The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay – October 2020

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

It’s amazing what you can discover searching the internet. I can’t remember what I was looking for, but I stumbled across a discussion of kayaking on Mallows Bay in Maryland. The more I read, the more I was intrigued. There is a lot of history of the Liberty Ships, cargo ships that were mass produced for World War II. What I discovered was that between 1917 and 1919, during World War I more than 100 wooden steam ships were built for the U.S. Emergency Fleet. Their construction in forty shipyards and in seventeen states reflected the massive national wartime effort.

At the end of WWI, these ships, poorly constructed and now obsolete, had to be disposed of. Most of them were purchased by the Western Marine & Salvage Company and brought to Mallows Bay, off the Potomac River. Here they were stripped of their metal components, beached in Mallows Bay, and burned to the waterline. The burning occurred on November 7, 1925, and was the greatest destruction of ships at one time in U.S. history. During WWII, Bethlehem Steel Corporation dredged a salvage basin to recover the remaining metal components from the ships to support the war effort. After that was completed the ships were towed back into the bay.

In the 1960’s there was an attempt to remove the hulls in order to build a power generating station in the area. The House Committee on Government Operations identified that an aquatic habitat and ecosystem had been created by the hulls of these ships and declared their removal was unnecessary.

Charles County manages a day-use area at the site. The Ghost Fleet was designated as a National Treasure in 2017. The Chesapeake Bay Program and Charles County has published a guide that highlights sixteen of these wrecks for a self-guided tour.

The Accomac is the only steel-hulled vessel in Mallows Bay. It serviced the ferry route between Cape Charles and Norfolk until it suffered a fire and was taken out of service. It was scuttled in Mallows Bay in 1973.

The Benzonia was named after a Michigan town, served for a brief period during WWI and then sold to the Western Marine and Salvage Company.

The Three Sisters is a group of three wrecks: The Dertona, the “Heron Wreck,” and the Moosabee.  The Dertoona was briefly in the coasting trade. The “Heron Wreck” is named for the frequent sightings of great blue herons on and about the site. The Moosabee carried timber logs to Europe from 1919 until 1922.

The Flower Pot Wrecks are two unidentified U.S. Shipping Board WWI ships. Both wrecks are overgrown with vegetation and fire damage is evident.

The SS Boone was named by the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. The Boone was launched in 1918. Her career was brief and it was sold for scrap in 1922.

We kayaked around the Ghost Fleet on Monday morning, September 28th. After lunch we drove to Fort Washington. Constructed from 1814 to 1824, this was the first permanent fort constructed to defend the Potomac River and the Nation’s Capital. In addition to touring the fort, we were able to see the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the Washington Monument.

We spent Tuesday doing some shopping and maintenance. On Wednesday, we headed for Yorktown, VA and America’s Historic Triangle.

Posted in Fulltime RV, Maryland, Michigan Traveler, Military RV Parks | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Flight 93 Memorial – September 2020

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

On September 11, 2001 forty passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 fought the first battle of the War on Terror. We don’t know, but believe the terrorists intended to fly Flight 93 into the Capitol Building. Because of these brave actions Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, PA instead of the Capitol.

I have been fortunate to have visited this hallowed ground on three previous occasions. I led the Leadership Development Program for the Pittsburgh District of the Army Corps of Engineers from 2008 to 2013. During three of these years, my students and I visited the Flight 93 Memorial while it was being built by National Park Service and the Corps of Engineers. What an experience! We were able to see parts of the site that are not open to the public and hear the inside story of the challenges faced by these organizations.

2011 LDP Class

We stayed at the Friendship Village RV Park near Bedford, PA. It’s a nice park and a relatively short drive to the Memorial. The day we toured the Memorial was overcast and dreary, and it set an appropriate somber tone for our visit. This was the first time that I was able to tour the new Visitor Center. It was quite a contrast from my first visit. Then the “Visitor Center” was nothing more than the pole barn that had been the headquarters for the National Transportation Safety Board, the FBI, and the County Coroner during the initial recovery. It displayed some of the initial items recovered from the crash and memorial items left by families of the passengers and crew, and nearby residents.

Flight 93 Temporary Memorial

The new Visitor Center is a building filled with stories. Two huge outer walls trace the flight path of the aircraft prior to the crash. Inside the exhibits include the position of the passengers prior to the hijacking and their general location after the hijacking. This was compiled based on the seatback phones they used to call family. There are transcripts of some of those calls, radio calls from pilots and air traffic control personnel, and excerpts of radio and TV broadcasts. All of these made it real. It brought back memories of that terrible day when I heard the news in real time.

The approximate point of impact is marked with a huge boulder. The story of how the boulder was transported and placed is a testimony to the creativity and dedication to the private contractors, National Park Service, and Corps of Engineers personnel involved. The crash site itself is only accessible to Flight 93 passenger and crew family members.

From the Visitor Center we walked along a trail to the Memorial Plaza. This was constructed before the Visitor Center and memorializes the names of the forty passengers and crew in a wall constructed along the flight path. From the end of the wall you can see the boulder at the impact site.

From there we walked along the walkway through the forty hemlock groves back to the Visitor Center. On our way out of the Memorial we stopped at the Tower of Voices. This was the last part of the Memorial to be built. This tower has a system of forty wind chimes, representing the voices of the passengers and crew.

