Sutton, WV: Mountain Lakes Region of West Virginia

Last night we were unsure if we would spend a day in Lexington, Kentucky or keep travelling towards our destination in Maryland. This morning we decided to split the remaining distance into two easy days, each about 5 hours in length.

That brought us to Sutton, West Virginia, located in the heart of West Virginia’s Mountain Lakes Region. West Virginia has over 20,000 miles (that’s not a typo, 20,000 miles) of waterways: rivers, creeks, streams, etc.

The Army Corps of Engineers has built a number of dams in this area creating some beautiful lakes. Mountain lakes are unlike any other; lots of twists and turn, each vista more impressive than the last, especially when seen from the water. And West Virginia is known for it’s outdoor activities. Their Motto: West Virginia, Wild & Wonderful.

We are in one of the nicest KOA’s I’ve seen, called Flatwoods KOA. If you come here request a space in the woods. The sites are on tops of some hills and nicely integrated into the woodlands. Otherwise you’ll end up in a typical ‘open field’ RV park.

We were originally assigned a space in the ‘open field’ however when we went for a walk we found these terrific wooded sites. As soon as we arrived back at the RV I started packing up the RV while Mary Lynn called the office; 15 minutes later our RV was once again leveled, slides out, and connections made.

Definitely worth the time (and the small amount of effort). A shaded site with a beautiful breeze and a great view to boot.

Our agent is having an open house at our Maryland house that is up for sale. We plan to arrive there after the open house is completed so we’ll get to sleep late and enjoy a leisurely morning before driving about 5 hours.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: West Virgina,KOA,Sutton,Flatwoods,Lexington,Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

 

Lexington, Kentucky & the surrounding communities is the self proclaimed Horse Capitol of the World, and I believe it. Unbelievably beautiful pastures meticulously maintained and divided by mile upon mile of fencing.

We left Poplar Bluff, Missouri this morning about half an hour later than we had planned.

I’m not going to mention any names but someone left her purse at the restaurant last night. I’ll leave you guessing as to whom I’m talking about…..

No big deal, it did give me a chance to install the new sensors for our TPMS (Tire Pressure Management System) which monitor the tire pressure and temperature of the RV’s tires. Cool little devices attach to the end of your valve stem and send their data wirelessly to a small receiver I mounted on the dash.

Lets me know the minute we have any trouble with the tires. Hopefully these new sensors work better than the last ones, which gave false trouble signals so frequently I had to turn the system off. We’ll see.

We are staying a 1200 acre Horse Farm operated by the state that includes an RV park. Nice huh? Only $24/night for water and electricity; no septic connection at the site. Have to hit the septic dump on the way out.

Not sure if we are leaving tomorrow or on Saturday. Both Mary Lynn and I are tired from a couple of long days of driving. No hurry to get to Maryland before Monday so we might stay here in Lexington for another day. We’ll decide tomorrow am.

I would like to stay and get some horse pictures; couldn’t get close to any tonight but there is always tomorrow.

See Ya!

 

Technorati Tags: Lexington,Kentucky,horses,TPMS,Poplar Bluff

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Family Celebrations

Mary Lynn and I had a great time visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Christopher just started at a new church as the Youth Minister. He has doubled attendance at the youth events in just a few short months so both he and the leadership team are excited about him joining Faith Church.

MLA & I are always happy to see Christopher and Rachael however this time we got to attend a Sunday service at his new church. Wow -- what a great service and the pastor is terrific.

Arriving in Tulsa on Friday, we had originally planned to leave on Monday am however Rachael's birthday was on Tuesday so we accepted the kids invitation to Rachael’s party. Just the family and a few close friends but it was a lot of fun. Rachael’s sister Tara has three girls and a baby boy who just turned 5 months.

