All the Rest and Onward to Crestview

After Gavins Point we went to Whitebreast Campground on Lake Red Rock in Iowa . It is located SE of Des Moines and about 20 miles from Ottumwa. There is little in the area except farmers, hunters and fishermen. The nearby Dam, Red Rock Dam of course, after all this is a Corp Engineers Park, does not produce hydroelectric power but does provide a wonderful lake area for fishermen and other water activities from the Des Moines river. The closest towns were Pella (yes, it is the Pella of Pella Windows) and Knoxville (the sprint car race capital of the world). We explored Pella with its Dutch ancestry, ate breakfast twice at the local cafe and of course bought wonderful fabric at the local quilt store. We also spent some time in Knoxville but didn't do the Sprint Car Museum. Of course we drove over to Fairfield,IA the home of Vintage Power Wagons to see if they just happened to have a hood for his "cream puff" 1941 WC (that was for you Joan). They didn't have one in any better condition than he already owns so fortunately we didn't have to find a place in the already overstuffed HHR to bring it home. In addition to always looking out for old power wagons and of course trim pieces for my 57 dodge town wagon, we spent time in every location searching in all sorts of places for the elusive front passenger fender for a old Jeep CJ. All in all a nice time.

On Friday, 8/21 we left Whitebreast on the way to Grand Rivers, Ky (Paducah area) - via Hannibal, MO. Not ones to drive 500 miles a day if we can do otherwise, we opted to stay a few days on the way at Ray Berhens Campground on Mark Twain Lake (yes another Corp of Engineers park so there was a dam nearby). You can tell from the changes in my pictures, both content and amount, that I may have seen enough dams for this trip, although they continue to fascinate me as they all have wonderful history around them. This is another campground in the middle of nowhere - guess that is where they place dams and recreation areas. We did find a garage sale in the nearby town of Perry where we bought a 75 cent 550 piece puzzle and a $10 chair. Getting the chair into the little car was a feat in itself, the puzzle was no problem! The chair is an old style, upholstered with very wide wooden arms and legs. We had to almost empty the back of the car, put the chair in and then relocate all of Bruce's wheel finds and my quilting project cases to take it with us and Hazel had to ride back to the campground on my lap. That was an experience for both of us! She wasn't really too impressed with having to look out of the window on my lap - no standing or sticking her hared out as we drove. You surely suspect with that explanation that we don't have much room any longer in the car so riding the dog around for her daily tours is no longer an option. Just as well- we are getting so close to the hot muggy weather that having the car windows open is no longer and option.

Once we left Ray Berhens on Sunday we drove directly to Eureka Campground off US 62S just outside of Grand Rivers, KY. We have stayed there before on the same exact site so knew what we were getting into. The sites are on the side of Lake Barkley and are sloped and terraced, so getting level is not always easy. And to make things worse, the motorhome was cocked and on a hill when we pulled in so Bruce almost had to beat the poor HHR off the tow bar. That would have made for a wonderful visit to the area- but we managed all and ended up having nice weather and a wonderful stay. The next morning we had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (hadn't seen one of those for months) and then popped into Paducah for me to buy some acid-free solid plastic fabric organizers to wrap my yards of fabric and store neatly once we get home (Stop laughing!!) After that purchase and again having to find room in the already overstuffed (that was a chair play on words) car, we hit Hancocks of Paducah for me to try to find some black fabric to finish one of my projects and Gander Mountain for a new 12x12 screen room (on sale no less). We ended up in the SAMs for a few staples (the best fresh salsa and some good sirloins)and then headed back to the campground. Bruce took off that afternoon on another jeep fender search, but again, there was nothing he wanted to pay to haul home. Now if they were giving these things away we would proably have had to buy another trailer to pull behind the motorhome with everything we had found and I would be driving the HHR instead of riding in the motorhome. The next day we ran into the little town of Eddyville for a box of Miss Neda's homemade donuts (her husband is up all night making them and at 5 AM she opens with hot donuts of all varieties - they are wonderful) and then explored one of the other Corp parks (Canal) on Lake Barkley. Once we reviewed all the sites there we decided we were at the better campground (Eureka), but they had the better bathrooms and showers. Guess you can't have everything all of the time. We ended the day with dinner at the Oasis Southwest Grill and got ready to leave early for Florida.

We left Eureka round 6:40AM on Wednesday, 8/26 (we tried to get out earlier but my internal alarm did not work and the air condition obviously drowned out the coffee pot when it beeped completion)trying to beat the work traffic through Nashville. It pretty much worked, but not because we got out early. Unfortunately, we had to stop to investigate a sudden, unexpected clanging noise from under The Beast. I just knew we had a real problem when I first heard it and could see the dollar signs flying out of our account and the days flying by as we waited for a part to fix it. Buce, on the other hand, just slowed down until we could find an exit to let him take a look, although when you are looking for one, they never seem to materialize. After a couple of miles we found a convenient Flying J and pulled, dragged out the moving pad and Bruce crawled under The Beast where he found a small metal cover over the AC had dropped down and was dragging. Apparently the area where the bolt went through to the frame had broken and one end of the cover had fallen down and was being dragged along the road, making all sorts of nasty noises. We were lucky it was that small, that it was visible and even better, that Bruce could take it, off with the tools he carries. We don't carry much to work on The Beast- it is a diesel pusher on a freightliner chassis and if something happens to any of the related parts, well we are out of luck, even to changing a tire (they are 22.5 RV tires- think big truck) - we would just have to call AAA. Anyway, that stop along with the inevitable Putting America Back To Work road constructions that are occurring on all Interstates delayed us enough that when we hit Nashville around 9AM and it wasn't too very bad. The worst place is the one lane merge from I-24 on to I-65 and since it is the only direct route into the city, everyone takes it. One lane from one interstate to another is enough of a problem by itself but the traffic jam there is made much worse because there is an exit as I-24 merges that many people on I-65 need to take, so they are trying to cross over in front of the I-24 mergers, etc. - as you can imagine it is quite a cluster in that area.

