Doc appointments

Not a lot of news this week.  Back at Fredericksburg for our annual doc visits.  Sorry - no pics of that!  So far, so good.  Prepping for my colonoscopy (tomorrow).  More info than you probably want there.  However, the Ensure Clear (non-dark) tastes pretty good.  Not worth going through a colonoscopy for, though.  Not nearly as good as a hot Ben's Pretzel, either.  But it is a small, bright spot in what I consider a dreadful experience.

Rainy week for most of us on the east coast.  We did get into the 80s before the weather system came in.

Donna's out visiting all her friends and working with one at a local hospital.  I've been scanning all the business channels watching the commodity & stock markets fall.  Much more interesting when you understand that you know just about as much as any talking head on these programs.  However, when you can catch a program where they let these professional investors come on and talk for a half-hour or more & they come with data, I find it really enjoyable.  Yep, I'm one of those weirdos.  

Wish me luck as I try not to eat the food in the frig.  Later, David

A Quick Stop at Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat'l Park

Fall colors along Lumberlost trail.

After the rain kinda, sorta, maybe, mostly quit, we continued on down to Shenandoah Nat'l Park with overnight stops at Streetsboro, OH & Bedford, PA.   Shenandoah was our weekend get-aways when we lived in Virginia, and it was great to go back.  Even nicer to go back with a 5.5 KW generator on board!  And that auto-level feature comes in real handy when you're in a campground where "level" is just a concept!

Beth came over to spend a couple of nights with us, and we got a really nice surprise visit from Howard (the 2nd), Howard (the 4th), Robin & Jessica.  We even got in an extremely close bear encounter on Lumberlost trail (in the old hemlock tree area).  Young bear which seemed to see us as no issue, but it was close.  It kinda went down like this:

Beth: There's a bear.
Me:  Really?
Beth:  Yep - right there?
Me:  WOW! (as I turn around) That is a bear.  It looks just like the stuffed ones you can buy.

So I try to get a picture.  As I get the camera up to my face, it decides it's prudent to walk off the trail.  So sorry, no picture.  I never thought we'd see a bear there with all the activity in the area at Lumberlost & White Oak Canyon trails.  Unlike our quick wolf encounter, at least Donna got to see this bear.

Always good to see what's changed.  The trees are really filling in at the old hemlock area of the Lumberlost trail.  The park is putting up new information boards throughout the park.  The menus at the Big Meadows Wayside & Lodge have slimmed down.  The blackberry cobbler is still great, but it doesn't looked homemade any more.  (I call it the "institutional look" pastry.)   Skyland, to us, had a better menu selection.  And they've updated their lobby at Skyland, too.  Now there's a table area ( in the lobby) dedicated to computer use with built in power outlets.  Good cell phone service (Luray, VA tower) at both the Big Meadows & Skyland lodges.  Fudge is still great, too!

But our time was short as we bumped up against the Columbus Day weekend.  We've moved on down to the Fredericksburg KOA today.  Doc appointments start tomorrow.  So we're gettin' busy fast.

Later, David

Colors along Loop A in Big Meadows Campground

Headed East

We made it into Shipshewana last Friday, got our mandatory cookie from Boundary Waters Cafe in Sturgis, Ben's Pretzels in Shipshewana, and got the trailer ready for service at Paul & Kay Cross's Indiana Interstate Enterprises.  Paul & Kay got us in & and out on Tuesday where most of the work was literally rebuilding the brackets on the kitchen slide that had bend or broken.  Turns out the problem with the frig was a bad ground.  Paul rewired the switch Steve Schrock had installed so the frig exhaust fans would run automatically or we could turn them on manually if we felt the need to do so.  Oh, and we have a working washer/dryer combo unit, again!  Stayed overnight at the shop & got an early move on Wednesday to Angola, IN to wait out the worst of the rain and plan our trip down to Fredericksburg.  

We plan to move tomorrow (Saturday) with stops in Streetsboro, OH; Bedford, PA; and we lucked out and got a campsite mid-week at Big Meadows in Shenandoah Natl Park before we head in to Fredericksburg KOA.  Looks like we'll be moving in the rain despite my best attempts to not do so.  (Rule-of-thumb:  he who moves in the rain isn't the person who washes his RV.)  So that prompted a call to Jeff at Central Virginia Detailing to arranged for wash & wax for both truck and trailer.  Since we don't plan on having Purvis service our truck (never ever again if at all possible), we should have enough time to get the truck detailed during this stop at Fredericksburg.

