Leaving Ely

Ely likely has more open canoes per capita than any other town in the world. Canoe Heaven!

Downtown Ely

Kawishiwi Ranger Station Superior National Forest

Zup's has moved!   When we first drove into Ely we saw that Zup's was boarded up. CRAP!!!  We have been buying groceries for the wilderness at Zup's for 25 years.  We were relieved when we learned that Zup's had opened a new, larger store 12 blocks east of their old location

Zup’s is a family-owned food store originally established in Ely in 1916 by John Zupancich. “Grandpa John” operated the business with his seven sons, and it quickly became popular for its wide variety of products including their store made Old-World sausages. 

The new Zup's includes a liquor warehouse. Can it get any better???

We like to eat at Stony Ridge Cafe, located on Shagawa Lake in Ely.  Their specialty is gourmet and stuffed burgers.  

On their menu they feature some challenge items, including the "Sasquatch Challenge". It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to order the Sasquatch Challenge, but not even try to eat it at one tine.  A 4-pound burger with one pound of cheese for 40 bucks is not a bad deal, especially considering their menu item burgers are only about 1/2 pound and cost over $20.  Plus we'd have leftover burgers for week!  And you get a free number sticker!  What a deal!

We departed Ely about 8:30 on Friday under rainy skies and cool temps.  We regretted having to leave Ely, but it was time. We had 3 nights to get to Pisgah Forest NC, where we were to attend a motor home rally with the Southeast Country Coachers. We successfully circumvented the major construction project on I-35 in Duluth and crossed into Wisconsin.  Rain continued most of the day.  

We spent Friday night at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Baraboo Wisconsin near the Wisconsin Dells.  Casinos often let motor homes park overnight for no charge.  Usually they are very quiet and peaceful, with a level of high security. We stayed at this casino once before in 2018.

Our Camp at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Baraboo WI

At the Illinois Welcome Center I-39 southbound

I have the hots for an EV pickup. I have deposits on two models including the Rivian R1T.   The Rivian manufacturing plant is located in Normal Illinois, only a few miles off our route.  I called to ask about plant tours, but it was Saturday, and the phone message said they were closed.  I wanted to stop anyway just to see what there was to see.  It turns out, the assembly line was running and production was in progress, but I never made it past the security guard at the front desk.  We did get some nice exterior photos. 

Amazon has invested heavily in Rivian.  In addition to the R1T, their pickup and the R1S, their SUV, Rivian has an assembly line for Amazon EV delivery vans.  

There was a row of  charging ports near the front entrance to the plant.  There were about 6 privately owned R1Ts lined up charging. 

We had no specific destination spotted for Saturday night.  Dorcas went online and discovered Charlarose Lake & Campground in Hillsboro IN.  It was close to our route and was a very reasonable cost.

When we checked in the folks here were extremely friendly and genuinely welcoming.  This park was a very pleasant surprise, and I hope we can stop in again some time.

A stormy evening at site 56 at Charlarose Lake & CG

I don't know what this was supposed to be, but these two vehicles had artifacts and items and other paraphernalia all over them. I can only assume that they were traveling together.  Trying to see all the things on the cars was very distracting and probably dangerous.

We spent Sunday, our third night from Ely at the Walmart Supercenter in Williamsburg KY, located in Whitley County, of all places.  About 1/2 hour prior to reaching camp we encountered one of the most intense thunderstorms I can ever remember while driving. I'm talking 25 MPH on the interstate, hoping we were on the road and that nobody plowed into us.  

Camp Wally World Williamsburg KY

As mentioned previously, I'll be getting an EV pickup, as soon as my number comes up.  Friends and neighbors have chided me about that decision, specifically noting the lack of available charging stations. There is no doubt that charging an EV, particularly on a long trip can be a challenge, but things are improving.  At this remote rural Walmart there happened to be a bank of 8 charging stations in their parking lot, ranging from 50 to 350 kW charging capacity.

This rig was parked next to us.  The driver has a good sense of humor

For breakfast on Monday we walked about 100 yards to the Huddle House next door to the Walmart.  We had yummy omelets, then pulled out and headed south and east once more.  Our destination today was Pisgah Forest NC for a 5-night motor home rally with the Southeast Country Coachers.

Staggering Along the Bourbon Trail

On day 2 of our Rockies Adventure we departed Tamarack and continued westbound on I-64 after a relatively cool and very restful night.  We will be on I-64 for quite a while ... all the way to St. Louis.

