Heading West to Vegas

 06 Oct      Cincinnati, Ohio - Benton, Illinois     318 miles  4 hours 45 minutes

We spent 3 nights at South Sandusky Campground in Benton, Illinois. It's part of the Rend Lake Recreation Area and a COE campground. That means with Joe's senior access pass we get 50% off campground rates. For water and electric, we paid $11 per night. Good deal!

Rend Lake has a few other campgrounds around the lake.

This campground doesn't have a lot of lake views but its still very nice. There was a very nice bike path and we took advantage of that. We biked 12 miles one day. The weather was still very cool so we stayed inside a lot and just chilled. 

09 Oct     Benton, IL - Joplin, MO       393 miles     5 hours

We stayed at Downstream Casino RV Park for1 night. Interesting location because the RV park is located in the southwest tip of Missouri and the casino is in the northeast tip of Oklahoma. 

When you join the casino players club they give you one free night of RV camping. If not, its $35 per night. Water and electric at the site and a dump station. It's a pretty nice campground and pretty quiet. 

There's not a lot of eating options in the casino so we tried the buffet. $25 per person and kind of junky. That's okay because I made $150 playing blackjack. 

10 Oct      Joplin, MO - Edgewood, NM      722 miles     14 hours 30 minutes

We got an early start this morning, on the road at 5am. This was a very long travel day. We took a break at Cracker Barrel in Amarillo, Tx and was planning to camp in their parking lot. When we checked the Windy app it showed very high winds in the next couple of days. So after eating, we packed up and hit the road.

We ended up boondocking at Walmart parking lot in Edgewood, New Mexico. So today we traveled through the whole state of Oklahoma, the northern part of Texas, and the into New Mexico. We gained an hour so when we parked it was 630pm. We were exhausted!

11 Oct      Edgewood, NM - Flagstaff, AZ        329 miles      5 hours 50 minutes

Very early start this morning, on the road at 4am. The winds will pick up today so the goal was to be parked at Twin Arrows Casino in Flagstaff, Arizona by 10am. We've stayed here several times. Right off I-40 about 20 miles before Flagstaff. 

We made one stop to fill up diesel. The last 10 miles or so was pretty hectic. The winds starting whipping and we had to slow down. This was probably the worst winds we've driven in. We pulled in right before 9am and so glad to be off the highway. 

Throughout the day a lot of other rigs pulled in to get out of the wind. It finally settled down late in the evening.    

Twin Arrows Casino Parking Lot

12 Oct     Flagstaff, AZ - Camp Verde, AZ       82 miles     1 hour 30 minutes

We're at Verde Ranch RV Resort for 2 nights. Passport America is accepted here so we save 50%. We're meeting our friends Goody and Donna and just plan to hang out for a couple of days before heading back to Las Vegas. 

Spacious sites

14 Oct     Camp Verde, AZ - Las Vegas, NV      300 miles     6 hours

We spent 3 nights at Las Vegas RV Resort to clean up the RV and get it ready for storage. Full hook ups for $142. Las Vegas is still pretty hot, the high is about 90 degrees. 

Back in storage

17 Oct     Las Vegas - Henderson, NV

Our last 2 nights in Las Vegas was at Sunset Station in Henderson. Sunset Station is very convenient to where we store our RV so we like staying here. Our 2 nights was comp and at this hotel, when you have comp rooms there is no resort fees. 

19 Oct  

We tried Southwest Airlines for the first time. The flight was delayed about 2 hours but everything else was pretty good. As far as leg room the seats on Southwest is about the same as Hawaiian Airlines  comfort seats. Reclining on the seats are much better and even though Southwest doesn't serve a meal, they come around with snacks and drinks throughout the whole flight. Because Joe is a "person of size" we get a free seat on Southwest. We had to buy an extra seat but got refunded right away, Hawaiian would never offer that! 

So even with the delay, I would use Southwest Airlines again. Let's face it, we've traveled on Hawaiian Airlines for years and have had our share of delays. 

Last thoughts....

Traveling to the New England states has been on our bucket list for several years and we're so happy we finally got to do it. Adding the trip to the Maritimes was a good move. We got to ride on the super ferry (still called Alakai) between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. We took it slow and enjoyed everything. We've been away for 4 1/2 months and that's the way to do it.

