Summer / Fall 2023

Summer is about over. We have been campground hosts at Versailles State Park in Indiana since April. We will be here until November 10th. We will make a one week trip to Red Bay Alabama in November for chassis service and a couple other items. Our full time living in the motorhome will end in November, becoming part time rv'ers. We still have our motorhome but it will be in storage for the winter, located in a secure lot about 1/2 mile from our duplex. This will be the first time it has been winterized with antifreeze. 

We are renting a duplex in Versailles so that will be our part time home along with our motorhome. The cost to buy a house has gone crazy and we decided that renting is better than buying an over priced house with all the work required. Our duplex includes lawn care and snow removal so there will not be weekly outdoor work. The monthly rent is such a bargain, we could not turn it down. Versailles is the county seat, not a large town but a nice clean town. The drive to Walmart and Kroger in larger towns is about a 25 mile trip and about 50 miles to the Cincinnati area.

March 2023 at Tiffin Motorhomes.
Bob Tiffin is the CEO of the company and greets visitors at the factory.

Christmas in July at Versailles.

Christmas in July has Santa Claus attending.

Santa Claus in summer dress. Too hot for the heavy winter suit.

Park security had horse power.

Fall has started, more color in the next week or two.

Halloween here in the park, trick or treat on two weekends.

Campers go all out for Halloween. These talked to you when you walked close to them.

We had a full moon on Saturday Oct 28.

Winter 2022-2023

The cold temperature came to Tennessee for Christmas 2022, almost as low as farther north. It was near 0 degrees for a few days and there was about an inch of snow. We survived OK in our motor home, thanks to the way Tiffin builds it. Our neighbors in trailers and 5th wheels at the Sun TV Resort in Sevierville did not do as well. We moved to Two Rivers Landing RV Resort on January 13, 2023. 

We are going to Red Bay Alabama for two service items the last week of January, then return to Two Rivers for February and March. We had planned to stay near Gulf Shore Alabama in February but the storms going through the south changed our minds. The temperature has greatly improved since the cold in late December, lows near freezing and highs near 50 to 60. It will be raining a lot in Tennessee, as it usually does here this time of year. This is our favorite place.

We have a riverfront site about 20 feet from the French Broad River.

Yesterday, an abandoned car was found at the Smokey Mountain Knife Works.
Two Rivers Landing is located on the French Broad River, 1/4 mile behind
the Knife Works. The store video shows a man leaving the car and walking
toward the river after midnight. The police are looking in the river directly in
front of us. They had boats and a helicopter searching until dark.
He has not been located as of today.

We made a couple fast one day trips by car back to Indiana. My dash 

cam recorded the trip so here is one video of I-75 north toward Jellico 

and the Tn Ky state line.

If you have been to Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg you have 

probably made this drive on TN-66 from I-40. The real view of the Smokies 

with snow on the mountains is much better than my wide angle video. 

We end at our motor home at Two Rivers RV Resort.

Alone in the Park

 We are still at Versailles State Park, all alone in the 5500 acres except for the winter employees. We are staying later this year to be here for Thanksgiving which has turned into Christmas and medical tests that I have scheduled. If all goes as planned we will head to Tennessee a few days before Christmas. So far the weather has not been real cold but we easily stay warm. We hope it does not snow again, at least where it sticks to the roads and stays for a while. It did snow four inches in November but it melted in a couple days. I won't drive on snow and salt covered roads. That would rust the underside of the motor home so we will stay put longer if the roads are salted.

Alone in Campground A with squirrels, wood peckers, crows and deer.

Campground B & C are closed for the winter.

Campground C will have a new shower house by spring. Demo coming soon.

We purchased new truck size Toyo tires 22.5" wheels. These are the old Michelin tires. These weigh about 120 pounds each. They look good but should be replaced every seven years because they sit too much and end up with dry rot. These sold quickly for farm use and we recovered some of the cost for the new tires.

Versailles Host Again

 We are again at Versailles State Park. The Campground A host had to leave early and the park manager called us to fill in for the last few weeks. We were in the area so here we are again. Halloween was held two weekends so everyone had a chance to get their candy. We will be at Versailles until Thanksgiving. The water is shut off the first week of November but we have a full fresh water tank that will last for a while. The next week or more will be at Indian Springs by the state line, not my favorite place but the water is on all winter. It's a shorter drive to Mercy Fairfield for my stress test and the list of doctors I need to see.

