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Sunday, June 9, 2013

A Day Of Hiking & Biking

Posted on 7:21 PM by Unknown
Day 4 - Saturday:  I decided early in the morning that I couldn't let an opportunity to ride some really great mountain bike trails go to waste.  This time I drove over to the trailhead and I was not disappointed.  It was two hours of sheer bliss and I carved through the woods on some pretty awesome single track.  If we only had a few more days here I would have been in total heaven.  It was a great work out and I was thoroughly exhausted.   It's been a while since I had a chance to ride off-road, most of my riding the last 6 months have been on the streets of Eastlake, Oh where I take a 1 hour ride each day during work to relieve a little stress.

As soon as I got back to the RV Michelle asked if we where gong hiking. Sure I said, after a shower and an hour in my outdoor reclining chair.  Well the hour turned in two, but I finally felt rested up and we grabbed our Kelty hiking poles.  We decided to hike the Ore Pit trail which you can access from the campground in a number of spots.  We started by the check in hut, but you can also access it from the rear of the campground or anyone one of the tent sites. The weather was amazing, a light breeze, partly cloudy and temps in the low 80's with low humidity.  The terrain is hilly, but not to steep.  The hike was only about 3.5 miles with sections of the Wildcat trail thrown in.  We didn't have any background on the Ore Pits, so although we saw some small pits it was hard to tell what and when activity actually occurred here.

Our friends Joe and Shelly who have traveled with us on many summer RV trips planned to arrive around 5 to join us for the remainder of the adventure.  Somehow they managed to shave an hour off their 10 hour trip and pull in early.  Once they wedged their 43 ft Allegro Bus between the trees and parked cars, we got things ready to cook dinner over the fire.  It seemed everyone else decided to come in on Saturday as well and the campground at this point was filled with smokey fires, screaming kids and a ton of barking dogs.  We sat around catching up on the past few days adventures and planned out tomorrows itinerary.  Since we would be pulling out at 7 am the following morning, we called it a night around 9 and I was in bedding and sleeping shortly there after.

It was a good day to be camping.

~Bill
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Saturday, June 8, 2013

Montgomery Bell State Park

Posted on 5:36 AM by Unknown
Day 3: Today was a short travel day (just 2
hours) from Cave City, Ky to Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tn.  Check-In at the state park is at 4 p.m., but lucky for us no one was on our site so you can check-in at anytime. This state park uses Reserve America for reservations and has nice photos of each campsite along with a lot of the details about each campsite. We picked a site that we thought would fit our RV well but you never can really tell by a picture. When we got here we found that what appeared like a big open camping area was actually very compact and all of the roads and sites are lined with trees. It took a lot of finesse to wedge ourselves between the trees, campsite marker posts and railroad ties lining each site.  All of these obstacles made getting into this fairly large campsite a challenge. If they would just take out a few of the trees that are right on the edges of the road this place would be much nicer to get into. We got into our site just before it started to rain and began to plan our next move for the day and decided on a early dinner in Dickson in hopes the weather would clear up for exploration later.  There where a number of restaurants just a few miles away, and we decided to play it safe after yesterdays bad experience and just hit another Cracker Barrel. I was dying for more of their grilled spicy catfish.

Afterward we got back I walked, feed and walked the dogs. Then jumped on my bike and tried to find the mountain bike trails but only ended up climbing a very long hill on rt 70 and not finding the road the trails where on. We then drove around the park, saw the Cumberland Presbyterian Church which was founded in 1810 in a log cabin which was the home of Reverend Samuel McAdow.   We also stopped in the Inn and Restaurant to get a trial map, and walked the dogs for the final time. Cali our older Shitzu (9 yrs old) loves to walk and would literally walk all day if she could. Wily is only 3 and would rather sit in the air conditioning than walk any day. Although he is pretty good about going in the morning when he knows he will get feed afterwards.

We pretty much had planned to use these first 4 days as a time to rest up and relax before the trip starts in ernest. Tomorrow evening friends of ours that we have made many summer trips with will arrive and Sunday the fun begins. For tomorrow I hope to do some hiking if the weather holds up.  

The cell coverage is pretty sketchy so my wifi hotspot is not working to well, but I will try and post what I can, I will add pictures and further updates when we get to Graceland on Sunday evening.

