Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown Jaunt, Day 7

Tuesday August  12

Long anticipated day! We were going to stay in place and take a scenic drive through Shenandoah National Park on the Skyline Drive. I kept getting this road confused with the Blue Ridge Parkway, but they’re two different things, so that one can stay on my bucket list.  But this one was also on there—

And it ended up being much more scenic than I’d anticipated. There were tons of turn-outs where you could see the mountains in the distance, farms and roads, or the Shenandoah River way down below. 

The views on the west side of the ridge were clear and sunny, but as we got up into the 3000’ elevation areas the views to the east side were obscured with mist. We’d climbed up into the bottoms of the low-drooping clouds and it was a foggy mess. 

But after we turned around (after an hour or more of driving, at midpoint of the drive), the clouds were moving off and the views were mostly clear.

 

We went into the North Visitor Center (there are three or more) and there I bought a postcard which, of course, I forgot to address so it could be mailed. But I got it mailed on the way back, since we had to stop again to go to the toilets. Again. Don’t you love getting old? 

We crossed the Appalachian Trail many times but I never saw any “trail crossing” warnings or even any hints of its existence. Near the north end of the park when the trail heads northeast out of the park and away, there was a parking lot which was pretty full. Day hikers or people dropping off or picking up, I guess. But we never stopped. I’d kind of wanted to walk along it a little way, just to get the feel of what all the people I’ve been reading about were experiencing, but I already did that once before. Long ago in the Great Smoky Mountains near the overlook. So why do it again?  

Just because. But it didn’t work out.

After we returned, Molly got her long walk. It should have been longer—the trail along the river to the day use parking area was one mile, and the return route that went by the visitor center and the overlook would have been one mile, but then there was an extra half mile loopy thing to get to the camping area plus the walk from the trail junction at one end of the camping area to our site.  I hadn’t allowed time for 2-1/2 miles + of a walk. So we just did the mile out and mile back and called it enough. Sorry, Molly!

My toe/foot is better but it still hurts, dang it!

Ed and I ate dinner out at a Mexican Restaurant in Front Royal.  I think it was El Maguey Mexican Bar and Grill. It was very good food, but way too expensive. Especially for Ed, who just got a bean burrito with rice which was way too much starch for him on his diet. He could have gotten a steak or fajitas, and just skipped the tortillas. But he’d already been disappointed that their Chile Relleno was cheese-only, so he didn’t seem interested in trying anything different even though there were all kinds of interesting steaks on their menu. Makes me miss that place in Tucumcari with the lava bowl combo. No starches there!

 

Does no good to take a picture after the food is gone! 

 

 

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown Jaunt, Day 6

Monday August 11

Leaving Fort Chiswell RV Park.

Molly saw a groundhog on our morning walk. She knew it was something, but since it wasn’t moving, she didn’t get too excited about it. Sorry, girl. I wasn’t going to chase it away just so you could see it waddle. It was over at the edge of the property where they have a dog walking area mowed and a creek or agricultural runoff going through. 

It was overcast and a little cool with a touch of drizzling rain all morning. The sun tried to break through and failed. But we got on the road by 9:30 and headed to Shenandoah River State Park.

   

If I review this place, I’ll say this:

REVIEW, Shenandoah River state Park.  $101.88/2 = $51

Great small campground by the gorgeous green river

We camped here in an RV, and my hopes were high. The google reviews had said there were great scenic views from all the RV sites. I can’t imagine what they were thinking—I didn’t see any scenic views from any of the RV sites. You couldn’t see the river or the mountains at all from the campsites.  They were very private from their neighbors with lots of intervening greenery (it was August), but all that greenery gave them a bit of a closed in feeling.

Our site #25 was very nice, very large and laid with new gravel. Water and 50-amp electric worked okay. Dump station on the way out of the campground.

There were no trees overhead but there was one just behind us, so we ended up putting our starlink dishy on the ground. Worked fine.

Navigation to the park was challenging. We were coming from the south on I-81 and we followed the instructions posted on the campground web site.  That took us on a narrow road for a long way. It would have been much, much easier to stay on I-81 to I-66 and then come into the campground from the north. We went out that way, and it was painless.

Lots of lovely hiking trails all around, and river access way only a short walk (800’ or so) away.  Too far for us to want to carry a kayak over but a younger couple of persons might have considered doing it.   And of course it’s very convenient to Shenandoah National Park.

