2016 Comes to an End

     Well, it has been an interesting year to say the least. We started off the year by helping Shawn move to his new home in Kentucky. After arriving just before the blizzard dropped a foot of snow, we stayed around and helped him settle in to his new digs.

     Then in February we took a quick trip to Belize and went "primitive" for a week on an island off the coast with our friends Geoff and Brenda.

     We also took a quick return trip to Kentucky to check up on how Shawn was settling in. We augmented our trip by touring a few of the Bourbon distilleries the area has to offer.

     March saw us returning to Texas and getting ready for summer travels. We cleaned up after some minor flooding and got the motorhome spruced up and ready for travel.

     Our summer touring took us through the midwestern states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. In June we met up with extended family in the Wisconsin Dells and enjoyed a great reunion. Unfortunately our summer took a decidedly disastrous turn. Late May through early June the rains fell in Texas and our place was submerged. We made the decision to cut our summer plans short and return to assess the damage and determine how best to recover.

     By the time we arrived, the waters had receded. In all it appears that we had about 6-8" of water standing in all of the buildings. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, we were not well prepared for this event and most everything that sat on the floor was damaged beyond repair. We rolled up our sleeves and worked through the Houston summer (don't EVER want to do that again!!) to return our place to its former glory. By the end of August, we were back in business and, in my humble opinion, were better than original.

     September and October saw us heading back to Kentucky to cool off and see how Shawn was doing in his Chiropractic practice. We found a campground that was well out of the way but we enjoyed our stay. Travels to sights in the area culminated in a trip to Mammoth Cave.

     From there we headed to Red Bay, AL to get some minor work done on our motorhome. Oil change and lubrication along with the replacement of a shift motor in the transmission put us back in shape and ready to continue our travels. Always a little unnerving to see your 30,000+ lb motorhome on jacks standing four feet off the ground!

     From Red Bay we returned to Texas and spent a quiet Thanksgiving holiday enjoying our place. In early December, the new management at The Preserve shot a commercial to be shown on local television beginning sometime in 2017. We were asked if they could use our place for some location shots and we were actually included in the filming! This was our first and only introduction to professional filmmaking and it was an interesting and unique experience. Mid-December we prepped our motorhome for a long winter's nap and left it in Texas while we drove up to Kansas to visit with friends and family for the Christmas Holidays.

     So another year has passed and we are looking forward to what 2017 has to offer. We have decided that, since our plans this summer were unfortunately cut short, we would pick up where we left off and continue our upper Midwest touring for the summer of 2017. Planning is already in the works.

Catching Up and Cooling Off

After the dead of the summer in south Texas, we were ready for a cooler change. With repairs completed, we packed up and headed northwards to Kentucky to visit our son. We had not been there since getting him settled in to his new Chiropractic practice and wanted to see how things were going. We also wanted to visit Kentucky when it wasn't cold and snowing!

We found a small campground near Ravenna, KY. During the summer the area is a church retreat and summer camp facility. Off season they rent out sites in the RV Park. The park itself is beautiful. Located in the valley with wooded mountains on either side, it is secluded and quite serene. The downside is that the roads to it are narrow and winding. In fact, the last three miles are on a single lane road with no shoulders and steep ditches. If you meet any oncoming traffic, somebody has to figure out a way to pull over. To top things off, about half way to the campground, an overhead electric line was perilously low and threatened to get snagged on the roof of the coach as we drove beneath it. To say the least, we arrived a bit frazzled. The campground management were very nice and listened to our comments and suggestions for better access by bigger rigs. To their credit, they even located the appropriate utility company and had the offending wire shored up and raised well above passing traffic.

One of our first visits was to old Boonesborough fort. This was the first fortified settlement in Kentucky and named for famous Daniel Boone (who lived here along with other members of his family). The fort has been painstakingly restored and was staffed by docents in period costume, each eager to discuss aspects of frontier life in the late 1700's.

Within walking distance of our campsite was the Fitchburg Furnace National Historical Site. The furnace was built in 1868-70 and only operated for four years. It was reportedly the largest charcoal burning furnace in the world, standing 81 feet wide, 40 feet deep, and 60 feet tall. It became the last charcoal burning furnace built in America. An extensive stabilization and restoration effort on the furnace was completed in 2010 by the National Forest Service. This was an interesting site to visit and we took Misty on walks there frequently. All that remains is the stone furnace building. All of the wooden structures have long been gone. It was fascinating to crawl in and around the large furnaces and imagine the charcoal it took to heat huge quantities of iron ore and produce huge quantities of molten metal.

Side view looking through the furnace

Looking up the chimney

Something we discovered about Kentucky is it seems that there is some sort of festival somewhere in the state every weekend! We attended the Bar-B-Q festival in Danville and the Railroad festival in Ravenna. We went back to Danville the week after the festival to visit the town itself. Danville is where the Kentucky Constitution was written. In fact, Danville was suggested to be the first Kentucky Capital, but it went to Frankfort instead. Old historic buildings and recreations are in the town square.

