85 and Sunny

Walt & Miss Biggs seemed to know exactly what to do in this weather!!

Arrived in Bonita Springs

Woke up to 63 degree outside temperature this morning. Nice!!!

We left 10 inches of snow at home Monday and headed southeast. We arrived in Bonita Springs yesterday afternoon after 1,500 miles. No problems along the way and not much traffic until Atlanta -- then heavy the last 600 miles.

Cleaning, un-packing and setting up today. Nice to see familiar faces.

Tampa Bay

A major accident brought northbound traffic to a stop at I-75/I-275. We learned later there was a fatality. The first accident we have seen in the 1400 miles traveled so far.

Southbound traffic was slowed as a car ran out of gas and had to be pushed to the median.

Gave me a chance to snap a few photos of the bay.

We expect bumper-to-bumper traffic this last stretch.

Heavy Traffic

Here is traffic beginning to get heavy just outside of Atlanta. We'll expect heavier traffic all the way now.

Has been clear sailing until now.

Heading Down the Highway

Packed and heading out.

We soon reached clear roads and only a trace of snow an hour into our travels!

Digging Out

We plan to leave in the morning. Looks like we have a lot of digging to do!

We received over 9" of snow yesterday.

An Icy Blast

Welcome to our icy world! We have had snow followed by rain and then freezing temperatures. This crystal fairyland is the result.

We have been lucky that we don't need to get out even though the roads have remained fairly clear. And our power has stayed on. Many are without electricity and heat.

Warmer temperatures are expected tomorrow.

Indiana Amish Country

We drove to Shipshewana yesterday. Lots of snow south of Michigan City but the roads were clear.

The Christmas decorations in Shipshewana are beautiful.

We drove about 20 minutes north to Sturgis Michigan last night for a great steak dinner. Welch's Sports Bar on the south side of town is a nice place to eat. They are famous for their BBQ but we had our hearts set on steak.

We stayed at The Farmstead Inn. It is a beautiful place to stay and pretty quiet at the end of the holiday weekend.

Today we will visit some furniture and quilt shops then head towards home.

Post-Thanksgiving Feast

We're spending Thanksgiving week in the Chicago area.

Today we enjoyed looking out our daughter's front window at one of the fattest squirrels that I've ever seen.

He was feasting on the remains of the Halloween pumpkins.

Weather has been cold and a mix of sleet and snow but nothing measurable.

Veteran's Day Parade

There's nothing better than seeing a parade through the eyes of a child.

Caden was enchanted by the Leavenworth Veteran's Day Parade.

It was complete with soldiers, fire trucks, politicians, high school bands, motorcycles and horses. A great parade.

Gateway to the West

We are spending a few days in the St. Louis area.

The sun was just starting to set in the clouds behind the arch when I snapped this photo.

Knox County Scenic Drive

We took the Knox County Scenic Drive today.

These are a few photos of sights along the way.

The first is Wolf Covered Bridge. It is a newly built replica of the historic bridge. Very pretty as it spans the Spoon River.

All along the way are crafts, fall scenery, flea markets and food.

We ate lunch at the Orange (Township) Chapel Methodist Church. Excellent Chicken & Noodles and homemade pie.

There was some pretty fall color starting in the country.

This farmer had all his antique tractors on display. Other farms had decorated with scarecrows, pumpkins, corn shocks and hay bales.

Great weather for a fall drive.

We've moved again

Today we traveled to Knoxville Illinois. We are just east of Galesburg.

We chose to drive most of the way on US 24 and it was a beautiful drive through the farmland and small towns. Lots of corn being harvested.

We had planned to spend a few days then move on but found that there is a fall festival in this area that sounds fun. SO -- we're staying through the weekend! See information at Knox County Scenic Drive.

The camp host told us to drive over to Maquon (about 10 miles) for tacos at J & L. Well it is a small bar in a town of 350 people (one of 2 bars). The place was packed and we had to wait a while for a seat. Their Wednesday night special is tacos, tostados, burritos and taco salad. Draught beer was $.50 and the tacos were $2.50. It was terrific food and a fun atmosphere.

We shared a table with a local farmer. He is 89 and has lived in the area his entire life. He said the sloping floor in the bar has been that way since 1935. He also gave us a tip about the fall festival -- Orange Chapel United Methodist Church is THE BEST Chicken & Noodle Dinner!

He told us about their harvest. In the area, they are getting a yield of 260 to 300 bushels to the acre on their corn crop. It takes 2 gallons of diesel per acre for the corn harvest. Their soybeans don't look as promising and it takes 1 gallon of diesel per acre to harvest the beans.