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown Jaunt, Day 5

Sunday, August 10

The slide-out went in, mostly, so we were on the road again. It was only a three-hour drive, but we had to dump and didn’t get started until about ten and didn’t get there until nearly two.  There was a horrid lot of traffic on I-81 going up through the mountains of Virginia. Horrid!

And on to Fort Chiswell RV Park. We’d been there before and liked it very much—for an RV park. While checking in, I tried to explain that we’d been able to use our dishy last time by putting it at the front of the site so we needed a similar site this time, and the lady immediately said, “Oh, you want a satellite site!”  Yes, that’s exactly what we wanted.  It was in full sun but will be okay with our good air conditioners. And just fine when the sun goes down.

 

I'd forgotten that the park had this mountain in the distance. A big cloud hovered over it for a long time, looming.

There’s a lot of room to walk the dog at this park. No trails, but plenty of mowed grass.  Shortly after arrival, I tried to give her a short walk but it was still awfully hot and also I put on tennis shoes and that wasn’t cutting it.  Oh, the misery.  I decided to wait, and try later with sandals on.

Okay, much better with sandals. We walked all around, past the stinky algae-covered ponds (some kind of sewage treatment thing?  It was like that last time we were here, too), and down into the little mowed habitat. Saw one hummingbird there. Cooper’s Hawk, tons of goldfinches. Merlin heard a Field Sparrow but I don’t know whether I saw one or not. Plus lots of chipping sparrows and robins.  It was a somewhat pleasant walk and my toe didn’t hurt too much. 

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown Jaunt, Day 4

Saturday, August 10

Went for breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Café. 5 stars!  I had a (large) slice of avocado toast with pineapple salsa, two fried eggs, and a dish of fruit. Ed’s omelet was good and he liked the coffee. They had a lot of vegetarian options we could try if we ever came back.

 

 

Then we took a break from “vacation” to worry about the water heater a while. Ed tested various options; no luck. So we drove up to the dam overlook and took a short walk on the trail up there. Nothing special, just a nice walking trail in the woods 

In the afternoon I tried to take Molly for a jog but my toe/foot was killing me with shoes on. Plus we had to jog by the side of the road and there were a lot of cars going to and fro, not to mention dogs off leash. We managed maybe 30 minutes, up to the scenic overlook and then down to the dam parking lot. And then I had to  go pee and just sit down for a few minutes before walking back. It sucks to be crippled. Again!

I was so happy to have my pulled leg muscle healed—I’m not even feeling it in the slightest now. But then I had to go and do this. Stupid stupid.

 

 

A turbine?  down by the dam

Oops -- food mostly gone beofre I took the picture
 

After a cold shower it was off to Hacienda Ayala’s Mexican Grill. Very good—a veggie burrito that had squash in it along with the usual stuff. Not too much cheese.Decent beans (those did have too much cheese) and some really good salsa. Only the guac wasn’t up to par.  Ed’s combo dinner was large and filling and tasty, although the chile relleno wasn’t breaded and fried like it should have been. I’m not even sure it was skinned.

Melton Hill Dam has been officially pronounced a very nice campground, even though it was super crowded on the weekend. What would you expect?

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown Jaunt, Day 3

 Friday August 9

It was a pretty long and tedious drive to Melton Hill Dam Campground, a TVA campground on the Clinch river, just outside the city limits of Knoxville. Which is dammed, of course. The campground is above the dam and fronts onto the lake, but it’s within walking distance of the dam and the tailwater. 

The drive on I-40 was the usual heavy traffic. Going through Nashville always sucks—it’s bumpy and you have to make at least four turns to stay on I-40. First south on I-65/40, then to the left, then…I don’t remember.  It’s well marked, but still confusing.

But on to the campground. I cannot rave about it loudly enough…for tent campers or smallish RVs. I had site 34 reserved and it would have been very challenging for us. Only just long enough for the Magnus Motorhome (there was Jeep parking nearby) and very unlevel front-to-back. Also it was up in the woods with no view. But the very nice lady at the gate reassigned us to site 56  because someone had left early and vacated it. This site was large, level, and had a lovely lake view.

