Happy New Year!

Phoenix West II Tower (Orange Beach, AL)

Happy New Year!  Hope your 2017 is a great one.  We're having some wet weather here on the gulf - sort of getting that 70s one day, 40s the next day.  Mix of clouds & sun.  And of course, wind!

We've gotten into our routine.  Donna swims at the local rec center and rides with the Folks-on-Spokes.  I'm happy to just go out and visit all the new trails plus keeping up with the status of the ones under construction.  And - once again - we're eating out too much!

Anyway, hope you have a safe, happy and rewarding 2017.  Thanks for dropping by.  David

Lefty hangin' out, stayin' warm

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone has a safe and, if possible, relaxing Christmas.  We're fine.  Donna swimming & bike riding with the Folks-on-Spokes (Gulf Shores).  I'm walking and reading the fake news on the computer.  We're both staying warm and keeping as much sand out of the trailer as we can.  

And keeping up with the new bike/walk trails being added to the park.  Lots of money being spent on these trails.  Really nice, impressive work, too.  Seems like new bridges are being built everywhere.  Lots to be proud of.  Unfortunately, lots of work will be needed to maintain them.  Word we're getting is there is no money to maintain them.  Doesn't surprise me at all.  It's just the way things are done here in the deep south.

They've done an excellent job upsetting the snowbirds in Gulf State Park over the last couple of years, too, as they tried to improve the reservation process and become self-sustaining.  This year the park is significantly less full - maybe only 40% full or less - as snowbirds either chose not to come to this part of the country this season or just went to other RV parks in the area.  Have to wait until after New Year's to see if it stays that way or not.  Bet that low occupancy rate really helps out with the trail maintenance costs in future years.  Still the best place to park an RV and ride your bicycle in the area, though.  And there's always shrimp to eat...

Anyway, thanks for dropping by.  Do try to enjoy Christmas! Be safe!  David

More on the Back Country Trails (Gulf State Park)

Another week has gone by.  A few of the Folks-On-Spokes have arrived.  Donna's learning pickle ball.  We've gotten out more on the back country trails and eaten at Mikee's (seafood) & Moe's (BBQ).  We're prepping for our first below freezing night for the season and the burn ban is lifted.

The first two pictures capture how the state park has updated State Park Road 2 since we left in February.  Park vehicles and utility vehicles are suppose to stay on the left.  Bicycles are the center lanes while walkers & skateboarders stay to the right.  All have to honor the 35 mpg speed limit, I guess.

At right is the in-progress bridge running along what we've learned is the North Campground Trail.  This particular section runs along side Bear Road and will replace part of the Alligator Marsh primitive trail. They seem to moving right along.  As best as I can tell, most of the primitive trails remain intact.

This particular picture captures a portion of the half-mile long North Campground Trail bridge that runs parallel to Possum Road. Once this section is completed, you'll be able to walk/bicycle ride from State Route 2 or the terminus circle on Canal Road all the way to Powerline Trail on a paved path or bridge without traveling along any campground road.

Anyway, we're doing well and looking forward to the rest of the season.  Thanks for dropping by and checking on us.  Everyone stay safe & warm.  David

Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trails, Gulf State Park, AL

After a great Thanksgiving in Birmingham, we traveled down to Gulf Shores, AL for the winter.

The Back Country Trails have expanded since we were here in February.  State Route 2 is now a bicycle/skateboard trail from the Hugh S Branyon parking lot to Campground Road.  There's new bicycle trails running in and along side the campground.

New to me are the bridges to keep the bicycles and walkers off the environmental sensitive areas.  One bridge seems to run at least a half mile in length on the north side of Possum Road.

Pictures here are of some the views around the area trails.  The top picture is looking toward Gulf Shores.  The construction on the left is of the new conference center for the state park.

Second picture down is of the cabins from a new viewing point (reached by a new trail) on Shelby Lake.

Third picture down is from a new trail bridge running from the check-in/trailer storage area to a paved path toward Canal Road.

The next three pictures are of a new trail

running from Catman Road to the Rosemary Dunes Trail.

Bottom picture is of Rattlesnake Trail looking toward the Orange Beach Fire Department.  While I have no proof, we did see a bobcat along Rattlesnake Trail this morning.  It was faster than I could get the pciture taken - and I really didn't want to encourage it that I could be an early lunch, anyway!

