Day 7 - Another Rainy Day in Beckley

October 8, 2019

It misted rain all day today and was cool. The high was 57 degrees. Not a great day for outdoor activities. The folks who live here in Beckley are thanking God for the rain. They said it has been very dry.

We spent the morning doing some reading. In the afternoon I went over and toured the Coal Mine Museum. They had added bench seats to some old “man” cars they had hauled coal. (A man had to load at least 6 of the cars with a ton of coal each during his 12  hour shift or he was fired.) I was surprised that there were around 30 people on the tour I took. There is a tour every hour. A former miner takes you on a 1,500 foot trip along the old mine rails. He stopped several times to educate us on the duties of miners and show us some of the old equipment. The coal seams in this mine were about 24” thick. A miner laid on his side and with a pick scraped out a 4 foot wide slot at the bottom of the seam. He then drilled holes into the top of the seam, packed the holes with gunpowder and set it off. After the coal was cleaned out another 2 foot of rock was broken out so that the mine height was 4 feet. The miner then repeated the process. It was incredibly dangerous and incredibly tough work. 

Our guide worked in a coal mine for over 40 years. Both of his older brothers have already died of black lung disease. He said that he started wearing a respirator as soon as they were available. Many other miners made fun of him but he continued to wear it. He had absolutely nothing positive to say about coal companies. He said that in the 40+ years he worked in the mines he had only one boss who valued the lives of the miners. 

EVERYTHING in the area was owned by the coal company. You rented a house from the coal company, the rent was deducted from your pay. You bought your groceries from the coal company store, in fact you bought everything you couldn’t make for yourself from the coal company store. You were paid with coal company script that could only be spent in the coal company store. When a miner was killed by the time he was buried his family had been ejected from their house.

The museum, on the 2^nd floor of the building shown below was okay but the mine and the grounds were the real treat.

 Below is an attempt to get a photo of a single miners house. It was one room, less than 100 square feet. It contained a small stove, a small "kitchen" table, a chair and a cot.

Below was a house for a miner family. It has one bedroom, a kitchen and a "living" room. If I did the math right it took about 2 weeks work to pay the rent. In addition to a couple and MANY kids living in a house like this the couple would sometimes take in a single miner to help pay the rent.

Below is the 3 story mine superintendents house.

The mine was lit with bright bulbs every so many feet. I tried to take a couple of photos in the mine but the contrast between the dark mine interior and the bright bulbs was to much for my camera skills to get any decent photos.

When I got back I jacked up the trailer axle that had lost the dust cap, spun the wheel some and added a little more grease to the bearing. It seems fine.

We went to a Texas Roadhouse for supper. Got there before 6 PM to take advantage of their early bird special. The food and service were excellent. Hope the one being built in Jeff will be as good.

Tomorrow we head east to see the Greenbrier bunker. We aren't sure where we are staying tomorrow night. The place I had originally planned to stay was full when I called to make a reservation. I found a couple of other campgrounds a little further down the road. In the morning we will call them and see if we can reserve a site at one of them.

God is good. May He bless you and yours.

Day 6 - A Rainy Day in Beckley

October 7, 2019

Not much to report today. It rained most of the day here in Beckley, over 2” so far. Today’s high was 69 after last nights low of 55.

I visited the Virgil, he and his wife are in the 5^th wheel parked next to us. They used to live in Beckley. They moved here around 2000 but then moved to Georgia to be near kids & grandkids. Drew was probably still here when they moved here. They are on their way north, to Pennsylvania and New York, on the lookout for the fall color change. They spend time during the winter at the Escapees campground in Summerdale, AL. We probably stayed there at the same time, although we haven’t been there for years. He likes his Dodge 3500 dually and 5^th wheel. They had a 43’ Winnebago motorhome before the 5^th wheel. Sort of reminded me of the “motorhome from hell” stories. He said one of the slide roofs leaked the entire time they had it. Dealers had done warranty work on it numerous times and then he started paying to try and get the leak stopped. Said he finally got so disgusted with  it the he took money out of his retirement plan and paid someone to steal it from him (not literally steal it, basically he sold it cheap just to get rid of it).

