Aug 2013
Asheville Bound
August 26, 2013 07:14 AM
On August 4, we left Denver (maybe for the last time?) bound for Asheville. We could have made it in two long days or three sensible ones, but instead we took almost three weeks, stopping at several places in between.
Our first stop was my son Mark’s farm in Belton, MO, just southeast of Kansas City. Getting there required a long drive across Kansas (any drive in Kansas is looooong), but it was worth it. Our one stop between Denver and KC was a city campground in Ellis, KS. Ellis isn’t exactly a vacation destination, but the campground was sufficient and cheap. We even managed to visit another brewery, the Lb Brewing Company in Hays, about 15 miles from our campground. Lb, which stands for “liquid bread,” is collocated with Gella’s Diner, a Germanish restaurant. Given the crowd, it seems to be the place to go in Hays on a Sunday evening. I understand—the beer and food were both great.
We arrived in Belton the next day and parked in Mark’s back driveway. Our motorhome doesn’t seem large until you get it next to something that provides perspective. We almost completely hid the back of Mark’s house! At least we provided shade and a windbreak for his back patio. We spent four great days with Mark, mostly just hanging out, drinking a few beers, and visiting.
We left Mark’s on the morning of the ninth and drove south through Missouri into Oklahoma. Our former next-door neighbors and very good friends, Joe and Sandi Herrmann, have a cottage, guest house, and trailer (😉) on Lake Tenkiller in northeastern Oklahoma. Joe had a great parking place for us with water, sewer, and electricity. Unfortunately, our electrical cord was too short to reach his outlet. Fortunately, the weather was unusually mild, so we didn’t really need air conditioning.
Soon other friends from Arkansas and Oklahoma began to show up. By the next morning we had most of the old gang together, a little older but still some of the finest humans on the earth to spend time with. We gabbed and drank and boated the weekend away, enjoying every minute of it. Our sincere “Thanks!” go out to Joe and Sandi. It was great to see everyone again.
From the lake, we headed east to Russellville, AR. Russellville is where we met, fell in love, and got married. It’s also home to our very good friends, Jack and Dana Thacker. We parked in a great site on the shore of the lake in Lake Dardanelle State Park. The park has to be one of the best-kept secrets in the outdoor world. It’s a beautiful, well-maintained park, set on the shore of an incredibly beautiful lake. But, for whatever reason, most of the camping sites were empty! If you’re ever passing through Arkansas and want to visit a beautiful spot, stop in and enjoy it. Oh, and there’s no entrance fee, a rare exception in todays world. Anyway, for nine days we enjoyed the park and Russellville, a neat little Arkansas town, during the day and then spent evenings at the beautiful home of our friends Jack and Dana. It was great seeing them again.
Now let me explain the two pictures below. The left one is the bench in the park where Ann and I first had lunch together. We bought sandwiches from Wendy’s and drove to the lake. We were friends—and nothing else for over two years—but we still have to consider it our “first date.” The picture to the right is about 200’ from the picnic table. It’s the pavilion where we were married. Needless to say, Lake Dardanelle State Park holds a lot of history for us.
We left Russellville on the morning of the 21st and headed east. We could have easily have made Asheville in two days, even one if we really had to, but decided to take our time. Our first stop was at the Naval Support Activity at Millington, TN. It’s a beautiful little base with a great RV park—well worth a stop, for those who are eligible. Our second stop was at Countryside Resort in Lebanon, TN. The park is mediocre except for the setting—rolling hills of grass and trees, a beautiful spot.
On Friday the 23rd of August, we rolled into Asheville and parked at Campfire Lodgings RV Park north of town. I’ll reserve further comments about Asheville for a future post, but have to show you the view from the RV park. This is truly beautiful country.
So we’ve arrived in Asheville. Will it become our home, or just another stop along the road? We don’t know, and won’t for a while. Our plan is to spend a couple of months here getting to know the place and then head to Florida for the winter. We figure the long cooling off period in Florida will allow us to see Asheville objectively and decide whether it’s right for us or not. We’ll be happy either way—there’s a place for us somewhere.
