The Long Road Home

Since leaving Edisto Beach on April 13th we covered about 1800 miles in 6 days of driving, stopping for 3 days at a State Park in South Carolina, three Walmarts, a KOA and a Cabelas.

The Walmart in Staunton VA is very popular, it's close to a major snowbird migration route, Interstate 81.

The next morning I counted about 30 units in the lot. Reservations not accepted, come early.

Stopping at Cabela's is always a treat.  They have the most amazing wildlife displays.

This one was in Hudson, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. We had expressly chosen this stop so we could dump our tanks in their RV dump station, a free service they offer to RV'ers, in addition to overnight parking. Well, it turns out their dump station had not been opened yet for the season. Hmmm...  No problem we were on day 4 of a system that can usually carry us for 5+ days. 

But I was saying that stopping at Cabela's is always a treat, so here is that story.
The morning after we arrived at the Cabela's with the closed dump station, around 8:30, nature calls. Not wanting to further stress the Unit's holding tanks, I decided to walk over to the store which had just opened for the day, and check out their sparkling restrooms.
I am greeted at the door by a gentleman dressed in full outdoor gear, Tilley type hat, khaki safari shirt complete with epaulettes, and cargo pants to match.
"What brings you into Cabela's this morning?" he exclaims.
Through a sheepish grin I answer "um...just looking around?"
And he launches into the well rehearsed speech. 
"Have you heard of the Cabela's Club? ...you receive special offers...you get 10 % off purchases...there is no annual fee...."
By now my extraordinary 6th sense has determined that the "Cabela's Club" is actually a credit card.
I'm a Canadian, I interject, I can't get a US credit card.
"Doesn't matter" he says, "just for filling out the application , you will receive a Cabela's hat, a very cool multi-tool pocket knife and an equally nifty waterproof plastic ammo box".
"How long will this take?", I ask the obvious next question.
"Just a couple of minutes" he replies.
So, long story short, I filled out the application, I was immediately declined due to no US address, he handed over the swag, I asked him to hold on to it for a few minutes while I fulfilled a prior commitment, I leave the store with a bounce in my step and an arm load of free merchandise. As I am mounting the steps into the Unit, Darlene says, "What the hell did you buy now?"
True story, I'm not making this stuff up.

Here is a quick pictorial summary of our journey back to the north.

Sesquicentennial State Park, South Carolina. April 14.

Virginia, lots of green. April 16.

West Virginia, some green. April 17

Pennsylavnia, that's right, snow, and no green. April 18.

Cabela's parking lot, Massachusetts. More snow, this was April 19th.

Maine, the lakes are still frozen. April 19

Nova Scotia's Cobequid Pass, only 250 metres in elevation but can be treacherous in winter. April 21

 And....Home at last!

This has been the adventure of a lifetime for us with many more to come, we hope. 8500 miles in a tube and ready to do it again. 

Thanks to all of you who travelled along with us, thanks for your comments, and thanks to those of you who tried to leave comments, but for some unknown reason were unable to.

Cosmo and Tara were beside themselves when they realized we were home again, and although we believe they enjoyed seeing all the new places, they are creatures of habit and for them, there is no place like home. 

And Darlene and I agree.

Hilton Head and Edisto Beach

We spent a couple of nights at a park in Hardeeville SC, just west of Hilton Head. We took a drive into Hilton Head, stopping on the way at Bluffton, where they were having a food festival.

I'm not sure what the kid in the foreground was doing. Photo bomb maybe? Practising his Monty Python silly walk?

We bought a few things there but that was over a week ago and I don’t remember what, but they were delicious.

Hilton Head

Busy busy, busy, crazy traffic, excruciatingly long traffic lights, parking near impossible and condo’s everywhere. I'm sure there’s a beach somewhere but I couldn't find it. Not one of my favourite places, Hilton Head.

On the brighter side, we had lunch in Harbour Town at a place called the Crazy Crab. The best fried clam strips ever. EVER!

