The day’s journey was from Trail of Tears State Park (Beth vowed “never again”) to the National Quilt Museum. Although the location gives a great view of the river, Beth didn’t get any sleep. At least three trains came through, plus a fair amount of river traffic. I didn’t hear the boats and fell asleep…

Leaving the rusting lead mines behind, we arrived at the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site in the tiny town of Burfordville, Missouri in time for lunch. 1 Major George Bollinger built the first mill here in 1800, on a 640 acre land grant. A German Swiss from North Carolina, Bollinger visited the area in 1796,…

Heading east on I-40, we stopped at a rest area near mile marker 111 outside of Conway, MO.  The whole rest area surprised us with a Route 66 theme extending all the way to the floor tiles. Inside, memorabilia was mixed with current brochures. Love the gas price on this old pump. I’m not old…

Sunset precluded us from visiting the Crockett Museum yesterday here at David Crockett State Park. We stopped in on our way out of the park this morning and enjoyed the outdoor sections since we were too early to go indoors. A few birds, like this hawk, were interested in checking out the human visitors from…

Planning to visit Chattanooga, we found that roads were closed for a triathlon beginning in the park we planned to explore. Always flexible, we decided to leave the city for another time and headed west under low clouds that filled the valleys. Nickajack Lake was a fine stop to stretch and get ideas at the…

Juxtaposed between nature and industry, Fisherman’s Island State Park, just outside of Charlevoix, MI was our base for two nights. A swan glides behind a sandbar protecting it from the waves and freighters on Lake Michigan. At $15/night, a campsite with a view of the lake was a bargain. We’re loving the solar panels and…