Mammoth Cave National Park Kentucky

 

27-29 Aug

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A Grand, Gloomy and Peculiar Place Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world's longest known cave system, with more than 390 miles explored. Early guide Stephen Bishop called the cave a "grand, gloomy and peculiar place," but its vast chambers and complex labyrinths have earned its name—Mammoth.

First time we meet Chuck and Carol was in Upper Michigan on one of the falls trails,after a short time talking with them they invited us to call them when we will be in their area close to Mammoth Cave and so we meet them again and had a fantastic 3 days together.

They have invited us to their house for dinner what turned out to be an overnight thing,they live in a forest and the place is just beautiful, what impressed us was the fact that all the renovations were done by Chuck&Carol and it took them 4 years to bring it to what it is today.

The next 2 days we spent together shopping,visiting the Cave and hiking in the N.P,after the cave visit we invited them for an Israeli dinner that included Humus,Thini,Falafel and salad.

Chuck& Carol-Thanks for sharing time with us hope to meet you guys again..

The cave was somehow disappointing,it is large and impressive but dry and nothing to be compared with other Caves we saw before

 

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park-Kentucky

25-26 August.

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Beautiful Hwy I-75 took us to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park also known as NIAGARA OF THE SOUTH.

The old C.G in the park is not ready for big rigs,all sites are unlevelled and close to each other,we managed to park along 3 sites ,I had to put 3 boards under the right wheels and raise the front quite a bit just to level the 5W .

After parking the rig we put it behind us and enjoyed the stay in the park .

There are few hikes in the park including 2 we took,one short one to the Cumberland Falls that in a small scale does remind Niagara falls and although it was  August the Falls were in full swing.

The second hike (2 Miles) was to the beautiful Eagle Falls ,huge rocks and good vistas were all along the trail ,when reached we could walk behind the falls and wet our feet at the bottom .

We were surprised to be the only one on the trail,but no complain here… .

Natural Bridge&Red River Gorge Kentucky

22-24 Aug

Our next stop in Kentucky was a Aldersgate Camp & Retreat www.aldersgatecamp.org

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in Ravenna just 30 miles from Natural Bridge that is a part of the Daniel Boone forest  ,  a Passport America member will pay 12$ a day.

It is a big retreat camp nestled in a beautiful green valley , the C.G has only 10 concrete pads on grass enough for a large trailer and the truck ,all of them have full hook ups ,good space between the sites ,fire rings & free wood and a picnic table.

The rest of the camp holds,a swimming pool,huge playgrounds,animal farm with goats,lams,chickens,ducks and horses-all rooming freely around.

We had the whole C.G for ourselves for 3 nights ,enjoyed the tranquility and the morning wake up by the rooster.

From Ravenna we took of with the truck to Natural Bridge using country small curly and hilly roads ,the Natural Bridge offers hikes to beautiful vistas and  to the  top of the Bridge and picnic areas.

We hiked for 4 hours all over the place covering 4 miles all together.

After a short snack we took of to the Red River Gorge on Hwy 175& Hwy 77 also known as America’s Byway,all along this route there are parking spots to short hikes to vistas and amazing rocks.

We ended the day driving back to the C.G through a narrow Nada Tunnel made by the railroad ,do not try this with a trailer….

At the C.G we started a campfire roasted some eggplants on it till the skin became brownish,when on the plate we opened the eggplants and added cold THINI (Sesame seeds butter,parsley, cilantro and garlic) on –the taste was just FANTASTIC, do not forget the beer…..That is called LIFE.

Danville KY

20-21 Aug

Danville is famous because a Pioneer Playhouse  is operating at town,this Playhouse is the oldest outdoor theater from recycled materials dating back centuries,every brick,beam and doorknob whispers stories from the past.

Pioneer Playhouse is one of the last remaining summer stock theaters left in America.

There is a C.G with electrical and water hook-ups on the premises what makes the visit to the Playhouse and a show much easier.

The comedy named Kosher Lutherans is about a young Jewish family desperately wanting to adopt an infant from an Iowa farm girl whose dogmatic dad only like Lutherans ,so the couple poses to be Lutherans with a lot of curve balls and humour.

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But this was not our main reason for stopping in Danville,we meet with two great couples who live in town,they are a son and daughter of a dear old friend of ours and they spoiled us rotten during these 2 days.

We also had an opportunity to meet and spend time with one of the writer's and actor of the play we saw and we enjoyed it very much.

Kentucky Horse Park

18-19 August.

The Kentucky Horse Park is divided into 3 sections: Park, completion area and a campground all in vast green meadows.

To get a site in the C.G you have to reserve sometimes a year ahead, as we cannot /do not know when we will hit this place we just drove in the C.G and got yourselves a site with only electric hook-ups on the grass and with a lot of space around us (they call it “primitive with electric”),it was just fine with us as the water and sewer station was close by and easy in/out, it also was very close to the Park but you have to use the truck.

