I stayed at Manatee Hammock, a county park near Titusville, Florida to visit the Kennedy Space Center. The park is on the Indian River right across from Cape Canaveral.
First look, the Kennedy Space Center, about 14 miles across the channel from the Manatee Hammock campground.
The Vehicle Assembly Building (NASA Photo – my photos of the VAB weren’t any good). Standing alone, it’s hard to get perspective, but the flag is 209 x 110 feet and the stripes on the flag are about 9 feet wide (wider than my RV). The VAB is one of the largest buildings in the world – it is almost twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, interior volume is 2/3 larger than the Pentagon or 3.75 times as much as the Empire State Building.
It takes more than a day to see the main attractions at KSC. The complex is huge. Some of the sights you’ll visit, like the launch pads, are a 35 minute bus ride from the main visitor complex.
Apollo 14 command moduleSaturn 5 on display at the Kennedy Space Center, 360 feet long
That’s not a building, that is the Crawler-Transporter, which moves assembled space vehicles to the launch pad, With some objects like an 18 wheeler in the frame for perspective.
A mural of the International Space StationRocket Garden at KSCThe Kennedy Fountain
Walt Disney World
I’ve been to Disneyland, but this is my first time at Disney World. All I knew was that it was bigger than Disneyland.
Bigger is an understatement. Disney World covers 43 square miles – twice the size of Manhattan. I stayed at a campground onsite, Fort Wilderness, which, despite being on site was still a 20 minute bus ride on Disney freeways to the theme parks like Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studios.
First look, walking up to Epcot.Disney Hollywood Studios
The start of World Showcase – more than a mile of international themed restaurants and souvenir shops.The World Showcase continues, wrapping around a lake inside Epcot. It’s like the world’s largest food court.
A special appearance during the stunt driving show Lights, Motors, Action. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Rhino at Animal KingdomStreet scene at Animal Kingdom
Just a few snapshots on the trail from Flagstaff, Arizona to Bowling Green, Kentucky.
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Flagstaff, Arizona
At the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival in Flagstaff – Caber Toss: Huck a 19 foot 165 lb telephone pole
Amarillo, Texas
World famous Big Texan steakhouse in Amarillo. Eat the 72 oz rib eye in 60 minutes and it’s free.Dinosaur in cowboy boots at Big Texan steak house.Yep, horns on cars, really a thing
Joplin, Missouri
Grand Falls in Joplin MissouriTortoise on the road in Joplin MO
St. Louis, Missouri
The park around the Gateway Arch is undergoing extensive renovation and construction.Downtown St. Louis from the top of the Gateway Arch
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is the RV capital of the world. I was here to look at new captains chairs and a new couch, but the delivery and installation times didn’t work on this trip. Went to the RV Hall of Fame and a Thor factory tour.
An early motorhome at the RV/MH Hall of Fame museum, Elkhart, Indiana.Mae West’s “House Car”
St. Joseph, Michigan
A beach stop on beautiful Lake Michigan.
Not the ocean. Silver Beach in St. Joseph on Lake Michigan. Miles of soft sand and crystal clear water. No ice this time of year.
Bluffton, Indiana
Wabash River, downtown Bluffton, Indiana
Louisville, Kentucky
The Kentucky Derby Museum, Whiskey Distillery Tour and a day at the races at Churchill Downs and some crazy underground ziplines.
Entering the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill DownsKentucky Derby Museum – Secretariat in the Winner’s CircleThe main gate at Churchill DownsChurchill Downs – Race 4 – On the TurfMint Julep – had to try one. I’ll pass next time, bourbon doesn’t need sugar and water.
National Corvette MuseumNational Corvette MuseumNational Corvette MuseumThe outline of the sinkhole and cave that opened up in February 2014 is marked off in tape in the hall of fame / spire room at the National Corvette Museum.These cars were damaged beyond repair in the sinkhole collapse of 2014. They are on display right were they were before the collapse.Wrecked Corvettes on display. These were recovered from the sink hole disaster and were beyond repair. They are on display right where they were before the disaster.Lost River Cave entrance, Bowling Green, KentuckyOn a boat tour in Lost River Cave, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Time flies. It’s now more than two years since I launch on the roamward bound journey. 25,000 miles in (seems like 10,000 in construction zones), it feels like I’m 10% of the way there. Maybe the country is to big to explore.
Been There
From Phoenix to Elkhart (where you are obliged to say “the RV capital of the world”) in just 124 steps, plus a couple I missed.
Two of my favorite things – lakes and salt – it should be great!
Just 25 miles from camp (38 including wrong turns) is the Great Salt Lake. It was well over 100 degrees when I arrived at Saltair, the third attempt to build a resort on the shores of the lake. The abandoned building now hosts just a tiny gift shop and the lake is now a mile and a half away.
The third incarnation of Saltair is all but abandoned. All that remains is a small, sad gift shop.
The odor coming off the lake was near suffocating. I’d say it most resembled rotten chicken. I walked out about 15 minutes toward the lake before giving up and taking this shot:
The Great Salt Lake, over a mile from the closest parking. Be glad you don’t have smell-i-vision.
