202409 Rosenberg

I carefully planned and packed for an entire week. The last day I judiciously took care of all the last minute items and, seconds before leaving, my eyeglasses fell apart. They just didn't lose a screw. The head of a screw broke off leaving the screw in the threaded hole. Luckily I was able to grab the broken off part with tweezers and get the rest out. Another screw and we were all back.

GAS: Get gas at the I-71 exit 50, I THINK. Looks like there is a Shell and maybe better, a ONE9 there that can take towing. The stations at the Caesar Creek exit are tight.

First stop is three and a half hours. We stopped at Caesar Creek State Park north of Cincinnati. We took some very nice walks and experimented with the new Star Link system. That is working very nicely. It is outperforming the Pepwave hands down. While it requires minimal setup, it does take some doing to get things going.

I would recommend site 50 and 51. Most of the trails are difficult. This is a hilly park. But 50 and 51 have a trail to a paved, one mile closed road/bike path/hiking trail. It is hilly but a very nice walk with a lot of critters.

This taking my time is working out. Got up. Caught up with email and the news. Chatted with KD8JQ. Took the dogs on a two and a half mile walk and took a shower. Left at 9 am. Arrived in Natchez Trace at about 3 pm.

Took my time, too. I almost always was following a truck, letting the trucker do the driving. Worked nice. Much slower, that's for sure.

GAS: There is a Bucees about half way, on I-65 exit 38 in Kentucky. Recommended. Easy on and off with no problems if towing.

GAS: There is no gas at the State Park exit. Get gas at the ONE9 that is at exit 126, just before the State Park. Easy and good for towing.

This is the closest to Algonquin I have ever been. It is a half hour drive into and through dense wilderness. Toodles was quite excited as he was smelling things he has not in other parks. The campground is first-rate. Level sites, full hookup and pretty roomy. I suspect they will find themselves a bear here. I'm not sure how that plays out.

While walking the smallish campground is fun, it appeared that a car would really open up this park. The morning of September 4 we decided to get out at sunrise and walk the park again. I didn't put on my walking shoes as the walk wasn't much of a test of my feet.

When we arrived at the park entrance, we decided, "Let's walk the road!" That turned into, "Might as well check out the picnic area." That morphed into, "Let's walk the circle." While on the road, we saw only one car.

Our side adventure off the road onto a forest road brought us to their treatment plant. They pump the poop to the very top of a hill, treat it and dribble it from there.

Our venture to Picnic Area 2 and 3 also brought their archery range. Not only is it a range, you can walk through the woods and they have targets shaped like animals. Cool. For the archer, not the animal.

Here is Toodledip at a sniff he refused to leave. He spread all four legs out and laid down. I would have had to drag him on his belly. Not sure what was there, but it had to be good.

I would think there'd be bear here. They leave their trash open. They do have bear-proof cans, but the trash is open.

The Star Link is working great with sites that buffer. It is clear that due to dense trees I have holes in the constellations. While I can stream a movie without a problem, Doing anything that requires constant data is a problem. That includes calls.

Stopped and chatted up a campground host. There haven't been bears here in a hundred years. No bears. Go figure. A bunch in Gatlinburg but none at Natchez Trace.

Do you see it?

They do! Here is what they are looking at:

ATLANTA, TEXAS STATE PARK

Not the best State Park but a respectable park. Nice people.

Nice trails:

BUT THE BUGS!!!!

There were hoards of gnats. Huge horseflies, though they did not bite.

Landon's first birthday

September 2 - October 6, 2024