Category Archives: Private RV Campground

Private RV Campground

October 30, 2013 Dallas, Texas Part 2

Heavy rains and some wind hit on Wednesday so we spent the day inside watching tv and listening to the weather forecasts of flooding.  Luckily the storms that passed through were not that bad even though Bill had to venture outside at one point to raise our surge protector higher off the ground because of rising water.  As Bill stepped off the RV steps onto the ground he was up to his ankles in standing water.  Once the rain stopped the water quickly drained away and the next morning we saw some minor flooding in the campground, but thankfully not as bad as it could have been!

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Thursday evening we drove into Royse City to have dinner with Cody and his wife Jeannette at a Mexican restaurant.  Cody and Bill are Boy Scout friends who met at the 2010 Jamboree.  It was great seeing them!  1-P1030122

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday we drove once again into Dallas 01-IMG_20131101_142151where we visited the Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum  02-P1030126

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

where they had one of the world’s largest collections of original Norman Rockwell art.  The exhibits included the founders of scouting, uniforms past and present, the Jamboree, personal journals of past Scouts, information on the Order of the Arrow, and various Boy Scout awards including Eagle Scout.

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This is the front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters, across the street from the museum. We found a geocache here!

This is the front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters, across the street from the museum. We found a geocache here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we drove over to Arlington to see the Texas Rangers Ballpark and right next door was Cowboy Stadium.

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That evening we had a wonderful dinner with Raul and his wife Adela in their lovely home in nearby Grand Prairie.  Bill and Raul worked today in Boca Raton, Florida in 1998.  16-IMG_20131101_213921

October 24, 2013 Dallas, Texas

Up a big hill and down a big hill all the way from Oklahoma into Texas.  We passed through miles and miles of open land, with a few cattle now and then grazing in the rocky fields.  We traveled down the Indian Nation Turnpike through various tribal areas, often driving for miles without seeing another vehicle in either direction.

We arrived at Lake Tawakoni, a Thousand Trails campground near Point, Texas.  The campground was basically deserted so we had our pick of campsites.

On Monday we drove into Dallas

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and our first stop was the Frontiers of Flight Museum,  03-P1030089an aerospace museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and located at Love Field.  It has a large collection of artifacts, information and vehicles related to the history of aviation and space exploration.  Among many exhibits it has the Apollo 7 command module, a World War 1 biplane, artifacts from the Hindenburg, and over 200 World War II aircraft models.

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They had a special exhibit for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.  An Air Force One plane like the one that brought President Kennedy to Dallas on that fateful day and then took his body back to Washington.  It was also the only plane in which a president was given the oath of office, the only time the oath was administered by a woman, and the only time the oath was administered in Texas.  While not the actual plane, it was reconstructed inside to show what the plane looked like that day.  It is interesting to note that Air Force One used today is about twice the size of the one used in 1963.

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Next we went to Dealey Plaza and the 6th Floor Museum (JFK.org) at the former Texas Schoolbook Depository where Oswald shot from during the Kennedy assassination.  The museum was well done with an audio tour that took you throughout the sixth floor and explained in detail the events leading up to that day, beginning with the start of Kennedy’s political career and ending with the aftermath of the assassination which included the shooting of Oswald by Jack Ruby and the Kennedy funeral.  My only complaint is they did not allow ANY photography.  I would really have liked to take a picture of the area, enclosed in glass, where Oswald was sitting during the assassination.  They found Oswald’s fingerprints here on some boxes and everything is arranged the way it was found that day.  The area has been preserved so the floors and walls, etc are the way they were November 22, 1963, which was also Bill’s 10th birthday.  The building is now owned by the Dallas County Administration Building.  One exhibit they had that was especially interesting were 9 possible conspiracy theories about what really happened that day.   The bottom line…we will never know for sure.  When we finished at the museum we went outside to the Grassy Knoll area where Bill took some pictures, including the two X’s marked on the street to show where the Kennedy limousine was located during the shooting.

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Bill added arrows to the picture to show where Oswald was located and the two X’s in the street marking the location of the limousine

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This is where Zapruder was standing on the grassy knoll when he filmed the assassination

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Building ahead and grassy knoll on the left

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jfk motorcade 1963

October 14, 2013 Little Rock, Arkansas

One of our hopes is that we can visit as many Presidential libraries as possible on our journeys around the country.  Our next stop was a short two day stay in Little Rock with the purpose of seeing the Clinton Presidential Library.  We did not want to stay right in Little Rock so we had a little trouble finding a campground outside the city, but one not too far away.  After finding the first campground not acceptable, we settled on a small private campground in Conway.  We set up camp and settled in for the night.  Imagine our surprise when later in the evening we discovered quite by accident that the Clinton library is closed due to the federal shutdown.  Foiled by the government mess again!  Because the library is a national archive, they are closed.  Not seeing the St Louis Gateway Arch and Lewis and Clark Expedition museum was disappointing.  This was just plain annoying!

