Summer 2020 Wrap-up

We left Fall Lake about 8:30 Friday September 25 headed for home.  Our drive was uneventful and the weather was great, except for a moderate head wind.

Rest area in central Wisconsin

We drove 489 miles on Friday and spent the night at the Walmart in Roscoe IL

Camp Wally World in Roscoe IL

On Saturday we drove 560 miles and spent the night at the Walmart in Morehead KY.  We're movin' along!!!  We passed most of Friday and Saturday listening to an audio mystery novel by Jonathan Kellerman.

Our route

We arrived home on Sunday mid-afternoon after driving only another 325 miles.

We had a great trip.  We drove a total of 3384 miles.  I have learned that the fuel milage in our Dutch Star is significantly less than it was in the Allure; ~7 mpg vs ~9 mpg.  This is due to a number of reasons: the Dutch Star is heavier, has a more powerful engine and is equipped with certain emissions control equipment that the Allure didn't have.  I hope that our fuel milage will improve a bit as the engine continues to break in.

I'm still having problems with the air system after leveling and the Comfort Drive system.  Calls to the Freightliner service center in Greensboro and to the Freightliner factory service center in Gaffney reveal it will be owes or months before I can service performed.  I'm going to do some more homework and see if I can figure out what's wrong myself for now.

Dorcas' highlight of the trip was our limited TV service.  We had only about 10 cumulative days when we had a TV signal, so we were spared watching all the news relating to COVID-19, the elections, etc. My highlight was the 27.3 miles Dorcas drove the coach on the last day of our trip.  She did great.

It is good to be home.  Life is good.

Paddling on the Buffalo River in Northern Arkansas

 The Buffalo River is one of our all time favorite rivers.  We have paddled long sections of the river as camping trips about a half a dozen times over the years, but the last time we had been on this river was in 2013, seven years ago.  Wayne had suggested visiting the Buffalo and paddling a few days on our way to Minnesota.  That was a grand idea, so we made a plan.

After our late start leaving the Smokies we did not make up any lost time in eastern Tennessee.  The coach pulled the hill over Newfound Gap nicely, and we easily coasted down the Tennessee side of the hill and out of the park.  However, shortly after leaving the park there was a long delay for a construction back-up. After clearing that mess we took the bypass around Gatlinburg, but experienced incessant stop and go traffic through Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.  Finally we arrived on I-40 east of Knoxville and were free-sailing.  Or so we thought.  After fueling up in Knoxville we hit another slowdown and creeped along at about 10 mph for most of an hour.  All in all, not a great day for making good time on the super-slab.  The rest of the day there were no more delays.  We spent the night at a Walmart in Jackson TN after driving a very long 376 miles.   When we parked at Walmart we found a level place to park and did not extend the leveling jacks.  Consequently I don't know yet if the problem filling the air bags after leveling still exists.  

The next morning we continued west on I-40, crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis and turned north towards the Arkansas Ozark mountains.  We arrived at Buffalo Point Campground on the banks of the Buffalo River by mid afternoon after diving 281 miles across mostly Arkansas back roads.  

The Pyramid in Memphis is now a hotel and Bass Pro Shop

Crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas

Wild Bill's Outfitter is located near the Buffalo River near Dillard's Ferry, Buffalo Point and Yellville AR. When we did our Buffalo River camping trips we always used Wild Bill to shuttle our vehicles.  Wild Bill's also happened to be the closest place to our camp to find a cellular signal, so we visited there every day or two to catch up on the news from the outside world. 

It has been hot and humid all summer at home in NC.  The forecast predicted no break from the heat, although the humidity may have been a bit lower.

The Buffalo National River is America's first national river. Established in 1972, the Buffalo National River flows freely for 135 miles and is one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states.  It is by far one of the most scenic rivers we have ever paddled.  On this trip we will be paddling on the lower section of the river near Dillard's Ferry, which has fewer tall bluffs than the more scenic upper reaches.  Enough talk.  Sit back and enjoy the ride 

Ripping Across CO WY SD ND MN

We departed Glacier Basin campground in Rocky Mountain National Park Tuesday Aug 21 about 8:30 am, an early start for us.  We negotiated the narrow streets of downtown Estes Park and dropped down off the Front Range through the Big Thompson Canyon.  

Big Thompson Canyon

We pumped a little diesel in Fort Collins and continued north and crossed into Wyoming.  We had 3 days to get to Ely MN, 1200 miles north and east, so we needed to make some miles. However, when we spotted the Outpost Truck Stop in Lusk WY, it seemed pretty inviting, even though we had only driven about 230 miles.  Lusk had a good cellular data signal so we spent the night there with the big rigs.

Camp at Outpost Truck Stop in Lusk WY

It's a long straight road

That's one big bovine!

Welcome to South Dakota

This tandem semi-trailer passed us and gave us a bit of a thrill as he wobbled on by. Click HERE to see video of the wobbly semi.  

Wobbly truck

These folks seem really excited about arriving in North Dakota

Extra long and extra wide load

We spent Wednesday evening at the Walmart in Mandan ND just west of Bismarck after a 445 mile day. 

Camp Wally World in Mandan ND

Long load

Welcome to Minnesota

Paul Bunyan lives in a town park in Akeley MN

We spent Thursday night in Hibbing MN after another long drive of 403 miles.  Hibbing is most notably the birthplace of Bob Dylan.

Camp Supercenter in Hibbing MN

Faithful readers will know that we spend a few nights in Walmarts when we are trying to make some miles.

Click HERE to hear a cute tune "Living at Walmart" by Pat Pepin.

We finally arrived in Ely MN, one our favorite places, and set up at Fall Lake Campground in the Superior National Forest for 5 nights. Here we will rest and regroup for our Boundary Waters trip.

Dorcas and Matilda at Fall Lake

We usually eat at the Chocolate Moose at least once every time we are in town and were appalled to find it was closed and for sale.  Egads!

The Chocolate Moose is for sale! Oh no!!!

A controversy has been brewing in paradise for some time.  Late last year the Interior Department concluded that the two expired leases held by a Chilean-owned company, Twin Metals Minnesota, should be reinstated for copper and nickel mining near the border of the Boundary Waters. This reversed a decision made at the end of the Obama administration, which rejected the leases after the Forest Service concluded that a mine there “posed an inherent potential risk” that threatened “serious and irreplaceable harm” to the wilderness.  Then, in January, the Trump administration scaled back a review of the impact of prohibiting mining on thousands of acres of Forest Service land near the wilderness. That was followed, this month, by the Interior Department reinstating those two expired Twin Metals leases. Now, the Trump administration says those leases must be renewed once terms and conditions are worked out.

Locals' opinions are mixed. The area has always been an active mining region, but a lot of revenue is also generated by tourism and the paddle sports industry.  You can read more HERE.

Tomorrow we will put in on Lake One for a 14 day wilderness camping trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  During that time we will be totally cut off from all cellular and internet communications.  Stay tuned for a trip report of that adventure in a few weeks.

These parting photos are from 2007, the last time we put in at Lake One

Dorcas caught a nice Northern Pike

Myron fishing solo on a misty morning

A glorious Boundary Waters sunset 

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.