What Day Is This & Where Are We Going Next?

     What day is this?

    One of the biggest side effects of living a nomadic life is confusion -- we are constantly asking ourselves, "What day is this?" Thankfully, a quick glance at our phone's calendar remedies our temporary memory loss. We love the freedom of choosing where and how we get to spend each day, even though we can't remember what day of the week we woke up to!

    Where are we going next?

    We are both planners, especially when it comes to vacations, but since we are taking an extended one at a much slower pace, we have to ask ourselves, "Where are we going next?" We are totally freestyling it, which is how we wanted to do this, but it is also making it a bit of a challenge regarding arranging our future stops. We are fully relying on Abba to lead us to the right places and at the right time.  So far, we're quite pleased with how it's turning out! 

    As you may recall, our main goal for this trip was to scratch off Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan from our map.  We have now broadened our goals to add three more states to our itinerary.  Here's another question we keep asking ourselves ... "why not?"  

    We are currently in Illinois, our first "scratch-off" state on this trip.

Illinois, our first scratch-off on this trip!

    Below is a map of where we started, where we are, and where we've made campground reservations. From here, we are going to Missouri for three nights, then Iowa for two nights, then we will make a one-night stopover somewhere near Minneapolis, which will be a halfway point between F and G.  

We are currently at "D" on our journey.

    We have booked a one-week stay at an RV park in Bemidji, Minnesota. It is privately owned and operated by a young couple who have received fantastic reviews for their facility, their friendliness, and their service.  As a lagniappe to finding this place, they gave us a senior discount, which was a much-appreciated bonus.  Another bonus is that their park is conveniently located near places we're looking forward to seeing, especially the Mississippi River Headwaters.  

    We plan on adventuring around a good portion of Minnesota in our fuel-efficient car, and hopefully we can make a day trip over to North Dakota so that we can scratch that state off of our map!  The fuel prices are getting higher and higher the more north we go, so we have to plan our explorations accordingly!  Please feel free to offer advice on places to see while we're there.

    COE Campgrounds

    The most challenging part of our trip is acquiring campgrounds that won't eat up a lot of our budget.  So far, we have reserved four RV sites that are owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers (COE), which are located on various waterways and offer very affordable camping sites.  Some are a little out of the way but are definitely worth the drive. The biggest perk for us staying at one is that as a cardholder of the America the Beautiful Pass, seniors get to stay at half price.

    The most helpful guides to finding COE campgrounds are via the "recreation.gov" app and the Corps of Engineers Camping Directory that we purchased before leaving home. COE campgrounds are saving us quite a bit of money, and being able to stay at them is how we're navigating our route to the north.  We are currently at our second COE campground, and we are not disappointed in what we've experienced thus far.

The Canadian geese paid us a visit.

A house in Grand Rivers, KY worth capturing!

The Kentucky deer were not shy!

Such a small and quaint touristy area near our campground.

Lighthouse Marina in Grand Rivers, KY

    We made a "toad"-ally newbie mistake!

    Even though we've got a whole lot of life under our belts and have made our share of mistakes that inevitably have enhanced our earthly wisdom, we experienced a heart-pounding faux pas that has us shaking our heads in disbelief!  

    We are in the early stages of creating a routine of attaching and detaching our toad (yes, that's what you call the vehicle that you tow behind your RV).  We each have our tasks to perform, which is making the whole towing process go pretty quickly.

    However, while detaching our toad at our previous campground, Mr. Aging Cajun pulled off the tow bar before Mrs. AC could put the car in park -- and we were on an incline!  Good thing I had already unlocked and opened the driver's side door before he did that.  I was walking toward the front of the car when he pulled it, but I was able to catch the ride and bring it to a halt before it could gain speed towards a group of trees!  

    We can sure laugh about it now, but we guarantee you that the detaching sequence will never be out of order again!  We are certifiably RV newbies making adventurous, albeit a little hair-raising, memories along the way -- we absolutely covet your prayers!!

Until next time ... blessings from our neck of the woods to yours!

Psalm 91