WI...Part 2

Our next stop was less than 100 miles away but it was all hilly back roads through the WI Driftless Area. The area's terrain was the result of escaping the affects of glaciers. If interested more technical information can be found on Wikipedia. Suffice it to say it was hilly. Two hours later we arrived at our friends DuWayne and Jackie, whom we've known since the first day we drove into Gulf Waters RV Resort in Port Aransas TX where we both own rv lots. We're sad we won't be spending the winter with them so made a slight detour north for a visit. Our first evening at their home they took us out to dinner to celebrate Dave's retirement...thanks for a wonderful evening.

DuWayne & Jackie have lived in the Prairie du Chien area for a number of years. They once farmed their property but now lease some of it to other farmers. They have lots of stories to share of the area and showed us their part of Wisconsin.

In this hilly terrain contour farming is utilized to prevent erosion.

With only electric available we stayed at our friends home but what a beautiful setting for our rig. Though next time we may try and stay here too, just have to plan it right.

Located on a ridge what views we'd have of both sunrises and sunsets. Excuse the bugs on the front nose of the rig...seems there's lots of hatching going on right now.

A beautiful fall day with warm temps, time for a bike ride. Thanks DuWayne for a great fall ride.

A few pictures from Dave's UTV tour of their property.

Dave's new love...

A beautiful sunny day for a boat ride on the Mississippi...too bad the battery was dead.

Lansing Iowa

The next day was cold and cloudy but the battery worked. 

A little lighthouse on the Mississippi river. 

The reward for being out on the river on a cold, windy and cloudy day.








Thank you Jackie & DuWayne for your hospitality and for sharing your home with us. Maybe we'll see you in AZ this winter.

Until next time...

WI...Part 1

Tuesday morning we were on the road by 8am, by 1:30 we were pulling into Yellowstone Lake State Park in Blanchardville WI. This 1000 acre park is located in southwestern Wisconsin on the 455 acre man made lake. They trails in the park are open year round, some for cross country skiing and others for snowmobile use.

There are electric only and tent\primitive sites, both reservable and walk ins sites are all located up on a treed ridge. Pads are grass\dirt and range from level to needing lots of blocks under some jacks. We are in site 126, we had to put the satellite dish on the roof to get a signal and Dave raised our antenna to get a better Verizon signal.

We are finally finding a bit of fall color in the trees.

Old friends...are these friends old or have you known them a long time.

Old friends Mark and Nancy are camping just down the road from us. Mark and Nancy aren't old, but I've know Mark since high school so he's an old friend. We love the rv lifestyle for many reasons but up at the top is the renewal of old friendships.

Our first day at Yellowstone State Park started with getting a pork shoulder in the smoker...this group is eating good tonight. Later a power walk through the campground...time to get back in shape. A stop at Mark & Nancy's site...breakfast plans figured out...soon bacon, eggs, bagels and danish were on the table.

We decided to try some of the trails in the park. We chose Windy Ridge Trail as it took off near the campground. We took a wrong turn somewhere (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) but eventually we found our way back. The trails wander through oak groves, finally seeing some color.

Evenings around the campfire, smore's and wannadingers...life is good.

Dave and I have visited this area before and knew of an attraction we wanted to share with Mark and Nancy. The House On The Rocks isn't for everyone but for some it's an interesting day spent enjoying one man's vision. Built by Alex Jordan House On The Rocks is quiet a visual experience, you won't find placards here describing what you see but you'll probably see lots of things you'll recognize if you've been around for awhile. An Infinity room, Tiffany lamps, Streets of Yesterday and so much more. If you're into things eclectic this is one of those places.

Faberge

What a way to lose weight

lots of things made out of copper

 

Drop a token in and the instruments began to play

The temps have turned cooler and the skies are greyer, fall is definitely in the air.  Friday was a slow day, a shared breakfast then tending to things around the rv and getting a blog written...don't want to get behind :)

Chicken and ribs in the smoker, one last evening with friends before head out in the morning.


Thanks for another great time Mark & Nancy, see you next fall...can't wait to see where we'll meet next.

Until next time...