The next day we drove to the town of Bedford. We had been told by friends that it was a neat town with unique shops, and they were right! We stopped at the Visitor Bureau and picked up a map of a walking tour of the town. A couple of the most interesting stops were:

1. Fort Bedford Museum. This is a reconstruction of the original fort that was built in 1758 and was used as a supply point during the French and Indian War.

2. The Veterans Memorial honoring Bedford men and women who gave their lives in the service of their country.

3. The Lutheran Parish, not for the building but for the six panel door. The door was designed centuries ago to identify a house as a Christian home. The top four panels outline the shape of a cross. The bottom two panels depict an open Bible with the spine of the book in the center.

4. The most unique building was the Coffee Pot. In 1927 it was built in the shape of a coffee pot by Bert Koontz to draw business to his gas station that was next door. It served ice cream, hamburgers, and Coca-Cola. In 2004, in order to preserve it, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor (a historical organization) moved it to its present location.

On Friday we drove to meet some friends from Key West who live nearby in Hollidaysburg. Nelson and Kim are great friends and after a tour of their home, served up a terrific dinner. Nelson is an accomplished musician and we often play together in Key West, I have learned SO much from him!

The campground hosted a Bluegrass Festival on Saturday and I was able to listen to couple of bands, it was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Sunday, September 27th we headed down the road to Joint Base Andrews, southeast of Washington, DC.

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Hunkering Down in Bad Axe, MI – June/July 2020

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

We arrived in Bad Axe, MI on April 23rd. This was our “safe harbor” during the pandemic, thanks to the generosity of Pat’s brother, Geri, and his wife, Marcia. We parked the trailer in their backyard and plugged into the 30-amp outlet in his shed. Because we had been traveling for the last week or so, we agreed that we would self quarantine for two weeks. After that time was up, we were back into more of our usual routine. They would host us for dinner sometimes and we would do the same. Sometimes dinner was a joint effort.

We thought we had spent enough time in the South that we would be in Michigan for a warm spring – guess again, it was COLD! We were running the furnace so much that I was going through a thirty-pound propane tank in a week. We had both snow and rain. In the Midland area they had so much rain that a dam broke and caused massive flooding. Residents that were already dealing with COVID-19 now had to deal with flooded or destroyed homes, living in shelters, and rebuilding. Homes that used to be waterfront properties now looked out onto a mud flat.

Needless to say, we did not do a lot of visiting anyone else while we were there. However, we made a couple of trips to the family’s cottage on Rifle Lake, near the town of Lupton for Memorial Day weekend and a week later. There we did some of the normal spring cleaning and repair. Geri and Marcia’s daughter, Tara, and her husband, Ron, came up with their kids, Addie and Grant. We had lots of fun and got a lot of work done. Rides in the pontoon boat and late afternoons on their deck looking out onto the lake for happy hour were always good.

Back in Bad Axe, I went to work on a project. They have a small (four foot) lighthouse at the cottage that was showing lots of wear from the weather, and we decided that I would repair and repaint it. This was not true work as I enjoyed doing it and it gave me something productive to do with my time.

We did drive up to Grindstone City, near the tip of the Thumb to get ice cream at the Grindstone City General Store. Their ice cream is the best and the servings are huge! Due to COVID-19 they were only serving cups, not cones, but it was still worth it.

Staying at Geri and Marcia’s is really being in nature, as evidenced by these two deer that wandered right through their backyard.

Almost every morning Pat and I would ride our bikes, or walk for exercise. The walking was a real treat for their dog, Dakota, and we gave her some good, long walks.

On June 27th, Pat and I drove to Port Austin for the Port Austin Porch Fest. Organizers arranged for musical performances on neighborhood porches around town. Maps were available at any business and we were able to sit on the lawn and listen to a variety of musicians. My musical preference is folk music, but there were performers doing rock, jazz, and more. The one that impressed me the most was a seventeen-year old young lady who was in Port Austin for her fifth year! She is already a well-known singer-songwriter in the Port Huron/Detroit area. What a beautiful voice!

Independence Day week found us at the Rifle Lake cottage. This time we were joined by many more family members. It was a great week of fellowship, and enjoying good, homemade food together. Of course we spent time on the pontoon boat and swimming in the lake. The weather was so hot that the lake was like bath water. We watched fireworks from the lake, it very easy to do social distancing this way.

On July 15th, we flew to Tacoma, WA, but that’s a story for our next post.

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The Woes of RV Repair – June/July 2020

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

In May of 2019, as we were leaving our campsite at Elsworth AFB, our fifth-wheel trailer slid out of the hitch and dropped onto the bed of our pickup. I had visually checked it and we did our test pull, but it still happened. We had the trailer and truck repaired over the summer at Wescraft Truck and RV in the Tacoma, WA area, and thought we were good to go. Unfortunately, as we were traveling to Florida, I noticed that the trim molding under the front cap had been damaged and was bent. I attempted to fix it, but the same condition reappeared after each fix. After more investigation, it appeared that the frame behind the cap was moving independently of the side of the trailer. By now COVID-19 was going on and we headed to Michigan to “hunker down.” Once we arrived in Michigan I found that my normal RV dealer was closed down, but I was able to make an appointment with General RV in Birch Run, MI. I had never had service done there but had used their retail store. As they are a major RV dealer, I thought I would use them to fix this problem.

