Back In Texas

 

After we departed from Nashville the boring 200 miles down I-40 to the Memphis area was pretty boring. Although once we hit Memphis, rather than going to the Naval Support Activity on the north side of town we decided to head south on Highway 61 toward Vicksburg.

 

We had thought that trip would be more interesting than the interstate but we were wrong and 61 is a flat piece of highway without any scenic merit whatsoever.

 

Just after leaving Memphis to the south is a large casino area that we thought might be a good place to park for the night. All the major casinos are represented there and right on the Mississippi. Below is the Sam's Town casino growing out of the flat and parched cotton fields.

 

Rather than Sam's, which was very uninteresting, we went across the boulevard to the Hollywood casino. Both places had RV parks for $19.95 a night. The park was pretty new and well maintained but these casinos are obviously on hard times. As I went into the hotel to register it was pretty sad with the lack of patrons and the threadbare carpet and finishings ... I'd give these places along the river about a year before they are totally out of business ... somebody has lost a bunch of money here and that's not the customers.

Off on the morning of the 12th of October and as we finished up Highway 61 we found an Alligator .... no threat though.

For the night we picked another casino, this time the Ameristar one in Vicksburg, again about a 200 mile day and quite comfortable. This is a nice park with many pull thrus and about $30 a night. It's right on I-20 so the transition the next day was easy. Fuel for the last two days was about $2.49 a gallon and we've still averaged about 9mpg.

On the 13th then across the Mighty Mississippi where the water was at a pretty normal looking level and on through to Texas. Roads were very good and the weather perfect. We hadn't had a drop of rain since leaving Ontario and the temps were now rising to the 80's.

And finally, because we are having some engine problems and have been towed before, this was interesting. We have never seen a whole semi complete with trailer being towed down the road ... big tow truck!

We did spend the night in the Rusk KOA where we have been before. I is a really nice park in East Texas and home to a small gauge train that offers dinner trips. If you motor down from Shreveport and are headed to southern Texas this is not a bad place to rest for the night. Site #25 is 100 feet long and offers some spectacular sunsets from your porch.

We are now in Bryan Texas to visit with Bruce's Mom and Rich and Kerry and will be here till the 18th when we get finally up the Dallas area to see Leigh, Brooks, and grandson Ev.

 

Nashville

 

We left the KOA in Horse Cave and motored the easy trip down I-65 on the 8th and landed at the Nashville Shores RV park just to the east of town. While the picture below looks pretty good this combo amusement park is pretty uncared for and not really worth the $60 a nite fee.

 

The real reason we slowed a bit this time in Nashville was to meet Jim Schuster. Jim is the son of the late Dan Schuster who I flew with in Vietnam and was killed on 4 July 1968 when Jim was about 6 months old. Dan and I went through flight school and then we flew many intense missions together and that experience was chronicled in my book "Thundering Death."

 

Jim lives in Mt Juliet and came over to the park by himself as his wife Leslie as well as their son and daughter had other planned obligations. We talked a whole lot and then went over to the BBQ joint at the marina on the premises and then back to our site below. It was like I was talking to his dad from 50  years ago with the same mannerisms, intellect, humor, and drive that bonded us together at the time and made us a great military team. Absolutely super meeting and hopefully we will be able to meet again down the road.

 



 

All the time we were sitting on the patio next to the RV this heron maintained his or her post to keep and eye on the humans ... or maybe the fish/frog population as we weren't that important.

We hadn't planned on staying another night in the Nashville park but plans down the road and the fact that the next day was Sunday let us take a deep breath and pause for a day. We have been through the town many times but have never been off the highway and seen downtown so we decided to take advantage of the neat 70 degree day.

Below is the ATT tower which intentionally resembles a Wi-Fi router ... pretty neat architecture.

We walked by the Ryman Auditorium which saw the beginnings of bluegrass and eventually the entire genre we call country music today.

The core of Nashville is a very tourist oriented place and as we walked we spotted the Jimmy Buffet place on the corner of Broadway and 4th Avenue. Anytime is margarita time. We had some really great quesadillas and the guitarist was first class with some Buffet songs and Texas country stuff and the windows were open to the 70 degree air so our corner window seat was the best in the house.

In the center in the background of the picture below is the Ernest Tubbs guitar shop of country music history ... but these two ...

... I just don't know ...

Heading South

 

Below is a shot of the Port Huron KOA site.

 

 

After we left the park in Port Huron we went down to Mt Clemens to the hospital to get Jo-Anne her allergy shot. To do that we parked the bus in the Walmart parking lot, unhooked the car, and went to get the shot, came back, and then hooked back up and motored south through Detroit.

After Toledo we sought out Highway 23 to the southward toward Columbus Ohio. Just north of Columbus is a very nice park called Cross Roads RV park in Delaware after about a 220 mile day. I didn't get a picture but the pull thru was a nice gravel one at the end of the road and we spent a nice, quiet nite there.

After the Columbus area the next morning we headed south again on 23 and stopped at Portsmouth at a nice rest stop just north of town. Then along 52 towards Maysville along the Ohio River. Below is the bridge across the Ohio at Maysville. Yike.

The cars you see almost take up the whole width. What about our big 9 foot wide bus? We did meet a truck about half way across and VERY slowly passed each other without touching ... touching is bad when passing by each other.

After a really nice drive down 65 toward the Horse Cave area of Kentucky we pulled off the interstate to go into the KOA. Hah. Missed the sign and went down the little road to nowhere where we came to the end and had to turn around.

Thanks to a local motorist on the tiny road and Jo-Anne who had to get out and make sure the big tires stayed on the pavement in the rural U-Turn we made it back to the KOA.

Just after turning around in the farmer's cornfield we saw this tobacco drying  barn. This is about where Jo got back onto the bus and was reminiscent of times past for the Kentucky tobacco industry.

We then arrived at the Horse Cave KOA. We really had some bad premonitions about this place as it wasn't very well rated. And we were told there wouldn't be any sewer hookup ... man. But when we got there, for our $30 we were offered a pull thru with the view below.

And with the setting sun on the beloved CENTRAL time zone off the porch ... it was pretty nice.

Off to Nashville the next day.

Parting Bits

 

As the flamingos are loaded into the Flying Scotsman, ceremoniously being the last to get on board ... and as we have our last walk about our northern property ... silliness and cat included ...

The scarecrow art and contests begin ...

 

 

 ... hey art is art, eh, ... and the mechanic has tuned up the snowplow ....

... the super full moon watches over our departure ...

 

 

... the metal cat reflects back on the last few wonderful months in Barrie ...

... we bade farewell to our friends and family in Canada and headed south again toward Port Huron on the 5th of October and a new adventure toward Columbus Ohio and southward toward Nashville and then enroute to Texas for the winter.