1 April 2022 Carrollton KY to East Sparta OH

 We knew this was going to be a long travel day, so we were up earlier and got on the road about 9:45. We took the I-271 loop around Cincinnati to avoid the narrow bridge over the Ohio River and the crazy mix master to get through downtown (it’s a white knuckler). The roads were reasonably good and the weather was cold and cloudy most of the way. But as we got within 30 miles of our destination, it started to rain and then snow. It was not really heavy, but enough to start messing up the roads. When we pulled into the East Sparta KOA ($700 per month plus electric) and checked in, we received some unwelcome news. They had assigned us to a long term spot at the very back of the RV Park at the top of a steep road with loose gravel. The parking site is cut parallel into the hill side and the access road is pitch climbing up the hill. The entrance to the site was pitched high on one side and low on the other side due to the hill. After driving the route with the RV Park guide, we chose a better approach but it would require backing up further. We made it up the hill by another road and backed up to the site entrance but could not get in. The Wanderer was leaning over so much on the downhill side, the rear passenger side leveler foot was starting to drag. We tried several approaches but with the same result. So, they told us to go to another site, more toward the front of the park but also on a steep hill. We had to leave the park, turn around and come back in and then go around so we could approach from the right angle. But we had the same issue, the passenger side rear stabilizer would start to drag on the gravel. We made several attempts, changing the angle a little bit each time, but to no avail. So, they assigned us to try another spot. One additional worry was that we were under ¼ tank of fuel, which on the steep hills, might be a concern. Again, we had to leave the park, turn around and come back in. This site would allow us to pull through an unoccupied site and into our assigned site. We were able to get in but did drag the rear passenger side roller (but that’s why it is there) briefly. We were in. As we disconnected and started getting set up, it started to snow harder. So, it was a cold, wet, muddy, job to get set up. The bad news is we cannot stay in the spot since it is assigned to someone else (by specific request) for Memorial Day weekend and they are booked full for that holiday weekend. They hope there will be a cancelation for another site that we might be able to get into, but there are no assurances. So, we need to look for another place to stay from 26 May and on, but at this late date, it will be hard to find someplace with room on the holiday weekend. 

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31 March 2022 Kentucky Vineyard

 While researching the area, we noticed there were several vineyards. Never having tried Kentucky wine, and being a bit dubious, we picked a vineyard that had good ratings. It is called Smith Berry Vineyard and Winery. They name implied they grow their own grapes. The drive over reminded us of driving the narrow country roads of southeastern Ohio. As we drove up to the vineyard a massive dog approached to great us. His name is Burly, a Great Pyrenees/German Shepard mix. He got a good scratching from both of us before he lead us to the tasting room. We each got a tasting flight of their various red and white wines. Although the used to have grapes growing on the property, the vines had all died, so they import their grape juice from surrounding states. We were surprised to find that we enjoyed several of their wines and bought three bottles to take home with us. We would not rank these anywhere near on par with some of our favorite western wines, but considering these wines are made with different types of grapes that can grow well in the wet conditions of the eastern US, they were very drinkable. 

