Chores and R&R at Bull Run Regional Park

23-25 July 2010

Friday

We’re hanging out at Bull Run Regional Park (BRRP) this weekend.  We drove a mere 16 miles [26 km] to get here from the storage lot.  Even if you take into account the 22 miles [35 km] from the house to the storage lot, the distance is negligible for a camping trip.

I can see you all shaking your heads and wondering if it was even worth disturbing the Phaeton.  We still have some housekeeping chores to do, so the answer is: “Yes.”  I see no reason why we can’t have some fun while we take care of this and that around the coach.

Filling up with freshwater before we leave the storage lot.

Had we driven from home, this would have been our route to the park.
(the storage lot is further west; we backtracked from there)

We’re in site 27, a 50-amp pull-through.  They do have full hook-ups available, but we wanted to see how the tanks hold up and test the water pressure using just the water pump, so we opted to book an electric-only site.  As we live in one of the regional counties, we get what’s called a “jurisdiction rate” — $31.50/night.  (That’s a $2 discount over the regular rate for this site.)

Glimpse of the perimeter loop.

The Phaeton looks comfortable in Site 27.

The campground is laid out in an oval of sorts, with concentric rows of sites.  It pays not to be part of the inner circle here; our location on the outer edge offers more privacy. We have a heavily-wooded area on the passenger side, with a picnic table, a fire pit, and a grill.  A paved road separates us from the campsites on the driver’s side.  Since the sites are off-set slightly, our view on that side is of a wooded area as well.  The rest of the campground is hidden behind the tree line on that side.

Note location of #27 on the perimeter of the campground.

No bugs to pester us, but it’s much too hot to eat at the picnic table.

It was almost 5:00p by the time we were settled in our site.  The temp was still reading a humid 103F [39C], so we put off grilling tonight.  Instead, we fixed some rice and lentils for dinner; quick and easy.  Then it was time to just kickback after a busy work week.  The trees block satellite signals, but we’re getting good TV reception from the antenna.  Between that and the DVDs we brought with us, we have plenty of entertainment for the two nights that we’ll be here.  Speaking of which, time to watch one of those DVDs.  More tomorrow …

SATURDAY

Can you say HOT, HOT, HOT?  I know I sound like a broken record, but that’s what we have here — record-breaking hot temperatures.

I’m sure we exceeded the forecasted high of 100F [38C] very early in the day.  Let’s not even think about the effect of the high humidity on that temperature.  Thanks to the tree canopy shading our site, we never got above 97F [36C] here.  I’ve never actually stepped inside an oven, but I’m sure it would feel similar to the way it feels outside the Phaeton at the moment.

Up early as usual, we went for a stroll around the campground first thing this morning.  We didn’t get far.  Though the temp was only 77F [25C], the high humidity made it feel oppressive and sticky.  We checked out the Atlantis Waterpark ($4/adult for campground guests), figured out where the dump station is located (we’ll need it when we leave tomorrow), and headed back to the Phaeton in short order.

Breakfast was followed by chores left from last weekend — cleaning and organizing the cockpit cabinets, rinsing out the ceiling vent filters, etc.  Mui managed to get the diamond shield on the front of the Phaeton cleaned and polished before the humid heat drove him inside.  Organizing the basement will just have to wait until another time.

The house batteries could use a drink of distilled water.

Since it was way too hot to hike either of the nearby trails, we went to Plan B for the afternoon — learning the ins and outs of our MacBook Pro laptops.  We’re new to the Apple Family and our first impressions so far are positive.  With one exception: there is no equivalent of Windows Live Writer for Mac.  I’ve tested several offline blog writing packages so far, and they’re all sorely lacking IMHO.  (You hear me Mac app developers?)  I just might have to partition a bit of the hard drive to run Windows just for this one software.

this is a posed photo, but it’s not far different from
the way you would have found us this afternoon.

A DVD or two; a bit of reading; a glass of wine … suddenly it was dinner time.  It really was much too hot to be grilling, but the alternative of having to take already thawed steaks and shrimp back home wasn’t too thrilling either.  So, Mui braved the elements and lit the grill.

Adding heat to a hot evening.

Shrimp and steak on the barbie.

Yes, we grilled; but we enjoyed our meal in air conditioned comfort.

