Epic Adventure 3: Homesteading and the Oregon Trail (Part 1)

Welcome Center, Lebanon, KS

2020 was a year that I focused mostly on upgrades to the camper as travel was difficult. We decided to try for another epic road trip in 2021. It's been a busy year so I'm just getting around to writing up about our trip. Building on a route I had been working on for a few years, we decided to check off one of my bucket list items in early summer, Yellowstone National Park. So with the school wrapping up and my busy summer season closing in, we launched out for a 16-day, 5000+ mile journey west to squeeze in some adventure before the summer heat and crowds could bring our spirits down. 

Last time we headed out west was October 2013. That trip was to hit up South Dakota and take the kids to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. Unfortunately, a government shutdown had impacted our trip and we never really got to enter the Badlands. This time we were going further west, but hoped to route back through the Badlands on our return. We left Georgia and began our same route up through St. Louis and over to Kansas City. From there, we continued on to Beatrice, Nebraska. It's a small town in the middle of nowhere but has a nice quiet campground, Riverside Park Campground, we were able to stop for a night. It's run by the city and was only $20 for the night. Nice pads and hookups. Definitely a nice little gem of a place to crash for a night on your way through. 

The main reason we stopped in Beatrice was because we wanted to visit Homestead National Historic Site just west of the city.  Homestead is a historical look into the laws, people, and places that were tied to the Homestead Acts passed in the 1860s. The earliest people to push west took the Oregon Trail for an opportunity at land in Oregon in the 1850s. This was prior to the Homestead Acts in the 1860s, but the Homestead Acts help push more settlers into the other parts of the west like Nebraska. The last homesteader actually completed his requirements to obtain land in Alaska in 1979 a few years before the Homestead Act was repealed.

This was an important stop on our history lessons for the trip with the kids. Later we would dive more into the Oregon Trail with them. The staff at Homestead were super friendly. I would recommend stopping in for a bit of history and to say hi if you're in the area.

After leaving Homestead NHS, we dipped down into Kansas to visit the Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States (aka the lower 48). Just outside the small town of Lebanon, Kansas, this stop is somewhere you have to put on your agenda if you want to see it because you won't just stumble on it. It's almost halfway between I70 and I80 in the middle of nowhere. It was an hour and a half detour from our original route but the closest we could see ever being to it. So we decided to get a photo before moving on.

As we headed northwest, we stopped in Gothenburg, Nebraska at the Pony Express Station for another history lesson on the early days of mail delivery. The Pony Express Trail and the Oregon Trail (along with the California and Mormon Pioneer Trails) follow the same path through Nebraska and into Wyoming. They diverge in western Wyoming with the Oregon Trail headed on a northwestern route and the others dipping southwest to Salt Lake City, Utah. From Gothenburg, we followed the Oregon Trail up into Wyoming. 

More Oregon Trail adventures to follow in Part 2!

A Gap, a Boat, and a Cave

Due to Covid19, our summer vacation plans got rearranged. We were planning a trip to Florida and Disney originally since I had to go to a conference down there in July. That was all canceled and so we looked at the map and decided to take a different trip this year. We headed north instead to Kentucky. 

Cumberland Gap and Cumberland Falls

Our first stop was to camp at Falls Creek Cabins and Campground in south eastern Kentucky near Cumberland Falls. Due to Covid19 it wasn't very busy, but this seemed like a nice place to stay. There are various campsites and many cabins for rent. The site also is home to an outdoor recreation center that includes zip lines and rafting/kayaking. They also have grubbing for gem stones/arrowheads, which the kids really enjoyed. We drove down the road a mile or so to Cumberland Falls State Park. The views of the falls and the river are really amazing, We enjoyed walking the trails and watching the falls. 

After Cumberland Falls, we headed over to Cumberland Gap. It's about an 1.5 hour drive over to the corner of Kentucky where it meets Virginia and Tennessee. Cumberland Gap is steeped in history. From its use by Native American tribes, to Daniel Boone and the forming of the Wilderness Road to open up the frontier to colonists, Cumberland Gap has played a key role in American History. Cumberland Gap National Historic Park aims to protect the land and teach future generations of the area's importance. Due to having the camper attached, we could not drive up to Pinnacle Overlook unfortunately. They do not allow trailers on the twisty road, and I didn't feel like leaving it in the parking lot of the welcome center. The cave tours were also not running due to Covid19. 

The Ark Encounter, Big Bone Lick SP, and the Creation Museum

After exploring the southeastern part of the state, we headed northwest. Our next campsite found us at Big Bone Lick State Park just southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. The site is known for fossils and mammoth bones found there, and the welcome center has a lot of that history documented for visitors to view. There is also a bison herd housed here and they frequently have programs where you can get up close and learn about the bison. The kids really enjoyed the bison program and seeing them so close. The campground is nice and on top of a small mountain. It seemed to be a very popular campground and was full during the weekend. They were also doing a Christmas in July campground parade and decorating competition which made the campground super festive and fun. We definitely enjoyed our time here and the other campers we met were very friendly. The campground almost felt like a small, friendly town. 

