Where the heck is Odin the Winnebago?

1400 miles so far!

Whoops!  I've neglected to keep the blog up to date.  We've made a few stops since leaving our family's driveway in Tennessee!

Our first rest area!  Nice to see many are being rejuvenated (some even include wifi). This one is quite pretty. Quick snack then on to Clarksville, TN for the night. 

Clarksville RV Park (TN):  Our longest leg yet (323 miles) and 1) the first stop picked by The Colonel 2) primarily using the Good Sam​ website (we're Good Sam Elite since we purchased Odin at a Camping World).  #TravelTuesday

Where did we end up?  Here's your hint...

Spirit of St. Louis airport

I had another campground planned on our way into St. Louis, but the boss convinced me to pass it up for a free night of parking at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (where we used to work) and a stop by our storage unit to pick up our bicycles!  I'm in!  We tried to sneak onto the ramp, but before we could put the sunscreens in, we had a full house crammed into the Winnebago as a thunderstorm rolled overhead  ("You're flight has been delayed because of weather.  Scratch that.  Because the pilot, the lead passenger, maintenance and line service are over at Odin the Winnebago!").  We had a view of the runway and a lot of adult beverages were consumed.  Good times.

A borrowed pickup truck and a run to the storage unit.  Bicycles.  Cookbooks.  The other half of the Pfaltzgraff Sedona dishes, pots and pans, silverware, CD's, Starbucks coffee mug collection.  Winter clothes (still don't know what to do with jeans, sweatshirts and Under Armour?!). Couldn't find bicycle tire pump or The Colonel's bike shoes but it's starting to feel like home.

Sunset over St. Charles

Sundermeier RV park in historic St. Charles for the weekend.

Road bikes, meet your new big brother, Odin the Winnebago!  Despite no bicycle pump and no bike shoes for the boss, we got in an hour on the Katy this morning.   It felt pretty good, but I may pay for that tomorrow! We also found the new bicycle shop, the movie theatre (new Stark Trek movie coming out soon...) and a new BBQ restaurant!

What we posted on Facebook:  "A quick stop at the service center for an oil change."

Where we really where.

Spot #5

Babler:  Then on to our campground for the two weeks!

The Colonel prefers bike riding the epic hills (2 out of 3 times he walked up the hill to the campground--but don't tell him I told you!). Instead, I take walks.  As one woman I spoke to said, "It's like Jurassic Park!"  A stunning state park, right in town.  Unfortunately, the paved bike path is now closed to bikes. Probably budget cuts.  Pity.  And don't miss the turn to the campground like our friends did, or you go on the 20 min scenic tour!

Wild flowers from yesterday's walk.  Can you find the butterfly?

Our neighbors

A wildlife rundown.  SIX deer greeted me as I came back from dinner with a girlfriend.  We stopped.  They stopped.  And then the two babies in the front began to play.  Awesome!  I counted 5 butterflies on one hike.  They also frequent the RV and then I found the butterfly garden at the visitors center!  Beautiful.  Normally, I wouldn't count the rabbits & squirrels because they were near rodent status at our old house, but fun to see after being away for so long.  I hear all the raccoons live over at the primitive camp sites but I haven't spotted any yet.

Summary:  We love staying at a state park.  It's always our first choice.  Falling asleep to the sound of crickets and frogs then waking to birds chirping is pure bliss.  Babler has plenty of shade, 50-amp, concrete pads that are plenty long for us, and good wifi (near the bath house).    We were close to our friends at the airport and my sister.  Plenty of shopping a short distance away.  I even discovered recycling bins for metal & plastic at the pump-out. However, they don't have water or sewer at each site (which is OK in the short-term.  There are water spigots and a pump-out station).  Laundry was my sister's house.  Speaking of short term, we were limited to 15 days every 30.  Bummer.  We parked in the front in spot #5, then moved over to spot 6.  It was a short walk to the bathroom & we received good wifi here.  However, there is some excellent shade back around spot 44 with a water spigot and extra parking which is possible in a Class A but may be a tight turnaround for a 5th wheel.  We'll always swing through here on our way in & out of town.

The park like many state & national parks, could use some tax dollars.  The pool was damaged in a lightning strike and never reopened.  The stable has closed (but the trails are still available, I believe) and the bike path is now "no bikes".  There are a few places that are washed out with gravel, but nothing I couldn't navigate on my road bike.  Of course, watch out for the slick spots.