Memorial Day Weekend in San Antonio

(San Antonio, TX: 28-31 May) After seeing Joy's aunt in Houston, TX we headed west to San Antone to meet daughter Katie, son-in-law CJ and granddaughter Kylan for Memorial Day weekend. Joy and I found one of our Thousand Trails campgrounds about 30 miles northwest of SA in the Texas hill country at Medina Lake. We got in around noon on Friday just ahead of the 50 check-ins they were expecting! We found a site with a view of the lake and got set up then checked out the rest of the camp including the large pool. There were deer everywhere - they would let you get almost within arms reach before running off. We were planning on going to Sea World on Saturday, and since CJ had to work till 5 or so we figured we would just meet them in San Antonio. They texted and called a couple times enroute and we were excited when they decided to come on in and find our campground because Kylan wanted to see us. It worked out great. Kylan enjoyed seeing the deer. We showed off our RV remodeling work and we sat down for a short visit...Kylan got our attention. Katie said, "Kylan has something to tell you". She was bubbling with excitement as she blurted out, "I'm going to be a big sister"! They just found out and we got to be the first to know! So, we will have another Elmes grand-something around January 2011.
We had a great time the rest of the weekend seeing the sites in SA. (This is where I went to Officer Training School in the late '70s. That was the last time we were tourists here). We went to Sea World all day on Saturday and enjoyed their water park as well as the sea lion and Shamu the whale shows. Sunday we went to the Children's Museum, toured the Alamo and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (animated animals entertain you while dining in a tropical rainforest setting). Monday all of us met Joy's sister Jane and her husband Phil for breakfast. They had been near San Antonio for a family reunion. They had never met Kylan and had not seen Katie and CJ for 5 years or so.
In spite of the 100 degree temps all weekend we had a great time. To top it off Kylan came back to the campground with us and spent the night. Tuesday, 1 June we drove the 3 hours to Del Rio. We'll hang out here for a few weeks before we head to north Texas to see family and friends.

Back in Texas

Houston, TX (23-26 May, 2010) One of the fun things we did when we started out on our journey was to send a map of the United States to our granddaughter, Kylan in Del Rio, Texas with some stickers. Every place we went we have sent her a postcard so she could track our journey and see when we would be at her house! So I was excited for her to know that we were now in Houston, TX and would be seeing her in just a few days!

We stopped in Houston to visit my Aunt Toadie who has always been very special in our family. Ed had some errands to run so he dropped me off and Aunt Toadie and I had a wonderful time catching up. It was fun to show her all the cemetery pictures we had taken and the Ancestry.com web site. It was also interesting to get some answers to some questions I had about our family and to go through some of her old pictures and put some faces with some names. Ed got back and we had a delicious lunch ending with her famous chocolate cake. It was a short visit but a good one.

Now we're onto San Antonio for a little R&R (like what we've been doing is work)! Can't wait to see Kylan!

Finding our roots

Branson, Missouri (18-23 May, 2010) Wow, this past week has just flown by. We left Arkansas on the 18th and camped at Branson, Missouri. We had been there about 25 years ago with Erin, Katie, (and Emily in utero!) for one of the first real vacations we ever took as a family. Well, in 25 years it has sure changed! We had to make some choices about what to do because we could have really gone crazy with all the shows. We settled on the Sight and Sound "Noah" production which was really good and the set was amazing! We also had to go to The Dixie Stampede as we had gone 15 years ago in Pigeon Forge, TN and it was a fun night with some good food! We did a little shopping, enjoying the unique arts and crafts of the Ozarks.

