Kenn and I decided that, once we retired, we would take a road trip every year in order to see and do the things we’ve never had the time to do before. We did take a trip in 2019, but it was limited in scope due to the fact that I was retired but Kenn was not. Of course, 2020 was a bust since everything was shut down but we did manage another trip in 2021. We didn’t take a trip in 2022, but that’s okay – we were traveling back and forth to South Carolina to visit our kids and help out with the twins. Visiting family is always a win for me! Our 2019 trip was 17 days long and our 2021 trip was 28 days long. If all goes as planned on this year’s trip, we’ll be on the road somewhere between 4 and 5 weeks.😬 Can I go that long without cats in my life? I guess we’ll find out.
Image courtesy of depositphotos.com
The ultimate goal for this year’s trip is to visit all of the national parks in Utah. We’ve been on the road for 11 days now and won’t get to the first park until next Sunday. However, we have visited one national park in Colorado and two national monuments: one in New Mexico and one in Utah. I’ll make detailed posts on them later.
I had big plans for having several posts written and scheduled during the time that we would be gone, but I got lazy and that didn’t happen. I’ll be posting as I can throughout the trip. I’ve got tons of photos for Wordless Wednesday so be prepared to be inundated with photos of one of my favorite things – rocks. That’s right, rocks. I probably should have been a geologist, LOL.
Time to run. I’ve got another busy day of hiking and photographing rocks ahead of me tomorrow!
Do you like to travel or are you more of a homebody?
Did y’all know there’s a national park in South Carolina? I didn’t until I read about it on The Adventures of Grammi and Grampa. Since we spend a lot of time in South Carolina, we added Congaree to our list of places to visit and finally got to do so in March 2023.
According to the park website, Congaree is “the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States.” Knowing that Congaree is one of the least visited national parks, I was surprised to find a full parking lot the day of our visit. (This CNN report lists Congaree as number 12 out of the 15 least visited national parks in 2022.)
Congaree has a number of trails available, but since our visit occurred during a period of frequent torrential rainstorms in the southeast, we decided to stick to the elevated boardwalk. Since some portions of the boardwalk were underwater, I’m sure the other trails were probably unpassable.
Congaree boardwalk
While I love a good swamp (the Okefenokee is my favorite so far), I can understand why Congaree is one of the least visited parks – swamps aren’t for everyone. The following photo is one of my favorites because it’s hard to tell where the trees end and the reflections begin. (Can you find the squirrel in the photo?)
One of the things I didn’t expect was the caterpillars. They. Were. Everywhere. Caterpillars on the railing of the boardwalk. Caterpillars hanging from trees on silken threads. Are those raindrops pattering on the surface of the water? No, it’s caterpillars. The end of the boardwalk was a platform overlooking a lake; very few people spent any length of time there because the caterpillars were raining down from the trees like little multi-legged paratroopers. (We also got to meet Ares, Dog of War and his family at the overlook.) According to one of the park volunteers, the number of caterpillars varies from year to year, but based on the numbers present during our visit, 2023 was gearing up to be a banner year for them.
We haven’t been able to travel much this year due to all of the expensive home repairs we’ve been dealing with. However, mentally revisiting Congaree for this post has me excited about our upcoming roadtrip. I’m ready for new adventures!
So, where do you stand on the subject of caterpillars? Yea or Nay?
It’s not uncommon when we’re traveling for me to see something and think “That would make a cool photo.” It’s not always possible to stop and take a picture, especially when towing a travel trailer. Other times, it’s just a matter of not taking the time to stop even when there’s no reason not too. Proof in point are the intriguing columns I’ve seen every time we go to South Carolina to visit our kids. During one of our trips earlier this year, I mentioned to Kenn my plans to eventually stop and take a photo. Being the good man that he is, the next time we were out Kenn whipped into the parking lot, we got out, and I actually took. the. pictures!
The columns that always caught my attention
We couldn’t have stopped at a better time; the lighting was perfect. The photo above is one of my absolute favorites. There was actually more to the site than I thought. The columns are what is left of Tanglewood Mansion. According to the sign, Tanglewood burned down twice: the first time in 1908 and again in 1970. (Yikes.) The Tanglewood property was eventually purchased for use as the location for a new branch of the Anderson County Library System; groundbreaking took place in 2004.
I love old architecture and I’m a big fan of older buildings being repurposed while allowing the age and history of the building to shine through. In that vein, I’m glad that the site for the library wasn’t razed to remove all traces of the mansion. I enjoyed looking at the remains of the structure and trying to figure out what was where. We were able to determine the location of multiple fireplaces; each chimney had at least three fireplaces associated with it.
