Eastern frontier farming

     Last night was the coldest we have experienced while camping in quite a while.  We can run our heater a little, but the fan takes power and we can only run the generator to recharge the batteries for a few hours each day.  If we run the generator too much we use up all the gas.  So we are very frugal with power.  One light on, water pump off unless being used, heat on just long enough to take the chill off.  So I ran the heat for a little while when we went to bed just to help get the bed warm and then the piles of blankets kept us cozy the rest of the night.  I jumped out of bed for a minute this morning to turn the heat back on for a little bit as we got up.  Still, we are very spoiled compared to tent campers who had to get their fires going to warm against the chill.

     The cold weather seems to have speeded up the process of the turning of the leaves and everywhere we look there are spots of bright red and yellow.  The park is getting busier as the weekend approaches.  The Appalachian Trail runs along the Skyline Parkway.  Many hikers use the park campgrounds, camp stores, laundry and showers.  We ran into one very seasoned hiker in the camp store.  How could I tell?  by the smell.  Wow, he had to have been on the trail for a while.  The whole trail is over 2000 miles long.  Hikers still in Virginia in September who are headed north are not going to make it the full length.   It takes quite a determined hiker to make it the whole way in one season – so many steep ups and downs.  I admire their fortitude.

     Today we drove the last 20 miles of the Parkway and then went to Staunton, Virginia.  Birthplace of Herbert Hoover.  We could have gone to his home, but since the weather was just beautiful we went to the Frontier Culture Museum.  This is a living history outdoor museum which has a series of farm sites with original buildings from 18^th century England, Ireland, and Germany to show the culture of the farmers who settled this area.  There was also a set of frontier America farmsteads from the 1790’s, 1820 and 1850 in America.  An African village and a Native American village were under construction.  The staff who were at each site gave us great information about the origin of the buildings and what life was like during the time they were used.   The place was mostly empty midweek in September and the weather was perfect for walking between each area.  We learned why the Irish (Rick’s ancestors) left Ireland before the potato famine to come to the U.S. and why the Germans left Germany (my ancestors).   In both cases it was mainly because the growing conditions and financial opportunities in Europe were poor so adventurous people emigrated to America.  

     Tomorrow we leave Shenandoah and get back to commercial campgrounds. Less scenic, but with the capacity to run off an electric connection. Everything is a tradeoff.

Driving the Skyline Parkway

     I have just come in to a warm camper after sitting around our campfire.   I wonder how many campfires I have sat around and how many places – too many to count.  There have been so many times when I went from the warmth of the fire into a very chilly sleeping bag.  I am grateful to be crawling into a warm bed tonight was the temperature dips into the low 40s.

     It has been a beautiful day.  Warm sunshine and light breezes.  We drove along much of the Skyline Parkway and stopped at wayside overlooks, the Visitor Center and Skyland Lodge.  We usually try to have a meal at one of the old lodges in each park.  This one was not so huge, but had a dining room with windows on three sides that looked out over the Shenandoah Valley.  A wonderful view and very nice lunch.  The lodge was actually one of the reasons that the park is in existence.  Visitors to Skyline thought that the area would make a good park – similar to the western national parks which were already attracting so many visitors.  In the late 20’s more and more people had cars and were interested in traveling.

     A commission was formed to look into acquiring land to build the park.  Although the area was rugged and remote, dozens of mountain families owned farms and timber acreage that was proposed to be part of the park.  A school teacher came one year to set up a school for the mountain children.  She wrote a paper which claimed that the people living in the mountains were terribly poor, uneducated and had no social structure and support.  Her paper became justification for an act which turned their lands over to the National Park service after “proper compensation.”  This was highly contested but, by 1935, Skyline Parkway was completed and the new park had over a million visitors.

