Monday, March 18, 2024

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 155

 Monday, March 18, 2024 - Henry Horton State Park, Lewisburg, TN - 128.9 Miles, 5,904.5 Miles for the trip

I forgot to post a photo of my mouse eaten chair yesterday so here it is:

The Mouse Eaten Chair

Not a bad drive on I 40 to Henry Horton other than the potholes. They don't fix them, they just put up signs letting you know they are in the road. It isn't a recent problem; I noted the same signs in my journal 2 years ago. In any case, they are correct - there are lots of them. I arrived at Henry Horton around 12:30.

They are doing work on the main campground road & have a gravel detour to get into the camping area. I'm in site 31 (where I've been before), a water & electric site on asphalt. Has a picnic table & fire ring, needed a 2" drop on the tongue, level side to side, slight railroad noise, and close to the bathrooms. $33.89 per night. I didn't hook up the water line - it is suppose to go down to 25°F by morning; at 5:00 it is 47°F. 

Site 31

It is nice to have internet connections at the trailer. Verizon is fast at 69.26Mbps down & 15.05Mbps up. Unfortunately, I can't give you the data rates for AT&T. My phone shows 3 bars, but my Netgear AT&T cell modem died. It won't turn on. The battery is swollen, and it won't run with it in or out. It is probably more than the battery since the NetGear website says that it should run without one if it is connected to a stable USB supply. I have to be careful if I have to replace the entire modem - it is running a long retired real unlimited (at least I have hit 80GB in a billing period without a slowdown) plan that is only $23.49 per month.

I finished Highfire on the drive to the campground, and am about 1/3 through my first real book in years - Steve Berry's The Omega Factor.

Dinner was an Evol Chicken Enchilada Bake.

Until Tomorrow -

Sunday, March 17, 2024

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 154

Sunday, March 17, 2024 -Pin Oaks Campground, Natchez Trace State Park, TN, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 5,775.6 Miles for the trip

My stomach survived the BBQ. By 12:00 we went from a full campground to 3 trailers left in this section, and a couple in the section next door. 

I decided to do a load of laundry since the machines were $2.00 each, but discovered that I was out of Tide pods. The dryer takes 2 $2.00 runs on high heat to dry a normal washer load of clothes.

I packed up the laptop & both modems and headed to Walmart 10 miles away. Of course I bought more than the pods, but then sat in the parking lot, fired up the modems & had a usable signal on the AT&T. It wouldn't do FaceTime with either my daughter Karin in Takoma Park, MD or the Guidos somewhere in Florida, but voice worked OK.

Back at the campground I started the 30 minute timers for the heaters in the bathroom (there are 2 gas fired heaters, one for the main area & another for the showers). Started a load of laundry next door, then headed for a shower. Not bad for a state park. No bench in the drying area, but a high shelf that is reachable from the shower, particularly because there is no shower curtain. About 1/2 the drying area floor gets wet. 3 Hooks, no shelf in the shower. Good low volume shower head, and plenty of adjustable hot water. While there is no bench in the drying area, there are 4 showers, and a bench outside the shower drying areas that runs the length of the showers and gets most of the heat from the gas fired heater. Overall a B.

Since I washed the pants I was wearing, a deciding factor on the replacement pair was tomorrow's weather report. Morning temperatures at Henry Horton State Park (tomorrow's stop) will be 23°F. While I won't be getting there until at least noon so it is likely that it will be warmer, the high is only going to be 47°F, and the next couple of days have highs in the 50's, so my flannel lined cargo pants seemed to make the most sense.

Not all that warm here at 58°F at 2:00, but no wind, so I sat outside reading. I finished Screwed, the second (and last) in the series by Eoin Colfer. I'm also listening to one of his audio books - Highfire. I usually try to avoid the same author on both, but they are different enough that there is no confusion between the two. I started The Exchange of Princesses by Chantal Thomas. It was a slow start, and I found a copy of Steve Berry's The Omega Factor in the laundry room & decided to read an actual book. The princesses will have to wait. An interesting observation - my Kindle is set up so that the time is at the top of the page. I have become so used to looking at the top of the page for the time that I keep doing it reading the paper book. Somehow that doesn't work!

Anyhow, I opened the truck tailgate to pull out my second favorite chair (my favorite is a rocker, but a pain to open & close. As a slid out the chair a mouse jumped out of it. The chair is an air cushioned version that has an air bladder behind the 2 layers of the back cover. The mouse chewed through the back, filled it full of stuffing, and moved in. He couldn't have been there long - I used the chair at Village Creek. In any case, he jumped out and ran into the truck bed. I opened the folding bed cover & pulled out everything without finding the mouse. Finally, I thought like a mouse & looked in the hollow handle of my jack. The mouse was looking back at me. He wouldn't shake out, but a baseball like swing sent him flying into a tree. Unfortunately for him, he didn't recover. So, I tossed the chair & put everything back in the truck. I didn't get in as much reading as I expected.

Still no internet connection at the campsite, so I'll make a trip to the lodge to post this & check my mail after dinner. 

Dinner was a Butterball turkey burger and the rest of a batch of fresh asparagus.

Until Tomorrow -

Saturday, March 16, 2024

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 153

Saturday, March 16, 2024 -Pin Oaks Campground, Natchez Trace State Park, TN - 176.9 Miles, 5,775.6 Miles for the trip

Part of the drive was on US 64, the rest on a very heavily trafficked I 40, even a couple of stop & go sections. My GPS got lost near the campground - it looks like the road is new. In any case, I eventually found a road that led to Pin Oaks Lodge Road, which also goes to the campground.