I had to get the wheel bearing dust cap replaced before we leave so I called the local RV place to see if they had one. Told them what axle I had and they said sure. We drove up their and the guy gave me one that looked to big. I told him that I thought the bore on the hub was very close to 2”. When I got out to the truck I measured the one he gave me, it was about 2.75”. When back in and the only other one he had measured about 2.25”, I took it. Also paid $45 for 2 – 10’ sewer hose extensions so we could dump our tanks while here.

Next stop was Rural King. I bought a grease gun and tube of lithium grease for the wheel bearing. They needed some salt on their free popcorn, but I managed to wolf down a sack of it all by myself.

We had lunch at a mediocre Chinese restaurant. Food was adequate. Virgil was there and saw us as he was leaving. He told us it was one of his favorite restaurants while he lived here. His wife was with a friend she used to bowl with. They were at the Bob Evans. He didn’t go with them because he said the babble on for hours. (Virgil is 74. He and his wife have been married for 54 years.)

When we got back to the camper I tried the dust cap, in the pouring rain, it was to big. I retaped the hub to protect it as much as I could from the rain and mud spatters from the rain. I found the dust cover I need on Amazon (why does anyone bother to go to stores, other than Rural King, to try and find stuff). I probably could have had it shipped to me at the campground but it wouldn’t get here until Wednesday. We originally planned on leaving tomorrow. If we waited on it we probably couldn’t leave until Thursday. 

I called NAPA they had 2 different sizes but I didn’t think either size would fit. I called Advance Auto. They had a generic cap that sounded like it might work. I went over and bought a pair, they are only sold in pairs. The ones I bought are aftermarket items that include a grease fitting for axles that don’t already have a fitting. I had to take the grease fitting out of mine but managed to get one on the hub. I pumped a LOT of grease into the hub. I hope the bearing is still OK. I will jack up the axle and spin the tire tomorrow to see if I can detect a problem, when it isn’t raining.

By then it was 3PM, the last coal mine tour was at 4:30. I was wet and cold. We decided to stay another day, leave Wednesday. I took a nap. I will tour the museum & mine tomorrow.

I called the Greenbrier Resort, in White Springs, to see if there was RV parking available while people went on the "bunker tour". I was transferred to “Transportation”. A guy told me I could park at the train station across the street. We now plan to leave here on Wednesday, drive about 2 hours to the Greenbrier, take the tour and then continue on to another campground about 2 hours further east.

The Greenbrier  probably doesn’t want my 14 year old truck and 7 year old travel trailer anywhere near their posh facility. I checked their room rates. There 2 night special, which includes breakfast and a $100/day credit for dinner or the spa, costs $699. The room is the size of a SMALL motel room. To eat in the dining room men must wear a suit and tie. No ballcaps in any of their venues. You can’t walk through the place wearing a swimsuit and robe, you must change in the locker room by the pool. FAR to highbrow for this redneck, but I will be interested in seeing the over 100,000 square foot facility, under the mountain, that our tax dollars paid for to keep politicians safe during a nuclear attack.

Good is good. May He bless you and yours.

Day 5 - Dry Ridge to Beckley

Oct 6, 2019

Today we drove from Dry Ridge, KY to Beckley, WV. We have driven 838 miles since leaving Centertown.

We decided to be “adventurous” when leaving this morning. The route the GPS offered was to take I75 south to Lexington then I64 to Beckley. We had driven to Beckley several times when Drew, our younger son, helped install the computer system during construction of a federal prison in Beckley. From Cincinnati we drove down the AA Highway. We marveled at the “nice road in the middle of nowhere”. I wanted to drive the route again. The only route the GPS would offer was going back 18 miles north to the I275 loop around Cincinnati and then catching the AA Hwy as it crossed I275 heading southeast. Kathy saw a KY route 22 that seemed to be a shortcut. Our GPS, which is a RV’ers model, refused to route us on it, we tried it anyway. The road was smooth and it was scenic, with many hills and numerous 15 mph curves. It took us 2 hours to drive 50 miles. I’m glad we did it once. If I was in the same position in the future I would drive the extra distance back to I275. AA Highway was as nice as we remembered.

It misted rain on us a couple of times, but one or two swipes of the wipers was all that was required. We travelled about 280 miles today.