I have to talk about golf carts. Golf carts are seen just about everywhere in the southern US. Not just for gated communities any more. They are allowed on secondary roads, on many beaches and in state parks. These are not run out, golf course hand me downs. Most of them are bought new and then customized.  We have seen many RV’s towing a golf cart on a trailer instead of towing a car, to get around.

Here are a few examples

Even South Carolina's finest have them.  I asked him what was required to drive one on the street. He told me all you need is insurance and in some places registration, and a driver's license, of course. I think it’s a great idea.

They’re either electric or very cheap on gas, they solve a lot of traffic congestion and parking problems, and they're just plain fun to drive. Rentals are everywhere. 

Next stop, Edisto Beach State Park. It is located on the Atlantic coast just below Charleston SC. 

This was to be our last chance for “beach time”. We had high hopes since most of our earlier beach destinations had been wet and/or frigid.

After enduring two days of cold ,rain and wind, it finally warmed up into the mid 20’s. The wind was still a bit cool so we set up the beach tent/wind break and had a couple of nice days on the beach.

Here, Darlene had just arrived and wasn't yet convinced of the shelter's effectiveness in turning spring into summer. I was wearing proper summer attire, shorts and a T-shirt. 

This is the camp ground, a few hundred feet from the water.

The beach at Edisto is more "coarse" than most of the others we have visited.

That's not gravel you see, they're sea shells, every kind imaginable. 

Here is a squadron of pelicans doing a fly over of the campground.

We left Edisto 3 days ago. 

Tonight is our last night in Columbia SC (the capital city of SC, who knew) . The weather has been great except for this afternoon when we had thunderstorms and tornado warnings.

My little buddy Cosmo has been a real trooper on this trip. He's not well, going on 16 years but I think he's really happy to be with us. He rarely comes out of the unit except sometimes at night.

We (and the vet) really didn't think he would make it through the 5 month trip, but now I'm pretty sure he'll be on the verandah at home, catching the morning sun in a week or so. He's always first in line at the water dish when we put ice cubes in it.

And he loves a camp fire.

Tomorrow we need to get an oil change. It was supposed to be a 350 mile day but I think we may lose some time with the oil change so who knows where we’ll spend the night. It may be the first of many Walmarts. We have found a few casinos

along our route home so that may be an alternative. 

The Best of Alabama

Hmmmm. 10 days. Sorry about that, I must have dosed off for a while, but I’m back.  And thanks for the weather updates, Looks like  we may need to “chill” a little longer.

We spent a week at Wind Creek State Park in Alabama. They required a week minimum stay in order to get a waterfront campsite. I'm so glad we opted for the waterfront, and the one week wasn't nearly enough.

This may be the nicest state park  we have visited yet. It's the flagship of Alabama's State Parks. The park is situated on Lake Martin, a reservoir which was created  in 1926, by damming  the Tallapoosa River. This created the 41000 acre Lake Martin. In an area which is about 15 miles square, its many bays and inlets give it over 700 miles of shoreline.The lake is home to numerous bass tournaments. Wind Creek State park has a large marina with parking for over 100 trucks/trailers which makes the hosting of large tournaments possible.

It seems that high powered bass boats are the weapon of choice here. Pontoon boats are also popular with the party crowd. Conspicuous by their complete absence are the “Lund” type aluminum fishing boats. We were a novelty in our 6 HP inflatable canoe (which we finally got to use for the first time of the trip). We got a lot of “isn’t that cute” smiles and waves.

Oddly, for a lake this size, there are no seagulls here, but vultures are plentiful. Perhaps too much competition for the gulls.

Lake Martin has numerous small beaches. It reminds me a lot of Lake Temagami in Northern Ontario where we camped when we were kids. Ironically Lake Martin got it’s beaches as a result of hydro electric dams and Lake Temagami lost its beaches to the same activity.

Here is one of the typical beaches. Just add a tent, a sleeping bag , a campfire and a tin of beans. Take me back….

I found myself near one of these beaches just about nap time, maybe 2 in the afternoon. (Darlene was in town picking up a few things). What are ya gonna do...

After my "rest" I loaded the boat with driftwood for our campfire that night...just like we used to do at Lake Temagami.