I'm in site 43, a full hook up site on gravel with a fire pit, charcoal grill & picnic table. It needed 2 1/2" side to side & a 4" drop of the tongue to level. Different rates for Saturday & Sunday, and a 25% in season senior discount plus taxes & reservation fee averages out to $34.35 per night. The campground is crowded - only one or two empty sites & they have reserved tickets on them.

Site 43

A sunny 67°F outside, I sat & read. You won't know any of this until I find a internet connection. While my AT&T cell phone shows 1 bar, no data, and the Verizon phone shows SOS only. No park WiFi. So, for the first time on the trip, no connection to the outside world  (although I can still listen to XM Radio). 

I don't remember having this problem the last time I was here, but can't look up my old pages in line. I looked at the Dreamweaver page I posted from on my 2022 trip & it showed AT&T at 7Mbps & Verizon at 2Mbps. I was in site 23 which is visible from my current site.

I may take a drive with the modems to the lodge to see if there is coverage there. Otherwise, it won't be until Monday to post the next 2 day's journals.

I checked at the restaurant at the park lodge & they are having a BBQ Buffet. That may be a bit hard on my recovering stomach, but they also have their normal menu so I might try them for dinner. 

I checked with the front desk & they gave me the password for the lodge WiFi. I also looked over the Buffet, and there was plenty that I was comfortable eating, including one rib. Good but somewhat expensive compared to my usual meals.

Until Tomorrow -

Friday, March 15, 2024

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 152

Friday, March 15, 2024 - Village Creek State Park, Wynne, AR, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 5,598.7 Miles for the trip

A stormy night! We were on the edge of a bunch of strong thunderstorms overnight. Light to heavy rain, lots of lightning, even a bit of small hail. It stopped around 8:00AM. We are down to 4 trailers in the B section of Village Creek. The trailer with 3 kids left this morning. I will never complain about one night stops - they pulled in around dinner time, got 3 bikes out of the trailer, did the usual set up while the kids cruised the park, made dinner just before the rain started, then packed it all back up and headed out around 9:00AM. Makes my overnight stops look simple.

While the rain has stopped, it is a dreary day. 60°F, gray skies & soggy. I did my usual forum & journal reading on the laptop, then spend the morning reading on my Kindle. I started Plugged by Eoin Colfer, a new author for me. So far an enjoyable novel.

Very light rain started around 11:00AM. Since I'm out of milk, I decided to make a run to Walmart. While only 9 miles from the park, it is a 25 minute drive - lots of curves. An even longer drive back - The speed limit in the park is 30MPH for most of it, at least until you get among the campsites, and 4 miles of the drive is in the park. All double lines, and a truck in front of me decided that a safe speed was between 10 & 15MPH. Took a long time to get back.

Back at the trailer I decided to head for a shower. 2 showers in the Men's bathroom, one handicapped. The smaller one has a bench in the drying room & 1 hook on the wall. No door or shower curtain. The large, fine spray shower head aims at the drying area, and soaks almost all of it. Plenty of hot water with an adjustable temperature control. While there is a ceiling heater in the bathroom over the showers, it never ran & it is 55°F outside; a bit warmer in the bathroom, but cool for a shower. Overall, a C.

As of 3:00 we are back to 5 trailers in the 30 site campground - a small single axle trailer just arrived. Around 5:00 a large crowd of RVs arrived - we are now up to 16.

Dinner was a Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice bowl.

Until Tomorrow -

Thursday, March 14, 2024

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 151

Thursday, March 14, 2024 - Village Creek State Park, Wynne, AR - 159.8 Miles, 5,598.7 Miles for the trip 

Not a bad trip to Village Creek. I started out with $3.09 per gallon non ethanol gas at the Toad Suck store. I only needed 10 gallons; best price for straight gas I've seen, in fact it is the same $ as the 10% gas at Loves on the way. Although I planned to take the back roads between Conway & Wynne, my GPS detoured me saying that part of the road on my route was closed. Since parts of the 2 lane roads didn't have a nearby alternative, I decided to go with the route the GPS picked which was almost completely on I 40. Very heavy traffic, but while cloudy, no rain.

I arrived at Village Creek State Park around 12:30, signed in at the visitor center & got 25% off for today as a senior discount. No discount for weekends (tomorrow). I'm in site B49, which is on top of the hill. First time I've stayed in the "B" campground - nicer than the one below, and there is cell coverage on both AT&T & Verizon - AT&T at 3.06Mbps down & .6Mbps up; Verizon at 14.9Mbps down & 1.0Mbps up. My notes on previous visit at the lower campground show no cell coverage.

The site is full hookup on a concrete pad that is only 1/2" off level, a charcoal grill & fire pit, and close to the bathrooms. Some of the sites have steep entrances, but most have level pads. With fees, discounts, and taxes, $39.03 per night for two nights. A near empty campground.

Site B49

After setting up I sat outside and read for most of the afternoon. Talked with a couple originally from NY now living in Vermont. They were interested in information about Quartzsite. 

Dinner was a Guy Fieri's Sweet & Sour Pork bowl. I picked it up by mistake - thought it was chicken, but it was pretty good.

Until Tomorrow -