Kirk and Pam's RV Adventure - Kirk & Pam's RV Adventure

Kirk's Journal

Welcome to my Journal. My posts are periodic and not on any particular schedule.

A difficult begining.....

It has been a long time since I last posted to the journal and there have been several reasons. For some time now I have not been quite sure exactly what to post. We ran into some serious problems here and in the first week there were times when it was doubtful if we would stay for our planned time. There are several reasons for this but this is not the place to tell all of the gory details, so a very short version is all that I plan to say.

The first problem came when in our first part of training for the visitor center, we discovered that cleaning the facility and restrooms was a significant part of the duties expected. In addition, one of the chemicals that the ladies training us insisted we must use is one that causes Pam serious breathing difficulties. By noon we were so very down that we were wondering if we would even stay the week. After lunch we talked with the volunteer coordinator about the problem, pointing out that our resume, which she had in her possession, does state that we do not clean public restrooms. By the end of the day we believed that issue to have been resolved, but discovered later that this was not to be. There were major problems with some of the other volunteers over the idea that we might do less cleaning they they or that any accommodation to us would be made. This was mostly from one couple and they leave next week, so we do now believe that the problem has been put to rest.

Last Updated on Friday, 10 September 2010 16:37

September is here!

Well, one more month has faded into history on the Great Adventure. Once more it brings with it the start of a new experience for us and we look forward to this with anticipation and excitement. This is our first time at a fish hatchery and so much of what we will be doing is new to us. We seem to flourish best with new things to learn and do. Our trip here was pretty uneventful and staff here always give new arrivals two days in which to get settled and look around. Tomorrow we begin to learn our new positions.

When we got up this morning I put Muffie out as is the practice. Shortly after she was out, even before the coffee had completed brewing, I heard her whining and even woofing just a little so went to investigate. We had been told that deer are quite common in the RV park so it was not too great a surprise to look out and see two of them, just at the edge of our lawn, investigation to see who the new arrivals are. Muffi didn't mind so much, but they wouldn't even come on over to greet her up close! When I stepped outside I only warranted a quick glance from the two deer as they were much more interested in the new animal arrival than just more people.

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

On Monday, Sept. 30 we moved south across Kentucky to Wolf Creek Hatchery for our next adventure. The hatchery is located at the base of the dam for Cumberland Lake, next to the Corps of Engineers. It was a trip of about 100 miles and into some beautiful country. Southern Kentucky is even more hilly that the north part, if that is possible. The area is very scenic and the reception was very good. We start our work tomorrow so will know much more then.

The RV park here has five sites, all very large and very nice with very large compacted gravel sites which are level and have full utilities, 50A power and each has a propane tank. The sites are as pretty and well kept as any that we have seen anywhere.

Last Updated on Friday, 10 September 2010 12:46

A new favorite beer!

One of the neat things about visiting our career soldier son is the access to the base "class six store." That is Army for a liquor store. Because of the number of customers who have spent time in other parts of the world, the stores always have a much wider selection of beers than do most civilian stores. As one who particularly enjoys a truly good beer and who thinks that micro breweries have been the best thing on the American beer scene in many years, I always look forward to our visits. It has been there that I have become familiar with many of the beers that I look for as we travel. I also enjoy many imported beers, I especially enjoy the American products.

The latest new item for me has been Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Beer. This is not your typical beer and it will only be found in liquor stores because the first thing different is that it is 8.18% alcohol. It is also aged in used bourbon barrels for four months. It is amazing that it has a definite flavor of bourbon, yet in a fairly stout beer. I'm not sure if it can be found outside of Kentucky, but rest assured that I will be watching for this product.

Kentucky State Fair

I suppose it must signal that summer is nearly over as the state fair is going on here in Kentucky. On Sunday we joined our children and grandchildren in attending the fair. It is a pretty good fair with nearly everything under cover and a great deal of free, entertainment. While not the largest that I have seen it is one of the better for visitors. Of course, with grandchildren, a good bit of time was spent on the midway with games and rides of high priority. There were even a few new ones that we had not seen before. It was an afternoon of nice weather and reasonably mild temperatures so the day was very enjoyable.

A new goody!

Today I assembled a new feature for our towing experience. We have been towing a vehicle now for more than 12 years and while we did suffer a few rock chips in the paint, I always valued the convenience of towing with no rock shield to be worth the occasional chip in the paint. With the purchase of our new white CR-V, I very quickly discovered that a chip sows much worse on white and so we went shopping for a quality shield for the new car. We finally settled for a "Kar-Guard" from Blue Ox and today I installed it. We shall see what we think when we tow with it in place as we head for Wolf Creek Hatchery, in another ten days. So far, I think that it should do the job and be pretty easy to use.