November 10, 2021
Hi all,
We have decided to send out a mass email to keep you all up to date. Please “reply to sender” and not “reply all” as I will get lost in multiple email threads.
We successfully and uneventfully crossed the border. We left Regina this morning and crossed the border at Portal ND. There was only one car ahead of us (and a long line of trucks that we just bypassed). The border guard double checked that our faces matched our passports and asked where we were going to which Pat replied our cabin in Kentucky. We had to roll down the back window (which exposed a fully packed back part of the Escape) and we explained that we taking down stuff for the cabin. When asked if we were going to leave anything in the US we said were leaving two large suitcases of clothing and personal items to make the cabin live able (we hoped). The last question he asked was if we were bringing in any fruit, Pat initially said no but I said yes two apples, at that point he looked into the car again and just let us go. (I don’t think he wanted to look and his replacement came out so I think it was his lunch time). Easy peasy.
The drive was good although the wind that we drove cross way to from Calgary almost all the way to Regina, caught up with us again today. The temperature was reasonable and the drive otherwise easy. So far we are ahead of the snow and rain but that may change tomorrow. We have spent our time in the car listening to A Clash of Kings (part of Game of Thrones); working on crosswords together; and admiring the prairie scenery (廊). So far Sadie has not been sick but she is sure thankful to be out of the car at the end of the day. It takes about half an hour before she is ready to eat so, although she has not been sick in the car (we do not feed her in the morning and are providing liquid gravol), it seems that riding in the car is still upsetting to her tummy.
Most amazing on this part of the drive (both in Canada and the US have been the 10’s of thousands of snow geese. At one point we could see geese (like little dots) across the entire breadth of our vision flying in a series of flocks. At the same time fields were white with those that had already landed. We saw them all the way from Medicine Hat to where we are now which is Jamestown North Dakota.
We are stopped for the night, dining on Walmart take out, box wine and strawberry beergaritas. (I over paid for the hotel so we thought we’d cheap out on supper).
Take care all,
November 12, 2021
Day 2 Remembrance Day. Well we woke up to blowing winds and snow starting about 8 hours earlier than expected. Still light but enough to urge us onward. The weather channel indicated more snow to the east than south so we decided to go straight south from Fargo through Sioux falls etc rather than over to Minneapolis and then south. Slightly longer ( 40 min added to the 17 hours remaining) but worth not getting into a winter storm. We were mostly successful in staying at the front edge of the storm system. Strong winds all day but slowly warming up. We put in a long day, driving past dark and into a small town just outside Kansas City where we had found a pet friendly hotel. Accommodations minimal, wifi free but had to stand outside the room but a Pizza hut in the parking lot.
Day 3
Woke up to sunshine but strong winds continue so the 10 degrees felt closer to 3. Spent 5 min waiting for water to heat up in the shower and then decided to shower in the slightly more than tepid water…then discovered as I turned the dial off that suddenly the water was hot – waterlines were attached incorrectly. The new owners were trying to do some renovations but seem to have some skills missing.
Drove past some pretty fall colors and some large estates – one with a huge barn all decked out with various colored pumpkins and squash at each door (and there were 20 doors), then there was the décor around the house – it could have been straight from a magazine. It would make Kelly and Joan both Jealous…
Stopped at a rest stop for a needed washroom break for all of us and called Lake Barkley Water District office to get the water turned on for us for tomorrow as the office is not open on Saturday. In spite of the fact that we have an account, they said we have to come in and complete paperwork and put down a $75 deposit. After explaining our situation, the employee consulted three times with someone else and arranged for us to pay the deposit over the phone and they sent the forms over to the water plant and we were instructed to go there tomorrow to complete the paperwork or they’ll “cut the water off again on Monday”. Strange combination of hospitality and suspicion.
Drove into Land Between the Lakes area with sunshine glinting off the fall trees. Very pretty and a welcome view. After three last minute detours: one our choice to find a trail to walk the dog: one not our choice due to an accident and the last being a new way into Cadiz that Pat had not tried before thanks to our navigator program which took us all the way into town when we wanted to be on the highway where the hotels are, we got in to Cadiz after dark about 630. To top it off, we did not realize that hunting season starts tomorrow so we had to hunt for a motel room and again three was the magic number and we got the last room available at the third hotel we tried. After a great meal and a hot bath we are relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow.