I contacted Wescraft RV who had done the repair in Tacoma and they said they guaranteed their work and would pay for the repair. I drove the trailer to General RV on June 1st. General RV did not want to begin work with just a verbal agreement so I paid them $3,300 to open up the front of the trailer and begin the repair. If Wescraft didn’t cover everything, I intended to pay the balance. I stressed to our service advisor, Shianne, that we were fulltime RVers, and whatever they could do to expedite the repair would be greatly appreciated. She said it would depend on how long it would take to get parts, and I commented that I didn’t think it would need any parts they didn’t have in stock.

Monday, June 8th I got a call from Shianne and she asked me to come to their shop and see what they had discovered and make some decisions for the repair. They discovered that the original bolts had been sheared off when the trailer hit the bed of the truck and the screws that had been put in by Wescraft had not adequately carried the weight of the trailer and they had sheared off as well. We agreed that they would run carriage bolts through the frame and they would have to drill holes in the fiberglass side to do that. I agreed with this and they suggested that they cover these holes with a decal as it would be better than trying to match the existing paint. I thought that was a great idea and told them to go forward with the repair. I again reminded them that we were fulltime RVers, we were staying with my brother and sister in law but didn’t want to take advantage of their generosity. I asked her to do whatever they could to expedite the repairs.

At the end of the week, I called General RV to advise them I had confirmed that Wescraft was going to pay for the repairs and only needed an invoice for the total amount. Shianne told me that the shop that does the decals would be out to color match the decals to the existing ones on the trailer on June 24th. She told me they had completed their repairs and would send our trailer to Rush RV, the dealer in Holly, MI that they use for bodywork after the decals were done. I suggested that they send the trailer to get the bodywork done while they were waiting on the decals, reminding her we needed our trailer back as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, June 16th I called Rush RV to ask them how soon they could start on the work and was told “we could start today if it was here.” I called General RV and left a voice mail with Shianne to advise her of this. I called Rush RV again, on Thursday, and asked if they had heard from General RV yet. Al, the manager, told me that he had not and I asked again when he could start and I was told “we could start today if it was here.” When I called General RV, Shianne said, “He didn’t tell me that.” I said, “I just asked the question, ‘how soon can you start?’” She said she would go to their front desk and schedule a driver to take it to Holly. I offered to move the trailer myself but she said they couldn’t let me take it without payment.

I called Rush RV on Monday, June 22nd, and was told that our trailer had been delivered that morning. On Tuesday I had to drive to Lansing, MI on another matter and stopped by Rush RV on my return. I met with Al, the manager, and he told me that he had three rigs ahead of me because they had come in on the weekend. I told him that we were fulltime RVers and would appreciate it if he could get the job done as quickly as possible. While looking at the trailer I saw that the trim molding under the cap did not go all the way to the wall of the trailer. I asked him if he was repairing this and he told me, “No, we are only repairing the crack in the cap.” He took a picture of it and said he would contact General RV to make sure he wasn’t supposed to fix it. I spoke with him the next day and he told me that General RV was doing that.

On Wednesday, June 24th the decal shop, Custom Design Accents, drove to Holly to do the color match. On Thursday, Al told me the work was done and he had told General RV they could come and pick it up. I called General RV and told Shianne that the trailer was ready for them to pick it up. She said she would schedule that and I asked her about the repair that needed to be done with the trim molding. She was unsure what Al was talking about and I told her Al had sent her a picture. I described what was wrong and she assured me she would look at it.

On Tuesday, June 30th I called and asked Shianne if they were repairing the problem with the molding. She said she would get with Tom, the technician that was working on it, and see want needs to be done. I asked where we were on the decal and she told me Custom Design was going to send her a picture that she would forward to me. Once I approved the picture they would make the decal and come to Birch Run to apply it. I asked how long this would take and she said it should be done by the middle of next week. I reminded her that they had had our trailer for a month now and it was not just our RV but our home. She then told me she was doing what she could and would try to have it by the end of next week (July 10th) at the latest.

On Wednesday, July 1st we joined other family members at the family cottage on Rifle Lake near Rose City, MI. While it’s a great place to stay it has very poor cell phone coverage. On Thursday, I spoke with Shianne and she said she had the pictures of the decal. I drove to a nearby gas station where I could get a good cell signal on our WIFI hotspot so I could download the picture. Then I drove back to the cottage, checked with Pat to see if she approved, then called Shianne to tell her we approved to picture and to get things moving. I emphasized with her we must have our trailer by Friday, July 10th.

On Monday I called General RV to check on when the decal was to be applied and I was told that Shianne was not in the office that day. When I asked when she would be in I was informed that she was on vacation until July 16th! I said I needed to talk with someone who could deal with this. I was told the Service Manager would call me back. No one called me back. On Tuesday I called again and spoke with another Service Advisor who said his supervisor was covering Shianne’s customers and he connected me to Sarah. I told Sarah about the situation and asked when the decal would be applied and if the trim molding was fixed. She said she would check it out and call me back. Because we were in such a bad cell area, I called her back and she told me that the decal would be applied on Wednesday afternoon and we could pick up the trailer on Thursday. I gave her the email address for Wescraft RV in Tacoma so she wouldn’t have to search Shianne’s files for it. I asked her about the trim molding and she told me that I had said I didn’t want any new parts so they weren’t fixing it. I, not so politely, told her that I had said no such thing. However, at this point, I just wanted to get the trailer back and I felt this was something that I could fix on my own. I told her we would plan to be at Birch Run on Thursday.