     World War II and gas rationing slowed down the rate of visitors, but since the park is only 85 miles from Washington D.C. it is still one of the most visited parks in the system.  There were not that many people on the roads today so we had a wonderful time stopping to take pictures, watch the wildlife and wander down bits of the Appalachian Trail that crisscross the parkway.  There are still only a few people in the campground so we have been enjoying the quiet and watching deer walk up and down the roads like they own the place.    

    We drove to an overlook that looks west to get some sunset pictures.  The air is very clear after a couple days of rain so we are getting a great view without the smog.  It is very cold tonight, but beautiful.

Shenandoah National Park

     It’s Tuesday.  I need to keep track of what day it is.  It is easy to get confused when we are on the road for a long time.  The weather forecast for today was ominous.  We had rain all night last night – steady, but not too hard.  Then today the forecast was for thunderstorms, strong winds, downpours, flooding and a tornado watch.  Not such great traveling weather.  Fortunately, it was only raining a bit as we packed up.  I am always grateful for good waterproof boots, rain pants and rain jackets.  At least we were dry under all our rain gear as we started our drive.

     We found the wind about 20 miles from Gettysburg.  It bounced the camper around and made it hard to drive. Then by the time we got to the interstate we found the heavy rain.  At times we could only see the truck ahead of us.  Finally, we got to the Welcome to Maryland rest stop and pulled off for a break.  The rain subsided and we drove on through West Virginia to the Welcome to Virginia rest stop after once again hitting a huge rain squall.  This was a four state, multiple thunderstorm, and three big accidents on the interstate, day.

     By the time we left the interstate to drive into the hills, the rain had let up.  The drive up into Shenandoah National Park and onto Skyline Parkway through the park was just beautiful.  The trees are all huge hardwoods – Oaks, maples, ash – and they were dripping with rain.  A heavy mist drifted between the hills.  We saw lots of small branches and leaves down, but the wind that had ripped through the park earlier was gone.

     We had a reservation at Loft Mountain Campground.  When we got to the campground NO ONE WAS HERE.  No ranger at the check-in and, at first we thought, no campers either.  However, as we go to our reserved site we found a dozen other RV’s.  A few other hardy souls enjoying the complete peace of this empty campground.  Our reserved site was tight.  Too tight as it turned out and we took at little bark off a tree trying to get back out of the driveway.  However, with an almost empty campground we had our pick of another site with fewer trees and a longer driveway.  Perfect!

     Now night is falling, the trees are still dripping, it's chilly and the fog has thickened, and it is so quiet.  Nice.

From Lincoln to Eisenhower

     Who is the first president that you remember?  Our first stop this morning was to a farm just outside of Gettysburg that was owned by Dwight D. Eisenhower.  I can remember hearing "We Like Ike" and learning that Ike was the president.  President Eisenhower spent many years in the military including as a  five star General in WWII as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe.  Upon "retirement" from the military he bought this farm in Pennsylvania, but before he could settle into his retirement he was called to be head of the newly formed NATO.  In 1952 he left that post and was elected president.  After 2 terms in office he once again "retired" to his farm.  The house and farm were given to the National Park Service and the house still has many of the original furnishings.  To tour it was a complete blast from the past for those of us who lived in the 50's and 60's.  Mamie Eisenhower was very attached to this farm because she said it was the only house they ever owned having gone from one military post to another, and then to the White House.  We took the tour with a big group of Boy Scouts who were full of interesting observations about the house, but also about President Obama and his rival Mitt Romney.  The boys have all the answers if we would just listen to them.
    After lunch we followed an "auto tour" with a recorded historical vignette at each stop.  Our first stop was the Gettysburg National Veterans Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address to honor the 50,000 men who were killed or wounded on the Gettysburg battleground during the three day battle.  It is just astounding to realize the magnitude of destruction of the Civil War battles.  More than 50% of the men who died were never identified.  Families never knew what happened to their sons, fathers, husbands, brothers.  Quite a sacrifice.
   On one hand the area of the battle seems huge.  One company hiked over 25 miles to reinforce Union lines.  The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment lost over 80% of its men in one battle.  This Regiment was the first to answer the call to battle.  Governor Alexander Ramsey was in Washington D.C. when President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers.  He offered 1000 men from Minnesota.  My Great Great Grandfather Schepperle fought in the Civil War for Minnesota, but not at Gettysburg, I believe (or perhaps I would not be here).  On the other hand, the area seems small for the huge loss of life and number of battles.  Once the fighting was over, the citizens of Gettysburg had to care for the dead and wounded.  There were about 25,000 injured to be cared for by 2500 townspeople.  Such a complete tragedy.
    It has been a day steeped in history for us.  Tomorrow we drive to Shenandoah.

