2019 Fall Western Trip: Kentucky to North Carolina

Friday and Saturday 10/25, 26: 206 miles, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky

Site 25

The drive was on Interstate 64 all the way today.  We have stayed here before, and we like the campground very much.  The paved sites are water and electric only, back in, good size and usually treed.   The only downside is that the sites were designed as perfect 90 degrees back in, and the paved pad is narrow.  Thus it can be a challenge backing in, especially if the ground is wet.  The park was quite full, which has not been our experience in the past when we camped here in October.  After a streak of about 10 days of sunny weather, the forecast for tonight is for rain all night.

It rained again off and on all day Saturday.  We had wanted to spend time at the Horse Park, but the weather would have made it unpleasant.  So instead we made our last grocery shopping stop for this trip.  Then we read, napped, and watched some college football on TV.

Sunday 10/27:  304 miles, Asheville East KOA, 

Site A-2

We left Lexington by 9:00.  The itinerary was I-75 south to Knoxville, TN where we picked up I-40 east. to Asheville.  The traffic on I-40 was horrible, especially as we got closer to Asheville.  There were several places of 5 mile per hour stop and go traffic.  The entire journey of 300 miles took over an hour longer than it should have.

This is a pleasant KOA, with a stream flowing through it and a couple of large ponds for boating and fishing.  Like most KOA's, the sites can be a bit tight, but that was offset by the views of the water and a really nice place to walk the dogs along the stream.

It was a sunny 73 when we arrived.  Our original plan was to hunt up the recently opened New Belgium Brewery.  However, we were so spent from the drive, we just stayed at the campground and relaxed.

Monday 10/28:  210 miles, parked at Jordan Lakes SRA near Apex, North Carolina

Crosswinds Campground, Site 50

We decided to leave I-40 as soon as possible today.  There is so much traffic, and so many slow downs.  Today it was an accident that closed one lane.  Just east of Statesville, we got off the Interstate and took NC Rt. 64.  It turned out to be a very nice drive with some beautiful countryside and small towns.  It was a nice drive that was not as stressful as I-40.  I'm glad we took it.

This is an amazing campground.  Jordan Lake Reservoir is 14,000 acres with 180 miles of shoreline, and the State has created a Recreation Area to protect it.  

There are several campgrounds in the recreation Area.  We are in Crosswinds.  I reserved the site online, not really knowing what to expect except most of the reviews were very good.  Boy, did we get lucky.  The sites here are HUGE!!!  They are wooded, large, and private.  They have water and electric only, but there is a modern bathhouse near us.  We also have a waterfront site.   I now wish we had booked several days here.  It is so beautiful and quiet here.

The beach at our site.

Sunset over Jordan Lake

Tomorrow it is on to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Cape Hatteras KOA.  

2019 Fall Western Trip: Kansas, Missouri & Illinois

Saturday 10/19:  262 miles and parked at the KOA in Goodland, Kansas

We decided to take non Interstate roads  most of the way today, and it was a really pleasant drive.  The roads were good, very little traffic, the speed limit was 65, and we saw some beautiful rural farm country.  There was range land, wheat fields, along with some corn and milo.

We checked in to the KOA about 2:00, and we were the only ones there.  By 9:00, there were about 7 more.  Still, the park was only 10% full.  They close at the end of the month for winter. It was sunny, 70 and windy.  We sat outside for a bit, but it was too windy.

Sunday 10/20:  129 miles and parked at Ellis Lakeside Campground, Ellis, Kansas

A little warmer this morning at 43 degrees.  After stopping to see the Goodland van Gogh sculpture of   sunflowers, we were on the road by 10:00.

It was a short drive today on Interstate 70.  I-70 out here is a very nice road.  There is not too much traffic and the road is in excellent shape.  We arrived at the campground about 1:30.  This is a small city owned park with about 18 sites that are first come, first serve.  And at only $20 for water and electric, it is the best deal of the entire trip.  It was less than half full, so we had our choice of sites, each with a water view.  On top of that, there was a  lot of space to walk the dogs.

Site 11, Ellis Lakeside Campground

Crews constructing 9 more sites

Monday and Tuesday, 10/21- 22:  220 miles,  Deer Creek Valley, Topeka, Kansas

Site 44

Mid 50's and terribly windy on the drive today.  We took Interstate 70 the entire way to Topeka,  and traffic was light.  Deer Creek Valley is an immaculate park, with level concrete pads and beautiful maintained lawns between sites.  There appear to be many long term RV's here, but their sites are kept  immaculate as well.  It was too windy and cold to do much outside, so we stayed inside and caught up on our reading.

Tuesday was a rest day.  We aren't the heavy duty road warriors we used to be.  We prefer to limit our drives to 4 or 5 hours each day.  And then, every 2 or 3 days, we take a break and have a rest up day.  Today was one of those days.

Wednesday 10/23:  230 miles, Lazy Day Campground, Danville, Missouri

Site 14

The drive was Interstate 70 all the way today.  It was good going, except driving through the maze of highways through Kansas City.  Some of that was white knuckle driving, but we putted along and survived.  Thank God for our GPS navigation!   We arrived at Lazy Day about 1:30 to beautiful, sunny 70 degree weather.  This park is a charming and wooded campground.  The sites are large, and they are very nice.  We didn't even have to unhook.  The campground is quite hilly, so many of the sites have been leveled with landscaping walls.  We had an end site that overlooked the woods.

