Much warmer today......

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

We woke this morning to find the temperatures once again hovering at the freezing mark both inside and outside. However the inside has warmed up much faster than the outside as the sun doesn't seem to be in evidence anywhere in the sky. I'm sure it is there but with all the cloud cover I doubt we'll see it today. 

The little town of De Graff creamery/eatery which apparently delivers to your door as well.

I don't think we'll be going ahead with our plans which was to find Possom Hollow Trail and perhaps take a hike but we both agreed only if the sun was out and warming things up. No sun, no hike, so it appears this will be a do nothing kind of day again.

Those blue skies made things feel much better yesterday.

The sun finally came out around noon but kept playing peek-a-boo with us for the rest of the day. The wind also picked up and as long as we stayed down here in the valley at the river we were good, but you could hear the wind whistling around on top of the hill. We opted to stay put today even though the sun came out off and on. A walk across the grass found the squish, squish of water even though one couldn't see it. 
 

These pictures are before and after. The first is the day after we arrived here. See all of the debris and crap there and look how high the water is, you can't see the dock boards at all. In the second picture you can see they've cleaned it up and today they pressure washed the entire dock off. The water is still slowly receding.

The sounds of building are continuing down in our little hollow but across the river. Someone is building or doing some remodeling. We can see the frame work from here but it's hard to tell what they are doing. The thump, thump, thump of a hammer is like white  noise in the background for the most part but also a reassuring sign of hope that spring will soon be here. 

It's hard to tell what he's doing over there...

For the most part we've been staying inside due to cold but today the temperature reached 60F/15C but the wind that managed to come down into the hollow kept it from feeling that warm. Not a lot of wind, just enough to say nope, not spring yet. A few hours with the door open allowed us to air out the Igloo which has been closed up for quite some time. HRH Miss Kitty enjoyed the open door as well. She sat and watched outside for an hour or so before tiring of the squirrels and birds. 

Looking across the river. The water has receded quite a bit but still has a bit more to go. 

We've been watching the weather report for the upcoming weekend which will be a travel weekend for us. The weather reports are calling for some pretty ugly stuff in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) with possible freezing rain and accumulations of the same. So we're going to keep things in mind when we start out. Everything looks good until at least Brantford, Ontario. That seems to be where the line for the freezing rain may touch. So we'll head out Saturday even in the rain as I would like to cross even though we have another day before our insurance runs out. We then have the option of getting off for an overnight before the border if necessary with a quick run Sunday morning or we can continue and at least get into the Windsor area where they expect only rain. An overnight at the Husky truck stop is an option there. Further on it looks as if London will miss the freezing rain event and London/Tilbury/Dutton is our ORIGINAL destination for Saturday night anyway. 

I believe the river is still a bit high but coming down. 

From London our plans are to head to Hamilton on Sunday. However if there is an issue with the weather we shall sit tight and wait until Monday before heading that direction. I have an early morning Rheumatologist appointment on Tuesday in Hamilton and we both have a dentist appointment on Thursday late morning.  Everything hinges on the exact temperature over the weekend. A couple of degrees higher would mean just a steady cold rain, a couple of degrees lower could mean a serious ice event for the area from Brantford and all points further north along the 401 corridor. It looks as if the north end of Toronto and the city of Barrie will be hardest hit. It also could impact the Golden Horseshoe along Lake Ontario from Hamilton to Niagara Falls if the temperature drops a degree or two. So we shall just have to wait and see. However I feel confident we'll get to Windsor without any issues. 

The cabin directly across the Miami River from us. With so much mud the water is brown and seems to be having a hard time figuring out which direction it's supposed to flow. On our arrival it was flowing east to west, yesterday and today one side is flowing east, and the other side is flowing west. The middle seems to be a mix of currents, swirls and eddys. 

Everywhere one hears about the weather, according to the powers that predict the weather and keep the records, the temperatures are about 10 degrees below the seasonal norms and will remain so for the rest of the month of April. With another cold spell coming next week. They say it won't return to normal or above normal until INTO May. So we may be cold for while longer. For the Canadians out there, S. Ontario had 2 days in the double digits in January, 5 in February, and 1 in March. Since March 18 there hasn't been a single double digit day. For our American friends, we use the metric system in Canada so double digits would be 10C which would equate to 50F. As Southern Ontario is tempered by the Great Lakes it gets some warmer temps through the winter months as well. Nothing too balmy but warmer than the rest of the province.

