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Full-time RV travels in the United States and Canada
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Goodbye Texas - We leave Timberlodge, New Waverly, Texas today. We have enjoyed the warm weather and this park. It is just a small park, with little to offer, but we like the homey feel hear. Every one is friendly and we have really enjoyed the majestic oak trees, the green grass and the cows out in the pasture. Our next stop is just over the border on I-20. We
hooked up, started up the coach and were headed north east through the forest of
north east Texas. We arrived at Shiloh RV Resort in Monroe, LA well before dark. We had a nice site that was easy in and out. We are here for a week. This is a photo to the entrance of Shiloh. We plan on taking a drive down to New Orleans in the car, while we are here. We would have stayed closer, so that it wouldn't be such a long one day drive, but thought that considering we don't know what the conditions are at this time, we will stay here. We usually take a drive around any new area we are in to get our bearings, as to what is in the area and what we want to see. We always find something interesting to explore. April 3rd, - We decided to take our drive to New Orleans today. We headed south down US-165 to I-1 east, I-1 west to I-55 north, to I-20 west back to Monroe and Shiloh RV Resort. It was a long interesting day. I drove the complete route and didn't do much on April 4th. I like driving, but that is a very long drive, especially when it is over unfamiliar roads.
It was later in the day then we thought it would be at this point, so we decided to leave driving right into New Orleans until the next time we are in this area. Instead of taking the off ramp we drove straight through. Even though we did not drive right down into New Orleans, we did see a lot of the damage from Hurricane Katrina along our route. It is very sad to see the amount of debris laying around in peoples yards that has not been cleaned away, even though they are still living in the houses. Hurricane Katrina devastated the whole area. Thousands of lives were changed for ever. Now, 7 months later, things that could be cleared, in lots of areas, remains the same as after the hurricane. We know that everyone went through more then anyone should have to endure. At the same time, I know our front yard, when we owned a stick home, was our responsibility. If tree limbs and debris gathered in our yard, for any reason, such as damaging weather, people driving by in their cars throwing stuff out the window, or any other reason, we did not leave it lying in our front yard. We went out, gathered it up and disposed of it. We did not wait for others to come and do it, we did it ourselves. We know that many were left with nothing. Many lost their lives and my heart bleeds for them. At the same time, I wonder about the healthy, strong people that still live in their homes. Why have they not taken the initiative to go out and clean their own front yards? Many with be upset because I have mentioned the above, but I am sure others have thought it. I was taught that the Lord helps those that help themselves, as a young child, as many others were. Therefore it stands to reason if you are able to help with the clean up and it is in your own back yard, front yard, or neighborhood then go ahead and do it. I have probably said too much, so I will hop off the soap box and put it away. We arrived back at the campground after a long, eye opening day. There were a couple of photos that I had missed today and we will have to take a drive back to get them. I had read read about the train station that was in Gone with the Wind. We had saw it and I wanted a photo of it. We will go back for them another day before we leave. April 6 - We drove back down US-165 and took the photos that I hadn't been able to take on the 4th.
I don't know why, but I feel drawn to this place. It makes me sad to see it in such bad shape. It would be great it someone bought it and restored it as a historical site, or if the state did something to conserve it. There can't be many railroad stations like this left around, with such historical meaning.
April 7th - Six nights at Shiloh, Munroe, LA has past in a flash. Today is moving day and we are heading home. There has been lots of severe weather reported, so we hope that we don't run into any of it. We were on I-20 heading east, early as usual. We were going to go up the Natchez Trace to Memphis and changed our mind, at the last minute. It is a good thing that we didn't go up the Trace to Memphis. We stopped at Country View RV in Hanceville, LA, just off of I-65 at exit 299. It was showing as a Passport America Park, but upon check-in they said that they had left Passport America about three weeks ago. The nightly charge was $20 including tax for 30 amp service. The manager was in a panic, because she had been watching TV and there were tornados all around this area and between Memphis and Nashville. There was a tornado watch in effect when we checked in for this area. Could be an interesting night. We had supper and settled in. We were in bed sawing logs soon after. A couple of hours later the sirens woke us up, then someone was pounding on the door. The manager had came to wake us up and ask us to go to the clubhouse. She continued on to the other RV's suggesting to everyone to take cover at the clubhouse until the danger past. We met some nice people as we sat there for the next two hours waiting for the tornado. Finally, Doug said that he was going back to bed and we both headed back to the coach. We were down in a hollow and hopefully any tornados will pass right over or around us. We made it safely through the night and were back on the road early. We
had a very unusual wake up call. Here is a photo of the guy that woke us
up. He came strutting down past the clubhouse. Waltzed up to the door of the trailer next to us, crowed three times and then strutted over to our door. He pecked around to let us know what he wanted, crowed three times, looking at our door after each crow, then strutted away. I was so busy taking photos, I didn't realize he wanted breakfast, until after he had left. What a mood lifter. He was very amusing. I have a video of him in action, but it would take to long to load here. There had been word that a church had been destroyed by a tornado in Nashville. The tornado had killed 10 and 2 were still missing. How terrible. There was a long back up on I-65 in Nashville. We turned on the CB radio and learned it was due to the tornado. The trip through Nashville was taking about two hours because of the delays. Everyone was moving at a snails pace. One sight we had not planned on seeing came into view. We could not believe our eyes.
We were being watched over again, because if we had followed our original plans, we would have been right in the middle of it all. The rest of the day was uneventful and the miles rolled by. We stayed at Glendale Campground in Elizabethtown, Kentucky for the night of April 8th. The campground is off of the interstate a ways and I don't think that we will make it a regular stop. The roads are all paved leading to the park, but it is a bit further of of the interstate then we normally stay, when we are traveling. We left at our usual time and plan on being in Davison, MI by tonight. It will be a long day of driving, but we know that we can make it. We pulled into Lakeshore, Davison, MI in the early evening. We won't be driving that long again. Doug is exhausted and I am also very tired. We will be here for a couple of days before crossing back into Canada. We always stop for a few days and go to Auburn to visit Doug's cousins Pat and Charlie. We had our visit with Pat and Charlie, rest a day, then started for the border. It is time we were home. We were across the border and on our way to Rock Glen, Arkona, Ontario without any hitches. We were there by 11:30 a.m. and set up in our usual spot up on the hill. We like the view from here. It rained through the night. April showers brings May flowers. We hope! We had a relax day and settled back into our Canadian life. The morning sun is on the side of our main door, so we had the windows and doors open to the spring sunshine. There is nothing like spring air. So fresh and clean, especially in the country with all the flora and fauna coming back to life. April 14 - Doug went to Blenheim to visit family and catch up on everything that had happened while we were away. I had a day to do our income tax and get some other stuff done. Sometimes it is good to be apart for awhile. It doesn't happen very often. April 15 - Doug learned a lot yesterday. Some good, some not so good, but he feels better after seeing that his sister and family are all healthy and doing fine. We drove to Tilbury to see our son and daughter-in-law. We made arrangements to meet tomorrow for breakfast. It is Easter Sunday. See you next week!
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