As the saying goes, we should usually avoid the topics of politics and religion. Yet these are the two topics I find most interesting. After my very active stay at River Expeditions in WV (horseback riding, class 5 rafting, & ATV'ing) I was looking forward to my Kentucky stop. Passport America had a participating campground in Ravenna, KY, with full hook ups, for only $12, at just about the right location along my route south. The cg is a Methodist Revival camp and the pastor/director actually has my same last name spelled the same way (Cohn). I was looking forward to some interesting discussion over meals and exploring a mutual family heritage with the pastor. My expectations were heightened when the cg called me back to confirm my reservation and mentioned that the pastor was also looking forward to my arrival. My problems began when the cg directions brought me up to an 11' 2" train trestle (my rig is 12' 8") and I'm not ready to turn my RV into a convertible (lol). Making a "U" turn on a two lane road pulling a fifth wheel, even with the shoulders, doesn't count as one of my most fun experiences! The round about river road I then took was so narrow it required total concentration and didn't allow me to enjoy the mountain foliage. The left turn onto the camp road from the mountain road was a very sharp turn that, while I made it, I doubt I could make the right turn upon leaving. The cg road was about as bumpy and rutted as any I'd previously been on. The actually site has a short, concrete pad which looked good. It looked good until I went to back in. Both sides of the pad were mud pits about 6" to 8" deep. The rig was backing in fine until the trucks rear wheels hit the mud. I was stuck and spinning my tires. I tried rocking back and forth but only got my self deeper in the mud and almost jack knifed the rig. Another camper came over and then got the pastor who had a winch on the front of his F150. It took a little while and three different positioning's of the winch until I was finally able to get my rig situated. It was an auspicious way to meet the pastor and most of the seven other campers.
The other campers turned out to be from a group called NOMADS. They work for mostly Methodist causes, building and repairing whatever needs to be done all over the country. I set up, chatted a bit with a few of the NOMADS, and walked up to the office to check in. The camp is just that, a camp which hosts kids in the summer and religious retreats the rest of the year. The grounds are within the Daniel Boone National Forest and on land that was once the town of Fitchburg. In the 1880's this was a thriving town of over 2,000. They operated the largest coal burning furnace in the world and one of the top 25 dry stone masonry structure in the world. When better quality coal was found elsewhere, the furnace operations went bankrupt and the town disappeared. There are lots of trails now maintained by the camp and old structures throughout the property and surrounding woods. I strolled around the camp till dinner and then joined the NOMADS and a group of pastors here on a retreat for a pulled pork meal. All the conversation was about RV's and the NOMAD organization. The camp doesn't have any meals on weekends so this was my only meal with them. The NOMADS seemed tired from their weeks work so I walked the camp trails the next few days with very little conversation. While the trails and old structures were interesting, it wasn't why I had chosen to stay here. The pastor never came by and I left early on my departure date, very disappointed.
The Tennessee cg was a very pleasant surprise. This is the former Cordell Hull Army Corp of Engineer location whom Guy & Jean Harden were able to obtain a permanent lease from. Apparently the location had fallen into disrepair and the Harden's proposed to renovate and run it. They had help obtaining the lease from Al Gore (yes, the former VP) who has a house on the lake. While Jean Harden runs the cg, her husband Guy sings and sponsors karaoke on Friday nights. He was a regular on the Ralph Emory TV show and formally toured with Alabama, Jim Reeves, and many others to numerous to list. The site I took had been vacated earlier that day by some regulars you may have heard of, Amy Grant and her husband Vince Gill. The cg is very well kept with a pretty beach & boat launch area. They even have row & paddle boats for rent. Several seasonals were already putting up elaborate Halloween displays. At $13/night (Passport rate) I heartily recommend this little jewel of a park to all you RV'ers.
The morning I left TN I broke camp in a light rain. The drive began pretty easy with nice back roads leading to I-40 towards Nashville and then I-65, south towards Birmingham, AL. The rain cleared and the day turned pretty, thankfully for what happened later. A rest stop magically appeared just about the time I was looking to take a stretch break. I-65 through Birmingham was a rough road with the typical big city congestion. I found some inexpensive gas when I was less than 30 miles from the cg. The fun began only a couple of miles after getting back on I-65. I was felling great, realizing I would arrive a little before 2pm with plenty of time to set up and go out exploring, the day was sunny and in the mid-60's, just beautiful. Suddenly, a loud "BANG" quickly took me out of my day dream. I grabbed the wheel with both hands and gently slowed, trying to figure out what happened. The truck wasn't pulling left or right, didn't feel like a tire went. I stuck my head out the window a little and quickly realized a trailer tire had blown. I was able to move onto a wide shoulder, stop and check. Sure enough, one of the two remaining original trailer tires had blown, but no other damage was apparent. I've heard of trailer tires taking out huge pieces of the RV when they blow. I was standing on the side of I-65 almost feeling lucky. This is a chance to find out just how good my Good Sam roadside assistance plan really is. They answered on the second ring, were very polite and sympathetic, and knew my exact location from the phone GPS. They both gave me the name & phone number of the company who would be responding and texted the info as well. In a little over 30 minutes a truck pulls up and the two young kids merrily jack up the 12,000 lb rig, change my tire, confirm that no damage is visible, and give me the name of a local tire store. From my initial call to Good Sam till I was on the road again was barely an hour, amazing! Good Sam has me for a lifetime customer. I got off the next exit, found the tire store, and had two new, upgraded tires put on the axle with my spare replaced and the blown tire, along with the remaining original tossed. I arrived at the cg two hours later than I originally thought, none the worse for wear.
The cg was old, with tight sites. In fact I couldn't open my slides all the way without hitting a pole, or tree, or electric box. I set up and began to walk the park, immediately meeting a couple from Oklahoma. We walked the park together, along with their two little schnauzers. The park does have a pretty little lake with a nice big deck overlooking it. The owner, William, is an interesting guy. He's in his early 60's, must weigh easily 400 lbs, and at 5' 8" is very round. He has almost shoulder length, pure white hair, but none on the front half of his head, He also has a pure white beard and a very jolly face. It's not a difficult guess how he dresses around Christmas time. He went to college for law, didn't like it, and so got his masters in theology. He didn't like full time ministering and so bought the cg, although he still preaches part time for free at a couple of the poorer local churches. Interesting guy!
Fairly easy ride to Marianna in the Florida Panhandle. The park is a little old but nice enough with a site that was perfectly level and the sat. dish got reception. As I strolled the park, checking the road to head out in a few days I met a couple plated out of Alaska. Joe and Judy live in Wasilla, are new to RV'ing, hanging out here for a month to visit their kids. Both recently retired from hospital work, Judy as a nurse and Joe from managing a lab. Joe served in Viet Nam as a recon sergeant, pretty close to my ranger activities and was there the same year as me, 1968. We hung out all afternoon chatting about Alaska, health care, Viet Nam, and life in general. Next day we also spent sitting around chatting. The time passed very quickly and pleasantly. On to Jacksonville and a couple of months with lots of get togethers.
No comments:
Post a Comment