Home at Last March 23

Hi everybody. Well we made it home through a good snow storm--our daughter loves the snow and I asked her if she wished her parents could see snow just one more time since we missed so much of it all winter-her answer was" yeah I did that(lol)".This is the moon shot at sunrise in Kentucky. Thought you might like it.. Another misty shot the same morning before leaving the mountain top to head for Shepardsville Ky.The ride going down the hill the intended way was much easier for sure.

A sunrise.

This is Ron putting on tire # 2 on our way home yesterday at a Wal-mart in Indiana just before going through Indianapolis. This one also was shredding so rather than take the chance of it blowing while on I -69 he stopped to change it .Notice the sun shinning! That set us back by an hour so now we had to deal with a snowstorm all the way through Lansing and Flint.It was already starting to stick on the ground by the time we got there..

So this was our welcome home this morning -about 4 ".Thanks ANN!

We've seen so many new and interesting things this year while travelling from Texas and on to La. through to The Florida panhandle. It was a great winter and had lots of great weather.Ron drove 6,100 miles from start to finish and unleaded gas was anywhere from $2.95 ( Dec)to $ 3.73 in Fla.(March) a gallon.
We met lots of many new and interesting people too this year and met up friends from last year-Gale (safe travel on your way home to Montana)and Ray and Marge. Had a wonderful visit with all of them. Wished we could of met up with Tom and Mary too,but that was not to be .Well so long for another year-

so glad you stuck with us -its been great
Take care and good health to all our family ,friends and followers.. Dee and Ron

Shepardsville Kentucky March 21

Hi everybody, yesterday was quite a day as we had a shredded almost flat tire on the back rear wheel of trailer.We stopped along the hwy and Ron put on the spare,which isn't all that great but it worked. We then found a Wal-mart and bought a new spare for future use if needed.This was all on the way to Mountain view near Pikeville Tenn.

view of hwy and mountains on the way.

another view-->

Sunrise this morning before we headed out.

This is Shepardsville Kty. 3 months later..We stopped here on our way down south and it sure didn't look like this.All the trees in the park and all the way here are out in bloom. Its just amazing .
It got to 80 here today but the cold is coming.....

Tomorrow its Auburn Indiana and then home the next day.We are enjoying a great sunset here tonight. Bye for now.see you soon Dee and Ron

Tennesssee March 20

Hi everybody, I'm playing catchup today with you. This Is the park back in Georgia called the Florence Marina state park. we were there for 18,19 and departed today. It was at the top of Eufala lake and had a bass derby going during our stay. It was a great park with long driveways and lots of pine trees.

This is Providence Canyon State park up the road 6 miles from Florence St P.It is called "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon" and it was fantastic!

a view walking along the fenced pathway.The one you see here has been replaced already due to erosion.Bad farming practices allowed the loosely held soils to wash away and the canyons were created.

If the early farmers understood erosion control,the canyons might never have formed.

Tonight were in Tenn. up on top of a mountain 1825 ft. at Mountain Glen rv park.Hopefully the trip down wont be so bad!Garmin had us on the wrong road of course.Lots of breathtaking scenery on the way here though!Heading down tomorrow or up whichever the road leads to for Kentucky. Hope all is well with all our family ,friends and followers. Take care Dee and Ron

White Springs March 17

Hi everybody, yesterday we took a short drive and came across this potash plant outside of town.

Its quite an operation and this pile of potash was at least a mile long and not sure how high. The ridges you see are for truck traffic up the side of hill.

The weather has been just gorgeous all week here and looks good over the weekend also.
On the road again tomorrow to Georgia.Probably state park so no internet .

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Our son Scott was making our grandsons a breakfast this morning of green french toast, green orange juice,and green whipped cream--they loved it!Wonder whats for lunch and dinner?
Have a great day -Dee and Ron

White Springs March 16

Hi everybody.This historic old building is the Telford Hotel and Restaurant. Ron and I had our lunch there yesterday after our bike ride trough town. The all-you -can eat buffet was $6.oo.A typical southern meal of fried chicken,mashed potatoes ,biscuits ,dessert and everything else you can think of. Delicious!

American Moon Moth-possible wing span of 4 3/8 ".Notice the feathered antennae against the brick sill and damaged wing.

In town again is the Sophia James Adams house c.1893--probably the live oak trees on the side lot are that age also. This house and lot back up to the Suwannee River.Prime piece of property with a spiral staircase outside.Wow.

From the other day--stairway into the Head Spring hole for a dip in the crystal clear waters.
Today is overcast and 64 deg. On its way up to high 70's so says the weatherman.We will be moving on Fri. morn northward but not sure where to at this time-
Hi to Ray and Marge who have made it to Fla. safely. Bye for now Dee and Ron

Blue Hole March 14

Hi everybody, Today we visited the Ichetucknee State park and it has a few springs running underground and then flow into the river and from there to the Santa Fe River.Pictured here is the Head Spring and it is just amazing! Its crystal clear ,feels like bath water and turquoise blue. there were a couple swimming there at the time.It seemed quite deep but not sure of the depth. These blue gills seemed to thrive here also.Lots of small fish all over the place.People were out kayaking on the river and 3 hr of tubing is a great pastime for the younger crowd ."Knees" of old cyress trees are all along the boardwalk to the Blue Hole Spring.

This is the depth of Blue Hole when anyone is scuba -diving.Must be quite an experience and also has a strong current within it.!

