October 30th got us to Diamond RV Park, a Thousand Trails park. We have a membership in Thousand Trails which gives us 30 free nights per year and then a $3 charge per night. We keep evaluating the benefit of this membership. So far, we have been able to make the investment in it work. This park was a really nice one (not all Thousand Trails are) so it was a pleasant stay for the nine days we camped there.
Our first full day in Kentucky was a trip to Campbellsville where we met our friends, Richard and Louise for a nice, long lunch at Colton’s Steakhouse. We met Richard and Louise last year at Las Cruces, NM. We spent a little bit of time there together and promised to keep in touch. While we were volunteering at Kartchner Caverns last winter, they were in nearby Tombstone. We saw them during their tour through the cave. When we realized that we would be fairly close to them in Kentucky, we arranged for this lunch. It was interesting to hear about their current situation – they are working at the huge Amazon Distribution Center. This is a first for them – working while on the road. They are making great money for this holiday season and getting into shape with the constant activity during their 10 hour work shift. They seem to be surviving well, even with four full 10 hour days plus mandatory overtime and working the overnight shift. It gave us something new to think about as we plan our future. It was great to hang out with them and look forward to the next time we meet – wherever that may be.
The cold weather is following us, but it is wonderful to see the lovely fall colors in these pretty Kentucky hills. On Friday, November 2, we went to Mammoth Caves. We have been excited about this cave for a long time. It is mammoth – incredibly large and still being explored. Right now, there are over 400 miles of mapped cave and one interpretive sign suggested that there could be 600 more miles unexplored!
Our first tour was the Historic Tour. The two-hour tour started in the natural entrance in a giant tunnel carved by a long-gone river. Even though the beginning of the tour showed a cave that was hardly untouched, it was fascinating to see the graffiti (now classified as historic writing) and the structures that were built inside the cave to support the mining processes of a century ago. Further along into the “mammoth” cave, we managed hundreds of stairs and long, very tight spaces to be close to the amazing features of limestone. The tour group was over 100 people but the stops at seating areas gave the guide time to explain what we were seeing and gave me time to rest my knees. Loved this tour!
There were some really tight passages on the tour!
It was difficult to take good pictures in the cave!
Climbing out of the cave at the end of the tour
We took a break from cave tours to go back to the history of Lincoln. We drove over to Hodgensville, the site of Lincoln’s birthplace. Inside a huge marble memorial building is a replica of the tiny log cabin, similar to the one Abe was born in. It was a striking contrast to see these two buildings in one spot – a contrast designed to show visitors the humble beginning that morphed into the grandeur of the White House. We have seen so much of Lincoln’s history and have really enjoyed this journey into the life of this president.
The Memorial Building at Lincoln/s Birthplace
Replica of the cabin Lincoln was born in
On Sunday, we went back to Mammoth Cave for the Domes and Dripstones Tour. By the way, tickets for the tours are about $17 for seniors. But with my America the Beautiful Senior Pass we got in for half price each. This is a true bargain for the marvels we got to see. This tour started through a tiny door in a tiny entrance that was dynamited into the sinkhole that formed there naturally. Once you get through the small man-made entrance you immediately go down a tight, spiral staircase of 280 steps, twisting and turning and bending. The stairs were installed within the natural hole – making the trip down breathtaking. The stairs eventually ended with long walks down larger tunnels. I loved this tour – and considering the physical toll it was taking on my body, I kept smiling with joy and wonder to be in this lovely place. We eventually got to part of the cave still dripping and creating beautiful decorations on the floors, walls and ceilings.