 

We have some things to look forward to. Our daughter Miki and her husband Justin is expecting  their 2nd son in early March and our son Josh and his wife is expecting a baby girl in April. Meanwhile, our brother in law passed away in October so we'll be having services in December. 

On this trip we traveled 8,356 miles in the RV and 6, 243 miles in the truck. Our diesel fuel cost was a little over $3700 and our gas bill was a little over $1100. 

We added 8 states to our map and have only 7 more to go. 

New York, Ohio,

25 Sept    Ferrisburgh, VT - Cold Brook, NY      155 miles    4 hours

 

The drive from Vermont to New York was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Adirondack Park, such a treasure in upstate New York. Over 6 million acres known for its fall foliage, forested mountains, and beautiful wilderness.

  We spent 1 night at Adirondack Gateway Campground. We needed full hookups after boondocking for 5 nights. They accept Passport America so we paid $22. This park is very nice, wish we could've stayed longer. 

26 Sept   Cold Brook, NY - Hamilton, NY     57 miles     2 hours

We spent 1 night at Good Nature Farm Brewery in Hamilton, New York. This is a Harvest Host location and it's close to Colgate University. Our niece is in her first year and we got to visit with her. 

Colgate University has a beautiful campus. Lots of old buildings that date back to the early 1900's and is very well maintained. 

Roma took us on a tour of the campus and then we jumped in the truck and toured the town of Hamilton. Did a little shopping and then had dinner at Good Nature Farm Brewery. 

We're so glad we got to visit Roma and check out where she'll be spending the next 4 years. 

27 Sept     Hamilton, NY - Bath, NY        166 miles     4 hours

We're spending 5 nights in Bath, NY. This is a Boondockers Welcome location. That means free camping at a private residence. It's called Sunny Acres Farm and the couple is very accommodating. They have around 13 acres with horses, free range chickens that goes all over, and a very friendly golden retriever. There's a creek along the back of the property, very nice. The location is very convenient to the Finger Lakes area. 

Letchworth State Park is known as the Grand Canyon of the East. The park comprises 14,350 acres - approximately 1 1/2 miles wide and 17 miles long - of scenic magnificence along the mighty Genesee River. 

The steep Genesee Gorge walls, the river winding below, the plunge and spray of dramatic waterfalls and the lush forest all contribute to make the park one of the most notable examples of waterfall and gorge scenery in the eastern United States. 

Within the park the Genesee River roars over three major waterfalls, one of which is 107 feet high. Each year the river cuts deeper into the dramatic cliffs which approach 600 feet in height. 

The Genesee Arch Bridge is a famous steel railroad bridge near Upper Falls. Since the original bridge was built in 1875, the Genesee Arch Bridge has been replaced two times. The bridge stands 234 feet above Upper Falls and 850 feet across the gorge. The railroad bridge is easily one of the most photographed locations in Letchworth State Park. 

Letchworth Upper Falls curves like a narrow horseshoe and is framed by its outstanding man made feature - a steel arched railroad bridge. 

Middle Falls resembles a much smaller version of Niagara Falls with huge volumes of water crashing over its relatively short drop. 

Lower Falls is Letchworth's smallest, quaintest, quietest, and arguably prettiest waterfall. We had a longer hike to this falls. We walked along the Gorge Trail, and had to go down a set of 127 stairs to reach Lower Falls and a stone footbridge.

We crossed the stone footbridge and followed the cliff hugging path to the overlook point. The views were gorgeous looking up river at the ornate bridge and waterfall combination.

Letchworth State Park was absolutely gorgeous. It's not peak fall foliage yet but it's pretty darn close. 

Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with a reputation for leaving visitors spellbound. 

The Gorge Trail along Glen Creek is particularly stunning. boasting 19 waterfalls in about 2 miles. The path winds over and under waterfalls and through the cascading spray of water. We also went through cool stone caverns. 

Many, many stairs but well worth the climb and very wet and muddy in areas, hiking boots are a must. 