Since our full day in LIttle Rock was one of a steady rain, we used the day to catch up on paperwork and chores around the RV.

August 8, 2013 Marquette, Michigan

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On the way to our next stop in Marquette, Michigan we decided to stop at Oswald’s Bear Ranch near Newberry. They rescue bear cubs from around the United States and give them a place to safely grow up and live. It is against the law in Michigan to breed and buy black bears.

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As we drove toward Marquette, we couldn’t help but notice the breathtaking views of Lake Superior.  We pulled into a private campground and were directed to a campsite overlooking Lake Superior.  We were hesitate to take the site because of the traffic noise, but the view won out over any hesitations.  We noticed immediately the campground was not at all as advertised on their website.  The website depiction must have been from 10+ years ago, but we had prepaid for reservations and again, the view won us over.

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We came to realize that first night that the water had a very strange smell….much like iron and some such minerals.  The water continued to be a source of concern during our stay, but we had several water filters on the coach and used a Brita water pitcher, but still we were uneasy.

Now for the GREAT part of our time near Marquette.  The highlight of our time here was without a doubt the ferry ride to view the cliffs of Picture Rocks.  There are 15 miles of sandstone cliffs which are up to 200 feet above lake level.  The colors are caused by large amounts of mineral in the rocks.  The water evaporates leaving streaks of colors.  The red color comes from iron, pink and green from copper, yellow and brown from limonite, and black and white from manganese.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words….

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Before we caught the ferry we spent the morning in Picture Rocks National Lakeshore Park where we hiked Munising Falls which was very easy, and Mosquito Falls which was quite a challenging hike over roots, rocks and trails muddy from the previous days rain.

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Another day we decided to go to Presque Isle Park, a beautiful peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior, to do some sightseeing and geocaching.  We found this to be a great park with some interesting and challenging geocaches, as well as some gorgeous views!

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July 29, 2013 St Ignace, Michigan

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We left Cadillac and continued to be in awe of the Michigan beauty as we arrived at St Ignace, Michigan for a 5 night stay at the Tiki RV Park.  As we passed from the lower peninsula into the upper peninsula of Michigan, we crossed the beautiful Mackinac Bridge.  We were told that the Upper and Lower peninsulas were like two separate worlds.  The people in the Upper Peninsula call themselves “Yoopers”.  We were also told that in the last 30 years the Upper peninsula felt so different from the Lower peninsula that they wanted to become their own state.

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We had heard so much about Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island we were eager to visit so that was first on our list.  We had to take a ferry over to the island which is located on Lake Huron.  We took our bikes since we heard we could bike around the island.  After a 30 minute ferry ride we arrived at the island and it seemed we went back in time.  No vehicles have been allowed on the island since 1898 so the only transportation is on foot, by bike, or horse drawn carriage.  The day we visited the main street was busy with throngs of people on foot or on bike.  It was strange to see people’s luggage being taken off the ferry and loaded onto bikes or horse drawn carriage to be taken to the hotel.  The main hotel and parts of the island were used in the filming of the movie “Somewhere in Time”.  We visited the information center for a map of the island and quickly left the center of town for a quieter part of the island.  We had to walk the bikes up a very steep hill to get to the fort which was the site of 2 battles during the War of 1812..  Once there we rode around the upper part of the island and saw a scout barracks with a statue of Gerald Ford.  These barracks are used by boy scouts and girl scouts on alternate weeks.  They have served as Mackinac Island Honor Guards since 1929 and Gerald Ford was once an Honor Guard scout.

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We also saw Arch Rock , a natural limestone arch that stands 146 feet above the shoreline.  We viewed it from the top of the island and then later from the lakeshore while bike riding.

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We were hungry after all that hilly biking so we rode back down into the town and had lunch at a local bed and breakfast.  They cooked lunch for us outside on a grill and then we sat on their veranda and ate our lunch and watched the people walk and bike by.  We spent the afternoon biking around the island lakeshore where it was level and much easier to bike.  We also spent time doing quite a few geocaches on the island as well.

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View of the island

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We so enjoyed this bike trail along the lakeshore!

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We appreciated the free air on main street!

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Bill along the bike trail. A nice wide bike trail with a gorgeous view!

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It was common to see buggies and horse drawn carriages on the island, mainly to give rides to tourists.

I will say we did see one ambulance on the island and I imagine they also have a fire engine or two for such emergencies.  One downside to the island was the effects on the roadways from having all those horses pulling wagons and buggies and carriages…..need I saw more?

We enjoyed our day on the island and took the ferry back to the campground with many happy memories of our time on the island.

