Maiden Voyage 2024

Debi and I took our new RV on its maiden voyage on 7 April 2004. The trip was timed to coincide with the total solar eclipse and put us in the center of the path of totality. We then cruised north to the Lake Michigan area before making our way back through Kentucky and back into Tennessee.

Our first stop was a horse camp in the middle of nowhere. Debi selected it because it was in the middle of the path of totality for the solar eclipse. We had Ron's 6-inch reflector telescope with a solar filter. Unfortunately, he could not get the adapter for the cell phone camera to work. We had great weather for viewing the eclipse. Then it rained for the next few days.

The next stop was Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) home town. We strolled down main street and took a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River.

Our new RV has a solar package that promised many boondocking possibilities. Boondocking is camping with no connections to outside services like electricity, water, and sewer. Unfortunately, the RV is not well ventilated, so we could not get it cooled down to a comfortable temperature. Then we noticed an unusually high current drain on the batteries and had doubts about lasting the night and packing up in the morning. We abandoned our boondock site for a traditional campground nearby.

This was the northernmost point of our trip. The weather was cold and rainy for most of our visit. We took a day trip up to Green Bay, but we were not impressed. The highlight of this stop was the Hearthstone Historic House Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was the first house in the world to have electric lights that were powered by the nearby Fox River.

We made a day trip to the Chicago Museum of Technology. Their massive model train setup was the highlight of our visit.

This 2,000-acre State Park on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan has large sand dunes, located beyond the entire shoreline, that took thousands of years to form and tower nearly 200 feet above the lake. The three dune challenge is to summit the three tallest dunes. Ron climbed two, Mt Tom and Mt Jackson, but it was late in the day and he was not sure he could finish the third peak before dark. We also travelled to Michigan City, Indiana to see the Old Lighthouse Museum.

Ron ebiked around the area and took a few pictures. We just hung out and relaxed for a few days.

Holly Bay Campground is near Corbin, Kentucky, the home of Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. We wandered around the main street and had lunch, but we did not make it to the KFC Museum. Cumberland Falls is a significant landmark in the area, and we spent a morning exploring it. Our campground had many trails, and Ron hiked the one closest to our campsite. He also did a lot of ebiking in the area.

Our last stop was Rock Island State Park, Tennessee, which is only about 2 hours from home. It is a very nice campground, so we may become frequent campers. A massive storm hit the last night we were there. Rocks and rapids visible in the river gorge at the beginning of our visit were completely submerged when we left.

 

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