But one of the main reasons we headed this way was to do a little cemetery searching. Ed and I have both been plugging away at our genealogy for a little over a year now and we were excited to find that we both had relatives buried within 5 miles of each other right here in Missouri! We struck out on the back roads and found our first cemetery pretty easily in the little town of Crane Mo where we found the grave of Ed's great grandmother. Our second cemetery was also an easy find and after getting ourselves oriented we found the graves of my great grandparents quickly. Our last cemetery for the day was a little harder. Our GPS took us to a residential area with no cemetery in sight. We were stumped and decided to call it a day. We stopped off at McDonalds for a drink and as I waited for Ed I made eye contact with an older gentleman. I asked him if he was from the area and if he knew where Osa (pronounced Osee) Cemetery was. Well, he did and although he struggled a bit in trying to give specific directions, he did point us in the right direction and with just a couple of wrong turns we found it! I know it sounds funny to say I had a great time at the cemetery, but I did! We found a whole bunch of relatives including my great-great grandparents. I felt like I was making a historic discovery! Anyway, it was fun. The next day we drove to Springfield and found the graves of my grandfather and grandmother. We also found a church my grandfather had pastored and the house they lived in. People were at the church so we went in and right there in the foyer is picture of my grandfather, who started the church. We talked to the current pastor's wife and she shared some of the history from what I remember from the 60's. It was not only good to hear about the building and house that I remember, but to know the ministry is alive and well; the church is growing and honoring Christ!
Then we headed to a little town west of Springfield called Aurora where my mom was born. There we met some relatives that I had connected with on Ancestry.com (a third cousin I think) who are very nice and he showed us the old homestead where our great grandparents lived and had 21 children (4 of whom died at birth or in infancy)!!!
After I talked to Aunt Toadie I realized there was even more "roots-searching" we could have done, but we'll have to save that for another trip.

Hiking Around Hot Springs...Or the Hike Where She Almost Left Me!

(Hot Springs, AR: 16 May 2010) After church on Sunday we planned a hike on Sunset Trail in Hot Springs National Park. The trail is a big loop around the town of Hot Springs mostly in the National Park boundary. We had maps provided by the National Park Service, but never could find a good reading on the length of the trail. The web site said 17 miles, way too long for us...one place said 8 to 9 miles and another said 12. As we're in big thunderstorm season we checked the weather and were happy to see the chance of thunderstorms was only 20%. About noon we parked the car and struck out, not knowing the adventure this would become. The first leg was fairly easy, a short 1.6 mile jaunt to Table Rock. We kept on after that another 3 miles or so and found ourselves crossing out of the National Park boundary, something we expected, near DeSoto Park, a county park with trails maintained by who knows who. There were no signs and no markings and when we did find a trail it was overgrown with knee level grass. We often had trouble finding the trail and in several places were uncertain where to go next. We managed eventually to find a trail and made our way back into the part of the trail maintained by the National Park Service, well marked and well maintained, for which we were thankful. We had gone about 6-7 miles by now and realized we were a long way from where we parked the car. In fact we estimated we were only half way around the loop, this was about 3 o'clock, we'd been hiking for 3 hours. We started hearing thunder off in the distance and got our poncho's out (thanks Emily...these came in handy!). Within 10 minutes of hearing the thunder we were in a torrential downpour. We didn't see much lightening because of the tree cover, but with thunder rolling every 5 to 10 seconds, we knew lightening was nearby. We decided to keep going and in a short time, in spite of our Gore-Tex boots and rain gear, we were soaked to the bone. But it was a warm rain! With fogged glasses and a water-logged barely readable map I realized we were on the south slope of the mountain above "Bathhouse Row" near the historic part of Hot Springs (in other words, civilization). Looking like drowned rats we came down from the hills into town and found shelter under the large covered front porch of the Hot Springs National Park Visitors Center, itself an old bathhouse. We dried out as best we could and waited for the worst of the storm to pass. I was able to get new maps (1 to use 1 for backup) and we plotted our next assault on Sunset Trail. We disagreed on which was the shortest way to the car. If we stayed on trails it appeared to be about 4 miles, but a direct shot, which appeared a little shorter, would have us walking on the side of a narrow 2 lane no shoulder road the last mile or so. I talked Joy into the trail route. We gained about 800' elevation in the first mile. She had said she preferred to hike uphill than down, so I simply was accommodating with my route choice! Now it was about 4 o'clock and we were nearly worn out and still had 3 miles to go. We came to another decision point where the trail split. We sat down on a bench there to figure it out and Joy nearly lost it at that point. Wet, tired and concerned that we were not going to finish the hike before the Park closed and we would get locked in, she worked hard to hold back the tears. We actually talked about going back to town and calling a cab to drive us to our car. We said a prayer and "girded up our loins" (i.e. sucked it up) and pressed on. Again, mostly uphill. The rain finally stopped and we could see sun breaks here and there. Joy just put her head down and plodded on. The sun breaks made for some beautiful scenes and in a couple places the trail opened up onto incredible vistas. Looking across the hills and valleys was a beautiful view of steam coming off the forest as the sun reached down to dry up the rain. We kept on for what seemed like forever. Finally, we made it back to the car. Knowing Joy had pressed beyond her breaking point and fearing the consequences, I mustered up the nerve to ask, "So, are you going to leave me?". With no hesitation in her voice, "I'm thinking about it", she replied. Through all our aches and pains we both laughed.
In the end, according to Joy's trusty pedometer, we hiked 13 miles in about 5 1/2 hours!

