Allspice Westward

 3/25- Bolton VT   Ok here we go with some of the numbers from this trip. We were out 117 days or approximately 4 months. Of those 117 days we traveled on 75 of them leaving 40 off days. We traveled 11613 miles which is an average of 156 miles per day on days we traveled. We used 715 gallons of diesel fuel for a cost of $2730.  We averaged out on the whole trip to 16.2 miles per gallon which is pretty good. The most expensive fuel was $7.99 a gallon in California while the cheapest was $2.79 somewhere in Arizona. Average wise the price of fuel was $3.95/ gal.      We visited 11 National Parks, 7 different state parks, and several National Monuments. We camped at 3 BLM sites as we used our discount from our Senior pass quite frequently. We used our Harvest Host membership 4 times and all 4 were rewarding experiences we would otherwise have not had. We did spend 2 nights for free at Cracker Barrel’s and 2 nights in Walmart parking lots. It’s great that these ...

 3/24- Bolton VT   Vermont greeted us this morning with snow. It had been raining when we left my mom’s but it turned to snow around the border. We saw several accidents as we pulled off the highway to visit our friends Denny and Peggy. We skated up and down their driveway as the snow was kind of sticking. Fortunately after spending several hours visiting the snow had let up and we had no issues getting to Richmond. We left the rv in a park and ride because it was mud season and we didn’t know if we could get to our house. We may try it tomorrow.      It feels good to home and be able to drink some really good water. Tomorrow we start to unpack and settle in for a bit while we wait for Nutmeg 

 3/23- Turners Falls MA   It was freezing when we left and it didn’t warm up much all day. Fortunately it was sunny so it felt warm. Today was another all interstate run as we cruised through PA, NY, CT and finally MA. It’s relatively easy to do here in New England as I have done a 6 state day.     We hope to get back to Vermont tomorrow if it doesn’t snow too hard. I would like to thank all my faithful readers for sticking with me even when I didn’t have a lot to say. I hope to get a post with all the numbers in it sometime in the next couple of days that will wrap this adventure up. Stay tuned for the further adventures of Nutmeg coming in a month or so. 

 3/22- Dalton PA    Today was another high speed ( for us anyway) run along the interstate. In fact we stayed on 81 the whole way except for a quick run through Carlisle PA. We have been here many times as K went to college here so it was a trip back in time for us. We just drove by the college and through Carlisle which is a nice old southern town.     The route today had a lot less scenery and a pile of huge warehouses. I think some of these places had to have more than one zip code. This area is where several major interstates intersect. There is a huge amount of truck traffic here and they are catered to by a lot of the businesses.      This little adventure we’ve been on is coming to an end fairly soon and I’d like to mention a few observations. The first is that we really are cementing over the whole country. There are stores everywhere and not just Dollar General and Waffle House. There are fields of condos popping up like mushrooms. I...

 3/21- Edinburgh VI    Today was just a long slog on the interstate. We did 250 miles along highway 81 heading north. As we went over the mountains this morning the wind was very strong. In fact they had blow over warnings out for high profile vehicles. We changed lanes a bit unexpectedly a couple of times but other than that we cruised down out of the mountains.      We picked this campground in Edinburgh because of all the good ratings. It is an odd little campground. It’s not bad mind you just odd. It sits in a hole on the middle of town and is right next to the river. In fact if I backed up a couple of more feet I’d be in the river. Across the river are the backs of all the houses in town.      It’s a nice town with its requisite Dollar General just down the road. We understand there are several good restaurants of which we will not be trying. We are getting more and more ready to get home. Let’s hope any snow holds off until we get there...

 3/20- Elkin NC    We have been turning our 3 hour drives into 5 and 6 hour trips. We are kind of get up in the morning and go kind of people so it is hard for us to just hang around the campsite waiting to leave. The reason we have to wait is that some rv parks have check in times that are in the afternoon and they are adamant that you not be there before. State and national parks are not a problem as you can always just park and enjoy the trails while you wait. We have been able to find random stops along the way and take up some time.     Today we stopped at the visitor center for the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is actually run by the National Park Service and they say this is the most visited park in the country. So far every park we’ve stopped at has told us this. We had wanted to drive on the parkway but a great majority of it is closed due to damage from hurricane Helene last year. There are sections open but they are not usually contiguous.  ...

 3/ 19- Great Smokey Mountains National Park        Like a lot of the national parks we have been to you have to drive quite a bit inside the park. The two main attractions here were 20 and 40 miles away. With the traffic and twisty roads that meant driving 2 hours and then driving back 2 hours. We decided to pick a closer option.       That option was a hike on the Appalachian Trail. The road to the highest part of the park won’t open for another week yet so just past that is where the AT crosses. It is at 5000 feet and is the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. We walked a couple of miles up the trail and turned around. There were some very nice views off to either side of the trail. We did meet a few through hikers headed for Maine which was only 1900 miles away. I would have gone but then I remembered I had to return to the van.        The parking lot on our return was a zoo. It was filled with cars and people...