The back view of the columns shows that they were actually brick and not wood which is one of those things that I think is really cool.
I’m also a big fan of stairs to nowhere.
Going forward, I plan to do better about stopping to take the photo or smell the roses or whatever. How about you? Do you make the time to do the things that are important to you – even when they just nourish your soul and not your wallet? (Our success driven culture can make those decisions difficult.)
Once we realized that Mammoth Cave National Park was only about an hour and a half from Louisville, we added it to our list of things to see during our trip. The day after the wedding festivities ended we packed up the camper and headed down the road. It felt great to arrive at the campground at noon instead of spending all day in the truck. Then I remembered that we had changed time zones so it was actually only 11am. Even better!
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that we still haven’t quite gotten the hang of traveling as retirees. We frequently forget that we can adjust our schedule as needed – and on the fly. So, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I rocked the retirement thing that day. I knew as soon as we got the camper set up Kenn would be asking “So, what do you want to do today?” so I headed him off at the pass. I told him “I don’t want to do anything today. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m tired of being in the truck. I just want to sit outside and read.” Not to mention that we had spent three days people-ing. As much as I enjoyed meeting people and visiting with everyone, this introvert’s batteries were completely drained. I needed to recharge. And I did. All day. Kenn got in the truck and went out exploring later in the day. I stayed at the camper with my Kindle app. It was heaven.
The next day, well rested, we headed to Mammoth Cave National Park.
Obligatory photo with the sign
Now, there are two things to know about Mammoth Cave. (Well, more than two but I’m only going to list my top two here.)
Unlike most national parks, there is no entry fee at Mammoth Cave. According to one of the rangers on our tour, this was a part of the deal when the land was bought up by the state before being given to the federal government: the families who had lived on the land would never have to pay a fee to go “home”.
Mammoth Cave is named for the large size of the cave system; there are no mammoth fossils. (Fossil loving me was greatly disappointed, LOL.)
While there may be no fee to enter the park, visitors interested in touring the caves must purchase tickets (which do cost money) for ranger-led tours. There are a number of tours to chose from; we went with the Domes & Dripstones tour. We arrived at the park an hour or two ahead of our tour just to get the lay of the land. This gave us a chance to locate the stamp for our National Parks passport book and to buy the required souvenirs; in this case, a Christmas ornament. Note to self: check all gift shops before making a purchase. We bought an ornament in the first shop and I found one I liked better in the third shop which meant backtracking to the first shop to make a return. Not really a big deal but it could have been avoided with a little extra care on my part.
We decided it would be a good idea to pick up a couple of bottles of water to take with us on the tour. (When my throat gets dry, I start coughing and my throat gets dry a lot during allergy season. It’s not COVID people, it’s just allergies!) While Kenn was in line to get water, I noticed that the shop also sold soft pretzels. Since I never like to pass up the opportunity for a soft pretzel, I asked him to get one. Y’all, this was the biggest soft pretzel I’ve ever seen! I couldn’t even complain about the $8 price once I saw it.
Now that’s a pretzel!
By the time we finished sharing pretzelsaurus (including scraping off most of the salt) the rest of the tour group had arrived at the shelter. Ranger B arrived to give us the required safety briefing, we loaded up onto two buses, and were on our way. Ranger Alex regaled us with information about the park on the way to our destination. One interesting tidbit: Although the park is forested, there are no old-growth trees since it was predominately farmland for many years. Planting trees was one of the functions performed by the workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
The tour began in a sinkhole where Ranger B reminded us not to touch the rocks. Due to the fact that the caves do not receive rain, wind, etc. they don’t want the oils and lotions on our hands to damage the delicate ecosystem. Admittedly, I did touch the rocks a couple of times. In my defense, for once, it wasn’t a matter of me being contrary. (Shocking, I know.) In one spot it was just reflex to put up a hand to keep from bumping my head on a rock. (I had already banged my head when getting on the bus, LOL.) The second time I was navigating a section with a low ceiling and narrow path; my foot slipped on the damp floor and it was either touch the rock with my hand to catch my balance or touch it with my face. I chose the least painful of the two.)
The group stopped at two or three areas while the rangers gave us more information regarding the early days of the park. And, as always on a cave tour, there was a point where the lights were turned off just to show what true dark actually looks like. I have the utmost respect for spelunkers, especially the ones who did their scouting without modern equipment; I wouldn’t want to be exploring a cave system with nothing better than oil lamps.😬
In my opinion, the most spectacular scenery was in an optional section near the end of the tour.
