A quiet day here in Cave City, and some campground notes.........

Our Location: Singing Hills Campground, Cave City, Kentucky

(4110 Mammoth Cave Road)

 

A coolish night last night for sure. We needed the heater this morning for a bit but it warmed up nicely through the day and the sun made an appearance for the most part until late this afternoon. 

 

Couldn't get the building without the pole...

 

Over our hot chocolate we discussed plans and  while it would have been nice to actually do something in the 'attraction' area we opted instead for a few things of a  more practical nature. We needed fuel as the big Dog was showing at only a 1/4 bowl full, so that was first on the agenda. Next we needed a couple of grocery items, nothing major just a thing or two.

 

Thought this was an interesting looking trailer....

 

Those things off of our list we proceeded to at least tour the village of Cave City and have a look at what we might see for another time. We found some interesting sights and even managed to stop for a walk around in a couple of locations. 

 

Notice the handle for GASOLINE is green, and the DIESEL is black. If one weren't paying attention it would be easy to make a mistake. Prices weren't too bad. Loved the big chicken in the ad.

 

We headed out to the Mammoth Cavern but didn't actually go into the building as the lot was pretty full and we already knew from the lady in the office that the tours were full. We did however want to have an idea of what to look for in our future visits. 

 

The Old General Store is more just a junk place but the prices are outrageous.

We did stop at an interesting amusement type area. Their activities included ziplines, a chair lift, a mountain slide, bumper cars, go-karts, a trampoline with harness, mini golf, and horse back riding and something called Outlaw Cave. We didn't partake in any of the activities although I offered Riley a chance to do them, she had no interest. We did manage to see off in the distance a few people coming down the slide on the mountain. You take the chair lift up to the mountain top for either the slide ride or the zip line ride, or you come back down in the chair lift. Interesting place. 

 

Some of the 'goods' outside on the front porch.

 

Back home at the Igloo I parked the big Dog and proceeded to clean him up. He's been dirty for a while and I truly couldn't take any more. I pulled out the wipes, vacuum, etc and gave him a pretty good cleaning. He's not perfect but he's better. It took me about an hour to do the clean up, then we had a nice relaxing lunch and I continued doing a few chores. It took about a  half hour to do the chores and tidy a bit in the cubbies. After that a quick walk to the main office with a bag of books to exchange worked out great. I left a complete bag and came home with not quiet a complete bag. Fair trade in my opinion. After that I settled down to read one of the new books. 

 

I'm not sure who painted the Indian but I've never seen ANYONE with a face like that....

 

The day has slipped past and it's already 5:30 pm CST. I was sure we would cross into a new time zone yesterday but apparently not yet. We must be pretty close to the change and tomorrow we will definitely be back to Ontario time. The skies have darkened some and the weather was calling for rain to change to flurries over night. I hope that doesn't actually happen but we'll see how things look in the morning and go from there. No use worrying about it tonight, nothing we can do anyway. 

 

More of the Old General Store merchandise.

 

So there you have it, our pretty quiet day here in Cave City, Kentucky. With a few things accomplished I feel better now. Just a few notes about the park for my own future reference or if you're interested. Sorry I didn't take any pictures. Singing Hills Campground is a nice park, but very tight spaces, hard getting into back in spaces. Drive thru's don't look much bigger but might be okay. Hook ups on the back in spaces are too far from the actually place they need to be. They are located at the front of the site, not in the middle or back. So we couldn't park all the way to the back of the site and still reach the electric. Therefore that makes it difficult to park the truck and be off the road due to not being able to park fully back and also because of the facilities locations, parking is very difficult, they make backing into the spot also very difficult. These back in sites don't have sewer but the pull thru's do. We didn't check out the bath house but it is a cement block building that is the strongest building on the property in case of a storm. Not all roads in the park are 'thru' roads, and don't have an extra lane for exiting, so if all of the spots are full, you are in trouble and need to back out. The office staff is very helpful, supplying directions to grocery store, Walmart, restaurants, attractions, cave tours, etc. Also supply directions to laundry, hospital, police, etc. Advise putting a card in your wallet in case you get lost or forget the name of the place. Great book exchange. Would stay again but get a pull through and be prepared for tight, noisy spaces. 

 

You ride this sled down the mountain slide....

