Dissapointed in Indiana

We departed Tamarack under clear blue skies and headed north on the West Virginia Turnpike towards Charleston. Beyond Charleston we continued into Ohio and eventually skirted the north side of Cincinnati. From there we entered Indiana and arrived at our camp at Thousand Trail Indian Lakes near Batesville.

Dorcas and I have been members of Thousand Trails for over 6 years. Our membership allows us to stay at any park in the system for up to two weeks at a time for no fee. We often stay at Indian Lakes because it is on the way to Minnesota and because Dorcas likes the hairdresser that works in the salon in the park. Actually there are two other very nice Thousand Trails parks close to our route within a few hours of this one, but Goldilocks says we have to stop here. Unfortunately, Thousand Trails has made some changes that negatively affect the experience. Previously, Thousand Trails only admitted members into the parks, all of whom paid dearly for that exclusive privilege. In an effort to increase revenue, they now also admit the public at large. They also rent their sites on an annual basis, with the effect that less overall camp sites and a small number of the most desirable sites, are available to travelling members. In Batesville there is a pipeline construction project on-going nearby, and all the full hook-up sites were filled with the so-called “pipeliners”. They have also leased or sold a significant number of sites in a very desirable section to KOA. Not only could we not find a full hook-up site, we had difficulty finding a dry level site at all. Eventually we did find a dry grassy site in Phase III and set up for our two night stay. If things don't improve here we will start staying at one of the other Thousand Trails parks, haircut be damned!

Another irritating aspect of our ride through Indiana is their silly-ass diesel pricing practices. On the surface it would seem that diesel is cheaper than gasoline. Sweet!. But nay, it is not so. Fuel depots post the “exempt” diesel price, meaning the price that exempt truckers pay. Apparently they pay their road tax on some other basis than a tax added to the fuel, thus a lower price at the pump. Joe Blow (AKA Myron) pulls up to the island, pumps 120 gallons, then goes in and finds the price is 40 cents more per gallon than the posted price. CRAP!!! We actually learned this many years ago and always boycott diesel stations in Indiana. We have a 135 gallon tank and have a lot of flexibility where we buy fuel.