We will tackle the cabin tomorrow – finding the driveway, starting the water, checking the electricity, heat and of course checking for snakes, bugs and rodents. After that we’ll check into getting the wifi set up so it may be a couple days before we send another email.
Take care and love to all,
November 14, 2021
Day 4. So, we headed out to the Lake Barkley water district Plant for 9 am after a not very endearing complimentary Breakfast to Go consisting of a Jimmy Dean sausage and egg biscuit that had to be reheated in the hotel room microwave and blueberry muffin. At the plant, the two staff seemed less than informed about having Pat complete the required forms although the forms were there. They were not sure if the lock had been removed from the junction so that we could turn the ‘key’ and turn on the water but gave Pat their number in case there was a problem. We explored under the leaves when we got to the cabin, discovered the water access point, opened it up and found the lock still on the access, so Pat called the plant and left a message when no one answered. So we continued to work on the opening…
The cabin, on first look, appeared to have weathered the 2 years of abandonment not too badly, yes the driveway was unidentifiable from the road but a walk up where we knew it should be revealed a few large branches (of small trees) which we easily removed before driving through the leaves to the cabin. The key worked and door opened, power worked fridge started and there were no obvious rodents or snakes, a few bug and spider corpses were revealed. We unloaded our travel clothing and food. Then we tried to take the bikes off the car but could not make the lock budge and our search for WD 40 was without positive result.
This created the second item on our list of things to do – 1. Follow up at the water plant, 2, buy WD 40.
We continued on the initial things to do – Deb tried cleaning up and discovered that the floor in the living and dining room area could really hide a lot of dirt, spider webs and mouse turds, Pat discovered that the Scion would start but not go into gear. The list continues #3 Contact Keelan about the Scion, #4 pick up extra paper towels, #5 pick up mouse/spider traps. On the up side our connectivity with phones seems to be ok depending on where you are in the cabin so similar to Moyie, texts come through but phone calls require being in the right place. (This is an improvement over previous phone plan where we had to stand on the road).
We raked the leaves off the drive way and decided to head into town early afternoon for the above list and some fresh groceries. On the way in we stopped by the water plant again as no one had returned Pat’s call. The gates and doors were open but it seemed like no one was there – we were about to leave when we found an older gentleman on a riding lawnmower. Although skeptical about that the lock was not removed as the ‘goobers’ who were on earlier were supposed to unlock the access on their way home. But he phoned them and they reported that it was not their job. Apologetic, he offered to go immediately and unlock the system but as we were headed to town, we suggested that he go when he was done his current project and we would turn on the water when we got back.
Off to town – this time in to Hopkinsville 20 extra miles down the road as the Verizon office in Cadiz closed sometime in the last two years. Walmart was only a couple blocks away so Deb headed off there while Pat waited in line to set up the portable wifi service for the cabin. I’m not sure if any of you have ever shopped with Deb, it is not usually a fast errand especially in a new store and when she was not entirely sure of what she needed. Luckily just as she is heading to the check out line with both the groceries and additional necessities, Pat texted that he was next in line to be served. The timing was perfect as Deb’s wait in line was the same as the time it took Verizon to set him up and so she walked out of the door just in time for him to pick her up in the loading zone!
We headed to the cabin in the hopes to get the water turned on etc. before dark to that it would be easier to check for leaks under the cabin. We barely made it there by dusk (the sun sets here before 5 pm). We turned on the water. All below the cabin seemed ok but we had a significant leak under the kitchen sink – so flush the toilet, let the tank refill, put some water in containers and turn the water off. WD 40 into the lock twice but no result.
Keelan returned Pat’s text with some suggestions – check the clutch fluid level, try to put the car in gear while not running and if that works, try turning the ignition – it may jump forward and release the clutch.
So the list for tomorrow starts; recheck water and see if it can be fixed or what parts we need, try Keelan’s suggestions for the Scion, use more force on the bike lock or a hack saw but for tonight its’ back into town for dinner at the Mexican restaurant and a Margarita. It was wonderful!