So that's our first week here.  Thanks for dropping by.  Until next week - David

Happy Thanksgiving!

Donna and I wish you the very best of Thanksgivings.   Travel safe and enjoy your time together when ever you can.

Pelham, AL

We had a great visit with Doug & Louise while at Stone Mtn, GA.  Unfortunately for this visit, the forest fires and resultant smoke made for some uncomfortable days in the greater Atlanta area.

Today we traveled over to Pelham to visit Dad & Anna.  This is our last planned stop before we return to Gulf State Park for the winter.  Less smoke here, but it looks a lot like California here in Alabama.  Almost 80 F when we pulled in plus the severe drought leads to that "golden" (dead) grass look you get out in California.  (And you thought they named California the "Golden State" for gold...silly you.)  We crossed one old lake in western Georgia that now looks like a flood plain with a small creek running through it.  Lake Logan Martin, while low, looked better than we expected.  Concrete boat launch pads still don't make it down to the water, but the lake looked healthy considering the current drought conditions.

For this stop we plan to be here through Thanksgiving.  Will try to get some visits in with other people, too, while here.  We're just winging it for the next week, though.

Anyway, that's it for this week.  Thanks for dropping by!  David

Stone Mtn, GA

We're back in Stone Mountain to visit Doug and Louise.  We're having nice days, but this area is suffering from a severe drought.  The lake is down some, but not near as much as the lakes to the east.  The campground has added additional flyers in the brochure packs on fire safety.  Could easily have been fire restrictions, so they're giving campers a break.  There are forest fires to the north, so at times the park does fill with smoke.

I normally don't discuss politics on the internet, but yesterday was an enjoyable day for me.  I didn't think either Clinton or Trump were worthy presidential candidates, and I voted accordingly.  I didn't vote for either of them.  My hope was that neither candidate had enough electoral votes to win on Wednesday morning, and that a third party would take one state.  But that's not what happened.  However, I got to enjoy watching pundits back pedal.  The stock market went up despite the dire predictions of as much as a 20% drop.  (To quote an old Star Trek Klingon line, "Perhaps one day, but not today.")  Mark Cuban had to act adult.  Some of the elitist entertainers who said they'd leave if they're favorite candidate didn't win now have to put up or shut up. (And if you "shut up", we all now know your words are meaningless.)  And our famous, Nobel Peace Prize winning economist who advised the Obama administration that it was better to keep borrowing and pay back the public debt at a higher interest rate demonstrated - once again - that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about, either.  Oh, and let's not forget all those peace loving, all inclusive progressives who demonstrated (rioted?) in Portland, OR.  Now that's a show of tolerance all Americans can all get behind!

Personally, I expect little to change.  Democrats have enough to filibuster in the senate.  If you sat six  Republicans down and asked them the same question, you'd get at least seven different answers.  Yep, that's a tight knit group there - some of whom seem to be the party of "No" now matter what the subject is.  Plus, they're all politicians, and politicians rarely do anything big.  (Anyone seen an approved, signed federal gov't budget lately?)  So I suspect it's never as bad as it seems - though I'm real good at making it seem that way.  And it's probably never as good as it seems, either.

See ya! David

High Point, NC

After finishing up with all our planned visits at Fredericksburg, we moved down to High Point, NC today.  Plan to be here over the weekend visiting friends and eating too much...just like everywhere else.  Had good weather for the trip down.  This is another stop that we usually get a lot of rain, but the drought has put a dent in that for this visit.  Looking forward to seeing everyone while we're here. Current plans are to continue moving south on Monday. David

Last week near the 'Burg

We're rounding out our doc appointments for this year.  We each have two new capped teeth.  First time for me to have 3-D printed caps.  So that was a new experience - having caps made while you wait.  We've gotten the truck detailed.  That ensured a 100% chance of rain within a day - which it did. Otherwise, it's me walking the campground while Donna goes swimming & visiting.

Pictures here are of Elizabeth's (Donna's niece) and Donna's handiwork over the weekend at Elizabeth's house.  Donna traveled up for some "bonding" and home improvement.  Looks like they did a great job sealing the repaired deck/porch.  It seems Elizabeth is a pretty good DIYer.  Donna came back pretty impressed with her work.

