Family Reunion

Carmichael Home Place

On October 20th we headed to Meridian, MS. for our first visit at the "Carmichael Family Reunion". This has been going on for several years but this is the first time we've heard about it and been able to attend. My mother was a Carmichael but since she died when I was 3 years old I didn't really know very much about her side of the family.

The first night we met at the old Carmichael home place which strangely enough is located in Carmichael, MS. I had a chance to meet several cousins that I have never seen and even had the opportunity to meet my "Great Uncle" whom I've never seen. In about two years there will be a big reunion of the Carmichael Clan at the ancestral castle in Scotland. Jerry and I would love to be able to attend

Carmichael Clan Members

Smokey Mountains

We came to Sevierville TN in the Smokey Mountains to visit with our good friends Jim and "Torchie" who were leaving shortly for parts unknown. Jim had just retired from the U.S. Postal Service and they were making plans to see the country. Jim favors using the "red roads" in his travels cause he can see more of the country that way.

The fall decorations in Sevierville were beautiful and every place of business had some form of decoration.

We're now heading home for a while to do some things around the house that need to be done to hopefuly get it sold. I'm getting too old for painting, cutting large yards. I'm ready to get into a nice soft hammock and relax for a while, that is until the urge to get "On The Road Again" hits us.

Williamsburg, VA

We arrived in Williamsburg about a week early for our camp out and were surprised to find our friends Trish and Mickey there early as well. We planned to take some trips to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.

We spent a couple of days seeing some of the sights in and around Williamsburg and Jamestown.

The Williamsburg OLC camp out was hosted by James and Roberta Ringstaff and it was a big success. We had about 25 OLC members there from all over the country. There was a lot of good fellowship, food and of course an old time bond fire each night. The weather was not bad although we did get a few showers but not enough to dampen the spirits of the campers. We had a chance to put a face to those we had talked to and become friends with in the OLC chat room. That was great and well worth the time to travel to the camp out. Roberta is already talking about having another one next year. When the time came to leave it was like leaving "family".

We left and headed to the Smokies to see an old friend before she and her husband left to hit the "red roads". She was really glad to see us and each night we got together around a camp fire and talked about all sorts of things. The fall decorations were beautiful.

On the Road to South Carolina

After leaving Georgia we headed to Aiken, SC to visit two more grand children for a couple of days. The drive and weather was nice and it's nice to be "On the Road Again".

We stayed in a small but nice camp ground in Aiken. We met a couple of "full timers" from Ohio who were going to spend the winter in SC. They said they had spent several winters in Mission, TX and really liked it. They said they had stayed in an RV resort for an annual cost of $750. That included everything except electricity and their power bill was never over $30 to $35 per month.

We spent a couple of days with the grand children and then the urge to get on the road hit us again so we took off for Williamsburg, VA. We drove from Aiken to the border of North Carolina. We spent the night in a nice camp ground. We don't like to drive too far a day, maybe 300 to 350 miles. Hey we're retired and don't have a schedule to keep. We'll stop at least every other rest stop to let our "baby" potty and "mark the trees".

Highway Through South Carolina

The drive through SC, NC and into VA was beautiful. The leaves had just begun to turn a little and the mountains and foot hills were alive with color. We really can't wait till the time comes when we've sold our house and can go where ever and when ever we want and stay as long as we feel like it. We envy those who are doing it now.

On the Road to Gadsden

On September 7th we arrived in Gadsden, AL. for our Good Sam Chapter camp out. The trip went very well in spite of the "wash board" road on I-59. Again thank goodness for eight air bags and eight shocks, if not everything inside would have shaken loose.

When I hooked up the water at the site I had a BIG problem. When I turned the water faucet on it broke and water went every where including all over me and the coach. Some of my friends who were close by had a BIG laugh. We finally got the water turned off to the site but of course it turned off the water to two other rigs near by. I had to move to another site so I wouldn't be camping in a "lake". The park manager gave me a complimentary two night stay to make up for the problem.

We ate at a real good sea food restaurant and both the food and service were great. I had boiled shrimp and really had all I could possibly eat. That's strange too since I'm known for being able to hide a lot of shrimp. The waiter gave me a "doggy box" to take home those I couldn't eat and he added some more too. The next day I had them for lunch and there were about 20 shrimp. Needless to say I gave the waiter a good tip.

After a relaxing weekend we hit the road to Commerce, GA to visit our son and two grand children. We took I-20 to Atlanta and the road was good until we hit Atlanta and then it went to bits. The road began with four lanes and dropped to three, two and then to one and that was the left lane. Naturally the drivers had to drive right up to the open lane as far as they could and then crowd over in front of you. How can you hide a 40 foot motor home? After about an hour of the "fun and games" we finally got through the construction. We saw a really bad wreck on I-85 north. It looked as though a car tried to "fly" through the trees but didn't make it.