The girls went swimming (or splashing might be a better term) in a giant inflatable that had three spray nozzles. It was warm outside but that water was ice cold. They didn’t mind as you can see from the pictures. They would get wet and then go dry off to get warm. As soon as they had warmed up a bit they were back in the ‘splash’. Too funny – they even named one of the areas as their hot tub.

Sure beats running through the lawn sprinkler like we used to do when I was young…

Christopher and I also spent some time shooting some pictures of flowers and I shoot some photos of Christopher & Rachael down by the River Walk Park.

All in all another fantastic visit in Tulsa. Sad to leave knowing we will not see them until Scott’s wedding in September.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Oklahoma,Christopher,Rachael,Birthday,Inflatible,Splash,CJ,Sophia,Isabella

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Flower Power

Just a few photo’s of flowers. Christopher and I were playing around with different settings and flashes to see what produced the best results. Here are some of my favorites that I shot (maybe CDA will donate a pic or two…)

 

 

Technorati Tags: Flowers,Christopher,Tulsa

Amarillo Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma: Toll Roads Are How Much????

I going to rant & rave in just a minute – first I need to cool off a little.

We left Amarillo, TX this am knowing we had a seven hour drive ahead of us before we would arrive in Tulsa. Down the road from our campground in Amarillo was a place that I had seen on TV and in pictures but had never seen in person. I’m just not sure what to call it. Some guy ‘planted’ ten Cadillac's in a field just off of I-40. People come and bring cans of spray paint with them and they ‘decorate’ the Cadillac's. Some people cal it interactive art; I just call it fun and weird  all at the same time. Definitely worth seeing though… even the President thinks its cool…

Google maps said it would take about six hours and I usually add 30 minutes if we need diesel and another 30 minutes for lunch/pit stops.

We can only buy diesel at truck stops. Not because you can’t buy diesel at normal gas stations (you can at many of them) and not because it’s better diesel (although with all of their volume for trucks they do a better job at keeping water out of the storage tanks). Nor is it because you get a better price at truck stops (although usually you do get it for a few cents cheaper.

Nope, the reason we MUST get our diesel at truck stops is because we don’t fit in normal gas stations. Our motor home is 38 feet long plus the motorcycle carrier plus the tow bar plus the CR-V. All in all it brings us in around 62 feet in length. But the real kicker is the opening for adding fuel is located on the very back of the RV. I have to pull all they way thru the pumping area until the back of the RV is even with the fuel hose.

Most stations do not have enough room for me to pull through and then still be able to make a turn back to the roadway. Poor design if you ask me (or even if you don’t ask I’ll still tell you it’s a poor design).

That said we try to be careful not to hold up any truckers. After all, they are working and usually get paid by the mile. So today, some trucker pumps his diesel and then goes inside and doesn’t return for over 20 minutes. Usually, after you pump, most people pull their rig up far enough to let the next person pump their fuel while the first party goes inside and pays, etc.

Not this guy. I try not to buy into stereotypes (especially the obvious ones) however I couldn’t help notice this rude and inconsiderate guy’s truck had NJ plates. I’m just saying….

I guess you thought I had started my ranting and raving however that was just a pet peeve.

My real rant is about toll roads and the state of Oklahoma. Just before you get to Oklahoma City we had to get on a toll way that would take us the last 70 miles to Tulsa. And how much do you pay for the privilege of driving on this road? How about just under $15! And at the first of three toll booths we had to come up with $2.30 in exact change since the booth is unattended.

Of course my fee with an RV towing a car was 2X what a car would pay. But still, even $7.50 is outrageous, especially is you are one of the poor citizens of OK who are forced to pay this on a regular basis. To be fair, the road is in much better shape than the other highways/interstates that I’ve driven on in OK.

Oh well, I’m done. I’m sure the elected officials here in OK have only the best interest of their citizens at heart. In fact, I’ll bet as soon as the road is paid for they will lower the tolls….

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Amarillo,Texas,Cadallac's,Tulsa,Oklahoma,Toll Roads,Tolls