Gettysburg arrival

    We left the toll roads today and drove some back highways to Gettysburg.  Both my campground planner and our GPS routed us on US30.  However, the first thing I saw as we got onto the highway were signs which warned truckers of "sharp curves and steep descents."   We have been on some challenging roads out West so we weren't too worried.  We did a long slow climb through beautiful hardwood forest that is just beginning to turn to gold.  As we got higher we could see long ridges of the mountains.  Pockets of fog hung in some of the valleys.  Just glorious views, but no place to stop for pictures.  We soon reached the summit of the mountain and started down with warnings that it was a 3 mile drop with an 8% grade.  Whew!  Our camper and driver did great and we easily made it to the flat.  THEN there was another climb and another set of warnings.  This time it was 3.5 miles at a 9% grade.  I was very happy to be at the bottom of that one and on our way to Gettysburg.
   We drove through a bunch of small towns.  The houses are all of brick or stone and many of them sit right up next to the road - with their front door about 8' from the traffic. The roads are narrow without much shoulder.  We are over 8.5' wide so it gets pretty tight in places.
    Our campground is outside of Gettysburg by several miles.  We had a short drive today so after settling in and having lunch we drove to the Gettysburg National Historic Battlefield.  It was nice to be driving our little CRV through downtown Gettysburg which has beautiful old buildings - all very close to the street.  It would be fun to stay downtown and just walk around visiting the historic buildings.  The map of the battle of Gettysburg shows that we are probably camped near where some of the Confederate soldiers gathered before the battle.
    We went to the Gettysburg Visitor Center to get an orientation to the battlefield.  A beautiful movie which has both actual black and white photos from the battle as well as a very well done reenactment of the battle. From the movie we went to view an enormous Cyclorama which is a painting that is 359 feet long, 27 feet high and weighs about 3 tons.  It was painted in 1882.  It is set up so that it wraps around a viewing platform as though we were standing on a hill in the center of Gettysburg.  Then, through lights and narration, the battle of Gettysburg is described as though we were there.  The Visitor Center also has an extensive museum with many short videos which describe the events and battles of the Civil War, including Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  I was very proud that I still can recite the opening paragraph.  Junior High history has stuck with me pretty well.
   We will be more prepared tomorrow and will bring the camera to capture the beauty of this corner of history.  I am quite inspired!

Pennsylvania peace

   We are camped in a narrow valley in Pennsylvania.  It seemed that as soon as we drove across the border from Ohio we left flat farmland behind and started climbing over long ridges.  In my usual passion to know about where we are going I found an app for my phone that tells me the altitude so I could watch us climb and then roll down the hills.  We got up to 1243 feet today after starting at about 650.
     Our drive across Ohio and a little bit of Pennsylvania was easier than the Chicago marathon. (I was so tired last night I forgot that we had also crossed Indiana). Although we drove around Toledo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh today there wasn't much traffic - the benefit of doing this on a weekend.
    When we stopped for gas we discovered that there are several "Service plazas" on the Ohio turnpike that have overnight parking for RVs.  So, if you like, you can gas up, eat, and sleep without ever leaving the toll road.  That may be a good idea since it cost us $35 in tolls to cross the state.  This seemed like a bargain when we paid $14.10 for what amounted to 16 miles on the Pennsylvania turnpike.  A vacation going east is less driving, but the cost increases with the price to drive on all the toll roads.  At least gas is still under $4.