The West Virginia Capitol in Charleston

After two days on the road I have observed  an electrical issue with the coach.  While driving, the chassis battery, the battery that powers the automotive portion of the coach, shows low voltage.  It should show 13V plus while driving, but it is showing much lower values 12.0-12.3V, and these values seem to drop as the day goes on.  When I run the generator or when the coach is connected to shore power, the voltage does rise to 13V plus, as it should. This all suggests an alternator charging problem.  The battery itself is almost 6 years old, so we might need to replace it anyway.  I can bridge my starting battery with my house batteries to aid starting, if necessary.  Also, I can charge the chassis battery with the generator while driving down the road.  I may be running the generator anyway while driving to use the house air conditioners to help cooling in the coach.  Luckily on July 8 we will attend a rally hosted by the Diesel RV Club, which is a highly technical group.  There will be no shortage of expertise for troubleshooting and repairs.

We have allowed 9 days to get to Loveland Colorado, so we have some time to drag our feet and smell the roses ... or perhaps smell the bourbon.  Our route will take us right through the center of Kentucky bourbon country, so some tours and tastings are in order.

On this day we visited the Woodford Reserve Distillery, one of Kentucky's oldest and smallest distilleries.  The road to the distillery is very narrow, but very scenic.  It is totally surrounded by thoroughbred farms, another famous Kentucky product.

I think we'll have to pull over if we meet a bicycle

Kentucky thoroughbreds.

Woodford makes a "doubled oaked" variety, where the bourbon is aged in one barrel for a time and then transferred into a different barrel for subsequent aging.

This 750ml bottle of Double Oaked sells for $57 at the distillery

The barrel race transports aged product from the rack house to bottling 

The fermenters at Woodford Reserve are made of 100-year old cypress

All Woodford products are triple distilled in copper stills.

After distillation the bourbon is packed in charred white oak barrels and stored in warehouses called "rack houses".

What a beautiful sight!

Frankly, I'm not a bourbon connoisseur, I usually buy from the bottom shelf, but I am excited about buying a bottle of the Double Oaked.

Down the hatch!

Sadly we had to leave the Woodford Reserve Distillery, and then enjoyed some Kentucky backroads.




We parked for the night at the Walmart Supercenter in Lawrenceburg KY.  Notice the Bojangles in the background. We love Bojangles, but it is a regional chain, and this is likely the last one we will see until late September.

Our camp at Wally World

Within walking distance of our camp we found a pretty good Mexican restaurant.  Happy hour featured a 22 oz margarita for $3.50.  Ay carumba!  After dinner Dorcas  caved to her pyrotecnomania and bought some fireworks in the tent in the Walmart parking lot.

Bourbon is fine, but so is tequila

On Monday, day three of our adventure, we left in search of more of the golden elixir.  Our next stop was Heaven Hill Distillery at the Bourbon Heritage Center.

At Heaven Hill Distillery they make dozens of different products, including bourbons, rums, whiskey, vodkas, cognacs and tequilas.  Their signature bourbons are Evan Williams and Elijah Craig.  In 1996 a lightning strike started a fire that consumed the distillery and 7 warehouses and 90,000 barrels of bourbon were lost.  The products are now distilled in Louisville, but aged and bottled on site here.

Rack houses at Heaven Hill

The gray-black discoloring rising from the bottom of the warehouses is a colony of the sac fungus Baudoinia compniacensis, a natural result of the maturing process.

Bourbon aging in a rack house at Heaven Hill Distillery 

Another tasting at Heaven Hill

Finally we visited Jim Beam.  This is a popular stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trial and tours and tasting were sold out for the day.  That did not stop us from a walking tour of the facilities.

Rack house at Jim Beam

Let's not be cheap!

Warehouses, or rack houses, are typically 7-9 stories tall and hold about 20,000 barrels each.  They are not heated or cooled and the aging process benefits from the natural draft and the changes in seasonal temperatures.  Barrels are occasional moved among different levels to optimize the aging of the product.

 After our visit at Jim Beam we hit the road buckled up for the long haul to St. Louis. We continued on I-64 and crossed southern Indiana and southern Illinois.  At one point during our drive. the temperature shown on our on-board thermometer dropped from over 100 degrees to 80 degrees and back up to 90 in about an hour.  We arrived in St. Louis late in the evening, well after rush hour, and parked at the Hollywood Casino on the outskirts of town.  The forecast for St. Louis is not encouraging.  High temps are predicted for the mid 90's with real-feel temps in the 105 range.