Highlights from Five Months on the Road

February 29, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We are about to arrive home after a five month road trip that has taken us over 10,000 miles through 14 states. There have been highs and some lows (thanks, COVID), and we continue to focus on the highs and the tremendous opportunity we have to explore our country while towing our home behind us.

Camping in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Canyon, Texas

When we travel towards home, we always reflect on our journey and discuss our personal highlights. Here’s what we came up with this time around. Details about each can be found in earlier blog posts and we’ve linked to those where possible.

Marnie’s highlights

Kentucky’s Horse Experiences – From a semi-private, backstretch tour of Churchill Downs to meeting some of the world’s most famous (and expensive) stallions at Claiborne Farms, our time in and around Louisville and Lexington was unforgettable.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – Attending the world famous event is a bucket list experience for most RVers. From early morning launches of hundreds of balloons to evening glows, we took it all in from every angle.

Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour Movie with Brynn and other kid activities – Spending time with our nieces and nephews is always fun. We went to soccer games, basketball games, tumbling practice, to the golf course, Top Golf, and the shopping mall. Thanks to Lydia, Nate, Brynn, and Hudson for letting us hang out! The most memorable for me was seeing Taylor Swift’s concert movie with Brynn and sharing the excitement with her.

Steve’s highlights

Kayaking Fishing in the Florida Keys – Most mornings while we were in the Keys, Steve took his fishing kayak out around the bridges of the Overseas Highway. On most mornings he’d snag (and release) at least a dozen or more fish. Being on the open water, under the sunshine is a paradise for him.

Completing Four More Marathons – Races often determine our itinerary. This year we spent the fall passing through Indianapolis, Louisville, Huntsville, and Jackson to explore each city and for Steve to run 26.2 miles. Including this trip’s races he has now completed a marathon in 34 states and 44 total marathons. Races are always a highlight!

Bourbon Tasting – The first thing we did when we got into Kentucky was to buy the Bourbon Trail Passport book and begin to check the distilleries off page by page. We visited 15 distilleries and tasted at least four bourbons at each facility. You do the math. Steve says his favorite bourbon is the one in his hand!

A five-month trip, of course, has many memorable moments. The big events and the little moments all make this lifestyle so rewarding. Between seeing great RV friends in Tampa, discovering wonderful restaurants in the Keys, watching sunset over Mobile Bay, and visiting with family, this has been a great journey.

We’ve been RVing almost full time for almost four years. A lot people ask us about the details of our travels. Just for fun, here are some stats about this winter’s cross-country adventure.

Nights in the RV: 153

Nights parked in the family’s driveways: 10 (thanks Brian, Heidi, Gary, and Kristy!)

Number of KOA campgrounds visited: 6
(Grants, NM; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; Sugarloaf Key, FL; St. Petersburg/Madiera Beach, FL; Shreveport/Bossier City, LA)

Number of Harvest Host overnights: 6
(Fireside Winery, Marengo, IA; Epiphany Farms, Downs, IL; Corbin Farms Winery, Calera, AL; Lane Southern Orchards, Fort Valley, GA, NRS Ranch, Decatur, TX; Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarity, NM)

Nights camping on a landfill: 7 (during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta)

Number of state parks visited: 10
(My Old Kentucky Home, Bardstown, KY; Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL; Paynes Prairie Preserve, Micanopy, FL; Jonathan Dickinson, Jupiter, FL; John Pennekamp Coral Reef, Key Largo, FL; Little Manatee River, Wimauma, FL; Fort Desoto, Tierra Verde, FL; Meaher, Mobile, AL; Palo Duro Canyon, Canyon, TX; Homolovi, Winslow, AZ)

Number of books read by Marnie: 24 (favorite titles include Between Two Kingdoms by Sulieka Jaouad, Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe, America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray, and Horse by Geraldine Brooks)

The first photo in this post is from our stop at Palo Duro Canyon, where we stopped on our way home. Here’s roughly the same photo from the next morning. We experienced ash and smoke in Amarillo two days ago from the massive Texas fires. Now it’s snowing just 30 miles south of Amarillo. RV travel never ceases to surprie!

We’ll be at home in Arizona for awhile to repair, refresh, and renew ourselves and the RV. Stay tuned as we have some pretty incredible travel plans ahead.

The Smokies and Knoxville

March 29, 2022 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We crossed another National Park off the list this week with a wonderful visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMP). It’s a big place that could have kept us busy for months and months. Over 800 miles of hiking trails, including a portion of the Appalachian Trail (AT), hundreds of historic sites, and innumerable streams and rivers make this one of the most beautiful parks we’ve seen.

They say GSMP is defined by the 3 Ws: Wildlife, Wildflowers, and Waterfalls. We would add one more letter to the description: C for crowds. Even in the off season, which is what March is considered, the crowds at the popular sites were large. We can’t even imagine what it would be like in the peak seasons of summer and fall. It’s no wonder it’s the nation’s busiest national park…1/3 of the US population lives within a days drive of its borders.