A fun evening -- If you are ever in the area of Maquon, IL on Wednesday night, stop at J & L for tacos.

The RV Capitol

These photos are from the RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana.

We had been to this museum two years ago and knew they were building a new one. Today we got to visit the newly opened museum.

They have done a great job and it is very interesting.

There is a showroom of historic RVs and mobile homes.

There is also a showroom of new RV models which they plan to constantly change. Today we saw a Coleman pop-up tent trailer, an Outback pull trailer with a slide out bed in the back, a Jayco Class C mini-home and a Winnebago Journey Class A motorhome.

Northern Indiana

Thursday we moved to Elkhart. We have enjoyed touring Amish country -- Shipshewana, Nappanee, Howe, Goshen, Wakarusa and Middlebury.

Also toured some RV manufacturing facilities. Lots of brands are made in this area.

We have an appointment to get the RV aligned tomorrow at Mor/ryde. It should only take the day.

Brown County Indiana

Well, the leaves are starting to turn but there are not many pretty colors. It has been very dry in this area so most of the leaves are turning brown and falling. This tree in the Hoosier National Forest has started to turn orange.

It started raining late yesterday morning and has continued to rain since. Mostly light rain but occassional downpours.

We just got out the rainjackets and continued to sightsee and shop.

We drove through Brown County State Park. It is a big, beautiful park. There are lots of amenities -- dining lodge, cabins, swimming pool and many campsites.


Nashville, Indiana has been a designated Artist Colony since 1907. The town is filled with shops and studios. Of course there are tourist-trap craft shops but there are also nice paintings, pottery, woodworking and stained glass. Many artists will do custom work.

There is also the Little Nashville Opry (John Anderson is appearing this weekend) and the Brown County Playhouse (presenting Plaza Suite this weekend).

Lots to do in this area. Look at the Brown County website for more information.

Leaving the Rally

The Teton Rally ended last night after dinner. This morning we headed northwest. This is the bridge over the Ohio River leaving Louisville, Kentucky.

We are headed toward Nashville, Indiana to spend a few days in Brown County.

We found a nice campsite at The Last Resort Campground in Gnaw Bone, Indiana. It is only a few miles to the shops in Nashville.

We're headed in to scope out the shopping and dining!

Teton Rally 9/21

Thought you might like to see a view of the campground in Renfro Valley. Since the Rally activities keep us busy most of the time, we don't care if we have shade and spacious sites. We are just happy to have full hook-ups with 50amps.

There are 77 Tetons in the campground. As you can see there are many sizes and tow vehicle options -- from pick-ups to full semi tractors. Some with 44' Tetons tow with a Volvo, Freightliner or Peterbilt. Then they pull a car for transportation when they arrive!! Makes a long train!

Renfro Valley

We are settled into Renfro Valley for a week of the Teton Rally and musical entertainment.

It's nice to meet up with friends both new & old. There are 77 Teton RV's in the campground from 1987 to 2007 models.

We have had two nights of entertainment. Country music on Monday and Bluegrass pickin' last night. Also had a tour of Berea College yesterday. Fascinating place.

Posing with a Derby Winner

Before heading south, we drove around to see the horse farms around Winchester and Paris. We saw the Horse Training Farm and Claiborne Horse Farm.

This photo was taken with Monarchos, winner of the 2001 Kentucky Derby. We were allowed to pet him while visiting the Claiborne Stud Farm. He has brought in over $8 million in stud fees since winning the race. He is a beautiful horse.

Claiborne Farm is also where you will find the grave of the great Secretariat, 1973 Triple Crown winner (and considered by many to be the greatest race horse of all time).

Fall-like Weather

It's only days before Fall is official but we have enjoyed the cool, crisp, sunny mornings. We awoke to 46 degrees this morning. It's actually nice to wear jeans again.

We will move to Renfro Valley this afternoon. The Teton Rally starts tomorrow and lasts for a week. We have heard rumors that we will not have cell nor internet service. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, if you don't hear anything from us for a week you can just guess that we are having a good time at the rally.

Yearling Auction

Today we attended the Keenland Yearling Sale in Versailles.

It was a new experience and we were awed at the beautiful thoroughbreds that sold for $1,000 to $1,000,000.




Notice that all the clocks are Rolex. The important times posted on the bidding floor are Sydney, Tokyo, Lexington, London and Dubai.



We spent the day and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. (Oh, we only spent a few bucks for lunch and tipping the valets in the restroom!!)