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| Destination: Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, Ohio |
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This week featured lots of bugs! Our RV is covered in lady bugs inside and out, they are everywhere! Luckily it's not spiders or something.. And I won't show you the picture of the 1/2" tick I pulled off Frankie. That makes about 6 tick sightings in the RV since we started this journey. I'm sure we'll both have Lyme's disease soon :(. I know, I know, nothing to joke about but they are everywhere.
Last week we were learning to conserve water, which we've managed to do quite well now thanks to James's monitoring of the system, and emptying/filling as needed. We went the whole week without having to move our whole rig down to the dump station, which is a huge pain. Last week we had to do it twice.
This week we are learning to conserve internet data! Conservation is the name of the game when you're RV living; water, internet, space, and clean dishes are all in short supply. Although we don't watch videos & turned off Flash so they don't play in the background, I've stopped streaming audio podcasts and radio, and we even heavily limit browsing it's still hard to keep data use to under 1G per day. Did I mention we haven't watched a single movie, TV show or YouTube video since we left? That could be a whole new blog: Our year without TV.
The state park campground was nice, and got really busy on Saturday. The rest of the week we had it to ourselves, as usual. We got in a ton of hiking and sightseeing. This place is definitely a worthwhile visit, plus it's totally free for visitors who aren't camping!
-Hana
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| We drove by a windmill farm that stretched for ~20 miles. Pretty cool! I've haven't seen hundreds like that in Michigan, only a few at a time. |
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| Here are the dogs snuggled right behind our seats as we drive. Frankie keeps a vigilant eye on us the whole time, probably checking to make sure James is alert! Maya just conks out immediately. |
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| Rose Lake |
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| We love this photo! |
Haunted Hocking. At first glance at this title on a flyer I thought they may have been advertising for Halloween, but something inside my gut told me to look further. Nonetheless I found several stories related to Hocking Hills concerning supernatural activity in the caves. I also saw that there was some activity on Rose Lake right where we were camped. Now I did not know if these stories would play hockey with my brain and fill my imagination with invisible chupacabras lurking behind rocks and trees, but I will say I am now feeling much more at peace now that we are in Kentucky. There definitely was something that had my senses buzzing that I was not alone, and still wonder if that lightbulb in the rv did go out on it's own on our first night..
The campground wasn't good or bad, and the showers were at least heated. Even Hana just felt there was an eeriness about it. It was impossible to get the rv even close to level, and had to strategically prop myself against the dogs so I didn't roll off the bed at night. By the end of the week I had a sore back and felt like something was pinched in my arm. I had also read that people were seen creeping in the trees spying on kids, so I would recommend keeping some assortment of protection near you as anyone can get in this campground at night, and it is a remote area.
I went to a local mom and pop everything shop that was close-by called Grandma Faye's and since the fishing season was ending they didn't have the bait I was looking for. The ladies seemed pretty nice and so not to leave I bought some fudge and ordered a buckeye. When I found out the buckeye was a nut not fit for human consumption instead of a chocolate ball filled with peanut butter I returned it. They informed me that they carried these poisoness nuts around for good luck. Not being superstitious and putting my trust in powers greater than a nut, I returned it and made my way 10 miles down the winding road to Down's Bait and Guns who had a good selection of both, as well as minnows for a buck.
The best chance I had for shore fishing was Lake Logan. I saw a couple people at the dam, so I decided to try my minnows out there. Nothing. Everyone left empty handed. "This again?" I thought to myself. I had already spent a month getting skunked chasing salmon in northern Michigan because they were late coming in. I wasn't giving up though. The next morning I woke up at 5 am and headed down to the damn, praying that I would have a profitable fishing day. Lo and behold second cast I pulled in an undersized largemouth. Cast it back in a couple more times and I got a crappie. That day I caught an assortment of bass, bluegill, crappie, and perch. It seemed like I had a hit every other cast, bringing in a total of 15 fish. It was like I had a magic dancing bobber. I almost considered begging Hana to stay another week if the fishing was going to be that good. One of the locals informed me that he fished that spot several times and got nothing. One thing I do know, I didn't pester the good Lord for any more fish, and I caught no more than four crappie the rest of the week.
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| James caught 15 fish on ONE day! |
Now that we are in Kentucky I am much more at ease, and after a nice, sunny drive through picturesque farms on rolling hills my spook meter isn't buzzing off the charts. I am hoping for good fishing here in Slade, but am seeing more hiking dudes in man buns than I am fishermen around here. Either way, it is beautiful and our site is the most level site we have had so far, so stay tuned next Sunday evening for the update.
-James
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| Rugged mountain dog |
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| At the mouth of haunted Old Man's Cave |
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| Can't make this stuff up. |
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| Ohio is Erie, my design :) |