Monday 7th November – Louisville, bourbon capital of the USA

Not only is Kentucky the equine capital of America, it is also the Bourbon capital!  Neither of us claim to be fans of this alcoholic beverage, but… when in Rome!  Research into attractions in Louisville led to us making a day of it there.  The initial plan was to head as near to the centre as possible to see what the parking situation was like.  Not good as it turned out.  Parking spaces weren’t big enough for RVs and when we stopped to look at parking meters it was going to be too expensive.

However, it was a nice day and I had noticed a green park area just South of the centre, called Waterfront park.  We headed back there and amazingly parking was free.  We found a suitable spot and got our bikes out.  It was a pleasant cycle back into the City centre where we cycled around some of the points of interest before we found our way to the Evan Williams Bourbon tour:

The tour was really well done and it was more of a history lesson than anything else – stressing the importance of the Ohio River for trade and transportation with its links to the Mississippi.  Having learnt about the great Evan Williams (originally from Wales) and how he was ‘the man’ about Louisville, the tour concluded in a makeshift bar where we were invited to taste different brands of their bourbon.  I was impressed to hear the effort made to produce bourbon – one of the important factors being the number of years that the fluid is left to mature in barrels that are only ever used ONCE.  All the flavour comes from the wood, dissolved in by the strong alcoholic content.  However impressed we may have been, bourbon is still not going to be my drink of choice!

We thought it would be a good idea to cycle off the bourbon before we hit the road again!  So, we headed back towards the RV which was parked by the Big Four Bridge.  This bridge over the Ohio River was completed in 1895 as a railroad but is now only for pedestrians and cyclists.  It connects Louisville in Kentucky with Jefferson, Indiana. 

Another excuse to get a photo with Harvey in it...

The views were so lovely we struggled to tear ourselves away.   We loved Louisville and had a fantastic day.  This was the way forward – park outside the city centre and cycle in.

We continued our journey West into Indiana along Interstate 64, completely taken by surprise when our phones and watches sprang back an hour as we crossed the line from Eastern to Central time.  We had gained an hour but at the same time it was now seemingly getting dark earlier.  We had a specific campsite in mind for tonight, a PA one for $18 in Lynnville.  Just in the nick of time it seems, the owner when we checked in was talking about shutting down for winter at the end of the week.  We really did need to start moving south…

Sunday 6th November – Kentucky Horse Park

It was time to leave the safety of our Christian retreat, using the Satnav to take us towards the nearest gas station while we still had fumes left to travel on!  It nearly caught us out, trying to take us under a bridge with 11’2” clearance…. But we saw it coming and averted disaster. 

When we first entered Kentucky we stopped at a Visitors Centre on the highway.  I hoarded pamphlets and maps etc. and it became apparent that Kentucky is the equine capital of the states.  I used to class myself as quite ‘horsey’ having ridden often when I was younger and worked at stables and even a ranch during my time in Australia.  So, I felt it would be nice to stop by Kentucky Horse Park on our way through the State, for old times’ sake, as we travelled West towards Louisville.  On arrival at the park we looked at some of the statues and memorials to some of the racing greats bred in Kentucky.

On arrival in the reception area we discovered that it would not be a cheap addition to our day to see the whole park!  As this attraction had very much been an afterthought it was not worthy of us parting with so much of our cash.  We must have looked strapped for cash, or they overheard us, but a gentleman approached us and explained that he and his wife had seen all they wanted to at the park that day.  He handed us two yellow stickers that would get us into a museum on the outer perimeter of the park, no questions asked.  How lovely of them and how perfect our timing was!  We offered to give the man some cash in return for the tickets but he refused.  We could choose to feel like a charity case…. Or just enjoy the fact that we had struck lucky from a stranger’s generosity, so that’s what we did.  Mind you, the American Saddlebred Museum does not feature in our ‘best-of’ list of museums we’ve been lucky to encounter on our travels.  I had to find out what saddlebred meant – it’s specifically an American horse bred to have strange gaits – which for those of you still confused means that instead of just the normal horse gaits of walk, trot, canter and gallop, they do these weird steps where their legs move in bizarre timings and angles and use these gaits in competition.  It’s really strange and, dare I say it, pretty pointless if you ask me?!  So maybe the generous gentleman knew he wasn’t really missing much by not stepping foot (or whatever gait he chose) through the doors.  But I made the most of having a play about on the exhibits: 

The fun you can have with a green screen!

So, we left Kentucky horse park only a few dollar’s lighter after a shot glass purchase and having seen not a single LIVE horse!

This was a great example of a ‘winging it’ day where we had no set plan for which campsite we were heading to and we struck lucky.  As we neared Louisville along interstate 64 each junction had signage for accommodation, as well as gas, restaurants and attractions.  We just plumped for one near Shelbyville at random, pulled up and $20 later we had a plot for the night right next to a scenic lake.  Leaving Si o cook dinner, I took myself for a sunset walk along the banks to stretch my legs after being cooped up in the RV for much of the day.