“Frozen Niagara” on our second tour
I’ve mentioned the bad weather we have been dealing with. Lots of rain and cold temperatures. But the really bad stuff was the tornado warning we had to deal with one night. We have a weather radio and were carefully watching the local station to determine how close we were to the danger zone. The tornado watch was a large expanse of the state, but the tornado warning seemed to skirt around us. But then suddenly we were in the warning zone. So, we closed the sides of our RV, grabbed our “go bag” with our important paperwork and walked over to the Clubhouse. It was a nice safe cinder block building with inside rooms away from the windows. We watched the storm go by us on television and only heard a few claps of thunder. We were joined in this space with 6 other folks and 3 dogs. I kept my eye on the dogs all of whom seemed pretty calm. I figured they would freak out first, so their complacency made me feel better. No tornado ever touched down that night, but some trees toppled a few miles away. I found myself wishing that I could have sheltered in the cave – the best place to be in tornadoes or earthquakes.
We had a few more days at the campground so we spent one of them in Bowling Green. There was really almost nothing to see or write about regarding this city. But we went to a branch of our bank to make a change to our account, ate at a Saladworks, and went to the Fruit of the Loom Outlet store to shore up our underwear supplies.
The weather continued to be cold and rainy, so we weren’t able to get out on the trails amidst the pretty trees and fallen leaves. We have spent lots of cozy days hanging out in our RV. The one nice day we had turned out to be Election Day. It was still pretty cold. I spent the daytime watching some really mediocre Hallmark Movies and then hunkered down all night to watch the election results.
After another few days of cold and rain and a quick trip to replenish our food supply, we left Mammoth to get to Huntsville. We stayed in a beautiful state park called Monte Sano. Our main purpose in Huntsville was to tour the U.S. Space Center. We spent all of Friday, November 9th, wandering through the exhibits in the giant halls of the center. We both have great interest in this country’s space program. Seeing the rockets, missiles and aircraft on display here added to what we learned at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We had lunch in the Mars Café and saw an IMAX movie on Extreme Weather. All together a great day – in spite of more rain!
The Pathfinder shuttle orbiter and external fuel tank along with the two solid rocket boosters
We got to Red Bay, Alabama on Saturday. Doug had researched the best times to get to the Tiffin Service Center. His planning paid off. We only had a few things to be looked at. Norris (the key person to get you into the service schedule) visited us early on Monday morning and within a few hours we were called into Bay 10 for Express Service (maximum time is 3 hours). We were done and back in our spot in just under 3 hours – all items taken care of. The service at Tiffin is great and Doug likes being able to stay in the RV and watch the repairs. It gives him information and techniques to keep our RV in tip top shape. I went over to the lounge to check it out and get out of the RV for a few hours. The weather was still too chilly and wet to be outside much.
Since we were lucky to get everything done so quickly, I took advantage of the nice laundry on site to get our clothes in order. I really like this laundry room. Every time I’ve been there, I go through the magazines, brochures, books and CDs. I love reorganizing everything. It makes me feel good to see it all nice and neat when I’m done, and it gives me something to do while the clothes are getting done. There is always someone nice to talk to, lots of reading material, a TV, and really inexpensive washers and dryers. I picked the right time to go and walked the clean clothes back to the RV during the brief time it wasn’t raining.
We left Red Bay – didn’t have enough time there to get out and do anything. Since this was our third visit, the only thing we really wanted to do was check out Muscle Shoals – lots of music history there. But the one day we had available was the rainiest day yet. We couldn’t see sloshing through puddles and getting wet and cold. We know we will be back in Red Bay, so Muscle Shoals will be something to look forward to.
Now we are in Anniston, Alabama in Campground of Oxford, next to Camping World. It’s almost lunch time and we are still trying to decide if we want to go out in the icy cold weather to walk to Camping World. We don’t really need anything, but we like to see their merchandise and sales. It’s so nice to have the option of not having to go out in the cold if we don’t have to! [We did venture out when the rain let up only to have a real downpour as we left the store to walk back. I think this is the first time we’ve used the umbrellas we carry around with us in the car. Other than wet feet, we stayed dry and then spent a warm cozy night in our home with our fireplace “roaring” and warm slippers on our feet.] We leave early tomorrow morning for Forsyth, Georgia.
We are hoping for nicer weather as we head to Georgia tomorrow.