So that's what we've been doing.  Current plans are to move to High Point, NC next week before traveling further south to Stone Mtn, GA, B'ham, AL, & Gulf Shores, AL.  As always, that's the plan.  David

Third Week - Still near the 'burg

We've slowly checked off doc visits and follow-up.  Still one to go.  Been visiting friends and eating too much.  Doc said I could stop losing weight.  Didn't think docs would ever say that, but I pretty sure that's what he said.  Even the Wii has mentioned it.  We'll see if that still holds true after this week!

Post office found our absentee ballots.  We believe they're back in the area, but need to confirm.  One of our banks has been sending us email after email telling us to activate a new card.  I'm thinking it's probably done more traveling with our absentee ballots that we did for a whole year as full-time RVers.  They can always send a new one.

New computer...well not a lot has changed.  USB 3.0 slots that are suppose to be backwards compatible to USB 2.0 devices may...or may not... be backwards compatible.  Apparently, our printer isn't.  The Logitech mouse is.  The new machine is (according to all labels and information available) a 64-bit Windows 10 machine.  Some software (32-bit software - Microsoft Office 2010) that you'd expect to be incompatible with 64-bit machines seem to work fine. Tried on a dare just to see if Office 2010 would work when the Microsoft Office 2016 download page would only send a 32-bit version.  So far, so good.  Had to update to Quicken 2017 to get quicken to work.  That seems to be working quite well as of an hour ago.  Windows 10 still wants to update when I have the poorest internet connect possible and still be considered connected to the internet.  So some things never change!

Anyway, Donna's off to visit Elizabeth for the weekend.  Hope they have a good time painting and "bonding".  I'll hang out at the campground & fuss with the computer.  Until next week, David

Weekly Update

Our first week back in the 'burg has been busy with doc appointments.  It seems like we've been on the move the whole time.  We've been pronounced "healthy", but teeth need work. We're working on fillings that have been done twice. Apparently, caps are next for those old fillings.  Still a few more doc visits to make.

Post office still doesn't know where our absentee ballots are.  No joke:  USPS tracking says they're being returned to South Dakota.  They've had plenty of time to make it back.  So just where are they in that journey?  

Geek squad got my 7-month old laptop computer working, but only when it's plugged into power.  New one on order.  We're done with Toshibas.

Cell phone seems to be returning to "normal" - whatever "normal" is for a "smartphone".

Trailer about 1/3rd washed/waxed.    Truck washed.  Still need to set up an appointment to get it detailed before we leave.

So that's where we're at.  Looks like a good weekend for us.  Hope you have one, too.  David

Back in Fredericksburg, VA

We're in Fredericksburg, VA now, but wanted to post some pictures we got along Skyline Drive on Thursday before Hurricane Matthew passed by.  Gorgeous day.  We took a second longer hike around Stony Man Mt and met a really nice couple from Israel along the way.

Whenever we have the trailer serviced and we're able to get all the appliances

working, we're always looking over our shoulder waiting for that first one to break  We got to Thursday - 8 days.  Our record?  2 weeks.  I always take this opportunity to point out to people shopping for RVs that the RV industry's core value is to build a pretty, visually appealing RV that makes you want to buy it.  Quality, durability, reliability do not exist.

If you were to take a manufacturing tour of a RV manufacturer, you would be dismayed and depressed.  Pride of workmanship does not exist in the RV industry's manufacturing process.  Buy an RV at your own risk.  There are organizations looking out for the RV manufacturer, dealer network, and campgrounds/RV parks.  There are no organizations looking out for you.

Lemon laws have been rescinded.  Warranties are hit n' miss.  Donna & I have not experienced a good warranty situation since we retired.  I'm told there are good ones out there, but we haven't found them.  What we have experienced are expensive pieces of paper.

On Thursday morning we lost our over-the-air antenna.  Our current antenna is our second one on this trailer.  They're no longer made.  We had planned to replace the antenna with a newer one, but was talked out of it by the service center due to numerous problems with the newer, replacement antenna.  So we have one dead appliance with no viable replacement.  Typical RV industry result.