Flight of wine for tasting

Smith Berry tasting room

30 March 2022 Ark Encounter

 Having traveled down I-75 from Cincinnati several times in the past and seeing the Ark Encounter park from the road, we were curious about it. David’s step sister had said that it was very good in the past as well. So, we planned a day while we were in the area. The park is set up like a Christian amusement park with zip lines and other fun things to do with the kids. The center piece is a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark. Per the dimensions in the Bible, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. A cubit is the length from one’s elbow to the tip of the middle finger. So, the length will vary from one person to the next. The Arc Encounter decided to use a royal cubit which was used in many ancient projects. A royal cubit is a cubit plus a hand width or about 20.4 inches. The Ark they built is 510ft long, 85ft wide and 51ft tall. Standing at the stern of the boat, it is very impressive in size. Beyond these measurements, there is not much else in the Bible on the construction of the Ark. They used information from ancient ship wrecks and other documents to decide how to build the Ark. The hull is composed of 3 layers of wood that was engineered to allow expansion, contraction, and bending due to stress based on ancient ship wrecks. The Ark had no propulsion but did incorporate features to keep the Ark pointed into the wind. There are three decks inside based on the Bible. The interior organization of the Ark is all supposition on their part since there is no information in the Bible about the interior architecture. They show how the animals could have been caged, fed, watered and cleaned up after. Based on fossils identified after the flood, they estimate 1,398 species of animals were on the Ark, including 85 kinds of Dinosaurs. We had never considered dinosaurs being on the Ark! In total, they estimate there were 6,744 animals on the Ark. It’s not entirely clear on the exact number since the Bible states there was one male and one female of each kind of “unclean” animal and 7 (not sure if that is 7 pairs, or 7 individual) of each kind of “clean” animals. So, the number could have been over 8,000 animals. They believe that many of the larger animals would have been represented by smaller juveniles. With only 8 humans (Noah, his wife, their 3 sons and their wives) on board, that’s a lot of animals to keep up with each day. But they also would have had a means for feeding most of them using multiday feeders and watering systems. They showed the living quarters for Noah’s family on the bottom deck. But considering that is where the least about of rocking would have occurred, it made sense. They believe, based on Bible passages, that Noah built the Ark in 75 years. It took the foundation 3 years to build the Ark exhibit. They used many ancient technics for the construction but also included modern approaches where safety and comfort of the public was needed. The flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old and lasted for about one year. Several of the exhibits in the Ark describe the basis for their design as well as the scientific proof of the occurrence of the flood. We were fascinated with the exhibits and read our way through all of them. 

The Ark from the entrance to the park

The Stern of the Ark

The construction of the hull

Interior storage and bird cages (on right)

Interior, storage on right, bird cages on left

Large Animal cages

looking up through the center of the Ark

Looking down from the top deck

28 March 2022 Goodlettsville TN to Carrollton KY

 It was only a 200 mile drive today, so we were not in a hurry. The roads were not too bad, except in Louisville, until we got off I-69 for the drive to the RV park. We got off on KY389, following our GPS. The road turned out to be a narrow country road that was a tight squeeze for our big rig. The bridge we had to take across the Kentucky River was even narrower. We are staying at Two Rivers Campground ($35 per night with senior discount) in the town of Carrollton. It’s a little strange compared to other campgrounds we are used to. In that the office was located across the street from the campground. There were no obvious signs for the office so we ended up wandering around until we found someone across the street who told us there was no check-in (we had paid in full in advance), just go to the spot listed in the email. So we parked and started to set up. But it was unusual in that the power point was 5 feet off the ground and the water hook up was 3 feet off the ground. We also noticed the main utilities for the park were located in towers. Then it sunk in that this RV park is located at the junction of the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers and obviously floods frequently enough to raise all the utilities and bathrooms above the average flood level. Needless to say, we are keeping a close eye on the weather!

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27 March 2022 Jack Daniels Distillery