 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate hearing from you. 

 

Can you see the white line down the mountain, that's what you ride the sled on. The chair lift takes you to the top to get on the slide.

 

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

 

I think the carpenter wasn't having a good day when he put these windows together.

 

 

Deb

 

 

 

 

Great travel day......

Our Location: Singing Hills Campground, Cave City, Kentucky

(4110 Mammoth Cave Road, 42127)

(270-773-3789)

A cold night with the temperature this morning clocking in at 36F/2C but with sunshine warming things up. We were up at 7 am, loaded, and on the road by 8:20 am leaving Big Buck Resort in Hornsby, Tennessee behind. For my own personal information I should have turned right at the town square in Bolivar to reach I-40 instead of going further out to Whitesville, next time I'll remember that. This route would have been faster than the route we took. 

View from the Dogsled on some of our travels....

The drive was interesting, we traveled some back roads for a bit, TN 18 East, and TN 100 East as well come to mind. We remembered the town of Jackson, TN as we'd been there in the fall working with Verizon to get a new jet pack. They have an odd corner which I remembered as we were heading through town. Funny how certain things come to mind. We've noticed spring has slipped a bit with the leaves not quite out as much as further south, and the blossoms are still just coming into full stride instead of having passed their prime. We also noted the overall area is just a bit behind in the spring like look as we motored north. Maybe it'll catch us when we stop for a few days.

As you can see, spring isn't quite the same in these areas....getting close but not quite...

From Jackson, TN we jumped onto I-40 East for the remainder of the day. The travel was pretty good, not a lot of backups on our side but the other side had numerous LONG backups. We had one slow down due to an accident in the town of Jackson as we were approaching the split to head for the interstate. The first rest area on the interstate was closed and we headed on to the second one which I noted had lots of signs NO OVERNIGHT PARKING, 2 HOUR LIMIT and isn't very big to begin with and I think it would be extremely noisy as the spots are pretty narrow with very little room to spare. 

Some blossoms along the way, and some Wisteria as well....

This is the first time I've come to Nashville from the west, or  at least the first time I remember. Nashville seemed much bigger than normal as we came west then turned north, instead of just a straight dash through the city. Lots of construction signs and a few back ups on the other side but none on our side. 

I forget where this was exactly but it's interesting.

We passed into the state of Kentucky at 11:50 am and just rolled right along. At this point the other side was backed up to a standstill that continued for over 7 miles on the Kentucky side of the state line but it was already backed up in Tennessee for at least a couple of miles. I truly didn't see anything that would have caused the back up but I'm certain construction was the culprit. We noted 4 different spots were the traffic back ups were quite substantial with the shortest being probably a mile. I do believe construction season is in full bloom!!

 

I believe he was at a Garage Sale.....and bought the garage....

We followed the gentleman's instructions with regards to NOT FOLLOWING THE GPS, and instead followed written instructions to the campground location. Sure enough the GPS would have had us turning the wrong way at the exit for the interstate. This is a Passport America park and so we followed those instructions to the letter and found the place with no issues. 

Try saying that 5 times fast....

  

We're quite high up the side of the mountain, and we have iffy AT&T service here. We had to restart both phones in order to get any signal at all. Even with the booster it's not great. I haven't checked our Verizon as they have excellent free wifi in the park. Two different feeds and with all of the folks here I'm sure they need it. 

 

Not sure of the river's name but it sure is big....

We checked in with a nice lady whose name I think is Laura (but I could be wrong), who was extremely helpful and chatty. A very nice setup here very close to the little village of Cave City. We are close to the caverns, the dino museum and a number of other things as well. Too bad we're only going to be here for 2 nights, it would be a nice place to explore I think. We aren't far from Bowling Green, KY where the Corvette Museum is located and if time permitted I would definitely go there. 

 

Houses and buildings along the way....

The day time highs reached 55F/12 C this afternoon. No breeze but some on and off sunshine which is nice when it's out and cool when it isn't. No sewer here in our spot but some folks have sewer hookups. We turned at the dump station to get to our spot we at least know where it is if we need it on the way out. 

Can you see the backups on the other side? The last picture you can see them still stopped over the top of the hill.....