Today’s RV adventures started when we stopped at a truck stop for fuel and for Kathy to fix us some lunch. I can’t remember if I mentioned that I had adjusted the brakes on the trailer before we left. When doing that I noticed that one of the wheel bearings seemed a little loose. I pulled of the dust cap and tightened the nut one notch on the castellated nut. I try to do a walk around inspection whenever we stop for fuel or meals, just to make sure all is well. The dust cap was gone from the wheel I where I had adjusted the bearing. I was concerned about dirt and rain getting into the bearing so I “patched” it.

 At the campground 160 miles later. Hard to believe that my duct tape patch lasted.

Beckley has a Coal Mine Museum that I want to see. We planned on staying at their campground. I had looked at Google’s satellite image of the area and could not see any place large enough for 17 full hook-up RV spaces. Kathy called the campground this morning and made sure they had a site available and she specifically asked the lady if the campground was at the Museum. She was told yes. The “street” to the museum is more like a paved lane with houses on both sides. There were signs directing us to the “Campground” and we followed the to the museum. Once we were in the museum parking lot it was obvious that there was no campground at the museum. There was also no place large enough to make a “loop” around the parking lot to get back out. Kathy when in and registered while I waited in the truck, in case I had to move it for someone coming in or out of the lot. The campground is several blocks from the museum. I managed to back down, and I mean down, a paved lane between two levels of museum parking so that we could get turned around and out of the lot. The road leading to the campground is a one lane paved road that is steep and makes a 90 degree turn. Note the black tire marks in one of the photos below. I know my posi-traction works. I had to “burn” my way up the damp road.

Looking down the lane from the curve.

 Looking up the lane. Note the double black marks near the top. Our truck and trailer are parked at the top of the hill.

We made the tight campground loop and when we came to our site I told her, “There is no way I can back the trailer into that site.” She talked me into giving it a try. With her, and God’s, help I backed in the first try.

The electric connection is on the wrong side but we had just enough cable, without having to use and extension cord, to make a connection. The water and sewer connections are behind the trailer. The water connection was no problem. The sewer was another issue. I carry 3 -10’ sections of sewer hose and thought I probably had enough to make the connection. I carry 2 of the 10’ sections in the rear trailer bumper tube. I pulled one out connected it to the one I carry in the storage area and went back to get the third one. The end cap was gone out of the bumper and so was the 10’ section of sewer hose. In order to get two 10’ sections of the “accordion” sewer hose in the 8’-6” bumper I run a bungee strap through one of them to keep it compressed. The other section compresses naturally. I had needed two 10’ sections at the last campground and when I put the one in the bumper I noticed some resistance, but just pushed it in. My guess is that the bungee strap had come undone and that the compressed hose just pushed of the end cap and eventually worked its way out of the bumper.

Tomorrow we will tour the Coal Mine Museum and make a trip to Rural King and a local RV dealer. Yes, we are still having a great time! These little challenges just add some zest to life. 

69 degrees and damp, but enjoying Beckley.

God is still good, actually He is great. May He bless you and yours.

Dry Ridge KY - Day 4 - Creation Museum

Saturday, October 5, 2019

First let me mention something I don’t think I put in yesterday’s blog post. I would not recommend taking kids to the Ark Encounter. They will be bored after the first half hour. Youth from mid-teens and up, might be interested in learning more about the Ark story.

Today we went to the Creation Museum. I felt a lot better, but I don’t think that was the total reason I liked it far more that the Ark. If you have to make a choice between the two, choose the Creation Museum, especially if you have younger kids. There is a fair amount for them to do at the Creation Museum.

Weather was beautiful today. It was 58 in the trailer when we got up this morning. We didn’t even bother turning the furnace on . It warmed up into the high 70’s and was sunny.

Kathy petting a dinosaur at the entrance to the Creation Museum.

Bert on the grounds at the Creation Museum. There were nice walks around the outside of the Museum. Lots of nice flowers and shrubs.

Of course eating always is a top priority. The food was okay, but not as good, nor as cheap, as at the Ark.