Deb had previously made the bed – Pat had bought a new box spring, mattress, sheets etc, but had left it all in its packaging. So she got undressed and about to climb into bed and the box spring and mattress fell to the floor. A bit of swearing and some measuring revealed that the box spring and mattress are a “full” size (53”) and the bedframe a “double” (54”)`. So we went to put the bed on the floor but decided that the floor needed cleaning first as there was some of the inevitable mold of the south under the bed, Oh and I forgot, we had not yet been successful in starting the propane wall heater, so we moved the bed to the living area where we had the benefit of the electric wall heater. Tried watching a movie on the Roku via the wifi hot spot – but the signal was not strong enough – and so kept buffering and resetting. Eventually switched over to a DVD which Deb did not make it all the way through and so decided to settled into bed. Happy Birthday Pat!
Day 5
Sunset may be early but so is sunrise – 7 am and Deb awoke early. She got up and tried a new to her cappuccino maker that Pat had picked up for the cabin and a Mexican espresso coffee – pretty damn fine! Then she started vacuuming, sweeping, and washing with bleach spray the bedroom floor. But first she looked at the spider/rodent trap that she had put down the night before – no spiders (yay I think) but 6 yes 6 small mice were trapped. Yep rubber gloves on and lets get going on cleaning!! After a roll and a half of paper towel, the bedroom was done.
Pat headed out to try again to remove the lock from the bike rack – with it soaking in WD-40 overnight. 20 minutes in the rain, with a hammer and vice grips – and it finally freed itself. Bikes and rack removed and place by the back deck. Success and Pat came back inside to the cabin to dry off.
Pat then worked on the water leak but after 2 tries of tightening it, we decided that it would be best to take it apart, clean up the connection. When that was done, we thought that with new and less Teflon tape it should be ok. New shopping list started…Teflon tape. Pat progressed to the Scion – he had removed a bunch of tarp that had been tucked up underneath It yesterday and so he got in and tried to see if he could shift gears before he started it as per Keelan’s suggestion. It did, then it started and then bang it moved and he drove out onto the driveway. Yay! Success number 3 (coffee being the first). Where the Scion had been parked, you could see where the tires had sunk a bit in the damp spots but more impressive was the near 3 cubic feet of leaves that had been tucked around to make a nest – likely raccoon judging by the paw prints on the hood and the chewed up windshield wipers – add those to the list.
We tried a couple of ways to jimmy rig the bed but decided that the best option would be to get 1 by 4s to make slats to rest the box spring on the frame add 6 1by 4s to the list, along with steel wool to use on any holes that we can find and we head into town again – this time to Murray as they have a Lowes ( and its Sunday and nearly everything is closed in Cadiz on Sunday).
On the way back we decided to stop for a short walk on the other side of the lake – fall colors are gorgeous and Pat showed Deb a small graveyard he discovered on previous visits.
We got back just past dusk and Deb started on supper while Pat took Sadie for a walk. Deb washed the needed dishes in water we’d put in buckets earlier and started on chicken, roast potatoes, fresh green beans and salad. However none of the burners on the stove would work although she could get the clock to go and the oven heated maybe to 120 degrees. So she tried the microwave/ toaster oven but it did not seem get things moving at all. Thankfully Pat arrived back and reset the oven breaker at the post outside and both oven and burners were then working fine. (Another success) After a fine dinner, we reconnected the water line and it held so hopefully tomorrow we can have a hot shower! Pat then moved the wifi connection and we have been able to watch TV. After the run of successes we tried the wall propane heater again (for likely the 10th time) but still no luck. Oh well maybe tomorrow.
Anyway good night all, I’m sure that we’ll have more adventures tomorrow.
Love Deb and Pat
November 16, 2021
Hello all,
Day 6: First of all we hope that you are all well and surviving the rain storm that we are hearing about that has hit BC. It is scary to hear about all the roads that are closed, flooding and landslides – crazy scary weather.
