Dateline Rhinelander, Wisconsin
We left Peshtigo WI Monday morning and trundled across the state to our next destination: Rhinelander, where my old Army buddy Tom lives. We made it without incident, but the radio tracker did not work for some reason so I cannot link us to the map showing our latest route. Since we're planning to leave Rhinelander tomorrow for Plymouth, WI, I likely will not have time to troubleshoot the equipment so we'll see if any tracking results from that.
Back to our story about becoming truly changelings: Selling our "real house" and hitting the road full time in the RV.
I left tale-telling in our last epistle, dear reader, about the time we arrived in Yuma, AZ, and drove up to the US Army's YPG (Yuma Proving Ground) north of Yuma and crossed that military complex to access the BLM's Imperial Dam area straddling the AZ and CA borders involving the wonderful Colorado River. We had friends from Grants NM already parked there for the winter and they talked us into their immediate neighborhood via our ham radios. On BLM lands, the public is allowed to camp for free in various areas for 14 days for free, but having to move at least 25 miles away to gain another 14 days' free camping. We elected to pay the BLM Season Pass fee of $180 to be able to stay at any campsite of our choice for the duration of the winter, essentially available from October through April each season. Various BLM areas have different services available, and at Imperial Dam the amenities include fresh water stations, waste dump stations, trash dumpsters, and restrooms mainly intended for tent campers. These restrooms also included OUTDOOR showers, without walls. These must be intended for the free spirits in the area. We dared not expose our fish-belly white skins to the world, not even to try it out. Not that anyone could work up much interest in watching me cavorting in such fashion. Even in Vietnam we had a couple of curtains and modicums of privacy in our thrown-together field showers.
Hundreds , HUNDREDS, of thousands of RV'ers take advantage of these desert delights each winter and it is a kick to walk about and view all the license plates from mostly northern states and areas including Vancouver, other Canadian districts, Alaska, the Dakotas, and of course Michigan and Minnesota. Not to mention the entire Northeastern states.
The uninformed might wonder what so many Old Farts could possibly do to maintain sanity so far from "Home", but there are actually more activities of all sorts, fixed and mobile businesses catering to mobile home dwellers and travelers, wintertime church congregations to handle the hordes of wandering worshipers such as we, and DANCING. We found (with only minimal searching) more that just a couple of dance halls where weekly dances were held, WITH LIVE BANDS, in Yuma. We had a grand time attending and dancing at least once a week for very minimal cover charges to help pay the electric bills. (Now that winter is over and all we RV'ers are scattered to cooler climes for the summer, we find NO such fun activities going on. In Albuquerque, dance halls have all but disappeared, even those selling liquor to invigorate incomes.)
Since we stayed in the Yuma area all winter from December 2017 to April 2018, we certainly have more stories to tell about this wonderful area. However, it is again well past my bed-time and I will attempt to resume the narrative sometime later.... again.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
Ah, the RV Life
Today's Michigan Upper Peninsula (U.P.) Route
Since we do more RV'ing than cycling, it only makes sense to blather a bit about the various pratfalls and misadventures involved in that enjoyable pastime.
Since we put our house on the market, gave away, sold, and stored a few percent of our unbelievable number of household possessions and yard junk, and moved into our RV full time, we have encountered a few basic reactions from those we encounter:
-But where do you live NOW? -When you're NOT in the RV?
-We have friends who did that several years ago and they're still at it!
-How can you stand to live in the cramped confines of an RV for more than a few days or nights at a time?
Well, we left the house empty and on the market in December 2017. It is now Mid-June and we're still pretty much talking to each other.
We dawdled a bit heading toward Southwest Arizona for the obviously warmer weather.
It was almost freezing when we passed through Albuquerque and turned south on I-25. We'd left later than we wanted and by the time we got to Socorro it was dark and we searched frantically for an RV park. We parked somewhere and paid the money and were shocked, SHOCKED when we awoke next morning to a temperature of FIFTEEN degrees! How we avoided our pipes and water freezing up is beyond me. We thought since Socorro was 70 miles south of Albuquerque it should be warmer there. WRONGO
Next morning we gingerly loaded up our stiff power cord and water hose and headed south again on I-25. As we approached the Highway 380 turnoff going over the mountains to Carrizozo and Roswell, we discussed the idea of detouring the wrong way and going back east to Roswell and then south on 285 to Carlsbad to participate in the "Christmas on the Pecos" affair. Ads for this hoo-ha
had been running every few minutes on KOB-AM as we drove and we decided to go for it. We turned east off I-25 and made it to the outskirts of Roswell where we found a fairly decrepit RV park that only cost us $10 for a night's parking, as best I recall. My cousin Darel has a ranch with room for our RV that he has encouraged us to stay at, but it was so late and we hadn't called ahead so we spent the big bucks and stayed on the outskirts of town. Next morning we left the RV and drove in to downtown Roswell and visited him and his sister, Cousin Peggy, at his complex where he markets indian jewelry, beds and mattresses and high end sleep supplies, and prospers. Enjoyed that visit for a couple hours and then we returned to the RV, loaded it up, and headed on south to Carlsbad.
As we passed through Artesia, we had called ahead to Lake Macmillan to park the RV there. Just south of Artesia we spotted a tiny sign pointing to "The Ranch", an Escapee or SKP campground. We had just joined Escapees a few days earlier before we left home and had no prior idea they had a complex anywhere on our route. We drove over to see what they had there, found a bustling RV complex with a vacancy they immediately put us into for $50 for a full week's stay, and at the same time invited us in for a group enchilada supper. Great folks and a great place to stay. We used that for a home base to attend LDS church services in Artesia, and commute down to Carlsbad for the Christmas on the Pecos boat ride up and down the Pecos River.
