Hocking Hills, Day One

Today was an adventure in Hocking Hills.  We went to three different areas of Hocking Hills State Park.

The first area we went to is probably one of the most popular, and from the number of people there would seem like the most visited - Old Man's Cave.  Several people apparently lived in it starting in the late 1700s.  It was amazing how big it is even though it's not really a cave but more of a huge rock overhang.  There are trails that follow along the gorge, although the river that created it was a bit low this time of year.  We got to see the Sphinx Rock and the Devil's Bathtub at the same park.  Just amazing scenery there.  We took a lot of photos, but I won't subject you to all of them!

The next park we went to was Conkle's Hollow which has some cliffs that tower about 200 feet above the floor of the gorge.  It was pretty amazing to see something like this in Ohio - where we are from in NE Ohio everything is pretty flat with some rolling hills thrown in for variety.  The path was interesting to start because a good portion of it was paved and accessible for those with disabilities.  It also made it a nice relief after the crazy paths around Old Man's Cave.  At one point I was looking at the cliffs when I heard a family walking by talking about the shape of some of the cliffs.  I clearly overheard, "Do you see the butt crack?"  The woman leaned over to the other then whispered in her ear something apparently more salacious and they broke out in laughter.

At the end of the path there was what I think would be a waterfall under more wet conditions.  As I saw it there was a steady dripping...

The last park we went to was like saving the best for last - at least for the day.  Ash Cave took us almost full circle for the day, but it was very worth it.  We walked along the relatively short path until we came across two amazing things.  One was Ash Cave itself which again isn't really a cave but more of a massive stone overhang.  It is about 700 feet from end to end and almost 100 feet high.  It was really breathtaking.

The other cool thing was that a wedding was going on as we walked up to the cave.  I think they had just said "I Do" and kissed shortly thereafter as we were walking nearby.  A pretty cool place to get married I think.  Although our hike out was a bit strenuous so I hope the bride and groom took the lower pathout.

We just scratched the surface of the Hocking Hills today - there are so many parts of the park to visit!  And of course the night ended with a campfire, some cider, and some cool views of the campground at night from our hillside balcony.  All in all a pretty amazing day!

Labor Day Weekend

I’m almost in disbelief that it’s Labor Day weekend - it seems like it was just Memorial Day weekend and the summer was just beginning.  Time flies when you’re camping!

We’ve chosen to spend this weekend somewhere we haven't been to before - The Hocking Hills in SE Ohio.  We’ve talked about coming down here a number of times, but we’ve never seemed to make it.  With a four day weekend we had plenty of driving time so here we are.

Of course yesterday was a work day, but we wanted to leave anyway.  So we took a short drive south on I77 to just south of Canton, OH and stopped at the Canton/East Sparta KOA.  It’s not too far from the highway, but it’s definitely not near much - except some noisy goats. We had a quick (and delicious) bite to eat at Sublime Smoke in Bolivar.  Despite it sounding like it should be a tobacco shop, it was a great BBQ place.  Small but tasty, and worth a stop if you’re traveling on I77.  When we got back to the KOA the goats were asleep and soon we were as well.

After getting up early then taking a work-related recovery nap, we set back onto the highway south towards Logan, OH.  The highway drive was easy, but once we got onto some back roads it got interesting.  We haven’t traveled on hilly, twisty-windy roads much with the trailer, but we certainly have now.  There were a few 15mph banked, twisty, downhill curves that made my knuckles white.  But we made it without incident.

Now we’re at the Hocking Hills KOA which is very nice so far.  The staff here is very friendly, and the sites are nicely laid out.  Ours pretty much overlooks the main part of the campground from a patio which is almost like a little balcony off our site.  The only downside is that there isn’t any cell service here, and for super connected folks like us that’s interesting.

There’s lots to do here, so tomorrow will be an adventure.  Thanks to actual working campground wifi hopefully I will be able to blog about it!

About to float away...

It's a little wet today at our lovely campsite.  Actually, there is a small stream running where I was sitting about 45 minutes ago.  We had a view of Mosquito Lake a little while ago, and now we have our own private lake right here on the campsite.

Morning view

Morning view at Portage Lakes State Park campground. 

Weekend of camping and family

Wine at M Cellars

OK, so even three-day weekends aren't enough. This past weekend we went to Willow Lake park in Geneva, OH.  This was a new find for us as we had never been there.  But we discovered it is quite nice campground and one that we will likely go back to.

Saturday started with lunch with my sister at a local winery called M Cellars.  They had a food truck there that day so even better - wood-fired pizzas!  It was a little overcast, but the weather was beautiful and we got to sit out on the deck overlooking the grape vines. We were there for several hours just talking away and catching up which was really fun.

Afterwards we went to a farmers market, got some coffee at a local coffee shop, and then went to get some supplies for a family gathering at the campground.  Every summer this is one of my favorite things - having family and friends join us at the campground for some food and campfire.  Everyone came by around 4pm, and we had a fun cookout and lively (as always) conversation.