Thursday 10/24:  212 miles and camped at Rest Up RV Park, Grayville, Illinois

Site 11

Much cooler as a cold front is moving across the US.  Never got above the mid 50's.  It was another day of Interstate driving: I-70 to St. Louis, and then I-64 for the rest of the day.  The only challenging part of the trip was passing through St. Louis, but it went fine.  In fact, not nearly as stressful as Kansas City.  :-)  Rest Up is a relatively new park.  The sites are long and level, with adequate space between them.  However, there are basically no trees yet since they are all saplings.

Tomorrow we continue east to Lexington, Kentucky for a couple nights.

2019 Fall Western Trip: East to Fort Collins

Saturday 10/12:  278 miles and parked at Burns RV Park,  Burns, Oregon

Site 51

We were up at 4:30, and got Terri to the Eugene airport about 5:15.  She had a 6:00 flight.  We start our trek back east towards home.  It was a smooth drive on the Willamette Highway to Rt. 97, and then to Rt. 20.  We have stayed in Burns before.  It is a small, family run park right off Rt. 20.  With a good selection of long pull thru sites, this is a great overnight travel stop.

Sunday 10/13: 255 miles, parked at Three Island SP,  Glenns Ferry, Idaho

Site 39

It was a cold 30 degrees this morning, but sunny and 71 when we arrived about 2:30.  The drive was pleasant, taking Rt. 20 to Ontario, Oregon and then I-84 to Glenns Ferry.  Eastern Oregon-Idaho is the largest onion growing region in the US, followed closely by Washington and California. Ontario is the center of the Oregon-Idaho production.

We entered the Mountain Time Zone today, we so moved clock ahead one hour.  Now only 2 hours difference from home.  Three Island Crossing is a beautiful State Park with water and electric only.  The park appears to be about half full.  There are lots of paved biking and hiking trails around the park and along the Snake River.   Three Island Crossing was an important crossing of the Snake River on the Oregon Trail.  The nearby Oregon Trail Interpretive Center was closed.  Damn!!!  It would be nice to stay here for a few days sometime.

Monday 10/14: 180 miles and parked at Pocatello KOA

Site 44

It was a very chilly 28 out this morning at Glenns Ferry.  We have a short drive today, so didn't leave until 10:30 and we arrived at Pocatello about 1:30.  This is a very nice stop over park, with an excellent laundry.  It is also one of the very earliest KOA's to join the system.  The weather was bright and sunny,  and very windy.  The laundry was near by, so we did a couple loads.

Rose, the manager chatted with us about the potato harvest this year.  There was panic last week because of a heavy frost.  Farmers were harvesting all night, and farmers were helping each other.  Because of the effort, most were harvested successfully.  She even gave us some freshly harvested potatoes that friends gave her.  Idaho produces about a third of all potatoes grown in US.

Tuesday 10/15: 240 miles and parked at the Rock Springs, KOA in Wyoming.

Site 43

Gorgeous patio sites.  We'd pick one of these if staying a few days.

It was a brisk 30 degrees this morning in Glenns Ferry.  We were out of the campground by 9:30.  Most of the drive today was on US Rt 30, a beautiful 2 lane road.  Also called "The Lincoln Highway" Rt 30 had very little traffic.  It was an enjoyable drive through rangeland land of grazing cattle, occasional wheat fields, and a section of numerous natural gas wells.  It was sunny all day and 65 when we checked it at the Rock Springs KOA by 2:00.  We have stayed here before, and it is a convenient spot to stop along Interstate 80.  Because of the windy, dry climate, there is almost no lawn here.  They are just gravel.  But in general, the sites are large and spacious.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10/16, - 18: 278 miles, Lakeside KOA, Fort Collins, Colorado

Site 29

This is a great park that contains a small lake with a three quarter mile walking trail around it.  Since we are staying for 3 nights, we opted for a patio site.  After setup, we sat outside for a beer, until Judy got bit by a yellow jacket wasp.  Ouch!!

Thursday, we hunted up the O'Dell Brewery for lunch.  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and sat out on their patio and had wings from the food truck.  At 4:30 friends Stan and Betsy picked us to go out for dinner.  They took us to the Next Door Restaurant in The Old Town section of Fort Collins.  It was warm out, so we sat on the patio.  We haven't seen them in a couple years, so we had lots to catch up on.  It was a really fun evening.

On Friday we made arrangement to meet Tanya Victor at the New Belgium Brewery, where she works, for lunch.  Tanya is the daughter of friends Dan and Ann Wright, who we visited in Wisconsin.  Tanya was free from 11:00 to 12:00, so we met her for an early beer and got caught up.  After Tanya left, we grabbed lunch at the food truck at the brewery.

Back to the camper to walk the dogs, and then at 4:00 we met Judy's cousin, Denise at the CooperSmiths Brewery in Old Town for dinner.  Denise is another one of those folks we don't get to see very often, so we had lots to chat about.

Tomorrow we pack up and continue east some more.