May 19, 2026 - Raymond, Ohio

​Today’s stop was at Farm Wife Mercantile, Harvest Host site. Small goat and cattle farm. Lenny got to meet Tucker, a Pygmy goat that was a pet. 

Torrential rains and winds came early evening but we were safe inside for dinner and reading our books. 

Tomorrow we’ll be in New Paris, OH at The Coffee and Wine shop … two of my favorite beverages. It’s another Harvest Host. 

March 3 - Oak Mountain State Park-Pelham AL

When we drove to Gulf Shores in January , we stayed at Oak Mountain State Park. Since we liked it, we decided to stay there again. Lots more campers than when we were here before  

We hiked the Light Trail again for about 2 miles. We had blue skies and temps in the 60s so we put away our coats hoping we wouldn’t need them for awhile. We had a view of their lake. 

We watched the weather to learn more about the storms coming across the south. We decided to try to get an early start tomorrow to our next destination, Ocean Springs. We plan to stay at a Harvest Host, Cosy Rosy’s which is next door to the Shed, the best BBQ we’ve ever had. 

October 16-17 - Test Blue Belle at Prince Gallitzen

We decided to go somewhere close to home with Blue Belle (Belle for short) to see what worked and what didn’t work. We chose Prince Gallitzen, near Patton, PA. 

Huge lake and large campground. Leaf colors were gorgeous as we drove to the campground and even more so the next day when the sun shone brightly. 

After we set up, we had some hooks we had to decide where they should go. We have so much more cabinet space in this RV but are still trying to figure out the best place for everything. Lenny and Banjo se like they have adjusted. 

On our second day we took a walk to one of the boat launches. Pretty morning but COLD. Glad our furnace is working. 

After a warm bowl of hot soup, we took a hike around a portion of the lake near our campground. As you can see, the colors were very showy. 

Lenny has his warm coat on. Banjo is with us but he didn’t want in the picture!

Too cold to kayak but great day for a hike. 

July 31 - Good Weather day for us

Early morning we went for a short hike on Tom’s Run Trail. Beautiful hike with all the moss and trees. Walked across the swinging bridge (and yes, it did swing). 

On the river again. This time we went to the upper parking lot to float down. 

A pretty river to float. 

Lenny is always ready. 

Solar lights work good. 

July 30 - Wash Out day at Cook Forest

Today was a very gray and rainy day. 

Took a drive around the area, stopped at the Laurel Winery at MacBeth’s store. That was about it. 

July 29 - Cooks Forest Camping

Today began our 4-days at Cooks Forest Campground. It was quite hot so Jillian, Andrea, Bill, Lenny and I headed for the Clarion River to kayak. Although the river is low, this part of the river had enough water that we could kayak without getting hung up on rocks. Enjoyable float. 

Lenny watches out for high rocks. 

Photo by Andrea

A lot of Bill’s family is also camping. These are the 3 hoodlums … er brothers. Thanks for the pic, Jillian. 

The birds were sunning themselves. 

July 23 - Gettysburg National Park

Winter asked us if we wanted to go to Gettysburg National Park. So I made a camping reservation at Round Top Campground and here we go. 

After we set up, we drove to the Visitor’s Center to make our plans to explore the park. We decided to start the audio tour. We used the NPS app to hear the history at each stop. 

The Eternal Peace Memorial. 

From atop the Oakridge Observation Tower

These two photos were taken atop the small tower. We stopped at Stop 6 and went back to the RV for dinner. 

Day 2 

Continued the audio tour at Stop 7, the Large Tower 

Then on to Little Big Top. We walked around some and then listened to a ranger tell the history in more detail. The next 7 pictures are all at Little Round Top. 

Lunch at the Upper Crust for wood-fired pizza. 

A couple more stops on the audio tour before heading to the Visitor’s Center to listen to the Cyclorama. The painting was first brought to the US in 1913 and was restored and became part of the new Visitor’s Center in 2008. It is a 360 degree depiction of the battle of Gettysburg. Next was the museum. Winter has been here several times and she said she sees new things each time she comes. 

On the way back to the RV, we stopped at the Pennsylvania memorial. 

Winter and I walked up to the top of the memorial on the spiral staircase. Shuff took our picture. 

The last thing we’ll do today is listen to a program at the cemetery. 

A very moving way to end a very thought provoking  day. 

July 9 - Morocco, IN - Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife

Since we didn’t want to drive close to Chicago and we didn’t want to go on any toll roads, we looked for a campground on the border of Illinois and Indiana, way south of Chicago and I-80. 

We crossed the mighty Mississippi. It was wide and the water had run over the banks in places because of the amount of rain they’ve had. The houses or buildings that were close to the river’s edge had about 1-2’ of water covering them. 

After a lot of searching, Bill found Willow Slough Campground. The pictures looked really nice and making be able to do some kayaking. 

After driving on narrow roads that didn’t have a center line for probably 30 minutes, we began to wonder if we had inputted the address correctly. Finally pulled into the campground. No one around. We are the only ones here. Lenny and Banjo had a great time exploring without a leash. Lots of smells. Unfortunately there won’t be any kayaking. The water on lake or slough is very low, plus it’s raining. 

It rained all day and all night. On the road early. 

June 20 - Lost Sierra - Moving West Campground

It was bittersweet when we left Nevada City. We’ve had a wonderful time with family and friends but it was time to head back home with a short stop at Lost Sierra with Shan, Carl, Arlo, and Donna. 

As you can see, Arlo visited the Ida the RV. He likes to explore.