Yesterday we took our time getting started and hung out around the campground for awhile before doing anything productive.  One of my other favorite things about camping - slow mornings.  (I have a lot of favorite things about camping don't I?)  It was a Monday morning so most of the weekend campers had gone home.  It was just amazingly quiet and peaceful, and it was a perfect summer day.

After we were lazy all morning we drove up to the strip at Geneva-on-the-Lake.  Although there were two donut shops there we didn't stop.  Instead we stopped at the beach at Geneva State Park.  We weren't prepared for the beach - no flip-flops, no beach towel, no sunscreen.  But we sat up on the hill overlooking the beach for about a half an hour - just enough time to get some sun and fresh lake breezes.  The beach was actually pretty busy.  I wish I had my DSLR with me because I could have gotten a picture of this - but I was looking at the beach and there was what looked like a bucket or something.  Then it started moving and I realized it was a person buried up to their neck.  AHH! Like a nightmare...

That afternoon/evening had a ride in a GTI, more fun with my family, and some downtime before bed.

It was really hard to leave this morning...

Lights and a swizzle stick

Today we were getting ready for our 3 day weekend of camping.  We leave tomorrow afternoon, but first we had a few things to get done.

We discovered that we had a leak coming from one of our top, rear marker lights.  The light had recently been serviced by a local RV dealer because the fixture itself was leaking.  But in the repair it was made worse to the point where rain water was pooling inside the trailer.  Not good.  So we ordered a different fixture from eTrailer and installed it today.  I think Jon's fingers might fall off from all the silicone he had to get off the surface before mounting the new one, but it looks really good.  We'll see how this one works out and maybe we'll replace the rest of the rear lights.

We also got a new macerator.  This little device is a water pump that also has a garbage disposal like action.  The nice thing is that it will push the water uphill which is sometimes a necessity for us with our low trailer.  Sometimes the top of the sewage dump is higher than the level f the outlet on our trailer.  Lots of stinky slinky dances...

So we decided it would be best to try this at home for the first time instead of at the RV park. (We've seen the Robin Williams film RV...)  So we also decided while we were at it to clean out the black tank with a handy device called a swizzle stick.  Well, I'm not sure that's the actual name, but we have names for everything.  This is a stick that goes down the toilet into the black tank.  Water runs through it and out this nozzle at the end that spins like crazy blasting out your tank.  Well, all I will say is that it's clean now.  What a joy.

Now I'm seeing that the weather forecast has changed to lot of rain over the next day or so.  We're not too thrilled about that.  But w'll be in wine country in NE Ohio, so there's always something to do even if it's raining.

Big Country 3700FL

To start out I have to say that we are not buying this beast.  Not now anyway...  It's always fun to poke around and look at what might be someday, and after shopping at our local Camping World we stopped in the showroom to see what was new and fun.  I'm posting this one because it has a lot of the features and floor plan that we would like if we were to go full-timing.

This fifth wheel is made by Heartland, and appears to be one of the larger varieties they make in the Big Country series.  From their website it would appear that this is a new floor plan for 2015.

One of the main things we like about it is the living area in the front and the sleeping quarters in the back.  I'm not sure if it's just how the rig is divided up, but we like the use of space. The front end of the trailer usually never has a window so having the TV/fireplace area there makes sense.  The slide on the left of the picture gives you some extra light with all the windows, and you could still sit in there even with the slide in. I'm not sure about the carpet, but I'm usually never sure of carpet in an RV.  Only pseudo-complaint is that it only has one reclining chair and there might be arguments over that - although the cats would love all the room on the couches.

I also liked the bedroom area with it's large king bed and ample storage space.  It doesn't look like one would run out of drawers any time soon.  It also had some nice MCD shades in there so you could sleep in as long as you want.  There is a large closet with a washer/dryer prep so that would be nice as well.  Looking back through and comparing what I remember to the floor plan online, I don't think the bedroom would be easily accessible if the kitchen slide was in (if accessible at all).  I think an important factor for full-timing or even traveling in an RV is how usable it is in a pinch without the slides out.  Not sure this would work so well...

The kitchen was quite nice with a full size fridge, nice layout, and a table with chairs (vs a booth setup).  It has all the comforts and conveniences of home including an oven.  Not a ton of counter space, but with the covers on the sink it starts to make up for that.  I think there was also an area by the table, but I'm not sure if it was useful for kitchen prep.

Like I mentioned this fifth wheel was a beast.  It weighed in at almost a dainty 13000lbs with a GVWR of 15500#.  This would require a serious truck to tow with.  It is billed as a 4-season trailer with R-38 in the floor and roof, R-11 in the walls.  Looks like dual pane windows are an option.

Overall a very nice fiver - nice layout, residential feel, and all the amenities one would want.  And if it's not included in this specific trailer it's an option.  Although the lack of access to the bedroom with slides in would give me pause, with them all out it would feel like quite a home.