From there we headed south and west out of Carlsbad to eventually make it to southern Arizona for their fabled warm winter weather. We approached Carlsbad Caverns and again succumbed to the temptation for another detour. The Caverns, of course, were well worth both the delay and the cost and the sore legs and feet.
From there we made it to Las Cruces via El Paso, where again it was dark and found us needing a place to stop for the night. We looked up an RV park on our GPS and drove across Valley Drive, finding a very crowded, run down, and pot-hole filled mobile home park with no evident slots available for an itinerant RV. Bouncing roughly out of the rutted pot-holes and up onto the smoother pavement of the street, we saw a brightly lit grocery store across the street with a large parking lot and pulled in for a few supplies. On a whim, I approached one of the cashiers and asked if the manager was available. He was. I asked him if we could possibly spend the night encamped in his spacious lot and he said Yes, we normally allow people who ASK FIRST to park overnight. Even though barely across the street from the nasty looking trailer park, it was an enjoyable evening with no one bothering us. We eventually made it to the Yuma AZ BLM free camping area but that involves more stories for another chapter. It's getting too close to bedtime here in Badger Park in Peshtigo Wisconsin, of all places, and I need to prepare to hit the sack. More later - when I get around to it.
Since we do more RV'ing than cycling, it only makes sense to blather a bit about the various pratfalls and misadventures involved in that enjoyable pastime.
Since we put our house on the market, gave away, sold, and stored a few percent of our unbelievable number of household possessions and yard junk, and moved into our RV full time, we have encountered a few basic reactions from those we encounter:
-But where do you live NOW? -When you're NOT in the RV?
-We have friends who did that several years ago and they're still at it!
-How can you stand to live in the cramped confines of an RV for more than a few days or nights at a time?
Well, we left the house empty and on the market in December 2017. It is now Mid-June and we're still pretty much talking to each other.
We dawdled a bit heading toward Southwest Arizona for the obviously warmer weather.
It was almost freezing when we passed through Albuquerque and turned south on I-25. We'd left later than we wanted and by the time we got to Socorro it was dark and we searched frantically for an RV park. We parked somewhere and paid the money and were shocked, SHOCKED when we awoke next morning to a temperature of FIFTEEN degrees! How we avoided our pipes and water freezing up is beyond me. We thought since Socorro was 70 miles south of Albuquerque it should be warmer there. WRONGO
Next morning we gingerly loaded up our stiff power cord and water hose and headed south again on I-25. As we approached the Highway 380 turnoff going over the mountains to Carrizozo and Roswell, we discussed the idea of detouring the wrong way and going back east to Roswell and then south on 285 to Carlsbad to participate in the "Christmas on the Pecos" affair. Ads for this hoo-ha
had been running every few minutes on KOB-AM as we drove and we decided to go for it. We turned east off I-25 and made it to the outskirts of Roswell where we found a fairly decrepit RV park that only cost us $10 for a night's parking, as best I recall. My cousin Darel has a ranch with room for our RV that he has encouraged us to stay at, but it was so late and we hadn't called ahead so we spent the big bucks and stayed on the outskirts of town. Next morning we left the RV and drove in to downtown Roswell and visited him and his sister, Cousin Peggy, at his complex where he markets indian jewelry, beds and mattresses and high end sleep supplies, and prospers. Enjoyed that visit for a couple hours and then we returned to the RV, loaded it up, and headed on south to Carlsbad.
As we passed through Artesia, we had called ahead to Lake Macmillan to park the RV there. Just south of Artesia we spotted a tiny sign pointing to "The Ranch", an Escapee or SKP campground. We had just joined Escapees a few days earlier before we left home and had no prior idea they had a complex anywhere on our route. We drove over to see what they had there, found a bustling RV complex with a vacancy they immediately put us into for $50 for a full week's stay, and at the same time invited us in for a group enchilada supper. Great folks and a great place to stay. We used that for a home base to attend LDS church services in Artesia, and commute down to Carlsbad for the Christmas on the Pecos boat ride up and down the Pecos River.
From there we headed south and west out of Carlsbad to eventually make it to southern Arizona for their fabled warm winter weather. We approached Carlsbad Caverns and again succumbed to the temptation for another detour. The Caverns, of course, were well worth both the delay and the cost and the sore legs and feet.
From there we made it to Las Cruces via El Paso, where again it was dark and found us needing a place to stop for the night. We looked up an RV park on our GPS and drove across Valley Drive, finding a very crowded, run down, and pot-hole filled mobile home park with no evident slots available for an itinerant RV. Bouncing roughly out of the rutted pot-holes and up onto the smoother pavement of the street, we saw a brightly lit grocery store across the street with a large parking lot and pulled in for a few supplies. On a whim, I approached one of the cashiers and asked if the manager was available. He was. I asked him if we could possibly spend the night encamped in his spacious lot and he said Yes, we normally allow people who ASK FIRST to park overnight. Even though barely across the street from the nasty looking trailer park, it was an enjoyable evening with no one bothering us. We eventually made it to the Yuma AZ BLM free camping area but that involves more stories for another chapter. It's getting too close to bedtime here in Badger Park in Peshtigo Wisconsin, of all places, and I need to prepare to hit the sack. More later - when I get around to it.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Mackinaw Riding
Today's Tracking Where the GPS and Radio Work Together
We have been riding intermittently recently, what with RV travels and sightseeing and all.
