Joy Ahoy - 2nd Adventure - The Long Haul!

Day 1: June 1, 2011. Depart Grove City, OH Destination: Mark Twain SP, MO (522 mi.)

Here's our campsite near Samuel Clements birthplace, Florida, MO.

High Water in many areas during our trip. That was not the case at Mark Twain Resevoir this year. Note the high water mark in 2008!!

Day 2: June 2 Destination: Indian Cave SP, NE (268 mi) Had the area to ourselves. Not many campers and beautiful weather.

Here's a view of the Missouri River.

The Missouri River was high enough to close some park roads.

One of many tree lined paths during our adventure.

Day 3 and 4: June 3, 4 Destination: Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area, Ogallala, NE (378 mi) Here's our Lake campsite. No trees and lots of wind!

The 22 mile resevoir was so full some beaches were covered and draining was constant.

A beach at the lake.

Sunset at the lake.

Ogallala has a world class soap box derby track. We stopped by to check it out.

Joy Ahoy - 2nd Adventure - The Long Haul!

Winners from this meet will go to the Nationals in Akron, OH not far from our home.

We found some spots for "reflection / relaxation" by the water and by the campfire.

Days 5 - 11: June June 5 - 11 Destination: Mueller SP, Divide, CO (side trips Colorado Springs) (340 mi) Mueller SP is at 9,500 ft. elevation. Picked up our grandkids Haley (5) and Ian (3) for 2 days and 2 nights (intense with young ones!!)

Early morning view from our camp site.

The kids were busy, busy. We rode bikes, hiked, ate smores (of course) and generally tried to "keep up"!

The kids had fun with their shadows on late evening walks.

The kids were thrilled to see Mule Deer grazing morning and evening near our campsite.

Ian was always looking for "chich-monks" (chipmunks).

Day 12: June 12, 2011 Destination: Greensburg, KS (365 mi.) Friends of ours live in Greensburg, KS, the site of an F5 tornado in May, 2007 that destroyed 95% of the town. Their lives were spared but they lost everything. We like to keep in touch.

Greensburg was the subject of much media attention and is rebuilding "GREEN." When we toured the town we saw numerous examples of that..GO GREENSBURG!

Here's Joy Ahoy at the south edge of Greensburg where our friends live. Note the wheat fields. Beautiful country.

Day 13: June 13 Destination: Graham Cave SP - Danville, MO (564 mi.) Pratt, KS is 20 mi. East of town. They seem to have a sense of humor!

Further East are the Flint Hills of KS.

Campsite at Graham Cave. The site was paved and on a slight hill. Could not use stakes for the side tent, so the PVC frame worked out great.

The "Cave" at Graham Cave MO and another wooded path.

Day 14: June 14 (our 42nd anniversary) Destination: Grove City, OH (540 mi) Our 1st night out at Mark Twain SP, we noticed the 3/4" nut on the left leveling jack was missing. After a call to Cary, he sent the part to our home in Grove City.

Day 15: June 15 Destination: Ricketts Glen SP, Benton, PA (445 mi) Ricketts Glen campsite very wooded and quiet and LOTS OF BUGS!

Ricketts Glen campsite, Lake Jean, elevation approx. 2,300 ft. The Lake was about 20 yards from our campsite through the trees. This view of the Lake was from the dam where the only cell service was occasionally available.

Local "critters."

Day 16 - 19: June 16 - 19 Destination: Cape Cod. Atlantic Oaks, Eastham, MA. (442 mi.) This is our campsite at Atlantic Oaks. A privately owned campground with THE CLEANEST bathrooms and showers! Canopy up during long term stays. First night of rain.

One side trip was Provincetown (Pilgrims Tower), waterfront and quaint shops.

More Provincetown pics.

Provincetown was also the site of our whale watch. We have been on a whale watch before, but we have NEVER seen so many whales.

Cape Cod National Seashore - Chatham to Provincetown

New model camper??

Truro Winery, Cape Cod. Wine tasting on Father's Day.

Salt Pond

Salt Marsh.

Cape Cod Light.

View from top of Cape Cod Light.

Door to railing..Cape Cod Light.

Cape Cod sand dunes and salty air...