It was a tight fit and I had to give it a couple of tries before I managed to get us in on the skinny little gravel path. Some folks standing around watching weren't very helpful in that they stood very close to the road with dogs and kids and it made it difficult to pull up as far as I would have liked. However, we managed and everything is fine. I'm glad we could be their entertainment for the afternoon. We are in spot 18 with a little foot bridge behind and our picnic table is across a small ditch which I believe is an overflow for some kind of little pond. 

Just kept going and going.........

We were set up by 3:00 pm and of course I called my dad to tell him we'd made it safe and sound. The first couple of calls he couldn't hear me and then I realized the signal was extremely weak, so we rebooted, turned on the booster and managed to get a connection. He said it is right around the freezing mark of 32F/0C and in the sun things are melting, in the shade they aren't. They have about a 1ft/30 cm of snow which they received over the last couple of days/nights. Schools were closed and people were told to stay off the roads. A number of accidents have claimed lives in the greater Sudbury and surrounding area over the past few days. Some folks just don't know when to slow down and unfortunately they don't always do the 'stupid' thing alone and end up causing tons of grief for many others as well. 

Welcome to Jackson, Tennessee.....

So after a chat with dad I started to edit pictures and write this post. The sun is kind of shining and  the temperature is still hovering at the 55F/12C mark. We have the big door open but I think I'll be closing it soon as it's a bit cool on the toes. 

Of course Nashville also welcomes you....

So there you have it, the roads were good, the traffic heavier and heavier as we continue on our homeward journey but not too bad at all. The construction seems to be concentrated on the south and/or west bound lanes right now and I'm hopeful it will continue to be so for the rest of the journey. We will be here only 2 nights before moving on for a weeks stay in Quincy, OH.

 

Then  again so did Kentucky....

While outside to set things up for the heater we chatted with a couple from Colorado who said it's warmer back there than it is here. They've had snow here and a tornado warning as well. According the lady there is snow in the forecast but I didn't see any a few days ago. I'll have to check again soon. 

Again that same river but it's pretty full..don't you think?

That was our travel day, nothing exciting and we like it that way. Good weather, good roads and an easy drive, what else could one ask for? Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from you. 

We drove past this charming fellow on our way to Singing Hills Campground....

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

 

Our last full day here at Big Buck Resort.....

Our Location: Big Buck Resort, Hornsby, Tennessee

(205 Sparks Road)

(More pictures from our winter travels)

We had some pretty good thunder and lightning last night about the time I would normally publish my post which is why I posted earlier. The rain came down but not hard and the predicted extremely strong winds and possible hail didn't materialize. We had some good gusts but nothing too bad nor sustained. It passed quickly, within a couple of hours and things were all quiet again. 

A view from our hike of Mastadon Loop Mine Trail at Joshua Tree National Park, California...

The temperature has cooled off  significantly and our high today reached about 50F/10C with a wind from the north west which was pretty cool all day. The sun was out and shining brightly in the blue sky and out of the wind it was a nice warm day. However with the big door open it cooled the Igloo off pretty fast and we closed it before too long in hopes of keeping some of the heat around for the evening and overnight. 

Part of the trail we climbed on the Mastadon Loop Mine Trail, Joshua Tree National Park, California

We decided we would do laundry one last time before we leave that way we don't have to worry until we cross in to Ontario unless we feel like we want to do some laundry. Our next two stops will be new to us and we have no idea where we would find facilities. So we headed out to Oakland once again, with a stop at Walmart to pick up a few little things. The laundry didn't take long and before long we were heading back home. With two quick stops we were back home within the 3 hour mark. Not bad at all and it was nice to be out in the sunshine even if we did need long pants and a heavy sweater. I chatted with my dad while we were in Walmart for a few minutes, they are getting hammered with a blizzard, yesterday, last night and still going on when I spoke to him after 2 pm his time. I hope we get some sunny days before we we head that far north in early May.

Sunset at Joshua Tree National Park BLM, California

Back home I emptied the tanks once again and put away the sewer hose in preparation for tomorrow's departure. I like to have as few things left to do in the morning as possible. We will have about 10 minutes worth of work to get the services all disconnected and stored as they all need a very thorough wiping down due to the mud and grass from all the weather we've been having. 