In more areas than one, we have not had radio coverage to the extent that the GPS track was logged at all. Today, however, we arrived in Mackinaw City, MI, so far up north and seemingly in the boonies that I assumed there would be no radio coverage here either.
Out here east of the Mississippi, what hills exist are relatively gradual grades, and Michigan is wonderful in the lack of mountain-style climbs as well.
We journeyed to Kirtland, OH, and stayed at Geneva State Park while visiting the Kirtland Temple and other LDS historical sites nearby. I think we stayed there 3-4 nights and the cost was $30-something per. That was a nice park except for being almost totally waterlogged: Not only is it right on the shore of Lake Erie, but recent rains had left most or all the camp sites with standing water, with barely enough dry gravel to park on. Several campers and tenters drove in, set up camp, and left within hours after realizing how soggy everything was.
There was a nice cycling path there, interrupted for only a few hundred yards by mud and water.
No radio coverage, but nice cycling.
From there we drove to Caesars Creek state park, where I departed for my 73-mile ride to celebrate my 71st birthday. After a few days there we drove clear up to Palmyra, New York, to visit LDS history sites there. Very lovely place except for high prices, especially gasoline. We stayed the first night in the parking lot of the Fingerlakes Casino, for free, and the only 'legit' place we could find to park the RV was in the Wayne County OH Fairgrounds, where we were the only visitors for most of our week's stay there. It was lacking in the absence of picnic tables but a very quiet sleeping spot. Trouble is, it cost $30 a night for electrical and full hookup and since it was $25 for the cheapest spots we gladly spent the extra $5 nightly for full amperage AC power for our air conditioners.
We rode around Palmyra very enjoyably but again had no radio coverage, and the heavy tree cover and nearby metal municipal buildings appeared to block both TV signals and our Tailgater satellite TV system.
From there we decided to go up to Dearborn MI to see "The Henry Ford", a compound of museums and exhibits memorializing American ingenuity, including of course the history of the Ford auto empire. It cost over 90 bucks to get entry tickets but then every time we saw something interesting inside, we got charged again for almost everything. $5 each to ride the steam powered train around the complex:
THEN, high prices (Of Course!) for ice cream and other snacks, and of course we had to take a ride in a Model T automobile. That cost $7.50 or so apiece for something like a 5-minute ride around several blocks of the complex. These T-models are the genuine article, EXCEPT having been modified with electric starters so the drivers don't have to risk injury trying to crank the dern things to get them going again after a stall. Fun ride, but more even more expensive than driving the RV per mile.......
We stayed 2 nights at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wayne County Michigan, next door to Dearborn. $24 something per night, a modest relief from the 30-dollar versions we've encountered elsewhere. We could have gone back to the Ford complex to see more of the fun, but our legs were tired from all the walking and we decided to go on up the road for more travels. We are aiming to visit an old Army buddy in Wisconsin, and along the way, we sought to stop and visit (again) one of Jacque's dear friends up here in Mackinaw City, "at the top of the mitten" in Michigan.
Surprisingly, as shown in the top link of this post, the radio coverage covered our cycling travels quite nicely.
Last night we parked the RV halfway between Fordtown, er, I mean Dearborn, and Mackinaw City at a state park called Higgins Lake. We were a tad sticker-shocked at the price to merely stay overnight: 40-something dollars including tax. I would have driven on but was sufficiently exhausted from driving all day that I just popped out the card and paid for it, grateful to have found a place to crash for the night. (Of course the next morning when we left, an interstate rest area popped into view within a mile or two, where we could have stayed the night for free.)
Jacque's Mackinaw friend is all too generous and insisted we could "driveway surf" and park next to her house and blood-suck electricity from her garage outlet. All very nice, and we arrive soon enough to tour downtown Mackinaw City and get the inevitable commemorative T-shirt.
Ride Started: 6:16 PM Ride Ended: 9:22 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 170 Ending BG: 85
Lowest Temp 64 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.43
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.5 MPH 4.6 MPH 14.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 9 mins 1 hour 37 mins 32 minutes
We have been riding intermittently recently, what with RV travels and sightseeing and all.
In more areas than one, we have not had radio coverage to the extent that the GPS track was logged at all. Today, however, we arrived in Mackinaw City, MI, so far up north and seemingly in the boonies that I assumed there would be no radio coverage here either.
Out here east of the Mississippi, what hills exist are relatively gradual grades, and Michigan is wonderful in the lack of mountain-style climbs as well.
We journeyed to Kirtland, OH, and stayed at Geneva State Park while visiting the Kirtland Temple and other LDS historical sites nearby. I think we stayed there 3-4 nights and the cost was $30-something per. That was a nice park except for being almost totally waterlogged: Not only is it right on the shore of Lake Erie, but recent rains had left most or all the camp sites with standing water, with barely enough dry gravel to park on. Several campers and tenters drove in, set up camp, and left within hours after realizing how soggy everything was.
There was a nice cycling path there, interrupted for only a few hundred yards by mud and water.
No radio coverage, but nice cycling.
From there we drove to Caesars Creek state park, where I departed for my 73-mile ride to celebrate my 71st birthday. After a few days there we drove clear up to Palmyra, New York, to visit LDS history sites there. Very lovely place except for high prices, especially gasoline. We stayed the first night in the parking lot of the Fingerlakes Casino, for free, and the only 'legit' place we could find to park the RV was in the Wayne County OH Fairgrounds, where we were the only visitors for most of our week's stay there. It was lacking in the absence of picnic tables but a very quiet sleeping spot. Trouble is, it cost $30 a night for electrical and full hookup and since it was $25 for the cheapest spots we gladly spent the extra $5 nightly for full amperage AC power for our air conditioners.
