In Carbondale

Saturday we decided to drive to Strausburg, Co from Wellington, KS instead of stopping at Wakeeney, KS. We had one long driving day which was either going to be Saturday or Sunday and decided to make it Saturday. We got in Strausburg around 6:30.

Sunday we arrived in Carbondale around 1 pm. Took a while to set and get everything out but we are now settled in. A nice dinner at The Whitehouse Restaurant and we are relaxing for the evening.

Wellington, Kansas

Last night we stayed at the K.O.A. in Wellington, Kansas. A small campground but close to a lot of business. Walmart is next door and the city is of decent size. We had dinner at "The Great Wall of China". Decent food for a typical strip mall take out restaurant.

Today we drive to Wakeeney, KS at the Colorado/Kansas border.

Site 61

 

12 more states to go! Excluding Hawaii :)

#7 - Wellington, KS - We are here
#8 - Wakeeney, KS - Saturday night
#9 - Carbondale, CO - Sunday afternoon

Alma Arkansas layover

Staying at the Alma KOA. Nice small campground on the Oklahoma/Arkansas border. Got here yesterday and today we hung around and went out on a paddle boat in the evening. Tomorrow we leave for Wellington, KS then Wakeeney, KS on Saturday and Carbondale on Sunday.

Campsite E7

Paddle boat pond

Chewie the Duck Stalker

 Ducks are everywhere and very people friendly. They come up to the campsites. One couple had at least 20 of them come up. After getting them back to the pond with corn and throwing it in, they then ran back to their site leaving the ducks behind. It would have been a great AFV video.

Paddle boating

Important rules at this KOA -

Rule #3 - "Removal of pet's fallout is owners responsibility"

We are here:












#6 - We are here now, Alma, AR
#7 - Friday - Wellington, KS
#8 - Saturday - Wakeeney, KS
(We are skipping Strausburg, Co and going to Carbondale on Sunday)
#10 - Carbondale, Co

Things to do in Portageville

Besides looking at endless miles of fields we did find one thing to do. We went to the Wolf Bayou Wildlife area. Looks like some place you see on Criminal Minds when they hunt for the missing person.  The "Bayou" though is drying up in a lot of area's. While northern Missouri is flooding, southern could use some rain, at least in this area. There is a nice boat launch and suspect they will film the next episode of swamp people here :)  There is a lot of swamp land that is not in the pic's.

This entire area is evaporating

Portageville, MO

We made it to Portageville, Mo around 3:30 today. Very small campground but nice staff. Only 3 other RV's here. Not much here but a lot of flat land and fields.

Site 37

Office in the distance

WE ARE HERE:

#5 - Portageville, MO

#6 - Alma, AR (Wednesday 4/24)

#7 - Wellington, KS (Friday 4/26)

Makers Mark Distillery Tour

Saturday we drove to see the Makers Mark Distillery Tour. It is about an hour south of Sheperdsville, KY where we are staying. Tammy, Mike, Emily, Steve, Suzanne and Tim went with us.
It was a interesting tour to see how the Bourbon is made and the process. After that we stopped at the Cozy Corner to each lunch. A bit slow but a decent place for lunch.

Tammy, Mike and Emily left for Mammouth cave after the tour and Steve, Suzanne and Tim came back to the campground for the evening. Made some Blueberry Crumb Cake to munch on. Tim took off to go back to Indy.

Tomorrow we leave for Portageville, MO.

One of the Distilleries

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Bourbon is kept in the kegs for 3-5 years

A tasting at the end. 3 glasses. Equvialent of moon shine, Maker's Mark and Maker's 46

Louisville Slugger

Friday early afternoon Steve and Suzanne arrived. After a nice lunch at Cattleman's Steak House we went to the Louisville Slugger factory and museum via some quilt shop :( Steve and I stayed in the truck and talked.

The factory tour is cheap at $11 a person and runs every 30 minutes. It's worth the trip It's amazing how fast they can now turn a bat with all the automation. The museum is not large, but interesting,  including the lego display.

Late Friday night Tammy, Mike and Emily got here. We sat around and talked with everyone till around 11. No fire tonight. I forgot wood and the store was closed when I thought about it. Maybe tonight.

We had a 40 degree temperature swing from Thursday (85) to Friday (45) and it is supposed to be 35 for a low tonight! Brrrr......Anymore anything below 50 is cold to me!

KOA Sheperdsville, KY (just a little south of Louisville)

Wednesday we took a short 2 1/2 drive from Nashville to here. I think Walmart is our "night out" lately. We went there again last night. Today was hot in the mid 80's but a strong storm is coming through tonight with the highs tomorrow and the weekend in the upper 50's.

KOA review :)
This is a medium size campground mostly gravel roads with a few sites that are extra wide and paved but at $60 a night I doubt worth it.  The staff is friendly. The campground is divided with a seasonal area and over night shorter stay area. A lot of stuff for kids and a cool playground. Families would definitely like all the activities. 

Friday afternoon Steve and Suzanne are coming from Dearborn and late Friday, Tammy and Mike from Cincinnati are coming down. I'm sure it will be a great weekend!

Sunday we leave for Portageville, MO then on to Arkansas, Kansas and finally Colorado.
Pictures and updates to come.

Relaxing in Nashville

Sunday 4/14 thru Wednesday 4/17 we stayed at the KOA in Nashville, TN. The campground was nice with a big pool and whirlpool. The laundry facilities were nice and clean and the main building housed the office, store and restaurant. The KOA is next to CampingWorld of Nashville as well as a couple of campgrounds and RV dealers. About a 1/3 of the campground is under major renovation and not useable. Looks like a complete overhaul with roads torn up, plumbing and electrical.

Site X11

Construction

Sunday we didn't really do anything. Monday we went and looked at RV's as well as had an exciting night shopping at Walmart!  Tuesday night we were going downtown but with the threat of storms we decided to stay in. It looked like any minute it would pour but never did. There are shuttles downtown and back every hour from the front of the office. Definitely would stay here again if we had planned ahead. I would also pick a larger site. The site we were in was narrow and there are sites that are much wider which would have been nice on a longer stay.

On the road to Colorado!

Thursday we drove to Mt Airy. Nikki and Travis drove up late and got in around midnight.  Friday we went Canopy Ziplining in Westfield, NC. One of the longest runs is approx 1,500 feet at approx 50-55 mph.
There are 14 tree platforms. It was a great day!

Saturday we went to Mayberry where the Andy Griffith show took place. A few spots are original like the barbershop and jail. The rest is pretty much like any other tourist area.

Travis

Kathy on the long run

Mayberry Campground Site 58

Now that we are traveling again the "We are here" is below for those that need it!!!

2 = Mt. Airy, NC 4/11 thru 4/14

3 = Nashville, TN 4/14 thru 4/17

 

 Total spring trip to Colorado is 2,450 miles.