Ralphie Rough Road

With the weekend on the horizon, we set our sights on a free spot to park it. Our good friend, Troy bought some property near Linton, IN where his camper is currently parked. He said use it anytime. We asked “how about this weekend?”. The reply was a resounding “go for it”. The travel day was a short one and enjoyable. The 45 minute drive was easy and helped conserve our fuel. If you haven’t guessed RVs are not exactly fuel efficient, a real downside to driving your house. Shane likes to give a rather exact “estimate” of 7.8 mpg to those that ask. Needless to say, one way we plan to save on expenses is by slow travel. Forget the 10 hour drives and go with a manageable amount of 3-4 hours at a time. Park it and enjoy the area before moving on to the next close by destination.

Having never been down to Troy’s property we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Would there be a level spot to park? How close would the electric hook-up be from said level spot? I arrived first in the chase vehicle or in our case the lead vehicle. The Volvo has turbo, the RV does not. So I usually go ahead and scope out the area before Shane arrives.

While waiting on him to arrive I found a nice level spot very near to the electric hook-up. I scouted out the area and surmised that this in fact would do nicely. He finally arrived after missing his turn. I can tell you he misses having his navigator in the passenger seat. Turns out Josie, the Boxer, naps and can’t seem to figure out the pesky map on the cell phone. 🙂

It didn’t take us long to get Ralphie backed in, leveled out, and plugged in. Home for the next several days.

Since hitting the road, I’ve wanted to make sushi for dinner. I’ll admit to thinking can I make this in such a small space. Back at the cabin I created a mess on sushi making night. But I was determined and really in the mood for sushi. Troy was coming down for the weekend to camp and fish. As a token of appreciation for the place to stay he was invited to dinner. First time making sushi in the RV was a big success. All three of us dived right in. It was delicious. “I am damn good at what I do”, says humble Amy.

The next day was spent on chores. While eating breakfast at a local restaurant, The Golden Star, our clothes were getting clean at the local laundromat right next door. After parting ways with Troy, we went on a water quest. Which proved more difficult than expected. The local Walmart did not have a refill station for our 5 gallon jugs, only an exchange program. The local grocery store did not have water refill either. I looked up a spot in the Green-Sullivan State Forest where there is a small campground with water spigots. While filling up we met a local named Mike who was riding around on his 4 seater ATV. Later he drove by our camping spot and we chatted some more. It’s always interesting the people you meet along the way. That evening we finally got around to hanging some party lights. The RV came with one small outside light making it hard to see. We wanted an easy set up for some lights on the outside to make the outdoors more evening accessible.

The highlight of staying here was kayaking. Finally had the chance to break them out and go for a paddle. Took an afternoon, loaded up the cooler and played on Wampler Lake. One problem, we left behind the middle section of one of the paddles so myself, Shane, and Josie piled into one kayak along with our cooler. It worked if not a bit crapped. I stuck my legs over the side and cooled off with my feet dangling in the water.

There was another smaller lake just across the gravel road. After chatting with Rick, a camper from Kokomo, for a bit we finished off our day of kayaking in this section. The water was so clear here you could see all of the underwater life. The plants, rocks, and the fish swimming from spot to spot. It was very cool to get a glimpse into this underwater world. Nice pleasant afternoon kayaking, enjoying nature, chatting with Rick, and sipping on some cold beers.

One thing about staying here was the twice a day train that came through. The train tracks are very near the property line and when a train comes through it sounds like it’s coming through the RV. But we got used to the train noise and jumped a little less each subsequent time it went through.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time down in Linton. Working, playing, and simply being for awhile. I love the peace and quiet along with the birdsong, gentle breezes, and of course the bugs that come along with it all.

Up Next: Speedway, IN for Indy 500 Weekend

NOTE: In my last post I failed to mention the wonderfully gregarious campground host we met at McCormick’s Creek. Her name was Denise and she was a joy to talk to. While walking around the campground we ran into her and talked for quite awhile. She even invited us in to tour her Class C rig. She lost her husband a few years ago and is a solo part time traveler with a wonderful spirit about her.