So that's our plan.  If it all goes well, we'll be out of contact Monday-Wednesday next week.  Later, David

Travelin'...

We're in traveling mode and on our way to Paul & Kay Cross's Indiana Interstate Enterprises/Cross RV (Lagrange, IN) for needed service and repairs.  We checked out of & left Voyageur's Natl Park on Monday.  Made stops at Duluth, MN and Oakdale, WI before arriving here at Hickory Hollow Campground in Utica, IL today.  If all goes well, we'll make it to Shipshewana, IN tomorrow for the weekend.  At least that's the plan!

Later, David

Le Done @ Voyageurs Natl Park

Fall has arrived.

We worked our last day of the 2014 season, today.  Ghosts of Voyageurs was great, but got us a little off track with the unusual hours.  Hence we're just a little late with this week's blog.  Would have forgotten it completely if Dad hadn't reminded me!

Colors are beginning to kick in.  Weather's cooler.  I've added one of Melissa Carlson's pics of Justin Olsen showing the quartz vein in Bushy Head Mine.  The quartz is what the miners were looking for.  Once they found that vein, the Bushy Head mine was drilled downward (vertical) along the quartz vein looking for gold.  The vertical shaft is now filled in, so you're now limited to just to walking (wading?) along the horizontal portion of the mine.

Plans are to move Monday after checking out.  Stops planned in Duluth, MN; Oakdale, WI; Utica, IL; and Lagrange, IN.  Of course that assumes things work so we can move.  We'll have the trailer & truck serviced at Lagrange.  At least that's the plan.

Later, David

We had a great group of rangers & volunteers to work with this season.  Gonna miss 'em!

And the weird hours begin...

Like any gov't agency, it can get pretty deep around here - you have to be prepared for anything!

Actually, we got a chance to visit the Bushy Head Mine Shaft.  It's a horizontal mine shaft and after the dams were built at International Falls, it's usually at or near the Rainy Lake shoreline (and below water during the summer flood.)   Since no one had visited the mine since the flood, we had to be prepared for anything.

The huge, condo-type beaver lodge is just across Black Bay from the visitor center.  The beavers started it during  high water.  As the flood waters receded, the beavers had to build it lower to the shoreline. This was a stop (weather permitting) during the Rainy Lake North Canoe programs this summer.

The Ghosts of Voyageurs programs begin today.  These are outdoor, evening performances, and our working hours have shifted to 1:30 - 10:00 PM to accommodate the new programs.   Tonight's show will be interesting as tonight's low is 29*F & two people are suppose to jump into the water.  I guess it's OK - do ghosts feel cold?

Anyway, that's our week.  Later, David

September arives

View from the decks at Sha Sha Resort

Daylight is getting shorter, temps cooler, and the trees (maples) are just beginning to turn - though probably not for the best of reasons.  It's the last three weeks of our season here at Voyageurs NP.  Only programs left are the tour boat runs and the upcoming Ghosts of Voyageurs evening program.  Consequently, our schedule is getting a little weird.

Some color in the maples

Starting next week we work 1:30-10:00 PM on Thursdays and Fridays, then back to 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM on Saturday & Sunday until the visitor center begins to close on Sundays.  We plan to be moving on by the 22nd.

Some of the motley crew of law enforcement & interpretative ranges (and a volunteer or two thrown in)

Randy and Shirley left last Sunday and experienced some issues on the way home.  They're fine and we think they made it home OK, but our frig decided it needed to go on the fritz (again) in sympathy.  (It did this earlier this summer when Randy & Shirley had an AC unit go bad.)

It's the stinking thermocouplers that turn on/off the frig's cooling fans, again.  We heard a couple of pops yesterday afternoon while Donna was cooking.  By late afternoon we could see the fridge temp begin to climb.  Our quick, easy fix to the fans didn't work (replace the existing thermocoupler), so we had something a little more serious.  The local RV tech came out and help us troubleshoot the thing.  The thermocouplers work, but not when installed in the frig.  So we have the fans now wired to run full-time & will install a manual switch in a week or two to turn them on/off as needed.

In the mean time, Donna's farmed out our frozen stuff to one of the rangers, and both ice chests were full for the night.  All is OK now, though.  Maybe the ranger will give us our food back.  We did leave our ice cream with him (mouse tracks flavor), so we can only hope.

Anyway, that's our week.  Hope you had a good one.  Later, David