   We arrived at our campsite by mid-afternoon.  Plenty of time to set out our lawn chairs and enjoy a little sun.  We had an official sticking new states onto the U.S. map on our door, and then brought out the grill for a hot dog dinner.  I got a chance to chat with my sons and to meet Carter's new puppy via Skype.  I love being able to keep in touch with my family as we enjoy being on the road!
 

Slow go around Chicago

     We stopped last night just short of the Illinois border.  Our Campground Planner had routed our trip through Chicago.  It IS the shortest way to go, but we are 45' long with our "Toad" which makes changing lanes a challenge.  I voted for us to go far outside Chicago on I39.  Rick (definitely more conservative of the two of us) suggested that we do a "modified" Chicago route.  We don't know how much construction we may have run into on I39, but we certainly spent a bunch of time driving on the shoulder on our I90/I385 route.  There was no winner in this decision on which way to go.  We just had to groan and bear it.

    We stopped at the Belvedere Plaza over the freeway before we got very far into Chicago.  I can remember many occasions when we have stopped there, including a trip to Washington D.C. with my parents when I was 12.  I remember that my Dad really loved to stop at these Tollway Plazas because they all had Howard Johnson's 21 flavors of ice cream.  Dad really loved his ice cream and was always delighted to have such a big choice - although Maple Nut was his hands down favorite.

    We lost an hour today as we drove into the Eastern Time Zone - a bad day to lose an hour despite our earlier start this morning.  We drove through Illinois and have made it to Ohio.  Both states that we have not traveled through before in the RV.  I love to add the state stickers to our U.S. and Canada map.  We don't have many left to get and should add several more on this trip.  Not sure how we are going to get the Hawaii sticker unless we just spend a night sleeping on the beach - Hmmm - maybe in March!

    We are in a pretty campground about three miles off the freeway.  It is the weekend now so there are kids in the campground.  I love to see them riding their bikes and scooters.  I have noticed that there are almost no overweight kids out camping.  It is really good to see.  As always we are enjoying people watching in the campgrounds.  This motorhome has fewer windows than the 5th wheel so we have to work a little harder at it.  Last night we saw one poor man back into his site at least 6 times in an effort to get perfectly situated.  I also saw a couple who each had one artificial leg.  I am delighted that technology and acceptance have moved forward so that it is comfortable for folks with disabilities to enjoy camping too.  

    The weather is beautiful - sunny and cool.  So we are enjoying a great evening - sitting at the picnic table with our computers.  What could be better.  I know - we could be taking a walk!

Rolling along Wisconsin Hills

     We had a slow start this morning.  We couldn’t find the second set of keys for the camper (my keys).  We looked everywhere and finally gave up – then, of course, I found them as I was warming up the car before hitching it to the camper.  Thank goodness. 

     I had already moved most of the food into the camper, but had to load up the stuff in the refrigerator this morning.  At least the weather is cool today so the frig will cool off fairly quickly.  It has been in the 90’s the last couple short trips that we took and it seemed to take all day to get the refrigerator cold.

     Our 300 mile drive today took us through the rolling hills of Wisconsin.  I was surprised to see so much color in the trees.  Autumn is swiftly approaching.  We had a fairly relaxing drive without any cross wind and not much traffic.  By the time we got to our lunch stop we had settled in to being on the road again.  It feels great – new places to see, lots to learn from visiting historic sites, and some quiet time together.  

     I saw a lot of wild turkeys in the corn fields.  I can't remember ever seeing wild turkeys until the past few years.  Why were they so scarce?  DDT? Hunting?  Now we see them all the time.  The corn looked pretty good despite the drought - maybe its all dried up in the husk.  I don't know.  But with the nice rain everything looked good as we drove south.  Very pretty. 