The signs say the lake is an important habitat for birds, however on the walk out and back I saw not a single living thing except a couple of flies that couldn’t fly and a few humans trekking toward the lake (on the other hand, I didn’t actually check them, they could have been zombies).
This shot, from the state marina. There were over a hundred boats parked in the lot, but only one car. There’s a small channel that connects to the now distant lake.
Of course the other mandatory stop in SLC is the highly manicured Temple Square.
er, before … well, I don’t know. Maybe I need a taco before they run out.
Now, I know it doesn’t sound like much of a run – two weeks for about 830 miles, but it’s RV time. You might make the drive in a day or two by car. In the RV time slows down and the journey is the thing. This one was fast, definitely a run.
I left Reno on May 29th and went to Susanville, California on the recommendation of my good friend Ray. This place had plenty of small town charm. My neighbor had a BMW RL1200 and knew the area really well which led to some great rides through the mountains.
Main Street, downtown Susanville, CaliforniaThe Susanville City Hall (left) and the Masonic Temple. Downtown Susanville, California.Antelope Lake
Ray said the drive north out of Susanville was really something – it did not disappoint. I really need a dash cam. As you’re winding through the tall pines, every once in a while you come to a a little gap and all of the sudden there’s
All of the sudden there’s this giant bright, bright white mountain, overwhelming everything else, and then it’s gone
I spent a few days in Mount Shasta City at the foot of the dominating peak. All the locals know it’s an active volcano. They all know the geologists say it will likely erupt again (in the next 200 years). And they know the lahar and pyroclastic flow could relegate Mount St. Helens’ eruption to footnote status. Still, there they are, in the foothills, captivated by the majestic peak.
Roadside Oregon
A short mountain ride from Gold Hill, Oregon is the Oregon Vortex roadside attraction where people and things appear to get taller or shorter depending on where they are standing. Now the science guy in me wanted to chuckle, but I’ve got to admit the outdoor demonstrations were pretty impressive. I’d also note that my phone’s GPS could not get a fix within 2 miles of this spot (queue Twilight Zone music).
Which one is taller? The ground is level, checked by a carpenter’s level and I checked it with my phone also.The ground really is level.
Speaking of Twilight Zone
Two days later, with a stop to see one of my favorite authors, Neil Stephenson, speak, I was at the border – Port Angeles, Washington.
Port Angeles is a small city (pop. ~19,000) across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, British Columbia. It does have quite a bit of charm.
Downtown Port AngelesPort Book and News (movie location) Port AngelesBella Italia (movie location) Port Angeles
Victoria
6/16 – Victoria, BC. You get to Victoria by ferry – it’s on Vancouver Island and there are no bridges. Taking the RV across was prohibitively expensive. I also decided not to take the motorcycle across since I still don’t have a reliable GPS I can use offline. So, I boarded Keira for a few days and took the ferry to Canada.
The MV Coho, loading in Port Angeles for trip to Victoria, BC, CanadaPort Angeles from the ferry to VictoriaApproaching VictoriaVictoria HarborBC Parliament
Victoria is a maze of twisty little two lane streets, very densely populated, vibrant and cosmopolitan like New York, but it’s uber clean and the people are way nicer. It is the capital of the province and a hot spot for tech and design professionals.
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I’d spent a good long time hanging around the Colorado River and it was time, time to move on. Through Barstow, Bakersfield and Santa Nella to Monterrey Bay, just 10 miles south of Santa Cruz.
The area is spectacularly beautiful, but also spectacularly expensive.
Manresa State Beach, Monterrey Bay, California. Not from a quad copter, this shot is from 2/3 of the way down the steps from the cliff.The lighthouse at Point Santa Cruz. The black dots in the water off the point are surfers.Santa Cruz Boardwalk, viewed from the Wharf.A trail near the campground at Monterrey Bay
From there I went to Sacramento to have some routine maintenance on the RV, plus a repair of a hydraulic jack (same problem as in 2013, but a different jack). Since it looks like 3-4 weeks to get the part they need, I headed on, through Donner Pass, to a pretty nice spot just 7 miles outside Reno.
At the end of October I went back to the valley for some crazy expensive dental work, a vet appointment, RV repairs (had an overheating issue and another oil leak), a poker game with the gang, and of course that all important smog test I need to keep the RV registered. No stop in Phoenix is complete without Carolina’s
Afterwards, while most of the country settled in for another crazy cold winter, I went full snowbird, starting with a stop in Quartzsite with a quarter million other RV’ers, then on to the Colorado River.
Snow in the mountains on the Arizona Side
From the beach in Laughlin. Snow in the mountains on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.
Laughlin Beach
In Earp, CA - Across the River from Parker, AZ
London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge Plaza
London Bridge Plaza
Gas Pipeline
The gas pipeline goes under the campground, then up and over the Colorado, a few yards from my site.
Blythe Campground and overhead gas pipe
My RV is almost directly under the gas pipeline running over the Colorado River.
Couldn’t completely avoid the snow, we had flurries blowing around New Year’s Eve in Laughlin.
If only I had a Tesla, I’d know just where to charge it up.
No waiting for a spot to charge your Tesla in Gila Bend, Arizona [ Map of places visited is not shown on this browser ]