Saturday 5th November – a Cordey hike

The plan was for an easy day and that was how it began.  A gloriously sunny Saturday.  We got our bikes out, cycled over to the main building with our washing and took full advantage of the free laundry.  Whilst waiting for that we made the most of the free Wi-Fi by skyping/ Facetiming as many family and friends as possible.  This hectic activity carried on into the afternoon.

Randomly, adjacent to the Aldersgate camp was a National Historic site – the Fitchburg Furnace:

Completed in 1870, it is the largest charcoal burning furnace in the world and in the top 25 dry-stone masonry structures in the world.  Sadly, after all that effort, it was only in operation for five years before the owners declared bankruptcy and the furnace fell into disrepair, only more recently being renovated by the Friends of Fitchburg Furnace.

I was feeling somewhat restless after the last few days on the road without any opportunity for exercise.  I studied the hiking maps and suggested a short-ish hike up to ‘Sugar camp cave’ as we hadn’t seen any caves yet this trip and it may offer us a lovely view down into the valley we were staying in.  By the time we left it must have been 3pm-ish.  There were colour-coded symbols embedded in the trees going up the hill to keep you on course.  Steep at times but within about 30 minutes we reached the cave:

I ventured in a certain distance with a torch but after finding a sizeable spider on the ceiling I was happy there was nothing more to see there!  

We hadn’t got to enjoy the view as I’d hoped and it was such a lovely evening…. I persuaded Simon that if we just carried on up to the top of the particular hill/ mountain we were on there MUST be a worthwhile view.  Then we’d just head back down again, easy!  Or not.  We were no longer on a defined trail and the going got tough.  The forest was still very dense so no stunning views and we lost our bearings.  It got to the stage when we knew we needed to head down but it was just hard to find a passable route!

In the end we had to just go for it.  The sun was getting low and the thought of trying to get down in the pitch black was not worth considering.  This was ridiculous – we could SEE the campsite below, it was just very much further down than us!  Having picked a route, we half-walked, half-skidded on our backsides and at one point literally climbed - without ropes - down the side of the mountain.  There were points where we had to wedge ourselves between tree roots and rock ledges to slow ourselves down and stop us falling down the hill.  It was whilst on one of these ledges that I suddenly grabbed my trouser pocket which was empty and asked Simon ‘have you got my phone?’ He did not have my phone…. And neither did I.  Panic.  I definitely had it earlier when I’d climbed on a rock to get a picture (evidenced above) and then tucked it into my back trouser pocket before sliding down a hill.  And it was on silent.  What are the chances of finding a black and green iPhone in dense foliage on the side of a mountain.  Is ‘Find my iPhone’ that accurate?!  Probably not.  Despair setting in, I stayed firmly wedged between a rock and a tree root (literally a hard place) feeling like a prize idiot, whilst Simon climbed back up the steep rock face we’d just climbed down, having told me firmly to ‘stay there’ (I don’t think he was impressed).  Somehow, Simon found my phone about 15 or 20 feet back where we’d come from.  I was gobsmacked having been convinced it was a goner.  Simon was the hero of the hour and within another 40 minutes we had scrambled our way back down to the retreat, not long before sunset.  Both of us had mud caked on our bottom halves and I’d managed to graze the inside of my right arm when I grabbed a tree trunk to steady myself during our descent.  We were bruised, exhausted and extremely hungry.  

Simon made us a lovely bonfire and we both relaxed with a cold beer and a barbecued steak for our efforts. 

It was very dark when we went to collect the rest of our washing!

I have a habit of wanting to go just-that-bit further or just-that-bit higher on one of my treks and this was a vivid reminder of what can go wrong.  I promised Simon that I would go easier on him in the future and we’d stick to the marked trails next time.  No more Cordey-hikes into the unknown!

Friday 4th November – Should we believe in good karma?

Kanawha River, St Albans, West Virginia

Now that the weather had improved I took a quick snap of our stopping place – not too bad for free eh?  It was quite noisy though.  Partly due to the rain and partly due to traffic noise.  Across the street from us was a range of shops so we took the opportunity to get some grocery shopping done.  I tried to save us more cash again – by buying coffee in bulk as we get through so much of it (some more than others!).  Massive FAIL…. On getting back to put the kettle on I’d managed to buy a large vat of filter coffee instead of instant.  Result?  Not wanting decent coffee to go to waste we later invested in a $20 cafetiere instead so I actually cost us extra money…. But at least now we have the best quality coffee on the road!