On one day we explored Cades Cove, a verdant valley punctuated with historic homes and churches, abundant wildlife, and beautiful scenery. We drove the 11 mile loop road, stopping along the way to learn about the settlers who populated the valley in the early 1800s.

We also spent a day driving the Newfound Gap Road, which crosses the park from Tennessee to North Carolina. The mountain pass reaches an elevation of over 5,000 feet where the road crosses the famed Appalachian Trail. We enjoyed some short hikes along the drive but skipped on the AT (for now).

We also spent one day just hanging out at our incredible RV resort, Little Arrow Camping Resort, in Townsend, TN, right outside the entrance to the national park. We had a waterfront site that allowed us to listen to the rushing water right from the rig. Each evening we participated in activities, including Bingo, Trivia, and Smores night around the fire. Bob especially enjoyed the socializing.

From Little Arrow we were able to hop on several hiking trails. One took us to a viewpoint that overlooks the cute town of Townsend. There a local carver is installing a giant Sasquatch, and we were able to chat with him about his work and admire the grandeur of the piece.

Just down the road from Little Arrow we did a hike in the national park which we learned is one of the best trails to see the spring wildflowers.

After our four days at Little Arrow and GSMP we drove less than an hour north to Knoxville. Steve had been here back in 1982 for the World’s Fair, so we did some reminiscing. There are no RV parks near downtown Knoxville so we “camped” on top of the Civic Auditorium parking garage, which provided us with electricity and security!

The main reason for hitting Knoxville was to complete another marathon.

Steve braved the cold and wind to finish the marathon in less than four hours. This was his 25th state, so he’s half way to his goal of all 50 states!

From here we head west towards home and will not likely post anything more until we begin our next RV adventure in May when we head north to Alaska! So hang on…there’s big stuff ahead!

Thanksgiving and Whiskey

November 27, 2020 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

You can’t come to middle Tennessee and not visit Lynchburg and the Jack Daniels distillery. After leaving Nashville we drove south about an hour and a half to the little town that is home to the country’s most popular whiskey.

The town itself is tiny, with a square lined with shops that sell Jack Daniels souvenirs. The official Jack Daniels store is housed in the Lynchburg Hardware and General Store. There’s no hardware sold there…only more Jack Daniels stuff. Steve bought, what else, but a hat.

The tour itself took us into the actual distillery to follow the production process. As we walked through the beautiful grounds we learned about the production of the special charcoal that makes this whiskey so smooth. The whiskey is filtered through the charcoal before it is put into toasted oak barrels. Did you know that Jack Daniels has its own fire brigade to protect the 92 barrel houses that dot the nearby countryside?

We learned that when Jack established the distillery back in the 1860s, he chose Cave Spring Hollow, the current location, to take advantage of the iron-free, mineral rich water in the spring. The water has turned out to be one of the ingredients that makes Jack’s whiskey so good. We met Jack at the spring and took some photos. The Jack Daniels distillery registered with the federal government in 1866, making it the oldest distillery in the U.S.

After the tour we were treated to a tasting of six Jack Daniels products including the traditional Old No. 7, Gentleman Jack’s, and several of the newer, flavored varieties. Of course we walked away with a few bottles to enjoy at home!

The day started off wet and rainy but we ended up with clear skies and cool temperatures. It was a perfect day to explore this cute little town.

On Thanksgiving morning we took the short drive from Lynchburg to Lawrenceburg, TN and set up camp at the beautiful David Crockett State Park. The campsite was the perfect place to enjoy our socially-distanced Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey, stuffing, and of course, our first homemade Jack Daniels pecan pie!

The park has some nice trails and historical information that we got to explore. Davy Crockett and his family settled here in 1817. An old mill, a lake, waterfalls, and historical stuff makes it easy to hang out for a few days.

This week I was cleared for regular shoes and am no longer wearing the surgical shoe that has been plaguing me. We commemorated the occasion with a short 1/2 mile hike on the nearby Trail of Tears. Seemed appropriate. My foot is still swollen and sore if I’m on it much, but it is getting better.

The other feature that drew us to this area is the nearby Ethridge, home of the South’s largest “Old Order” Amish settlement. “Old Order” means they have no modern conveniences, no cars, no tractors, no electricity, and no running water. We did learn that they have a lot of kids!! We toured a portion of the community, which has approximately 250 families. You can stop at most farms and buy their wares including fresh eggs, preserves, hats, rugs, furniture, saddles, caskets, and a bunch of other things. We bought a few yummies and really enjoyed our short but cordial conversations with the community members we met. They don’t believe in having their photographs taken, but we snuck in a few of the countryside.

We’re continuing our trek south and should be on the gulf coast within a week. We’ll share more updates as we have news to report.

Marnie and Steve Travel

We're retired! Let's go!

Tennessee

Highlights from Five Months on the Road

The Smokies and Knoxville

Thanksgiving and Whiskey