Once through the merge cluster, we made it through the rest of Nashville in good time, drove south on I-65 almost to the Alabama line and then stopped for a quick brunch of leftover Brats, coleslaw and home made donuts (remember the Eddyville trip the day before?). Alabama was the enxt state and we has most of the north to south route to drive, although we got off at the Georgiana, AL exit short of Mobile, and rove through Andalusia, AL and on towards Baker, FL. We arrived at the Karick Lake Campground (our last stop before we head home this trip) in the Blackwater State Forest mid-afternoon and will stay there about 2 weeks (through the Labor Day holiday). The campground is 7 miles north of Baker, Fl and about 15 miles from my dad's place in Crestview so makes a good stopping point for visiting before heading east towards home on I-10. We will celebrate my dad's 80th birthday with family and friends over Labor Day and leave shortly thereafter I suspect. Since my sisters Terrie & Janet and their respective family members as well as Jeremy, our son, won't be showing up in the area until just before the holiday, we will hang out with our friends Herman & Ann Parker at the campground, visiting and hitting all of the thrift stores and antique shops in a 50 mile area. I will post more on that stay and the family visit in a future chapter. Vaya Con Dios Mis Amigos

More Dams- Gavins Point

Tailwaters Campground at Gavins Point was our stop after Garrison Dam. Gavins Point is the last major dam on the Missouri and is just south of Yankton, SD on the SD/NE line. It was the second one built as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan and has the smallest lake - Lewis & Clark Lake. Again, it was built for hydroelectric power, navigation and water management/ irrigation. We arrived at the Tailwaters Campground after a quick stop in Yakton at Walmart for one of their rotisserie chickens to have for dinner and some staples (bread && milk and I just had to include a lemon cake). Tailwaters is of course on the downstream side of the dam (tail?)- but it is called tailwaters instead of downstream because it is situated right below the actual dam along the waters that flow out from the dam. The area is a fisherman's paradise because there is so much food that comes through the gates the big fish just congregate along the concrete walls to feed. There are so many they swim over each other- it is a real site to see. I tried to take some pictures show the melee but the contrast is not enough for you to actually see much of the fish.

Gavins Point was different from the other sites we had been previously because the spillway, powerplant and inlet gates were all built as one unit on the south end of the earthen dam. The inlet wicket gates were always open allowing water to turn the turbines, so they were generating electricity 24/7. The lake was just over the spillway and while we ere there, it was windy enough that the Lewis and Clark Lake waters were being pushed over the spillway gates. We went on the powerplant tour this time and there was quite a bit of difference in the actual generators at Gavins Point (2nd dam built) and Ft. Peck (1st dam built) in both heat generated and noise. Again, if you ahve the chance- take advantage of some of the dam tours- they are very educational and you learn quite a bit about how dams are constructed as well as hydroelectricity and its generation.

The Tailwaters Campground had about 33 spots with electricity, half reservable. There were an additional 15 or so primitive sites- and all of sties in the campground were strung along the side of the Missouri river just below the powerhouse a you can see from the first picture above. The bugs were horrible when we got there and since we were not in the open, the breezes were diminished. the view was wonderful though and we could watch the construction going on across the river using the Put America Back to Work money- they were expanding the baot ramp parking and paving all of the roads. The one thing we have noticed is that most of the Corp parks have been run down since budgets have been tight and no one really likes to appropriate money to the park service for "fun" when people are out of work, homeless and starving (but Congress will always find money for their pet pork barrel projects- but that is another issue). Now most have some type of improvement project in the works, especially if they are associated with a hydroelectric dam.

We spent time looking for the elusive front passenger fender for a jeep CJ- but to no avail. Seems that all of the really god stuff got crushed last year when steel reached one of its all time highs. That never makes Bruce happy wIen he hear that explanation- but it is what it is. Walmart saw us several times (i should buy stock in that place as much as we spent in that place on this trip - oh right, I have some of that stock.) We drove over the dam whenever possible- it jsut fascinated us. There was a one way road behind the powerhouse that went right over the intl gates and through the overhead crane used to pick them up when necessary. It was controlled by a light- so you never met anyone in the wrong place.As you drove up to the dam, you passed a lovely overlook that was filled with crab apples. I think it was the first time Bruce ahd seen those baby apples and of course he had to taste one- they were still sour, even though they were ripe. The trees are really beautiful- may have to think about putting one or two i when we get back home (Uhoh - more work for Bruce in the yard- he just loves cutting around different growing things!) The other fascinating part of the dams for us are the Godzilla training sites. You can almost imagine him stopping through tearing up everything. You can see the sparks flying and electrical lines tumbling - but not now- now they are pristine and doing their job of bumping up the voltage of the generated electricity to the high voltage needed for transportation over the lines.

Enough about Gavins Point - it was a nice place and we will proably come back to visit- although we will stay at Cottonwood- the Corp park on the downstream side of the dam on Lake Yankton (the lake created when they diverted the Missouri to build the dam). The sites are more open, they get the breezes and there is plenty of room to walk Hazel and to let her play with her fake frisbee.