When we arrived the water was making those decks on the right side of the pictures hang on for dear life instead of floating away. These river side sites are all empty and their units stored elsewhere so they aren't affected by the spring floods.  You can see the fresh gravel waiting to be spread.

So there you have it, a much nicer day but windy up the hill which forced us to stay home and not go for a hike. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer still with temps reaching into the mid 60's/ 18C but I have a few chores I want to do outside instead of going out exploring. The closer we get to home the less we feel the urge to get out and do things. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment. I appreciate them all.

You can see the edge of the deck that has been pushed by the high flood waters. The grass is starting to green up but it's very squishy under foot.

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

We are sitting high and dry on gravel. There is another Chevy like ours sitting on the other side of us, been there a few days now. As you can see it was nice enough to have the door open for a while.

Deb

Through De Graff to Bellefontaine...

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

You would think we would be used to the cold mornings wouldn't you? I mean we just spent the winter in the desert where the mornings are always cold and yet this cold is different. This cold is a more seeping, invading type of cold, it steals your body heat in a very different kind of way than the desert cold. This cold also affects your mind and your thought process because unlike the desert this cold isn't gone by 10 am and we know that so we feel colder somehow. This cold lingers all day, warming slightly and almost offering the promise of warmth but not quite delivering it. A teasing cold filled with damp, freezing moisture that seems to rob us of  the ability to get warm. It does something to the brain when one looks out to see the green grass frozen and stiff, the water puddles with a frozen layer on ice on top, the bare trees or just budding trees look forlorn and the slight breeze makes them appear to be shivering.  I refer to this as the pre spring blues, I get it every year and only when the warmth of the sun has started warming all of the soil, stones, trees, and things around me do I really feel as if spring has arrived. The green and the flowers are visual signs of spring but the warm is the physical sign that I crave.

Heading into Bellefontaine, Ohio today.

Can you tell it was cold again this morning? The outside temperature read 25F/-3C and the inside temperature was in the mid 30'sF/1.6C but with the combination of our heater and the furnace it was warmed up to 50F/10C within a short time. The difference today is we have sun, a small yellow ball but at least we can see it unlike yesterday when it was hidden behind a blanket of clouds all day. The weather forecasters say we'll get warmer today than yesterday and the days ahead are looking wonderful with the nights also getting in on the warm up act. Let's hope that is indeed the case. We know that the warmth will follow us north shortly but we would prefer it beat us there.

The country side on our drive today.

We know when we return to Ontario on Saturday that the weather will once again be cold and there appears to be rain in the forecast as well. We are hopeful that the days will continue to warm quickly and the nights will stop dipping into the freezing temperatures at least.  The long range forecast does not look good for us getting back to our summer location by May 1 but we shall see how it goes.

I thought this was kind of cute on the side of building, it's not a mural.

We enjoyed our hot drinks and catching up with friends before bundling up and heading off in the Dogsled. We needed a drink for the Big Dog, and some grub for ourselves, along with a post office to drop a few things in the mail. So we headed off to the little town of Bellefontaine, Ohio. According to the GPS/Google it's less than 10 miles away. 

I think this may have been on a school or daycare but I'm not sure.

The back roads here are very quiet with few vehicles and even fewer people out and about. I don't think we noticed any more than maybe 5 or 6 people out side until we reached the village. Still too cold for folks to be out strolling I guess. I know it's too cold for me to be out strolling. 

Welcome to Bellefontaine, Ohio. 

We reached the little town of Bellefontaine without any issues after a quick stop at the dumpsters to rid us of our accumulated garbage. We topped up the fuel tank at $2.79 per gallon, taking around 28 gallons to fill the tank. We of course noticed diesel for 3 cents a gallon cheaper just down the road. Isn't that always the way. Oh well, it was needed, still cheaper than Ontario and now we're full once again. We made note that Bellefontaine has pretty much all the fast food places you could want, except I didn't see a Tim Horton's. I'm not saying there wasn't one, just that I didn't see one. We even made note of a grocery store called Aldi's that I recall seeing mentioned in other blogs. We didn't go in this time but perhaps another one. 

Lots of fast food spots.