For the past few days we have been in Milledgeville GA. It is a nice small town with an amazing history. 

Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia, from 1804 until 1868, a period, the end of which included the Civil War

In January 1861, Georgia convention delegates passed the Ordinance of Secession, and on February 4, 1861, the "Republic of Georgia" joined the Confederate States of America. They knew at the time that secession would lead to war.  All of this took place right here in Milledgeville.

In 1864 General Sherman marched through the town with an army of 30,000 and burned most government buildings but left most residences intact. 

In the next few days we'll reach the East Coast. Edisto Beach, near Charleston SC, will be our last beach stop before we switch to "Camp Walmart" mode for the final stretch home.

Gators, Rednecks and Pirates

We spent a few nights in a state park in Ocean Springs, just outside Biloxi.

Biloxi’s waterfront has miles of pure white sand beach. You can park right on the side of the road. I had never thought of Biloxi as a beach town.

The main drag along the gulf is populated with dozens of casinos. We had heard that many of them have free or nearly free RV parking. We checked out a few with the car. Some RV lots were right by  the water but had no power, water, etc.  We have talked to some RV’ers who use casinos often for overnighting. I'm not sure if staying at a casino would actually save any money. For me it would however, having tried my luck (or lack of it) a few times. Gambling for me is like tearing up $20 bills and that’s not entertainment.

The waterfront at the state park, only a few miles away from the beach, looked more like this. The wildlife was ever present. I don’t know how long this guy was but he was neither young nor skinny and there were several more just like him.

I’ve heard it said “ If you have ever been involved in a custody battle over a dog……..you just might be a redneck”. Now who wouldn't fight to be the proud owner of this cute little puppy.

You might also be a Redneck if you are a frequent customer of this place.

We finally found someone selling Crawfish at a market in Ocean Springs. Not that there weren't numerous places along the highways offering them. The problem is, with the Unit travelling at highway speed, a quick U-turn to go back and get some is rarely an option .

Two pounds made a nice meal, but it took about an hour to eat them. They remind me of lobster but they are a lot more work. 

The next stop, Greenville AL. Not much going on here usually, but we happened to hit the very weekend they have their annual Medieval Festival. Participants travel from all over to dress up in period costumes and party for a few days. There was everything from jousting to axe throwing to demonstrations with birds of prey. You could get venison or rabbit, cooked in a cauldron over a fire. We passed on that, opting for a hot dog instead. There were stalls selling all kinds of paraphernalia. Things like pirate boots, swords, tin shields, clothing and so on. It seems that for some this is not just a hobby, it’s a business. And they take it very seriously. Many times as we strolled around the venue people would wish us “Good Morrow”, and the “art’s”  and “thou’s” were also abundant.

Here is a bit of the Grand Parade. The world of fantasy is alive and well.

So, we’re slowly working our way east before we turn north.

Actually, we’re waiting for the wind and the snow to stop at home.

On the Bayou

Thanks for dropping by. I haven't blogged in a while, all's well, just gettin' lazy.

If you feel like listening to a little local music in the background while you read this, just click on the highlighted text above. This is Cajun country. 

We found this little gem of a state park in Grand Isle Louisiana.

It's on the gulf, it's quiet and more than half the sites here are unoccupied, even during march break. A nice change from Galveston, which was a bit of a zoo last week.

This is our spot, the beach is just on the other side of the dunes behind the Unit.

This is the beach, a stark contrast to Galveston, and the weather has been fantastic. We've even had to swat a few mosquitoes at dusk. Not complaining!

Grand Isle is a ways off the beaten track about 50 miles south of New Orleans. The road ends here so it's not on the way to anywhere. We drove through miles of bayou country to get here. The drive was mostly along the Bayou Lafourche which is like a canal that leads to the gulf. Fishing boats were docked as much as 25 miles inland from the gulf, quite a commute to get to work.

Shrimp are big business here as is demonstrated by the countless "shrimpin' trawlers" we saw, moored along the bayou.

There are also miles of "fields" that look like this.

