on radar so I knew pulling over was not the answer for they would be there for a very long while. This storm was quite extensive. Slow and steady we made it to our destination. We were greeted by Emily and an escort to our site…but it wasn’t our site because we reserved one on the water. She and her mom, Kathy, quickly rectified the issue by finding a site on the water in a somewhat secluded area and made us very happy 😃. Now if the rain would just go away. We are on gravel and grass making for a messy situation. Hoping for a better day tomorrow because I’ve already scoped out the area and want to head to downtown Arthur which is Amish country not to far from Champaign.
Arthur is about a 45 minute drive south of Champaign. There will be no shortage of corn or soy beans in a short amount of time! Hundreds of square miles, as far as the eye can see…corn and soy bean fields. No hills here…the land is flat as can be! Arthur is an adorable, little town. Vine Street is chock full of shops, an art gallery, bakery and antiques. The surrounding neighborhood, also, is quite nice. Such pride of ownership. Many cars were outside of “It’ll Do Bar and Grill” so that was our choice for lunch. The bar was occupied by locals…all knew the chef and barmaid. She was an efficient busy bee running the grill and serving drinks. Lunch was delicious. You could also enjoy a game of pool or sit at one of six slot machines while wait for your food, as some were doing. Fun place with fun people! After lunch we took a ride to Green Meadow Goat Farm just a couple miles south of downtown. Unfortunately, their business did not survive other than horse and buggy rides. Speaking of horse and buggy…they certainly are a huge part of this community. They travel the roads with everyone else and every facility has a hitching rail outside where the horses are tied while the owner shops. Our next stop was the “Das Schlacht Haus” custom butchering and processing. Quite the business! We snagged some pork chops, bacon and sausage. We watched through a large window as the chops were cut to order. Cool! We moved on to “Family Health Foods” that supplies this little gem of a town with natural, organic, non-gmo, gluten free and on and on products all at very reasonable pricing. Last, but not least, “Shady Crest Market” home to bulk foods of many varieties, a small offering of veggies and a large deli that was quite the production of sandwich-making. Off to the side they were also selling home-made ice cream. Yum 😋. This place was very busy and apparent many locals shop here. All of the above stores were owned and operated by Amish women and everyone dressed in their appropriate attire. Everyone was extremely pleasant and aimed to please. A very nice experience. Our Arthur adventure came to an end by stopping at the one and only, extremely small, side-of-the-road market where I picked up some scrumptious farm grown tomatoes…and they were so good! Thank you, Arthur, for providing us with a wonderful day.
June 26-27, 2021
Blackhawk Valley Campground
Rockford, IL
$50/evening
$100
Fuel
60.06 gallons
$3.19/gallon
$192.13
Windy!!!! With 21 mph winds (and gusting) and yet more rain and horrible highway surfaces it was again a noisy, bumpy ride. We traveled 74 N to 39 N for 190 miles. More and more flat land, corn fields and many wind mills. Even though the sky was gloomy the big fluffy cloud formations were beautiful, as was much of the scenery by the roadway. All along the Illinois highways there are road closures due to construction, but no workers in sight…unbelievable! Close down a lane, slow down traffic…all for nothing. Gas prices??? Outrageous! $3.15 for regular and $3.50 for diesel. We considered today’s find just that, a find. It was a dump of a gas station, but we got in and got out as quickly as possible.
Blackhawk Valley Campground is tucked away off the beaten path. At the end of a dead end road and down a very steep and curvy driveway we came upon utopia! Wow! The camp is quite lovely with 154 sites, most being seasonal along the perimeter and some fortunate to be on the river. Most of the sites have tall oak trees that provide a fair amount of shade. The seasonal sites are adorned with lovely plants and flowers around the site and patio. Really very nicely designed and maintained. Lots of activities happen here…soccer, volleyball, mini golf, horseshoes and a huge open field where families were doing activities. Absolutely a family-friendly campground, but with lots of rules. You have got to have rules or the animals will run the zoo! Apparently, there are dandelions galore in the very wooded area along the perimeter and is very amusing to sit and watch “the snow” outside our windows. The wind is blowing the white fluff literally everywhere. Barry tried to snap a photo, but easier said than done!
Our main attraction here was to spend time with our dear friends, the Antonelli’s! Judi and Rich graciously invited us to their home where we caught up with our life-happenings, played Jokers and Pegs (a favorite game of ours) and devoured a delicious baby back rib dinner…and cocktails, of course. Fun night with more to come 😊😋
Sunday brought more dismal clouds, but not to worry…we have a full day planned! After a bit of RV “housework” we met Rich and Judi at Stone Bakers for an authentic Italian beef sandwich. It’s slowly cooked in a seasoned beef au jus then served on a toasted French roll with a side of spice giardiniera (not for me!)and the au jus for dipping. It was delicious and very filling!
Then we moved on to the most adorable bowling alley to work off a bit of that luscious lunch! The facility has 16 alleys, an arcade and a bar and grill. We had a great time killing a couple of hours before heading back to Rich and Judi’s home for Jokers and Pegs…and yes…more food! Sunday is pasta, meatballs and sausage day at the Antonelli home…more great food compliments of Judi 😋. Maybe I won’t eat for the next couple of days 🤐.
Thank you to Rich and Judi for two very enjoyable days.
A bit of a side note; the Honda needed fuel, so now comes an attempt to find the best deal possible. It is absolutely ridiculous that the best price we could find along the route back to their home was $3.41 for regular!!! Complete insanity with these gas prices!
