Howdy, and welcome back. As some of you may know, we spent the last three summers in Michigan and the blog sort of got forgotten. Last winter we were in Louisiana and due to the issue of Holly having rotater cuff surgery and me not feeling well it was forgotten again. But we are back and healthy and on the road again. This winter we are in Fredericksburg, Texas at the Oakwood RV Resort. We took our time this year and took some well earned travel time. We were able to see some new places and visit old friends and we didn't have to rush. Our first stop was at Brown County State Park in Indiana. As you can see, we sat outside and had a nice dinner. Brutus was hoping to join in on the potato salad and bratwurst.
Our next night was at a Corp of Engineer Park on Nolan Lake in Kentucky. We have found that the Corp parks are great. They are on a lake or river, have water and electric hook ups and are very inexpensive; even more so if you have a senior pass, then they are half price. As you can see in these two pictures we had a nice site overlooking the lake. That little fur ball in the far corner of the patio is Ruby. She was on squirrel guard duty.
We stayed there for a couple of days so we could go to Mammoth Cave. It was about a 30 minute drive thru the rural country side and small towns. We arrived just in time to get on the next tour. Our tour guide had the usual talk and also made sure we knew what we were getting into. The tour we took was a two mile hike, with ups and downs, uneven surfaces and a very tall stair way at the end. There was also a section that had a very narrow path and very low ceiling. I had to walk almost bent over double then it got even lower.
This is the entrance, a nice little climb and even nicer when you came out and this wasn't the stairs he talked about in his presentation. It was also a hot humid day but it was kind of pleasant in the cave. Yup, that's Holly descending in to the darkness of the cave.Unlike some of the caves we have toured this is not what they call a living cave. There were no stalagmites or stalactite on the tour we were on, no beautiful rock formations. It was a two mile walk thru a cave that used to be an under ground river.
The lighting is very subdued and I really didn't get very good pictures. To tell the truth I was too busy watching where I was stepping so I wouldn't fall on my face. Our guide did say that if anything serious happened and they had to get you out it could take three to four hours to get you back to the surface and then a long trip to a hospital. I really didn't want to be that guy. With all of the people taking picture with their cell phones I would have been all over the internet.
This is the stairs he was talking about to get back to the entrance. I know it isn't a very good picture but remember, I didn't want to be "that guy." The picture below is the entrance from the inside so I guess from this point of view it's the exit. No matter what you call it we still had to climb all those steps to get out and then a long climb up a hill back to the visitor center. They have several different tours, ours just happened to be the one that told about the history of the cave and was two miles long.
Our next stop was at a Corp park in Arkansas where our friends Bill and Penny were staying. We were going to take the Natchez Trace to Jackson Mississippi ( I like typing Mississippi, try it some time) before heading west but the weather was so hot and humid and last year when we took it we were miserable due to the fact the camp grounds on the trace have no hook ups so no air conditioning (deep breath).
Well we finally arrived, a couple of days to set up and train and it's back to the daily grind of two half days a week. I know, but someone has to do it.
We have taken a little trip to Luckenbach, but we didn't see Willy or Waylon or the boys. We did hear some live music. Holly thought she would try and make some money at the kissing booth but business was a little slow so we just went and listened to the band and had a couple of beers. Good thing I brought some money.
That's it for now. my little friend says it's time to go. Hope you all enjoyed this and we will see you all next month.
