The neat things you find off the beaten path

Something that I like to do, although we don't do it nearly as often as I'd like, is to travel NOT on the interstate highways.  On our route from the Meriwether Lewis Monument to our next campsite in central Mississippi, there really was no way to make it by interstates or 4 lane roads without going hours out of our way.  So, we let the GPS guide us on the "fastest" route through the back roads of Tennessee and Mississippi.  Most of it Andrea found boring and there wasn't much for mobile internet signal so she was relegated to reading books for most of this leg of the trip.  One of the gems that we accidentally happened upon on the trip was the Shiloh National Military Park.  We had no idea it was even on the route and only decided to pull in because we saw a sign on the road that the entrance was in some thousand feet.  We didn't really plan on doing much other than hitting the visitor center and getting some cancellations and moving on.  In the end, we spent about 2 hours there and barely scratched the surface for what one can see at this National area.  Contained with in the Battlefield area is also a National Cemetery and ruins of Indian mounds.

This drummer boy wasn't much older than Parker

The entrance to the National Cemetery

We tried to teach the boys some respect here.  It sorta worked.  It's amazing to think that most if not all of the trees were not present when the cemetery was made.  There's a number of places where headstones have been displaced due to tree growth.  Despite being in Tennessee, the largest numbers of troops buried here are from Illinois and Ohio.  Shiloh has many memorials to troops from many states.  This was a big battlefield.

Whenever we do nature hikes, the boys demand that we stop and read every sign .  Now that Parker is reading pretty well, he wants to try to read them.  Unfortunately, most of the vocab. is too much for him and he gets frustrated.

That big river in the background is the main reason for why so many Ohio and Illinois troops were at this battlefield.  The river can be traced back up to the the Ohio River near the southern tips of Indiana and Illinois.  At the point of this photo, we were on top of an ancient Indian Mound.  The Indians had (apparently) chosen the spot as well for its strategic location on the river.

So eventually we had to get to a campsite for the night.  Finally, we would pull in to a place with hookups and be able to have a supremely warm night of sleep as well as dump the tanks.  We had chosen the Roosevelt State Park in central Mississippi.  Although we took the rural way to it, it is located right off of I-20.  The park is actually two campgrounds and a public-use park around a lake.  We got there on a Sunday night and stayed only one night which worked well for us.  We got there after-hours and a camper explained that there was a big foliage festival during the coming week and weekend and that the campgrounds would likely be packed soon.  But, on this Sunday evening there was a plethora of site choices, most of which were lakeside.  I had to chuckle when the helpful camper (in a 30+ foot motor home) told me that I ought to go to the campground on the other side of the lake because it was, "newer, bigger sites, not so many trees around, and sewer on each site.  That's where I'd be if I weren't here with this group." As he gestured to the other motor homes parked near him as well as one rolling in. That made my mind up for me...I was going for the "older" park buried in the conifers before me.  As you can see below, we had a beautiful site.  I gathered some fallen wood and made the only campfire that we had on the entire trip.  It was really great to sit by the lake around a fire and make some popcorn.  I've learned in the past that the true beauty and magic of sitting around a campfire is very lost in pictures, so I didn't take any.

2 weeks of vacation

For the first time since Andrea and I have known each other, let alone with kids, we took a two week vacation.  We've sorta done that before, but it's been mixed with business trips so 100% of the trip wasn't non-work, family time.  This time, it was a solid 2 weeks and 3 weekends of vacation...with the Airstream.

Originally, this trip was to be just to Disney World and back and we planned to take the Argosy (motor home).  The motor home was bought 1.5 years ago almost specifically for this trip.  But, due to an opportunity afforded to me by my job, it became more beneficial to take the Airstream (trailer).  Also, the more miles that could be driven, the better.  So, our trip went from being to-from Disney World in the motor home to a 3000+ mile round trip including some national parks, a stay in New Orleans, and some beach camping along the Gulf of Mexico.

In the coming days and starting with this post, I'll share mostly pictures of our travels and what the family got to on our vacation with the Airstream.

