A blog about exploring North America in a Camper Van and a Sailboat.
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No Vacancy Saturday
White Pelicans didn’t seem to be bothered by the drizzle as they drifted by our campsite on the shore of Lake Barkley while we enjoyed breakfast in the van. Having our fill of bison sightings we left Land Between the Lakes behind and headed towards Nashville. We reached downtown in just over three hours to…
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Bison Between the Lakes
A short drive from Paducah took us to Kentucky Dam Visitor’s Center. This turbine would be quite an upgrade to our little Pentastar Engine. The Army Corp of Engineers manages the dam and locks here. The visitor’s center offered a good view of the outflow. The control room sits vacant as everything is now controlled…
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Tears to Quilts
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…
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Bollinger Mill and Cape Girardeau
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,…
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Resting on Route 66 and Lead Mines
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…
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Dam, Flowers, Caves, and Wine
After a great rally with Pleasure-Way owners from across the country, it was time to start wandering toward home. On the way out of Branson we wanted to see the park at Table Rock Lake, so crossed over the dam and pulled in. The Dewey Short visitor center welcomes tourists with good exhibits and great…