2012 Summer Trip – Destination Blue Ridge Parkway

Our Summer Trip did not exactly get off to a good start.  Monday morning, I got up with a stomach virus.  We left Bloomington on Wednesday morning.

We headed south on SR 37 to Paoli, and then east on SR 150, which goes through Hardinsburg, my hometown.  I could hardly believe that it looks more decrepit now then it did when we left 5 years ago!  Even the once popular dairy bar is long closed, and grown over with weeds.  Actually, we never lived in town, but about 3 miles out in the country.

     

The nearby town of Fredericksburg is almost nonexistent now.  The old buildings are not just abandoned, but gone.

     

There are still pretty farmland areas along 150, but the crops are suffering this year due to the drought.

Once you get through Louisville, driving through Kentucky is always scenic.

           

It wasn’t long until we were rolling through the horse country near Lexington.  I spotted two of the Kentucky Quilt Trail Barns, and managed to snap a photo of one.  This is a trend of painting quilt designs on barns that has spread through several states.  Click here  or here for more information on Quilt Trails.  There’s even a blog on the Quilt Trails.

    

 

We stopped at Berea, KY for the night.  We parked at Walnut Meadows RV Park.  It looks to have once been a nice RV park, but has been neglected.    All you get for your twenty dollars now is a level pull through gravel site with water and electric, but we’ve paid more for less a few times, and the park was adequate for a couple of days.

Ron became ill in the evening with the virus I’d had.  We woke up to rain, and decided to just spend the day there, recuperating from our illnesses.

The next morning, it was still raining, but we were both feeling better, and decided to move on.  After a couple of hours, the rain lessened.  All the much needed moisture also created nice photos of steam rising from the upcoming mountains – hinting of the famous “Smoky” Mountains farther south.

There were times when the woods appeared to be on fire.

 

We took I-40 toward North Carolina.  By the time we reached the state line, showers were coming again.

 

Even with the raindrops and clouds, it was still one of the more beautiful stretches of Interstate that we’ve driven.

    

The end of the day’s trip brought good news and bad mixed with good. 

The good news?… we were able to get the very last site at Powhatan Lake Recreational Area with electric hookup. 

The bad news?… I entered the 5th wheel to hear our bedroom vent fan running.  Somewhere, thankfully after the rain quit, the wind had torn off the cover to the vent, taking the automatic switch with it.  The fan was running, open to the sky.  Had it happened during the rain, our bedroom would have been soaked!  We are very thankful that the only damage was to the fan.  We taped a garbage bag over the opening, and our makeshift repair lasted through the night, even though it poured rain at times.

From Bloomington, IN to Bloomington, IL

We’re on the road again!  We traveled Interstate 74 today, a new route for us.  The roadsides remained the same from Indiana into Illinois, as we passed cornfield after cornfield.

We have found, as we’ve passed through Illinois before, that the state has some of the best rest stops we have found.  The pictures below are from the welcome station on I-74 as you enter Illinois.

In front of the information area is an antique road grader. A little research turned up that this pull type grader model was manufactured between 1905 and 1961.The operator spent his days standing unprotected on open grader.

A short walking path winds near a small lake behind the center.

     

May was our family month

Back in Indiana, it was time to celebrate several family milestones.  We parked in Chris and Jeanne’s driveway to finish out the month of May. 

The day after we arrived was Alyssa’s 16th birthday.  She chose a vegetarian restaurant in Bloomington for dinner, which we shared with other family members.  Dessert followed at home.

That weekend, we attended Cassandra’s graduation from Ball State University, and her Open House the following day.

 

The next weekend brought Chelsey’s graduation from Bloomington South High School, and her Open House.  We’re very proud of our two girls

We also had the pleasure of attending the last concert of the year by the Indiana Youth Philharmonic.  Alyssa played a flute solo.  Here, she stand for recognition

Ron found a willing helper in Dakota.  During our stay, Ron worked at clearing the edge of the yard.  Dakota learned quickly to help dig, and then to grab the roots of multifloral rose to pull it from the ground.

Rain prevented him from working every day, but he enjoyed mowing and filling ditches when the sun shone.

Chelsey works at the Rocky River Farm Equestrian Center.  We visited one morning, and enjoyed meeting the many horses.

 

Annually, our home church, Liberty View, moves its services to Spring Mill State Park for an outdoor service and “dinner on the grounds”.  It was the first time we’d seen many of the congregation for two years, and despite the rain, was a great time to renew friendships.  

We returned to Spring Mill later in the month for a family gathering with cousins.  Cassie went along, with her new camera.  We teased her that we seldom saw her face that day.

We found time for play, too.  We had several family pool games throughout the month…

…lots of walks through Foggy Morning Glen…

and hot dogs roasted over a bonfire.  The time seemed to fly, and before we hardly knew it, May was gone, and it was time to move to McCormick’s Creek State Park and our Camp Hosting job.