Marjorie's in Colorado

Thursday August 8th we headed West. The winds were blowing hard so we didn't make good time or gas mileage. When we got to Colorado there were a couple of DOT trucks that were used as pace cars for a while slowing down traffic on the Interstate. We still don't know why. When we got to Marjorie's in Denver we parked in her driveway. We did a walk around Sloan Lake and ate at Edgewater Public Market.

Friday August 9th we started the day out with a wildflower hike. We drove to Green Ranch where Holly the ranger led us on a three mile hike pointing out all the flowers. This was in an area of the park that was not open to the public. We saw a couple of coyotes and some rabbits, but were hoping to see some Elk and Moose. After the hike we stopped at the Golden Gate Canyon Visitor Center and ate our lunch. Then we drove back and did a hike up North Table Mountain Park. Steep climb, but great views. We climbed up to Lichen Peak. On the way down we had some rangers visit us and let us know that we needed to keep Zeplin on a leash at all times. That night Marjorie showed us her recovery leg massager's.

Saturday August 10th we did a tour of Golden. They were having a Art Fair and Farmers Market going on. We walked all along the river seeing the Coors Brewing company, campground, and businesses. We ate lunch at the Golden Mill. After that we got the kayaks and headed to Bear Creek Lake where we did some paddling until the storm came in and ran us off.

Sunday August 11th we went back to Golden Gate Canyon SP and hiked the Raccoon trail up to the overlook. We got to eat raspberries and strawberries on the trail. We ate lunch at the parking lot and then drove down to see the Red Rocks Amphitheatre where Sammy Hagar was playing that night. Really cool rock formations all around.

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Budweiser's Warm Springs Farm

Wednesday August 7th we went to the Budweiser's Warm Springs Farm in Boonville. We had to argue a little, but they let us join a tour about how the Clydesdale horses were bred and trained. Really cool adventure. We drove on after that to Wilson Kansas to get some fuel and see the big egg we found on Roadside America. After that we checked in at the Wilson SP for the night. We hiked around the campground a bit. They have a nice lake and it is a clean campground.

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Tuesday August 6th we got up and hiked to the Hawk's Cave trail and did the one mile loop. Very pretty rock walls. We got to see some deer. Our next stop was St. Louis Missouri for a tour of the Gateway Arch National Park. We did the museum and hiked around the arch. We drove on to New Franklin and stayed at Katy Roundhouse Campground. Another great campground. We got to see an owl and a fox in the campground.

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Ferne Clyffe State Park

We decided to spend some time with the grandbabies in Oregon this summer and decided to drive. We left on Monday August 5th. We drove through TN, KY, and into Illinois staying at Ferne Clyffe SP for the night. Really nice campground. It was crazy hot but hiked along the Bluff and saw the sunset.  

Tuesday August 6th we got up and hiked to the Hawk's Cave trail and did the one mile loop. Very pretty rock walls. We got to see some deer.

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Short Springs/Old Stone Fort TTA

I joined the Clarksville TTA for this hike to see waterfalls. 14 hikers led by Terry had a great day at this beautiful SNA. Machine Falls was flowing well and lots of people were there enjoying the water on a hot day. We hiked to Upper and Lower Busby Falls and Adams Falls and Laurel Bluff Loop. It started raining as we were heading out to the parking lot. Some of the group stopped at Rutledge Falls. I was going to stop but the parking area was packed. We regrouped at a local BBQ restaurant for lunch. Then five of us went on the Old Stone Fort SP and hiked the Enclosure Trail, about 1.3 miles. 

Pictures from Hike Clarksville FB page

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North Chick TTA

 

We got a late start on the trail because the CTC website said the gate at North Chick opened at 9. Scenic City starts their hikes at 7:30 in the summer. So it was already getting really warm. The Ranger at the parking lot said the gate opens at 7. Oh well. We got started with Tammy leading. Upper Hogskin Loop to the main trail. It was getting hot as we got out by the sunny bluff walls. We made it to the wooden steps, and 4 of us decided we'd had enough, the others bravely kept going. Too hot for me.

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Michigan 2024

This year we had some last minute changes this year. We lost our Aunt, age 90, so we had a funeral to attend. We took Dad and Mom with us and headed North. Our first stop was Lake Loramie State Park in Minster Ohio. We have stayed here twice before. It is a nice park on a lake. From there we headed to my brothers house in Lowell. We did the visitation thing and funeral on Thursday and Friday. Saturday we hung out with family at my brothers. Sunday we went to Lake Michigan for the day. Monday we visited my brothers vet clinic and got some jobs done around the house. 