We rode around Palmyra very enjoyably but again had no radio coverage, and the heavy tree cover and nearby metal municipal buildings appeared to block both TV signals and our Tailgater satellite TV system.
From there we decided to go up to Dearborn MI to see "The Henry Ford", a compound of museums and exhibits memorializing American ingenuity, including of course the history of the Ford auto empire. It cost over 90 bucks to get entry tickets but then every time we saw something interesting inside, we got charged again for almost everything. $5 each to ride the steam powered train around the complex:
THEN, high prices (Of Course!) for ice cream and other snacks, and of course we had to take a ride in a Model T automobile. That cost $7.50 or so apiece for something like a 5-minute ride around several blocks of the complex. These T-models are the genuine article, EXCEPT having been modified with electric starters so the drivers don't have to risk injury trying to crank the dern things to get them going again after a stall. Fun ride, but more even more expensive than driving the RV per mile.......
We stayed 2 nights at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wayne County Michigan, next door to Dearborn. $24 something per night, a modest relief from the 30-dollar versions we've encountered elsewhere. We could have gone back to the Ford complex to see more of the fun, but our legs were tired from all the walking and we decided to go on up the road for more travels. We are aiming to visit an old Army buddy in Wisconsin, and along the way, we sought to stop and visit (again) one of Jacque's dear friends up here in Mackinaw City, "at the top of the mitten" in Michigan.
Surprisingly, as shown in the top link of this post, the radio coverage covered our cycling travels quite nicely.
Last night we parked the RV halfway between Fordtown, er, I mean Dearborn, and Mackinaw City at a state park called Higgins Lake. We were a tad sticker-shocked at the price to merely stay overnight: 40-something dollars including tax. I would have driven on but was sufficiently exhausted from driving all day that I just popped out the card and paid for it, grateful to have found a place to crash for the night. (Of course the next morning when we left, an interstate rest area popped into view within a mile or two, where we could have stayed the night for free.)
Jacque's Mackinaw friend is all too generous and insisted we could "driveway surf" and park next to her house and blood-suck electricity from her garage outlet. All very nice, and we arrive soon enough to tour downtown Mackinaw City and get the inevitable commemorative T-shirt.
Ride Started: 6:16 PM Ride Ended: 9:22 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 170 Ending BG: 85
Lowest Temp 64 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.43
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.5 MPH 4.6 MPH 14.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 9 mins 1 hour 37 mins 32 minutes
Monday, May 28, 2018
OHIO: Flat Routes, Low Altitude, Lots of Oxygen
Today's RV Route to NY
We finally found some great cycling routes while in Ohio. Seeing on the area maps that there was a "Western Reserve Greenway Trail running up the middle of the county on a rail-to-trail project that claimed "47 Miles, 27 of it in Ashtabula County", we looked up the entry point claiming to be a public park at the end (or beginning) of the trail. We drove up to the address, and found the trail end, but were astounded to see nothing but a lot full of junked and rusty cars, a very seedy and uninviting neighborhood, no place whatsoever to park, and a bench full of unfriendly looking fellows drinking beer. We barely found a place to turn around and went to look for other places to enter the greenway. The next one we found was "Hamilton Point" which claimed another public parking area, which turned out to be a very narrow gravel strip next to an industrial lot in another seedy area of town we were reluctant to park our car in. A couple of cyclists rode up to the intersection while I was walking the dogs nearby in the grass, so I asked THEM where a good place might be to safely park our car and enter the bikeway. They mentioned something about being parked in Austinburg, which wasn't that easy to find either, but finally we did, and thoroughly enjoyed riding this lovely trail with it's tree-canopy-shaded pathway much of it's length.
A few days later we left Caesar's Creek State Park and traveled up to the Kirtland area to tour the Kirtland LDS Temple and the visitors' center.
We paid for 4 days' RV parking at Geneva State Park, esconced on the soggy shores of Lake Erie. They have had a lot of rain recently, not needing any since it's so wet and humid there anyway. Puddles of muddy water surrounded every campsite, and most visitors were underwhelmed with the soggy conditions. The weather was beautiful but the water puddles just would not soak in, dry up, or go away. There were more tent-campers than RV denizens and most of them quickly opted to set their tents up either on the pavement or concrete pad of their sites. Several left early, in spite of the anticipation of spending Memorial Day weekend there. We enjoyed our stay; we were high and dry in the RV except when stepping off the pavement. The first time we unloaded our trikes and took a ride we only got half a mile or less and stopped when we encountered saw-horse road blocks and detour signs indicating "go this way...." straight into a muddy dirt path. We gave up and turned around.
Sunday we attended LDS meetings in Perry Ohio and greatly enjoyed that friendly ward. May friendly folks welcomed us and made us feel at home.
The prior Sunday we had gotten all dressed up and drove to the Richmond Indiana Ward, only to find the building empty and locked, with no signs indicating where the saints might be otherwise.... most likely at stake conference. But lacking any signs or notices in the doorways, we went back home to the RV disappointed.
A couple days afterward, we drove down to the West Chester area near Cincinnati to visit our good friends James and Christel Wilson, pals from our mission service together in the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission.
Back to Kirtland and Geneva State park. Sunday after church, the late afternoon was so lovely I took my trike out for another ride and rode over to the lake side of the highway again to see if the Soggy Path had dried out any.... and it was still a bit wet but not several inches of water like before. I rode through it and back on to a nicely paved path that took me right along the shore of Lake Erie and over to a beach with all sorts of activity going on...... and a bike path leading farther along the lakeshore! I quickly turned around and raced back to the RV to get Jacque on her trike so we could ride and enjoy together. We rode for several miles, to and from various beachfront sites. We turned around earlier than planned when I had to go find a bathroom and the area was too full of people to get away with just peeing in the weeds.
