Florida Trip with Barbara and Frank

For a few years Elizabeth has been talking to her sisters Barbara and Anna Maria about taking a trip to Florida together.  We decided that this would be the year to do it if we could get our Covid vaccines in time.  We got vaccinated in early March so by the end of March we were ready to go.  Unfortunately, Jim and Anna Maria were unable to go so it came down to Barbara and Frank going with us.  They flew into Dallas on March 23 and we picked them up at the airport.  On March 24 it was pouring rain and flooding so we waited one more day and left in the RV together on March 25.  We drove to Vicksburg, MS where we stayed the first night at the Ameristar RV Park.  Frank rented a car in Vicksburg, so they followed the RV in their car from that point on and we camped in the RV and used the car for local trips.

At Vicksburg we visited the National Military Park where some significant Civil War battles were fought.  We also went to the USS Cairo Museum which houses a restored ironclad ship from the Civil War...very cool!  

Looking out toward the Mississippi River
from the bluffs in Vicksburg

Liz & I with Barbara and Frank

Vicksburg Battlefield

Monument on Vicksburg Battlefield

USS Cairo Museum

USS Cairo Ironclad War Ship

From there we headed east and spent the night in Spanish Fort, AL.  The next day we drove to Fort Pickens campground in Florida where we had reservations for the next 2 nights.  This campground is situated in a national seashore and is next to the original Fort Pickens, a Civil War era military fort.  We had a great time hanging out on the beach and exploring the old fort.

Campsite at Fort Pickens

Scooter ride

Night time campfire

Liz, Barbara and Frank on the beach at Ft Pickens

Jelly Fish

Exploring the old Fort Pickens

Sandcastles on the beach

On March 29 we left Fort Pickens and drove to Juniper Springs in central Florida.  This is a campground with a natural spring surrounded by lush foliage.  We stayed here 2 nights.  On the first day we drove to St Augustine, FL, the oldest settlement in the U.S. and it also has a fort called Castillo de San Marcos.  It was settled by the Spanish in 1565.  We spent the day exploring the city and the Castillo.

Campsite at Juniper Springs

Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine

Exploring the Castillo

Frank with his new friend

Roadside stop for Milkshakes

On March 31 we left Juniper Springs heading south toward Miami and the Everglades.  We stopped along the way at Blue Springs State Park which is famous for manatees but they were not around when we visited.  

Blue Springs State Park

We spent that night in Vero Beach at Walmart parking lot.  On April 1 we headed south again and arrived at Long Pine Key campground in the Everglades.  This is where the RV stayed for the rest of our time with Barbara and Frank.  On the day we arrived we checked out the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades Park which is a boardwalk that takes you into the Everglades bird and alligator habitat. 

Alligator greeting at the Everglades

On the next day we drove to Flamingo which is at the southern end of the Everglades.  Here we did see some manatees as well as alligators and crocodiles. 

 

Osprey nest near Flamingo

Vultures pecking out the rubber lining of a car
in the parking lot

Some kind of bird

On April 3 we drove to the northern side of the Everglades and took an airboat tour that took us right on top of the flowing river that is the Everglades.  It was pretty cool. 

Air Boat ride through the Everglades

All Aboard

Barbara getting too brave

Alligator yawning

The next day we drove out to Key Largo and rented bikes.  We biked 20 miles on a path that follows the highway through the keys.  

Liz ready to bike through the Keys

Me too!

On the Trail

Sights along the bike trail

Happy ending

On April 5 we drove to Key West where we had a rooms booked at The Grand Guest House. We checked into our hotel, had lunch at Key West Fish and Chips (excellent), and explored the city.  That evening we watched the sunset at Mallory Square and had a great dinner of Cuban sandwiches.  

Lunch at Key West Fish & Chips

Here we are at Mallory Square on Key West

Entertainment at Mallory Square

Sunset from the Square

The next day we explored the city some more and then headed back to our camp at Long Pine Key.

The girls found a botanical garden on Key West

Back at our campsite in Long Pine Key

On March 7 Barbara and Frank drove to the airport and hopped on a plane for home.  Liz and I stayed 2 more nights at Long Pine Key campground.  We took the scooter back down to Flamingo to do some more hiking and exploring.  