Encouragement in Arkansas

(Little Rock, AR 13-17 May 2010) One of things we looked forward to on this journey of ours was the opportunity it would give us to look up old friends from the past that we had lost track of to see how God had worked in their lives over these past years. Little Rock AFB was one of those spots where God gave us many interesting experiences and we had some wonderful friends who supported us through some difficult times. We were excited to come back this way and check out some of those old memory people and places. Our old house on the base has been torn down and a brand new beautiful 2 story house is there. We took a picture anyway! This was the site of an incident that happened to Katie that we have never been able to come to an agreement on as to what actually happened. We drove past the first house we ever bought. It seemed a lot smaller than I remember! But the best part was finding some friends we had lost track of so many years ago. It has been so amazing to me in all the people we have reconnected with so far how quickly we settle back into our friendships. Dru and Jo Dodson were no exception. Ed and Dru were the youngest elders at Fellowship Bible Church of North Little Rock. Dru left a promising mechanical engineering practice to attend seminary following God's calling him to ministry. Dru helped start and is now pastor of Lake Valley Community Church in Hot Springs and they also own a little cafe/gift shop called Zoes (this is what Jo's grandchildren call her, it means LIFE in Greek). We met at the cafe and had a wonderful two and a half hours catching up and encouraging one another. Including an amazing "God" story of Dru nearly dying from a heart attack over a year ago if not for a whole sequence of our sovereign merciful God having the right people in the right places at the right time. We were also treated to a delicious lunch and dessert which Jo and her staff make right there themselves from scratch! (By the way, thanks Jo for the delicious lunch!!!) God has definitely had His hand on their lives and we were so thankful to reconnect with them. It surely won't be 24 years before we connect again!

After leaving there we drove up to Little Rock for our 2nd reunion of the day with some dear friends from Suffolk who are now stationed at Little Rock AFB, the Allerheiligens. Nate is a C-130 pilot and squadron commander doing a tour in the middle east right now and Susan is holding down the home-front and keeping track of their 6 kids. She's doing an amazing job and has some good help from their oldest, Ashley and James keeping the triplets and Marc in line. We met them at a playground on the base and spent over an hour talking and playing with the kids. Again, it was a great time of catching up and encouraging one another.

These times with friends has once again reminded us that we don't have to be in a church building to experience what the church (the body of Christ) is all about...relationships and caring for one another every day, not just on Sundays!