While staying at Big Bone Lick, we ventured out to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. I picked this state park due to it's location about the same distance from both of those attractions. We had bought combo tickets for both attractions. We visited the Ark Encounter first and it was a Friday. It wasn't too crowded but there is a lot to see and do. We spent most of the day there touring the Ark reproduction and visiting the outside animal exhibits. The kids even got to ride camels! We took our own lunch and bottles of water. The Ark provides kids a full experience of what things might have looked like and how they worked as well as providing adults with thought provoking statements and questions. We enjoyed our time there, and I definite suggest planning for a full day of maybe 5 hours or so. 

The next day we ventured to the Creation Museum. They had an outdoor garden area and animals that the kids enjoyed. Much of the main experience is inside the main museum. There is a 4D theatre and a long winding path through various rooms discussion creation, the flood, and other events from the Bible. I would say that the kids definitely had a more fun and engaging experience at the Ark. The Creation Museum is more thinking and reading focused, and I would not recommend for kids younger than middle school. Most of the younger kids I saw there were ready to move on to the next thing faster than their parents could read the content. So if you are interested in visiting these and have young children, stick to the Ark and save a little money. Adults would probably enjoy the museum more, but I do feel like a chunk of it was repetitive to what we saw at the Ark the day before. I think they could probably wrap the Creation Museum experience into the Ark Encounter and just have a single attraction. 

Mammoth Cave NP, Lincoln Birthplace NHP, and Lincoln Boyhood Home NM

We left Big Bone Lick and headed southwest towards Louisville. Our ultimate destination was Mammoth Cave National Park. However, we had a couple of stops before we reached it. We stopped at Lincoln Birthplace NHP and Lincoln's Boyhood Home NM. Lincoln was born and spent the early part of his life in Hodgenville, Kentucky just south of Louisville before moving to Indiana. The two sites are about 15 mins apart on opposite sides of town. Don't miss driving through Hodgenville though to see the town square with the boy and man statues of Lincoln peering across the square at each other. Lincoln Birthplace NHP is the site of the first Lincoln Memorial built around 1907. The well known Lincoln Memorial in D.C. has a similar exterior look to this one and was built after this one. After touring the sites and letting the kids complete their Jr. Ranger badges, we drove south. 

Our last destination of the trip was Mammoth Cave National Park. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system. There are lots of different tours available for various caves in the park, but the they were only offering self-guided tours of the main cave during our visit due to Covid19. There were limited numbers allowed, and they forced spaced entry by family. Get your tickets ahead of time! I got there early in the morning on a Monday and had to settle for 1pm ticket time. By the time we got back after lunch for our tour, they were sold out till Thurs of that week! I had made a poor assumption that due to Covid19 and it being a Monday it would be slow. Fortunately we were able to get in. The main cave is huge and splits off of the largest room in two directions. We headed down the longest side first and then returned to the main room to take the other path. It's not as muddy as some caves I've been in and there was plenty of room to spread around. 

They had rangers stationed throughout the cave off the paths to answer questions or help as needed. All the rangers we met were super friendly and helpful. Many of them had lanterns, but a few were sitting in the dark. It soon became a game with the kids of how many rangers can you spot in the cave. Make sure to take a flashlight or headlamp. (My apologies to the ranger hiding in the dark that got blinded by my headlamp light!) It's also cool down there though not as cold as I have seen in some caves. Since it was July, I was happy we were walking in the cave and not hiking outside it. 

Overall, we had a great little trip and were able to check some National Parks off our list. If you're looking for a little one week loop through Kentucky, these would be some fun options. 

A Weekend at Richard B. Russell State Park in our U-haul Camper

This past weekend we planned a camping trip with some friends to visit Richard B. Russell State Park. The park sits on the edge of Lake Russell, a 26k+ acre lake with about 540 miles of undeveloped shoreline. The lake sits on the Savannah River on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. There are two camping options: Richard B. Russell State Park in Georgia or Calhoun Falls State Park in South Carolina. We opted for Richard B Russell since it was closer.

The lake feels really private and quiet due to the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers keeps a 300 foot right of way around the lake that prevents any development on the lake shore. So unlike places like Lake Oconee or Lake Lanier where the shoreline is dotted with giant homes and docks, all you see is forests. This also translates to less wake when you're out on the water. I saw a lot of bass boats on the lake and for good reason and the state record Striper was caught on these waters.  The only boats I saw that weren't bass boats were the ones at the campground docks. I even took our canoe out with the little ones for a bit since the water was so calm. Now granted, we were there the 4th weekend in September, which is probably not peak season.

The campground has 28 sites with water/electric hookups. There are also 20 cottages at the park. We were in site 22 with friends in 23 and 24 across the road from us. Our site was comfortable for our small camper and a tent. We were not far from the bathhouse. Note there is only a single bathhouse though for all 28 sites to share. It does have a laundry and showers. The campground has WiFi via access points scattered about. There was a nice group picnic shelter behind our site also. A few of the sites do overlook the lake but there's still a walk down to the beach/docks via various paths. Most folks beached their boats, though I saw a few pontoons tied up at a couple of the docks available. There is a boat ramp in the campground and a parking area for boat trailers so that you don't have to figure out how to cram that into your site with the camper. The one downside is that the road through the campground is a single large loop and is hilly. This makes it a bit challenging for kids with bikes/scooters to ride around. Combine that with some folks driving too fast to see over hill or around the curve and it makes the campground a bit less kid friendly than others we've been in.