3/18- Great Smokey National Park, Cherokee NC      Lately the scenery has been pretty much the same. It’s not to say boring but it just seems to repeat itself over and over. You can only see so many pine trees and pine barrens before you begin to have trouble making them seem interesting.        Today however we progressed into the mountains. We drove down long valleys with steep sides only to head back up until we crossed the gap at the top and did it all over again. I only wish we could have seen this when the trees were full. As it is the scenery is impressive.       We are camped next to a very clear and cold rushing mountain stream. There were plenty of folks trying their fly casting skills on the river.       Today was a 3 state day as we took a side trip and drove into South Carolina mostly just to say we were in SC. We did stop and have lunch after crossing the Chattanooga River. This is very near where t...

 3/17- Fort Yargo State Park, Winder GA    It was a pretty easy trip today through some nice countryside. There are a lot of farms and in some places the grass is already 6” high and looking very lush. We took a lot of back roads as we wound through the middle of Georgia. It was very windy all day and it was a challenge to keep the van going straight.     We got here to Fort Yargo State Park and managed a nice walk around this fairly large lake. This is another very nice state park. It has full electric hookups and even very nice showers. The sites are well spread out and are pretty big.     We have found we like staying at state parks because they usually have something to do like hiking. Rv parks don’t really have trails or woods near them. They are mostly parking lots. They do however usually have decent bathrooms and showers. State parks tend to be a little more primitive. The state parks in Texas, Florida and Georgia have all been really...

3/16- Little Ocmulgee State Park, McRae GA    We hung out at the Walmart this morning waiting for the front to move through. It finally came and was more rain than wind. It pour hard for a bit after we were already driving. Once we got a bit more north the sun actually came out.     We passed into Georgia today and almost immediately saw peanuts growing. There were lots of farms and pastures. We did see lots of hurricane damage. The hurricane Helena came through here this past September. There were lots of uprooted trees and houses with blue tarps on their roofs. You would see sheets of metal roofing stuck in trees along the road.     We pulled into Little Ocmulgee State Park and settled in for the night. This is an interesting state park. It has a golf course in it along with a lodge and restaurant. The campground is on the shores of a lake which I assume was the result of a dammed up river. They also had a miniature golf course which we played 1...

 3/15- Live Oak FL    Today was a surprising day. We headed out this morning with no idea where we were going to end up. Almost as soon as we left the campground we saw signs for a state park. This Ichetucknee Spring state park. I knew this would be good because as soon as we got out of the van there were signs for a free pancake breakfast with the rangers. Naturally we took advantage of this perk. This state park has a river running through it and it is mostly a tubing kayaking kind of park. The parking lot was filled with people in bathing suits heading for the river. We decided to check it out and after looking at it decided to rent a kayak. The water is crystal clear and is spring fed so the water stays 72 degrees all the time. We paddled upstream a couple of miles and then drifted down with the current. You see these huge fish in the river called alligator gars. Alayne did get to see an alligator as there was a 6 footer basking in the sun on the bank. There must have...

 3.141592653589793 etc etc - Branford FL    Today’s trip was a bit of a relief as a lot of the ground we covered was not heavily developed. We went through some pine barrens and then scrub barrens. I know this because we stopped and read a plaque about it. They call this the forgotten coast and while there aren’t the great beaches the coast is still pretty. The live oaks hang over the road and provide a nice shade. It was nice not having condos or beach houses every 10 feet.     We are here because we are trying to out guess this big storm. We moved here in the hopes we will see only the tail end of the squall line. Tomorrow we hope to move to another park that may have more solid buildings. We have been in tornadoes before and I don’t want to repeat the experience.     It’s pi day today so you can work out how to divide 22 by 7 and have some fun. Also today there was a successful rocket launch that had people on board. I think they are headed up ...

 3/13-Port St Jo FL    We had a very nice day today visiting with our friends Pat and John. We discovered by accident that they would be in this area so we got in touch. They had rented a beach house out on the peninsula. We hung out there and walked a bit on the beach and had a very nice meal. As it was their last night in the house they off loaded a pile of groceries on us. We are very thankful.     While we were chillin on the beach Mother Nature was brewing up some excitement. A large storm is expected to cross over this area by the weekend. There are predictions of tornadoes and large hail. We hope to move further south and east to hopefully get out of the brunt of it. We’ll re-access tomorrow night to see if we need to move further. 