Always look up
Behind Frozen Niagara
The original entrance to the caves is still in use but we just missed a tour group and weren’t interested in waiting around for the next one so we just snapped a couple of pictures and went on our way.
The original entrance
White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease, has wiped out 90% of the bat population of Mammoth Caves. One phase of fighting this disease is that, at the end of each tour, all participants must walk across bio-mats soaked with disinfectant to remove any contamination possibly transported out of the caves on footwear.
All in all, a visit to Mammoth Cave National Park is a pleasant way to spend a few hours. The next time we find ourselves in the area, we’ll probably stop in and take a different tour.
We overnighted at a KOA Holiday in Manchester, TN on our way to Louisville. (It was one of the nicest KOAs we’ve stayed at.) Once we rested a bit we decided to take a walk and discovered a huge field behind the campsites with a walking path around the edge. (A small herd of deer kept an eye on us from the far side of the field.) There are all sorts of interesting “statues” lining the trail and the edge of the woods starting with two gigantic squirrels. Kenn said “Please don’t touch the squirrel’s giant nuts,” so of course I did because that’s how I roll.🤷♀️😂
Prior to our 2019 road trip, I had never been to South Dakota and had zero expectations. I fell in love with the whole state. The crush began when we crossed from Sioux City, Iowa into Sioux Falls, South Dakota and grew with each passing mile. The only planned stops we had for the South Dakota portion of the trip were Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. We also spent time exploring the famous Wall Drug.
One of the first things that appealed to me were the gigantic teepees present at every SD rest area. They make my heart happy.
I had seen photos of the sculpture named Dignity of Earth and Sky. However, I had no idea that it is located in South Dakota until we pulled off at a rest area near Chamberlain and… there it was. Squealing may have been involved. My pictures absolutely do not do it justice, but I’m glad I got to see it in person.
Dignity
Until next time, happy trails! And remember, life isn’t just about the destination, it’s also about the journey and the unexpected finds along the way.
Even though we had begun the journey home, we still had one planned stop to make – the Flight 93 Memorial. We arrived in Lubek, Maine on 9/11/2021; watching some of the annual documentaries reminded me that the Flight 93 Memorial was in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. There was no way we could be so close and not add it to our itinerary.
On our way north, we traveled through eastern Pennsylvania; I wasn’t a fan.🤷♀️ Our journey to the Flight 93 Memorial took us through middle and western Pennsylvania, which I loved. We stayed overnight at Black Moshannon State Park, located in the middle of nowhere. It was absolutely beautiful.
On the way to our campsite
We arrived at the Flight 93 Memorial with our travel trailer in tow. The parking area was smaller than what you might find at other memorials but there was parking for at least 10 RVs/buses. At the time of our visit, masks were still required inside all federal buildings, which included the visitor’s center.
The visitor’s center features a small gift shop (of course) and a walk-through display. The display features a timeline of the attacks on 9/11/2001 along with items found at various locations. One section also features audio clips from various cockpit recordings and voicemail messages, etc. I skipped this section; I’ve heard enough of those heart-breaking clips in the documentaries I watch every year. I moved on to the section that displays some of the items that have been left at the memorial through the years. The one that ripped my heart out was a printed on a standard sheet of printer paper; the text is on the image below.
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This is where I discovered that ugly-crying while wearing a mask is less than ideal. At this point, I got out of line and went in search of Kenn. Once we finished in the visitor’s center, we moved outside. (Note: if you are looking to stamp your national park passport, the stamp is not located in the visitor’s center. There are a variety of stamps located in the visitor’s shelter at the Memorial Plaza.)
Unlike other National Memorials (I’m looking at you, Mount Rushmore) the Flight 93 National Memorial is quiet, peaceful. We chose to walk from the visitor’s center to the memorial plaza; the walking paths were level and the walk was easy, even for Kenn’s bad knees.
On the trail from the visitor’s center
The stone in the center marks the point of impact of the crash
There are marble memorials for each of the 40 passengers and crew aboard Flight 93. This one tugged at my heartstrings the most because it also commemorates Lauren’s unborn child.
The Tower of Voices is located near the entrance to the park and has its own parking area which includes spaces for RVs and buses. The Tower of Voices was dedicated in September 2020 and serves as “a visual and audible reminder of the heroism of the forty passengers and crew of United Flight 93.” The tower stands 93 feet tall and holds 40 wind chimes, one for each of the passengers and crew. The wind wasn’t blowing hard enough to activate the chimes the day of our visit but there are audio clips available online.