Our first leg of the trip was to meander our way to New Orleans.  We made no reservations for overnight stays anywhere except for Disney.  Our objective in the first evening of travel was to make it as far as possible and stay overnight in a parking lot somewhere and keep moving the next day.  We did that, and as we continued moving down I-75 through Kentucky, we decided that we could pop in to Mammoth Cave National Park (unplanned).  We figured we'd be back on the road after lunch.  Just before the exit for Mammoth Cave, traffic on I-75 came to a solid stop.  A tanker truck carrying hazardous cargo had been in an accident and spilled.  The highway would be closed for the day.  The state highway patrol was having all vehicles, including semis, motor homes, and cars turn around on the road or back-up until the nearest cross-over and return the other direction to a detour.  So, we too did this and after following the SLOW detour, we ended up at Mammoth Cave at (not before) lunchtime.  We ate lunch, then went on our tour.  Both kids were awesome with the dark and tight spaces.  Surprisingly, neither one got bored or rambunctious.  We had chosen the shortest and most kid-friendly tour.  We wish we would have chosen a longer tour, but didn't have time to do a second tour.

Low clearance ahead.  No problem for the kids, but not so easy for dad.

Going down to view the "Niagara Falls" from the bottom.  It was about 42 steps down at a pretty steep grade.  Half the adults on the tour opted out but the kids charged right down.

 

Our next stop was the Meriwether Lewis National Monument in Tennessee.  The intent here was two-fold.  One, to get a cancellation (rubber stamp) in the kids' National Park passports.  Two, to camp there for free (boondocking) in the campground located within the state park that contains the national monument.  I really wish I would have taken some pictures of the campground because for free, it's an under-utilized diamond in the rough.  Paved roads and pretty level sites, new bath houses, all on top of a hill.  They even have pull-through sites for those staying overnight like me who have no intention of unhitching.  There were a lot of big rig motor homes in there.  There was a communal camp fire, too.  Pretty adventurous for the big-rig full-time crowd.  They said that in the past weekends when the colors were better and the weather a bit warmer, the campground actually was fully filled.  I'm glad to hear it because it's a great place.

There was a cancellation there for the boys' National Park Passports, but we unfortunately found out that the visitor's center is only open on Sat. and Sun. from 9 to 5.  We woke up to a cold trailer about 5:30am (battery ran low and therefore the furnace wouldn't run) so by the time I got up and went out and started the truck, we slept a bit more, and did our morning routine, it was all of about 7:30am.  We saw the monument (forgot to take a picture), skipped the stamp, and hit the road.

Trick or Treat

We've established somewhat of a tradition with going camping in October at a campground which is doing a trick-or-treat thing; usually along with a Halloween themed party of some sort, too.  This has typically been at one particular campground, Cardinal Center Campground in Marengo, Ohio.  It's quite a nice and large place.  The Halloween weekend is typically earlier than Oct 31 since it tends to get a bit cold by then for camping.  Cardinal Center gets some pretty good clientele so the loot for the kids is usually pretty good.  A side benefit of this annual trip is that it is also usually with some co-workers of mine.  There's a number of us that have campers and we try to get out camping together at least once in a year.  It seems that Cardinal / Halloween is a favorite time.  There were only a total of 4 campers there this year (I'm the only Airstream, sadly).  The other regulars missed out on a great weekend.  It started out cold on Friday night, so much so that I destroyed a pair of shoes trying to stay close to the fire.  However, Saturday was wonderful.  Jackets weren't needed during trick or treat time (late afternoon).  Actually, jackets were not even needed around the fire that night!  It was a great trip.  Can't wait to do it again next year.

Our rig

The kids taking their chairs to the fire pit

The kids using "team work" (they have a song for it) to move mom & dad's chairs to the fire pit

This is how the family sits at a campfire...each with a portable electronic device

Deep in thought.  They just don't appreciate a fire, yet

Ready for trick or treating

This is pretty much what it looks like when trick or treating at a campground.  Lots of kids and very close-together collection points (that's a good thing)

Camping without the kids

Thanks to Airstream choosing Cleveland Browns colors for the Argosy, I was nominated to take the Argosy to the Cleveland Browns opening day.  A co-worker of mine is a regular in the municipal lot, so he was the tour guide.  We left the kids with grandma for the night and headed for Cleveland for the night.  We "camped" on the street in front of a friend's house and got up at 5am to head to the lot the next morning.  It was a rough morning, but nonetheless very fun.