Tuesday we headed North to Elk Lake in Gladwin to visit my Aunt and Uncle. We got some projects done around the house and watched some fireworks. Wednesday was more of the same. Thursday we participated in the 4th of July boat parade. 28 boats doing laps around the lake. One had a good stereo system, one had a bubble machine, one was throwing out oreo cookies, and one was throwing out hotdogs. After the parade we were invited into a home to hear a concert with some singing, piano playing and violin playing. Later that evening was another concert on the lake followed by fireworks.

Sunday we got to visit with my sister and her husbands family. His dad passed away that night.

We headed back South on Monday and stayed at the Wright Patterson Famcamp for the night. Made it back home Tuesday night.

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Bluestone SP West Virginia

This was the start of our trip to West Virginia.  We drove to Bristol Virginia and stayed at their City Park, Sugar Hollow Campground. It is a beautiful park up in the woods with a bit of space between campers. All electric sites and clean. Lot's of bike trails as well as walking trails. After we got set up we visited with the host who was very informative and talkative. We hiked the Wetlands Trail before dinner and saw baby ducks swimming the creek.The next morning we hiked the Rocky Top trail before heading North. We got to see deer.

Day two: We left Bristol Virginia stopping in Princeton City Park, West Virginia for lunch. From there we continued to Bluestone SP where we had reservations for three nights at the Meador campground. After we set up camp we drove around the park to familiar ourselves with it. Then we attended a spoon carving demostration by Jonathan an Interpretive Ranger. We took a dinner break, hiked the Riverview Trail to the two waterfalls and back, then we joined Jonathan again for the campfire. The Riverview Trail was overgrown, but the falls were pretty and we saw a raccoon. Jonathan had a lot of knowledge to share and was fun to talk to.

Day Three: We drove to Pipestem Resort State Park. First stop was the Bolar Lookout Tower right at the enterance. There is a paved road for you to walk to the top of the hill and then climb the tower for some good views of the surrounding mountains. From there we went to the Nature Center for a map. The Ranger there, Julie, was extremely friendly and helpful. Lora loved her because they both got so excited about flowers. From there we went to the McKeever Lodge for a overlook of the gorge.

We headed to Brush Creek Falls State Park and hiked the three and three quarter miles to Brush Creek Falls and White Oak Creek Falls and back. Lora was blessed to see a black snake. We had lunch at  White Oak Creek Falls. There were quite a few people hiking today.

We headed to Camp Creek State Park and Forest. We drove to see Mash Fork Falls and Campbell Falls and got some play time in the creek.

Day Four: We drove to Cascades National Recreation trail in Pembroke VA for a four mile hike which we extended for another mile to see the upper falls as well. There was some beautiful stone work done by the CCC on the lower trail. We took it on the way up to the 66 foot falls. We ate lunch at the falls and then climbed to the upper trail. There was a split where the trail continues at the top. I guy was coming down so I asked what we were missing. Well a half mile up was the upper falls and if you continued a mile further it went to an overlook of the gorge called Barney's Wall. We hiked to the upper falls which was really pretty. We found some ground bees which we had to avoid to get to the bottom of the falls.

On the way back to camp we stopped in Narrows at the Mill Creek Nature Park. There was another hike to a couple of water falls, but we were done for the day. Back to camp we went. 

Monday we headed home..

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Sugar Hollow Campground

This was the start of our trip to West Virginia.  We drove to Bristol Virginia and stayed at their City Park, Sugar Hollow Campground. It is a beautiful park up in the woods with a bit of space between campers. All electric sites and clean. Lot's of bike trails as well as walking trails. After we got set up we visited with the host who was very informative and talkative. We hiked the Wetlands Trail before dinner and saw baby ducks swimming the creek.The next morning we hiked the Rocky Top trail before heading North. We got to see deer.

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Savage Gulf

So Lora said that she would hike with me, but it had to be atleast 10 miles. We headed over to the Savage Gulf and hiked in from Greeter Falls, headed to Stone Door doing the loop and back. After getting in her miles, we added another one going to the Blue Hole and back to get a swim in.

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