The tent camping down between us and the lake had an even lovelier view. It would have been a fantastic spot to tent camp at. There’s plenty of parking up on the road and then a very short carry (15 feet or so) down to the picnic benches. The lake is very pretty and seems decently clean—all blue and flowing. I would swim there if I were so inclined but I probably won’t.

Not a lot of birds, mostly goldfinches and chipping sparrows. One osprey on patrol.

It was hot—high in the low 90s—but not so hot as to be unbearable. In the shade it was really very pleasant.

We drove up to the dam overlook and went for a little walk on the trail there. Nothing fancy, just a nice trail for the dog. Then I took Molly for her normal long walk, and discovered there’s no good place to walk the dog except down in the camping area and up along the road. I could walk her up the hill and through the rest of the camping sites, but that would suck with all the other dogs (probably). The campground host already had to run us out of the day use area—it’s clearly prohibited to pets according to the sign but I didn’t realize I was in the day use area, and I was being careful to stay away from the swimming beach which is always a pet-free zone. I thought I was in the tent camping area, but even if I had realized it, the idea of making a day use area prohibited to dogs threw me for a loop. Really?  But come to think of it, they usually are.

But he was very nice about it. Especially since he’d already observed me picking up a bag of poop up by the road. He would have went on chatting for hours if I hadn’t had to eventually pull away and get on with supper.

 

REVIEW: Melton Hill Dam Campground site 56

HEADLINE: Could have been a disaster but wasn’t

It’s great! For smallish RVs or tents…or for a 35-footer like ours if you can get one of the large sites.

The place is absolutely beautiful. Not far off the interstate (but plenty far enough!); very friendly and helpful hosts; easy to navigate to and drive into. I’m told that one guy’s GPS insisted on taking him to the wrong side of the lake, but google maps did fine for us.

The only problem is that most of the sites are on a hill, up in the woods and they’re very short and very, very unlevel.  We had reserved site 34 which would have been a serious challenge to back our 35’ Class A into.  But the lady at the gate moved us to one of the two large, level sites near the water. Site 56 was plenty big enough for our RV and tow vehicle; site 57 is big enough for a large fifth wheel but you’d have to unhook after parking.  Both have a view of the lake across the road and over the tent sites.

Up the hill I saw some other fairly large RVs and fifth wheels, so I guess some of those sites were big enough. I can’t say which. But the road going up there is very narrow with a lot of tree overhang. And the sites are awfully close together.

There are some really lovely tent—right on the water’s edge and spread out nicely.

50-amp electricity worked fine, the water hookup okay. There’s a dump station on the way out, just past the entrance. 

I didn’t see any trails other than a little one up the hill by the dam overlook. There’s a roped off swimming area with bathrooms and picnic tables nearby. Looks lovely on this hot mid-August day.

My only issue is that there was no good place to walk the dog—dogs are not allowed in the day use area, and the road leading to the dam and on to the fishing area would have been okay except that there was a lot of traffic on it. And most of that traffic was exceeding the speed limit and hauling boats. But I shouldn’t have been surprised—we were there on a Friday/Saturday night in August. In the off season, it would be better.

 

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown jaunt, Day 2

 Thursday, August 7

 Good-bye to the dog park! 

The drive to Yuma, Tennessee was pretty much uneventful. I slept a bit of the way but didn’t wake up refreshed, just groggier than ever. We were plagued by worries—a slide-out motor that seemed to be having to overcome a slipping gear and a water heater that beeped “code 3” and didn’t heat the water.  The water heater can be ignored for now, but the slide-out motor could be a show-stopper.

 

I took an immediate and violent dislike to Parker’s Crossroads RV Park as will be explained in the review. But they did at least have a swimming pool that was nine feet deep at one end. We arrived at about 2:30 and had plenty of time to kill,  so after swapping out the control board in the water heater (didn’t help), we went swimming.

My sore toe was better but still not a happy camper. I would have probably gone jogging except I didn’t think I could stand to put a shoe on. Maybe the swimming helped deaden the pain.

In the evening we treated ourselves to the first episode of Wednesday Season 2. Or was that yesterday?  After watching the first episode, we realized we’d forgotten all the characters and plot elements from the first season, so we went back and started watching that over again. At one or two episode per night, that should make for a happy four nights.