Our day started with Deb making coffee and then trying to flick something away only to discover that she caught a paper wasp between her pj top and skin. She was stung but although startling , a bit of sting ease and she feels fine. Unfortunately we have found 5 more over the course of the day. We found a hole near the roof and have stuffed it with steel wool and that seems to have stopped them. We will see…
On the good side, we had great coffee this am, Deb got the propane wall heater going, Pat has rigged up a Lee Valley fan to assist in moving that heat throughout the cabin. We got the wood cut and so the bed is set up in the bedroom with some additional heat (no more sleeping on the mattress on the floor and we nave not found any additional mice although Deb spent half of the morning cleaning the last parts of the floor and kitchen. Then hot showers !!
We spent part of the day, cancelling the US coverage on the Scion and putting the BC plates back on – they could not figure it out so finally wrote that vehicle had been sold. Here you need to deal with insurance companies for your insurance but the county clerk office for the actual plates. Pat says that they are easy to confuse.
We went for a walk near the bridge over the lake and watched the sunset them grabbed Sadie and went for a walk around the block at dusk. The block here consists of about 4 city blocks and and 4 ‘hollers’ (little valleys. So although not terribly long, there is some exercise involved.
Day 7: We continued to find the odd wasp day but so far no additional stings. We are still unpacking all the things that we brought and that Pat has collected over his past few visits. We will need to purge some stuff but first we need to discover all that we have. The morning was spent puttering with that stuff and then we packed up the dog, a few snacks and took both cars over the Land Between the Lakes. We dropped the Scion at the beginning of a trail and then Deb’s car about three miles down the road where there was another trail access. The trail is not nearly as straight as the road so we had about a 5 mile walk back to the car. Lots of very crunchie leaves on the trail so we the walk was not quiet but the weather was fine – partly sunny and about 20 degrees. We saw a ton of yellow or orange Lady bugs and I have attached a picture of them on the tunnel (picture 3). Came back to have Beergaritas on the front deck (Picture 1). After Deb cleaned our rocking lawn chairs as they had been outside and had both spider webs and what looked like mud wasp nests on them(picture 2).
We are trying to get used to the time here – sun rises by 6:30 and sets by 5:30 – the consequence of being on the eastern side of the time zone as opposed to the west. It makes for long mornings and short evenings.
Anyway, we are settling in here and will likely not write as often – Pat may get a blog started but we’ll keep you updates as we have something interesting to say.
Lots of love Deb and Pat
November 24, 2021
Hi All,
Well I have to say that I have been decidedly unmotivated (or too tired to care) about creating an update for nearly a week. However today in preparation for American Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks because we have finally washed every surface in the cabin and the surfaces of nearly every item in the cabin. But I digress, so I’ll go back to where I left off on the last update.
Our “sightseeing” ventures have taken us around Hematite Lake, up to Grand River (where we discovered a great fresh fish shop (with pork and seafood boudin and fresh prawns that made for two great meals). We took Friday off and drove to Reelfoot State Park in Tennessee – about 2 hours away and is one of the closest places that has Bald Cyprus trees, one of Deb’s favorites. We had a nice walk although we noticed there were many tiny single strand spider webs that strung out across the path – the wind was blowing them and you could see straight lines of ‘threads’ when the sun caught them the right way.
We survived one day of heavy rain – where the water pounded down on the roof, pooled on the roads and ditches, and made all the grass soggy. Pat had trouble getting Sadie out for her walks and came back from the morning walk totally soaked. The storm continued most of the day before moving on and continuing to create havoc in the Northeast. The rain was followed by a clear cold spell – where the temperature dropped to – 6C overnight` The propane heat in the main room supplemented with an electrical heater in the bedroom – have kept us comfortable – although there are hot and cold spots.
The days seem to blur together as we tackled opening up every cupboard, box, pack, cooler, stuff sack and washed the shelves, packaging etc. Although we have not seen or caught any mice after the first day, it is apparent that they have been here and every surface has needed to be sanitized. We tackled the shed on one of the nicer days and organized the camping gear etc that was out there. Pat found the winter tires for his Scion and other than the half pound of acorn shells in each of them they seem fine. Another day we opened up the tent trailer to find some mouse damage where they chewed 2 holes in the canvas, we think that it will be repairable but will wait till spring when we bring the trailer home for more permanent repairs. We had to throw away some sleeping bags and other bedding but otherwise after a good wash it seems to be fine. We have worked our way through the rest of the cabin, discovering that in gathering items through many short trips to the cabin that there are a few doubles (three tents, 3-5 cooler type items (soft and hard sided) etc, and the odd thing completely missed like a GARLIC press!! I also don’t think that anyone uses garlic here as I have not been able to find one yet even though we have been to many stores in the last week picking up storage containers, etc., I have yet to find one.
