Monday 5-7 Getting Back to Square Dancing

No matter what you do have a happy day!!!!

We started the day by going to the post office and restarting our mail, we also stopped at Walmart to pickup transmission fluid for the Minnie. When we got home Larry treated for bugs around the outside of the house and treated for weeds in the gravel that goes around the house. I did some Sudoku and daily challenges of Solitaire.

We have lived in the Belton/Temple area for five years now and the area is growing rapidly. One of our neighbors owns quite a number of empty lots in our development, he owns two lots to the left of us and two lots to the right, he also owned the three lots behind us. A few months ago he ended up selling the three lots behind us to a family who is going to build a house. While we were on our trip they cleared all the cedar tress off those lots. Of course we knew eventually all these lots would be built on but we sure liked having all the privacy. We decided to try adding mirrored tint to the back windows to lessen the chance of folks being able to see into the house. Larry and I installed the tint on one window to see if we like it or not. The tint is easily removable so if we don't like it we can simply take it off. If we do like it we will tint at least one more window.

Removing air pockets with a squeegee

Squeegeeing the extra water out of the film

The film on the left window and no film on the right window

 

In the evening we went to Sun City and square danced with the Sundancers. We hadn't been square dancing for almost seven weeks so we were a little rusty. Our friends were happy to see us back. We were happy to be back square dancing with friends and to Brad Caldwell. There were six squares during the dance. There was enough people to do an A tip. We had a super time dancing and visiting with friends and Brad.   

Square dancing is fun.

 

Sunday 5-6 Spring Cleaning

It's time to do some spring cleaning

We had a busy day of spring cleaning.

Every year when we get back from our spring trip we end up doing some cleaning. This morning we decided it was time to clean the back porch. While I worked on the railing Larry cleaned the grill.  Next Larry got the power washer out and washed the porch. Then he removed the window screens and used the power washer on the windows. I came behind him and washed them inside and out. I also scrubbed down the chairs and table. 

In the afternoon we cleaned the windows on the front of the house along with power washing the front porch and walkway. We spent over five hours cleaning things up.

Spraying off the windows

Using the concrete head to clean porch

The chairs and table we cleaned

Railing cleaned

Power washing the porch

Cleaning the porch cover

In the evening we finished up the first season of Unforgotten and watched the first episode of the second season. 

Saturday 5-5 A Beautiful Day!!!

A beautiful day

We had a beautiful day. This morning we woke up to a little fog but the sun came out and the temperature got into the 80's.

When we return from one of these extended trips there is always a lot of things we have to catch up on, especially in the spring. Today we started off by going to town to get our mail at the UPS Store, the post office was closed so will go there Monday. Afterwards we went to Walmart where we bought oil and an oil filter for the Minnie. Larry also wants to change the transmission fluid but they didn't have the fluid he needs in the quantity he needs. Then we went to Jack 'n' Jill to get a couple of donuts.

Running errands

After lunch I cleaned the interior of the Minnie. We unloaded the motorcycle off the Minnie and then removed the motorcycle carrier. We installed the carrier onto the truck and took it to our storage unit. We kept the Minnie at the house considering we have a couple things to do to it before taking to storage.

In the evening I finished doing the laundry while we watched a PBS series called Unforgotten. It's a detective series about unsolved crimes. We watched two of the three episodes of the first season. It's slow moving but it's ok. We had a productive day. 

Friday 5-4 A Rainy Day

A rainy day

It rained all day. 

When we got home yesterday it was late and it had been a long day so I waited until today to unload the Minnie. Whenever the rain would slow down I would bring stuff in. Once I had everything unloaded I started doing laundry. I did five loads and I will do two more tomorrow. It's amazing how much laundry is created by two people but I have to take into account that we were on the road for six weeks. While I was doing laundry and unloading the Minnie we started catching up on YouTube videos we follow. It will take us awhile considering we didn't watch any last month. We also watched some music videos. We had a great time relaxing in front of the television. LIFE IS GOOD !!!!!!

Doing laundry

 

Relaxing in front of the television

Wednesday and Thursday Homeward Bound

Starting towards the house

Wednesday May 2, 2018 

The daily temperatures are climbing and it's suppose to get in the mid 80's for the next week or so, the mornings are still nice. We decided it was going to be too hot to do much of anything outdoors so we decided to head for the house.

We woke up early, about 6:00, well, early for me, not so much for Larry. After breakfast we got the Minnie ready to go. We drove over 400 miles, took us almost nine hours. We started out on a two lane highway that went through small towns. As we drove we saw beautiful pastures with horses and cattle. For the last five weeks we have seen the trees in Tennessee getting greener and greener. After about an hour we got off the two lane highways and traveled the rest of the way on a four lane interstate. We drove across Tennessee and into Tunica Mississippi where we stopped at the Hollywood Casino RV Park. We have stayed here a few times in the past.