I just wish we had discovered the entirety of these trails the first time we attempted exploring. Like so many other places, there may be a great cycling path available but - all too often - it is sadly undermarked and very hard to find how to ENTER the greenway or path. Even at "Hamilton Point", there was a lovely kiosk with a large map showing the trail and parking areas all highlighted.... WITH NO ADDRESSES LISTED for ANY of the parks and parking points. Google and GPS were of precious little help either. BAH
Today, Monday's update: As you can see from the link at the top of the page, we drove clear up into NEW YORK (?) to tour Historic Palmyra and the Hill Cumorah and other nearby LDS sacred and historical sites.
Neither of us had EVER had any intention of going anywhere near New York state but since we found ourselves with a few days and no advance plans, we decided to "Do the Tour" of places we haven't seen before. We're even thinking of doing Niagra Falls since it isn't that far from here. Stay tuned. We'll see.
We finally found some great cycling routes while in Ohio. Seeing on the area maps that there was a "Western Reserve Greenway Trail running up the middle of the county on a rail-to-trail project that claimed "47 Miles, 27 of it in Ashtabula County", we looked up the entry point claiming to be a public park at the end (or beginning) of the trail. We drove up to the address, and found the trail end, but were astounded to see nothing but a lot full of junked and rusty cars, a very seedy and uninviting neighborhood, no place whatsoever to park, and a bench full of unfriendly looking fellows drinking beer. We barely found a place to turn around and went to look for other places to enter the greenway. The next one we found was "Hamilton Point" which claimed another public parking area, which turned out to be a very narrow gravel strip next to an industrial lot in another seedy area of town we were reluctant to park our car in. A couple of cyclists rode up to the intersection while I was walking the dogs nearby in the grass, so I asked THEM where a good place might be to safely park our car and enter the bikeway. They mentioned something about being parked in Austinburg, which wasn't that easy to find either, but finally we did, and thoroughly enjoyed riding this lovely trail with it's tree-canopy-shaded pathway much of it's length.
A few days later we left Caesar's Creek State Park and traveled up to the Kirtland area to tour the Kirtland LDS Temple and the visitors' center.
We paid for 4 days' RV parking at Geneva State Park, esconced on the soggy shores of Lake Erie. They have had a lot of rain recently, not needing any since it's so wet and humid there anyway. Puddles of muddy water surrounded every campsite, and most visitors were underwhelmed with the soggy conditions. The weather was beautiful but the water puddles just would not soak in, dry up, or go away. There were more tent-campers than RV denizens and most of them quickly opted to set their tents up either on the pavement or concrete pad of their sites. Several left early, in spite of the anticipation of spending Memorial Day weekend there. We enjoyed our stay; we were high and dry in the RV except when stepping off the pavement. The first time we unloaded our trikes and took a ride we only got half a mile or less and stopped when we encountered saw-horse road blocks and detour signs indicating "go this way...." straight into a muddy dirt path. We gave up and turned around.
Sunday we attended LDS meetings in Perry Ohio and greatly enjoyed that friendly ward. May friendly folks welcomed us and made us feel at home.
The prior Sunday we had gotten all dressed up and drove to the Richmond Indiana Ward, only to find the building empty and locked, with no signs indicating where the saints might be otherwise.... most likely at stake conference. But lacking any signs or notices in the doorways, we went back home to the RV disappointed.
A couple days afterward, we drove down to the West Chester area near Cincinnati to visit our good friends James and Christel Wilson, pals from our mission service together in the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission.
Back to Kirtland and Geneva State park. Sunday after church, the late afternoon was so lovely I took my trike out for another ride and rode over to the lake side of the highway again to see if the Soggy Path had dried out any.... and it was still a bit wet but not several inches of water like before. I rode through it and back on to a nicely paved path that took me right along the shore of Lake Erie and over to a beach with all sorts of activity going on...... and a bike path leading farther along the lakeshore! I quickly turned around and raced back to the RV to get Jacque on her trike so we could ride and enjoy together. We rode for several miles, to and from various beachfront sites. We turned around earlier than planned when I had to go find a bathroom and the area was too full of people to get away with just peeing in the weeds.
I just wish we had discovered the entirety of these trails the first time we attempted exploring. Like so many other places, there may be a great cycling path available but - all too often - it is sadly undermarked and very hard to find how to ENTER the greenway or path. Even at "Hamilton Point", there was a lovely kiosk with a large map showing the trail and parking areas all highlighted.... WITH NO ADDRESSES LISTED for ANY of the parks and parking points. Google and GPS were of precious little help either. BAH
Today, Monday's update: As you can see from the link at the top of the page, we drove clear up into NEW YORK (?) to tour Historic Palmyra and the Hill Cumorah and other nearby LDS sacred and historical sites.
Neither of us had EVER had any intention of going anywhere near New York state but since we found ourselves with a few days and no advance plans, we decided to "Do the Tour" of places we haven't seen before. We're even thinking of doing Niagra Falls since it isn't that far from here. Stay tuned. We'll see.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Birthday Ride DONE. Still Alive
Today's Frog-Strangling Track across Ohio
Well, Monday's ride of 71+ miles proves I don't have to be in "shape" to make such a ride.... but it would certainly help shorten the time and ease the pain.