    Yesterday’s cool, rainy weather from Minnesota is now with us in Eastern Wisconsin.  It was raining when we arrived at the Hidden Valley RV resort and a possible frost is predicted for tonight.  I’ve put an extra blanket on the bed and pulled out the little electric heater.  Campfire weather, and fleece shirts.  I love it.

Loading up

    I am not as organized as usual for this trip.  We have made quite a few changes in plans - from a Colorado trip (too many fires) to an Appalachian trip and then set the date out by several weeks so we could be around for Jennifer's transplant.  I still don't have any detailed maps for any of the states that we are driving through - Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina (and probably others).  I am at least hoping that I get to check off a couple more states that we have traveled to.
   The camper is now parked in our driveway and clean on the outside thanks to Rick and Kellen.  It was hard to tell Kellen that he wasn't invited on this trip - some day, but not now.  However, I still need to remove some toys and games from summer adventures with Carter and Kellen and put travel books and DVDs more interesting to adults back in - I don't think I can watch "The Incredibles" another time for a while.
    The weather keeps changing and so does my guess on what clothes to bring.  We will be at high altitude in Shenandoah where it is in the 40's at night and also along the southern coast where it is still in the high 80's during the day.  Fortunately we have pretty good storage area so we can cram warm jackets, hat and gloves out of the way until needed.
   This morning I need to shop for maps and food.  This afternoon, with blessedly cooler weather, we will tidy up the inside of the camper and pack in our clothes and non-perishable food. Tonight we sleep in our home bed for the last time for a month and then we are off for an adventure.  Wahoo!
 

Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway

  In  a little less than a week we are planning to hop into our motor home and head east. We feel so lucky to be able to make this trip.  It has been a difficult summer as we watched Jennifer get sicker and sicker.  Many trips to the hospital until she finally wasn't going to get out for months.  Then her miracle happened and her friend Diana donated a portion of her liver to Jennifer.  Now, with both women on their way to a good recovery, we are leaving home for a few weeks.
    When Rick and I first rented an RV for a week to determine whether or not we would enjoy traveling together in a small space, we spent some time in the area around the Smoky Mountains including a short drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was so beautiful that we both vowed to make a trip back and drive more of the road.  So next Thursday we will start our 4000 mile journey.
   We will start our eastern ramblings with a visit to Gettysburg.  Then spend a few days in Shenandoah National Park.   At the south end of Shenandoah the Blue Ridge Parkway begins its winding ribbon of black along the ridges of the Appalachian mountains for over 400 miles.  We will stop at many campgrounds and historic sites along the way, ending our trip along the Parkway at Smoky Mountain National Park.
   We will be taking a side trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  I have wanted to get to this area for a long time and we will be so close that we are going to hop off the parkway and head to the coast for a few days - hopefully the hurricane season will be beyond us by then!
   I look forward, as always, to sharing the journey with all of you.  It is such a pleasure to get your comments as we wander away from home.

After a long plane ride

     We are home.  I love Hawaii, but hate the plane ride.  In the old days we often had more than one seat and could move around and stretch a little.  Now it is so cramped I have a stiff back and knee from such confined sitting for so many hours.
    Our flight home left Kauai at 11 pm so we stayed in the condo until 9 and had a chance to wash the sand and salt off before getting on the plane.  We got home mid-afternoon.  We had a late lunch, a short nap and then a quiet evening.  Today I am almost back to the right time zone.
   I had a few favorites on this trip.  A new favorite beer - Kona Longboard Lager - I don't think I can get it in Minnesota.  A new gelato flavor called Salt Pond which was a sort of sea salt and caramel.  I discovered the rare and endangered plant - the fan palm - which I would have to have if I lived in Hawaii.  My favorite rain gear now and always - REI.  Finally, I have a renewed respect for my husband's driving skills through torrential rain and deep puddles.
    I think that maybe it is my Norwegian heritage, with all the fjords, that makes me so love to be near the sound of the sea.  I love the sound of the surf, it is like breathing to me.  I am happy to be back in my home but I can't wait to go back to the ocean.  Aloha.