There is a day use area that's not far via boat from the campground but does require about 5 mins via car. The day use area has covered pavilions, playgrounds in shade of trees, picnic areas, and a nice beach. (We were the only ones on the beach the morning we went.) The beach area was clean but there are no trees/shady areas near it. I saw two pavilions off to the sides that you could retreat to for shade. So bring a beach tent or umbrella if you need shelter from the sun. A short walk from the beach is a boat dock so if you want to use the boat to get there from the campground (it's about 2 mins via boat) you have a place to tie up. The beach and water were very clean and clear. The kids loved chasing minnows in the water.

Overall, we had a great weekend and the staff we interacted with were very nice and helpful. The kids had a fun time and really enjoyed playing in the lake. We don't always go with other families but it was nice to have 5 families and let the kids play together and roam between the sites. We all agreed it was definitely a place to come back to for a weekend.

A Trip out of this World in our U-haul Camper

With the wife in nursing school full-time this year, we don't have many options for traveling. We did manage to squeeze in a spring trip thanks to her and the kids being on spring break at the time. My son has gotten really into space recently so as an early birthday present, we planned a trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. This would be a 4 day trip.

Little River Falls

We left out on Tuesday with the goal of stopping by the Little River Canyon National Preserve. After a few hours behind the wheel, we made it and got the kids setup with the Jr. Ranger program (we're big fans of the NPS Jr. Ranger program). Little River Canyon is an incredible area along the Little River in Northeast Alabama. It's a great place for hiking and outdoor adventure. Little River Falls is close to the visitor center and the views are amazing. The park staff at the visitor's center were really great and friendly. On the way home, we would come back through the park and take part of a scenic drive as our last little adventure before heading home.

With potential storms and rain heading from Mississippi towards Huntsville, we pushed on after our brief stop to try to get into to our camping destination before the rain. We rolled into Monte Sano State Park around 6:30 pm and setup camp. With the rain expected to blow in that night, I opted not to setup everything (camp chairs and screen room included) until the next morning. I had packed most of the gear in the car or in the waterproof action packers on the roof. Monte Sano SP is located on top of Monte Sano Mountain and overlooks Huntsville from the east. It has lots of trails for hiking and mountain biking and even has an planetarium and observatory that's open on Saturday nights (unfortunately we left Friday so didn't get a chance to check it out). The campground and bathhouses are nice. Though our first campsite, (#18) was on a curve and had someone directly across from us in a much larger rig. The layout of the entrances to these sites made it impossible for even us to get our tiny camper backed in due to the sharpness of the turn. The camp hosts at check-in had even warned me to feel free to come back if I couldn't squeeze in. (So I'd avoid #18 unless you're setting up a tent.) We were moved over to #21 which proved to be a better site. After being at the campground, I'd actually recommend sites in the #44-61 range as many of those are on the ridge with great views of the valley. I'll definitely be looking to book there next time.

After unhooking the camper, we decided to grab some dinner. After driving all day, I wanted something quick; so we headed down the mountain into Huntsville. We lucked out and found a Ted's Bar-B-Q at the bottom of the mountain. I had been introduced to Alabama white Bar-B-Q sauce a decade or more ago close by in Decatur, Alabama at Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q. White barbecue sauce is pretty awesome and different from many places you go. So if you're ever in Huntsville area, try out Ted's (or Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama) and grab the white barbecue sauce.

Bedding down in the bathhouse during the storm.

After dinner, we bedded down for the night and I listened to the weather radio. If you've seen my post on being prepared for bad weather, you know I always carry a weather radio. The storms were getting bad, and we were on top of the mountain so I prepared to move us to the bathhouse if things got bad. They did. I've grown up around thunderstorms all my life so they don't really bother me. But I know when they can get out of hand too. When the reports rolled in of the Huntsville airport seeing 70 mph winds, I woke up the wife and kids and moved us to the bathhouse. The NOAA weather radio broadcast antenna on top of the mountain went offline as the front edge of the storm hit the mountain with wind, hail, and rain knocking out the power. Several other campers joined us to weather the storm. As with most southern storms, they blow by pretty quickly. After about 30 mins to wait out the worst, the weather had settled into a calm rain on the back end of the front. No major damage was detected to campers other than a few that didn't get their awnings up and they tore in the gusts. Lots of limbs had come down but power was restored within mins. We moved back to the camper and slept calmly the rest of the night.

The cold front rolled in behind rain dropping the temperature to the 30F's. So we put on our warm clothes the next morning and prepared to spend the day at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This was my third time there and it was still as much fun as I recall from my childhood. The kids had a blast and we had a picnic in the car for lunch (because it was still cold and windy). We watched an IMAX movie about the space station that was incredible. The kids wanted to see another 3D movie so we were able to get a discounted ticket for one the next morning. Yes, you can buy tickets for the movies without buying admission, they'll escort you to the theater when you arrive for your movie. So if you're going to be there for a couple days, you may want to buy admission for one day and the movie ticket for the next day.

While we were in Huntsville, we also were able to meet up with my cousin that had moved there several years back. It's always good to see family. We also discovered a great market/grocery at the bottom of the mountain called the Star Supermarket. I wish we had one of these in our town. The people were so friendly and they really have a lot to offer. This is what a small town market should be. They even sell firewood bundles for about half what the state park does. On our final day, we packed up early. We left the campground and drove back down the mountain into Huntsville for breakfast. I love finding a good breakfast place for the last morning. We stumbled on Galen's. It's got plenty of parking room for a camper and the staff are really friendly. The breakfast was excellent!