Days 20 - 24: June 20 - 24, 2011 Destination: Sunset Point Campground - Harrington, ME (396 mi)

Beautiful "Lupin" (flowers) bloom only in June.

View of the bay from our campsite at high tide.

Our campsite was a "tent site" with electric and water. This private "Good Sam" campground was run by gracious hosts. This time of year there were lots of "gnats" Mainer's call "black flies." Deep Woods Off...a necessity!

It was a large, grassy site.

The first cup of coffee is always the best. Especially with a view like this. David always serves it to me in bed!

The following views illustrate the difference between low and high tide.

Jonesport, ME, is a seaport and the home of 4th of July lobster boat races -- we saw those 12 years ago.

Quoddy Light.

Coastal walk near Quoddy Light.

The peat bog walk.

Pitcher plants in the bog.

If you love the woods. Maine is the place to visit!

We don't cook over the fire. But we like to watch it.

Schoodic Penninsula. Approx. 6 miles of very scenic and rugged coastline which is part of Acadia NP. This is outside the main part of the park.

Schoodic Penninsula. Tide Pool.

Lobsterman preparing traps. Each buoy is color coded for indentification purposes.

Prospect Harbor at low tide.

Bar Harbor is a little city full of shops and nice restaurants.

Another side trip was Acadia NP. It would take a month to see it all. We only had one day, but would like to go back. We took a driving tour after purchasing a "tour CD" that highlighted significant views along the route. First stop was a beaver dam.

Beaver work site.

Over-Eager Beaver??

Jordan Pond with Bubble Mountain in the distance. Jordan Pond had a nice restaurant. Really the only place in the park to eat.

Part of the three mile walk around Jordan Pond.

Easy part of 1/2 mile trail to South Bubble Summit.

Balanced Rock at the Summit.

"The View" from Cadillac Mtn. in Acadia. The highest point on the East Coast. When we got up there...it was fogged in!!

RAIN! RAIN! the morning we left Maine.

Day 25 and 26: June 25 and 26 Destination: Grand Isle SP, VT (in the middle of Lake Champlain) (375 mi.) At a rest stop, trucks carried three wind turbine blades. Joy Ahoy looked small!

Secluded campsite at Grand Isle.

Last morning in VT.

Day 27: June 27 Destination: Watkins Glen, NY (343 mi) Watkings Glen only has limited electric sites...but we got electric.

Our campsite was right on the edge of Watkings Glen Gorge. We want to come back to hike. That's the trouble with limited time!

We traveled 6,022 mi with side trips. We were away from home for 28 days in June. We've never traveled that long at a time! Looking forward to further adventures in 2011.

We've teased you over the last few weeks concerning our Long Haul trip. We call it "Adventure 2011". Here are the pictures and commentary of our "June Adventure." Hope you enjoy...we did!

 

Thanks for sharing all of the great pictures of your lengthy excursion. What wonderful memories for both of you! Having young grandchildren also, we are curious about sleeping arrangements with them. Did they sleep in the camper with you, or in the tent, on their own? We would like to attempt a short trip with ours, once they become diaper-less, but we aren't sure we'd feel comfortable with them in a tent (unless we could find a tent to attach to the side of the teardrop.)

 

Ian just became diaper-less a few months ago. That makes it much easier! One night Ian slept with David in the tent, and Haley slept with me in the camper. The next night Haley slept with David in the tent, and Ian slept with me in the camper. You are right, we would not feel comfortable with them in a tent by themselves. You'll notice that I am very attached to the nice mattress in the camper David slept in the tent both nights. They really wore us out...but the older they get we hope that it will become easier!

 

Dave & Rene,
Great photos. In the photo by the lake you show the sun canopy set up with sun shade panels installed. How did that hold up in the wind, particularly with the shade panels providing so much more surface area? Could you leave the canopy up at night?

Jim

 

The canopy held up well with the rope on each corner even overnight!
However, the add on shade didn't do so well primarily due to the fact that it was the wrong shade for the canopy. It was suposed to cover the back side and half of two other sides. Our unit has vertical corner posts and the actual top is 10 ft. square. I think the shade panels were designed for a 10 ft. easy-up which is 10 x 10 at the base but tapers up to 8 x 8 ft at the canopy. The package for the shade said 10 x 10 but the different design was the problem.