We have met the closest neighbour and another around the corner. The ones next door (Gerry and Barb) are from Florida originally but virtually all of their family have moved up to around here and when asked why, they said that too many people from up north had moved down and they had too many rules and was getting too crowded. The neighbours seem very friendly and family oriented – getting together with about 40 relatives tomorrow for Thanksgiving and they take turns hosting each holiday celebration. They also gifted us with a backstrap from a deer that their friend had shot for them. We let it age in the fridge for a few days and had some tonight – it was very good, tender and lean.
Although we have been busy with cleaning organizing and purging we have been taking time most days to go for a walk or to explore a new place. We went to Oak Ridge Country Store a Amish run operation – that Gerry suggested that we go to. They had some amazing prices on things – Parmesan cheese wedge for 99 cents, 15 pounds of Hickory Farms sausage for 11.99 etc. However, the Parmesan cheese was stale dated in 2019, some were just mildly outdated and some were still before their best before date, but you had to watch.
We have explored a number of trails in the Land Between the Lakes including walking across the width, it is not all that far, about 7 miles as the crow (or highway) goes but the trail is at least double that as it winds between back and forth following the contour lines as much as possible. A beautiful trail that is at times hard to find with the up to 6 inches of crunchy leaves on it. It is not a quiet walk and sometimes it is not what you expect which Sadie discovered when she jumped off a boardwalk and found that the ground was easily a foot further down than she expected. Pat had to reach over and pick her back up. The weather has been cooperative and the scenery very different from what we have at home.
We have also had time to address some more practical service issues. The Scion was taken in for an oil change – and repair the windshield sprayer – that the mice had built a nest in and chewed through the hose. Also put winter tires on it to bring bring it home and have turned in the Kentucky plates we had on it. We also took advantage of commercial laundry machines to wash bedding, sofa covers, and clothes (we have made a decision to take the washer and dryer out of the cabin and put it in storage in the garage in order to gain some livable space – and use the local laundry mat). We have also taken runs to the recycling center and donation centers – to get rid of our surplus items as we pare down. One of the challenges is that there is no nearby garbage dump – so we have to be creative in disposing things.
With American Thanksgiving tomorrow – followed by Black Friday – we will probably stay close to home – and get some electrical work and caulking done. There is no point risking unnecessary exposure – with the vast majority of people here not wearing masks and vaccination levels still being in the 50% range.
Take care, pictures and more news to follow!
Stay safe,
Pat,Deb and Sadie
November 29, 2021
HI Y’all,
We celebrated American Thanksgiving with ham, baked sweet potato, green beans with mushrooms and chess pie for dessert. Not overly fancy but simple and good
We got up Friday and decided to take a run in to Murray to the local landfill as we had two large bags of old insulation, and 3 more big garbage bags of things that had been too damaged by mold or mice in the last 12 years and things too big for us to pop into the garbage at the gas station. We also wanted to make another donation to Goodwill and pick up a few things that we have found are missing. Then, in spite of ourselves and our goal to avoid the crowds, we ended up at Big Lots (and bought enough plastic containers to hold all our belongings when we leave) and then headed to Paducah in search of sporting good/outdoor stores to look for Christmas presents. We were briefly in a very large mall but were able to resist (easily) wandering through the whole thing.
Saturday, we decided to head down to the bottom of the Land Between the Lakes recreation area (Tennessee Side) and explore a loop trail. It is called Pickett trail, but we soon discovered it was not as well maintained as some trails we had been on previously. Although there were yellow tags on trees on the access trail and then blue ones on the loop, the tags were at times few and far between and with all the leaves the trail was difficult to distinguish at times. We did not get lost although a couple of times we had to look hard to be sure we were going the right way. In general, Sadie will pick and follow the trail on her own as long as she is on leash – off leash she prefers to wander. The hike was a good couple hours and wandered through the woods and back and forth along a couple of bays, very pretty. Also came across a remote Confederate area cemetery – related to the battle for Fort Henry.