With full belly's, we started the trek home. Cathedral Caverns was on our way so we made a stop so the kids could get their first cave experience! The downside to this park, like most caves, is that you can't do anything without a guide. You can see the mouth of the cave and the gift shop, but beyond that you have to pay to get into the cave on a guided tour. The cave tour is about a 1.5 mile (round trip) in and out hike that takes around 1.5 hrs. It has some really beautiful views. We enjoyed it and our guide was great. At about $20/adult and almost $10/child (under 13), it's not the most economical way to spend a couple of hours. However, it is comparable to Desoto Caverns and Ruby Falls tour prices. Check Cathedral Caverns website for tour times and rates before you go.

Even with the ranging weather conditions on the trip, we had a great time. I'd like to go back and spend more time with family and we'll definitely camp at Monte Sano SP again. It was good for us to get away and break up the monotony of our daily life. Adventure always seems to me to be a way to refill your cup. It puts excitement back in your life after the daily grind. Knowing how busy this year is and the minimal opportunities we'll have as a family to get away until next year, I'm thankful for the opportunity to get out and go. Hopefully, I can squeeze another trip in this summer between some renovations I want to focus on. More about those to come.

Epic Adventure 2: The Sun Sets... (Part 6 of 6)

(This is a continuation of a series of posts on our second long distance trip, see the first post if you want to start at the beginning.)

Sunset. It happens every single day. Many days we don't even think about it. Some days we look forward to it; others we complain we need more time. Some sunsets are uneventful, some are memorable. On this trip, we saw many sunsets that were memorable in many different places. It's hard to say which was the best. All were embraced for the fleeting moments they existed.

As we packed up to leave Acadia, we felt that we were nearing the sunset of our great adventure. We had a few more days till it was over, but the long haul home would begin when we pulled out of that amazingly beautiful place. We packed up the camper and hooked up prepared to leave. The ranger came by and stopped to check me out while I was finishing up so I wouldn't have to go by the office on the way out. We met a nice lady with 3 huskies who was also packing up and had been camping across from us. After a brief chat, we hit the road and pulled out of the Schoodic Penninsula headed down US Rt 1. After winding down Rt. 1 for a while we stopped for lunch and gas. A great little seafood joint, Carrier's Mainely Lobster, served us our last batch of fried clams from the northeast. This little place had a wall with buoys memorializing local fishermen who had died. It was quite a beautiful display.

Further south we routed over to I95 to pick up some speed. We were targeting Rhode Island for the evening which was over 300 miles away with Boston traffic and plenty of road construction between us and there it was going to take a while. When we hit the bypass around Boston, I noticed the sign for the Minute Man National Park. While this had not been on the list of places to go, I could not pass up seeing where our nation was born. The bridges in Boston were all decorated with American flags from 4th of July just a couple days before. It was a beautiful sight. It was after the park visitor center had closed but I did get to the Minute Man Statue as the sun was setting.

We pressed on and found our second hotel stay in Rhode Island. Since Acadia didn't have a bath house, we were all in need of a good warm shower and more spacious quarters always are a treat after days in the camper. We crashed another Comfort Inn, this one had a nicer breakfast but the room smelled like a sweaty locker room. We also took the opportunity to use the coin laundry there to do a load to refresh our range of outfits.

The next day we made a brief stop at the Roger Williams National Memorial. This is a quick stop that educates you on Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. He's also considered the father of the separation of church and state movement.

We then visited a friend of my son's whose family was summering in Rhode Island. It was a rainy day but always fun for the kids to have playmates for a few hours. We went down to the beach and drove around looking at some of the New England countryside.

We pressed on south skirting around NYC area and taking the Tappan Zee bridge further inland. We routed on south and made Delaware late that night to stay with my wife's best friend. We had a great visit and stayed through lunch the next day. The further south we drove the warmer it was getting. Then it was off again to the south crossing the Bay Bridge and navigating around D.C. down through Virginia and back to my cousin's in North Carolina. It was great to stop back in with the whole family. My kids getting so see their cousins they had not seen in a few years. I watched the kids pair up based on personalities. We went for a walk around their lake that is at the back of their neighborhood around to a local park. It had a new obstacle (read American Ninja Warrior) course. My son is a big fan of these and it had just opened.

After lunch we again hit the road for the last leg home. Coming home is always bittersweet. There's the enjoyment of sleeping in your own bed and getting to spread out after days of living in a tiny camper. The fun of seeing friends and family and coworkers. The comfort of life returning to normal. There also is some sadness that the adventure has come to a close. Our 16 day, 4000-mile journey had involved 2 countries and brought us lots of memories along the way. So as the sun set that evening, we crawled into our beds ready to get back to the normal life, but vowing to take another great adventure. And we'll continue to make taking adventures a regular part of our life.

Epic Adventure 2: Carved out (Part 5 of 6)

(This is a continuation of a series of posts on our second long distance trip, see the first post if you want to start at the beginning.)