The Argosy is buried in there

The view out of our front window

The Argosy gets a bunk!

When we bought our Argosy motor home, I noticed that there were Airstream bunk brackets and hangers already installed.  Of course I asked the seller if he had the bunk frame.  Alas, the usual answer came: No.  So I've been hoping to find an original bunk since so much of the rest of the Argosy is original.  So, I was ecstatic two weekends ago when I got a notice from Airforums.com that someone had posted a classified ad wanting to sell an "original bunk" out of a 1977 Argosy motor home.  Not that it needed to be from the exact year and from an Argosy or even a motor home; but it was neat that it was.  I was expecting the "cot-type" Airstream bunk.  So, you can imagine my surprise when I met the seller and he pulled this out.  His Argosy even had the same exact upholstery as mine.  I couldn't hand the money over fast enough.  I ran in to a small hiccup in the install because it seems that the inner-wall ribs are differently placed in the bed area on a 24' moho like mine vs. the 28' moho that the bunk came out of.  Nevertheless, I made it work with some advice from a fellow Airstreamer.  If you look closely, you'll see that the hanging belts are in a different position than in other pictures.  This is because the straps were moved.  The center of the bunk is not as well supported as before, but the straps are much better anchored, now.  

The kids love it.  We should be trying it out this weekend.

Half way installed

I dress to impress when I'm working

First installation (note the hang straps close together)

A view from the back of the moho

In pseudo-couch format.  The gaucho is somewhat extended out in this shot and the bunk is fully stowed.

The boys approve

Andrea demonstrating our second pseudo couch idea, this time with the bunk / couch back supported outward at the bottom so that an adult can sit normally.

Mackinaw Bridge

As is normal for us, we went camping with some Airstreams this past weekend.  Some cards fell in line just right and we were able to add this "Exploring Under the Bridge" rally to our list this year.  We camped within view of the Mackinaw bridge and Mackinac Island.  I didn't snap a lot of pictures, but I did get some.  There were about 20 Airstreams there and we were lucky enough to nab a cancelled site on the water.  I tried very hard to get some great shots of the the moon over Lake Huron and of the bridge at night.  But none of them came out well.  I guess I need to start travelling with my tri-pod.

A big ship going through the closest lock at Sault St Marie, MI

Checkin' out the locks

Mason shows us the way

Checkin' out the Upper Tahquanemon Falls in da' U.P.

Fascinating, obviously

More falling water

I told him to smile, this is what I got

The railing was of the perfect height, so it's a rare picture with all of us in it.

The Lower Tahquanemon Falls.  By this time, the kids were pretty well done for hiking and such, so we took a look and then left.  Bummer, 'cause these looked to be the more fun falls since people can actually go swimming in the spillway.

The Birthday Bash

We choose the rallies that we go to for reasons.  In the case of this past weekend it was for utter relaxation, letting the kids play and have a little freedom from mom and dad, and lots of food and drink.  This trip was one with the moho (motor home) and was the widespread debut of it since completion of all the updates and repairs.  By coincidence, we got a lovely spot at the end of the row so that all could see it in it's 1977 glory.  It was also nice that the end spot had a nice breeze!


A day at the Bash starts with a full-spread breakfast prepared by the hosts and volunteers.  There may or may not be activities throughout the day.  For our family personally, it included a nap everyday in the afternoon.  Reading, bike riding, and socializing in the meantime.  This was one of those great rallies where we needed to go nowhere.  Everything we needed was on-site.


Thanks to everyone involved in putting the event together that made it so that my family could really concentrate on being a family and having a great time.  And for being able to visit Airstream friends until all hours of the night after the kids were asleep.

The moho at the (thankfully) breezy end of the row.

The moho visiting friends.

Mason working on learning to ride a bike.

Lots of kid crafts

Food and socialization for all ages.  A requirement at the rallies that we go to.

No, it's not a water bottle convention.  There was just a lot of consumption at this rally be it water or otherwise due to the heat.

Some relief for the little ones.  There were a number of water toys bought for young and old.

The runway to the slip n slide

The pack of kids (oh yeah, and Andrea) waiting to kit the slide

The "Bash Cab".  It ushered folks from place to place and allowed everyone to see the full expanse of Cooper's Lake Campground.