~ Bill
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Thursday, June 6, 2013

Mammoth Cave

Posted on 7:49 PM by Unknown
Day 2: Today we took the short drive from the campground to Mammoth Cave passing Dinosaur
World, and various other tourist traps.  We have visited a lot of caves & caverns over the years, a couple of small caves in Put-in-Bay, Oh, Hocking Hills, Oh, a number in Pa, Luray Cavern in Virginia and a few others that I can't even remember.  We are not cave experts nor do we particularly like caving, but it just seems like the thing to do in certain areas.  We decided to take the Historic tour which is a 2 hour 2 mile walk through the oldest part of the cave. We had a little time before the tour started so we checked out the cave museum which is super informative.  When they named the cave Mammouth they made a wise choice.  Mammoth cave is the longest in the world with over 400 miles of passage ways discovered to date.

Our ranger tour guide was super informative although his warnings about the tour would have made you think you would be spelunking the whole cave. The cave is awesome! It's tunnels in the main section are enormous and the 2 hours goes by pretty quick. The first section is easy walking to mammoth dome and where they use to pull out a product for making un powder. Then on to fat man's misery, tall man's misery and bottomless pit. I highly recommend making a visit, you won't be disappointed.


Afterwards we headed back and decided to have an early dinner. I was up for Cracker Barrel again,
but Michelle had read that the Watermill Restaurant had amazing catfish. Reading reviews that the decor was less than appealing, we knew what to expect and took a chance. I think they expect you to have the buffet and a quick look around the place confirmed it's pretty run down. I will admit I love a good buffet, but this one was not that good. I would give Golden Corral a 10 over this place. I think everything is cooked in a more southern style, so maybe the locals find the food much more palatable than I did.

Afterwards we went back to the RV, walked the dogs and then I took a bike ride into the historic portion of Cave City where they have a number of antique stores. Actually, the town has more antique stores than any other type of store. I checked my phone and found a Walmart about 6 miles away so we made a quick trip for a few odds and ends that we had forgotten. To be honest I am ready to head to our next location (Montgomery Bell State Park) and a more rural campground.


Till Tomorrow
~Bill
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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Summer 2013 RV Trip

Posted on 7:39 PM by Unknown
Day1:  Today was an 8 hour run down to Cave City, Ky and a 2 night stay at Cave Country RV Campground.  This morning I fired up the RV at about 8 a.m. and right off the bat there was a check engine light staring me right in the eyes.  I quickly checked my ScanGuage and found that it was a code that had come up last year.  Knowing it was not to severe I was not that worried although with any check engine light the engine would be derated in horsepower.  I figured I would run to the first rest stop, shut the engine down and that usually will clear the code.   At the same time I am thinking through my check engine light I have the Doran 360RV tire pressure monitor sounding off that there is a low tire on the Jeep which we are
Our 2012 Showhauler RV
towing.   Geesh!  Not the way I wanted to start the trip off.  Got the tire issue straightened out and we headed off on our 18 day trip.

Got to the rest area about an hour after leaving and sure enough a shutdown and restart cured the check engine light.  There is some sort of emissions valve that has a hard time opening when the RV sites during humid periods.  I guess I better not let it sit anymore ;-)

Traffic was minimal through Columbus & Cincinnati  Oh, along with Lexington & Louisville  Ky.  On
the north bound side of 65 there was the remnants of a burned to the ground Semi Truck that caused a 10 mile back up for those folks, which was easily an hour delay.  Just as we came up to the off ramp for  Cave City I could see an excavator that had just flipped ove on a hill side.  Chase our son got a couple quick shots of the accident, pretty crazy!

Cave Country RV Campground is a nice clean place, very long sites to fit any size rig and I would say a good place for a quick stop over as you travel through the area.  There is a lot of railroad noise along with some highway noise so if your a light sleeper, not a place your going to enjoy.  After getting setup we ran over to Cracker Barrel which is right around the corner for an early dinner and after it cooled down this evening I gave the dogs a good walk.  I had a great chat with two of our neighbors who where headed on their own RV journeys it opposite directions.  That is what I love about RV'ing, the opportunity to see so many cool places and meet such diverse and interesting people.   For me at least, it's much better than doing it over a computer.