 3/12- Port St Jo FL, Presnell Rv Park   We thought we would be clever this morning and take a more scenic route that would be close to the water. Well I don’t know whose idea of scenic this was but it was not mine. We drove 130 miles of pure crass commercialism. The highway was lined with all the national brands like Walmart, Home Depot, Target etc etc. When after 20 miles or so and they ran out of brand name stores they just started repeating them. I think we see a Dollar General or Waffle House every third revolution of our tires. We crawled along in heavy traffic through hundreds of traffic lights. We tried a couple of times to turn off and see the beach but each time traffic or mobs of people convinced us to turn around. Even if we had gotten through to the beach it was $20 to park. Of course it was spring break and we saw loads of college age kids walking down the streets.     We did find a state park that let us park for $4 and we walked to a really nice ...

 3/11- Riverview Campground, Robertdale AL    We had a real short drive today so we were on the lookout for things to do. The first was right off the bat we went to the Mississippi Sandhills Crane National Wildlife Ctr which was just down the road from the campground.     We went on a nice nature walk the highlight of which was a field of pitcher plants. None were growing right now but you could see all the old ones through the field. These plants get bugs to crawl in and then digest them. There were also a number of other carnivorous plants there but they were still dormant. The Sandhills crane is an endangered species that exists only here. They can stand 4 feet tall and are known for their dancing.     After a bit of a drive we stopped at an Alabama state park called Blakey. This was the site of the last big battle of the civil war and has the most well preserved battlements. We walked along the actual trenches dug by the Union soldiers an...

 3/10- Ocean Springs MS, The Shed    We buzzed through the last little bit of Louisiana this morning and arrived in Mississippi. We turned off the highway to take a more scenic road and also because we had time to kill. This road ran right along the beach and we stopped several times to walk out and enjoy.      The beach is a very white sandy beach which had all kinds of oyster shells down by the water. Mississippi was also a lot more scenic than Louisiana but that may have more to do with us being on the shore. There were all these antebellum mansions lining the highway next to the beach. It was obviously a higher income area.     We had picked another Harvest Host spot tonight called the Shed. This place is epitome of funky. It is BBQ and blues in a relaxed atmosphere. The place was a collection of Americana or random junk depending on your view. The whole place was definitely an experience. We are camped out in the parking lot after gorgin...

 3/9- Covington LA, Land-o-Pines campground     Well so far Louisiana has not offered a great deal of scenery. Yesterday it was miles of pine barrens and today it was miles of run down homes and junk yards. It was not pretty.     We were looking for a place to take a walk when we saw a sign for a wildlife management area. We decided to take a chance and drove 2+ miles down this gravel road to find a nature trail. Well we walked about a half mile into these thick woods which were surrounded by swamps before we exited stage right. There were a cacophony of bird sounds but the idea of snakes and alligators lurking made us less excited to continue.     We drove across this bridge which had to have been 8 or 9 miles long over land. Well I suppose it was mostly land most of the time.       We cut down to I-12 and crossed the mighty Mississippi River at Baton Rouge. Interestingly the scenery from the interstate was slightly more pleas...

 3/8- Eunice LA, Cajun Campground     Happy Birthday to me. I have managed to survive another winter this time slightly more comfortably than in years past. Thanks for all the birthday wishes     Well folks I got to say the grass is green and the daffodils are up and the trees are ready to pop. It is spring here and with the bigger trees and water in the rivers and streams it begins to feel more like home. Of course I do hope that an alligator doesn’t climb out of the creek next door. What all that really means is that this horse is beginning to sniff the barn. We are missing home and our friends. Alas we are not dumb either. It is still very much winter back there. We are planning to make steady but slow progress heading back north keeping an eye on the weather as we do but this horse has turned for the barn.    Today we left Texas behind. That took quite a while as we traversed almost the entire state. I was almost thinking of filing my taxes he...

 3/7- Sandy Creek campground Jasper TX   It was a short and relatively uninteresting drive this morning. It was more about finding decent cell service than anything else. It was all back roads with lots of turns. There would be no way I could recreate this route as Siri was in charge today and I was along for the ride.    The campsite is an Army Corps of Engineers site which means it is a federal site and my pass will work. We drove about 2 miles into this bayou to find a beautiful campground on the shore of a large lake. There were full hook ups and picnic tables with covers on every site. The sites are well spaced and are pavement.     We had thought that getting here early we would get a hike in but unfortunately the water is really high in the lake. The campground is just about at lake level so if you don’t walk on the pavement you are probably walking in water. It looked like a true bayou and I expected to see alligators along the road. Still it’s...

