It has been a wonderful return trip. Each day, we drive for about 2 to 3 hours and then spend 2 nights at our campsite. For us, that is rushing it, but we hope to make it home by thanksgiving?

I can resist showing just one more photo of this fabulous lighthouse.

The fall foliage has followed us along most of our chosen route home. Here is just one example. Can you believe just how beautiful it is?

On our last stop to Big Bone Lick State Park in Union Kentucky I had hoped to photograph the small herd of bison , but one day it rained and the next there was a herd of kids, and the bison were right up against the metal mesh fence. I took a few shots anyway.

Our next stop was to be Otter Creek Outdoor Rec Area in Kentucky. Kim and I have been in too many dangerous places to count. Places that we just didn’t belong, but we went there anyway and always found a way to safely blend in. However, one look at this place and we decided to get the hell out of there. Each campsite had 5 to 10 cars parked around it, and there were people who just looked like they were up to no good.

We are now in a way too clean commercial campground, but tomorrow we will leave for the Mammoth Cave National Forest I can’t wait!

Today we wrap up our family visit to Kim’s family in Cleveland. We had a wonderful visit and their hospitality was in the true midwestern spirit.

Kim and I carried a portfolio full of our work. Her watercolors and my photos. It had been wonderful being able to share our work with new friends that we met in our travels, but now some of them find a new home.

After having spent just four days here, I can sum our visit up by saying that these are just very “nice” people.

So today we begin our long slow decent home to Pipe Creek Texas. I’ll let you know just how it goes.

I have had a number of inquiries as to just what was the controversy I alluded to in my last blog post, so here you go.

Most of you who know me, know that I am definitely not religious. Our visit to the Benedictine Monastery in Erie Pennsylvania was prompted more by me wanting to photograph a beautiful set of grounds and chapel, but when we arrived, camera in hand they thought that we were part of the CNN crew which was just setting up.

When we asked why this quiet place of beauty and quiet contemplation was open to having a news crew do an interview, we were told the horrible story of what had happened. You can read all about it in the couple of links below to the CNN interview.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/10/25/politics/benedictine-sisters-of-erie-pennsylvania-election-fraud-viral

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/politics/video/nuns-pennsylvania-election-fraud-accusation-digvid

What a sad sad state of affairs we have come to when this is what social media and a few bad actors can do in an instant!

Our trip has taken on an unexpected turn. I had originally planned to stay at all of the beautiful state parks in New York on our way west and south only to find that all of them have already closed to camping.

Before we left our last camp at Spacious Skies campground we visited the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Back on the road we regrouped, and used an app called Hipcamp that lists people willing to let you camp on their property for a fee. So it was quite a surprise to find such a lovely place at Tilden Farms just east of Syracuse NY.

After that we bit the bullet and camped at a KOA just east of Erie PA. The campground was nice but expensive but there was plenty to do as the fall leaves were just beginning to show off.

We wanted to visit the beautiful grounds of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. They were in quite an agitated state as they just found out that someone had posted on Twitter that they had 50 registered voters listed illegally. They invited CNN to come in for an interview to get the story straight as they were worried that there might be violence once the story circulated.

To see the whole story visit CNN’s story at:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/10/25/politics/benedictine-sisters-of-erie-pennsylvania-election-fraud-viral