The bad, The good, The BAD... then the good and the GOOD

The GOOD... Fathers' Day at The Natural Bridge
A Man and his Dogs

Roger here... Well, it has been an eventful few days!

The Bad....

As we left Four Paws Kingdom on our way to Lexington, Virginia, we met another RV at the end of the campground driveway.  He was turning in.  We were turning out.  The loose gravel driveway was quite steep at that point.  I stopped on the steep slope so as not to hit the other vehicle.  Then, I could not coax the Airstream up the incline.  Gravel flew everywhere.  The other driver helped me back down the hill to get a running start.  After several attempts, I was able to make it out.  The other driver was able to make it in.  We were on our way.

The good...

During the four-hour drive (not really four hours) our gas mileage was great --- more than double what we were able to get in our beloved motor home.  We actually were able to get up to 17.7 at one point.  Our gasoline expenses will be so much lower.



The BAD....

We were just 30 miles from the exit to our campground when a truck driver honked his horn at us and pointed -- not a good sign.  I slowed down as another driver pointed.  Then Dianne said, "The tire is on fire!"

  We had a major blowout on the passenger-side of the Airstream.  The Airstream is new --- 2019.  I checked the air pressure before the trip and it was perfect.  Our tire monitoring system gave us no indication of a problem, and actually continued to register proper air pressure on the tire 10 minutes after it had blown.  A puzzlement.

Photo does not show all the tractor-trailers whizzing by us!

We were somewhat safe, but not totally safe.  Coach Net was very good at getting us help, but it did take some time.  We both let out a sigh of relief when the very helpful Virginia State Trooper arrived with his flashing blue lights.  He set out flares and stayed with us throughout the ordeal.  The roadside assistance guy arrived about an hour later.  He was also great, but he had some trouble getting the jack under the correct point.  I had to move the SUV closer to the very busy interstate highway in order to get the rim in the correct position --- a little stressful.  He was eventually able to remove the rim --- not damaged.    He needed me to disconnect and raise the hitch so that he could access and remove the spare tire.  Airstream does not skimp, so the spare tire was full size and a brand new twin to the one that failed, and it was already mounted on a rim.

The aluminum rim was not damaged.  The Airstream was not damaged.  No one was hurt, other than our nerves.  (And a little sunburn from standing on the side of the road a safe distance from our vehicles with two dogs for two hours.... -- D.)
We were able to depart on a good tire with the assistance of our new friend from the Virginia State Police. 

We still needed to get a new tire mounted on the aluminum rim, but that is another story.

The good...

We arrived safely at the KOA between Lexington, Virginia and the Natural Bridge.  Lots of happy kids there.  We like kids.  Our site was good.  We had forgotten how green everything is in this part of the country, and how tall the trees are.

 The GOOD....

After a morning of tire searching (to no avail) we drove to national headquarters of Sigma Nu Fraternity in Lexington.  Sigma Nu was founded at Virginia Military Institute.  Back in the day, I was the president of the Purdue chapter.  Despite all the recent fraternity scandals around the country, I must say that Sigma Nu played a large part in my development as a man. 

Love, Honor, Truth ...  Ever Grateful, Ever True

We then drove around the very interesting town of Lexington for a while --- two universities (Washington and Lee, VMI).  I wish we had another day to explore this inviting town.  It was time to travel a few miles down the road to The Natural Bridge.

The history of this place (now a Virginia State Park), not to mention the natural beauty, makes it very special.  George Washington surveyed it.  Thomas Jefferson owned it.  Wow!

Since it was Fathers' Day, I got in free!  Thanks, Robyn and Amanda, for making me a dad!  The major feature of this park involved a two-mile, round trip hike on a paved trail.  The doggies were not only welcomed, but encouraged.  (There were so many families with dogs there it seemed like Dog Day instead of Father's Day -- D.)  We all needed the exercise and the stress relief.  Mother nature came through.  

Just before our first sighting of the natural bridge, we passed by this calming green waterfall on Cedar Creek:  

The bridge itself was an early wonder of natural America, and for good reason.

Look carefully at the top.  Highway 11 still crosses the bridge.

The walk continued for a mile along the serene Cedar Creek before a return stroll along the same path.

There were interesting stops along the way.  The lost river seemed to come out of the ground from nowhere before plunging into Cedar Creek.

The living history display of a Monacan (eastern Sioux) village from 1699 was impressive.

The Trader

The Communal Cooking Fire

The Demonstrations of Native American Life

The Long House --- religious and community meetings.

The waterfall at the end of the mile walk was a refreshing scene on a warm day.

It was such a beautiful day that we lingered more on the walk back to the SUV.  Bandido and Poquita did not seem to notice the tadpoles in Cedar Creek....

... but, they did enjoy wading in the stream.

The Tire Saga continues....

We were unable to find a tire in Lexington that could be mounted on our rim.  We decided to move on without a spare, hoping to find a solution.  We stopped at a Camping World that does not carry RV tires (go figure).  We called another Camping World up the road, but they were too busy to take the call and did not return our call until six hours later.  We arrived at our next scheduled campsite, disconnected our RV, and searched the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a tire dealership.  BINGO!  

They mounted an equivalent tire on our rim.  Tomorrow morning we will return to have it mounted on our Airstream and to have the spare tire returned to its proper place underneath the RV.

One More Good...

On the way back to the campground in southern Pennsylvania, Dianne noticed a sign indicating a Lindt Chocolate distribution center.  OMG, my favorite chocolate.  

We spent some time in here and dropped some bucks!

Tomorrow, after the new tire mounting, we will be traveling deeper into Pennsylvania, stopping overnight at the border of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.   There may be a break before the next post as we will be meeting with friends and family in the Hudson Valley, with a special trip into NYC!  Until then...

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:

Roger and I are using plastic tubs to store our toiletries in the trailer.   There is a ledge in the bathroom and the tubs stack out of the way until we need them.  

Roger also uses his tub in our casita at home, so all he needs to do is carry the whole thing out and he's done.  I learned the hard way to place them off the bathroom ledge and onto the floor of the bathroom while we travel.   Let's just say there was some major picking up to do after our first leg of the trip!

Pet Picture of the Day...

Poquita and Bandido Lounging at the Campsite