Wednesday I called Wescraft to see if they got the invoice and I was told that they called Birch Run with the credit card information right after they got the email. I called Sarah and she said they hadn’t gotten payment. So I told her to call Wescraft and talk to my contact there. Fortunately, things worked out, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

We packed up our stuff at the cottage and headed down I-75 for Birch Run. En-route we called Sarah to coordinate our pick up. She informed me that one of their technicians had found some trim molding and had installed it at no additional cost, what a nice favor (note the sarcasm)!

Finally, after 41 days in the shop, we had our “home” back and we were able to sleep in our own bed again. I don’t know what I could have done differently, but I don’t plan on ever utilizing General RV in Birch Run again, not even their retail store. This whole thing has been one terrible experience in customer service and project management. I guess the only advice I would give to anyone is to be your own project manager and double-check on any major work you have done on your RV.

Posted in Fulltime RV, Michigan, Michigan Traveler | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Dealing With the Unknown of COVID-19, March-April 2020

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

While we were in Key West we did not have any television coverage. As a result our only real source of news was Facebook and links to online news articles. We saw some things about the Coronavirus, but it was very light, a few memes on Facebook, and no one was very concerned about it. “Man with coronavirus seeks a woman with lime disease.”

We left Key West on March 10th and spent much of the next week at the Southern Comfort RV Park in Florida City, near Miami. As we watched TV for the first time in almost three months we saw press conferences about school closings and the Governor talking about closing beaches and other actions. Talk about a wakeup call! I had a friend in the campground and we were talking about doing a musical performance together in the park’s Tiki bar. After watching the news for a couple of days Pat and I decided that maybe we should just keep what would soon be called “social distance” and my friend and I decided not to do it.

Our next stop was Palm Harbor, near Clearwater, FL. There we stayed at the Caladesi RV Park and planned to see our niece, Robin, and her two kids. Her oldest daughter, Destiny, was home from college because COVID-19. That was a bit more information to alert us of things to come. We had the three of them over to our campsite for dinner twice and had a great time catching up. However, towards the end of our visit we and Robin sadly agreed that it was probably best to leave any more visiting for next year. We did get in some kayaking to Caladesi Island before the State of Florida closed all of the beaches.

One day we took a drive to MacDill AFB to do some shopping at the Base Exchange and Commissary. We had heard of panic buying in grocery stores, but were not prepared to see at least one third of the shelves in the Commissary completely empty. The wakeup call continues. This is what we saw when we shopped at Costco.

We had a good time at Caledesi. The park was nice, the weather was good, and it was close to the Pinellas Trail – a Bike/Walking Trail. Every morning we would ride or walk on the trail. We were able to shop at Costco and stock up on some items we weren’t able to get while in Key West. Our problem at Costco was that Pat wanted to order new eyeglasses and the Optical department was closed. My big thing was being able to give our trailer a good wash and wax job.

While at Caladesi we began to get the bad news. Our plan had been to drive up the east coast to end up in Bar Harbor, Maine. There we were to meet a group of RVers to do an RV caravan through the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Our first major stop was going to be the RV park at Joint Base Charleston near Charleston, SC. We saw in one of our Facebook groups that JB Charleston had closed to new arrivals, although anyone currently there could stay. A phone call confirmed that. We made new reservations only to have that park call us back to say they had to cancel. One after another our reservations were cancelled. We knew we had to come up with a Plan B.

We decided we should abort our trip up the east coast and head for Michigan. There we could “moochdock,” and “hunker down” at Pat’s brother’s place in Bad Axe, in the Michigan Thumb. We can set up near his big shed with a 30 amp connection and water.

Our most direct route would be generally north on I-75. We still wanted to kill some time until it warmed up enough in Michigan for us to be comfortable and Florida was getting too hot. The Uchee Creek Campground at Fort Benning was still open and we made a reservation for three weeks. We planned to leave on March 30th, but we got a call from them on March 27th advising us that they would be closed to new arrivals on the 30th, but if we got there on Sunday, March 29th we would be welcome. My response was easy, “We’ll see you on Sunday!” We immediately began to pack up and, after an overnight stay in a Walmart parking lot, rolled in to Uchee Creek on March 29th.

The park was about half full. Uchee Creek is a very spacious campground with plenty of space between sites so social distancing was not a problem, but was very strange. Normally I would be off to visit the National Infantry Museum, wander through the Ground and Tower Week training areas for the Airborne School, take a drive to Harmony Church to see the Ranger Department, and make at least one trip to Ranger Joe’s Surplus Store. On this trip none of that happened. We would bike or walk for exercise in the morning, read books, or watched TV for part of the day to stay on top of the COVID-19 situation. We did our Income Tax, completed the 2020 Census. I also resealed parts of the trailer, and generally took it easy. More than once I suggested we could stay longer if we wanted to do so.

I don’t understand why the military campgrounds decided to close. Many of the people that use them are retired members who are fulltime RVers or snowbirds that stay for an extended period. They are not transient campers that visit the campground for a weekend. With these parks closing, it leaves a lot of us with a rapidly decreasing number of options.