And so another day of “soft” camping comes to a close.  Time to watch one of the DVDs we brought with us — a retrospective of our polar bear adventure in Churchill, Canada (read about it here).  If nothing else, just seeing all that snow and remembering the daytime temperatures that dipped down to –31F [-35C] might mentally cool us down!

More tomorrow …

Sunday

Today’s forecast was for cooler temps in the 90F range.  We were up early, hoping to hike one of the trails.  Though the temp was a reasonable 79F [26C], the high humidity dashed hopes of any enjoyable trekking.  Instead, we spent the morning relaxing — something we don’t do nearly enough when we’re at home.

Since I didn’t get to take any photos from the hiking trail today,  I’ll share a few from our first visit to BRRP.  It was April 2008 and the Bluebell Trail was a bit soggy from overnight showers.  But the flowers for which the trail is named were in full bloom and spread out like a carpet everywhere we looked along the trail.

Seeing these photos again reminds me of the fun we had that day.  We’ll have to come back and camp here next April so we can enjoy the trail again.

We left the campground shortly before the 11:00a check-out time.  After dumping our tanks, we found a spot clear of trees.  Mui’s been wanting to do a real test of the satellite reception, and this was our opportunity to do so.  The satellite locked onto a signal and we did get reception, but it was in B&W.  We suspect we might need to swap out our box for an HD receiver; will check with DirecTV.

By the way … a short housekeeping note.  The tanks held up just fine; and the pump-provided water pressure was more than sufficient for morning showers.

Dumping the tanks!

Once we arrived at the storage lot, it took us a bit longer than usual to put the Phaeton to bed as we will not have occasion to go out during the next six weeks or so —  we need to direct our trip planning time to our long-awaited return visit to Alaska.  Not a road trip this time, but that too is in the works for when we retire.

Underground at Endless Caverns

Sunday, 18 July 2010

Another early morning saw us taking care of a few remaining chores and relaxing a bit before we broke camp to do some sightseeing. First, though, a few housekeeping notes.

We used the Phaeton’s Vacmaster (central vacuum system) for the first time yesterday. It gets the job done. The outlet is located at the base of the pantry, about two thirds of the way from the cockpit. There’s plenty of hose from there to the rear of the coach. When stretched to its full length, the hose also reaches the cockpit, but vacuuming the inside steps was a challenge. The handheld Dirt Devil that we brought with us to vacuum the basement may become a permanent fixture and will work to take care of the steps, inside and out.

We also used the Fisher & Paykel dishwasher for the first time last night. The compact, one-drawer unit is efficient (used the eco mode) and quiet. So quiet, in fact that we wondered if it was even working. I’m very pleased with this handy amenity, which was at the top of my list for the Phaeton — J&V, thank you for opting to have it installed when you bought the coach.

On with our day. We put the trash out (picked up by the resort staff every morning) and left our campsite around 9:15a. It was 74F [23C] at our shaded site. By the time we’d driven the short (and I mean two-minute short) distance to the gift shop/office just outside the resort gate, the temp was up to 79F [26C]. Sounds comfortable, doesn’t it? I assure you that it wasn’t; the high humidity made it feel oppressive.

Scenery from in front of the Endless Caverns Gift Shop.

We were in time to buy tickets for the 9:45a tour of Endless Caverns. (Discounted $13/adult admission for resort guests). Our group was small — just the two of us plus a family of five — and our guide was informative, relating the history and the geology of the caverns as we walked through the chambers for the next 1½ hours.

The entrance to the caverns is in the building on the far left.

The credit for discovering the caves in 1879 goes to two young boys who were hunting rabbits. Removing some rocks to get at the critter they had cornered, the boys uncovered a hole. Curious, they went through the opening and found themselves in a cave with many chambers. The story goes that when they returned home, they told their father that they’d seen the parsnips and carrots in the family vegetable garden from under the ground. What they had really seen were the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Shortly thereafter, the family started conducting candlelight tours of the caverns to supplement their farming income.

In 1919, the caverns were purchased by Colonel Brown, who wired it for electricity. We thank him for that (the lighting system has since been refurbished). As James, our guide, demonstrated during the tour, without lights it’s absolutely impossible to see a thing — not your hand in front of your nose; nor the stalactites, stalagmites, rock flows, pendants, and other rock features of the caverns.