We saw this rig in the parking lot as we were getting ready to leave. About a 45' motorhome pulling a dually pickup. In the bed of the pickup was a "mule" type vehicle and on the back of it were bicycles.

We probably spent 3-4 hours at the Museum. We got tired. Probably could have easily spent another hour, maybe even two.

Today's RV repair was working on the antenna. I have never been able to get TV reception through the crank up antenna. I cranked it up last night to give it a try. I thought we should certainly get a few channels this close to Cincinnati. We got none. Went I tried to put it back down it was stuck. Had to go on the roof a couple of times to dismantle it enough to get it down. I lost a retaining clip during the process so it will stay down the remainder of the trip. I bought a cheap, indoor, digital antenna at Walmart. With it on the TV we picked up 18 digital channels, although some were repeats. When I get home I will have to do more trouble shooting on the antenna and the coax from the antenna to the TV.

Filled up on our way home from the museum. Fuel was $2.899/gal here. Tomorrow will be a long day for us, close to 300 miles, as we head for Beckley, WV.

God is good, I was sure glad he kept me from falling off the trailer roof. 😀 May He bless you and yours.

Dry Ridge - Day 3

October 4, 2019

We went to see the Ark today. Please understand that my comments are probably not as positive as they should be; I felt lousy most of the morning. I started some new oral diabetic meds over a month ago and they have dramatically reduced the amount of insulin I need. We, my Doctor & I, keep adjusting the dosage down but I am still having occasional problems with low blood sugar. Plus I was tired because I didn't sleep well last night. (A 16 ounce Dr Pepper at the Ark finally got by blood glucose back to a comfortable level.)

I plugged the Ark address into google maps and we headed out. The GPS said it was further south of the campground, 17 miles, than I remembered when I checked at home, but I just figured it was my faulty memory. When we knew we were within a couple of miles of the turn I stopped looking at my phone and looked for a sign, Kathy was driving. Finally I knew we had passed it. I checked Google maps and sure enough, we were a couple of miles past the turn. We did a U-turn and headed back. When we got to the turn there was no sign, but we saw a lot of traffic, including motorhomes, coming back out of the area. We headed in and after half a mile hit a construction gate. Google had routed us to the closed construction entrance. We had no problem turning around and going back out but the people with the motorhomes towing cars probably had to unhook their cars so that they could turn around. There was LOT of traffic that had been routed to the construction gate. We managed to find the right entrance and get parked.

See the little "building", far in the distance, in the center of the photo. That is the Ark.

 In the above photo note the logs at the far edge of the parking lot. I zoomed the lens on the camera and below you see the same logs and the Ark. It was a LONG walk. Not really, you boarded a bus at the edge of the parking lot and it took you up to the Ark complex.

The Ark from near the bus drop off point. The Ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet tall. It is the largest "timber frame" structure in the world.

 There were long, switchback, ramps in the center of the Ark to get you from floor to floor. They wrapped around a central, slot corridor that ran from the bottom of the Ark to the top. The photo below is looking up towards the top. The top is enclosed but there are windows down the upper walls. The windows let in a lot of light.

 The photo below is looking down the central corridor from the same landing.

The Ark is interesting and there is a LOT of information to look at as you walk the floors, but overall I was disappointed. We watched part of one movie about Noah being interviewed by a non-believer. I thought the Noah character came across as being "cheesy", just my impression. Also, the information along the Ark walls strongly pushes the "young earth" theory, that the Earth is only around 4,000 years old. Some very good scientists back this theory. Whether the Earth is 4,000 years old or millions of years old doesn't make any difference in my belief that there is a God who created it, and us.

In terms of construction the Ark is not a boat. It is a timber frame with interior and exterior dimensions similar to what people think the Ark might have been (the exterior dimensions are recorded in the Bible).

I was expecting to see some fantastic, historic woodworking joinery, instead most of the joints were made with modern steel connections and bolts. I would have to do some research but I don't think men had knowledge of how to work iron during the time of Noah. The size of the some of the timbers is pretty awesome.

Another negative for me was the crowds. It was Friday, and school was in session. On the way out I noticed that the parking lot was less than half full. The crowds in the Ark made it very difficult to try and read the information posted along the walls. I can't imagine what it must be like on a weekend when school is not in session.