Next we headed off to Walmart for some groceries and drinking water. We're still looking to replace the 2.5 gallon jug that some how developed a leak a few weeks ago. We found everything we wanted at Walmart and I  picked up another Blue Def since I just added one to the truck this morning. This stuff is so cheap here at less than $8 a jug. I think three will keep me for a while, not all summer but for a while. From Walmart we headed to the Dollar Tree as we wanted to get some Damp Rid for the Igloo. Once again we notice we are having a bit of condensation inside so hopefully we catch it quickly. 

Looking down Main Street, Bellefontaine, Ohio. 

 We next headed off to find the Post Office. I've noticed there are no mail boxes in which to drop out going mail, one needs to go to the post office to do that. I know back in Hamilton we're tripping over them, they seem to be on every 4th street corner. So while looking for the Post Office we toured a bit of the town. Cute little place, bright and cheery for the most part. 

Our park is very close to this little hamlet of De Graff, Ohio.

Today we used our RV GPS to find the town of Bellefontaine and I made note that twice we were taken on roads we can't travel with the Igloo. Two bridges both under 12'  would have made it impossible for us to travel the road and we would have been wedged under the bridge. Also  the GPS told me to turn left on to a one way street, except it was one way going the opposite way and I would have been going the wrong way if I hadn't quickly turned around. Now I'm not sure that I trust the RV GPS to get us anywhere, I think it's time to get in touch with the company and see what they think I should do other than an update. 

Not sure I like the colour but I love the house. On the corner in the little hamlet of De Graff. 

Back home once more we enjoyed a quiet afternoon, I did a few chores, had a 30 minute nap and just enjoyed the peace. Today new noises aroused my curiousity and I noted that across the Miami River someone is building either a small cottage/shed or some structure over there. So we can tell spring is coming, folks are building in anticipation of better warmer days. 

Another beautiful home in De Graff, Ohio.

Today's temperature were a bit warmer than yesterday, we reached 41F/ 5C this afternoon before the sun vanished. However the weather forecasters are calling for the next number of days to be very nice and much warmer. I believe Spring will arrive here at Oakdale Campground as we pull out on Saturday. 

A church in De Graff, Ohio. 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them all. 

Riley found this very funny as we past by the above church.

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

Deb

Snow flurries today....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

We woke this morning to cold temperatures although not as cold as yesterday, 28F/-2C and snow flurries in the air.  I think I would prefer rain, that means it's warmer. However nothing is accumulating on the ground, so I'm happy about that. 

You turn just before that farm house up there to come back to the park.

We've decided to stay in for the day as tomorrow is supposed to be much nicer, or at least less snowy. Yeah. Actually tomorrow is the beginning of the warm up so we're looking forward to that. 

I think in the summer with the leaves on and the grass all green, this is a beautiful little spot. Those trailers up there on the top right side are the same ones you can see through the trees in one of the pictures below.

It's good to see some friends are back in Canada, with a few stragglers like us still lingering south of the border hoping for a break in the weather. It's always a guess as to what we can expect when we get back home for weather. To those with a stix 'n brix to settle into the cold is much less bothersome. We all know that spring will come sooner or later but I for one would like sooner rather than later.  I believe last year was an earlier spring, so I guess we have to pay up for that  this year.

The road in to the campground just behind the bare trees and that field on the other side of the road  goes all the way to OH 235 N.

This morning we prepared a crock pot of chili to cook for the day and instead of ground beef we add chicken as we prefer chicken to beef. I have a craving for a nice big burger but with the weather I'm not going to get the Weber out to make it. Guess we'll just have to go out and have one else where. I will say I'm looking forward to getting the Weber out again soon, we haven't had it out since Superstition Mountain, near Apache Junction, AZ. That's a long time for us not to have the BBQ going. 

Can you see the trailers through the trees on the left? That orange stuff is a snow fence that will be taken down soon.

The snow stopped shortly after noon but the skies remained over cast with no break of any kind. We could hear the workers nearby with chainsaws, hammers and other tools as they continue doing their clean up. Our temperatures remained quite cool, our high being 38F/ 3C today. 

Lots of seasonal campers remain in their space all winter.

We spent the day doing some cleaning and reading our books. Tomorrow we have plans to go out as the Big Dog needs a drink, and the fridge is looking a bit bare. Hopefully the weather is nicer. 

Can you see the Miami River down there? Those buildings are across the river.

Thanks for stopping by, sorry there isn't more exciting things going on but well, that's just the way things are here in our little Igloo. Feel free to leave a comment. 

This is across the river from us. The debris that has been caught on the dock over there during the big flood has since been cleaned up  as the water continues to recede.

