Let the Good Times ROLL!

NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS USA -
Since September 28, 06, we have seen the following National Parks:
Badlands National Park – South Dakota
Big Bend National Park - Texas
Crater Lake National Park – Oregon
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – North Carolina
Mount Rainier - Washington
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington
Redwoods National Park - California
Saguaro National Park - Arizona
Sequoia National Park - California
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming
Yosemite National Park – California
National Parks and/or Monuments seen on previous vacations:
Jefferson Expansion National Memorial – St. Louis, Missouri
Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument - DC
Everglades National Park – Florida
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
Haleakala National Park - Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Hawaii
U.S.S. Arizona Memorial – Hawaii
National Parks we hope to see:
Death Valley National Park - California
Mesa Verde National Park – Colorado
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – New Mexico
Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
Arches National Park – Utah
Canyonlands National Park – Utah
Zion National Park - Utah
Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
______________________________


Kentucky Horse Park and Campground, Lexington KY

June 1, 2009 Ray's Reflections:  We had planned to make our next stop N.E. of Cincinnati, Ohio, until Marsha discovered we were passing Lexington, Ky. (HORSES). We rescheduled and had a 3-night stop at the KENTUCKY HORSE PARK. WOW! What a treat that was. I could talk pages about this place. Everything and anything you want to know about horses is here. From huge 2000+lbs Clydesdale to Shetland ponies, mares, stallions, colts, many show horses including Arabians. And let’s not forget about the racers, past and present. Memorials to the great ones like Man O' War, Secretariat and others. Trivia: Man O' War had the longest stride in a race at 28 ft. Near the stables, we saw numerous huge horse trailers that look like livable dwellings.
At 8am we drove from Diamond Caverns Mammoth Cave to the Kentucky Horse Park and Campground, Lexington Kentucky. We traveled I-65 to Bluegrass Parkway. The road takes you through beautiful country The road has cut deeply into the sides of mountains and the rocks are still without vegetation because they are sheared off so steep.
The RV park is massive, beautiful, and well worth the stop. I thought we had beautiful horse ranches around Ocala, Florida, and we do. Now, after seeing the ranches around this area, I know where they got their origin.


Most of the homes you see are constructed of red brick. Farms with silos are everywhere. We passed the Lincoln Homestead State Park. As soon as we drew near Lexington, the horse ranches were everywhere with either black/brown fences or white.



The green “blue” grass of Kentucky is so beautiful and the landscapes look like they were just mowed. We arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park RV site at 10:30 am. Very nice drive.

Giant Schnauzer
The campground is beautiful. Sites have plenty of room and fields of grass are in abundance. We saw many families with several dogs and found out there was a dog show on the premises that weekend. We met our neighbors, Ron and Peggy Vaughn who do not fulltime yet. They have a camper. Their huge dog is a Giant Schnauzer, an intelligent, versatile working dog. Bold and spirited. Calm, loyal, loving and responsible, their dog was a rescue dog as his previous owner couldn’t manage such a large dog. We had a great time talking about a variety of subjects.
The park cost us $26 a night and we stayed three nights. With campers we received a $3 per person discount on the tickets to see the Kentucky Horse Park the next day. At $12 per person, we thoroughly enjoyed the tours and feel the fee was certainly worth the trip.







We took a drive to see the historic town of Paris, chartered in 1790. Paris is home to Xalapa and Claiborne Farms, prominent thoroughbred race horse breeding operations. Triple Crown winner Secretariat retired to Claiborne Farm and is buried there, as is the immortal Buck Passer. 

This log building lined with adz-hewn cherry was built as a tavern. In 1795 it became first post office in Paris. Thomas Eades then served as tavern owner and postmaster. Robert Trimble had home and law office here before becoming U.S. Supreme Court justice, 1826. It became site of Lizzie Walker's private school. Listed on National Register of Historic Places, 1973.
b:if cond='data:blog.pageType !="item"> >

Labels:

FULL TIMING

FULL TIMING? Our first thoughts on such a monumental change of direction in our lives started with the purchase of a 32' Toy Hauler-KZ 5th Wheel early 2006. We took a vacation in May and traveled the mountains of North Carolina. We liked the fact we had our own bed to sleep in and could see surrounding areas either on our Honda Gold Wing or GMC truck. However, during the vacation, we found that the KZ 32' 5th-wheel was entirely too small, even for a long weekend. We wanted to trade up. One thing led to another and we started to question the next three years before Marsha was scheduled to retire.After much soul-searching, prayer, and financial calculations, Marsha requested early retirement for personal and physical reasons.Full timing meant we were saying "goodbye" to all that is familiar. Everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to contemplate that aspect much. We research everything thoroughly before we purchase. This would be our new home and we wanted all the "bells & whistles" within our budget. Lazy Days in Seffner, Florida had a new National, 2006 Tradewinds motorhome available at the right price. It has a 400-HP Turbo diesel engine and many amenities. We did get the "cart before the horse" purchasing the RV before selling our home. It was the worst time of year to sell a home in Florida. We sold with only a month before closing! Thankfully, we had our new "home on wheels" in our back yard for preparation.

It became clear that our personal craving for travel and adventure overcame our requirement for a traditional home with all the things that seemed so important.Getting rid of clutter can be liberating. We did not want to pay for storage. Collectibles such as our Fenton glass, sets of crystal glass, or ceramic pieces were handed over to family members or close friends for their enjoyment. We had a two-day garage sale and anything remaining went to charity. We feel the flexibility and comfort of RV travel far outweighs any pinch felt at the fuel pump. Let the Good Times Roll!