There are all kinds of rails-to-trails bike and multi-use paths here in Ohio and the closest one that had any length to it was the Little Miami Scenic Trail . Our closest access point was in Corwin so we drove there to start the ride. Unlike any New Mexico trails we know of, this one has several small towns that sport very nice accommodations for cyclists, including bathrooms, bike racks for parking, shaded picnic areas, and fresh water. Corwin is one of such and it was a very nice launching point.
Once we figured out which way was "North" I took off in that direction.
(I notice from the tracking map there is a huge gap in radio coverage from South Charleston to quite a ways north of London)
First off I was impressed with the smoothness of the pavement and the canopy of trees shading the path much of the way. In spite of the plethora of trees and vegetation everywhere, there were no tree-root upheavals or bumps in the pavement. The otherwise wonderful Bosque Trail near Albuquerque is full of such traps for the unaware rider.
Corwin was a very tiny burg of ancient origin. The graveyard is huge and full of 1840's vintage stones. Northeast of there the roadway opens up occasionally for expansive views of lush farms and multiple waterways. Thankfully the sun was hidden both by overcast most of the day and the trees.
It was surprising to hear trucks and machines rumbling alongside me in spite of not being able to see them or determine what they were. Occasionally a gap in the foliage revealed highways on both sides of me, sometimes separated by less than a hundred yards or so. Every few miles would be a Cyclist's Stop Sign, indicating a road crossing where the motorized public enjoyed the right-of-way, but I never had to wait for any vehicles to pass since there were very few vehicles in the area.
The next town I encountered was Spring Valley, where I passed through unmolested.
Within a few more miles I passed a turnoff with a sign that said "Travel Town". A hundred or so yards farther I decided I had to check that out, so I turned around and rode into what turned out to be just an entry point into Xenia, with no facilities other than some imposing commercial buildings on a well traveled highway. Turning around again, I returned to the bikeway and continued onward. Suddenly an interesting vista opened: Xenia Station, with old railway offices and train cars and engines arranged into a park display. An imposing old railway station offered public bathrooms. Stopping to take advantage, I found all the doors locked except for one that announced "Enter Here", leading to more locked doorways but unlocked doors for the bathrooms. Very nice. Perhaps at other times the place is open for tours instead of just bathroom use.
Just past Xenia Station, the "path" stopped at a traffic light with no clear directions or signage about which way to go to stay on the trail. I crossed at the light, tried going left on the sidewalk, which dead-ended at an empty business. As I turned around to go back the way I came, I noticed a small ramp in the woods with a small sign about a bikeway. I took that route, and wound up on the OH-Erie trail which also led to several signs indicating I was on "US 50" with a bike symbol. Googling that from the smartphone, I found info on the route: USBR 50
Now that I looked up Xenia Station I see that I missed the turn from there that would have kept me on the Little Miami Trail. Ah Well. Story of my life: Confusing or missing bike path signs.
Along the USBR 50 way, the metropolises of Cedarvale, South Charleston and London also had nice bike facilities but THEN forced me off any dedicated trail and on to city streets to the other end of town.
Thankfully none had any real traffic to deal with.
This route also had several signs designating it as the OH-Erie trail, which sounded intriguing until the trail abruptly ended about 20 miles north of London at Darby Creek Metro Park. I and another cyclist circled around the park where it ended, signless again. The park adjoined a high speed highway; perhaps cyclists are assumed to want to ride up there with the motorized traffic. Not me; I turned around.
By now I was getting a bit on the tired side. Riding recumbent, with feet pedaling in an elevated pattern, results in numbness in the feet. This numbness was my worst problem, far exceeding the fatigue. I found that stopping occasionally, removing my shoes, and massaging my feet really helped, in addition to standing up and stepping around to get more circulation down into the footsies.
Still, I was in numbness agony by the time I got back to London where Jacque was waiting to rescue me after 73+ Miles. I had every intention of going no further than 71 miles but I had miscalculated my turnaround point. I was covered with road gunk and a lot sore but I was still able to walk... barely.
I took several short videos and a couple of Iphone photos, but my internet connection is super weak in this Caesar's Creek campground where we're encamped with the RV. I'll try to upload some of the video when we get into a better wifi / cell phone reception area.
Ride Started: 8:12 AM Ride Ended: 7:51 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 130 Ending BG: 85 (Kinda spacey at this point)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 85 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 73.08
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.2 MPH 8.2 MPH 16.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
11 hours 46 mins 8 hours 57 mins 2 hours 49 minutes
Well, Monday's ride of 71+ miles proves I don't have to be in "shape" to make such a ride.... but it would certainly help shorten the time and ease the pain.
There are all kinds of rails-to-trails bike and multi-use paths here in Ohio and the closest one that had any length to it was the Little Miami Scenic Trail . Our closest access point was in Corwin so we drove there to start the ride. Unlike any New Mexico trails we know of, this one has several small towns that sport very nice accommodations for cyclists, including bathrooms, bike racks for parking, shaded picnic areas, and fresh water. Corwin is one of such and it was a very nice launching point.
Once we figured out which way was "North" I took off in that direction.
(I notice from the tracking map there is a huge gap in radio coverage from South Charleston to quite a ways north of London)
First off I was impressed with the smoothness of the pavement and the canopy of trees shading the path much of the way. In spite of the plethora of trees and vegetation everywhere, there were no tree-root upheavals or bumps in the pavement. The otherwise wonderful Bosque Trail near Albuquerque is full of such traps for the unaware rider.