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


Deb

A restful but cool day here at Quincy.....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

A very cold night, 21F/-6C with puddles freezing over and a very crisp morning. Lucky we are below a hill and aren't getting the slight breeze that is blowing. We are quite protected. The day promises to warm up in to the low 40's F/ 4 - 6C today and stay that way for the next couple of days. So we're okay with that, a bit of rain and perhaps some snow mixed in tomorrow but that's okay too. It won't stay and before long it will be spring here too. 

This cute little cabin is across the driveway from us...

We ran both the heater and the furnace for a while late last night and again this morning and managed the night without any heat at all. Not too bad in the Igloo either. I woke this morning around 7 am and noticed the lightness outside and sure enough the sun has come out and very few if any clouds in the sky. 

 

Some seasonal spots......

We did our morning things, reading, commenting, hot drinks, etc. We've decided to rest today as yesterday's drive was a bit longer and wetter than we like. We do however have a few things we want to do before we leave. 

Interesting cabin here...

We headed out for a walk around the park to kind of get an idea of what there is to see, where the dump station is located as we will be using that before we leave and just have an overall idea of what the park is like. My first impression was more correct than I realized. It's a very nice park, well located, and I'm sure in the summer is quite charming and busy. The area above the hill is very well kept with grass cut and things all picked up and put away properly. A few 'cluttered' spots as you head down the hill and then a few more the closer you get to the river. There are a few that are quite derelict and really should be cleaned up or removed. There are some very nice spots as well, well maintained, planted, and in good repair. You can see pride of ownership in them which is what is needed in places like this. 

 

More seasonal spots. Can see us in the bottom right?  We're parked on that fella's driveway.

The park is basically built on a hill, hillside and river bottom. The Miami River flows east to west at this point. The current appears quite strong and evidence of recent flooding is easily seen. The flooding spread over the banks quite a few feet and moved some unanchored  decks around to new locations, along with picking up some debris, both man made and natural which it deposited in a few spots.

 

The outdated but clean bathhouse...rust from the water marks the showers...

Loads of fresh gravel, as well as fresh grading is evident here. Some sights will need some more before they are usable due to the recent flooding. I can honestly say that except for one other site, the office is the most derelict looking building on the grounds. It's junky inside and out, which of course adds to a run down look. The patio area is too full of 'stuff' and too much stuff in the windows, storage and otherwise. Curtains on the storage area would improve the look drastically, as well as some good old fashion cleaning on the windows as well. 

Frozen water this morning but the Miami River behind is flowing easily...

That's us with that frozen puddle on the other side between us and the river.

Across the river are some very quaint, well kept little cabins. Fresh gravel and maintenance is  very evident there as well. I'm sure they have been family owned for many years and I'll bet the summer finds them bustling and well planted. 

Looking east along the Miami River.

Looking west which is the direction the river is flowing in fact, and quite rapidly too.

Numerous rigs are stored here in their seasonal site as well as a few that are parked closely for just storage. Numerous boats of varying sizes, shapes and purposes are also stored here on the grounds. We are approx 15 miles from I-75 on the east side. According to Google there is a small town called Bellefontaine near by with pretty much what we need or at least a Walmart for groceries. 

This deck doesn't belong here, see the hook ups under it?

The office building.

For the rest of the day we read books, napped and just enjoyed the warmth INSIDE the Igloo as it's just a bit too cool to open the door and enjoy the sunshine. Soon though we'll be doing that. 

At the top of the hill not far from the bath house is the storage shed.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment. I appreciate them all. 

In and out road. Looks pretty good from this vantage point.

 

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

Deb

Travel day....Quincy, Ohio....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, OHIO

 

 

A cold night over night with rain and ice pellets and a wee bit of snow as well. When we woke up it was trying to snow and tiny white flakes were coming down but nothing was sticking. The temperature read 28F/-2 C and believe me it was definitely pretty accurate. We were up at 7 am CDT and on the road by 8 am CDT. I was a bit concerned about the roads to the interstate as it was down a pretty steep incline and I noticed where others had been sliding and slipping but I kept everything slow and easy and the one time I touched the brakes it was just wet pavement. We were good to go. 

 

Started out a bit misty but turned out fine....

 

Within minutes we were on I-65N with just some wetness coming off the roadway. I have no idea where we cross the time line but by 9:19 am CDT I mentioned to Riley to check the phones and sure enough we had crossed the line somewhere and we were once again back in our own time zone, EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME. Yeah us. 

