Northern Kentucky RV Park, Dry Ridge, KY continues

30 Thursday Apr 2026

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4/30/26
Location: Northern Kentucky RV Park, Dry Ridge, KY
ChILL

Staycation day for laundry, propane tank refill, black tank clean out and some administrative tasks related to our life other than on the ChILL adventure. Laundry was $1.75 per load to wash and $1.75 per load to dry. This is the first campground that did not have coin operated machines, instead I used ApplePay. Wish more campgrounds did it this way. Much easier than carrying around a bunch of quarters.

We took a walk around the campground and realized that they have very few open sites making us even more grateful they could accommodate us on short notice. Thank You for Your favor Lord!

About half of the sites seem to have longterm stay occupants and the other half transients like us. Some of the longterm sites have trailers with no license plates and in some cases window air conditioners making it obvious they are “travel” trailers in name only.

It was the coldest day we have experienced this trip with the highs only in the mid 50s. Not too bad in the bright sunshine wearing long sleeve shirts and a sweatshirt. Skip said it is supposed to get close to freezing on Saturday so it’s a good thing we’re leaving Friday morning. Even though Skip has done as much as he can in advance for our departure, it will be quite cold as he finishes up in the 40 degree temps in the morning.

We had hamburger helper stroganoff for dinner with raw veggies. Not glamorous cuisine but tasty and filling. After all we’re roughing it.:)

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

Northern Kentucky RV Park, Dry Ridge, KY – Ark Encounter Tour

29 Wednesday Apr 2026

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4/29/26
Location: Northern KY RV Park, Dry Ridge, KY
The Ark Encounter
Shell
Walmart
ChILL

The long anticipated tour of the Ark Encounter is today! Skip willingly left the comfort of his bed early. Quick breakfast and coffee and we were out the door by 8:15. The parking lot at the Ark Encounter does not open until 8:30, which is 30 minutes ahead of the 9:00 AM Ark opening. We arrived at 8:28 and were about the sixth vehicle in line for parking. After waiting less than 10 minutes we boarded the first shuttle bus for the short drive to the Ark. 

It is difficult to put in words how huge the Ark is/was! The Ark Encounter replica is built to scale using the details provided in the Bible in the Book of Genesis. Noah’s Ark and this replica are amazing feats of engineering. Because we arrived early in the day and early in the year before most people have started taking their vacations, we were able to immerse ourselves in the sights and sounds duplicated in the Ark Encounter, making it easier to imagine what it might have been like for Noah and his family. As we walked through the various areas we were hearing the sounds of animals adding to the authenticity of the experience. 

Around noon it was more crowded with the animal sounds drowned out by people having normal conversations as they walked through the Ark making us very glad we had arrived early to experience more on our own.

Our quick light breakfast had worn off so we headed to the buffet in another building near the Ark. They had many different choices of sides and entrees and some desserts. Decent food for a buffet but nothing special. 

Both of us said that the Ark Encounter exceeded our expectations, and my expectations were very high. They did a terrific job explaining what information was known to be true and what information was likely to be true. It was an accurate representation of the Word of God that came to life before our very eyes.

I was surprised to see how accessible the Ark Encounter was for those with mobility issues and families with strollers. Of course these areas were not on Noah’s Ark but it was well done and not distracting from the overall experience. 

Both of us were pleasantly tired after our tour and just wanted some downtime. Instead Skip filled up the truck at the Shell station and we went to Walmart for more supplies. With our small refrigerator and freezer we find it is necessary to restock more often. Also we are never sure what will be conveniently available near each campground so we like to be self sufficient when possible.

After having our buffet lunch we decided that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be just right for dinner.

Some TV and showers and we ended another wonderful day. 

Camp Creek State Park Campground > Northern Kentucky RV Resort – Dry Ridge, KY

28 Tuesday Apr 2026

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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.

Camp Creek State Park Campground, Camp Creek, WV second full day

27 Monday Apr 2026

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4/27/26

Location: Camp Creek State Park Campground, Camp Creek, WV

Cool morning temperatures, around 50 degrees, greeted me as I bundled up in my sweatshirt and took the wagon loaded with the dirty clothes hamper to the nearby laundry room. It had 2 washers, at a cost of $1.50 per load, and 3 dryers, at a cost of $1.00 per load. The machines were clean, relatively new and they worked well.

When the laundry was finished and Skip had taken care of the daily chores outside, we had a nice breakfast of French toast, frozen leftovers from a couple days ago and frozen bacon that was prepared before we left home. Sure glad ChILL has a microwave!

Skip and I spent most of the afternoon working on the Island Time Travels blog. Because he hasn’t used the blog for 5 years, Skip had to retrain himself while teaching me at the same time. Added challenges came because of changes due to updates made by WordPress over the years. Major learning curve for both of us along with the frustration of doing something new mostly on the fly made what should have been a relatively simple task take a long time. Still have a lot to learn but we did manage to produce some posts.

Dinner was frozen bratwurst prepared at home, baked potatoes and a salad. Life is good!

Did my strength training exercises and made our lunch for travel day tomorrow.

Skip has already done the main clean out of the black tank so that he can take less time getting the tanks ready for our 8 AM departure. Looking forward to The Ark Encounter located close to our next campground in Dry Ridge, KY.