RV Nerds

(Red Bay, AL: 11-14 May) Erin and John have started calling us "RV nerds". We mentioned to them that we were going to Red Bay, AL, the location of Tiffin Motorhomes, the maker of our RV, because "everyone says you have to go". When I was researching motorhome company's to determine which brand/company has the best reputation in the industry, I read and heard nothing but good things from this little family run company in Alabama. Their service-after-the-sale is legendary. Even if you are not the original owner they will work on your motorhome and do a quality job at a reasonable rate. When we would see other Allegro's or Tiffin models in campgrounds and talk to the owners, they would ask, "have you been to Red Bay"? They spoke of it in terms almost like pilgrims making the journey to Mecca.
So, we went. We worked up our "punch list" of items we wanted fixed; everything from "big deal" items, like the leak in our bathroom skylight that dripped water into the inside whenever it rained hard, and our awning that had a small rip that started shredding the entire fabric; to the not so big deal, like the variable speed exhaust fans that only worked at one speed and the soiled entry door handles we wanted replaced.
We found Red Bay (no small task) and checked into the Tiffin-Allegro Campground fully prepared for the wait "everyone" said was ahead of us, but willing to grind it out to have the experience of the Tiffin treatment. Now you have to understand that Red Bay is a small town in northwest Alabama, about 40 miles from Tupelo, MS (where Elvis was born). The population of Red Bay is 3374. The closest Wal-Mart is 25 miles away. The one McDonalds in town is in a gas station/minute-mart. And did I mention it is in Alabama? Hot, humid, Alabama. At the campground we were given a bunch of paper work to fill out and were directed to the overflow lot. As we made our way to our spot we saw row after row of Allegro's, Phaeton's, and Zephyr's (all the models Tiffin makes) in a large flat parking area probably covering the area of four football fields that reminded me of the ramp/apron area of an airport. Later I counted over 90 RVs in the holding pattern! Their service bay warehouse-building had over 50 service bays each with an RV in some stage of repair! Everywhere we looked we could see RV owners in various stages of waiting....walking their dogs, sitting in camp chairs reading, talking to their neighbors...all waiting their turn get serviced. We completed the paper-work turned it in and were informed that "someone will be by to see you in the next day or so". At that point we would know what kind of wait we were in for, but we already found out they were 3 weeks behind! The next day about 2 pm a good ole tobacco-chewin', juice-spittin' southern boy called D-Jay came by our spot in the red station wagon with the Tiffin logo on it I was told to look for. He had my paperwork, asked me a few questions, and in between dips, chews, and spits, informed me of my options. "I kin git ya into the Express Bay by Friday [this was Tuesday] but that's 2 boys workin' on yer rig for no more than 3 hours. They won't git all this-here done. Or ya kin wait here 3 weeks and we kin git ya in and they'll work on it till they git 'er all done." He paused to spit, "But ya need to git that skylight leak fixed. This here's thunderstorm season and that'll cause damage if ya don't git 'er fixed", he said. "Their is another option. McKinney RV is across the street. He and Bob Tiffin started this business 25 years ago. He broke off a while back and started his own place doin' repairs mostly and sellin' new rigs... (If you're not the boss, you're just workin' for the man...know what I mean?) He does good work. Most of his boys come from here. Same rates as we have. He could get ya in probably tomorrow. Hop in the car, we'll go for a ride." I took the ride and met Theron McKinney, the owner. They could get me in the next day, if I had it in their driveway at 7 a.m.
We balked at the early hour (spoiled as we are by our new routine) but we took that option. A while after dropping the rig off for repairs we took the tour of the Tiffin plant. Very impressive. I can see how Tiffin has built the reputation they have for a quality product. McKinney was able to get all the work done on our list by 3 p.m. when I brought Joy over for the inspection. They passed.
We had been scouting out things to do in an around Red Bay, just in case we had to do the longer wait. We're a little disappointed that we didn't get the true taste of the Tiffin experience, but we were thankful to get everything done and be one our way inside of 4 days. We were especially thankful that we didn't get so desperate in our wait that we had to visit the Coon Dog Cemetery!