 

Not much snow on the sides of the road either. See Ohio is beautifying their ramps as well. Great roads, dry, and sunny, what else could you ask for?

 

We had absolutely no issues at all and things ran along just fantastic. We iced up pretty good and at one point had a pretty thick coating of ice on the front of everything and sprayed along down the sides of the Dogsled but at no time was the roads ever slippery or even snow covered. All just stop splashing up and freezing on. We were those people that you see at the rest area with ice hanging everywhere and you say to yourself," Glad we didn't go through that." Honestly though, we didn't hit any weather at all.  We eventually reached a high today of 37F/2.7C and that was all we could wring out of the sunshine. On I-71N between Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH the sun came out and the road was dry. We enjoyed a wiper free drive the rest of the way. 

 

This is mostly OH 235 North. A very nice road, with a few small towns, a few lights and few slow downs but nice, quiet, not too busy at all. Great road if you aren't in a hurry.

 

As we reached Covington, KY (just across the river from Cincinnati, OH) the traffic slowed down, seeming to back up for a while, but we managed to keep rolling, it cleared up for 5 minutes but once again slowed down and crept along. This was the norm until we were actually out of Cincinnati. I was surprised, there was no reason for any slow downs at all, no construction, lane changes, accidents, etc. Just some mystical reason I guess. 

 

Cincinnati area.....

 

I will say the construction in Cincinnati has been on going for as long as I can remember but I will tell you that they have vastly improved the over all interstate, both surface conditions and width of lanes, not to mention taking out some of the very sharp turns. A bit more work is needed in a few places but over all, the best experience I've ever had moving through Cincinnati. Congrats to the city for doing such a wonderful job. 

 

The big pic on the top left is coming down the hill in Covington, KY toward Cincinnati straight ahead. The others are Louisville, KY,  Florence, KY,  and Dayton, Ohio.

 

Instead of following the GPS and taking 4N out of Dayton we stayed on I-75N until we came to I-70 East toward Columbus. We followed that for a bit and then took the exit for OH 235N. From there it was straight sailing and we managed to pull into the campground just before 3 pm EDT. 

 

I've never seen a Field & Stream store before but I'm sure they're around.  I believe these pictures are Cincinnati, Dayton, and New Carlisle, all in Ohio.

 

The campground is nice with pretty decent sized spaces, and we are parked literally on the Miami River. We can see it out the door. However I will say that I doubt we'll be back due to the state of the office. It is a small, cramped space, that is seems very junky and reeks of cigarette smoke. In fact they smoke as evident by the half full ashtrays that litter the desk area. The folks are friendly enough, helpful, and accommodating but the smell of the office is too much for us. A nice black lab greeted us at the door and continued to stand and lay at my feet making it difficult to move.  

Some road signs along the way....

A nice fellow named Roger brought us to our spot which is high and dry on a gravel driveway which suits us fine. We have electric and water is available but I won't hook up until after the chance for freeze is over. They have a dump station as well. We are back off the roadway by a long distance and I think we'll enjoy the time here as we're close to a few little towns and villages. So hopefully we find some interesting things to keep us amused for a bit. 

A few water towers, road signs and of course the welcome sight of TIMS!!!!

The overall drive was fantastic, a bit sloppy this morning but nothing that required constant wipers, only occasional. The temperatures aren't too bad either, all things considered. They told us they had 6" of snow when I called earlier in the week, and since then they've had a flood and more snow but today there is nothing but bare ground and a very high river. Kentucky needs to work on I-75 North as it's pretty rough in a few spots but still a decent drive. Ohio also needs to work on a few rough spots but again, nothing too serious. 

Still in Kentucky coming down the Covington Hill toward Cincinnati, OH so you know spring is coming...

We traveled about 280 miles/ 450 km today, it took us approx 6 hours with 2 stops along the way. We used around 25- 27 gallons of diesel through all those hills, so I'm pretty happy about that. I noticed $2.76 for diesel a bit back down the road so I'm hoping the prices in the area are all about the same, a fill up will run us into the $70 -75 US dollar mark. We will be here until Saturday when we will pack up and head for Ontario. 

 

I'm not sure but I think this is the Miami River in Dayton, OH.

So there you have it, thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the trip. Feel free to drop a comment. 

 

Welcome to Quincy, Ohio.

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

Deb