 

 The Finger Lakes Welcome Center is located on the northern shore of Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes. We were driving to Syracuse to meet some friends for lunch and this was on the way. Great stop, one of the nicest welcome centers we've been to. Beautiful building,  gorgeous setting,  clean, friendly people working there, and a beautiful walking path. They also sell food and have a great picnic area with a cool playground 

We met Dave & Celina at Caliente Springs RV Resort in California. We would play pickleball and hang out at the pool. They live in Ontario, Canada so about 3 hours from Syracuse, NY. Close enough to make the drive and meet for lunch. 

Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse was really, really good. We were so busy eating and talking, I forgot to take pictures! We had a very nice visit with Dave & Celina, and they brought us some Canadian maple syrup...yummy. 

We're plan to meet up again at Caliente next spring. 

02 Oct     Bath, NY - Stow, OH      277 miles     5 hours 15 minutes

This is a new state for us. Quick stop at Silver Springs Campground in Stow, Ohio. This is a small city park with electric only, $18 per night. We had site #24 and it was a challenge to get level but we did it. Nice park and very close to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

On the first night, the ranger that works at this campground invited everyone to come out to the open field and see the International Space Station fly over the area. This was a first for me, very cool. Did you know that it circles earth every 90 minutes?

We spent the day exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  

Brandywine Falls is a scenic 60 foot cascading waterfall that is the most popular point of interest in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Nice boardwalk with lots of steps which leads to the upper and lower decks. The views of the rushing water is gorgeous. 

The Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail is a path where, from 1827 to 1913, mules pulled canal boats laden with passengers and goods up and down the historic Ohio & Erie Canal. 

The Towpath Trail is more than 90 miles long, we biked 10 miles.

Our last stop for the day was at Szalay's Sweet Corn Farm & Market. One of the nicest farm markets that we've come across on our travels. Huge selection of fresh produce. On weekends they sell food and there's cool swing picnic tables that you can eat on. 

It's fall season, so lots and lots of pumpkins and squash. Everything is beautifully displayed. There's also a corn maze and haunted house. Such a fun place, I just wish we were there on the weekend so we could enjoy their sweet corn on site. Bought lots of fruits and veggies, even fresh bread.

More pictures from our campground

  04 Oct     Stow, OH - Cincinnati, OH     251 miles       5 hours

   Another quick stop for us at FMCA Campground in Cincinnati, Ohio. We're members of FMCA so it's $15 per night for full hook ups. As members, we're allowed to stay for 2 nights at this rate. Very nice campground.

Our friends, Alfred and Elaine met us and we had a nice visit. They live about 1/2 hour away. We met them 2 years ago in Red Bay, Alabama at the Tiffin service center along with their friends Tom and Vicky. These 2 couples are so funny, we just clicked. We had so much fun with them at Red Bay, we followed them to Nashville and spent another couple days together. So nice to see them.

We drove to Williamstown, KY and visited the Ark Encounter. The centerpiece of the park is a large representation of Noah's Ark, based on the Genesis flood narrative contained in the Bible. It's huge!

The inside is filled with many exhibits and  plaques giving lots of information. We enjoyed ourselves but have mixed feelings about this place. Seems to be very money hungry. We got a seniors discount, so $50 per person to get in. Parking $15, no bathrooms near ticket booth and shuttle, port-a- potties, I guess that counts. The Ark had 3 floors to explore, gift shop on every floor. There's scooters and strollers for rent. If you need one, wouldn't you have one already?

It was very, very crowded. There's a lot to read and very interesting but so much people, it was impossible to stop by every plaque to read. And then the scooters......I guess you can rent a scooter if you are handicapped or have a hard time walking. There were so many scooters, you really had to have a lot of patience, waiting for them to maneuver themselves. A lot of scooters didn't give a shit and just blocked the way. I hate to judge because I might need a scooter one day but there seemed to be a lot of lazy people that just wanted a scooter so they didn't have to walk. There were a lot of benches in the whole area so I don't think this attraction should rent scooters. If people really needed a scooter to get around, they would have their own....just my 2 cents.

We had lunch at the buffet, which was surprisingly, really good. There was a senior rate 60+ $15 per person. Really enjoyed eating here, I think we ate for one hour. There were other attractions but we didn't check them out. Zip-lining, a virtual reality thing, carousel and playground for the kids, zoo, camel riding, most of these for an extra charge.