The actual Blue Hole and it too is just amazing and blue. There is a fence across part of it to keep out the boaters and such, but you can easily walk on boardwalk to view it.The Santa Fe river eventually drains to the black -tea coloured Suwannee river and on to the Gulf.

When we stopped for late lunch this 3 1/2 " moth greeted us in the window.I will look up the name and get back to you on it.It was a great sunny day 77 deg -no humidity and we really enjoyed it .Have a great night , bye for now Dee and Ron

Suwannee River campground March 12

Hi everybody. We arrived at the Suwannee River rv park yesterday and this is a pic of the river itself out in front of the park. It is down a bit to what it usually is and had come up some with the big storms that went through this week.Many years ago it had flooded to the top of cliffs! This is looking north towards White Springs.I'm sure its always this calm as its well protected with the cliffs.
It begins at the headwaters of the Okefenokee Swamp in South Georgia and ends at the Gulf at the town of Suwannee.266 miles in all some of the time through uninhabited areas.

As we were at a park up the road from White Springs we met a couple who had just finished their five-day kayak trip starting from Fargo Georgia .They were waiting to be picked up from a kayak company who would take them back to their car in Fargo.They had sighted a couple of gators on the trip but were not concerned at all.

Ron at rest in the park by the river.

Suwannee River from an overlook at the park. Many cypress trees line the banks of the river as far as you could see all dripping with moss.
Well bye for now hope ya'll have a great weekend. It was a great sunny day here and all next week is supposed to be the same. Take care Dee and Ron

Sunny Florida March 10

Hi everybody, still here in Falling Waters St Park and there is now a falls to see after the storms that went through yesterday.We had over 2" of rain and lots of tornadoes all around .PHEW!Today is expected to be 64 and sunny.

Lots of water heading down into sink hole today.Sometimes the rangers have to go down into them and clean out debris--100 ft down with ladders and ropes.

This sinkhole is now a cave that links up to 3 or 4 other sinkholes very close to it. They all connect up now over the many years it took to form them. Apparently most of north Florida is like swiss cheese with all the limestone here.Lots of sinkholes everywhere.
The ranger mentioned that today if the wind dies down a bit they may do a controlled burn in a section of the park. They have to do it to keep all the long needled pines growing and not the hardwoods that would soon take over the landscape.Tomorrow we move on to White Springs --east of Tallahassee to a campground for a week. No spring breakers there. Life is good. bye for now Dee and Ron

Falling Waters St. Park Feb 8

Hi everybody, we arrived at the park on Mon.It was a great sunny travelling day and enjoyed the scenery. It dosen't look like what we thought Florida would look like, but more like home really with the scent of all the pine trees.. The park is small with only 24 campsites but it is really wooded and lots of birds are singing.

This is the attraction here --a falls which drops into a 100 ft sinkhole and runs off to somewhere--nobody knows.There are at least 10 sinkholes on guided trails. This is the hole of the falls and is quite amazingly deep.
This is also the second highest point in the state of Florida-325 ft.above sea level.

One of many Magnolia trees in the park and not the tallest either.
We are staying here until Fri. morning and then will be on the road again .We are going to be checking that out here at the Chipley Library before we leave today. Hope y'all are having a great week Dee and Ron

Golf St Park Feb 5

Hi every body. We are here at Gulf St Park and this is just one of our susets that we've had here .It been great weather up until today when it started to rain and we are under a severe thunderstorm watch. I'm sure it will pass by with no problems!!

This is part of a bike path that goes for miles in and around the park and up into Orange Beach. It has benches for resting and lots of washrooms plus a swing if you just want to sit and relax for a spell.All paved.

Mama gator and down in left- hand corner her babies.

Three little babies sittin' on a log*

An armadillo looking for lunch.We biked over 10 miles and saw lots of nature on the pathways.Hope y'all have a great weekend .We are moving on Mon to the Falling Waters St Park in Fla just off Hwy 10. Seems all the other parks are full for Spring Break. bye for now Dee and Ron

Gulf State Park March 2

Hi everybody, I just wanted to show you a couple of very stately homes that Ron and i came across on our bike ride to the Mandeville harbour.

It was about a 6 mile bike ride on that bike trailand brought us into town from Fontainbleau S P . Just about all these homes were up on stilts and some had brick or stone work like about.They are on Lakeshore Dr. facing Pontchartrain Lake.

We left this park and arrived in Gulf State Park Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico by early afternoon. With no reservations we were put on a waiting list with 12 other couples to see if we could get a site.
Luckily we all made it in and have a great site on a canal within the park. All the sites are on sewer hookup which is unheard of in most parks. There are 496 sites here with some guests staying a month at a time. We can see why.While driving through Mobile Ala we went across another winding causeway for miles through Mobile Bay and a tunnel for a bit of the way. This is the longest concrete pier out into the ocean with white sandy beaches and tourquoise-blue water .Just gorgeous!

Some of the shells we found on our first try.A lot of them are broken up by the heavy tidal surf.Couldn't find one entire sand dollar .

Beach looking east toward Orange City and Fla.(not so far away as the crow flies).
There are lots of beach acsess points to enjoy the view.

View on canal out our door as the sun was setting last night.Great great weather so far and lots of sun.

Happy Birthday to my sister Ruth--have a great day tomorrow!!

Bye for now Dee and Ron