Author: mattlang

We woke up at Indian-Celina Lake Campground in St. Croix, Indiana. There had been a thunderstorm in the night. I went out a dried off my bike and took a tool around the campsite to see what and who was up. One of the campers was just heading out for a run with her dog tied to her waist. I said good morning, so did she.

I rode out to the main road, up to the other loop of the campground – which was empty except for the host – and then cruised back quickly. I checked out the water spigot at the entrance to the part of the campground we were in to see if we could fill the tank off it – which we could – and heard a varmint in the dumpster. I assumed it was a mouse or a rat.

I went back to the camper and made some coffee and Pammie got up. We had some breakfast and then packed up to get on the road. Unfortunately neither of us got any pics of this campground. It was very empty and very reasonable- $27.

The pic up above is on I64 just getting underway and heading for the Ozarks if possible. I had to teach a couple lessons so we planned to make at least one or possibly two stops along the way. There was a lot of driving to do!

We stopped for lunch in Cairo, Illinois. We were looking for a place to stop and Pam started reading about Cairo. Sad story. Sad town. It was steamy hot so we pulled over on a side street and made some lunch. We barely got out of the camper but I took a few pics.

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After lunch I did a saxophone lesson on the outskirts of town in the Dollar General parking lot. It was hot and sweaty because I didn’t want to turn on the air conditioner thinking it would be too loud. While I taught, Pammie picked up some supplies in Dollar General. Then, back on the road!

We stopped one more time to get get some gas and do another lesson and then we decided to Hammer all the way to the Ozarks in Missouri. Pammie picked out a campground called Timbuktu in Echo Bluff State Park. Poifect!

We pulled off the interstate, headed for the campground but first stopped and got some more supplies then headed towards Timbuktu. On the way we went through a cool looking little town called Eminence. There were four wheelers riding up and down the main drag. Kayakers all over the place and we drove across a bridge over a river and saw a few jeeps and other 4 wheel drive vehicles right by the water and a bunch of folks cooling off in the water.

Leaving Eminence we followed the windy mountain road for a while and we both noticed a stream of campers in the opposite direction. It was getting kind of late in the day and neither of us wanted to say it but it sure looked like people were heading away from the campground because there were no moe sites left.

When we got to the campground there was a sign at the office saying the campground was full. We decided to park and check with the office. The cheery lady said she had three campsites open for tonight only. Pam Langley’s Tour Service strikes again. A campsite in a totally random place – for us – along a totally random route with no reservation and boom, no problem! Choose your favorite and commence to swimming in the river!

This campground was totally the opposite of the one we stayed in the night before. It was packed. The sites were right on top of each other. Everything was cement except for a few grass patches between the sites and almost all the sites had large campers with large pickups in front of them. There were a few tenters and a random popup but, for the most part, huge campers, huge trucks, toys and people everywhere!

We grabbed a spot on the hill. Backed in without incident. Plugged in, connected the water. Dropped the bikes and went swimming! Ahhhhh! Beautiful mountain river water in “Sunken Stream” then we went back and I offended everyone around us with some stanky sewage aroma while I dumped out tanks at our site and hooked up to the sewer pipe.

We sat outside and watched a thunderstorm pass to the south(?) of the campground and then went to bed!

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After waking up at the Kentucky Welcome Center on I64 (I think) we looked for a spot to take a shower and cook up some joe. Down the road a piece there was a sign for Grayson Lake State Park so that’s where we went. I parked in the first spot that looked reasonable and we commenced to applying our ablutions.

We’re headed for Red River Gorge today so we didn’t drop the bikes and explore. I was going to head back to the way we came in but Pam, ever the applicatteur of le common sense, says, “just put in the location from here.” When I grow up, I hope to sprout a brain.

The drive from Grayson to Red River was the most relaxing, least jarring, and among the most beautiful drives we have experienced so far. We’d like to go on record, right here, that KENTUCKY ROADS ROCK! We were on route 7 for a long time and it was akin to going down a water slide in comparison to many of the roads we have experienced so fahhhh. DAMN!

We turned at Sandy Hook and Pammie said to look for the post office to send off some missives. An address mishap prevented the missive shipment but the brief stop in Sandy Hook – Kentucky – yielded one shot.

The road narrowed a bit outside of Sandy Hook and then, when we turned towards Daniel Boone State Park, it narrowed considerably. No center line, lines on each side and no shoulder. It appeared to be no wider than the camper plus room for a bike on either side. It was curvy, hilly and TIGHT! Pam was not convinced two cars could pass each other never mind a BEAST! Before long a car DID pass and it was tight but we survived.

We came to a parking lot large enough to park the pig and Pam suggested we proceed on bikes. Yeah! Now we’re getting somewhere! Proceed we did and it was some of the most fun we’ve had on the trip so fahhh. Here’s a bunch of pics. I didn’t take any pics while we were riding but it was hilly and windy and tight but there’s plenty of room for geezers on bikes!

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After the tour we loaded the bikes back on the rig and drove out the narrow road back out to the main road. We took a left and enjoyed a few more miles of windy, shoulder less, yet smooth and fun roads until we got on the interstate headed for Louisville. I had to do some teaching so we were going to try a Cabela’s parking lot.

Teaching went much better tonight, with less of a signal (!?) and our plan, after teaching, was to drive til we dropped at a rest area and maybe camp somewhere nice tomorrow. We passed near Louisville but were now headed for St. Louis. We stopped for gas outside Louisville and then I saw a sign for Hoosier National Forest Campground and Recreation area. We checked it out and here sit in a nice, quiet, dark campsite with no trucks idling two feet away. Thank you INDIANA!

We backed in, plugged in, fired up the AC, cracked a beer and sat a spell. Then we explored on the bikes a bit. There’s a lake here, or maybe a couple, but you can’t swim in them! It was a fun ride, all downhill, to the boat launch but then the ride back was all uphill in 82 degree, 110% humidity (!!) but the Gazelles make easy work of everything. I love these bikes!

Okay, see you tomorrow!