Fully caffeinated, we hit the road again.  It being a weekend we had sought out a cheap camping option.  Step forward ‘Aldersgate camp and retreat’ in Ravenna, Kentucky at the bargain price of $12 per night.  The camp was in the middle of nowhere and we got a little nervous when the SatNav began taking us on increasingly tiny roads.  We were just considering making a U-turn to head back to find some wider tarmac when we spotted a couple of cyclists broken down at the side of the road.  As we swept past them I noticed a hand-scrawled sign on A4 paper attached to one of their handlebars saying ‘CANADA TO MEXICO’.  Wow, they had a long way to go!  We agreed to offer our assistance and, having found a space on this teeny tiny road large enough to turn the RV round, we returned to the marooned cyclists.  One of their tyres was not just flat, it was completely distorted beyond repair.  We offered them, and their bikes at a squeeze, a lift to the nearest town or bike repair shop of their choice.  The guys were very grateful and we managed to add one of their bikes on top of our two before manoeuvring the other bike inside the main living space of the RV.  They looked like they needed a beer, so they received one each!  The guys were called Josh and Matt, actors from Toronto who didn’t have any work lined up until the New Year and so….. thought they’d cycle to Mexico!  They were carrying minimal luggage and relying on a cyclist website to put them in touch with other like-minded people along their route to put them up overnight.  They were living on eggs and spinach!!  It was great to spend some time with, quite frankly, two other people doing something crazier than us!  But they were intrigued to hear about our road trip and loved the RV (of course).  We’d found a helpful setting on the SatNav that would take us to the nearest Supermarket.  So, after one of our Canadian passengers had made failed calls to some independent cycle shops we headed to the nearest Walmart Supercentre (where else?).  We waited to make sure they could purchase the necessary new part there, but I didn’t dare step inside myself through fear of buying more STUFF!  Success for the cyclists, we parted ways.  So brief was our encounter that we both failed to even think of getting a photo for this blog, so you will just have to take our word that this happened!  It felt good to have been able to help fellow travellers and we hoped we’d laid the groundwork for some good karma to come our way.

From there it should have been quite a straight forward drive to our retreat but, wow, was it in the sticks?!  Simon was at the wheel and I took some video footage to make a record of just how windy and hilly the road was – it was like being on a roller-coaster! Fingers crossed this link works:

Made even more fun by the fact that we were heading towards empty on our petrol gauge.  There would be no gas stations out here, it would have to wait.  But we made it without drama and a helpful girl directed us to our camping spot.  We were the only RV there and it was a great spot in between two mountains in the Daniel Boone National Forest.  We enquired about hiking or cycling trails and there seemed to be lots of options.  We had been hesitant about coming to this site but only because of the word ‘retreat’.  It was a Christian campsite which, it turned out, had accommodation for groups of students to stay and find nature.  This was not a problem for us and we couldn’t have been happier with how welcoming the campsite staff were.  There was as much free firewood as we could ignite AND free laundry too!  We just felt a bit guilty for not being ‘Goddy’ enough!  Sorry folks, I’m not a believer.  I believe in science… evolution, facts and …. evidence.  Not that I have any issue with anyone following a religion, as long as they don’t enforce it on others.  In fact, I think it’s a very sociable community activity going to church and so for a lot of people it brings a lot of joy into their lives and ties people together.  It’s just not for me.  So we were very grateful for their hospitality… and all the free stuff.

Thursday 3rd November – Driving day

It felt good to be on the road again, making progress.  We covered some good mileage today, heading into the State of West Virginia. We took time to enjoy the mountain scenery having taken a more minor route, The Midland Trail (route 60). 

Hawks' nest State park, West Virginia

In our quest to find ever-cheaper campsites we had downloaded some extra Apps, including one called ‘Allstays’.  This showed all independent and State Park sites, as well as other points of interest for campers – for example Campingworld, propane refilling stations, Supermarkets etc.  Using this app, we found what seemed like the impossible for tonight – a FREE RV campsite with electric hook-ups!  The write-up explained that there was a two-night maximum stay rule, it was first-come first-served and had an honesty box if you wanted to make a small donation towards water/electricity you use.  The reviews weren’t raving about it exactly, but for a one night stop-off, what more do you need?  It was next to a river in St Albans.  Apart from initially struggling to find the site in torrential rain and fading light there was no problem.  Thankfully there was one perfect, Harvey-sized gap left on the site.  Once we’d plugged our electric lead in (using a spare plastic carrier bag to try and prevent rain water getting anywhere dangerous!) we settled in for the night and battened down the hatches!  Here’s a photo of Simon staring intently at our USA road Atlas:

With 13 days to go until the Morrissey gig in Dallas we had some careful planning to do to ensure that we have time to take in the locations important to us, whilst making this important deadline.  