The Old Danville Jail

Kentucky's Constitution was written here

On the outskirts of town lies the Wilderness Trail Bourbon Distillery. This is a new craft distillery and has yet to release bourbon product in the market. They are known however as major suppliers of yeast to distilleries around the world. They also make a vodka and a unique rum made from sorghum. They are building a huge barrel house capable of storing 2,100 full sized barrels of bourbon. Within the next year or so they will hit the market. We took the tour and really enjoyed it. We were the last tour of the day and we were the only people on the tour. So we got what felt like a personalized visit. Not only do they offer a discount for Military, once you pay for and take a tour you can come back as often as you wish and tour at no additional charge! As part of the marketing strategy, we were allowed to complete a registry entry. When they begin to distribute bourbon, we will get two bottles FREE!! We are excited to go back next year and see how they have progressed.

Yeast and cultures made and controlled here

Slowly becoming Bourbon

Notice: We signed this barrel. We will come back to collect...

The Barrel house under construction

Towards the end of our visit, we packed up and headed to the south end of the state and visited Mammoth Cave. Shawn, his girlfriend Shelby, and their friend Tyler (also a Chiropractor with Bluegrass Chiropractic) came out and toured with us. The cave itself, as the name implies, covers a huge area. Over 400 miles have been explored and surveyed to date. The 52,830 acres that comprise Mammoth Cave National Park are ripe with caves, scenic vistas, bluffs, forests, hiking and aquatic trails. There are several different tours that you can take of the cave. One is a self guided hike through the original entry and proceeds about a half mile into the cave. Here you can see the remains of a saltpeter mining operation used to make gunpowder during the civil war.

Looking up through the original tourist entrance to the caves

The other tour we took wound through deep pits and high domes. This was entered by negotiating a steep, 280 step spiral staircase. One thing that we noticed is the lack of usual cave formations. Things like Stalactites, Stalagmites, Columns, etc. were only rarely seen on the tour. This is explained by the unique geology of the area. Above the cave structures lies a "cap" of sandstone which does not allow water to penetrate below. Towards the edges of this "cap" the rock turns to limestone and allows the penetration of groundwater. It is here that you can find the presence of expected cave formations.

Rock lined passageway

Some cave formations

More cave formations 

In between our cave tours we hiked around the countryside. It was a warm day but all of us really enjoyed the natural beauty. S'mores and a campfire, followed by a good night's sleep were the order of the evening. We bid farewell to Shawn, Shelby, and Tyler the next day and headed to Red Bay, AL for our annual trip to the Tiffin Service Center.

Nothing major in the way of repairs, but we did need some engine work. Above is the coach on jacks while getting the oil changed. Some paint issues, carpentry and cabinet fixes, and a few poor performing electrical parts were repaired/replaced. We returned to Texas to drop off the motorhome then a quick trip to Kansas for some doctor visits. Next week we return to Texas and plan to stay until the Christmas Holidays. 

A Major Change in Plans

     Late Spring (end of May) brought massive rains and subsequent flooding in southeast Texas. It culminated in a 17+ inch overnight downpour near Austin. This fell on already saturated ground and started a swift trek southwards towards the Gulf. The Trinity River spilled beyond its banks and The Preserve was in the center of its sights. The waters came up and our place looked like it was standing in the middle of a lake. As the waters receded and our place could be reached, the folks at The Preserve (at our request and permission) went into the buildings. They sent us some pictures and gave us their assessment of the damage. After consulting with Matt, the property manager at The Preserve, we called a flood restoration company in Houston to schedule a repair and restoration effort. After an initial quote of several thousand dollars, we had problems getting them to commit to the repairs. We had troubles getting any information and their customer service was severely lacking. After a couple of weeks of runaround, Barb and I decided that we would interrupt our summer plans and do something that we swore we would never do... head to Houston in the middle of the summer!!

     We packed up and headed south to The Preserve to do the repairs ourselves. At first glance, it was overwhelming! Thanks to Matt and his crew, along with our friends Paul and Teresa Broussard (full time residents at The Preserve), most of the stuff that sat on the floor was either removed or put up on the countertops. The soggy rugs and soaked sofa had to be trashed. Anything that sat on the floor was pretty much ruined. Pressed wood acts like a sponge when soaked in water and when it dries it falls apart. That meant that the cabinets, vanity, end tables, and entertainment center were all destroyed. Especially disheartening was the damage to our Murphy Bed. What looked like hardwood was just covered pressed wood. Murphy had to leave the building!

The waterline is evident as is the damage to the Murphy Bed

Entertainment Center

Drawers and shelves came apart

Residue on the floor and damaged end table

     The good news/bad news was the A/C units. The unit in the Casita worked well but the one in the Spa was fried. Attempts to find someone to repair it resulted in us discovering that no one serviced our particular brand. We finally found a local A/C repair company that agreed to try to fix it. Long story short, it was going to be six weeks to get a new circuit board (and even then we didn't know if that would fix the problem). We made a decision to upgrade the Casita's A/C to a bigger unit and move the old unit to the Spa. In the meantime, repairs to the Spa had to be made sans A/C. (Remember, this is Texas in the summer. Heat indexes easily topped 100 degrees by 10:00 am!)