We finally got to Commerce, GA and stayed at the camp ground we've been to before. A real nice and quiet place. We had a real good time visiting with our son and grand children

Home...But Not For Long

We got back from our long trip the afternoon of August 9 th. The first "Long Trip" we just completed covered 6,172 miles. We really enjoyed very mile of it too. We left the next morning for our Good Sam Chapter camp out at Gulf Shores, AL. One of my friends asked me, "if you've just gotten home and you're leaving again, why did you come home? Good question.

We had a good time at Gulf Shores with out friends from the Heart of Dixie Ramblers Good Sam Chapter, the food and fellowship was great. We had 18 rigs at the camp out.

We were getting ready to leave on Sunday morning when I noticed a big crack on the lower left side of the windshield, it looked like a "stress" crack. I have no idea what caused it but I was afraid to drive it so we spent another night. Monday I took it to the Monaco Dealer in Robertsdale to be checked out. The service manager confirmed what I thought, it was a stress crack. The dealer in Dothan ordered a new windshield that day and said they would call when they got it in. We drove back to Montgomery with no problems at all.

Emerald Coast RV in Dothan called me Monday August 21st to let me know the windshield had arrived. They made arrangements to have the windshield installed and we took it down on Wednesday, August 23rd. On the way down we were driving on a real narrow road when a lady was crossing a bridge and came over into part of my lane. I moved over as far as I could. There was a sign post leaning over into my lane and the right mirror hit the sign and demolished the mirror. At least no one was hurt and there was no other damage to the coach. Thank goodness the dealer had a mirror in stock and was able to get it installed while the windshield was being installed.

We drove back to Montgomery to rest up before our next trip which is to Gadsden, AL Hey, we're retired and we can't be expected to do too much at a time.

Oklahoma City

After a long, hot trip we arrived in Oklahoma City. We spent a couple of days as the guest of our friends Rex and Ginger. They were kind enough to let us park in their yard and plug into their electricity and water.

The first day Rex took us to see the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma City Memorial. Both of these are really something to see. You really need more than one day to see everything in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

The OK City Memorial is a tribute to the bombing of the Federal Building and it will give you goose bumps when you see it. There was a large chain link fence around the area and it was full of stuffed animals of all types and sizes. I ask one of the guards what would happen if someone tried to take one of them. He said "before or after we shoot them"? He said they personally knew every family that had items on the fence and they notified them before changing any of the items.

The next day Ginger took us on a tour of Shawnee OK and showed us some of the Indian settlements and museums. We also saw an old Sante Fe Railroad Depot that was last used in the late 1800's.

Also a highlight of our visit was to be able to wish Rex a happy birthday. He would not say how old he was but Ginger said he was "four days older than dirt".

After a very enjoyable visit we said goodbye to our friends Rex and Ginger and headed back home.

The Little Big Horn

After seeing all the sights in and around Rapid City and the Black Hills we set our sights on Montana. We drove back through Wyoming into Montana and arrived at Hardin, MT. We stayed at a KOA there and toured the site of the "Battle of the Little Big Horn".

That was an awesome sight and the country side around the Little Big Horn is beautiful. No wonder the Sioux Indians wanted to keep it. We learned a lot about the battle and learned that all we've been told and saw in the movies was NOT TRUE. First of all Custer and his men were on top of the hill overlooking the river and the Indians were coming up the hill after them. I've seen movies of the battle and it showed the Indians wearing almost nothing. That is NOT TRUE. The Indians knew some of them would not survive so in order to be ready to enter the "Happy Hunting Ground" they wore their very best clothes, beads etc into battle. General Custer was originally buried there but since he was a graduate of the Army Academy his body was removed and relocated to the Academy in West Point. We also toured a replica of the old town of Hardin, MT.

Our travel companions parted company with us and left en route to the Bitter Root Mountains to Washington, Oregon and California. We wish them well and began to make our way back through Wyoming, Colorado to Albuquerque, NM to visit some of Jerry's family. We stayed at All American RV Park, a real nice place. Jerry's family was nice enough to pick us up and show us all the sights of the town and surrounding area. After spending a couple of days in NM we began to make our way across Texas to Oklahoma.

Our First Long Trip Day Seven

Today we're going to Mount Rushmore. The drive there was very scenic. The Mount is really breathtaking and beautiful.