With another dream stop on the way home and limited time, we pulled out of Prince Edward Island the next morning. We began to retrace our steps back to the Maine border. As we crossed New Brunswick, we stopped off at St. Johns again now that it was clear and were able to take in Reversing Falls. It's an interesting site and there's plenty of rapids and whirlpools. We went to a little park on the north side of the Reversing Falls Bridge. It's a nice area and there are 3 islands in the middle of the river upstream. Unfortunately, there's a giant paper mill on the opposite bank that kills the natural beauty of the area.

We headed back on the road and made the border crossing later than anticipated but without any issues. Back in the US we made a detour to St. Croix Island International Historic Site. The site is maintained by both Canada and the US as the actual island sits in the middle of the river on the border. You would need a boat to access it but on the U.S. side there is a visitors center. While it was closed when we were there, they have a self-guided tour with character sculptures that is quite good. It tells the story of how the French landed and began to build a settlement there. One of the first French settlements. A harsh winter killed about half of the men and while they did make some friends with local tribes, they eventually packed up and moved on to start another settlement that is now Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

After the brief stop we headed south winding through two-lane highways until we reached the coast. We ended up on US1 and stopped in Machias where we grabbed some dinner. We happened into town as the sun was setting and lots of folks were milling around. As we climbed back into the car to try to reach our campground destination, we heard pop, pop, pop. It dawned on us that we had just arrived back in the U.S. on the 4th of July after spending Canada Day in Canada. We had seen lots of little New England towns with their American Flags decorating the towns on the way north and thought about how nice it was to see the flag everywhere you looked. But it hadn't settled in that we would be returning on the 4th of July. The kids watched the fireworks out the window as I drove south trying to get to our destination for the evening.

Our destination was the new campground on the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park. We pulled in late and found our reservation information on the bulletin board. We found our site and proceeded to setup the minimal essentials to get everyone to bed. It had been a long day of driving from PEI to Acadia, about 360 miles. As I was getting stuff setup a couple of park rangers pulled up to check on us. They were the friendliest rangers I've ever run into. They asked if we needed any help setting up since it was so late and told us to swing by the office in the morning and they would give us some keys to the best spots to visit and how to get around since there was apparently a lot of road construction going on around Bar Harbor. We laid our heads down for some much needed rest with the anticipation bubbling inside to see what Acadia had to offer the next day (well at least my excitement was bubbling!).

The next morning we had breakfast and then headed over to the office. We picked up Jr. Ranger books for the kids which is a must at any park. I strongly recommend the Jr. Ranger program. It's free and it really gets the kids deeper into the history and science of the parks. After getting the low down on the constructions and hints on what to check out, we disconnected from the camper and climbed in the car to explore the Schoodic Peninsula. Schoodic is about 45mins north of the main part of the park, Mt. Desert Island. As such it's quieter and the campground is super nice since it is only a couple years old. The campground is very wooded and secluded with lots of trees between sites. There are no showers at any campgrounds in Acadia but Schoodic has nice restrooms and electricity and water hookups for campers. The Schoodic Peninsula has a loop road that you can drive around and eventually wind your way out to the point. the views are amazing. the rocks are incredible and while we were out there at the point the crab/lobster boats were pulling in pots not more than 100 yards offshore.


After a wonderful morning on Schoodic, we headed down to Mt. Desert Island. This is the main area of Acadia National Park. Scientists believe that diversity in landscapes were caused by a glacier carving it out, moving and depositing rocks and boulders from further inland. Thanks to the rangers we were able to by pass traffic and construction and move along fairly easy to the loop road. We enjoyed all the stops along the loop. Jordan Pond is simply gorgeous though this was busy season and the wait to get into the Jordan Pond House (at 2pm) was almost an hour. We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain and had a great time. We ran into a NASA volunteer who had his telescope setup to view the sun. The kids really enjoyed looking through it with it's special filter and learning about what they were seeing. It was an incredibly clear day and you could see for miles from the top of Cadillac Mountain. Back down off the mountain,we left the park and wound our way to see some more of the coast and the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. The kids did complete their Jr Ranger program and got their badges. Over all it was an incredible day. I want to go back and spend some time doing hiking and fishing. Maine in the summertime is a wonderful experience.

That night we slept at the campsite and I was a little sad that we would be leaving the next day for the long trek home.

The adventure continues with Epic Adventure 2: The Sun Sets.

Epic Adventure 2: The Land of Kindred Spirits (Part 4 of 6)

(This is a continuation of a series of posts on our second long distance trip, see the first post if you want to start at the beginning.)

Prince Edward Island was our primary destination for this trip. After almost 2000 miles, I found myself approaching the bridge. PEI sits in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is separated from the mainland by the Northumberland Strait. There are 2 ways to get a camper onto PEI. You can go through Nova Scotia and take the ferry which takes about 75 mins to cross. Or you can take the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick across. The Confederation Bridge is about 8 miles long and is the longest bridge over ice-covered water in the world. It takes about 12 minutes to drive across the bridge. It's quite a marvel to be driving over that much water for that amount of time. The bridge replaced an old ice ferry at that location and was opened in 1997.  It is a toll bridge but you only pay to get off the island; there's no toll to get on the island. The base rate was about 50 CAD + 8 CAD per additional axle. It's a bit cheaper than the ferry crossing and definitely faster.  (Crossing the Confederation Bridge)