Scenery along the highway through Tennessee

After checking in and setting the Minnie up for the night I went over to the casino and gambled. I came back to make dinner and then I headed back to the casino. I gambled at both the Resort Casino and Hollywood Casino, they are next door to each other. I ended up breaking even. I had a great time.

Thursday May 3, 2018

We had another long day on the road. We left at 6:30am and got home at 8:30pm. We drove 600 miles through Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and back to Texas. We were planning to stop after 400 miles for the night but it was suppose to rain all day tomorrow so we decided to avoid the rain and drive all the way home today. The drive was all two lane highways that went through small towns. When we were driving out of Mississippi into Arkansas we had to drive over the Mississippi River via a big bridge. As we drove we saw a lot of beautiful trees, farmfields and ranches with horses and cattle. By the time we got home we were tired. It's always good to get away but it great to be home. We had a super trip.

One of the bridges we drove on

Monday and Tuesday Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

Ready for another adventure down the road

Monday April 30, 2018 Camping at Big South Fork at Brandy Creek Campground

We spent three super days at Cades Cove Campground, now it's time to move on. We drove 130 miles and it took us over three hours to get to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. It is a beautiful park with hiking trails and the Big South Fork River to kayak on. The trails are for hikers, bikers and horses. The horses and bikers alternate days for use. Big South Fork is located in both Tennessee and Kentucky. The campground we're at is Brandy Creek which is in Tennessee.

When we arrived at Brandy Creek we stopped at the gate to get a campsite. The gentleman told us to drive around and find a site and then come back. We found a spot and paid for a couple of nights. Then we went to the visitor center to get a hiking trail map. We spent the rest of the day relaxing inside under the air conditioner considering it was in the 80's. We had a nice day.

Having a grand time hiking

Tuesday May 1, 2018 Hiking Oscar Blevins Farm Trail

We woke up to a morning temperature in the 50's. We had breakfast and then we hiked the Oscar Blevins Farm Loop Trail, its was an easy trail to hike. The trail took us through trees, over Brandy Creek and by beautiful rock cliffs. The Oscar Blevins Farm was very big and well maintained. The original farmhouse was replaced by a modern one in the 1950's. We saw the 1950's cabin, 1950 smokehouse, the original cabin that was expanded in 1870, large frame barn built in 1963 and 1870 Log corn crib. The barn is still being used to store hay by the park service. There were two horses and a cat living on the farm owned by the park but we didn't see them. As we hiked back we got off the hiking trail and got on to the bike trail for a little bit. Then we got back on the hiking trail, that took us through gorgeous rock cliffs. As we hiked by the cliffs the trail went behind a waterfall. Then we climbed a wooden staircase to more rock cliffs. When we were crossing over the horse trail we saw three ladies horseback riding. We had a gorgeous hike.

Oscar Blevins 1963 cabin

Big wooden barn still being used to store hay

Standing in a rock cave

The waterfall we hiked behind

Wooden staircase on trail

Hiking over Brandy Creek by a bridge

By the time we got back to our campsite it was starting to get warm, good thing we hike in the morning. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the campground. We had a super day.   

    

4-27-18 to 4-29-18 Three Outstanding Days at Cades Cove

Camping at Cades Cove Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Once again we have been without cell phone service or internet for the past three days.


Friday 4-27 Going Back to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee 

We woke up to drizzle and low clouds but it was time to move on. Today we drove from Cherokee to Cades Cove Campground, about 55 miles. It took us a few hours consider the road wound through the mountain and at times the turns were very tight. We took the same two lane road that we had taken on the motorcycle the other day to Gatlinburg. We drove through a few tunnels and saw great vistas of the mountains. At places we saw a beautiful mountain river that ran right next to the road. The river had a lot of current and rapids that kayakers would enjoy. We had rain for the last few day so there were a lot of small water falls along side the road. We didn’t go all the way to Gatlinburg, we turned left at Sugarlands Visitor Center. This road was also a two lane curvy road, at places there were rock cliffs that came over the road. We drove in fog part of the way. As we were driving we saw deer and wild turkeys. We stopped once because we saw a bear, it was on a hill right next to the road. This was so cool. After taking pictures we continued to Cades Cove Campground. The drive was spectacular.

