We come to the end of another year. As I age I find it important to look at the
year that we are saying good-by to and try and lean something to take into the
New Year. Now that I am retired with a
little more free time it has moved up on my list of things to do. 2017 was a great year and I am excited about the adventures that await me in 2018.
January I was in Covington GA at Riverside Campground on the
Yellow River. I got home one evening and
found the river was out of its bank and just about to flood the area I was
parked. Needless to say it was time to
relocate, management had left a note with a new site number if I wanted to
move. Needless to say I hooked up and
relocated while several campers around me decided to wait and see, this was
around 10pm. The next morning I saw that
the water continued to rise and all had moved out of the area, the wait and see
did not work for them. I was also in
this campground Christmas 2015 and had to evacuate on Christmas Eve and park in
the local Walmart parking lot with the Conyers Sheriff’s Department due to the
river flooding the campground.
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Riverside Campground Covington GA January 2017 |
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Riverside Campground Covington GA December 2015 |
I started out in January planning to visit Alaska again and
making preparation for the trip. Nothing
really big just looking at routes and places to visit on my second trip to
Alaska. I ordered a pressure canner and vacuum
sealer getting ready for all them salmon I was going to catch. I went on to install an auxiliary fuel tank
that add 63 gallons of fuel to capacity.
I did not get to can any salmon but I had a great time canning chili,
venison, fish stew, and a list of other items.
I have to thank my friends Linda and Mike in Bonners Ferry for the tips
and secrets of canning they shared with me…
In March I found myself in SC spending time with my brother
Jimmie camping on Lake Marion in Rimini SC.
When in Rimini with Jimmie our sister Estelle spend a day with us. I got to spend time with Michael and his
family where Bryce picked me some fresh strawberries. I took the strawberries and made my first
jam. The jam turned out a bit more like
syrup but a remake and it turned out good.
Somehow in March doing more research on the Alaska trip I got
side tracked and started looking at campground host positions. I started looking in Alaska and then next
thing I know I looking at a campground in Idaho. After a few calls and emails I was offered
the position at Robinson Lake as Camp Host in Bonners Ferry Idaho.
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Sunset Rimini, SC Elliotts Campground |
I committed to being in Idaho at Robinson Lake in early May. During my winter maintenance and waxing I found
several issues that needed to corrected under warranty before I left for Idaho. I had been using The Amish Family RV Repair
Center in Indiana for all my camper repairs.
The only appointment I could get was early April so end of March I am on
the road to Indiana for repairs. The
best part about the repair shop is it is close to Christina (my daughter) and I
would get to spend a few days with them as repairs were being made.
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Robinson Lake Campground Bonners Ferry ID |
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Robinson Lake Campground Bonners Ferry ID |
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Robinson Lake Campground Bonners Ferry ID |
Repairs were made with a few minor setbacks and a little
rework but in the end all worked out.
The trip across country was a pleasant trip with no issues. The auxiliary tank made the trip a lot less
hectic now I have a fuel range of 500+ miles in lieu of the 200 miles with the
original tank.
I arrived at Robinson Lake early May and stayed until the
middle of September. I had a great time
met a lot of interesting people from as far away as Germany and as close as a
local neighbor that lived across the road from the campground and everywhere in
between. By the end of the summer I was
feeling burn out and ready to move on but as soon as I was gone I could not
wait to return to Bonners Ferry area. I
left Bonners Ferry with plans to return next year for May and June as the camp
host.
What would be a couple of the top memories of Robinson Lake….The
peace, tranquility and beauty of Northern Idaho and all the great people I met
and made friends with. One things that
stands out is when my Larry from Bonners Ferry took the time to bring his
clippers to the campground and give me a haircut. Thanks Larry…
Needless to say I am heading back to Robinson Lake for the
summer of 2018. Alaska will be there if I
decide to make a second trip. I have
decided to spend the summer at Robinson Lake May-September again in 2018.
Leaving Bonners Ferry Idaho in mid-September I headed south
to visit the Hells Canyon area of Idaho and was not disappointed. I camped on Salmon River and toured the area
around White Bird ID including a remote section of the Snake River.
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Hells Canyon Idaho, Snake River |
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Hells Canyon Idaho |
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Salmon River, White Bird ID |
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Hammer Creek BLM Campground White Bird ID |
From Hells Canyon I continue through Idaho and entered
Yellowstone National Park. I entered
Yellowstone National Park at West Yellowstone, MT drove through the park to Gardiner,
MT. I stayed in Gardiner for several
days and toured thru the Park. It was a
great adventure and I hope to return and spend more time in the park. The park had a lot of visitors but at this
time of the year it was not crowded a very enjoyable visit.
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Yellowstone National Park |
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Yellowstone National Park |
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Yellowstone National Park |
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Yellowstone National Park |
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Yellowstone National Park |
From Yellowstone National Park I headed east and visited The
Bad Lands in SD and Mount Rushmore. Time
to head south it is starting to get cold in the northern areas…
I got to visit with Christina, Joel, and Hannah for a couple
of weeks as I stopped off in Michigan on my track south. Hannah and I got to spend one afternoon at David
and Busters for lunch and games it was a great day.
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Badlands SD |
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Badlands SD |
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Badlands SD |
Middle of October I am back in Rimini SC visiting with my
brother Jimmie in time for the Brinson Family Reunion in Macedonia SC. The first family reunion I have been able to
attend in years and it was great to reconnect with family. After the Brinson Reunion we decided to have
a reunion of our own. Believe it or not
most showed and we made a day of slow cooked pork and the fixings.
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Jimmie, Andy, Connie, Estelle |
After leaving Rimini I headed to Ridgeville to spend time
with my son and his family (Michael, Karen, Bryce, and Brinkley). I spent November
and December hanging out with Bryce and Brinkley. I also had time to visit friends and family
in the area. It is harvest time at
Hickory Bluff Farms run by Karen and her parents so I got to help out with the
cauliflower, broccoli, and collard harvest.
It was great to spend Christmas here in Ridgeville with friends and
family.