We guessed either rice paddy's or crawfish farms. It turns out they are both. These ingenious good ol' boys have combined the two. The rows of "dots" you see are crawfish traps placed in between the rows of rice. And what goes better with crawfish than rice?

Speaking of crawfish and good ol' boys, we stopped at a crawfish shack to see if we could get a few pounds "to go". We could barely make out what the owner was saying. It turns out (after we got a translation from another customer) that he only boiled crawfish to order and it would be about half an hour. It's a strange feeling when you know he's speaking English but you have a clue what he's saying. We continued on our journey. 

Unfortunately we found there are no such shacks on Grand Isle but they do have a few of these, which makes up for it.

There are pelicans here by the thousands. Yesterday afternoon we walked out to the end of the fishing pier and witnessed a pelican feeding frenzy. I had to zoom in a bit so the video is not too clear.

And here's just one more picture that I think says a lot, not really a food picture, more of a "what it's all about" picture. Who doesn't have fond memories of roasting weenies over a fire.

Tomorrow we continue our meandering drive home, stopping next, near Biloxi Mississippi for a few days. 

From Buzzards to Seagulls

I can't believe 9 days have passed since I last posted.

After leaving Fort Stockton a day ahead of  schedule we spent a few days in Llano River State Park in Junction TX. They have tubes to float down the river but the water was a bit cold, "mountain stream" cold, so we passed on the tubing. Good hiking trails though.

This rig pulled in on our second night.  He said it towed just fine. A Subaru pulling a 20 foot Airstream.

This park is abundant in three kinds of wildlife. Turkeys, deer and armadillos. Armadillos have poor eyesight and hearing and since their sensitive noses are usually in the ground, you can get quite close to them.

Tara wasn't sure what to make of this armour clad beast.

Our next stop was Port O’Connor, between Galveston and Corpus Christi, on the gulf. It was nice to see some seagulls and pelicans again instead of just buzzards. We stayed here for 3 days.

Last August, Hurricane Harvey made landfall about 80 miles southwest of  Port O’Connor at Port Aransas, as a Category 4. Port Aransas was levelled and is still recovering. On it’s way back out to the gulf Harvey came within a few miles of Port O’Connor but as a category 1. There are a lot of new roofs here but damage was minimal in comparison.

Port O'Connor is a serious fishing destination.  Every morning I watched hundreds of pick-ups towing all kinds of fishing boats to the boat launches. Being on a protected bay most boats have very little freeboard and flat bottoms. There are some interesting setups. Here’s one that is both airboat and outboard (why didn't I think of that?). A nautical ATV.

We actually coaxed Tara to get her feet wet at the public beach in town. It took a bag full of treats to get her in this far. Definitely not a water dog.

For the past few days we have been on Galveston Island at Jamaica Beach. The weather has been cool but we finally got to spend a few hours on the beach today,using the beach umbrella as a windbreak, of course. Incidentally, today was only our third "beach day" of the entire trip. It is crowded in Galveston, march break. 

For the next few days we will be at a State Park in Louisianna. No beach, but quiet! 

Part 3 - In and around Lajitas

Well, that's it for our time in Lajitas. Stunning scenery, good food and great weather. It was 30 degrees yesterday, 32 today, And in the past two weeks here it never got below 20 during the day. Welcome heat after the frigid first 10 weeks of the trip.

Today we headed towards home instead of away from it for the first time in 13 weeks. Lajitas is 4200 miles from home. The plans we have laid for the next 40 or so days will include 9  stops over 2100 miles, ending up in Edisto Beach State Park, between Charleston and Savannah. Beach time has become a priority because we didn't get much of it on the way down due to the weather. Our beach umbrella has been infinitely more useful as a windbreak than for shade. So that's what's coming up in the next 6 weeks. 

Here's a (not so) quick recap of the past week in no particular order.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lajitas has a world class golf course. The 18 holes are spread out over 13 miles of rugged terrain. Some holes have tee's several hundred feet above the fairway. And the best part, if you don't play golf, you can rent a cart and drive around the course. It took us over an hour and a half to drive it.