Corwin was a very tiny burg of ancient origin. The graveyard is huge and full of 1840's vintage stones. Northeast of there the roadway opens up occasionally for expansive views of lush farms and multiple waterways. Thankfully the sun was hidden both by overcast most of the day and the trees.
It was surprising to hear trucks and machines rumbling alongside me in spite of not being able to see them or determine what they were. Occasionally a gap in the foliage revealed highways on both sides of me, sometimes separated by less than a hundred yards or so. Every few miles would be a Cyclist's Stop Sign, indicating a road crossing where the motorized public enjoyed the right-of-way, but I never had to wait for any vehicles to pass since there were very few vehicles in the area.
The next town I encountered was Spring Valley, where I passed through unmolested.
Within a few more miles I passed a turnoff with a sign that said "Travel Town". A hundred or so yards farther I decided I had to check that out, so I turned around and rode into what turned out to be just an entry point into Xenia, with no facilities other than some imposing commercial buildings on a well traveled highway. Turning around again, I returned to the bikeway and continued onward. Suddenly an interesting vista opened: Xenia Station, with old railway offices and train cars and engines arranged into a park display. An imposing old railway station offered public bathrooms. Stopping to take advantage, I found all the doors locked except for one that announced "Enter Here", leading to more locked doorways but unlocked doors for the bathrooms. Very nice. Perhaps at other times the place is open for tours instead of just bathroom use.
Just past Xenia Station, the "path" stopped at a traffic light with no clear directions or signage about which way to go to stay on the trail. I crossed at the light, tried going left on the sidewalk, which dead-ended at an empty business. As I turned around to go back the way I came, I noticed a small ramp in the woods with a small sign about a bikeway. I took that route, and wound up on the OH-Erie trail which also led to several signs indicating I was on "US 50" with a bike symbol. Googling that from the smartphone, I found info on the route: USBR 50
Now that I looked up Xenia Station I see that I missed the turn from there that would have kept me on the Little Miami Trail. Ah Well. Story of my life: Confusing or missing bike path signs.
Along the USBR 50 way, the metropolises of Cedarvale, South Charleston and London also had nice bike facilities but THEN forced me off any dedicated trail and on to city streets to the other end of town.
Thankfully none had any real traffic to deal with.
This route also had several signs designating it as the OH-Erie trail, which sounded intriguing until the trail abruptly ended about 20 miles north of London at Darby Creek Metro Park. I and another cyclist circled around the park where it ended, signless again. The park adjoined a high speed highway; perhaps cyclists are assumed to want to ride up there with the motorized traffic. Not me; I turned around.
By now I was getting a bit on the tired side. Riding recumbent, with feet pedaling in an elevated pattern, results in numbness in the feet. This numbness was my worst problem, far exceeding the fatigue. I found that stopping occasionally, removing my shoes, and massaging my feet really helped, in addition to standing up and stepping around to get more circulation down into the footsies.
Still, I was in numbness agony by the time I got back to London where Jacque was waiting to rescue me after 73+ Miles. I had every intention of going no further than 71 miles but I had miscalculated my turnaround point. I was covered with road gunk and a lot sore but I was still able to walk... barely.
I took several short videos and a couple of Iphone photos, but my internet connection is super weak in this Caesar's Creek campground where we're encamped with the RV. I'll try to upload some of the video when we get into a better wifi / cell phone reception area.
Ride Started: 8:12 AM Ride Ended: 7:51 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 130 Ending BG: 85 (Kinda spacey at this point)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 85 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 73.08
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.2 MPH 8.2 MPH 16.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
11 hours 46 mins 8 hours 57 mins 2 hours 49 minutes
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Changes in Plans, Of Course
This Week's RV Wanderings
As viewers of the above link can detect, we left New Mexico last Monday on the 14th and came EAST. Quite a ways East. We stopped overnight at the Sams Club in Amarillo, then another night (driveway-surfing) at Ben and Sherry's in Piedmont, then spent a night at the Indigo Sky Casino. Coming through Springfield MO we stopped for a quick late lunch and a couple hours swapping lies with our dear cousins Jerry and Sally Anderson. Using our Freecampsites web link, we found a small gravel parking area at Bear Creek just east of Lebanon MO and spent a really quiet night at that deserted spot.
Then on to Richmond IN where we spent last night and tonight as a launching point to attend the Dayton Hamvention (now relocated to Xenia, OH).
My plan to ride 71 miles for my 71st birthday have thus been ripped sideways out of the NM area and my current scheme is to ride the Little Miami Scenic Trail here in Ohio on Monday..... IF the weather will cooperate. NM is in the depths of a severe drought, and since Amarillo we have encountered more rain than sunshine, especially so here in Ohio. The Hamvention was a muddy mess today with multiple rain showers and threats of thunder and lightning that didn't materialize, but the rain certainly did. Monday has a forecast of rain and more rain, so we'll see if it clears up enough to go for a long bike ride.
I actually got in a precious few miles today along the Creekside Trail in Xenia and really enjoyed pedaling again, in spite of getting almost completely soaked from the scattered showers. I didn't have any of my electronics on this ride from downtown Xenia to the Green County Fairgrounds, so I don't have any data to share about timing, speed, and whatnot. I actually PASSED another cyclist on the ride going out. He was a younger fellow just dawdling along, but I was still amazed I was able to pass him and leave him way behind.
Hopefully Monday will allow me some real riding and pedaling time....
As viewers of the above link can detect, we left New Mexico last Monday on the 14th and came EAST. Quite a ways East. We stopped overnight at the Sams Club in Amarillo, then another night (driveway-surfing) at Ben and Sherry's in Piedmont, then spent a night at the Indigo Sky Casino. Coming through Springfield MO we stopped for a quick late lunch and a couple hours swapping lies with our dear cousins Jerry and Sally Anderson. Using our Freecampsites web link, we found a small gravel parking area at Bear Creek just east of Lebanon MO and spent a really quiet night at that deserted spot.