Big Things Small Town....Finally

We enjoyed 5 days of visiting with my folks, unfortunately my mom wasn't feeling the best. With the corn being harvested...they have cornfields on two sides of their property, and the release of molds from the dried corn my mom's allergies were acting up. Combine that with some of her other medical issues and she was under the weather for most of the time we were there. We limited our time so she could rest as we knew she needed to do.

Big Wind Chime

We did get out one day to the small IL town of Casey to view some big things.

Big Rocking Chair

Big Golf Tee

Big Ear of Corn

Big Things Small Town  

Casey IL

Big Pencil

We had as always a great visit with my cousin Dennis and his wife Nancy, who keeps an eye on my folks for my brother and I. Of course we were talking too much to take pictures. Another day a visit to the local Amish store, now we're restocked on dried noodles and tasty treats.

While at Bo Woods we took advantage of the great weather and washed the rig, lots of dust to get off the roof after being in one place all summer. Dave also tackled the slide issue we've had since work was done at the factory in April. Since we were stationary all summer the issue wasn't an everyday problem, now it had become one. Finally after reading the owners manual he got a clue as to where the problem might be. An hour later our slide was once again working properly, seems a wire had been crimped when the slide was reinstalled. Over the summer Dave had been working so much he never got the manual out...amazing the things you can find in those manuals. I'm a happy camper again.

On our way to town on day we took a ride through nearby Hidden Springs National Forest campground. Nice enough but no utilities except for the host site. We also took a ride through Lithia Springs COE and found this cute vintage trailer.




We have now moved onto Yellowstone Lake State Park in Wisconsin where we are camping with our friends Mark and Nancy.

Until next time...

We're Off!!

Our last full day in VT was spent with friends we've known since we practically arrived in Huntington so many years ago. Lots of reminiscing, tears of sadness and joy as we both embark on new lives. Don't know where we'll next see Les & Deb, they are in the process of selling their home...it just went on the market and because of it's price is seeing a lot of activity. When it sells they plan to head to Duck NC where they will be renting a house from a friend for the next few years.  Being Jersey Shore folks they are excited to be heading back to the seashore...not much seashore here in VT to enjoy.

It was unfortunate that our friends Mike & Carol couldn't join us on our last weekend. We did get one last visit in over lunch our last week in town. Goodbyes are never easy...more so when you don't know when you'll see each other again.

Monday 9/27 we pulled out of VT Maplewoods just a bit before 8am and headed westward. Our first night was at Green Lakes State Park south of Syracuse NY. We were in the Rolling Hills Section in site 108, electric only and a gravel site. Since rain was expected we didn't want one of the grass sites. As an overnight stop it was great, there is a small lake but with the rain we didn't get a chance to take the trail around it.



Tuesday rain was in the forecast so we decided to make it another travel day. Thankfully what rain we had was never too bad. About mid afternoon we reached West Branch State Park in Ravenna OH. We've been there numerous times now and ended up in site 87 which we had the last time we were there back in April. With the Ohio State Parks Rewards Card we were eligible for a free night...yeah free is great. The local Italian restaurant that we usually go to has closed...owner retired, so the only thing we did in town was get filled up with diesel.

One of expenditures this past summer was an auxiliary tank, Dave opted to go with a 40 gallon tank with a tool box. This gives us the ability travel a bit further between fill ups. With the fill up in OH we knew we could make it to Sullivan IL with out refueling.
 

site 78

On Wednesday we were on the road by 7:30, we knew it could turn in to a long travel day if we went all the way to Bo Woods in IL. Approximately 490 miles but at least we didn't have to worry about fueling while hitched. With the time zone change we pulled into Bo Woods just after 3pm, none of the FHU walk-in sites on the point were available so we settled into the site we'd reserved to ensure ourselves a FHU site over the weekend. Bo Woods is a popular campground, it's a COE park on Lake Shelbyville in central IL.  It has become our go to place when we visit my folks, they live 30 minutes away and it's a nice ride through the country side. We will be here for six nights visiting my folks and some cousins. Unfortunately for us some of our friends in the area have already headed south.

 

After a hectic week we finally have time to breathe and relax for a few days. It hasn't sunk in yet that we're done in VT and now home is really wherever we park it. The things we've done and learned over the last few years have all been leading to this adventure.  In three weeks we'll be in Mesa where we'll be workamping in a mega 55+ resort, so for now we're on vacation and out camping.

Until next time...