Enjoying Our Dash

Hot Springs was a neat spot to spend a few days. I would say that it was a cool spot, however, it was anything but. We started to hit triple digit heat in Oklahoma and the temperatures weren’t letting up. We stayed at Lake Catherine State park, which was a very nice. We had some great views of the lake from the front of Dash so we saw some gorgeous sunrises. The campground had some really great trails through the woods. We even had a chance to walk across a swinging bridge! We took a short ride to the Hot Springs National Park. Each of the National Parks that we have visited have their own unique characteristics. This park is definitely unique! The grand architecture of the historic bathhouses, ancient thermal springs, mountain views, incredible geology, forested hikes, and abundant creeks – all in the middle of town – make Hot Springs National Park a unique and beautiful destination. When they say Hot Springs, they are not kidding. The water comes out of the ground at ...

We continued our journey south and headed to Oklahoma. Ed lived in this area decades ago. Our first stop was just east of Oklahoma City. The first night that we are there, I woke up to a noise that I could not immediately place. I finally realized that it was our awning flapping in the wind. The storms, that the weatherman said were going to be well north of the city, took a different path. I quickly put in the awnings and turned on the TV. Not fun to see them talking about 60 and 80 mile an hour gusts, even if they were pretty far away from us. I watched the weather long enough to make sure that the storms had passed and went back to bed with my guys, who slept soundly through the entire event!! The campground had some interesting features. Do you know what the picture on the right is? If you guessed fraidy hole tornado shelters you are absolutely correct. At the campground! The feature that Cole liked the most was the goats. The owners had goats and chickens in a pen nea...

After Michigan, it was off to Wisconsin, where we had a great campsite with a view of the lake at the Neshonoc Lakeside Camping Resort. Of course, we went in search of cheese! I haven’t decided which is better, Vermont Cheese or Wisconsin cheese. Do you have an opinion? Next up was a night in Minnesota. This state has one of the best welcome signs of the many states we have been in. In Iowa, our campsite in Legends State park was very nice. It was way out in the country, so internet was a bit of a challenge! Iowa was another trip down memory lane. We owned a house in the Ames area where Ed lived for a short stint, so we checked out our old house and some of the places that we used to go when he was living there. In Nebraska, we had another great campsite at Victorian Acres Campground in Nebraska City. As their welcome sign says, this is the home of Arbor Farms and where Arbor day began. From the Arborday.org website we learn that ‘J. Sterling Morton, a resident of Ne...

For our last stop in Michigan, we headed up to Sault Ste. Marie to see the Soo Locks. These locks are located on the US Canadian border in the St. Mary’s River and connect Lake Superior with Lake Huron. A few interesting facts about the locks The Soo Locks are 100% gravity-fed and require no pumps. To lift or lower a boat, the Poe Lock (the larger one) requires an astonishing 22 million gallons of water. It would take 584 train cars to move 70,000 tons of cargo or one 1,000 foot freighter The Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest freighter that uses the Poe Lock. It measures in at 1,013.5” in length and 105” wide. When planning a trip to the Soo, there are several tools you can use to ensure you see ships in the locks during your visit. First, there is a phone number to call with a recorded message. The message will give you the names and the approximate time that ships will be in the locks. The second (and much cooler) way is to check out the web site https://www.marinetraffic.co...