Normally we tried to engage with our fellow campers, but not this time. We even met a couple from Michigan, but other than waving as we walked past each other, we didn’t make any attempt to get to know them and they kept their distance as well. When we went on post we had to tell the people at the security checkpoint where we were going, no sightseeing was encouraged. We had to wear facemasks at the Commissary and Post Exchange. However, when I drove in to the nearby town of Fort Mitchell to get propane and some other supplies at the local hardware store, I was the only one there wearing a mask and everyone else seemed to be in a “business as usual” mode. It was like COVID-19 had never happened in this small town in Alabama!

Easter Sunday was an interesting mix of services. The FOX News Channel aired a program with Reverend Franklin Graham and singer Michael W. Smith broadcasting from the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital in Central Park in New York City. The Chapel at NAS Key West recorded a sunrise service and broadcasted it at 10:30. Someone on Facebook has recommended that we sing “Amazing Grace” at 10:00, so I made a recording of me playing and singing it and posted it on Facebook on Easter morning.

As we got close to leaving we looked at our route. We settled on a four day trip, calculated to have as little contact with people as possible. When we stopped at rest areas we didn’t use the restrooms, but used our own in our trailer. We stayed in a Walmart parking lot in Ooltewah, TN and didn’t do our usual shopping in the store, cooking our meal in our rig. Our second night was at the Walnut Meadow RV Park in Berea, KY.  Our last night was at a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Findley, OH. There we did order a meal from Cracker Barrel and picked up donuts and coffee at the Tim Horton’s across the road. We ordered by phone and picked them up at the door while wearing our masks.

Traffic on our route was light all the way, but Detroit made the biggest impression on me. It was like driving through a ghost town compared to the normal traffic flow. We began to get a little worried about the weather as we entered Michigan as we were not seeing any signs of spring. When we arrived at Geri and Marcia’s place the weather was cold and windy. Geri came out to help us hook up our electrical and water connections, but otherwise kept the appropriate social distance. It seemed strange to not shake hands, go in for a snack, and catch up on family events, but that is the new normal (sigh). We did “attend” church with the NAS Key West Chapel via Facebook and were able to take Communion with the rest of their congregation. I guess this is the new normal?

So now we are hanging out in self-quarantine until we and Geri and Marcia are comfortable with closer contact. We always appreciate when Geri and Marcia let us stay at their place. Being able to use this as a “safe harbor” is a special blessing in this situation.

The future isn’t even cast in Jello at this point. Will we be able to do the Canadian RV Caravan? At this point no one knows. That decision will drive many other decisions. Welcome to the world of COVID-19.

Posted in Fulltime RV, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan Traveler, Military RV Parks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Just Another Day in Paradise – Jan-Mar 2020

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Michigan Traveler

This was our seventh winter of the last nine years in Key West. We have never found a nicer place to spend the winter. I don’t think you can get any farther south in the Continental US. As we have mentioned in the past what draws us here is not the physical setting (as pleasant as that is) but the people. We stay at the Naval Air Station RV park in Key West and are among the hundreds that return here every year. We have more friends here than we ever had in the neighborhood where we owned a physical home.

I’m writing this in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis and I almost skipped over our stay in Key West to write how we are dealing with the crisis, but I want to write about something enjoyable before I got into that topic.

Pat and I brought in the New Year with our friends Roger and Bonnie Ford at Navigator’s, the club at the Marina at Boca Chica Airfield. Roger and Bonnie’s favorite band, Island Time, was there to entertain us and we had a great time!

Our little military community at the Sigsbee Island RV Park (NAS Key West) is an active place. For most of us age is just an irrelevant number. We started the year off with our Annual Polar Plunge. We met at the northeast corner of the campground where we formed up and walked into the “frigid” water which was a numbing 78o. After a group dunking underwater we joined together for our first potluck with ceremonial Bloody Marys and Mimosas.

Beautiful sunsets are a routine occurrence at Sigsbee, but they always seem to be a special time in the campground. Another popular activity is taking advantage of the abundant “happy hours” on Key West. One of our favorites is the Commodore Boathouse which is located right on the Historic Seaport. It has great food, good drinks, and a terrific view of the vessels going in and out of the harbor.

I always feel the Pat’s birthday (Dec 27th) gets lost in the middle of the Christmas festivities and decided to make up for it this year. I partnered with some friends of ours, Ray and Harriet Riendeau to give her a surprise party. It was a total surprise, a great time, and she has finally forgiven me for making her the center of attention.

There is great kayaking in the Florida Keys and we hooked up with another couple, Brian and Cindy, to go kayaking in the mangroves at Geiger Key and the Salt Ponds near the airport. There is so much to see, both above and below the water. Some of the channels through the mangroves are pretty tight and we weren’t always sure we took the right turn, but that is part of the fun.

A special treat this year was seeing Reverend Franklin Graham at the Key West Auditorium for his Decision America series. Contrary to what you may have heard or think about Franklin Graham, it was a wonderful, non-political, uplifting experience.

One of our regular events is the Key West Half-Marathon. We don’t run in it, but volunteer at the merchandise sales and water stations. I feel it is safe to say that this year’s volunteer shirts were very colorful and they made me want to break out is singing, “It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!” For a change we had beautiful weather and it was a lot of fun.

Eddie and Tina Grooms have become the unofficial social directors for the campground and hosted several major events throughout the season. Their first was a Hawaiian potluck. It’s always a fun time when everyone brings their favorite dish to share.

The Schooner Appledore II took a whole crew of us on an afternoon sail from the Historic Seaport. They provided the drink and we provided the food. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and light, but steady winds for great sailing.