One of the things we are really appreciating is how the recreation area and many of the state parks designate special use areas. There are Off Road Vehicle areas, Equestrian area and camps, bike and hiking trails, archery and gun ranges, etc. You never have to cross over into other areas and although you may hear off road vehicles – you never see them on your hikes, nor do they chew up the trails. There was a Off Road rally on Thanksgiving weekend, and there was a long line up to get into that area for the event.
Sunday, we stuck around home and decided to tackle the last of the organizing. Pat pulled the Folboat out from under the deck (once we figured out the word combination for the lock), we cleaned it up and loaded it onto the Scion using a ladder for extra support. One more thing ready for when we head back home. Deb took the opportunity to take apart a couple of the kitchen chairs that had broken seats – particle board seats dont seem to hold up in this damp environment when stood upon. Deb swears there had to be an entire box of staples holding on the upholstery on one chair, three full sets of staples. Pat cut new seats out of plywood and we put the upholstery back on. They are not fancy but will work for now. Put together another box of donations for the Goodwill – starting to get pared down to the basics.
Today, being another sunny but cool day, we headed north to Pennyrile State Park. We were no more than about 5 minutes in the parking lot for the beach, when the Ranger showed up to see what we were doing ( no one else around). After being asked he suggested a couple mile hike around the lake. – which included passing by a small protected white sand beach, a scramble around a cliff face, pass through a Cypress swamp, skirting about some park rental cabins, crossing a dam, and navigating through the forest. All in all very pretty, and the only people we saw all day were park employees. (Decided not to eat at the lodge as the real cook did not arrive until 4 – and although the cashier was prepared to go cook for us, she seemed to be enjoying her time in the sun on the deck).
Back into Hopkinsville (Hoptown) to drop off Goodwill donation and grocery stop before heading home. Took a brief stop at the Trail of Tears Memorial – before venturing on our way via another back road to Cadiz. Back after dark – and a late left over supper before a movie. Should stay above freezing tonight with clouds Rolling in later on.
December 2, 2021
Yes we topped out at 22 degrees celcius today!! A gorgeous day that we spent exploring a couple new spots on Land Between the Lakes where we had a picnic and then into the town of Paducah which has a neat downtown/port area that they are starting to revive. It is on the on the Ohio river (close to the confluence of the Kentucky and Tennessee rivers and is an old port town. It seems weird as we are so far inland. They have a 12 foot flood wall to protect the downtown area, which also seems weird as the water is currently at least 20 feet below that with 2 roadway/parking areas, 3 sets of stairs etc. However in 1937 the entire downtown was under 8+ feet of water so they built a safety wall. They have used the wall a couple of times since then but it has not been breached. Makes me wonder if we need to be doing the same given BC’s recent experience.
We took a trip into Nashville yesterday and walked part of the riverwalk with Sadie, With the dog’s needs satisfied, we circled around Nissan Stadium (where the Tennessee Titan play) to find a free parking spot before walking over the bridge into downtown. Pat’s plan was to give me a taste of Broadway Street – with all of its Country Music history and establishments – so we could plan an overnight trip at some point in the future. We came at this time as the NASCAR year end celebrations were being held in Nashville and there were a number of cars and events at the end of Broadway. Afterwards we walked up by the Ryman Theatre of Grand Ole Opry fame, by the Stadium where the Nashville Predators play, and over to Printer’s Alley. Had a delightful lunch of fish and chips and Irish Beer in a little “hole in the wall” place that was done up as a London Tube station.. As we were walking out of the downtown across the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian bridge, the Nascar racing cars started their “Burnouts on Broadway”, Although it would have been interesting to see in person, without ear protection Deb was thankful to be 3 stories up and not caught on the the street with all of the people and the buildings echoing the sounds.
