From Rustic with Love

Well, it's coming up on a week of our being out here at "Rocky" and here's how it went. After the hubbub of Memorial Day weekend was finished we did our last minute packing, staging and cleaning in preparation for our departure to our 5th wheel out in Rustic, Colorado. Those who have followed for a while know we have to escape the hot summers at home, thus we head out to the mountains. 7200' helps a whole lot, although the sun's rays are quite intense at this elevation, (we come home tan, lol). Most mornings after a chilly start, a little sunshine gets things warmed-up in short order.

So we got started last Friday, with our first stop being a return to Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge in Alabama. What a beautiful place, with nice rooms overlooking the lake and a restaurant on site. First however, let's talk about the gorgeous scenery heading up through the deep south in Georgia and Alabama, with it's picturesque little towns and long stretches of pecan trees.

Several towns had a nice showing of thanks and support to those who served and lost their lives. This picture isn't the best but it was quite moving to see each cross, with a name, and a flag lining the main street.

Something the Boss could tell you about, is the rubber-necking I was doing trying like the dickens to get a good shot of all the mimosa trees, which were in full bloom along the sides of the roadway. I just couldn't do it - I must have deleted 25 pics that missed the mark, but here's one that at least tries to show how pretty they were. Various shades of pink from light to dark! Excuse the reflection.

Pretty soon we start to see the hills of north GA/AL and the views make the miles tick away pleasantly. Not much traffic either, thank goodness.

We passed by the turnoff to Cheaha State Park, another lovely park which we visited 3 years ago, and which you can read about here. With the time zone changes in our favor while heading west, a longer haul isn't so bothersome. We prefer to arrive and get squared away before dark. Soon enough we made it into the park and checked in to the lodge.

Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge

The Lobby, lots of rustic charm and gorgeous
wood and stone touches.

Impressive front I know, but the back is where the money shots are.

The view of Lake Guntersville from our room

Observing with a smile on his face...
if only the winters weren't so cold, (*heavy sigh*)

The pool complex. Down by the lake is a small beach and marina.

After dinner we took in the air with a small stroll and the view of the lake with the moonrise was stunning. We're off to a great start.

From there we headed off across the Mississippi at Dyersburg and into Jackson, MO to spend the night. We had a gift card for the Outback Steakhouse, so we found one 3 miles away and had a nice bite. We were worried it would be busy/noisy on a Sat night but it wasn't bad at all.

Lots of farms, silo's and hay fields, lots of flat while we headed to Lied Lodge in Nebraska City, NE. Another favorite stop for us, a gorgeous lodge and great restaurant. I never take selfie's, but thought I looked rather nice after getting ready to go to dinner.

Here's a shot of the hazelnut orchard outside our room. The property is expansive and offers lots of planned activities throughout the summer.

Now it's a single shot straight into Rustic with one more time zone change to help us out.  Lots of farmland and then we spy a view of the mountains.

I'm sure there are many among you who have seen large
and more complex silo set-ups but they are cool & dotted all along.

Well, here we are on the last little stretch, "our" dirt road, the one that leads up from Hwy 14, (right at Glen Echo), to the Redfeather Lakes area. All's well at Rocky, everything is functioning which is a big relief! Now, to get this yard raked, mowed, weeded and flowered-up. We'll be looking pretty soon enough.

Thanks for taking time to read the blog, I hope you enjoyed it. 😊

Natchez Trace State Park and Echo Bluff State Park

These activities took place around May 20th onwards and mostly catch us up. 

As we left Chattanooga and began our westward journey our first stop was the Lodge at Natchez Trace. We have found that many state parks have very nice accommodations in their Lodges, so we tend to take full advantage of them when possible.

While this Lodge is quite elderly, and is actually slated for a complete  demolition/rebuild this upcoming winter season, the property and Pin Oak Lake is just stunningly pretty. We took a 1-hour guided pontoon boat cruise with a Park Ranger and saw just how expansive the park acreage is - 48,000 acres.

Cruising on Pin Oak Lake - it was a beautiful day for it.

They have several cabins and campsites throughout the park.

Also, while the rooms might not have been up to our usual standards, the restaurant certainly made the grade. I had the best Turkey Club sandwich ever at the restaurant and the Sunday brunch was well worth the entry fee, lol. Fried catfish & chicken (of course), and all the sides, plus I had my first cornmeal biscuit with sausage gravy and it was incredible. My newest culinary quest for sure, the biscuit not the gravy.