I continued my tradition of volunteering as a docent on the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Museum. While the fulltime crew has always treated the volunteers as valued members of the crew, this year they threw a special party for us with pizza, drinks, and a showing of the movie, Operation Petticoat, which was filmed in Key West. It was fun to pick out Key West landmarks in the movie that was set in the South Pacific.

We also volunteered to “Plog the Keys” picking up trash along the streets of Key West. The organizers posted the location on Facebook every week and we would meet there on Friday morning to do our thing.

We had a very unique event this year. One of our fellow campers, Marty, does chainsaw sculptures! He didn’t bring any logs with him but one was available so he gave us a demonstration. What a talent! He has won several awards for his work and it was obvious they were well deserved.

For me it wouldn’t be Key West without music. I rejoined the praise team at the Base Chapel. Every Monday afternoon Gary Buck hosted a jam session at the Sigsbee Community Center. What fun to play with a bunch of guys and gals who enjoy music and are trying to become better musicians! Geiger Key Marina hosts an Open Mic Night every Monday and a couple of us were regular performers there. Great fun, great practice, and a great way to get over stage fright!

Two friends of mine, Nelson Clark and Harriet Riendeau, and I presented a Folk Music Concert at the Community Center. It was well attended and I’m not sure who had more fun, the audience or the musicians. I think the audience enjoyed listening to three very different styles of music in one performance.

As we approached the end of the season Eddie and Tina had one more event, Cinco de Marcho. Because most of us go “Up The Road” or UTR in March they decided we should celebrate the holidays we were going to miss. In an almost day-long party we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day and any other holiday we wanted to throw in. It was a great culmination of the winter season and we are already looking forward to another fun time in 2021.

On March 10th we headed up the road and into the unknown world of COVID-19.

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Up, Up, and Away in My Beautiful Balloon – October 2019

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Michigan Traveler

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is just an awesome experience! We linked up with two other couples that we know from Key West at the Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post. Being able to share the experience with friends definitely added to our enjoyment.

One of the neat things about Enchanted Trails RV Park is they have “vintage” trailers that you can rent. If you are camped there they will loan you a key to see the interiors.

None of us had made any specific plans prior to arriving in Albuquerque. We gathered for drinks and dinner and, after sharing some recent history, we got down to planning. The Fiesta operated at Park and Ride service that was the best deal. For one price we were able to take a shuttle from a nearby shopping mall to the Fiesta and entry to the Fiesta. We purchased tickets online and were ready for the adventure.

Our first day at the Fiesta started VERY early. We left the RV park at 4:30 to get an early shuttle. We were all impressed by the efficiency of the shuttle system. There was a huge fleet of busses, with one leaving every few minutes. The lines at security to get into the Fiesta moved quickly and it wasn’t long before we were inside. It was well before dawn and the crowds were huge. We purchased some breakfast burritos and headed on to the launching field. As we walked onto the field I kept waiting to run into the rope line or barrier that would keep us off the field, but we never got to it because it wasn’t there. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is unique in that visitors can walk out onto the launching field. We were able to talk with the balloon crews, stand next to the balloons as they were being inflated, and step aside as they took off. The fact that much of this was going on in the dark made it more impressive. Every direction we looked there were balloons being laid out, inflated, waiting to launch, and taking off.

One of the factors that make Albuquerque an excellent balloon site is the “box winds” in the area. The winds blow in different directions and speeds at different altitudes. We would track a balloon as it took off to the East at a brisk speed, and then see it fly to the North.  It would turn West and move at a slow speed, and continue to fly in a box until the crew decided to leave the circuit to fly to a landing site.

There is more to do in Albuquerque than the Balloon Fiesta. We all packed lunches and drove to take the tramway to Sandia Peak. This is the highest peak in New Mexico. There was a long wait to take the tram. It was interesting to see other people stand in line for an hour or more and then give up and leave. I guess frustration can be a terrible thing. The ride to the peak was spectacular but not as spectacular as the view from the peak itself. You could see for hundreds of miles!

Old Town is the historic root of Albuquerque. It was fascinating to me to walk through the area, to see the town square with the performance gazebo, the adobe buildings that housed shops, cafes and restaurants. All around the area one can listen to native Americans playing their ancestral flutes. In a courtyard off the main square I listened to a trio entertaining the shoppers. After we were done shopping and exploring we enjoyed a great dinner while being entertained by a harpist. What a treat!

Each evening of the Fiesta is the Balloon Glow. We took advantage of the Park and Ride again and took the shuttle from the mall. Inside the grounds we wandered through many of the vendor tents to check them out. In addition to vendor sales there were also exhibits from the Experimental Aviation Association and NASA. This event is certainly a great place to get young minds interested in aviation and space exploration.

After picking up some dinner we sat at the edge of the launching field to watch the sky diving demonstration. As a former paratrooper I really appreciate a good parachute demonstration and these guys did an outstanding job. After the skydiving, we wandered around the launching field to see the balloons. As it became darker the scene became more dramatic as multiple balloons would light their burners simultaneously. What a site! The pictures don’t do credit to the actual lighting.

The final activity was the fireworks display. This was preceded by a night skydiving demonstration. This was the first time I have ever seen sky divers illuminated with flares attached to their boots – a very spectacular display.