National Tropical Botanical Garden

   On our last day here on Kauai we found sunshine greeting us this morning.  The boats are back in the water now that the high surf warnings are over.  It is another beautiful day in paradise.  The bad weather stopped us from taking a few of our planned excursions, but we decided to squeeze one in this morning before packing up for home.
   Kauai is home to three National Tropical Botanical Gardens.  Two of them are just down the road from us - The Allerton gardens and the McBryde garden.  These tropical gardens exist to preserve, research and provide education about the huge diversity of tropical plant life.  Over 90% of the plant and animal species exist in the tropics.  Year by year some of the species are vanishing.  The research facilities at the gardens explore ways to use the plants, how to propagate them so they will continue to exist and to provide habitats to maintain their growth.

  The Allerton Gardens are in a valley along the Lawa'i stream.  This area was originally owned by a Hawaiian Queen who brought in many plants and began the cultivation of the gardens.  Later the property was a sugar plantation.  The Allerton family bought the property and built a beautiful plantation house on a picturesque beach.  We learned on the tour that sunset tours of the house with access to the private beach and an alfresco meal of Hawaiian appetizers is offered several nights a week.  I am going to look into this for our next visit.  The tour took us down the cliffs into the valley where we walked paths along a huge variety of palms, fruit trees and shrubs and flowering plants.  Some of the plants are native to Hawaii, others came on the canoes that first visited the islands, still others arrived with Captain Cook and his explorations.  It was a fascinating and beautiful tour.  
     Our flight home does not leave until 11 pm.  We booked the room until tomorrow so that we could nap and shower before our long flight home.  The day is warm and breezy.  It will be hard to put shoes on to go home after a week of flipflops.  But it is almost spring in Minnesota.  Heading home.

Lazy Beach Day

    Ah, sunshine.  It was wonderful to wake up to singing birds instead of strong wind and rain.  The governor of Hawaii has declared Kauai a disaster area due to the storms.  Schools are closed, roads impassable and bridges washed out.  Most of the worst problems are on the opposite end of the island where they got the most rain.  Down here on the south end we can see a lot of standing water, but most houses are built up off the ground.  We were pretty amazed at how few trees were down.  Obviously the tropical trees are flexible and able to bend well with the strong winds. I am glad to see the sun!
  We had a nice slow breakfast today with some of my favorite Kona coffee, and then went out to the beach along with most of the rest of the residents of the resort.  We spent the whole morning relaxing in the sunshine, watching surfers, whales, little kids, and big waves.  There is a "brown water alert" for most of the beaches on the east and north sides.  Huge mud flows and some sewage spills.  The water here still looks clear and the whales seem happy.  My knee is weary from walking the beach - the sand is deep and the beach is at quite an angle.  But worth every minute of feeling the warm sand between my toes and the waves breaking around my legs.

     The grounds keepers were very busy this morning picking up debris from the storm. Huge palm branches are littering the lawn.  Every building here is surrounded by flowering shrubs.  It is so pretty.   Every day the workers trim, rake and tidy up the landscape so it looks like we are living at Disney World.  There is an orchid garden on the resort grounds along with a series of koi ponds.  After a day of rain and now hot sun the area was wonderfully fragrant.  The birds seem to love it too and I am discovering a lot of new varieties of familiar Minnesota birds - for example a grey and white bird with a red head that is a cardinal.  I love my Ibird app on my phone that helps me identify the unusual birds.  And NO this is not because I am an old lady, I have been bird watching since I was a kid.

     After some souvenir shopping we had a lazy afternoon full of reading, beach, sunshine and naps.  My very best kind of day.  Dinner tonight was at a fancy Tapas bar.  We enjoyed dinners of tapas with Arik and Jennifer in Barcelona, Spain.  One of my best memories of our family cruise.   This Hawaiian version of tapas was fancier with Asian/French "Fusion" dishes.  A little pretentious, but still delicious.  After dinner we found a little space for some ice cream.  I am sooo full.