Mid-afternoon Thursday my cell phone died while trying to check emails at Big Meadows Lodge.  We've since ran it through a safe mode and uploaded all app updates.  It seems to be working fine now, but the battery life appears to have been cut in half. That may be due to our location here at the KOA.  We'll just have to wait & see.  I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that I'm part of the generation that made Bill Gates a billionaire by buying his software that didn't work.  For everyone that comes after me, I do regret that it now appears that's the business model everyone is trying to emulate.  I'm truly sorry that we created this situation for you.

Thursday evening, our generator died.  The generator has been a workhorse for us for 8 years and provided for many pleasant visits to the Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah NP.  I'm only upset that it picked an extremely inconvenient time to break down.  We were extremely low on battery power, and I was counting on that generator to give us the power we needed to pull the slides in on Friday morning, raise the leveling legs, and hitch to the truck.  We decided to completely shut down everything on the trailer, move food that we would use to an ice chest, and keep a couple of buckets of water available in the shower to flush the toilet.  We woke up Friday morning, turned on the batteries and found we had 11.5v of power.  We plugged the trailer into the truck.  When the voltage climbed to 11.7v, we got the trailer ready for travel and put it on the truck.  As Donna says, it all moved real slow, but it moved.  Once on the truck and trailer ready for travel, we turned the frig back on and left. We never shut the truck off until we were in our campsite at the KOA.   Everything worked well.  We had ice by the time we got to Fredericksburg, VA.  We didn't lose any food.  We'll work with the manufacturer, set up appointments, and get the generator taken care of the next time we're in Elkhart.

For us, Hurricane Matthew has come and gone.  We had a lot of rain.  Today is sunny and windy.  Donna's out picking apples.  I'm listening to football and on the computer complaining about RV manufacturers.

Next problem up for us is Spotsylvania Post Office playing hide & seek with our absentee ballots.

We moved to Fredericksburg, VA in May of 1996.  It took a week for me to determine that Fredericksburg, VA post offices are the worst post offices in the country.  By our retirement in 2010, they were still the worst post offices in the US.  We've traveled coast-to-coast and border-to border in the last 6 years.  Fredericksburg Post Offices are still the worst post offices in the lower 48 states.  Apparently, it has now spread to Spotsylvania Post Offices as well.  Our pastor preached this morning on storms that pass through our lives, why they come, and how to solve/survive them.  When it comes to the local post offices in this area, I wish I could be the storm.  They're affecting Donna and my right to vote in the upcoming national elections.  As much as I hate the ACLU, it may be time to give them a call this week and see if they can provide any pressure to help us get our absentee ballots.

Later, David

Stony Man & Skyland Lodge, Shenandoah NP

Rain finally broke on Sunday and made a nice day for our we drive down to Big Meadows campground on Monday.  We have a better feel for how the batteries will handle the residential refrigerator (via inverter), so we're able to stay on top of things this visit.

Tuesday was a beautiful day out.  So off we went to Stony Man for a hike and

lunch at Skyland Lodge.  We were surprised to find that the park was updating the walkways around Skyland Lodge.  As you can see from the pictures, the walkway is rough and contains various paw and foot prints.  Just a really nice job on the paved path.  Bet it looks great when the landscaping is finished.  We've placed all the pictures we took of the paw & foot prints to give you a feel for what it looks like.

Bottom picture is of the mobile visitor center (van) parked at Byrd Visitor Center.  The stuffed fox caught our eye and it was perfectly placed to make you think a live fox was in the van.  Guess you just have to keep an eye out for wildlife everywhere!

We leave for Fredericksburg, VA Friday.  Then, like everyone else, we'll see what Hurricane Matthew is doing for the weekend.

Thanks for dropping by. David

Cuyahoga Valley Nat'l Park

We spent Friday & Saturday at the KOA in Streetsboro, OH.  The rain broke enough on Saturday for us to take a visit to Cuyahoga Valley NP.  This park is very similar to the C&O Canal.  It follows the Cuyahoga River and the canals built for transportation.  The tow path is now a walk/bicycle trail.  Some of the canal still remains with stagnant water.  Some old locks can still be seen, too.

We walked some of the old tow path between Boston and Peninsula (both Ohio).  Maybe 4 or 5 miles.  As you can see, the Cuyahoga River is somewhat muddy from the rains.  Trail could be muddy in places and some ponding at times.  Nice just to be out with being rained on, though.