After crossing the bridge, we wound our way across the island to the northern shore. We were headed for Cavendish. The area where Lucy Maud Montgomery lived and that became the setting for  Anne of Green Gables. We drove to Prince Edward Island National Park and setup camp at the Cavendish Campground. The campground at Cavendish is rather large and seemed to be busy while we were there. It's very wooded though (at least in the B section where we were). Two downsides to the campsite we soon discovered. First was the time of the year and the fact that (like other beach areas in the south we've visited) there are a ton more mosquitoes inland. On the beach with the wind they're not bad, but bug spray was a must. The second was the nice sign they ranger had put up behind our site warning of the poison ivy. The woods right behind our site were covered in it. It didn't really bother us since the kids are old enough to understand and stay on the road's trails, but you might have to keep your eye on younger ones. There are some camping spots closer to the beach which are mostly for tents/popups with no services. They do have an amazing view though. We wandered on the beach at night and watched the sunset. It was really nice and the sand is red at Cavendish. It's a unique sight to see a long red beach. After we setup camp, we went to sleep anticipating a lot of adventure the next day.

In the morning we woke up and headed for Green Gables. The Green Gables Heritage Place is located in PEI National Park at Cavendish. It's down the road from the campground and surrounded by a golf course. This house is the inspiration for Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 novel and actually belonged to her aunt and uncle. The house and grounds are well kept and staffed with knowledgeable folks. They do walking tours and you may even see Anne and her kindred spirit, Diana. After many photos and walking in the Haunted Woods, we left Green Gables and drove down the road to Avonlea Village. This is a period town area with shops and restaurants built to match what Cavendish looked like during Montgomery's time. It's a great place for lunch. We had some amazing Grilled Cheese sandwiches at Moo Moo Grilled Cheese, which locally sources all of their ingredients from the island. I had a Cheezy Mac and Pulled Pork sandwich (which is cheddar, mac and cheese, pulled pork and caramelized onions) all from the island. I could probably eat lunch there once a week if it was closer. We also visited the site of the house (no longer standing) where Montgomery grew up.

French River, PEI

Fishing villages dot the landscape along the bays and inlets. We fell in love with French River, a small fishing village on the north side of the New London Bay opposite of Cavendish. As you come into French River there is a field of lupins (which cover the island along the sides of the roads).The lupins were in full bloom in July when we were there and it's quite amazing to see all the flowers covering the whole island. With lighthouse among the dunes and red sand beach that stretched into a red rock shoreline, French River was one of the most beautiful places I've been. It's low key and there was only about 3 people on the beach.

After that we drove around the island some. PEI is a big agricultural community with over 1/3 of the land being farms. Potatoes are the largest crop and export for the island, but they also raise pigs and cattle and grow other crops. Roaming further along the north shore of the island we found teacup rock along an unmarked beach near the entrance to Malpeque Bay.

The next day we packed up camp as we expected to head south on the first leg of the trek home. Before that, we wanted to do a little more exploring of the island. My wife wanted to visit the Anne of Green Gables Museum just outside of French River. This house was where Montgomery was married and lived for a bit after being married and she called it Silver Bush in some of her other novels. They also do carriage rides but we unfortunately didn't have time to do one and they had a tour bus there who had booked out the rides till after lunch.

Next we headed for the south shore of the island and turned northwest at Canoe Cove where we spotted some fields of Canola in full bloom. They looked like a yellow sea waving in the wind.. We drove northwest along the south coast headed for the Confederation Bridge. At Cape Traverse we took a local road down to the beach to get a view of the bridge. The bridge connects New Brunswick to Borden-Carlton which is about 5 mins northwest of Cape Traverse. Cape Traverse was the original ice boat ferry launch. The iceboat would launch from there and cross the Northumberland Straight to New Brunswick. The Ferry had been operated out of there for much of the 1900s until the bridge opened in 1997. We talked with a local man, who'd spent most of his life on the island and learned a lot about the old ferry from him. I could sense a sadness when he talked about it that it was now part of the history of the island and no longer part of the character of the island. While a ferry takes longer to cross, it does give you the opportunity to slow down and enjoy life. You get to meet folks and talk. With the bridge, as much of a modern feat of engineering as it is, you drive across solo. No interactions with anyone. The destination is more important than the journey in these times. I probably spent 30-45 mins standing on the sea wall where the old ferry used to be talking with him. A stranger sharing a culture and way of life I wouldn't get to experience except through his words and memories. (Always take time to talk to the locals, you will learn more than any tourist brochure has to offer.)

I thanked him for his time and we headed on. It was time to leave this beautiful island and begin our journey home. We still had a lot of days and miles and adventures to go. One day we will come back. It's such a wonderful place; a dream land. You can really understand how much Montgomery loved this place and why she wrote about it.

The Trans-Canada Hwy stretched out before us towards St. John as we settled in for a bit of drive time it was going to be a long travel day. Maine, here we come...

The adventure continues with Epic Adventure 2: Carved Out

Epic Adventure 2: Not where we're supposed to be... (Part 3 of 6)

(This is a continuation of a series of posts on our second long distance trip, see the first post if you want to start at the beginning.)