Walking in the Last Footsteps of Meriwether Lewis

(Natchez Trace, TN: 5 May 2010) Lewis and Clark were heroes of mine when I was growing up in the Pacific Northwest. The story of their leading the Corps of Discovery (a military expedition) across the continent in the early 1800s is legendary. I read Stephen Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, a few years back and appreciate even more what they accomplished on their Oregon Journey. What is not so well known is what happens later.
The Natchez Trace is possibly the oldest continuously used road on the entire continent of North America. There is now a beautiful parkway, sometimes following the old trace exactly, often the old trace is close by, for 444 miles from Natchez, MS in the south to Franklin, TN, just outside Nashville, in the north. From animal trail to Indian trail to merchant trail, this has been an important route for centuries. We are not driving the whole trace. We have a camp 1/2 mile from the parkway near the 380 mile post, about 5 miles from the Meriwether Lewis Death & Burial Site. After the Expedition, Lewis was appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory and settled in St Louis. In Oct 1809 after coming partway down the Mississippi River from St Louis he was traveling overland on the Natchez Trace on his way to Washington to address issues regarding denials of payment for charges he made to the War Department as governor. He stopped at Grinder's Stand (an inn) for the night. Gunshots awoke the innkeeper during the night. Lewis died after sunrise of multiple gunshot wounds. Some think he was depressed and committed suicide. Some think he was shot when someone tried to rob him of the valuable journals of the expedition he was carrying with him in hopes of going on to Philadelphia to work with an editor to prepare the journals for publication. His death is still a great mystery.
We actually hiked around the area and finished the last mile of the hike down the Old Trace into the area where Grinders Stand was (a replica is there today) just as Lewis would have over 200 years ago.

Magnificent Mammoth Caves

(Park City, KY: 29 April - 4 May) National Parks are great! Visiting Mammoth Caves National Park was just a thing to do because we have a camp here in Park City, KY. We like to be above ground better than underground, but this was interesting. We did it all. The first day at the Park we hiked all over the top of caves taking numerous trails around the Visitor Center and logging 7.8 miles on Joy's trusty pedometer. We saw wild turkey (but they wouldn't hold still to take a picture) and what we think was an Indigo Bunting bird which is one of our favorites. We were planning on going back the next day to do the underground tour, but it started raining Friday night and did not stop until late Sunday night! You may have heard about the flooding in/near Bowling Green KY and Nashville TN. We got over 12" of rain in a 48 hour period. So, we hunkered down in the RV and nearly went stir crazy. I mean non-stop rain for probably 50 hours!
So, today we did the rest of Mammoth Caves. We took a cave tour and learned that Mammoth Caves is the largest cave system in the world with over 396 miles of explored caves and an estimated 600 additional miles of unexplored caves. The "system" means they all interconnect which really is amazing. The are all naturally made over years of erosion by river water channeling into the sandstone and shale. We learned about sink-holes; above ground depressions that act as a downspout for water runoff and enter the caves many underground rivers. Before we had National Parks this was the 2nd most visited natural attraction (after Niagara Falls). People have been coming here to see the caves since the early 1800's. The tour related several interesting stories about creative uses of the caves; like for the making of saltpeter (a key ingredient in gun powder) around the time of the War of 1812 and a crazy idea to cure tuberculosis patients by housing them in the cave air. We hiked about 2 miles underground and then emerged to a gorgeous day. So, we hopped on the bikes and explored the southern end of the park. They built a beautiful bike trail on the bed of what had been the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The railroad served guests coming from the cities to the resort hotel at the Mammoth Caves (still operating). We were unsure what the rain might have done to the bike trail so we proceeded cautiously at first. We biked around 10 miles and made it back to the visitor center with only one fall. I didn't see a deep cut the rain had made in the path...about a foot across and 8 or so inches deep most of the way across the path. I braked too late and the front wheel hit the cut and fell...mostly on my feet though.
We were curious how high the Green River had risen because of the rain so after biking we hiked another mile or so to one of the places we had hiked a few days before. The water completely covered one of the boardwalk viewing areas. The spot we had walked to on Friday to look down on the river was about 500 yards below the closest place we could get to today. See pictures above. The third picture from the bottom is what the area looked like on Friday. The two pictures above it are after all the rain.
This place gets high marks from both of us. Recommend it as a "must do" if you are ever in the area.