Riley fixing her flat...... Joshua Tree National Park, California

A short walk around the park to stop at the dumpster for a deposit and we were back home quickly. Axel the Husky has been around the last couple of days but today smelled like a barnyard, his fur all matted like he'd been rolling in something ugly. He had a friend with him, a nice soft brown coloured fellow that trotted right along behind him. The two followed us around the park and then sat at the door for while after we returned home before they headed off in search of some one who would pay more attention to them. 

 

A beautiful sunrise at Joshua Tree National Park BLM, California

A few chores before bedtime, a couple more in the morning and we'll be ready to hit the road. It should be a pretty regular travel day with about 250 miles/400 km, and a great part of that on interstate. The weather looks good ahead and we're excited to be moving forward on our next part of the journey home to Ontario. 

Sunset through a cactus.....

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a spectacular day. Feel free to leave a comment.

A Joshua Tree at Joshua Tree National Park, California

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb 

A change is coming.....

Our Location: Big Buck Resort, Hornsby, Tennessee

(205 Sparks Road)

 

(Some more of our winter time pictures)

 

The morning started warm and just kept getting warmer with the sun peeking out as the morning progressed. The warm temperatures are having a yoyo effect on us. Mid afternoon found the temperature resting at 82F/27C with humidity high and the winds higher. We're in the area of high wind warnings today with possible t-storms late this afternoon and into this evening. 

 

Picture taken at Dome Rock, Quartzsite, AZ

 

We spent another lazy day doing just a few little things such as cleaning up pollen from the inside of the Igloo and going over our shopping list of items we wish to take back to Ontario with us. I also spent some time doing a few emails.

 

Picture also taken at Dome Rock, Quartzsite, AZ

 

The winds picked up this morning and have been steadily picking up as the day goes on, the owner lady Tina was out cutting grass today and the grass and dust were flying everywhere. It's the second time they've cut grass since we've arrived, or maybe they've just finished the first cut due to water. I'm not sure. 

 

Picture taken at Walmart in Indio, California, flowering shrubs, palm tree and snow on the mountain.

 

I called a few places yesterday making reservations for our homeward journey and talked to a lady in Quincy, Ohio that told me they just had 6" of new snow overnight and was I certain I wanted to make a reservation. The sound of her voice was one of shock and humour. I've checked the weather and today they are getting lots of rain in the forecast so I'm assuming the snow will be gone when we arrive on Saturday. 

 

Billy the Big Horn Sheep, a wild resident that wanders around the Indian Wells, California golf course.

 

The forecast ahead looks like one or two cold nights and a couple cool days but otherwise things are looking quite good for the trip back to Ontario and when we reach there the weather looks to be improving as well. So let's hope it actually goes that way.  

 

Bird of Paradise in bloom at sister in law Janet's house in Indian Wells, California

 

So there you have it, our quiet day here. They are winding down with just one more full day here before we hit the road. As I type this the temperatures are dropping, the skies are becoming overcast again and the wind is still pretty blustery. The coolness in the air is apparent and the winds are switching from the SW to NW.

 

Our location at Joshua Tree National Park BLM area, California

 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to leave a comment.

 

Taken at Joshua Tree National Park BLM, California

 

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

 

 

Deb 

 

 

A few errands....

Our Location: Big Buck Resort, Hornsby, Tennessee

(205 Spark Road)

 

(April 2nd's post )

 

I will admit I just completely forgot to do a post last night, well no that's not quite right, I forgot until after I was in bed, when I suddenly remembered. So this is a bit late, sorry about that. 

 

I believe this is Wisteria...

 The morning was nice, but a few sprinkles fell and I thought we were going to have more rain but just those couple hundred drops and we were finished. 

I believe it is a very invasive plant.....

 

I can tell you that spring is definitely in the air, we are in the south east area of the USA and I know this because everything is covered with a yellow-green dusting of pollen. I mean EVERYTHING, even inside the Igloo. You can't have the windows or door open without it layering everything. The truck is also a lovely new shade  as well. It's one of the things I dislike about this part of the USA. The pollen season seems to last a very long time. Much longer and much more dense than I remember Ontario being. 

 

For me , in case I forget where it is. Or for you if you ever might need to know...

 

We needed to fill up one of our propane tanks and I wanted to top off the Big Dog's drinking bowl in preparation for our departure later this week. So we grabbed the tank and off we headed into Bolivar. 