It was the day I was going to meet up with my family after being on the road a week. The plan was that they would fly from Atlanta to Manchester, NH where I would pick them up. I had spent the night at a quiet truck stop halfway between Concord and Manchester. Their flight wasn't expecting to land till after 4pm. I was a bit ahead of schedule due to leaving out Tuesday night instead of waiting till Wednesday morning. But one thing I've learned in life is that things don't always go as planned...

My family was to catch a flight that morning out of Atlanta to Charlotte with a 2.5hr layover. From Charlotte, they would fly to Manchester, NH where I would pick them up. I was in Concord and grabbed an EZPass for the toll roads that we would hit on the way back south while waiting on them (post on the toll situation coming soon). While airports aren't designed for RVs, they are designed for shuttle buses and fortunately the U-haul is about the same height as shuttle buses. So I wasn't worried about clearances inside of an airport. My biggest concern had been about whether I could find a spot in the cell phone lot or if I'd have to wait at a gas station or something off site. Little did I know when I woke up that morning that would be the least of my worries that day. The plane was delayed an hour getting to Atlanta. Once it arrived, my family boarded expecting to still be able to make the connection in Charlotte. Unfortunately, the plane had a flat tire and that takes an hour or more to change. By the time my family got to Charlotte, they landed 10 mins after the connecting flight had taken off. There was only one other connection to Manchester later that day. I had hope that the family could get on it since they only had carry on backpacks and no checked bags. That didn't work out as the flight was oversold and only had 2 seats available. My family needed 3 seats.

After many phone calls and my wife communicating with airline representatives in Charlotte, they were able to get them on a flight to Boston which was only 2 hrs from me. It would take the flight 2 hrs to get to Boston so I had time to make it there. At least the airports in the NE are close together. Once I received the text from my wife that they were seated on the plane departing for Boston, I had to recalculate our trip trajectory. We had booked a campsite that evening in the White Mountains near Mt. Washington at White Birches Campground. I called them to let them know we would not be able to make it due to the flight issues. And that I now had to drive 2 hrs in the opposite direction to get to my family.  Unfortunately, they refused to refund my money for the situation. I can only guess that they must have been so busy they were turning folks away before I called and had no empty sites at all.

I've heard nightmares about navigating Boston. I've never been there so I didn't know what to expect. The only thing I did know, was that most of the routes to the Logan involved tunnels. And you can't take propane tanks or other hazmats into the tunnels. That left me pulled off at a gas staging on my phone looking at a way to route around those to get to Logan. There's one bridge the Chelsea St. Bridge. But to get there you have to wind through surface streets. So i got off the I-93 before the tunnels and routed into the surface streets of Boston. I'm not sure I could find the exact route again, but it involved cobble stone back alleys and many complicated and confusing intersections. A couple of wrong turns due to being in the wrong lane and traffic (did I mention they were landing at 6:30pm?) and I found my way to the bridge. After crossing it came the fun of getting into the airport and finding out which terminal they were at. By the time I got to them, they'd been on the ground for about 30 mins. Clearances in the airport weren't a problem as I'd originally thought. Some large buses roll into Logan and are way taller than my camper. It was great to finally be able to be together again as a family. It was quite the adventure for my daughter's first plane ride too. 

With everyone in the car, we headed north for I-95. First stop was to find some dinner. We stumbled onto Sal's Pizza in Newburryport, MA. The pizza was really good, and we were all hungry from a long day. A few more miles north we crossed back into New Hampshire and pulled into the welcome center to spend the night. We found a quiet spot at the very back of the truck and trailer parking area and bedded down for the night as a family.

The next morning after a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (they're one very corner in the northeast which made me super happy), we headed north into Maine. Our EZPass came in handy on the I-95 in NH as we cruised through the EZPass lane without having to slow down at all. Once into Maine we split off onto US Rt 1 for a while and wound our way north. Lunch was an incredible portion of Seafood at Ken's Place in Scarborough, ME. The fried clams were amazing! We stopped in Freeport, ME to visit the big L.L.Bean store and continued north.

Just north of Bangor we swapped over to the ME Rt 9. This is a long road to Calais (our targeted border crossing for Canada) with not much on it. There's only 1 gas station/restaurant we passed as we drove for a good 2 hours (~100 mi) on this road. After refueling in Calais and fixing a tail light that was out on the camper, we headed for the border crossing into Canada. It went fairly smooth and only took a few minutes and then we were into New Brunswick, Canada. An hour later we found a hotel in St. Johns. Tomorrow would be the final northbound leg of our journey.

Exploring the bottom of
the Bay of Fundy at Alma, NB

Exploring Hopewell Rocks
at the Bay of Fundy in NB.

We woke up anticipating a stop at the Reversing Rapids in St. John, NB which was only a couple miles from our hotel. Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy that morning and you couldn't see anything. We decided to stop by on our way back through. Our route was going to take us on a scenic drive around part of the Bay of Fundy. We headed for Fundy National Park, Canada is celebrating their 150th Anniversary this year so all the Canadian National Parks are free as part of that celebration this year. We picked up our free National Park Pass at the ranger station in Fundy National Park and drove through the park with some stops at various sites in the park. The road dropped  us out at Alma, NB which is a little tourist/fishing village. By the time we got there, the fog had lifted and the views were amazing. After an expensive seafood lunch and refueling, we drove along the bay taking in the amazing scenery and stopped at Hopewell Rocks. These are some amazing and large rocks carved out of the cliffs on the edge of the bay. During low tide you can walk around them but during high tide the only way to get to them is via boat/kayak. After a fun filled day taking the scenic route, we left the bay late afternoon and headed to the peak destination of our trip.