There you have it, dear readers. We have now reached the end of our 2021 road trip – with the exception of a few miscellaneous things I may post about later. So, what does 2022 hold for us? We were planning a trip to Utah this autumn but have put it on hold until next year, primarily due to the increased cost of gas. (Filling up Ruby’s 38-gallon gas tank is no joke, even at the best of times.) However, that doesn’t mean that we are just going to sit around the house and do nothing. We will still be traveling, just differently. We will still be going to South Carolina to help out with the twins and taking day trips and visiting attractions/locations in the South. We’re also planning to visit friends and family that we haven’t seen in ages. And you know what? I’m not even mad about the change. I’m actually looking forward to doing something a little more low key.
Prior to our Vermont decision to head home, Kenn had wanted to visit the Adirondack mountains in New York state, which I was fine with. Once we decided to begin the journey home, he changed his mind so, we began plotting our return route – which turned out to be easier said than done. There were very few places to cross over from our location in Vermont into New York state. We saw a ferry location on the map but weren’t sure that it could handle travel trailers so, we headed for southern Vermont planning to cross into New York there. However, in a moment of serendipity, just as we reached the road leading to the ferry another truck towing an even larger travel trailer turned that way. We said “what the heck” and followed them; if travel trailers weren’t allowed, we’d find some way back to civilization.
It turned out the the Charlotte, VT ferry does indeed allow travel trailers which meant we were able to cross Lake Champlain in style and it made the transition into New York state much easier.
Ruby and Serenity ready for their first ferry ride
The rig in front of us that we followed to the ferry
It was cloudy and windy and the water was choppy
I’m not a big city person so New York city is not on my list of places to visit. But, New York state? I’ll go back to eastern New York state any time. It is absolutely beautiful and is one of the many places I have fallen in love with during our travels.
Some of the most beautiful sunsets of our trip were in New York state
Of course we had to pose with the iconic sign.
Kenn
Me, wondering when I got so much junk in my trunk
Next time: Pennsylvania. Until then, stay safe and happy trails!
We left New Hampshire and headed to Vermont. While I had been looking forward to the trip as a whole, Vermont was to be one of the highlights for me. Kenn kept asking me what I wanted to see in Vermont and my answer was always “I just want to see Vermont.” What’s not to love? Rolling, tree-covered mountains reflecting the changing of the seasons. Perfection, right? Alas, not so much.
While I enjoyed the scenery, our stay in Vermont got off to a rough start. Our arrival at the campground we selected was a comedy of errors. The directions provided by the manager left a lot to be desired and her gruffness rubbed me the wrong way. I also wasn’t thrilled with our campsite but we were only going to be there two nights so it wasn’t the end of the world.
The welcoming committee made things better
Might you have some bread to spare?
It was an overcast day but we headed out to get the lay of the land. While Vermont was every bit as gorgeous as I expected it to be, I just wasn’t feeling it – not even when the sun came out and the clouds started breaking up.
Of course, we had to stop and take pictures of covered bridges.
My favorite picture from Vermont
Our campground was only a few miles from Stowe, Vermont. A lot of the “iconic” Vermont photos that I have seen were taken in Stowe. We did a drive-through of the town in preparation to spending time there the next day. Once again, I wasn’t feeling it. After two trips to Bar Harbor, I did not have another trip to another touristy town in me. Later that evening back at the camper, Kenn went out to put the satellite dish on the roof and came back in wearing his “I’m injured” expression. (I have become well acquainted with this expression over the years.) When he was coming down the ladder, his wedding ring got caught on a screw; he was lucky he didn’t deglove or lose the finger. It took some work and some of the oil I put on my dry hair but we managed to get his ring off and put it on the necklace he always wears. (It was a couple of months before the swelling in his finger went down enough for him to get his ring back on.)
Later that evening I had to admit that I was done. I was ready to go home. At that point we had been on the road for three weeks and even if we drove non-stop it would still take us another week or so to get home. During the course of our trip our then pregnant daughter-in-law was admitted to the hospital with gall bladder issues, my oldest sister had a stroke, and our youngest son’s girlfriend’s mom died from COVID after several months in ICU. I needed to see and touch my people and know that they were okay. Kenn admitted that he was ready to head home as well so we cancelled the second night of our stay and hit the road home the next day. (In spite of my first impression, the campground manager was nice. She sent us on our way with some extra sharp cheddar cheese and maple syrup, both products of Vermont. We even got a Christmas card from her.)
Next up, New York state. Until then, happy trails!
Linda Lou's Life 