  3/6- Cagle Campground Sam Houston National Forest      As we drive further north the Texas landscape changes once again. This time we drive by ranches. These are ranches with cows not just acres of scrub brush. We are seeing a lot more cows and baby calves today. The grass is actually green and the trees are way taller than I am. There is even water in the creeks and rivers.       Camp for the night is a National Forest recreation area. It is in the Sam Houston NF and is on the shores of a big lake. The Cagle campground is a wonderful spot with tall Ponderosa Pines or Douglas firs ( I can never remember which is which) towering overhead. The sites are very spread out and they even have electricity and water. All this for $10!         We took a nice hike and then for the first time this trip we built a campfire. Fires have been banned in most of the sites up until now and even when allowed you have to buy wood. The ranger...

 3/5- Victoria TX    We had time to kill so we bopped on down to Padre Island National Seashore. The drive is unexciting as you just drive through about 10 miles of dune grass but once we were at the visitor center it got nice. We walked down onto the beach. They said that 2/3 of the US drains into the Gulf of Mexico and with that comes all the trash. We saw this yesterday but here it wasn’t quite so bad. In a Mile or so walk ( into the wind) we only picked up a couple of pieces of trash. However near the visitor center were the dune was worn away you could see lots of little chips of plastic imbedded in the sand.     We drove over a large bridge and into Corpus Christi where we were met with a tangle of roads that looked like a pile of spaghetti. Thankfully Siri was paying attention and navigated us through. I think we crossed over the bay 3 different times. Once we could see the aircraft carrier Lexington sitting in the harbor.     We final...

 3/4- Mustang Island State Park     This morning we took a walk down the beach. Texas makes available these net bags for picking up trash on the beach. They are available for free at stations all along the beach. The cool thing is lots of people use these bags and pick up trash. We certainly did. In about a 1 1/2 Mile walk we filled 2 bags so full I could barely lift them up into the dumpster. The sad part is we hardly dented the amount of trash that washes ashore here. Even on the walk back we were seeing new trash that had washed up in less than one hour.      Bottle caps were the big winner if you can call them that. There were literally thousands of bottle caps. We even found a bottle that was corked but alas no treasure map. After hearing all the talk about microplastics it really hits home when you watch the wave die on the beach and there is this thin line of mostly tiny pieces of plastic left behind. You just know that fish and birds are mistak...

 3/3- Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi TX    The rooster got up early and the dogs got excited about something in the dark. Everybody but the rooster calmed down eventually.     We returned to the ocean today. Specifically the Gulf of Mexico or whatever. We are on an island just north of Padre Island. The campground is about a 1/4 mile from the ocean so we can hear it coming on shore. The wind has been blowing hard the last couple of days and tonight it is supposed to blow really hard. The beach here is pretty shallow and so the waves aren’t too big though we will see what it looks like in the morning.     Joe, you’ll be happy to note it is only 253 miles from here to Palm Beach. We took a nice long walk down the beach and looked for some gulf coast sea beans. We didn’t find much as there are not even very many shells. We spend another day here hoping the sun might make an appearance and then we hope to move northward for a bit. ...

 3/2- Lake City TX    We woke the last couple of mornings to an unusual event— fog. Yesterday the fog rolled in and then out again an hour later. Today it didn’t get much further either but it was unusual to see fog at all in this very dry climate.      We drove to Lake Corpus Christi state park for a hike as our check in time wasn’t until 2. This is a very nice facility. Everything is modern and well kept. The lake is again formed by a dam and is down probably 20 feet due to drought. We had a nice couple mile walk through a mesquite forest. Some of the trees are blossoming with these tiny yellow balls of a flower. I don’t know what kind of tree it is but I can tell you it has plenty of thorns.     We pulled into our campsite for the night which was another Harvest Host site. This time it is an Alpaca farm. We are camped all by ourselves back in the north 40. It’s not that far but it is really nice. They have about 20 alpacas here with sheep ...

 3/1- Three Rivers TX   Today we did nothing all day. I futzed around doing a few little things on the rv but nothing significant. We are here biding our time as we have reservations at a campground on Mustang Island that doesn’t start until Monday. There wasn’t a whole lot to do around the campground. This campground is filled with long termers. A lot of these people work in the oil business. One guy we talked to worked at a refinery doing some long term maintenance.  He comes here for a month or so and when done moves on to the next refinery. Most of these folks are gone all day and when they get here just go to sleep.      Meanwhile we just napped and read and planned. There was no good place to walk to so we just whiled away the day.      The weather was nice and sunny. It was actually hot this afternoon though it will cool off nicely tonight into the low 60’s.      Last night in case you missed it was the great planetary a...