We took our camp chairs down to the lakeside with our books and beverage and just relaxed.

Wonderful place to sit and relax in the shade.

Soon it was time to move on and so we headed to Missouri and the Ozark's. Our destination was the Echo Bluff State Park Lodge, which sits next to the Sinking Creek and is very near the Current River, popular for water activities such as kayaking etc. Very nice Lodge with wonderful rooms, ours, on the bluff side, had a nice private balcony.

(Not my picture, but thanks).

On a side note, the cicadas were in full swing all throughout the southern tier states and Missouri was no exception. We saw several trees littered with dried-up husks left behind. We took a nice auto-tour loop around and about the area which took us down to the Current River, where we saw several kayakers enjoying the day.

The surroundings with the river down below, pretty country.

A great day for it.

When we made it around to Salem we decided to stop for a late lunch at Aranda's Mexican restaurant. Wow, the food was really quite good and we ate the whole thing! No supper needed, and as there were severe storms with possible tornados and large hail due to pound the mid-west overnight, we opted to stay an extra night to let the front move on through. There was no big rush to get out to Rocky as they usually don't get the water down at our sites going until Memorial Day weekend. At 7200' they have to wait out the overnight freezes.

Our last overnight stop was in Grand Island, NE at a Comfort Inn. It was a decent hotel, and I really liked how there was a service road off to the side of the main drag which allowed easy access to fast food, gas and stores. For tired people hoping for a fast food fix and gas-up, it fit the bill nicely. No photos were taken, we were just on a mission. The prospects for the next day? 430 miles from Grand Island to Rustic, CO, and we have a time zone change in our favor. We got an early start and made it into Glen Echo RV Resort with plenty of time to get squared away for spending the night. And look at one of the glorious trees that was in full bloom!! Wowza. 😲

Well, that's the wrap for the trip. Everything inside the rig was pristine, no evidence of any interlopers of any kind - yay!  More on the next installment, and thanks for dropping by for a visit. 

Days go by and the Boss cooks dinner

Time flies when you're ~ (fill in the blank).

It's that crisp fall-like air that puts me in the mood to bake, and since it's too early for fruitcake it's time to get out the pumpkin loaf mix. This mix is so perfectly spiced - very mellow but flavorful and nicely moist. We add chopped pecans when we bake it.

It's a bit spendy at ~ $6/box but makes 2 loafs. I got it at Walmart.

Also on the cooking front, Ed tried his hand at a couple of new recipes he saw that peaked his interest; a Spinach Chicken Casserole with Sundried Tomatoes, Cream Cheese and Mozzarella, and Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potatoes as the side. He didn't need any significant help, other than where certain spices were or where to find the baking pans. It all baked @ 400° for around 30 minutes or so.  Wow! So delicious, and such a treat to try something new. It's definitely going into the rotation.

He used chicken breast cutlets and made a half recipe.

Here's a link to the Chicken recipe if you want to give it a shot - so yummy! 👏😋 (Of course, their picture of the finished dish is picture perfect, haha).

Spinach Chicken Casserole (site is eatwell101.com)

We got the pontoon boat splashed and the Boss has made a few rounds on it. Our lake is only 9 acres but still a fun paddle and can be strenuous.

Pontoon boat ready to go

Heading upwind for the exercise, then an easy paddle back.

I've been playing around with my wire wrapping jewelry this week. All summer I was without my supplies, so I was excited to try my hand at it again. Here are a couple of pendants I made - I'm happy with them!

Ruby Zoisite with Jade beads on the left,
and a Rhodochrosite with Copper beads.

Amazonite on the left with Copper & Jade beads
and on the right Rainbow Sea Sediment Jasper & Copper beads.

A couple of days ago, my friend Liz up in Rustic sent me a message announcing the first snowfall of the year. She was nice enough to send a few pics too, plus one from our Reolink camera.

Brrr, prettier on the earlier shot with a bit of sunlight on it, more foreboding later in the day.  I guess a lot of folks are getting some of the white stuff this week, part and parcel with the season.

Well, one last shot to close out this post - a hearty smoked sausage, cabbage and veggie stew. Perfect with some broiled garlic/herb toast.

We love these stews, and they made for an easy meal.

Thanks for dropping by, and be sure to check back in a while.