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The next day we decided to make a quick visit to Castle Rock which was located fairly close to the campground.  We climbed many very steep steps to get to the top and were rewarded with a great view.  Not to mention meeting Paul Bunyan and his blue ox!

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On another day we drove to Sault Ste Marie, the oldest city in Michigan and the third oldest in the country. It was our first glimpse of Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world by area and the third largest in volume.  Our main reason for going there was to see the Soo Locks. We lucked out and arrived in time to see a ship enter the locks. Very interesting!

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July 24, 2013 Cadillac, Michigan

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On our way to Cadillac we decided to stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan and visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

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I included this plaque because I thought it was interesting that Ford was the first president to visit Japan.

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Replica of the Oval Office during Ford’s presidency.

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Ford is the only President and Vice-President to ever achieve the level of Eagle Scout. Here are some of his boy scout mementos, including his merit badge sash.

 

After spending a good part of the morning at the Ford museum, we arrived for a 5 night stay at a private campground called Camp Cadillac.  One of the highlights of our stay here was a visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park which was about an hour drive from Cadillac.  In 2011 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was voted the most beautiful place in America in a poll conducted by Good Morning America.  We took a self guided tour around the park and rode our bikes along a paved bike trail in the park.  What a beautiful place!

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The tiny dots are people climbing the dunes on their hands and knees!

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On another day we drove to Traverse City.  It was cold and threatening rain so we decided not to bike ride, but did visit a lighthouse and found ourselves on the 45th parallel, halfway to the North Pole!

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July 16, 2013 Waynesville, Ohio

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Today brought us to the Frontier Campground in Waynesville, Ohio.  This was a convenient stop on our way to Michigan.  We discovered a wonderful bike trail right near the campground.  We spent a morning riding on the shady, level trail, enjoying the quiet and peaceful countryside.  We passed through a quaint little village before deciding that a 10 mile ride was probably enough since the weather was quite warm.

We spent the afternoon at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.  We were curious about the museum because we had enjoyed the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.  This museum did not disappoint, and we spent several hours in the museum walking through exhibits that took us from the Wright Brothers to the current fighter jets and weapons of mass destruction.  We were disappointed that the sections with Presidential airplanes and Research and Development were closed to the public because of budget cuts due to sequestration.

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Before heading back to the campground we stopped by the Wright Brothers memorial in Dayton and picked up some geocaches.  The memorial was very nice, but not as impressive as the memorial and visitors center in Kitty Hawk, NC.

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We enjoyed our brief time in Ohio and were looking forward to our arrival in Michigan.

July 10, 2013 Heiskell, TN

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Today we arrived in Heiskell, TN where we had a reservation at Raccoon Valley RV Park, which is an Escapees park.  While in the area we drove to Oak Ridge to tour the AMSE (American Museum of Science and Energy) which chronicles the World War II Manhattan Project.  The museum is self guided, but we struck up a conversation with one of the workers there and he showed us through some of the museum and answered questions.  He had actually worked for the government at Oak Ridge and was very knowledgable about the museum and area.  We took a three and a half hour bus tour which included highlights of the history of Oak Ridge, and the history of science and technology at the three U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge facilities.  Our first stop on the tour was the Y-12 New Hope Visitor Center which featured displays about the Manhattan Project, the Cold War, and other Y-12 missions.  Next we saw the Graphite Reactor located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory which served as the pilot project that led to the first production of plutonium.  We saw the exterior of the world’s oldest nuclear reactor.  Lastly we saw  the K-25 Overlook where we learned about the gaseous diffusion process that enriched uranium powering the first atomic bomb.  It was amazing to see the “city” where people lived and worked long ago, completely unaware that they were working on the first atomic bomb.  They knew they were working on behalf of the war effort, but for most of them, the first time they knew what they had been working on was when they read about it after the bombs had been dropped at the end of World War II.  In many ways it was rather surreal to walk where they had walked and worked so many years ago.  The work was done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the war was over.  For those of you who may want to visit Oak Ridge and take the bus tour, we would suggest you get to the museum by 9:00 AM, get a ticket for the bus, and sign the log. The $5 admission fee included the bus tour but they only run one bus a day which leaves at noon and only holds 30 passengers.  Once the 30 tickets are handed out at the museum, no one else is allowed on the tour.  You also need proper identification to be allowed on the bus and photography is restricted in some areas on the tour.IMG_20130711_110317

On a lighter note, we found out on the bus tour why our campground was called Raccoon Valley.  It appears there is an abundance of raccoons in the area.  It seems the raccoons are also very smart and have learned how to open trash cans and get around many of the ways the people of the area have tried to keep them out of trouble.  The guide said the day the raccoons learn how to punch a code into a keypad or pick a lock, the town will be in real trouble!