Wednesday 2nd November – Night at the drive-in

Mornings are quite a relaxed affair in our new lifestyle.  No need to rush as we had no plans until the evening.  A nice sunny day meant that it was the perfect time to test out another of our purchases – the second-hand tennis rackets – and have a match on the courts at the campsite.  I haven’t played tennis for years so I was convinced that I would probably lose all my service games due to failing to get the ball into the appropriate quadrant of the court.  But no, my serve was surprisingly accurate. What let me down was the fact that, when I wasn’t serving, I was consistently hitting the ball into the net.  Who put that there?  These American tennis nets must be higher than UK ones…. Other excuses are available but, needless to say, it was a Newman victory that day.  Well, the one set we survived without a domestic was won by Simon in any case!

We were expecting a free drive-in movie to be very popular so made sure that we got to Hull’s drive-in before the gates were due to open at 5pm.  In fact, we were first in the queue, but I wouldn’t say that was a bad thing when you need to check the staff are happy to facilitate a 30’ RV on their premises!  We needn’t have worried, they were so welcoming. Uniformed officers were on the gate as the event was in support of Veterans’ day the coming Friday:

After we made our donation we crept the RV up the slope at the side of the plot, right up to the back where the owner had informed us that there was plenty of room for us to turn around, park and so that others could pass behind us.  Here's our view of the screen:

We had intended on fully self-catering but the drive-in also supplied snacks and drinks…. And a brass band!  So we went for a wander to soak up the atmosphere…. And get some curly fries! 

This seemed the best option as my only prior experience of drive-in movies was from the Flintstones when the over-sized ribs tip their prehistoric car over – phew, thank goodness we avoided that!

Here's our view when someone helpfully put their lights on!

Having returned to Harvey, a short while later the owner came up to see us and provided us with our very own amp to borrow for the film.  You could tune in to a frequency on your car stereo to hear the movie, but then you risked flattening your battery (a real risk for us!) or there were the old-fashioned speakers on poles that you attached over the top of your window frame.  We’d tested ours and they worked okay but it was a bit of a stretch up to the RV’s windows to be honest!  After the owner had brought the amp up and tuned it into the right frequency for us we placed it in between our front seats and, with the doors fully closed, we could blast out the soundtrack to Black Hawk Down as loud as we wanted!  Sadly, we needn’t have worried about getting there so early.  Maybe it was because the temperature was dropping but it was a shame that this charity event wasn’t extremely busy.  I hope they did well from the number of us who were there.  It was a great way to see a film, in the comfort of your own home!  

We let everyone else file out at the end before driving painstakingly slowly down the hill and returning our amp, with thanks, to the owner and heading back to Buena Vista for our last night there.

Tuesday 1st November – budget calculations and bike ride

Now we’d decided to stay in Buena Vista until Thursday that would be another week’s budget and so far we were on target, even after going out for the first time last night! So, how had we done it?  Well, stayed in a cheap campsite for six nights and driven a lot less mileage for starters.  This morning we tried to work out a formula to try and keep within budget every week.  Filling the tank of the RV cost us roughly $80 a time and that gave us about 400 miles on the road.  We decided to try and limit ourselves to 800 miles per week, so $160 in gas.  There are cheaper campsites if you look for them, if we try to limit a stay at $25 per night that sets a budget of $175 per week on accommodation.  Those two things total $335, leaving $115 for groceries and….. well, everything else.  It was always going to be tight but by limiting how far we progress every week it should be achievable.

One of the places nearby the Visitor's Centre had told us about was Natural Bridge, a point of interest where limestone rock was formed into a large arch – you see how it got the name.  I was keen for an opportunity to fully test my mended bicycle gears and this was only a short drive away and was sure to be visible from some sort of cycle trail, right?  Wrong.  This natural historic feature is within a gorge and those cheeky Virginians have fenced it off so that they can charge $8 per person for a short walk in to look at it!  I know, the money is all probably for a good cause like maintaining the site and paying someone to clean the public toilets (or restrooms as they’d be called) but this is the kind of decision we must make.  Okay, so the bridge is meant to be one of the seven wonders of the natural world but we’d nearly driven through the area oblivious to this fact.  Not wanting to ruin the budget when we were doing so well we turned away from the Natural Bridge and went for a lovely bike ride on the Monacan trail opposite instead.  This time we took a map.  There were some tough, steep slopes to ascend but we were rewarded with stunning views across the state park.

Not one of the most stunning views... but look down there.... there's our RV!

If the slopes were tough to go up, they did not let off going downhill either!  It was so bumpy that some screws on Simon’s handlebars had worked loose so he was in danger of not being able to use his brakes at all!  That slowed our descent a little but thankfully our DIY skills did suffice when it came to tightening a few screws up!

On our return to the campsite we had a relaxing evening and I managed to make some much-needed progress with writing this blog.