 On our to do list for Nashville was to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg KY. David had been to it over a decade ago. We took the Flight of Jack Tour ($30 each) which included a tour and a whisky tasting. The tour started with a stop where they make their own charcoal. Jack Daniels is the oldest distillery in the United States. It is a Tennessee Whisky. To be a Tennessee Whisky it must be made with 80% corn and must be charcoal filtered. Jack Daniels makes their charcoal using sugar maple wood that they get from farms within 50 miles. Next we went down to the cave where JD gets its water for their whisky. They use water from this cave because it is filtered by the limestone rock that makes up the cave. This removes iron from the water. Iron causes the whisky to be bitter. They care so much about the water from the cave, they have bought up the farm land over the cave system to protect the water from pollution sources. Next we walked through the fermentation and distilling building. Here we learned the reason why the trees are all black, its called black frost, and it is caused by the CO2 that is released in the fermentation process. Then we went through the filtering room where the 140 proof distilled alcohol is filtered through the charcoal. The filtering process removes fatty acids from the alcohol which makes the alcohol smoother. Next the alcohol is mixed with cave spring water to reduce it to 120 Proof. Then it is poured into barrels. JD makes their own barrels out of American white oak. The barrels are charred on the inside before they are filled. The barrels then go to one of 90 barrel houses spread around the county where they will mellow for up to 4 years. It is not a set time, the time when it is ready is determined by tasters. In the barrels, the alcohol moves in and out of the wood of the barrel. It gets pushed into the wood by the heat of summer and moves out of the wood in the cold of the winter. It is this movement in and out of the wood that gives the whisky its flavor. There is more movement in and out of the on barrels at the top of the barrel house (hotter in the summer) and less at the bottom of the barrel stack (cooler in the summer). This results in a difference in the flavor from barrel to barrel. Single barrel bottling refers to whiskey taken from a single barrel. Usually at the top of the stack. Single barrel whiskey can be anywhere from 120 to 138 proof. For Old No7, they take whiskey from multiple barrels, mix them together to obtain a uniform taste and add cave spring water to bring the alcohol content down to 80 proof. Next we sat down in the first barrel house and did a tasting of Jack Daniels whiskeys (Gentleman Jack, Old No7, Rye) and liquors (JD mixed with flavoring) (Honey, Cinnamon, Apple). Of course the tour ended at the bottle house where we picked up some JD to take home with us. We had a great time and look forward to enjoying our Single Barrel bottles. 

Lynchburg Square

Taste of Whiskey

Jack

Cave Spring

The Label

The visitor Center

Historical Marker for the oldest distillery in the US

25 March 2022 Slide Out Academy

 David went out in the morning to inspect under the Wanderer and consulted with the slide out mechanism owner’s manual. But it was not clear what the issue was as the hydraulics were working correctly. He could New Horizons but got the service centers voice mail. Next, he called the front desk at the RV park and they informed him that there was a Mobile RV repair mechanic working at a site nearby. So he walked around until he spotted the mechanic, Neal from Road Ready Repair, and had a talk with him. After he finished work on the rig he was at, he stopped by our site and diagnosed the issue in 10 minutes. Seems a shear pin on the shaft that transfers torque to the back-end gear drive from the front-end gear drive had broken at the front gear drive. The hardest one to get to due to water lines and other stuff in the way. Seems they had a grade A ¼ inch bolt in the drive shaft that had broken off. He was headed to the parts shop to get a new water pump for the other rig he was working on so he would be back in a few minutes with a new bolt. David asked him to get a couple of spares in case this happened in the future now that he learned how the mechanism worked. Sure enough, Neal came back with the new bolt and had it fixed in 30 minutes. Neal was a real nice guy and he and David talked longer than it took him to complete the work. 

24 March 2022 Cottendale MS to Goodlettsville TN

 We got a late start today. The roads in Alabama were actually pretty smooth and in good repair, but when we crossed into Tennessee, they got really bumpy. Due to our late start, we hit Nashville and prime rush hour traffic. It took us an hour to get through Nashville. We are staying at the Grand Ole RV Park ($46 per night). When we went in to register, they took one look at our rig and asked David if he was a good driver. Seems they had us slated for a tighten back in site. After some debate by the staff, they changed us to a nice pull through site. We are right next to a very busy railroad track but luckily, they don’t blow their whistle as they go by! When we went to run the galley slide out, only the front side would move. When we tried to pull that side back in, the back side moved out. Several neighbors came over to “help”, as RVers tend to do, but no one could see what the problem was. So David wiggled the slide in and out until he got it fully extended. But it is obvious we would need a repair guy to help us fix it to be able to leave. Since it was after 5PM by this point there is not much that could be done until the morning. 

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