It's time for new tires on our motorhome and that big expense is planned for next week. Our original tires are Michelin and are seven years old so time for new tires. The new tires will be Toyo, less expensive than Michelin and very well rated. Less expensive is still not cheap! 

When we are finally finished with various doctors, we plan to head to Sevierville Tennessee then Gulf Shore Alabama, returning in March to be camp host again at Versailles State Park.

Campground A host site, living in a state park. Our yard is 5500 acres.
We arrived October 14 and leave November 27.

We decorated some for Halloween and handed out candy. 

Camp A was constructed in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC),
 created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the depression.

A normal fall morning in the campground.

November 12, a surprise for a fall morning in the campground.
There are about 18 camping here in the 4 inch snow.

Park employees plowed the streets.

This would make a big Christmas tree.

Versailles Host Ends for the Year

 Our Versailles State Park campground host duties ended August 31st. The park manager had promised someone else September and October. We are staying in the southeast Indiana area until the end of November if the weather is OK (no snow forecast). Our stay at Versailles had a great site with full hookups. We have been invited back for next year, starting in April.

Humming Birds

We cross this bridge as a shortcut into Versailles.

Pickup truck on fire at the park office.

Christmas in July at the park.

Roof Maintenance

Motorhomes need some maintenance too. I don't like climbing onto the roof but I still do it. This work took three trips to get it all done. This weekend was much cooler and lower humidity so it was time to do it all. I cleaned all three air conditioners, scrubbed the roof, and finally waxed all 40 feet of the roof. My third trip up was needed to reseal the plumbing vent that had some cracked sealant. I also waxed the exterior. I was very tired by Sunday evening but now it's all done for the year, I hope.

I also washed and waxed the exterior, another job that wears me out.
Check out that shine 😃

I get on the roof with an extension ladder that I keep at my sister's house.

I don't use the rear ladder, I don't trust it.

Waxing the fiberglass roof took another three hours.
Check out that shine 😃

I was getting very tired. Luckily we have good shade in the late afternoon.

Slide out covers are also cleaned and checked.

Now I have to get down, my least favorite part of roof maintenance 😓
I was ready to sit in my chair.

Versailles Indiana Campground Host

 We arrived at Versailles on April 1st to start our duties as campground host. The park is empty in early April. May has been busier and June is now full on weekends. We have the best camp site in the whole park with good tree shade, water, sewer and 50 amp electric service. We are host in campground section C. Section A and B also have campground hosts. This is our site until the end of August when someone else will have September and October. We plan to return next year and hope to stay the entire season, April through the end of October. Another plus, we are not burning $6.00 a gallon diesel this summer!

Hummingbirds, Robins, Redbirds, Bluebirds, Mocking birds, Wood Peckers,
Crows, Hawks and Turkey Vultures visit us daily. 

We have plenty of space for outdoor use.

Mary has a garden.

Flowers for the Humming birds.

We had a snow day on April 18th. The park was empty.

My almost daily morning chore. They all know me by now and wait patiently to escape. Raccoons like the dumpster so I bring a broken tree branch so
they can crawl out after their midnight snack.

Spring has many fields around the area full of goldenrod.

February 2022

We came back to Tennessee after our Freightliner service in Red Bay Alabama. The weather has been cold and warm, typical Tennessee weather. On March 1st, we head to Indian Springs Campground at the Indiana/Ohio state line. Diesel fuel here is $3.69 and going up. Our Freightliner with the Cummins engine averages 8 miles per gallon so fuel is a big cost if we travel a lot of miles. We will be stationary most of the summer, being camp hosts at Versailles State Park starting April 1st. We applied for the host position two years ago so this is good timing with the high fuel prices.

It will soon take all body parts.

Two Rivers Landing is a favorite place.
Spring and summer rates double so we are leaving February 28th.

We always make good friends at Two Rivers. Bruce and Lois are work campers
this winter and are great people. We hope to see them again next winter. 

I saw a tv show about Mountain Dulcimers and a man in Townsend that
sells and makes them. I decided to buy one and learn to play it.
They are a string instrument and I need a lot of practice.

Two Rivers garage burned down in November.
The new garage is being constructed.

Versailles State Park C Area Host Campsite. We will be there April 1st.