Prince Edward Island here we come...

The adventure continues: Epic Adventure 2: The Land of the Kindred Spirits

Epic Adventure 2: The Soloing Stride ... (Part 2 of 6)

(This is a continuation of a series of posts on our second long distance trip, see the first post if you want to start at the beginning.)

I titled this the Soloing Stride since I was going to spend the next several days with just Zelda (our dog) and I making our way north. I can typically drive longer and later when I'm by myself. I was going to be working during the days and driving a lot in late afternoon/evening.

I had planned to leave the DC campground late afternoon on Tuesday, so as to get an early start and use the evening to put some miles down. I was hoping that navigating traffic would get better as it got later until I could into some more rural areas. The plan was to head north around Baltimore and then head toward Harrisburg, PA inland. I was going to wind north on an inland route that would take me through a few states and end up in New Hampshire on Friday.

As I wound north toward Baltimore, traffic wasn't too bad except when I got to some of the interstate transition points where things tend to go down to one lane. (I never understand why they take 3 interstate lanes and compress them to 1 to merge into another multi-lane interstate.) I took the I-95 North to the I-695 around Baltimore and then joined up with the I-83 headed towards Harrisburg, PA. As I crossed into Pennsylvania, I pulled off at a rest stop to stretch my legs and walk the dog. The rest stop had a nice wooded area that was quiet for walking the dog. My dog doesn't like a lot of commotion around her when she's doing her business. So places where you can walk back away from the cars are the best for her. She is definitely not one of those dogs that will use a tiny green grass island in a parking lot. Can you blamer her though? I like my privacy too. A little further north I pulled off for gas and dinner and stumbled on a little donut shop called Maple Donuts with 58 choices. It was a fun distraction from the driving. After loading up on food and fuel, I hit the road for Harrisburg.

I passed through Harrisburg on the interstate around sunset. It was a beautiful site of the downtown sitting there on the side of the Susquehanna River. I connected with I-81 and headed northeast into the night climbing through some hills and ending up in Wilkes-Barre for the evening at a quiet Walmart parking lot. Zelda and I bedded down for the first of 3 nights on the road.

The next morning I drove the short distance to Scranton, PA. Yes, you'll know it as the home of Dunder Mifflin from the tv show The Office. It's also home to another site that was on my list to see: Steamtown National Historic site. Steamtown is sort of like the adult version of Thomas the Train. It's a working locomotive museum based in a roundhouse with an actual working turntable. I spent several hours working and doing meetings in the parking lot but found a break after lunch to venture in and explore. I happened to walk in at the time they were about to start a volunteer led behind the scenes tour and joined the group. The volunteer was extremely knowledgeable and I learned a lot that I didn't know about the different types of trains and how they function "under the hood."  The behind the scenes tour takes you into the shop where they still have guys who work on the trains to keep them running and are renovating other trains. You get to see all the equipment they use which is really neat. I think kids would have a great time here walking around looking at the trains, but they'd need to be middle school or older to really get the behind the scenes tour. Younger kids are not probably going to be able to hang with listening to an old guy talk for an hour. And once you go into the shop, you're stuck because of safety issues they can't let you just leave without walking everyone out. There are a lot of real tools and sharp objects and heavy equipment in the shop too. So best to avoid with little ones. For the adults though, it's a real treat!

From there I headed to Albany, NY on a pretty uneventful path winding from I-84 to I-87 (the first toll road I had hit on my route).  North of Albany I planned to stay in Troy, but the Walmart had signs stating no overnight parking so I drove on another 30 mins on NY Rt. 7 to Bennington, VT where I spent the night in a grocery store parking lot with a few other RVs.

The next day I found a truck stop on the 2 lane highway with good cell signal in the mountains and worked and did conference calls for a few hours. I took a break and decided to check out the local area a bit.

On the NY side of the border near Bennington is a small town called Hoosick Falls, it has all the charm of small New England towns. And was decorated for the Fourth of July with American Flags like a lot of other small towns I had passed through. Hoosick Falls is also famous as the last place where Grandma Moses lived (and died). You can definitely see where some of her inspiration came from in and around the little town. (Drive down Main Street in Hoosick Falls.)

Northeast of Hoosick Falls as you wind toward the Vermont line again headed towards Bennington is the Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site. This provided a great opportunity for the history buff in me to check out a Revolutionary War battlefield. The battle, and park, happened just outside of Bennington in Walloomsac, NY. Part of the Saratoga campaign, the battle was a key component to the American's winning the battle of Saratoga. Around 2000 militia men under General John Stark routed the British force that was looking for supplies to bolster the army at Saratoga. Without those supplies, Burgoyne eventually suffered defeat. The great thing about battlefields is you get to mix some history with stretching your legs and walking your dog.

After a late lunch in Bennington, I drove out across the Green Mountain area of Vermont and wound my way into New Hampshire. As evening approached, I found a quiet truck stop on a 2 lane highway south of Concord, NH to spend the night. Tomorrow would be the big day for me to meet up with my family after a week on the road.

The story continues with Epic Adventure 2: Not where we're supposed to be (Part 3)