     After removing all of the damaged furniture and cabinets we cut the wallboard about 3' above the floor and removed it. We discovered the insulation was wet about 6" up but things were dry from there. We removed the insulation and let the walls dry out. After a thorough sanitization we replaced the insulation.

   The wallboard was replaced and painted. We added a 4" trim wainscot. We replaced the cabinets and countertop. We also decided to keep things off the floor as much as possible on the off chance that this should EVER occur again. So the Entertainment center was now attached to the wall.

     The Spa was a little tricky (besides having no A/C).  The shower unit could not be taken out to get behind the wall, so we had to just move it around and work in sections.

     We repainted the floor in the Spa but decided to upgrade and install a wood grain vinyl laminate in the Casita. I was a little apprehensive at first but the results turned out great!

Laminate beginning to go down

About half done

All done. Just add trim!

     We found a nice sofa that sat above the floor and an area rug similar to the one we used to have in the room. Trim was added to the floor and corners and the room was better than before.

     The biggest casualty of the flood was Barb's embroidery machine. Unfortunately it was sitting on the floor during the flood and suffered irreparable damage. We plan on replacing it but this time, we got a rolling cabinet to put it on, thus keeping it off the floor in the future.

New Sewing Table but old machine

     After some work on the plumbing in the Spa, we replaced the vanity and put everything back in order there. The washing machine was damaged and had to be repaired but it soon was working as good as new. A/C units were installed and now both buildings were inhabitable again.

    All in all it took us 3 weeks to rebuild. In the end, we feel that things are better than before and we will be better able to withstand water damage. We took the opportunity to fix some things that had been done less than perfect and also to do some upgrading that we had originally planned for some time in the future. After literally expending blood, sweat, and tears, we have restored our place and successfully recovered from the big flood of 2016!

Wisconsin Dells

     We left Door County earlier this week and headed to Wisconsin Dells. This area is a family playground. Waterparks and amusement parks abound. Drive through the main street and you are surrounded by T-shirt shops, fudge stores, restaurants and all manner of other tourist traps. WWII era DUKW's (known locally as the Wisconsin Dells Ducks) are available to ferry tourists up and down the street.  I am reminded of Branson, MO of about 20 years ago. Quaint little shops up and down the highway trying to get into the tourists' wallets.

     We have toured around the countryside outside of the Dells proper. Yesterday, we drove through farm country and visited the place where Carr Valley Cheese is made. We watched as they took fresh cheese curds (we just missed those being made) and filled a bucket to a specific weight. Then the curds were dumped into a circular tin. The tin was then put into a line of other similarly filled tins. When they were ready, a contraption that looked like the old fence wire stretcher that I used on the farm was secured to the line. They then began to ratchet in on the cans and pressed the curds together to form a singular round cheese wheel.  After about 30 minutes, the line of now cheese wheels were extracted and taken to another room to be dipped in wax and sealed. In the photo above you can see some of the pile of cheese curds and the empty tins and lids behind them. The vats on either side will  be filled with milk and the cheese making process will begin all over again.

Two lines of cheese wheels being pressed

     In this particular factory, they only make Cheddar cheese. I did not know it but a yellow dye is added to the cheese to get the familiar color we associate with cheese. In its natural state, cheese is white. Above you see that they are filling square tins with white cheddar cheese curds. These will be pressed into square blocks of white cheese.

     After watching all of that cheese being made, we got to sample several varieties that the company had for sale. Cheese curds made fresh only moments before were available for tasting. So was some 5 and 10 year aged Cheddar. The longer the age, the more crumbly the consistency and the sharper the taste. After that, you could peruse the shelves and take home any number of varieties. The two shelves at the top of the above display contained cheese made from goat's milk.

     Today we took a boat tour of the Upper Wisconsin River. In the Dells, there is a dam that separates the river into upper and lower sections. Tours are available for either one. We took the upper tour as research and inquiry told us that it was more scenic. We were not disappointed. As you can see above, the day was bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Winds were low and temperatures were on the mild side. The bluffs lining the river on either side are made from ancient sandstone and are remarkable in their texture. Layer upon layer of sandstone is stacked up and molded into the cliffs and outcroppings.

     We were able to get off the water and follow a couple of short trails through the formations and spires of rock.

Our fearless Canine Wonder making his leap

This is the height of the rock pillar

      At one point in the hike, we got to watch the "Amazing Jumping German Shepherd of Juneau County." In point of fact, back in the early 20th century, tourists used to climb the rocks and jump between the two spires above. Nowadays, lawsuits being what they are, a trained canine makes the jump and the tourists watch. (Don't worry, there is a net below in the unlikely event he doesn't make it.)

     All in all we have enjoyed our stay so far in The Dells. Mid next week, family begins to arrive for a big reunion.  Things will be hectic but a good time should be in store for all.