On April 9 we left the Everglades and stayed at the Cracker Barrel in Homstead.  The next day we drove the RV to the west coast of Florida and stayed at the Collier-Seminole State Park for 2 nights.  This campground is near Marco Island so we spent a day exploring the island.  Next day we drove north and stayed at a Cracker Barrel near Ft Myers.   On April 13 we drove further north to Lake Manatee State Park where we stayed for 2 nights.  On April 14 we made a trip on the scooter out to Anna Maria Island, a place we had visited before with the Graves.  

Anna Maria Island

Next day we drove to Gainsville where we stayed at a Cracker Barrel for the night.  On April 16 we headed west where we arrived at the Spanish Fort Sam's Club.  Next day we continued west and to the Davis Bayou Campground in Mississippi (a new place for us) where we stayed for 2 nights.  During our day there we explored the area including Ocean Springs which is an old ocean front resort town.

Pretty church at Ocean Springs

From there we headed to Louisiana where we stayed at the Cracker Barrel near Baton Rouge.  On April 20 we drove north to the town of Natchez Mississippi and explored the town.  Natchez is full of antebellum history and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the town.

Church in downtown Natchez

Old Plantation House in Natchez

Looking down the Mississippi from the
Natchez Visitor Center

We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot and drove up the Natchez Trace toward Vicksburg the next day.  

Mount Locust Stand on the Natchez Trace

We stayed in the Kroger parking lot that night and explored Vicksburg on the scooter the next morning.  

Steamship docked at Vicksburg

That afternoon we drove west and arrived at the Monroe, LA Sam's Club for the night.

On April 23 we continued our trip home via a different route than we usually take.  We took I 20 toward Shreveport but got off at Ruston and headed north west toward Homer, LA on Hwy 146.  We went through Plain Dealing, Hosston, and Vivian in Louisiana before heading up to Atlanta, TX for the night.  From there we arrived home on April 24th.  

We never get tired of visiting Florida, especially with family and friends.  Can't wait to do it again.

Kerrville-Schreiner Park

 We decided to do a Texas getaway to break the winter cabin fever so we packed up the RV and drove to Kerrville,TX on January 30, 2021.  The town has a cool park with campsites and hiking trails and is within about 1 hour drive from our kids in San Antonio, so we went down on a Saturday and invited the kids to join us.  We were still in the middle of the Covid pandemic and Topher was worried about exposing us because he works daily with Covid patients in the ICU and ER and the vaccines were not yet available for us, so he brought his kids over Saturday morning and we stayed outside and wore masks.  They left in the early afternoon and then the Keetons and McLaughlins came for the afternoon and stayed till evening.  We had a great time hiking, taking the kids on the scooter, and roasting marshmallows on the fire.

Scooter Rides at Kerrville-Schreiner Park with Reayen

Elynn on the Scooter

Ryder dreams of driving the scooter

The next day Liz and I did some hiking in the park and explored Kerrville on the scooter and really liked the town.  On February 2 we headed for home going through Fredericksburg and checking out lake house possibilities on Buchanan Lake (pass).  We spent that night at a rest stop that borders an animal safari near Evant, TX.  We woke up in the morning to an Emu looking at us from the other side of the fence.

Emu sighting next to our rest stop campsite

Trip to Queen Wilhelmina State Park

We have been to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas and always wanted to go back and explore more, so this December we decided to do it again.  We left on December 8th and took the RV to a campground near Cedar Lake in Arkansas.  One our first day there we took the scooter on a scenic drive along the Skyline Drive and stopped at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge.  On the second day we took a hike around Cedar Lake and enjoyed the winter views.

Cedar Lake

Hiking around the lake

Queene Wilhelmina Lodge

Riding the scooter on the Skyline Drive

On Friday, December 11th we headed for home through Broken Bow, OK and arrived home that evening to jump into preparations for Christmas.

Trip to Lake Texoma and the Wichita Mountains

My favorite place for hiking within 3 hours of Dallas is the Wichita Mountain range in Oklahoma.  In November we decided to take a trip there and stop at Lake Texoma for a few nights along the way.

We left on November 12, 2020 and stayed 3 nights at Juniper Point West campground on Lake Texoma.  One the first day there we took the hike along the Cross Timbers Trail that follows the lake.  The second day we explored the local area on the scooter.  We had good weather and a very enjoyable time.