We are feeling fairly at home here now and no longer double check everything for bugs, spiders or mice. We found a decent grocery store (Kroegers) and were able to get a better selection of fresh fruit and vegetables and a garlic press. We have a bread maker here and after Pat got the mixer part working again, we tried making bread. Unfortunately every time the loaf was only about half the size it should be … remember the Amish store we went to? that’s where we bought the yeast and likely outdated…. and if you’ve ever used a bread machine it calls for powdered milk (especially if you want to set the timer) which we could not find. In both grocery stores in Cadiz they looked at us like we were insane asking for powdered milk. Needless to say, we were not having much luck at making edible bread although Deb has perfected bread pudding (waste not want not). At Kroegers, we bought fresh yeast and “dried milk” and tried the bread maker again. So today we came home to fresh bread (not perfect but much closer) and hamburger soup. Yummm.
We are slowly starting the process of organizing the vehicles (Pat is bringing the Scion back) for the trip home. Christmas shopping is mostly done. Our purchases are being divided and packed, stuff that is staying here is being organized, labelled and stored in plastic boxes. The Goodwill stores are receiving the last of our downsizing efforts. Do a little bit every day with the anticipation of leaving Tuesday / Wednesday of next week and taking 5-7 days to get home depending on weather and covid testing results.
All for now
Deb, Pat and Sadie
December 6, 2021
Change of weather, change of local
Hello again,
We had a lovely day on Friday and feeling rather homesick we decided that we would take a longer loop in LBL called Honker lake, so named for the usual inhabitant Canada Geese. It was a 4.6 mile loop around the lake, which a dam separates from the larger Kentucky lake. The area serves as a breeding area for many species of birds, and wintering area for others. We saw black geese, pelicans, crows and eagles but no Canada Geese. We had our picnic lunch at the end of the loop and then moved on to Bobcat Point (again no bobcats) and then Empire Point which was the site of an old farm prior to it becoming a recreational area in the 1940’s and an osprey nesting grounds. There were many eagles and osprey circling high up on the thermals, watching for fish and smaller animals. We had one osprey fly over and circle above us for at least 5 rounds, we began to wonder if it thought that Sadie would make a great snack. Speaking of snacks, we wanted to stop for a happy hour snack at “Boss Hoggs Boars Nest” (Dukes of Hazard reference) but due to lack of staffing it was not open that day.
Saturday was laundry, gathering supplies to winterize the cabin, and a bolt cutter so we could get Pat’s kayak down for a check and we had lost the combination for the lock. We stopped by an antique and collectables shop which was very full of everything you ever wanted (and maybe some things you didn’t). The lady running the store was encouraging us to find our treasures but we explained that we had limited space, she replied that they once bought so much stuff on a buying trip to Alabama that they left their clothing behind on a trip because they had more clothes at home but not these treasures. We did find a collapsing dog cage that we picked up for $10 so we would have one here and not have to bring one back and forth.
Sunday we started packing up, checked the Kayak and worked on some outside winterizations between the rains. Deb tried the bread maker one last time adjusting both flour and yeast and made a close to normal loaf of bread. (Recipe measurements left behind for future efforts). Before bed we received an alert that there was a tornado watch throughout our area that would continue until 4 am. We had one very windy thunder and rain storm and then the radar indicated that we were ok to about 3:15, so we read up about how to plan for a tornado: go to a basement room (don’t have one), go to into a center room or bathroom with no windows (don’t have those either); go into a bathtub (nope not that either) ; go into a closet – got one of those so we cleared it out and planned to flip the mattress over the door if needed. We slept fine but true to the predictions, we awoke just after 3 am to wind and rain and lightening strikes 1-2 minutes apart for nearly an hour but no tornadoes so other than having to hold Sadie as she was terrified we were fine.