After leaving the Ark we had lunch at a buffet on the grounds. The food was good and at $11 per person (seniors), including drinks, it was a great deal for an all you can eat/drink buffet. We sat on one of the exterior balconies.

 Our view during lunch.

Goodbye Ark. It was finally cool today. When I got up this morning it was a lovely 64 degrees in the trailer. A light jacket definitely felt good outside.

Back at the campground I took a much needed 3 hour nap. WiFi service doesn't reach our campsite so Kathy went up to the office and spent some time catching up on the Net.

After my nap I was doing some reading and came across Luke 10:20, The 72 disciples had just returned after being sent out to pave the way for Jesus' visits to outlying communities. He had given them great power before He sent them out. When they returned Luke 10:17 says, "The 72 returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" Luke 10:20 is part of Jesus' reply, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

We are all sinners, and will all continue to be sinners as long as our earthly bodies draw breath. Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Even though we still sin occasionally, we who have accepted Christ as our Lord are given the free gift of eternal life in heaven. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I, as someone who has accepted this free and glorious gift, need to spend more time being thankful for it rather than being concerned about earthly issues. It is the most wonderful gift that I will ever receive.

Tomorrow it is on to the Creation Museum.

May God bless you and yours.

Grayville, IL - Dry Ridge, KY

Today we traveled from Grayville, IL to Dry Ridge, KY. We are 498 miles from Centertown. 

We had a minor problem when ready to leave the campground and Grayville and needed a welder. Two phone calls and I found one 7 miles from us. We pulled into his place and he had a welder pulled out into his garage door waiting for us. 15 minutes later we were back on the road. God is good!

Saw lots of harvested corn and soybean fields today, not all of them, but a good percentage. Dry Ridge, KY is about 30 miles south of Cincinnati. Just before we arrived at the campground we saw a tobacco barn full of tobacco, haven’t seen one of those for some time.

High temperature today was 89. The humidity must have been low because it didn’t feel all that bad. But it was to hot to eat lunch in the trailer. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was a good lunch, and reasonably priced. (Reasonably priced for old farts like us who drink water rather than paying the ridiculous amount of $2.69 for and ice tea or soft drink.)

Traffic was light again today, with one exception while in Louisville area. We made the change from I64 to I71 with no problem. After getting on I71 another interchange of Interstates required that we be in the left lane to stay on I71. We were in the middle lane. I put my left turn signal on and a guy beside us in a pickup sped up to open a slot behind him. As I started to move left the car behind him accelerated and closed the gap to the point where as I started to move left the front of his car was probably slightly in front of the back of our trailer. I stayed in the  middle lane and he pulled up to make sure we couldn’t get in the left lane. There was a long stream of cars behind him and we either had to get in the left lane or miss our turn. The guy in the pickup must have been watching because he slowed down, forcing the car that had just filled the gap to slow down, so that we could get in front of him. The speed limit in this area was 55 and I had been driving 55 in the middle lane. People going 65-70 were passing us on both sides. I sped up to 65 so as not to hold up the guy in the pickup. Then it happened, we put our guardian angels to the test. First, THANK YOU to those who have been praying for our safe travels! The ramp curved around and down under an underpass. It was as close to a blind corner as you  can get on an Interstate. As we were going around the corner, at 65 mph, traffic in front of us was stopped. I almost bent the truck brake pedal. I didn’t think we would hit the car in front of us hard, but did think we would hit it. We managed to stop with at least 4’ to spare. Guardian angles can really slow down a truck and trailer fast!

Fuel prices – I filled up at MFA in California before we left, $2.709/gal. Topped off at a Flying J in MO, $2.719 but that was with a 14 cent/gal discount with our Good Sam’s RV card. Filled up at a Road Ranger when we left Grayville, IL, $3.079. Filled up at a Pilot during our trip here, $2.989, I think we got a 7 cent/gal discount. We are averaging 10.4 mpg. The GMC is supposed to have a 25 or 26 gallon fuel tank but I’ve never put more than 20 gallons in it, even when it said empty. The maximum reasonable distance between fuel stops is only 200 miles, which is ridiculous. When I am back home I’m going to carry a 2 gallon can of fuel with me and run the truck out of fuel just to see if I still have five gallons left when the gauge reads empty.