Driving in the fog to Cades Cove

 

Bear on the side of the road

 A tunnel we drove through

When we got to the campground we stopped at the office, they told us to find a site and then come back to pay. There were two loops, one you can run a generator and the other one was generator free. Our site was in the loop that allows generator. We setup the Minnie and then went over to pay. This campground has a park store with trinkets and a snack bar. 

When we got back to the site we barbecued burgers for lunch. Then we went on a motorcycle ride. We drove the Cades Cove Loop, it is 11 miles long on a one way road. The loop is a scenic drive with different places to stop, there are old churches, old homesteads and hiking trails to falls. As we drove the loop we saw wild turkeys and eight black bears. There was a bear jam at one place so we decided to stop. We were glad we did because we saw a mama bear and her three cubs. The park rangers were directing traffic and were making sure people stayed far enough away from the bears. The ranger that was where the bears were told us that the cubs were yearlings. We watched her and her cubs for a long time until they crossed the road and climbed the hill. This was very exciting. As we were walking back to the motorcycle we decided to walk to the church up the road. It was the Missionary Baptist Church that was built in 1839. It was a pretty church and had a nice graveyard on the side. Some of the graves were very old, others were newer and some didn’t have dates on them. We had a super ride on the loop.

Mama bear and her three cubs

 

The three cubs crossing the street to get back to mama

The Missionary Baptist Church built in 1839

After our ride we relaxed on our chairs and enjoyed our campsite. After dinner we went for a walk around the campground to see where the trailhead was located. Larry basically knew where it was but there wasn’t a way to get to it from the campground without walking the road because of the river. We found it in the day area. As we were walking around the day area we decided to go to the stables. We were walking the road and saw a few deer, in fact they were very close to us. One crossed the road so the other two decided to follow. It was a busy road and the second one that went across was lucky it didn’t get hit, a truck stopped just in time. The driver waited for the third one to get across. We walked around the stables. It was a very nice facility. Then we went back to our campsite. We had an outstanding day. 

The creek that runs between the day area and the campground

A couple of deer grazing in the campground

 

Saturday 4-28 Hiking at Cades Cove

We woke up to temperature in the 40’s, a great temperature for a hike. After having breakfast we went on a six mile hike. We started our hike at the trailhead across the street from the stables. Before hiking we walked by the stables. They had a lot of their horses saddled waiting for people to go horse back riding and a couple of them harnessed with buggies for people to go for a ride. In the field where they had hay for the horses we saw a few wild turkeys and a couple of deer. 

Waiting to take people for a ride

 

We took the Indian Grave Gap Trail, it was a moderate trail. We had to cross over the creek ten different times, there were no bridges so we had to walk through the creeks on rocks. The trail took us up the mountainside. There were lots of roots and rocks in the trail so you had to be careful. Many of the trails throughout the Great Smoky Mountains were made from old roads and railroad tracks. We had a pleasant surprise while hiking, we hiked to John Oliver's Place. John Oliver bought the land in 1826 and it was in the family for over 100 years until the park was established. It was a beautiful cabin. After hiking three miles we turned around and headed back. As we were hiking back we started seeing people hiking the trail. A few people told us they saw a bear so Larry was on the lookout for the bear. He found it but it was hard to see considering it was up on the hill behind a fallen tree. We had an outstanding hike.

Larry crossing over the creeks via rocks

John Oliver cabin built 1826

W crossed creeks 20 times

By the time we got back to our campsite it was lunchtime,  we rested for a little while before having lunch. I walked over to the store and bought nachos. They weren’t very good but it was something different. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the campsite and walked around the campground a couple of times. The campground was very busy, people were enjoying the park in both the campground and day area. What a super day.  

Sunday 4-29 Rich Mountain Loop Trail

We started the day out by hiking another six and a half miles. This time when we got to the trailhead we took the trail to the right instead of left. We hiked 2.2 miles of Rich Mountain Loop Trail, where it branches off to other trails and then we turned around and came back. The terrain was basically the same as yesterday except a little steeper. We crossed over the creek twice both ways. As we were hiking we stopped occasionally to look at the view of the mountains, there was a lot of trees so it was hard to get a good picture of the views. The views were very nice, you can see the trees changing color as you looked up the hill. At the beginning of the hike we saw a great waterfall. We were glad to have hiked up hill at the beginning of the hike instead of at the end. We saw a group of five guys and four couples hiking the trail. The hike was very peaceful. 

Waterfall along the trail

Rich Mountain Trail

A view of the mountains from the trail

By the time we got back we were tired so we spent the rest of the day sitting in our chairs and enjoying our site. I should rephrase this Larry sat in his chair and I sat inside because it was a little nippy outside. After dinner we walked around the campground. We had another gorgeous day.