Throughout the time we were together we rotated from one rig to another for meals. The ladies thought it was a good deal to only prepare dinner every third night. We all enjoyed the great meals and good fellowship.

On October 15th we all hooked up and headed to different destinations. For us, the next stop was Hot Springs National Park.

 

 

 

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Hiking in Flagstaff and Standin’ on the Corner – October 2019

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Michigan Traveler

We planned to stop in Flagstaff because it was the right distance, but we had no idea what to do there. As we researched we quickly discovered there was more to do than we had time. I guess we will have to stop again on another trip!

We stayed at the Fort Tuthill County Park. We had made reservations because online it looked like the park was almost full. To our surprise the park was almost empty for the entire time we were there. Camping at Fort Tuthill is dry camping, in that there are no hookups. You fill your fresh water tank when you arrive and use the dump station when you leave. You provide electricity from your batteries and generators. This wasn’t anything new to us and we were prepared. That afternoon and evening I did some geocaching and we finalized our plans.

Our first stop was the Flagstaff Visitor Center. Here we learned a bit more of the city’s history and how it was affected by the development of the railroad. We also picked up a self-guided tour for the historical district. I love history and architecture; old buildings just fascinate me, especially when there is a good story involved. Why is the city named Flagstaff? In 1876 a group of men, known as the Boston Party, were traveling to Prescott, AZ and camped at the site on Independence Day. Being patriotic they stripped a pine tree and hung Old Glory at the top. From then on the stripped tree became a landmark for other travelers, eventually the area became known as Flag Staff and then Flagstaff. In 1881 it was officially named Flagstaff.

We wandered through the town and could see the history of old Flagstaff families by the buildings they owned and businesses they operated. Of course the best stop was for lunch at Collins Irish Pub & Grill in the old Aubineau building. This was the fourth building on this site and was constructed in 1912.

Not everything is fun and games on the road. We aren’t on vacation, this is our normal life and day-to-day activities must be done. We took some time to take the truck into the local Chevrolet dealer to get the oil changed.

After that we headed to Walnut Canyon National Monument. This is the site of ancient cliff dwellings. The first permanent residents inhabited the area from 600 to 1400 AD. They began by farming the lands around the canyon rim and in the 1100’s developed the dwellings in the alcoves of the cliffs inside the canyon. The cliff dwellings gave them protection from the weather as well as hostile tribes. We had seen the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde and the Walnut Canyon dwellings were as, if not more, impressive than those in Mesa Verde.

Today more than 100,000 people a year visit Walnut Canyon. We should all be thankful to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Park Service for preserving this monument for us and future generations.

Enroute to Albuquerque we stopped in Winslow, AZ to go to the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Second Street (Old Highway 66). This intersection is the “Standin’ on the Corner Park,” and is the famous “Corner” highlighted in the song by the country-rock band, the Eagles – “Take It Easy.”

This corner has joined the ranks of many famous corners. There is a mural of the girl in the flat-bed Ford, bronze statues of “a relaxed dude with a guitar” and Eagles’ Glenn Frey, and an actual flat-bed Ford at the curb. It is the ultimate photo op for any music lover.

But why Winslow, AZ?  Jackson Browne started writing this song for his first album, but he didn’t know how to finish it. At the time, his upstairs neighbor was Glenn Frey, who needed songs for his new band – the Eagles. Browne told Frey he was having trouble completing the song, and played what he had of it. When he got to the second verse, Frey came up with a key lyric: “It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me.”

The real-life auto-breakdown incident that inspired the second verse actually happened to Browne in Flagstaff, but it was changed to Winslow. Why? Because in the songwriting Winslow fit better in the lyrics. By the way, neither Browne or Frey had been to Winslow when they wrote the song.

Next stop – Albuquerque, NM and the International Balloon Fiesta!

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Exploring Death Valley – September 2019

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Michigan Traveler

Our route to Albuquerque was by way of Henderson, NV, to visit some friends from our RV caravan to Alaska in 2013. As we would be traveling near Death Valley we decided it would be good to visit there. We had visited Death Valley once before, but only for one day and we wanted to see more of it.

We checked out the campgrounds in Death Valley National Park, but decided it would be better to stay in the town of Beatty, the Gateway to Death Valley, and drive into the park. We stayed at the Beatty RV Park. It is a small park just outside of Beatty that has pull through, full hook up sites for a very reasonable rate. Mike, the manager, gave us some good advice on how to tour the park and gave us some brochures to help us plan our visit.

The Beatty Chamber of Commerce has developed a series of brochures that make planning a trip to Death Valley a breeze. Our biggest help was the “5 Day Itinerary 360° of Adventure.” The 24 page “Gateway to Death Valley 360° of Adventure added more in depth information on each stop. You can get digital versions of these at http://www.beattynevada.org/BrochureRack.html.

The next day we were on the move early to avoid as much heat as possible. We were generally following the itinerary from Day One in the “5 Day Itinerary 360° of Adventure.” Our first stop was Rhyolite, a historic gold mining town site. In 1904 prospectors Shorty Harris and Ed Cross found gold in the area. In 1905 Rhyolite was established and platted. By 1908 the population was estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000. However about that time the mine production began to drop and by 1920 the population was down to 14. There are relics of the old buildings still standing and one of the most interesting is the “Bottle House.” This was built by Tom Kelley and was make of empty wine and whiskey bottles and mortar. When it was completed it was given away in a raffle.

