The Great Rocky Mountain Adventure 2018 Wrap-Up

When we took out at Lake One we were pleased to find the Honda as we left it. That's always a big concern when we park for 2 weeks at a remote canoe put-in.  After loading up all our gear, Matilda would not come to the car and "Load Up" (her command for getting into the car, boat, motor home, golf cart, etc).  She sat down and planted her elf next to another group of paddlers loading up.  This is very unusual for her; she always wants to be the first one into the car and into the boat.  I think she had so much fun she just didn't want to go home.

Our craving for a dairy product was so strong we drove straight to Ely, driving past Fall Lake Campground, where the coach is parked (skipping hot showers, clean clothes and cold beer) and made a bee-line to the Dairy Queen. There we shared a tall cold smooth milkshake, and I splurged on a greasy double bacon cheeseburger.  Out of respect for the other customers, who were likely freshly bathed and wearing clean clothes, we ate outdoors. We are filthy, but we are considerate. 

Site 42 at Fall Lake Campground

When we finally got back to Fall Lake the coach was fine and in the same the condition as when we left it.  Again that's always a worry and a relief.  We have always parked it there in the paved, lighted parking lot, close to the campground office, and have never had a problem (knock on wood!). Fall Lake is probably the safest place of the hundred or so BWCAW access points to park a vehicle. We had a reservation for site 18, which is a nice spacious pull-through site, but we had stayed on that site before and knew we could not get a satellite signal on that site.  Being in the wilderness and unconnected for 2 weeks, we were starved for news and entertainment. We were also aware of Hurricane Florence bearing down on North Carolina and wanted to follow its progress.  Consequently, TV reception was important for us, and there is no over-the air signal reception near Ely.  The camp host told us that site 42 had good satellite reception and was vacant. Site 42 is a bit cramped and not nearly as nice as site 18, but we made the change, and I think it was a good decision.   Normally, after taking out of the wilderness, we go into town for a nice sit-down dinner.  But after hot showers, cold adult beverages and a big late lunch at DQ, we were content to stay home and eat something simple. 

There are Paul Bunyans all over Minnesota 

We saw a pair of swans on a creek near Ely

A load of new We-no-nah canoes arriving at Piragis Northwoods Company

On the day after we took out of the wilderness a storm came through Ely.

Strange weather indeed

We had registered for three nights at Fall Lake Campground, intending to depart on Friday, which would allow only 3 driving days to travel almost 1400 miles and arrive home on Sunday.  That's pretty ambitious when traveling in a motor home.  Considering the approaching hurricane and the fact that I had a doctor's appointment on Monday morning, we made a decision to leave Ely a day earlier than planned and allow ourselves an extra day to get home.  It was a tough decision (we love Ely), but it was the smart thing to do. We did take time to catch breakfast at Britton's Cafe, our favorite breakfast joint in Ely, on our way out of town.

There is a steep grade as we drop into downtown Duluth

On our drive this day we faced a stiff 20 mph headwind with the occasional side gust.  Driving was tedious and stressful.  I invited Dorcas to spend some white-knuckle time behind the wheel, but she politely declined.  We made 400 miles before spending the night at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Baraboo Wisconsin.

Camp Ho-Chunk in Baraboo.

On the next day the winds had diminished considerably and the driving was a whole lot easier.  We made 460 miles before stopping for the night in Columbus IN.  I was willing and able to drive a little farther, but Dorcas had already picked our Walmart, and she could not be swayed.

Camp Wally World in Columbus IN

On Saturday we got off to a relatively early start and continued east and south. Our plan was to spend the night at Tamarack, a regional crafts, arts and conference center, in Beckley WV.  Tamarack allows overnight RV parking and is a frequent and favorite stop for us.  However, I was on a roll; the weather was good, we were listening to a good audio book and the driving was easy.  When we got to Beckley we decided to just keep on keeping on for another 3 hours and be home.  The first waves of rain from Hurricane Florence were expected to hit Winston-Salem Saturday night, and if we drove on Sunday it would be windy and wet.  That's no fun in a motor home.  We arrived home at 6:30, before dark and before the rain.  Twenty minutes later, the bottom dropped out of the skies, and it rained hard for the next 2 days. Our timing could not have been better.  On Saturday we made 522 miles, one of our longest driving days ever.

The capitol building in Charleston WV

This image shows every location where we spent the night on the trip.  This information  can also be viewed on the "Where the Heck Are We?" tab on the left side near the top of the blog page, which also lists the dates and locations of each camp.

On this adventure, we were away 77 nights, drove 5930 miles and burned 702 gallons of diesel.  Fuel mileage suffers significantly in Colorado mountains and with interstate headwinds. We often get closer to 9-9.5 mpg.

Above is a photo of the trip summary data from our SilverLeaf engine monitoring system.

GPS trace of our Great Rocky Mountain Summer Adventure 2018

It was a great trip but it's good to be home for a while. Dorcas and I both have a number of doctor appointments coming up, and I have knee replacement surgery scheduled for next week.

As a parting note please enjoy this song by John Williamson, a popular Australian folk singer.  Dorcas and I can really identify with the lyrics and consider it our anthem.  Click HERE to listen to "Old Farts in Caravan Parks".  In case you didn't know, "Caravan" is Aussie-speak for RV or camper trailer.

Stay tuned for my next post which will describe my recent knee replacement surgery.  Spoiler alert: all is well so far!

Life is still good.