This horse “city” is a dream place for horse lovers, stables, race treks, museums, horse cleaning stations, food stands, saddle and jockey clothing all over the place- the place is a LIVE from 8am till the last show/completion.

We sat in the crowd and watched the “Hunters”, the “Jumpers” and the jockeys some of them young as 11 years old and enjoyed every minute.

South Indiana

13 Aug-17 Aug

We & the Padgett’s took off towards Bedford Indiana with two 5W and camped for 5 nights in Passport America Bedford’s C.G.

It has full hook ups,swimming pool and it is located perfectly for all side trips in South Indiana.

For 4 days we have explored Amish farm land,lakes,small villages,State Parks, the longest covered bridge in the USA and mostly had enjoyed each others company.

We picnicked,hiked and had all our meals together ,shared stories ,laughs and felt like we know each other for decades (not decades but for a long time..)

It sure was one of the peaks of our travels,hoping that one day we will meet Judy & Lee again.

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Greentown Indiana

8 Aug-12 Aug

3 years ago I hooked up with Lee Padgett from Indiana on the RV forum and meet him this year for the first time.

Lee and Judy live in a small quite village and hour North of Indianapolis and it was a great opportunity for us to meet them after “talking” with them through the internet (what would we do without it…)

They are a great couple and made us instantly feel at home ,Judy is a “wonder women” she cannot sit still for more than a few moments,cooking,painting windows and making laundry all in the same time is not to much for her,and Lee has “golden hands” everything from home repairs to replacing the RV roof and more.

We are off together tomorrow to Monroe Lake in South Indiana for 5 days each one with his 5W.

The best THINGS are not THINGS…one of the "things" is FREINDSHIP,thank you Lee and Judy for everything.

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Wawasee Indiana

7August
We moved from the Rally C.G to the factory RV spot just to be close to the service center and be first to go in on Monday and be done with all the repairs on the same day.
We barely hooked up and it started to pore rain like there is no tomorrow, I mean the skies just opened up and let the flood come down.
As it was already noon a hot soup was served by Chef Shula together with a glass of wine was just the right thing in the right place.
Sitting in the trailer eating and drinking with the curtains open looking out as the rain falls down is a nice sight that I am sure many of you experienced.
By the time we finished eating the skies cleared and sunbeams emerged through the clouds, in no time we were in the truck for a short drive to Wawasee ,a well known lake area.
The place is loaded with sail boats, boat houses and it seems that if you do not own one you do not belong there.
On the way back we experienced a beautiful sunset as you can see from the pictures.

Crossroads Rally –Shipshewana Indiana

5Aug-7Aug.
Although we own a Crossroads product for the last 6 years it was our first rally and it was just a blast.
It was great putting faces together with the names from now on it will be much easier now to relate.
The rally was organized very well, the food was great and so were the mingling and the games.
We made lots of friends and we do hope to see them down the road one day.
After the rally we took off to the factory for some repairs and meet the C.R people that made us feel at home and we thank them for it.
It is not enough to have a good product it must be followed by a good service and we feel that we have them both.

Howe- North Indiana
2Aug-4Aug
Crossroads is a trailer manufacturer based in North Indiana, they are holding a rally once a year and this year the timing was perfect for us and we decided for the first time to attend it.
The rally will take place between 5Aug-7Aug in Shipshewana Indiana close to the factory, we arrived to Howe Indiana (just 12 Miles from Shipshewana) on the 2nd of August to explore the area before the rally.
Shipshewana is located in the center of a large Amish community, buggies, Amish people, Amish beautiful farms and Amish furniture business are all over the place.
They are different from ones we meet in Minnesota and Upstate NY that are more to themselves and do not integrate into the general society.
We walked the city that is a huge tourist trap but very clean and nice, attended a show in the local theater that showed a musical play called “The Confession”, based on a book telling a story of an Amish girl that wants to leave the faith-it was very good.
The next day we took a Heritage drive to Topeka-Goshen-Elkhart and back, we passed through many Amish farms and vast country and saw many happy Amish kids playing around.
On the way back we visited the Amish-Mennonite Museum and learned about the difference between the groups-it was fascinating.

Decatur Michigan
31July-1Aug
We crossed into Michigan USA from Ontario on 5 July and since then we have traveled along ether the Superior Lake or the Michigan Lake and what a great route it was, by the way the Superior Lake is larger than Israel…so imagine what went through our minds while traveling along the coast.
Today was the first time we left lake shores and headed east towards Decatur just south west of Kalamazoo.
The GPS took us through small country roads and I had to stop twice to make sure that it is taking us in the right direction to a C.G in Decatur, it looks like it is at the end of the world and then to the right…but what a great spot it was.
The C.G is located on the “lake on the woods” ,has all the hook-ups,private beach ,great specious sites, children playground and WiFi close to the office.
It was the best time to do lundary, take a swim, read a book and make plans for the rest of our lives, we only have to think how to use the time that is left in the best possible way…
We are on the way to Crossroads Rally in Shipshewana Indiana and this is our last stop in Michigan and concludes almost a whole beautiful month in UP/West Michigan.