 

REVIEW: Parker’s Crossroads RV Park

Lovely and not too expensive, but not a place for me 

The sites are fairly well spaced around, not lined up in rows like you typically see. The hosts were very nice and we got an escort to our site. It was a concrete pad,  pull-thru, and just long enough for our 35’ Motorhome. We did not have to unhook the toad; it didn’t fit on the pad but there was plenty of room on the gravel driveway.  50-amp power, water, sewer--were all fine and well placed.   

The place is very pretty with a pond, huge  trees, neatly mowed grass all around, and a cute little swimming pool that was 9’ deep at one end. And a lovely, lovely shower in the immaculate women’s bathhouse. A few swings for the kiddies but I didn’t see a playground.  No dog park, either.

The deal breaker for  me were two prominently placed objectionable flags at the entrance. I did not ask why they chose to display these flags, but it made me feel like I was having other people’s politics shoved in my face. They may not have meant it to be so, but so it was.

 

Magnus to Mass., with Jamestown jaunt

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

The big trip of the year was upon us. 27 days!  Longest to date, and maybe the longest we’ll ever attempt. We’ll see.

The goal was to head to Massachusetts, hang out with the kids for a week, then return via the Atlantic Seaboard and see some of the old American historical sites. Sounded good on paper, but reality was not what it seemed. As you will see.

We started the day off bright and early at 9am with a malfunctioning slide-out. Ed pronounced it okay to go but slightly worrysome.

The first night camping stopover was a place I’d been wanting to check out—a campground located smack in the middle of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas.  Sounds scary, but it’s fenced and gated and is scenically located right on the Arkansas River. So we have a scenic view, security, big city sirens and air pollution—all in one package!

Getting there was a little challenging, but that’s because we let the Trucker App guide us instead of following the RV park’s instructions. After getting off the Interstate, it should have been very simple, with just a couple of turns. But the app took us on a back-and-forth hopping route that ended up near, but not at, the park. I hope I remember that if we come here again.

After connecting utilities, we sat outside for a bit. There was a nice breeze blowing in the cottonwood trees and making it pleasant in the shade.  It was hot but not unbearable.

Molly and I walked across the Arkansas River on the big bridge shown in the pictures below. On the way out of the park, I tried to go out the front gate and couldn’t get my code to open it. Eventually I found a side gateway—for walking through—and lucked out with the code after several tries. But on the way back I discovered that the RV park had a back exit with a sign saying, “enter code and push gate immediately.” That’s what I was doing wrong before—I’d enter the code and wait for some sort of indication, and when it never came, try to open the gate. Already re-locked, duh.

 

All this was despite my little toe giving me agony from the stupid thing I did earlier. At the rest stop, I was feeling so good that I tried to run around a sidewalk circle for a few steps. My little toe contacted Molly’s back leg tendon and it wrenched the toe sideways. I almost hit the ground, but a couple of quick steps saved me. Shortly thereafter the toe became swollen and very painful.

On the other side of the bridge there’s some little parks and a bike trail. We didn’t go that far—too crippled. No birds to speak of, but a pretty place.

 

Our campground from the bridge

 

Molly was not impressed
 

REVIEW

Downtown Riverside RV Park 58.94

Perfect spot for visiting the city and not bad for a stopover

Downtown Riverside RV park is a really nice place. Yes, it’s a concrete-and-gravel gated parking lot for RVs, but a nice one. There is grass all around the riverfront edge, a nice river view, and despite the wall on the city side, it has a park-like aura. There are a few picnic tables and benches scattered around plus a riverside fire pit with seats. And a big pavilion that can be reserved.

We had a really long concrete pad on a gravel driveway. 50-amp electricity with water and sewer. And a pleasant lady in the office at check-in time.

Getting there from I-440 would have been simple if we’d followed the instructions on the RV Park web site. Google would have been okay, too.  But the trucker app we were using couldn’t get us there and took us on a lot of left/right turns to get us under the bridge, where it left us.

For dogs, there’s a poo station near the sites, plus, at the very end of the park there’s a nice little fenced dog park under the bridge that goes over the Arkansas river. The back exit of the park is opened with the gate code, and it allows you to get to the dog park and also the bridge, aka the Bill, Hilary and Chelsea Clinton memorial bike trail.   You can also walk to the bridge by the front exit, but make sure that you enter the code and immediately push on the gate—it re-locks almost instantly.  Very secure.