TA #44
Hampshire, IL
#3.41/gallon
11.54 gallons
$39.37
June 28-29, 2021
Scheffel’s Hideaway Campground
Two Rivers, WI
$44/evening
$92.40
Back in/full hook ups
One hundred fifty miles north on bumpy, lumpy roads. The further north the more the roads improved. I also added a couple more felt bumpers between the two doors and that improved the rattling considerably. Most of our travels today was on I-43 passing lots of small towns, then through Milwaukee and finally onto Manitowoc County and Two Rivers which is today’s destination.
Once we turned off the highway and approached Waldo Blvd the scenery was eye-opening! What a hidden gem we have come upon. Beautifully manicured lawns surrounding meticulously-kept homes. What a sight to see. From Waldo onto Maritime Drive and Lake Michigan! Even through the haze the Lake was magnificent to see. Maritime Drive aka Mariners Trail bike path is simply beautiful. There are bike stops along the way that are abundantly planted with a variety of flowers and bed accents. Park benches, telescopes, bike repair stations and small parking areas are scattered along the trail. It was so thoughtfully planned out. Across from the lake are well manicured homes sitting up on hills with no doubt spectacular views across the vast Lake. There is no shortage of beauty and pride of ownership in this lakefront town.
Just beyond Manitowoc is Two Rivers. Along this drive are a couple of beach areas with playgrounds and a horseshoe park. It’s really very nice here 😁. Finally we reached Scheffel’s Campground where Terry was outside to greet us. She was very happy to meet us and was quick to take us to our site (46) and supplied us with a great informational magazine of the area attractions. Scheffel’s Campground was this couple’s brain child when they purchased this acreage in 2008. They turned a forest into one of the prettiest campgrounds we have stayed. The sites are all back in with most having full hook ups. There’s an area designated for seasonal campers, laundry and bathrooms and a really nice pond with a waterfall. Right across from our site is a great playground for the kiddies.
Time to explore! Back to Manitowoc and The Wharf, a restaurant on the water. We had a bite and then off to downtown, specifically 8th Street. The magazine Terry provided certainly came in handy guiding us to places of interest…like Beerntsen’s Confectionery. The minute we stepped foot out of the car…smack in the face…the smell of chocolate! It’s a step back in time when you enter their front door. Everything is homemade; the chocolates, the roasted nuts, ice cream and frozen custard. Barry picked up a few of his favorites and we were on our way. It was after five by now so most of the places I would have liked to browse were closed for the day. Fortunately, The Hearty Olive was still open and on my bucket list of 8th Street. Yum 😋 so much to choose from and little storage space in our rolling home. I chose a bottle of delicious olive oil for me and a few other gift items. There are so many great items to choose from like the obvious oils, a large variety of aged balsamic, (all in small vats, available to taste and choose) olives, pasta, drink mixes and on and on…all very reasonably priced.
Time to relax a bit by a fire while the washer and dryer take care of a bit of laundry for me.
While we were at The Wharf yesterday we noticed a submarine across the channel and a group of people boarding. Well, Barry wasn’t going to let that go by without a Google search. And just like that…he had us reserved for the 10 AM tour ($15/pp). Almost an hour long, our guide Kelsey gave us a very detailed and informative tour. Damn, the girl was good and only 1 and 1/2 weeks on the job!! And, it was here that we learned how to pronounce Manitowoc…it sounds like Manitwoc. Barry was in his glory being sure to be the last person to move through the “tube” so he could take as many shots of this monster of a machine. The Maritime Museum itself is an awesome place to tour. Many artifacts from sunken ships, videos of the way things were done in days gone by and mini replicas of many, many ships to view.
With a bit of time before visiting the alpacas we went back to The Hearty Olive (I just wanted more “stuff”!!!) and then lunch at The Courthouse which just happens to be across from Manitowoc Courthouse! Cool spot, good food and loaded with so many of the locals…definitely a place where everyone knows your name.
It’s alpaca time! A short ride from downtown is LondonDairy Alpaca Ranch. A reservation is required ($7/pp) to receive a guided tour of this fully functional ranch that raises and sells alpacas and creates products after a shearing to sell in their gift shop. Some of the items are made at the ranch and others from outsourcing the sheared fibers. Lauren was our guide. Smart, very witty, and loved by the herd. She covered the day to day operation of the farm, which is extensive. The farm is fenced off in sections and the alpaca are placed in the fenced areas by sex and age. The males and females are always separated until the owner, Kevin, decides it’s time for breeding and who with whom. It’s a well-tuned process. The walls of the barn are covered with award-winning ribbons…they have it down pat! Lauren spent nearly two hours with us…it was quite the very funny and educational time. Feeding the alpacas was a learning process. They are very skittish so we were taught how to feed and pat. Since they were out in the rain for the past two days I was okay with just feeding! They are adorable! Once we stepped into their pen they knew what was next to come and all came running. Treats for everyone….well, in that pen anyway. Next was an explanation of the three different grades of the fibers that come from different areas during the shearing process and what’s used for what products…it’s very interesting. Last, but not least, was a trip through the gift shop. And, yes…purchases were made 😊. So much to choose from! Scarves, hats, gloves, slippers, and wine! Everything was so very soft to the touch it was hard to decide, but I did. Wine for me and some gifts for others. If you have the opportunity to visit here or another farm similar, please do!
