5/1/26
Location: Whispering River Resort, Walland, TN, pull thru site 10, full hookup
ChILL

With God’s favor and Skip’s coaching I was able to drive the truck towing ChILL out of the tight site we were in at Northern Kentucky RV Park. right next to a huge tree. Skip said he thought I would be successful and I was. The campground has a blind hill at the entrance to the road where cars are often spotted zooming along. Thankfully we did not encounter any of those drivers.

Most of the drive was on interstate 75 south and it was the first time I have been able to use cruise control for almost the entire time I drove. Previously road conditions and my limited towing experience made it better for me to control the speed on my own.

Learning that rest areas in some states and on some highways either do not exist or are very few, I took advantage of the first couple we saw. A quick bathroom break for both of us using our own traveling suite, temperature check on the trailer tires and it was back in the driver’s seat for me. 

The rest area at the Tennessee state line gave us a chance to enjoy our lunchbox meals and take a short break. Skip took over as driver at what turned out to be the 4% grade area for several miles. Skip and our truck/trailer combination handled it well.

The road leading into the Whispering River Resort in Walland, TN is curvy 2 lane with some grade changes. What a pleasant surprise to see that the campsites are on flat land surrounded by mountains. It is a beautiful place!

There are at least 3 other Airstream travel trailers in the park. That usually sparks some fun interactions.

Once his outside chores were completed Skip noticed that the solar panel monitor was dead. Suspecting that the same connection he had fixed while we were at Stagecoach in St Augustine at the beginning of our trip had become loose again, we removed my mattress so Skip could access that compartment. That wasn’t the problem as everything there was still as it should be. Next troubleshooting was to remove the solar panel monitor in the galley. Skip found that connection was loose. He was able to reconnect it and secure it with some quality fabric tape that is used by Mercedes, a big improvement from the black electrical tape that Airstream factory had applied. Sure is a blessing that Skip has these skills to keep us functioning.

Dinner was the last of the frozen spaghetti pie that we had brought from home and some raw veggies.

Looking forward to enjoying this campground tomorrow. Errands for groceries and gas are on the agenda too.

Showers and a little TV and off to our comfortable beds once again.

4/28/26

Location: Camp Creek State Park, Camp Creek, WV

The rains came while we were sleeping which cleaned off some of the pollen we brought from Florida and the additional pollen and road dirt we collected through GA, SC, NC, VA and WV. When Skip was ready to take care of the outside chores and hook ChILL up to the truck, the rain had stopped. Without a single raindrop, I was able to move from ChILL the things we take to the truck while we travel. What a blessing!

Knowing that the exit for 77 North was closed and we would have to detour onto two lane twisting and turning US 19 for 8 miles, I still volunteered to take the first driving shift. As I drove those 8 miles I started to wonder how many more days it was going to take! It was with great discipline that I kept myself from asking over and over again, “Are we there yet?” It was a demanding 8 miles. Once we were on the interstate conditions improved but still lots of climbing up the mountains and keeping the truck and ChILL at a reasonable speed on the descents with continued curvy conditions. Definitely not a boring ride. About 2.5 hours later we switched drivers. Another rest area gave us the chance to have our lunchbox sandwiches from the comfort of ChILL with Skip continuing as driver for the overall 3 hours remaining.

Our original campground in Dry Ridge, KY was at Campers Village. Unfortunately the site they assigned to us was not feasible for us. Skip was able to get into the site without any trouble but only because he was able to use the empty site in front of us. When those campers arrived we would have no way to exit the site. With some tense moments and a little drama as the Airstream nearly bottomed out during the maneuvers, Skip disregarded the campground staff’s attempts at being helpful and made his own wise choices on how to get us out of this undesirable site. Thank You Lord for protecting ChILL from serious damage. The campground staff were apologetic and as nice as they could be but they were fully booked and could not give us another choice. They recommended a nearby campground that did have availability so we headed there.

Location: Northern Kentucky RV Park, Dry Ridge, KY, site 59, full hookup

The campground staff gave Skip a choice of 2 sites that would be suitable for us. The campground is built into a hillside with somewhat level sites. Skip used 2 boards under the right tires and was able to get us level enough to be comfortable.

We discovered that the outside compartment under Skip’s bed was stuck and could not be opened because items had shifted during transit. Skip’s drill was also in that compartment. To gain access Skip had to dismantle the wood frame under his mattress using just a screwdriver and elbow grease, lots of elbow grease. Soon the obstruction was removed. As he was now able to reach his drill, putting the bed back together was much quicker than the teardown. 

Whew! Now that all of the drama is over the normal setup chores begin. Our site is small and the campground is crowded but we are not here for the campground itself. Our goal is to visit The Ark Encounter which is 8 miles away.

Finally it was time to make our dinner on our cooktop of patty melts using frozen burgers brought from home and a side of RiceARoni. 

After some TV and showers we gratefully headed for our comfortable beds in our traveling suite.