Ohio Bound

On July 27th we packed up and headed for Ohio. Well, actually, we started the day before. Once settled in a campsite the modern day RVer has surrounding his camper: a tow vehicle, a tow dolly, a golf cart an outdoor mat, several chairs, and a grill...and those are just the basics. In addition we have an outdoor bird cage (our Buddi bird is 11 years old and continues to be our faithful companion), a grill, table cover and decorative plant, collapsible garbage can, solar lights, etc, etc, etc. To ready for departure one must flush the holding tanks which carry "black" and "gray" water, make sure there is an anti-stinky pouch in the holding tank, coil up a monstrous electric cable and water hoses, lower the RV from whatever balanced position it was in and press the buttons which retract the slide outs. Inside it is imperative to see that all doors to cabinets and drawers are securely fastened and those cute breakable items you had displayed are safely put away. Cruising friends are sagely nodding their heads as they are familiar with many of these procedures.

Next the tow dolly is hooked up to the RV. We drive the car up onto the tow dolly, securing it with straps. Ditto for the golf cart. Now folks, our 40 foot motor home has grown by 30 feet. As we pull out onto the highway we are fully 70 feet in length and at this point the captain is indeed in charge and at the wheel as I have not yet developed the courage to drive our big rig.

We knew we had a long day ahead of us, but circumstances made it longer than expected. Larry checked the air pressures in tires on dolly and RV and found them to be a bit low. When he tried to pump them up he discovered the onboard compressor was not working properly. Although it seems unlikely, it took FOUR attempts at FOUR different truck stops (often including long waits in lines) to find a compressor that was working. Each stop added 30-45 minutes to our trip which meant we didn't pull into Rocky Fork Ranch RV Park until nearly dark.

On leaving the interstate we were immediately faced with a number of winding, hilly and sometimes gravel roads and rather confusing directions. Needless to say it was a rather tense trip to the park and when we finally arrived and c checked in, the camp host were led up a steep gravel road with one particularly hair raising hairpin turn.  Pulling up to the space we'd been assigned, it was obvious to all that our RV would not fit in that particular spot. The host and Larry looked around awhile and found a better site, a pull- through that was available, and we finally parked. By now it is fully dark and we are stumbling about trying to get settled for the night. Unlike stopping at a motel where one can fall into bed if exhausted, we now had to lower the jacks, level the camper, put out the slides, and hook up the water, sewer and electric and we are hungry..

Again, cruisers can relate to the parking process, itself, not unlike docking a boat. Other campers casually gather around, some offering good advice, others silently hoping you'll scrape something or take five tries. In any case, those with helpful advice are welcome, but I wish the  others would take a hike...literally. Seriously, most of the campers we met are delightful people and make the  travel experience all the better, but I for one could do without the audience when getting onto our site. I doesn't bother Larry in the least.

Not an exciting ride, but fun nevertheless.

Rocky Fork Ranch is a wonderful campsite, really huge with multiple levels for campers and many cabins throughout. There is a stable, tennis courts, mini golf, a large recreation center with TV, video games pool tables and other rooms for gathering. There is a lake for fishing and kayaking and areas for archery and shooting (skeet, I hope). Our golf cart was really useful and tackled the mountain roads with ease. Larry found a group and played guitar with them one day while I went on a trail ride.

We met and became friendly with a family from Pennsylvania. Dad was a native of Chile and his wife from Bolivia and they had two engaging teenage sons. We spent some time with them including a night around the campfire and enjoyed every minute.

We traveled to Cambridge which seemed to be the nearest city, shopping at the local Wal-Mart and enjoying a lovely dinner out. Our stay seemed entirely too short and before we knew it we were on our way.
(Sadly, I hit "cut" instead of "copy" and lost all camera photos from our Rocky Fork Ranch stay. Let me just say that both the campground and the surrounding area were beautiful and worthy of another stay.)