You enter through the "Avenue of Flags". There are 50 large granite columns representing each state with the State Seal and some information about that State. This leads to a large amphitheater where they have the lighting of the Monument each night.

The entire Monument is carved from solid granite which will only erode about 10 centimeters a year.

There is a restaurant that serves real good food at a price you can't beat. Jerry and I ate supper and had all we could want and it was only about $10.00 total.

If you plan to tour the Monument I'd recommend you plan to stay for the night time lighting. It's something you won't soon forget.

The drive from Mount Rushmore goes through the "Black Hills of South Dakota". The Black Hills get their name from the fact the trees have a lot dark green leaves that make them look black at a distance. There are a lot of nice motels, cabins and campgrounds around Rapid City and the Black Hills so finding a good base from which to travel won't be a problem.

After Mount Rushmore we drove to Deadwood SD. The place was really "dead" as far as we were concerned. All they had were bars and gambling houses. We were really disappointed, we were expecting something like "Old Tucson". The only thing fairly interesting were the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

After another enjoyable day of sight seeing it was time to head back to the RV and have a good supper and enjoy sitting around talking about where we will go tomorrow.

Our First Long Trip Day Six

Our first side trip in Rapid City was to a place called "Bear Country". This is a private park in which you drive and get to see all sorts of animals "up close and personal". There are Mountain Goats, Dall Rams, Buffalo, White Wolves and of course Bears.

There was a pen in which they had about 30 baby Bears and they had them there cause they were not old enough to know how to cross the road with cars on it. When they get older, they'll put them out with the others.

After that we went to the Crazy Horse Monument. They have been working on that monument for over 50 years and all they have done so far is part of the head of Crazy Horse. The monument is being built totally with private funds and donations to the Memorial Fund. The Indians will NOT accept money from the Federal Government.

The man who originally began the project died several years ago and now it is left up to his children to finish the project. One can only wonder how many more years it'll take to complete the Monument. Still it's worth seeing.

We really enjoyed our sight seeing trips today and are looking forward to seeing more tomorrow. Now its time to get back to the RVs, eat supper and rest.

Our First Long Trip Day Five

We finally arrived at our destination of Gillette, WY. We were there to attend the first Great North American RV Rally sponsored by the Good Sam RV Club. We were supposed to meet some friends from Mobile, AL at the WalMart parking lot on Friday. When we tried to dive into the lot it was "wall to wall" with RVs of every size and shapes. We had to go to the Big K lot down the street to park. We walked all over the lots but they weren't there yet.

We had the opportunity to get into the rally campground Friday night so we took it. Our friends finally found us on Saturday and as hard as they tried, they couldn't get in. They were not "happy campers" cause they had to "dry camp" two days. They were unable to get in until Monday afternoon.

The Rally began on July 17 and ended July 20. There were a little over 5,400 RVs there and that did not include the RVs for sale. There was a lot to see and do at the Rally. The headline entertainers were the Oak Ridge Boys and they put on a GREAT show.

The Oakridge Boys

We made a side trip to Devil's Tower National Park. The Devil's Tower was featured in the movie "Close Encounters of a Third Kind". However none of the movie was filmed here. They came here and took a ton of pictures and then went back to the sound stage built in Mobile, AL and made a scale model of it and filmed the movie there. Devil's Tower is actually the "core of a volcano".

The Indian myth is that several Indian maidens were being chased by a BIG GRIZZLY BEAR and they got on top of the Tower which was a lot smaller. They began to pray to their Gods not to let the bear get them. The Tower began to rise taller and taller. The bear began to try to claw his way to the top and the marks in the Tower came from the Bear's claws.

All good things must come to an end and the Rally ended with a rodeo on Thursday night. On Friday morning the officials of the rally complex wanted all 5,400 RVs out by noon. Yea right..it took 3 days to get them all in, how can you expect to get them all out in half a day. It didn't happen. We were lucky and were able to get out fairly early Friday and make our way back to Rapid City, SD.

We stayed at Ellsworth AFB and used it as a base camp to see all the sites in the area. After spending one night in the overflow area we were able to get into the FAMCAMP with full hook ups. The nice part of staying on a Base is the use of the commissary, and PX to get any needed supplies.

Our First Long Trip Day Four

Not long after we left Sioux City, IA. we arrived in Sioux Falls, SD. Confusing with all these Sioux names.

Just a little ways from Sioux Falls is Mitchell, SD which is the home of the "Corn Palace". The Corn Palace is a place that staggers the imagination. Each year they change the outside theme and it's redone using nothing but CORN or Corn products. We also toured an authentic Sioux Indian Village which is located alongside a beautiful lake.