Tour guides used to tease visitors by telling them that
this formation was a frozen waterfall.

Though the lighting conditions were far from optimum for hand-held photography, that did not stop us from clicking the shutter as James pointed out some of the interesting formations.

 

The floor of the cave is pockmarked from the water that drips from the ceiling.
it’s not unlike walking on a cobblestone path.

The only bat we saw … no, I’m not referring to Mui.
(They’ve found white-nose syndrome in some of the bats here;
the population is being watched closely.)

The passage on the left leads to the chamber known as the Blue Room (right), which ...

... gets its name from the manganese found here.

We enjoyed the mile-long tour even though we’ve visited similar caverns before. Mother Nature’s creations inspired our imaginations to run rampant, and we saw everything from crocodiles, to whales, to Fred Flintstone gazing at an ice cream cone with his mouth agape. Adding to our pleasure in the tour — the 55F [13C] temperature in the cavern; very refreshing considering the weather we’ve been experiencing. James said that five miles [8 km] of the cave system here has been unearthed and explored to date. No one seems to know how far or how deep the system really goes. So, for all intents and purposes, the caverns are indeed endless.

Time to head home.

Our tour completed, we returned to the Phaeton for the drive home. We’d planned to stop somewhere to eat the PB&J sandwiches Mui had prepared, but didn’t find a spot to pull over. So, 1½ hours and 88 miles [141 km] later, we were at the storage lot. It had been 89F [32C] when we left Endless Caverns; it was now 100F [38C] — making today the 36th day of 90F or better temps so far this summer (and we’re not even in August yet). Keeping fingers crossed that the heat wave breaks before we all melt into the pavement.

Putting the Phaeton to bed, we high-tailed it home. By 2:30p we were hard at work on chores around our “house without wheels.”

Housekeeping at Endless Caverns

Saturday, 17 July 2010

We don’t know the meaning of sleeping in; not even on vacation. I was up by 6:00a; Mui even earlier. Taking advantage of the pleasant temperature, we went for a quick walk to stretch our legs and check out some of the resort amenities. The pool looked inviting and we made a mental note to return later in the day.

A multi-purpose building with showers and restrooms, and …

… a Rec Center set up to celebrate all things NASCAR.

Looks inviting; but we have chores awaiting our attention.

On the way back, we noticed that some of our distant neighbors were starting to stir; having coffee and reading newspapers in the shade provided by the tree canopy. Not in our plans for the day, I’m afraid. With a slew of chores awaiting us, we returned to the Phaeton, made quick work of breakfast, and set about making the coach spic-and-span clean.

Mui demonstrates the proper use of a bucket and squeegee brush.

Just so you don’t think we goofed off, I even have proof of our hardworking selves doing chores inside …

The hot, humid day was perfect for working inside the Phaeton as we were not in the least tempted to be outside. The day started out with plenty of sunshine, which filtered down to us through the canopy of the trees. About 11:30a, the heavens opened up in a deluge, and I do mean a deluge. The downpour was short in duration, but strong enough to give the Phaeton a good exterior wash.

It’s raining; it’s pouring …
but the old man is not snoring; he’s working.

The deluge is thick; almost like having privacy sheers.

It took us about 10 hours, with just a short break for lunch, to complete our chores — wiping down the interior of cabinets and drawers; dusting and polishing the counters and the cabinet doors; putting away pots and pans and whatnot; vacuuming the floors and Swiffering the tiles. By then, the sun was out and the skies were blue once again. Perfect timing for a well-earned break at the pool. The humidity was thick after the rain, and it was still hot, hot, hot, but the cool water was refreshing.

A glass of wine to relax; a simple pasta dinner. We even had a guest drop by …

Too bad barking dogs scared off our dinner guest.

After dinner, while Mui browsed the available TV channels for something to watch. I checked out the camp’s claim of being “Internet friendly.” The signal turned out to be pretty good. Certainly the speed would not have allowed streaming video, but it was fine to check email. I even managed to post a couple of blog entries.

Tomorrow’s our day for fun … we’re going to go check out the caverns for which this RV resort is named.

Next Up … Underground at Endless Caverns