Near Rhyolite is the Goldwell Open Air Museum. This is an art museum in the middle of the desert. Here you can see the Painted Lady reaching to the sky, a ghostly depiction of the Last Supper, a ghostly bike rider and more. A strange, but interesting site.

Leaving Rhyolite we had the Hell’s Gate Experience. We descended into Death Valley at Hell’s Gate near Mile Marker 10. The temperature on the dashboard was showing 79°. By the time we had descended to the valley floor the temperature had increased to 101° – a 22 degree change!

The temperature rose throughout the day as we toured the park. By the time we got to Badwater in the afternoon the temperature was 108°. Even though we were sweating we couldn’t feel it because it evaporated out of your clothes before they felt damp.

Our next stop was the Harmony Borax Works. Here are the remains of the Harmony Borax processing plant and the wagons that were used to haul the borax to Mojave by teams of twenty mules. The twenty mule team wagons were made famous by the TV series in the early 1970’s called “Death Valley Days,” portraying true stories of the Old West. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company (20 Mule Team Borax) and the last host of the series was Ronald Reagan. The radio and television versions combined to make the show “one of the longest-running western programs in broadcast history.”If you’ve never heard of it, talk to your grandparents.

After a brief stop at the Visitor Center we drove to Badwater, the lowest elevation in the United States. Here there is a spring from seepage of water that has worked its way down from the surrounding cliffs. The water is so salty that even mules won’t drink it. There is a sign 282 feet above Badwater that says, “Sea Level.” This is where our thermometer read 108°.

From Badwater we drove to the Natural Bridge. The road is not for the faint hearted, it is a washboard with potholes. I thought the truck was going to shake apart a couple of times and I felt like a “bobble-head.”

The Natural Bridge was made by erosion. As a stream bed was being cut by water, the water ran into erosion resistant rock and the stream flowed around it to the north. After a time the water again sought a more direct path and it undercut the harder rock, forming the bridge. When I see formations like this I am awestruck by the immense, unrelenting power of nature.

From there we drove to the Artist’s Palette. The colors of the minerals in the soil have created a geological artist’s palette of bold and pastel colors.

Zabriskie Point is where we started our hike when we were here is 2012. The second half of that hike was quite challenging, but this time we just enjoyed the view and the memories.

On September 26th we drove to Henderson, NV to stay at the Sam’s Town KOA RV Park. Our purpose was to visit with some friends from the RV Caravan trip to Alaska in 2013, George and Ann.

We signed up with the casino and got some coupons and gaming credits. Sam’s Town has a free shuttle to the Vegas Strip and we rode it to check out the Strip. We wondered around, did a little gambling, and had some fun.

George and Ann are avid hikers. George had a short hike near where they live that he thought we would enjoy. It was a nice four-mile round trip to Petroglyph Canyon. It was a nice hike with some dry waterfalls that we had to scramble (that’s a rock climbing term for easy rock climbing) up. That made the hike more interesting. We were so focused on the trail that George had to point out the petroglyphs. There must have been dozens of them and it was interesting to try to figure out their meanings.

The next evening we met them for dinner at a seafood restaurant. It’s nice to be able to share a meal with good food and great friends.

Next stop – Zion National Park in Utah.

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Crater Lake, Oregon – September 2019

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Michigan Traveler

We left the Tacoma area with our ultimate destination of Albuquerque, NM. We started with that and looked at the most direct route. However, our routes they are rarely a direct route from Point A to Point B. We looked at locations along the way that would be interesting to visit. That often changes the route into something much less direct, but more interesting. This is how we decided to visit Crater Lake National Park. National Parks are always places we look to visit on our travels.

Crater Lake is exactly what its name implies. It is the crater formed by an erupting volcano  The vent is closed and the crater filled with water. In fact, it filled with enough water to make it the deepest lake in the U.S.

There were no sites available in the National Park campgrounds so we stayed at Crater Lake RV Park in Prospect, OR. This is a nice park that is big rig friendly and has full hook up sites. There is a mix of transient campers like us and seasonal campers. The staff was very friendly and helpful. As we were setting up our neighbors were sitting outside and we introduced ourselves. In our conversation they mentioned that the Rim Road was going to be closed on the next day for the annual bicycle “Ride the Rim” event. They were planning on riding it and we went online to see if that was something that would interest us. The bottom line of our research was that the ride would be much too demanding for our level of cycling. Consequently we decided to drive into the park for what was left of the day and drive the Rim Road. We stopped several times to explore the lake from different viewpoints. I found it surprising how each stop gave us a unique view. By the time we got to the last viewpoint it was getting close to evening and the temperature was definitely falling. It was good to get back to our trailer.

There is more to see in the area than Crater Lake and we took the next day to explore some of those other sites. Our first stop was Flounce Rock. This is the highest summit in the area. We drove most of the way (Thank goodness for having a high clearance, four-wheel drive truck) and hiked the short remaining distance. What a view! We could see all the way to Mount Shasta in California! I picked up a geocache that was related to a memorial on the mountain top.

After that we hiked to a series of waterfalls in the area. It made for a pleasant day and we ate lunch while looking at the Mill Creek Falls.

When we got back we talked with our neighbors about the bike ride around the rim. They said they enjoyed it but it was sort of painful with the big changes in elevation along the road. After talking with them we were glad that we passed on that opportunity.

On Sunday, September 22nd, we hooked up and headed for Death Valley.

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