Then on to Richmond IN where we spent last night and tonight as a launching point to attend the Dayton Hamvention (now relocated to Xenia, OH).
My plan to ride 71 miles for my 71st birthday have thus been ripped sideways out of the NM area and my current scheme is to ride the Little Miami Scenic Trail here in Ohio on Monday..... IF the weather will cooperate. NM is in the depths of a severe drought, and since Amarillo we have encountered more rain than sunshine, especially so here in Ohio. The Hamvention was a muddy mess today with multiple rain showers and threats of thunder and lightning that didn't materialize, but the rain certainly did. Monday has a forecast of rain and more rain, so we'll see if it clears up enough to go for a long bike ride.
I actually got in a precious few miles today along the Creekside Trail in Xenia and really enjoyed pedaling again, in spite of getting almost completely soaked from the scattered showers. I didn't have any of my electronics on this ride from downtown Xenia to the Green County Fairgrounds, so I don't have any data to share about timing, speed, and whatnot. I actually PASSED another cyclist on the ride going out. He was a younger fellow just dawdling along, but I was still amazed I was able to pass him and leave him way behind.
Hopefully Monday will allow me some real riding and pedaling time....
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Birthday Bash in the Works
Upcoming 71+ mile ride route
My 71st birthday is coming up, if I survive another couple of weeks. Since I rode 70 miles last May for my 70th birthday I thought it cool enough to try it EVERY birthday so long as I'm able - - and so long as I continue to have birthdays.
Of course, Google is my friend, and I spent a couple of hours trying to find a flat route that would get me 71-something miles without causing me to stop having birthdays... :0)
The bestest flattest route I could find was via old US Route 60 from Vaughn to Taiban, which is a gradual downhill ride all the way. Route 60, for those in the know, was actually a REAL Coast-to-Coast highway back in the early days of automobiling... It ran all the way from Santa Monica CA to the Atlantic coast in Virginia. Route 66 claims all the glory of early 1900's travel for some odd reason.... even though throughout its history it had frequent route changes and NEVER went east of Chicago, which hardly qualified it for a nationwide highway. Route 60 still exists, with most of its dying towns and roadside villages now almost totally abandoned, with very few service stations or rest stops still existing. Someday we're going to drive its entire route in the RV just for the heck of it... or maybe I'll try a once-in-a-lifetime coast to coast cycling ride the same distance.
This year, howsomever, I'm sticking to a 71+ mile ride and we'll see how it goes. Route 60 is flatter and has a couple stations along the way where I could take soda and pee breaks, but I decided to take the McAlister highway (156) from Santa Rosa to just north of Taiban. A bit more hilly, but it will take me through the bustling metropolis of House, NM, where my grandparents and my Dad are buried and where I have fond memories of visiting when the "Folks" still lived there. As far as I know the only store I'll encounter in the entire trip is where I plan to start: At the Love's Travel Stop in Santa Rosa.
I haven't ridden at ALL in the last few weeks, having spent all our time frantically rebuilding the floor and walls in our empty house-for-sale. That project has been completed, and only lacks a couple more trailer loads of trash and odd pieces of lumber to be hauled away so we can leave our wonderful "Redneck Palace" (Jeff Foxworthy defined as '2 acres and a Doublewide') to the realtors.
Wish me luck and pray for me....
My 71st birthday is coming up, if I survive another couple of weeks. Since I rode 70 miles last May for my 70th birthday I thought it cool enough to try it EVERY birthday so long as I'm able - - and so long as I continue to have birthdays.
Of course, Google is my friend, and I spent a couple of hours trying to find a flat route that would get me 71-something miles without causing me to stop having birthdays... :0)
The bestest flattest route I could find was via old US Route 60 from Vaughn to Taiban, which is a gradual downhill ride all the way. Route 60, for those in the know, was actually a REAL Coast-to-Coast highway back in the early days of automobiling... It ran all the way from Santa Monica CA to the Atlantic coast in Virginia. Route 66 claims all the glory of early 1900's travel for some odd reason.... even though throughout its history it had frequent route changes and NEVER went east of Chicago, which hardly qualified it for a nationwide highway. Route 60 still exists, with most of its dying towns and roadside villages now almost totally abandoned, with very few service stations or rest stops still existing. Someday we're going to drive its entire route in the RV just for the heck of it... or maybe I'll try a once-in-a-lifetime coast to coast cycling ride the same distance.
This year, howsomever, I'm sticking to a 71+ mile ride and we'll see how it goes. Route 60 is flatter and has a couple stations along the way where I could take soda and pee breaks, but I decided to take the McAlister highway (156) from Santa Rosa to just north of Taiban. A bit more hilly, but it will take me through the bustling metropolis of House, NM, where my grandparents and my Dad are buried and where I have fond memories of visiting when the "Folks" still lived there. As far as I know the only store I'll encounter in the entire trip is where I plan to start: At the Love's Travel Stop in Santa Rosa.
I haven't ridden at ALL in the last few weeks, having spent all our time frantically rebuilding the floor and walls in our empty house-for-sale. That project has been completed, and only lacks a couple more trailer loads of trash and odd pieces of lumber to be hauled away so we can leave our wonderful "Redneck Palace" (Jeff Foxworthy defined as '2 acres and a Doublewide') to the realtors.
Wish me luck and pray for me....
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