 

Just for future reference....

 I've said it before but Bolivar is such a quaint little spot. Folks are ever so friendly and helpful. We didn't see any indication of propane except exchange of the small tanks and we needed the bigger tank. In our wandering we ended up at the far end of town at the Walmart. I topped up with diesel and asked a fella at the pump if he knew where we could get a tank filled. He was local but had suffered from a stroke (although one could not tell to look at him) but couldn't remember any place. He thought there was one but wasn't sure. Apologized over and over, I felt bad for  having asked him. He did tell me where to go to ask at the local Coop Store, if anyone would know those folks would know he said. I thanked him again and off he went. The next fella was a much younger guy and was talking easily and not to me. I interrupted his private rant to himself to ask about getting a tank filled. He directed me so easily, even told me how much it was to fill the tank. I thanked him and off we went. 

A very impressive building for the size of the town...

 

The beautiful building you've seen a number of times in the pictures from town is the courthouse, at the town square. The same town square that a reader told me was replicated after a fire. The corner houses some very unique old buildings including the bank of Bolivar, the Courthouse, a pizza joint and a few other things. We turned west at the corner. He didn't tell me the street name and I didn't look. How silly is that? Anyway, just as the young fella predicted there it was about 2 miles down the road Dixigas. 

 

Don't you think?

 

We pulled in and backed up to the little shed, and I headed into the office to pay. The total for a 30 lb tank that was completely empty ....$24. In Ontario I exchange this tank for double that amount as I've found exchange is cheaper than just a fill since they don't really FILL them like they do here. A 20 lb tank for your BBQ is $16. I think we in Ontario are getting ripped off in a  really really big way. 

 

Pretty nice little pizza place on the corner across from the courthouse...

 

So we had completed our errand, fuel and propane, we didn't need any thing more, so we headed home. The over cast showed a slight sign of breaking up as the sun peeked through for about 30 seconds but then was gone again. 

 

Lots of law enforcement vehicles around town but these ones don't seem to move, wonder if they are being repaired?

 

Back home we started getting things ready to head out in a few days. I had the ladder and the blue boy down as I had been up on the roof, so they had to go back to their travel location. We loaded up our Blue Def stash as well. A few other little things were put away and that leaves just a couple of chairs to put away (as I'm hopeful of yet sitting in the sun once again), and the services to disconnect. We have a couple  more days before we head out but I don't anticipate a big change in the weather before then and so there is no need to keep things out and it's safer to put them away before it rains. 

 

A flowering shrub at one of the churches.

 

A couple of quick walks around the park and that was it for the day. Not very

 exciting I know but it's quiet and peaceful and we like these kinds of days. The park has once again cleared out a bit as the weekend is now past and folks are back to school and work, etc. There are still a number of campers here though and think the empty spots are in the single digits. Although if some folks moved some of their vehicles, empty trailers, etc there would be more. 

 

A very stately looking church....

 

The temperatures were fairly high yesterday, and shorts along with a t-shirt would have been acceptable if you don't mind a bit of a coolness to the air. I think we reached about 70F/21C with only a very slight breeze.  We kept a number of windows open through the night as the temps were in the mid 60's/ 18 C even this morning at 8 am. 

 

Can you see spring?

 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

I can....

 

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

 

 

 

Deb

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter......

Our Location: Big Buck Resort, Hornsby, Tennessee

(205 Sparks Road)

 

A quiet Easter day here with a few rain drops this morning, a warm and muggy afternoon but very little sun all day. The park was quiet with only the odd person out and about today. 

 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday where ever you may be on this day. I thought I'd leave you with a few of my favourite pictures taken over the winter. 

 

La Posa South BLM, Quartzsite, AZ

Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, TX

 

Night sky, La Posa South BLM, Quartzsite, AZ

Fire (courtesy of Jim) La Posa South BLM,  Quartzsite, AZ

 

Rainbow after our first experience of a desert rain, La Posa South BLM, Quartzsite, AZ

Mountains viewed from Dome Rock, Quartzsite, AZ

New growth on the Ocotillo.

A selfie taken on the top of Mastadon Loop, Joshua Tree National Park, near the Coachella Valley, CA

Thanks for stopping by, hope you had a fantastic day. 

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

Deb