Alan
Our first stop was my son Mark’s farm in Belton, MO, just southeast of Kansas City. Getting there required a long drive across Kansas (any drive in Kansas is looooong), but it was worth it. Our one stop between Denver and KC was a city campground in Ellis, KS. Ellis isn’t exactly a vacation destination, but the campground was sufficient and cheap. We even managed to visit another brewery, the Lb Brewing Company in Hays, about 15 miles from our campground. Lb, which stands for “liquid bread,” is collocated with Gella’s Diner, a Germanish restaurant. Given the crowd, it seems to be the place to go in Hays on a Sunday evening. I understand—the beer and food were both great.
We arrived in Belton the next day and parked in Mark’s back driveway. Our motorhome doesn’t seem large until you get it next to something that provides perspective. We almost completely hid the back of Mark’s house! At least we provided shade and a windbreak for his back patio. We spent four great days with Mark, mostly just hanging out, drinking a few beers, and visiting.
We left Mark’s on the morning of the ninth and drove south through Missouri into Oklahoma. Our former next-door neighbors and very good friends, Joe and Sandi Herrmann, have a cottage, guest house, and trailer (😉) on Lake Tenkiller in northeastern Oklahoma. Joe had a great parking place for us with water, sewer, and electricity. Unfortunately, our electrical cord was too short to reach his outlet. Fortunately, the weather was unusually mild, so we didn’t really need air conditioning.
Soon other friends from Arkansas and Oklahoma began to show up. By the next morning we had most of the old gang together, a little older but still some of the finest humans on the earth to spend time with. We gabbed and drank and boated the weekend away, enjoying every minute of it. Our sincere “Thanks!” go out to Joe and Sandi. It was great to see everyone again.
From the lake, we headed east to Russellville, AR. Russellville is where we met, fell in love, and got married. It’s also home to our very good friends, Jack and Dana Thacker. We parked in a great site on the shore of the lake in Lake Dardanelle State Park. The park has to be one of the best-kept secrets in the outdoor world. It’s a beautiful, well-maintained park, set on the shore of an incredibly beautiful lake. But, for whatever reason, most of the camping sites were empty! If you’re ever passing through Arkansas and want to visit a beautiful spot, stop in and enjoy it. Oh, and there’s no entrance fee, a rare exception in todays world. Anyway, for nine days we enjoyed the park and Russellville, a neat little Arkansas town, during the day and then spent evenings at the beautiful home of our friends Jack and Dana. It was great seeing them again.
Now let me explain the two pictures below. The left one is the bench in the park where Ann and I first had lunch together. We bought sandwiches from Wendy’s and drove to the lake. We were friends—and nothing else for over two years—but we still have to consider it our “first date.” The picture to the right is about 200’ from the picnic table. It’s the pavilion where we were married. Needless to say, Lake Dardanelle State Park holds a lot of history for us.
We left Russellville on the morning of the 21st and headed east. We could have easily have made Asheville in two days, even one if we really had to, but decided to take our time. Our first stop was at the Naval Support Activity at Millington, TN. It’s a beautiful little base with a great RV park—well worth a stop, for those who are eligible. Our second stop was at Countryside Resort in Lebanon, TN. The park is mediocre except for the setting—rolling hills of grass and trees, a beautiful spot.
On Friday the 23rd of August, we rolled into Asheville and parked at Campfire Lodgings RV Park north of town. I’ll reserve further comments about Asheville for a future post, but have to show you the view from the RV park. This is truly beautiful country.
So we’ve arrived in Asheville. Will it become our home, or just another stop along the road? We don’t know, and won’t for a while. Our plan is to spend a couple of months here getting to know the place and then head to Florida for the winter. We figure the long cooling off period in Florida will allow us to see Asheville objectively and decide whether it’s right for us or not. We’ll be happy either way—there’s a place for us somewhere.
Alan
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