 

Great pictures. I love the small towns. Steve

 

Someday I will be able to travel endlessly....

One question, what is the story of the yellow car in the garage?

Another fantastic camping spot is the Army Core of Engineers Campground. Large sites and nice facilities.

 

Dave and Rene, your trip must've been awesome. I am so pleased that you shared pictures. The scenery is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us.

 

Thanks for sharing these! We hope to travel to Acadia in the fall after we pick up our trailer. Did you stay in one of the park campgrounds? If so, how did you like it?

 

We stayed in Sunset Point, Harrington ME about 60 miles away, a more central point to the other areas we wanted to see. This is a "Good Sam" private park which was very nice and allowed us to use a grassy tent site...very nice. Most other camps were state parks.
Dave

 

Love your pics of New England!...makes me homesick.

Did you like the smell of the salt marsh? One of those things that, if you grow up with it, you love it but it not, well, most think it is less than pleasant...

Acadia is a beautiful place.

Pitcher plants are so cool...their beauty belies their carnivorous nature...beware if you are an insect!

Too bad the fog hid the view from Cadillac Mountain. It is beautiful. However, I do love when the fog rolls in off the ocean & the fog horn sounds - gives everything a mystical quality.

I smiled when you mentioned Cadillac being the highest point on the East Coast. At a whopping 1,500+ feet, it is the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard (Mainly New England). There are over a hundred mountains in New England that are over 3,000 ft. Foothills by Rocky Mountain standards, but also, quite a bit older and more weather worn. Geologists tell that the Appalachians were once taller than the Rockies!

Sounds like your experience down Maine was wonderful!

Thanks for sharing your trip.


_______________

Betsey

 

Betsey,
We plan to go back to Acadia someday and spend more than 1 day..way too short. We did a few mi. of hiking but there's so much more available.

We didn't find the smell at all unplesant.
Dave & Rene

BTW does this qualify for the Long Haul pin?

 

I will leave the final say on that up to Evan, the "Holder & Distributor of All Pins Camp-Inn." However, I would say that your travel journal fills the bill & as long as it was a 5,000 mile journey, you should be good!

 

Yes, certainly a Long Haul. Your pin is on the way (as soon as you PM me with your address.)

 

The car is a 1969 Jaguar XKE 2+2 recently restored. Lots of fun!!!

I bought it as a "basket case" brought it home from Alabama in 2 trips and took 3 years restoring it.

Dave

 

Dave,
Regarding the sun canopy and the side shade panel(s). We too have a 10 X 10 "straight leg" canopy we got from Coleman. They don't offer the extra shade panels for this model but told me via email that Target does. So we bought two but haven't tried them yet. Target also sells a bug screen enclosure that turns the entire canopy into a screen room. Haven't tried that out either but hope continually springs from somewhere. Of course wiser men than me will tell you that "hope" is not a "plan".
Jim

 

Jim,
We got our canopy and wind screen from Dick's sporting goods. Yesterday we took the wind screen back (we'd had for months). You saw the pictures of our windscreen. It was windy at that campsite. Although we left the canopy up, we didn't leave the windscreen up overnight. Since the windscreen didn't fit, we took it back to Dick's and exchanged it for a 12' x 12' mesh bug screen that fit our canopy a bit loose, BUT goes all the way around and has 2 sides with a zipper in the center of the panel. So the side that we put over the galley can be tied back and the opposite (back) can be used as a door. On July 20 we are going back to Ricketts Glen NY for 4 days. I'll post pictures. We set up the canopy in the backyard last night and tried the screen. We were satisfied with it's functionality. Our brief experience with the wind screen, aside from the size issue, was that it acted too much like a sail. As a result, we decided not to get the wind screen, but a mesh screen instead. We'll let you know how it goes!
Dave

 

Just one thought on a wind screen. We camp a lot in the desert and I would consider that panel an essential part of the sun shade. As the sun moves across the sky (OK, as we move around our axis) you are moving chairs and tables and anything on them all day long to stay in the shade of the canopy when all you really need is a Velcro panel that you could move once or twice.
Jim

 

Jim,
I never thought of it that way :blush:! Please remember I am new to this kind of fun. I will learn a lot, I hope.
Dave