We got up this morning and started on our outside winterizations and then consulted the weather forecast. There is a cold front moving in and the temperature dropped consistently over the day. Mid morning we made the decision to pack up and leave today as trying to drain the water pipes tomorrow at below freezing levels did not sound like a lot of fun. By just after 3 we had the cabin mouse and bug proofed as best we could were on our way, we did not drive far but by dusk we got into the not quite thriving town of Metropolis (and yes they do have a giant Superman) where we have stopped for the night. The temperature continued to drop throughout the day and we ended up pulling our cold weather clothes into the motel room. Not sure if we are ready for the “northern” weather…
Pat, Deb and Sadie
December 11, 2021
Travelling home
Pat had set up Sygic (a navigation program) on our phones which was a godsend for making our way home. From Metropolis Deb quickly gained experience driving interstate roads where the speed limit varied between 70 and 75 mph (or about 125 kph) she stayed right on Pat’s tail. However 7 lanes of traffic in St. Louis was definitely Deb’s limit!! Kansas City also posed a bait of a problem as the interstate that we were on had an over pass under construction and the road was completely closed. Although they had some signage ahead of time it indicated that we needed to detour east and we thought it would be west. Sygic did not know that the overpass was closed so did not direct us through the detour. We ended up west toward the airport and as we went off the interstate Sygic did adjust and find us another route. Thankfully it does not say “recalculating, recalculating” as most GPS programs do. We ended up going through downtown and joining back on the interstate just at the north end ot the non-existent overpass. The road was pretty clear until we go to where the correct detour joined back on. Pat also was able to set up our wifi that we had for the cabin as a portable unit so when we stopped to walk Sadie we would look ahead, guess where we would be by nightfall and book a room. This made Deb feel a little more organized than on our way down. We went north through Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Rapid City and then west through Wyoming, Montana and home. The latter part of the I90 had 80 mph speed limits ( which was about the upper end of what Pat could do in the Scion), and made it a bit nerve racking going over the windy passes in Boise and Butte. A couple of times Pat had to slow down for me, as he was a bit more comfortable at that speed, but I could always catch him on the longer hills.
One of the biggest challenges and concerns we were trying to figure out was where and when to get our required covid test, given what we had been told about how long test results took, how far we were from the border, and the 72 hour window. The weather had been good as we skirted by a series of storms but we got caught in some snow Thursday morning near Gillette Wyoming. We decided to stop at a Walgreens and see if we could get the Covid test done there. We were unable to book online without using a US address and were reluctant to be less than truthful. So we went in and talked to the pharmacist who said that they were not worried about the address and we could even use the pharmacy address. She encouraged us to go online and book a time AND that they would fit us in as soon as possible even if our appointment was not until the next day, we only had to wait a half an hour for the paperwork to come through from the Walgreens national booking website and then go through the drive through. We would receive the results by email. While we waited for our bookings to be processed Pat went and bought a bouquet of flowers to say thank you, and which seemed to make the day for the girls in the pharmacy. The negative Covid test results arrived by email within 4 hours.
We arrived in Kalispell Friday afternoon and registered at our hotel that I had pre-booked looking forwarded to a relaxing event and meal. The hotel front desk was helpful and printed off our negative covid tests. Pat had been tracking weather and news and suggested that we might want to consider heading straight home as there was a storm coming in. Deb decided to go online and check for herself (typical eh??) and when Pat came back from walking the dog, she agreed that they’d best get on the road. We packed back up, called Montana shipping company (where we were picking up a parcel for Keelan that had been held for him since March 2020 due to the border closure) to be sure that they’d be open till we got there and hit the road` We got there with with 5 minutes to spare, picked up the parcels and headed for the border. We were a bit concerned as we had stated on our ArriveCan application that we would be coming across a day early. However, the crossing was easy – but we did need paper copies of the negative Covid test that Pat had suggested we get. They were able to pull up our ArriveCan information for the next day, and within 5 minutes we were both processed and through.
Upon arriving home, we checked the news and email alerts about the tornadoes that cut hurricane like swaths across Arkansas, and Kentucky. Several touched down in Mayfield, about 50 miles from our cabin, and caused major damage and loss of lives. Our neighbours were kind and called to let us know that although there was a power outage other damage in our area was limited to some trees blowing down. Other than some tree limbs down in our front yard, the cabin was fine. Tornadoes are unusual in the winter and this particular storm will go on record as one of the worst. (Deb always joked that she would be happy to collect the insurance on the cabin if it was hit by tornado and then they could rebuild but having seen the devastation of this storm she no longer thinks that’s a good plan.)
We quite enjoyed our time in Cadiz and are looking forward to returning early February if allowed. Although Deb struggled a bit with some of the insects, she enjoyed the area and wants to have more time to explore a little further around and also to catch crawfish season. However, have noted to bring music and more books on disk, as I was getting tired of only having country and Christian radio channels to listen to…
We are settling in to living with Keelan and Josie, setting up our space in the basement, aclimatizing dog and cats, coordinating suppers while respecting each other’s privacy.