~Bill
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Monday, June 3, 2013

Getting Ready For An RV Trip Is A Lot Of Work!

Posted on 5:51 PM by Unknown
RV trip to Mammoth Cave
Entrance to Mammoth Cave
For the past 10 years or so we have planned a 1 or 2 week trip usually in early June.  The weather is usually dry, temps are cooler and schools are still in session so crowds are not as bad.  This years itinerary is to head to Mammoth Cave in Ky, Graceland & Downtown Memphis, San Antonio, Galveston, New Orleans, Gulf Shores in Al and finish up in Nashville.  As you can tell we like to move around.  We look at these trips as recon missions to determine some of the places we would like to revisit for a much longer period of time when we are not attached to a none movable office.

Some of the supplies I like to use for the 3500 mile RV trip are as follows.  For toilet chemical I am really impressed with Kronen Premium Holding Tank Treatment.  I've had great results with this toilet chemical neutralizing odors even on the hottest days.  I use the Kronen liquid with the Blue Streak Chemical Metering System which works great, although you do need to flush with a good amount of water to insure the black tank has plenty of water and chemical to keep things smelling pretty.  For cleaning and polishing I love 303 Aerospace Protectant which I use on the tires, for the windows and chrome I love Gel-Gloss No Streek Glass Cleaner and for waxing I use Protect All Surface Care.  If you have aluminum wheels that do not have a protective coating on them, your wheels will shine like a mirror after an application of Magic Mix Chrome polish.  This stuff is truly amazing and is what truckers use to polish all those wheels and fuel tanks.

I spent last night adding all of our stops into the GPS, usually something I forget to do until we area on the road and really need it.   Adding a multi-stop trip is super easy in the Rand McNally RV GPS and I love the ability to quickly find the next rest area as we travel to our destination.  If you read my earlier post, I just remembered I need to update the weight rating to get better driving directions.  Most of the clothes and food has been loaded, and I have been prodding our son who just graduated from high school and is on his last big trip before working towards his life dreams of being a film producer & director.  I am still trying to get him to do a nice Youtube commercial for RVupgrades.

We head out Wednesday and I will post a daily update on the trip and a few highlights from each location.

~Bill
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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Stop Dragging Your Trailers Safety Chains

Posted on 6:51 PM by Unknown
fastway chain upFastway Trailer Products has come up with another great RV product innovation with the Chain Up.  This simple device is a heavy duty rubber sling that you run your chains through and then hang it over the ball of your hitch.  This is much safer than twisting or looping chains improperly and possibly causing safety issues.   The Chain-Up comes in two styles, one for ball mount and the other for weight distribution hitches.  Once you get to your destination and unhook you can easily hang the chains over the hitch and keep them off the ground.  It's a great little device to make your next RV trip a little easier and safer.  To check out Chain Up [Click Here]
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Saturday, June 1, 2013

Excel 5th Wheel RV with Rhino Lining RV Roof

Posted on 6:13 PM by Unknown
I love seeing real innovation in RV design and manufacture.  To many times you see one company
rhino lining RV roof
come up with something new and all of the rest just copy the idea instead of coming up with their own innovations.

Recently I read that Peterson Industries unveiled two new RV innovations with the first production Rhino lining RV roof and an entry door in a slide-out.  How awesome would it be to have a roof coated in that virtually indestructible product!  I am curious to know how well it seals around vents and such, but I am thinking your going to see alot of RV roofs with Rhino lining in next years line-up.  And they are giving it a lifetime warranty to boot.  I am thinking that if you never have to clean it, fix it, re-caulk it or maintain it in anyway, than it's for sure a winning idea.

RV door in slide-out
That door in the slide will allow for bigger slides and more space to enter the RV.  The step design was the hold up in this innovation and although not the prettiest solution with them flipped up instead of under the RV,  I guess it works.  Not going to work in a motorhome, but I m sure some designer is hard at work coming up with a solution.

You can check out the Excel Winslow with these great features here --> http://www.excelrvs.com/5th-wheels/excel-winslow/sdf-floorplan

Rhino Lining Eco-coat for RV's



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