Just A Rambling Week :)

Our campground was in St Peters, Missouri, northwest part of the metro St Louis. How did we come to this place? Well, over a year ago Betty and I found out we would be in this area the same time. She and I met through our blogs; it was a privilege for Kevin and I to meet up with her and Dan last year. They were volunteering at Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida and we were able to see them. The second we pulled into our campsite, we jumped out, put out the bedroom slide, hooked up power and water and texted Betty we were ready. HAHA They had suggested they pick us up so we wouldn’t even have to unhook the truck from our 5th wheel. So nice. We had a wonderful visit with them. Sharing stories, struggles, breakdowns of RVs, future plans, and more. They are really sweet with each other and I see them often holding hands. Betty remembered that we like Mexican food and made a Mexican casserole. Delicious and not spicy! For dessert, remembering I don’t like chocolate, she made lemon cake. So thoughtful. I said I would like to order this meal for next year when we come. HAHA We then played one round of Skip-bo and then they took us home (footnote 1). Such a wonderful time with Betty and Dan. 

Flat Farmland, Wayne City, IL 04/25

The next morning was another Travel Day and we were ready to go quickly since we were already hooked up. We drove down the road to a Circle K (fuel and convenience store) that had diesel bays. It was packed getting in there and there were bob-tail trucks parked everywhere! Even along the driveway we had to go into the opposite lane to get to the pumps. I wondered if a company parks them there until they need them. Who knows.

Then we headed down the road. I will tell you – it is awesome to go through big cities on Sunday mornings!!! We had no traffic in and around St Louis. A few cars every once in a while; it was great. Little drizzle but didn’t last long. We saw the Arch as we passed over Mississippi River (we have both been there before). I remember in Tennessee, when we were heading west last year, the east side of the Mississippi River was hilly and the west side was flat bottomland. Here it is the opposite: hilly on the west side and then the east side was flat. Farmland.

Tons Of Water, Albers, IL 04/25

We saw a lot of water – it looked like south swamp states. Many rivers are over their banks. The route to our campground at Diamond Caverns took us around Bowling Green and then back up north on I-65. I was double checking routes all day because Garmin RV 1090 wouldn’t find the campground when I entered the name and then tried the address.

The Long Route Garmin Took Us Diamond Caverns RV Resort; See I-65 Close To The Blue Dot? HAHA

As we got to Bowling Green I tried again and it took the address. It said to get off at exit 30; RV Trip Wizard and Apple Maps said to get off at exit 48. Well, we picked Garmin thinking there might be a low bridge or something. Although Kevin said not around here with all the grain trucks and farm equipment. We turned off and followed Garmin. It took us through roads that didn’t have shoulders on them but otherwise it was neat to see the houses and tiny towns. It took us over to 31W, then north on 101 to Brownsville. Then turn right on road 70 and soon here is the place. Nope, nothing around and no campground. We kept driving 21 more minutes along this road. It was a fun road, narrow, and we passed some hiking areas of Mammoth Caves but not the visitor center. We turned right on Mammoth Cave Pkwy and some more miles there was the Diamond Caverns RV Resort. Later I looked the route up on my iPhone again and took this screenshot and marked the route we went. LOL Ah, the fun adventures we have!

One evening Kevin went to Bowling Green, 30 minutes away, to run an errand. I gave him a list of candy I was hungry for and for him to pick one. He bought all the kinds! Love him. We have plenty of candy for our 8:00 p.m. snacks. I asked him to text me when he was on his way home so I could start the Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil. Later he texted to not cook the Shrimp Boil, he was “cooking” and ordered pizza hut. Well, I already had shrimp boil cooking! So we ate the pizza and he will ate the shrimp boil for lunches. HAHA

Archways, Bell’s Tavern, 1800s, Park City, KY 05/25

Another day,  we went the 6 minutes to Bell’s Tavern. It was built in the 1820s as a stop for the stage coach and later the train – the tracks are right in front. In burned down completely in 1858 for a total loss. In 1860 it was being rebuilt with stone but then the Civil War happened and reconstruction stopped.

Stones Hanging On, Bell’s Tavern, 1800s, Park City, KY 05/25

These ruins are really neat to see: we can tell there was a basement with large windows, the tavern was huge, and we like the huge windows with the arch at the tops.  Surrounding the ruins is a very large city park. 

Back at the truck I got in and started looking on Find A Grave and to see if there was a cemetery nearby. I looked to the left and there it was. Very small and very old. While I was looking for 2 photo request headstones, Kevin changed the windshield wipers. Well, one. The second one was a broken one! Someone at Walmart had returned it all ripped apart. Kevin then walked over to the cemetery. We can see all the headstones and the two requests must have been the broken ones with no names readable. We then drove on east continuing on we drove the little country road. We saw tons of happy cows in grass very tall. Old tobacco barns are everywhere. 

This day I did the first square for my “Fabric Places Quilt.” (Above, left.) My “Fabric Places Quilt” is going to be mostly 6 inch square blocks, each from fabric we have bought around the country. It should depict the area. I am able to cut out little pieces to show-and-tell of the area. The one with the darling cactus I did a 9-patch pattern. With my machine I stitched the city, state, month and year at the top. Turned out cute. I need to remember to trim between the letters later when I put all the pieces together. So/sew fun! 😉

Bell’s Tavern, 1800s, Park City, KY 05/25

1. “Home” is where we park it. Home is our 2022 Alliance Avenue, 36 ft, 5th wheel.