Inside the Corn Palace

After leaving Mitchell we drove to Wall, SD which is the home of the world famous "Wall Drug Store". While driving to Wall we saw signs on the side of the road saying "Stop at Wall Drug Store for a Free Glass of Ice Water".

The story goes that a family from back east bought the drug store at the turn of the century and were having a rough time making a living. One day the wife of the owner noticed cars driving by during the hot summer. She said to her sons, "I'll bet they would like a free glass of ice water".

The next day she and her sons set signs on the roads and soon people stopped for their free glass of ice water. Business picked up and they are still in business. Now the drug store covers a "Square Block" in town.

Just a few miles from Wall you begin to enter the area known as the "Badlands". This is some of the most barren but beautiful country you can imagine. Almost nothing grows there except tumble weeds and scrub trees. The scenery is awesome and breathtaking. There are Buffalo, Prong Horned Antelope, Prairie Dogs and a few Mountain Lions running free in the National Park.

The Bad Lands

Where the Buffalo Roam

Our First Long Trip Day Three

We drove to Kansas City, MO. and picked up I-29 north into Iowa. Guess what? Still more bad road with construction signs along the way. When we entered the city of Council Bluff the signs of I-29 disappeared and we made a wrong turn and wound up in Omaha, NE. Hey I didn't want to go to Omaha and had to drive 10 miles before I could find a place where I could turn around and get back on the right road.

Remember that it's almost impossible to turn around a 40 foot motor home with a Saturn behind in a small space. And you darn sure can't back up with it attached. Oh well at least we got to see some of Omaha.

After getting out of NE we drove to Sioux City, IA. and spent the night. The next morning we filled the tanks at a truck stop and had a "trucker's special" breakfast. Three eggs, four large pieces of bacon and two pancakes with all the coffee you want. Real expensive, $2.95 per person.

Our First Long Trip Day Two

After visiting with family we left Tupelo heading to Wyoming and I told Jerry I was determined to get through St. Louis before dark that day no matter what. We drove to Memphis and picked up I-55 in Arkansas.

This was the beginning of rough roads and major construction through out all of our trip. To say that Arkansas has rough roads is an understatement. Thank goodness the Monaco came equipped with 8 air bags and 8 shocks or we'd have never made it. There were farm roads alongside the Interstate that looked a lot smoother.

I think the next time I take a trip that involves going through Arkansas, I'll either fly or go by the way of California. We got to St. Louis in spite of the bad roads. There were several places in our travels where there were concrete barricades on each side of the lanes that were so close if we had another coat of paint we wouldn't have made it through.

We stopped at the rest stop in Missouri to call and get a spot in an RV park. I found two close to us and called them. The first one said they had a rally and didn't have any spaces open. The second one advertised as "big rig friendly". I called and a little old lady answered and told her I'd like a site for a 40 footer and "toad". She said the biggest they could take was a 36 footer and that would include the "toad". I said "mam, do you know that motor homes now are 45 feet long? So help me this is what she said "Paw this here man says they're making motor homes 45 feet long now, I ain't never heard of such". Needless to say we didn't go there.

Thank goodness the state of Missouri allows RVs to spend the night in their rest stops.

As we were crossing the Missouri River at the Iowa border we stopped in a rest stop to allow Poncho to do his thing. As Jerry was taking him to the pet area she saw a sign "Danger Poisonous Snakes in Area". Needless to say they got out of there real quick.

Our First Long Trip Day One

We left Montgomery, AL on July 6TH heading to the First Great North American RV Rally in Gillette, WY.

We drove to Tupelo, MS to spend a couple of days with family before starting a long trip. The trip there was a breeze and the big diesel ran just great and was a pleasure to drive. We had reservations at Natchez Trace RV Park and thought we'd have no problems since we're both originally from Tupelo.

We turned off Highway 78 onto the Natchez Trace. About 10 miles from the turn off the fun came to a screeching halt. There was major construction on the Trace and we had to take a detour. Now those secondary roads in north MS were designed for small cars and wagons NOT a 40 foot motor home.

We drove through some of the most narrow roads I've ever seen and the bridges were not much better. Oh don't forget the big trees with big limbs over the roads. Naturally the farmers wanted their half of the road right down the middle and they weren't about to move over either.

After more than an hour of this "fun" we finally arrived at the park. We learned the next day there was another route we could have taken to avoid the construction.

Our New Home Away From Home

In July 2000 we purchased a new 40 foot Monaco Diplomat. This will be our new home for several years to come. It has everything we could ever want or need in a home. One of the nice things about it is that we can change the view of our front and back yard anytime we want.