At 10:30 it has cooled down to 68 degrees, but the humidity is 75%. The AC has been running. It probably won’t run much more, the temperature 52 by 8AM.

We arrived at Northern Kentucky RV Park about 6PM, because of our late start. It is an old park that is shutting down at the end of October for a $500,000 renovation during the fall, winter and early spring. The people running the place seem like nice folks. Richard, the guy who showed us our site, told me that the vast majority of people who stay here are here because they are going to the Ark or the Creation Museum, or both.

Spaces are not large but OK. Lots of shade. The front of our truck was in the road as I unhooked. There is lots of vehicle parking on the other side of the road. They knew we were staying 3 nights and that we would be unhooking so this site is fine. 

 As you can tell, it was almost dark when I took the photo below. It gives you a better idea the size of the sites.

Tomorrow we are going to the Ark Encounter. I talked to a guy parked behind us. They went to the Ark yesterday and he was glad to have seen it.

God is good, may He bless you and yours. He sure blessed up many times today.

Fall 2019 Trip - Grayville, IL

Wed, Oct 2, 2019

First day of our 2019 fall vacation. It was warm and very humid (nasty) in Centertown this morning. The plan had been to leave between 10 & 11. We finished up loading the trailer by 10 but both needed a shower by then.

As I was getting ready to get in the shower Kelsey, our granddaughter texted me to say that the Sheriff’s office had called her and told her that her concealed carry permit was ready to pick up. She asked me if I had picked mine up yet. I had filed my paperwork last Tuesday; she filed hers later in the week. No one had called to say mine was ready so I called the Sheriff’s office and was told that they had tried to call me but couldn’t reach me. The lady read by phone number of  the paperwork and it was correct. ???? I toyed with the thought of stopping, with the truck and trailer, on our way through Jefferson City, but couldn’t imagine being lucky enough to find a large enough parking space within reasonable walking distance from the Sheriff’s office. Kathy suggested that I take the van and go in and pick it up. She would take her shower and do a few odd and ends around the house while I was gone. I did just that.

We ended up leaving around 11:30. Traffic was light the entire day. About 1:30 we stopped at a Flying J for fuel and for lunch. Didn’t need fuel all that bad but knew if I filled up then I could make it to the campground without another fuel stop. We ate at the Denny’s in the Flying J. The food good and reasonably priced. We got a discount on the fuel because we are Good Sam’s (RV club) members. Normally the fuel was $2.859 with a credit card. We paid $2.719.

The it was on to the Rest Up Camping & RV Corral in Grayville, IL. We arrived around 5:30. Just after we crossed the Mississippi and entered Illinois I looked at the thermometer on my truck, it read 95 degrees. It pretty much stayed at 95 degrees until we were almost at the campground. It was still in the high 80’s when we had finished setting up.

The campground is only a year old. It is part of a larger complex with a restaurant and other things. Lots of stuff for kids to do.

Our pull-thru campsite, site #3. It was level and the water/sewer/electric was conveniently located. With todays temperatures some shade would have been welcome.

 Looking through the trees and over a ditch at another section of the campground.

 They also rent cabins.

We saw several corn fields that had been harvested and one guy combining beans. It looked fairly dry the entire 280 miles we drove today.

I mentioned earlier about picking up my Missouri concealed carry permit. Kathy, Kelsey, Andy (Kelsey's husband) and I took the training and we have all applied for the license. Kelsey and I have ours. Kathy didn't file the paperwork until a few days ago so hers wasn't ready yet. Not sure about Andy.

Below is Kathy's qualification target. There are 20 holes in the target, all inside the 9 ring. To qualify you only had to get 18, out of 20, in the torso. We all did 20 practice shots then the instructor stapled new partial targets over the holes and we shot 20 more rounds. He said Kelsey won the match. She shot pocket size .380 and put all shot inside a circle the size of a grapefruit. The instructor said he shoots a lot and could not have done that well with her gun.

Supposed to be another hot day tomorrow, as we continue on to Dry Ridge, KY tomorrow. Praise God for AC, and a lot more.

God is good, may He bless you and yours.