Eastbound in the Rain

We be travelin'.

After leaving the Folk-On-Spokes Rally in Ohio Friday, we drove up to Lagrange, IN to have the trailer's semi-annual service.  New toilet, new black & gray tank dump valves & handles, some plumbing fixtures relocated for easier (future) repairs, generator & hydraulic system serviced, and normal safety checks completed for this service appointment.  This morning it was an oh-dark-thirty hitch and move to Elkhart, IN to get the trailer axles aligned.  That's done, and we're spending the night at Circle B Campground just west of Angola, IN before moving on to the KOA in Streetsboro, OH for the weekend.

As seems to almost always be the case, we're following the rain to Virginia.  Last year we were rained out of our reservation at Big Meadows Campground, Shenandoah NP due to a hurricane.  This year we're stuck under a stationary low that's providing rain eastward as we travel east.  As you can guess, truck & trailer not near as clean as we were in this picture back in 2013.  But we have gotten the bugs off the front of the truck's windshield and grille plus Donna cleaned the front of the trailer, so we appear clean from one angle, anyway.

It appears the federal gov't will stay "open", so it looks like we may get a few nights in Shenandoah NP this year.  After that it's our semi-annual stop for doc appts and friend visits in Fredericksburg, VA.  We plan to be there for about a month.  After that, it's a slow trip to Gulf State Park, AL for the winter.  At least that's the plan!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and checking on us.  Until next week, David

We be travelin'.

After leaving the Folk-On-Spokes Rally in Ohio Friday, we drove up to Lagrange, IN to have the trailer's semi-annual service.  New toilet, new black & gray tank dump valves & handles, some plumbing fixtures relocated for easier (future) repairs, generator & hydraulic system serviced, and normal safety checks completed for this service appointment.  This morning it was an oh-dark-thirty hitch and move to Elkhart, IN to get the trailer axles aligned.  That's done, and we're spending the night at Circle B Campground just west of Angola, IN before moving on to the KOA in Streetsboro, OH for the weekend.

As seems to almost always be the case, we're following the rain to Virginia.  Last year we were rained out of our reservation at Big Meadows Campground, Shenandoah NP due to a hurricane.  This year we're stuck under a stationary low that's providing rain eastward as we travel east.  As you can guess, truck & trailer not near as clean as we were in this picture back in 2013.  But we have gotten the bugs off the front of the truck's windshield and grille plus Donna cleaned the front of the trailer, so we appear clean from one angle, anyway.

It appears the federal gov't will stay "open", so it looks like we may get a few nights in Shenandoah NP this year.  After that it's our semi-annual stop for doc appts and friend visits in Fredericksburg, VA.  We plan to be there for about a month.  After that, it's a slow trip to Gulf State Park, AL for the winter.  At least that's the plan!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and checking on us.  Until next week, David

Folks-On-Spokes (Gulf Shores, AL) Miami Valley Area Rally

We're attending our second Folks-on-Spokes, Gulf Shores, AL rally. This year it's being held in Spring Valley, OH and focuses on the bicycle trails in the Miami Valley Area.

We're staying at the Frontier Campground.  It's an older campground.  Rugged.  Hookups can be haphazard depending on your site.  It's not big-rig friendly, but patience will help you get into your site.  There are other big rigs here besides us.

So what do you do at a Folks-On-Spokes rally?  Apparently, you ride bicycles, kayak if you're near a river, and eat - usually ice cream.  About 50 people made it to this year's rally.

The bicycle trails here are excellent.  The rally has focused around Xenia, OH as that town seems to

be sort of a center with the trails emanating out like spokes on a wheel. (We'll skip any puns here.)

Pictures here are from today's ride starting from Young's Jersey Dairy (north of Yellow Springs) and riding south to Xenia.  The covered bridge is just south of Yellow Springs.  As you can see, it gets lots of attention.

The Little Miami River is a pretty river and provides some scenic views as you cross over it.  In today's pictures, we're several miles down stream from John Bryan State Park - almost to Xenia.  Most of the trails we've ridden look similar to what's shown here.

So if you're ever in the area, take advantage of these trails, if you can.  David