The Rustic Iron BBQ in Terlingua is allegedly the best for a hundred miles around (and possibly the only BBQ joint for a hundred miles). It doesn't look like much but this guy knows his business. We got brisket, turkey and a sausage link.

We've all heard the term "adobe" to describe south western traditional buildings. There are lots of remnants of these buildings here. Adobe is defined as a brick made of clay, earth and straw and baked in the sun. Works for a while and then slowly disintegrates. 

And the other, older architectural style, "pile of rocks".

According to the historical markers, these shelters were erected by shepherds and goat herders to protect them from coyotes and mountain lions. I would think, more likely, protection from the sun.

Wildlife is scarce here due to the harsh climate but buzzards abound. As for animals that walk on 4 legs, this is about it.

Javelinas. Finally got some pics of Javelinas on the hoof, not "napping" at the side of the road. They run wild here, and although they look like a pig they are more closely related to the hippopotamus.

And these guys grazing at the side of the road.

Here's a short video of what it looks like to drive off a cliff in a motorhome. This was just before Terlingua after we left Lajitas this morning. If you open it up to "Full Screen" it looks better.

Tonight we are in an RV park in Fort Stockton, TX. I think maybe I should have researched this one a little more. It's nothing more than a dust bowl, no grass, no trees, nothing.

And to add insult to injury we just came back from the Fort Stockton Walmart....at least 30 units parked there, people milling about, drinks in hand, BBQ's smoking, a real party atmosphere.

We were planning to be here for 2 nights. Instead we're leaving tomorrow, a day early, for a state park in Junction, TX. You can't win 'em all.

Part 2 In and around Lajitas

We are having a pretty serious wind storm here tonight so I thought I would use our time inside to update the blog.

Terlingua, is a re-inhabited ghost town that lies a few miles up the road from Lajitas. According to a recent article written about Terlingua, half the residents, “are drunker than snot 24/7”. This is another one of the “beyond eclectic” West Texas towns. Below is the trading post and restaurant.

As I was leaving the Trading Post a few days ago, (center of the picture above)  I was confronted by a grizzly old character wearing a sweat stained Stetson, a leather vest, dusty old camo cargo pants  and bare feet sporting green sparkle toenail polish. No six-gun that I could see.  I would have snapped a picture but there were a lot of locals around and it might have come off as a bit touristy. He said “Howdy”. I don’t remember what I replied with. When I described him to some people who have spent a lot of time here, they were pretty sure I was describing the renowned lawyer who comes here a few months a year  to “regain his sanity”.

The Starlight Theatre (see above, right of the store) is actually a restaurant, and a very good one at that. It used to be a theatre but the roof was lost in a wind storm, hence the name. In addition to the usual fare they also serve some local delicacies . Here's a peek at the appetizers.

This is the inside on a Tuesday night.

Packed to the rafters and great live music.

If you look closely just left of centre in the picture, above the flute, you will see a stuffed goat with a beer bottle in his mouth. This would be the former mayor of Lajitas, father of the present mayor.

We did a guided canoe trip down the Rio Grande. This was an incredible adventure, gliding through the canyons with the current.

We stopped for a shore lunch in Mexico. There are no border people here.

When your draft exceeds your depth you are most assuredly aground. This was the first fast water this couple didn’t take either backwards or sideways but they grounded instead. Miraculously they never got wet. The guide paddled back, gave them a shove and off they went.

Darlene and I managed to clip a few rocks too. The last rapid required a sharp “s” bend around 2 rocks, in little more than 2 canoe lengths. The guide told us exactly what to do, but that all went out the window when we rounded the first rock. Let’s just say we made it through, unassisted and dry. Old Towne canoes, they are tough!

Sorry, no Pics because I put my camera in a dry bag before we went through.

As for other activities, we've done some hiking. This was a hike into a dead end canyon, about half a mile and several hundred feet of vertical.

I did some riding in the desert too. The trails here are plentiful and challenging.

And just so you don't sleep too well tonight, I came across one of these....

This fella was a good 5 feet long. No worries though, it's a Bull Snake. They look and act like a Rattle Snake, but they are quite harmless (except for the nightmares).

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the ..........