Liz and I on the Cross Timbers Trail

Inlet along the trail

On November 15 we drove to Doris Campground in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma where we spent 3 more nights.  On the first day we explored the Holy City (a re-creation of key Jerusalem sites at the time of Christ), Mount Scott Observation Area (gives of view of surrounding area from the top of Mount Scott), the Parallel Forest and the Jed Johnson Lake and Tower.  The Parallel Forest consists of about 20,000 red cedars planted 6 feet apart in every direction and was planted in the 1930's to counteract the dust bowl.  The tower was built in 1941 by the CCC as a fire watch station.

Jed Johnson Tower

Parallel Forest

Lake Jed Johnson

The next day we explored the Post Creek area and did some hiking on the Elk Mountain Trail.  The trail winds through some narrow red rock passages that reminded us of Lake Powell.

Parking near the Elk Mountain Trail Head

On the trail

Scenic stop along the trail

We returned home on November 18 after a great time in the outdoors.  We really appreciated the scooter that gave us much more mobility than we have ever had when we have previously visited the Wichita Mountains.

Smokey Mountains & Shenandoah National Parks

We have always wanted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in Smokey Mountains National Park and the the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park so this fall we decided to do it.  We left Dallas on Sept 17th and drove to Greenville, MS for the night.  The next day we picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway near Mathiston, MS and stayed the night at the campground on Davis Lake.  On Sept 19th we drove the rest of the Natchez Trace to the Nashville end where we picked up I40 heading east.  We stayed the night at the Nashville Welcome Center.  Continuing on I40 we spent the next night at the Knoxville Sams Club.

On Monday, Sept 21st, we drove through Smokey Mountain National Park to our campsite in the  park at Smokemont.

Campsite at Smokemont in Smokey Mts NP

We spent 2 days in Smokey Mountains NP.  On the first day we took a hike to an overlook near our campground and drove the scooter for a ways down the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The second day I took the scooter to Cades Cove at the other end of the Park.  I came back to pick up Liz and we went together to Clingmans Dome to get an amazing view of the Smokey Mountains.

Hike from Smokemont campground

Clingmans Dome overlook

View from the top

On Sept 24th we left Smokey Mountains and drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Julian Price campground.  We stayed there for 3 nights making trips up and down the Parkway on the scooter each day.  On Sept 26 we went to Linville Falls and hiked to the falls and cascades on the river.

Upper Linville falls

Linville falls gorge

Lower Linville falls

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway overlook

On Sunday we left Julian campground and headed to Roanoke,VA where we spent to night at Sam's Club.  On Sept 29th we went back on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Peaks of Otter Campground.  When we got to the campground we knew a storm was coming so we quickly unloaded the scooter and took a ride down the  parkway that afternoon.  On the way back the storm caught up with us and we arrived back at the campsite in a rainstorm thoroughly drenched.  We warmed ourselves up in the motorhome and rode out the storm which lasted the entire next day.

On Sept 30th we left Peaks of Otter and headed to Big Meadows campground on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.  On our way we stopped at a laundromat to do our laundry.  At Big Meadows we met up with our good friends the Graves who drove over from their house in Williamsburg, VA.  We stayed at Big Meadows 4 nights doing day trips to see the local sights and taking the local hikes.  The first day Robert, Liz and I hiked the Dark Hallow Falls loop trail.  It was about a 5 mile round trip along some beautiful cascading streams.

Dark Hallow Falls Trail

Skyline Drive overlook with out friends the Graves

Me with my "bandana" for quick masking

Liz shopping at a local produce stand

On Sunday Oct 4th the Graves left and we headed for home.  We spent the first night in Charleston, WV Sams Club, the second night north of Nashville at the welcome center.  After Nashville we picked up the Natchez Trace and spent the next two nights at Davis Lake, MS campground where we explored the area and the Trace on the scooter.  On Thursday we resumed our trip home, staying that night at the Texas Welcome Center in Texarkana (a really nice place to stay with separate RV overnight parking).  We arrived home on Friday, Oct 9th with great memories of the beautiful eastern parkways and of wonderful times with our best friends.