Charleston Lake Prov Pk, ON

Site #261 - $33. p only (x2)

This was a beautiful Park but it was way too expensive! Although it was almost empty when we arrived, it was fully reserved for Saturday night -- including the first come first serve sites which doesn't apply long weekends. Not happy re this. We couldn't stay beyond Friday. However, we rode our bikes around the park and enjoyed two nights here.

We toured about the town of Gananoque.

And we spent time doing research at the Gananoque Library and touring the countryside. There was a lady in library who happened to be Geraldine Chase. I had come across her name posting Shook info on the Shook family tree so it was quite a coincidence to meet her. She seemed to be getting a bit forgetful, but she did give us some info re home and grave locations.  We drove to the Pine Grove Cemetery where Pearl was buried and found her grave.  Drove by the old Shook home..

The Campground filled up on Friday night. We had an evening fire but it was cool outside. 

No cancellations, so we left Saturday morning and drove to the Athens (ON not Ohio this time!) graveyard. We found Noah Shook and Mary Ann Townsend's graves.  

We then drove to Plum Hollow Cemetery to see brothers Adam and Phillip Shook's grave. They had married Soper sisters.

And then it was on to Ottawa.

Geneva, Ohio

Willow Lake Campground
$20 - p/w
Temp 18C

This Campground is close to Lake Erie. We had a beer and went for a bike ride around the campground.

After supper we drove along the lake to the bridge at historic Ashtabula Harbour. It was very quiet this time of year, but I expect it's bustling during the summer season.

Next morning it was onward to Canada. We ended up on a toll highway because of some construction confusion. You didn't have to pay to get on, but you paid to get off.  The cost depended on how far you drove.  Anyway, we paid our dues to get off because we needed fuel and we then took a no toll road to the border.  And then, we had to pay to cross the bridge to the Canadian customs. Ugh, good riddance, USA! 

Athens, Ohio

Lake Snowden Ed & Rec Pk
Site #90 - $17. P by hydrant so used it! (x2)
am temp 4C

This was a nice enough Campground and appeared to be filled with mainly "Seasonals". We set up camp and then headed to the university library genealogy room, but it was just closing. An employee did do a quick check for us and found GS Anderson information so we made plans to go back in the morning.

On Tuesday morning we were back at the library by 9 a.m. The employee, Karen Jones was very helpful at finding information. Actually she showed about as much excitement as me when she discovered something.  She found George S Anderson's probate and Will and we discovered that he had a second wife, Amanda plus three more children on top of his original 12.

We had lunch at a campus Cafe and then headed back to work. Quite a bit of information was photocopied and microfiche was searched. We headed back to the campground for supper and and evening fire.  On Wednesday morning we were on the road by 9 a.m. 

We headed to Amesville to find the Mound Hill Cemetery that George and Amanda were buried in. We had a rather humorous encounter at Amesville Post Office.  We stopped to ask directions to the cemetery. It was down the road, past "so and so's" sheep farm and so on and so forth.

We inquired about the "Coonskin Library" that was in the town. The postal fella told us he would give us the key and we could go have a look.  He also said if we wanted any of the souvenirs or t-shirts that were there, we should just pick out what we wanted and bring them back to the post office and we could pay for them there. Very trusting in these small communities!  Anyway, we passed on the 'tour'.

We drove up the road to Mound Hill Cemetery. We talked to a farmer on the way. I had recognised his last name in the Anderson family tree and Ron said we were related.  He wasn't overly friendly or excited about this fact but directed us on to the cemetary.  

It was located on top of a hill, so we left the RV on the road and climbed up.  There was an old abandoned church, nice on the outside, but rather trashed on the inside.  We found George and Amanda's graves complete with huge headstones. His son Charles and his wife's were also buried there. 

We continued on to where we thought Bethel Ridge might be located and hoped to find Sarah's grave, At one point we parked on the side of a road and Ron walked up a narrow road to look see if there was a cemetery. We thought we were in the area and many cemeteries we'd been to were on a hill. As I waited, I heard a bunch of coon dogs start to howl and I actually worried if I would hear a gunshot. This area of Ohio was certainly 'back country' or hillbilly zone, so we were never sure how friendly the locals were!  However, no luck finding the cemetery, so we continued on.

Hamden Ohio

Lake Alma State Park
Site #52 - $19 p only (x2)

This is a very pretty park beside a lake. Many lily pads on the lake! (There were a few big rigs staying here - snowbirds possibly?) and a couple of weekenders that left when we arrived. It was on the chilly side (12C) and we made use of our heater.

On Sunday we headed into the library. Of course - it was closed on Sundays. We stumbled upon the two family graveyards in Allensville and there were lots of my "Graves" relatives buried here.  In the town Boblett Cemetery we found Samuel M. Graves and Rebecca (Ziegler) Graves plus John S Anderson & Nancy (Mahala Bethel) Anderson. On the hill out of town at Salt Springs Cemetery we found Samuel Grave's parents Joseph and Jane or Jennie (McVey) and Joseph's dad Jonathan who had died in 1846 (159 years ago!). All the names on the gravestones were quite readable. Exciting finds!!

We then drove to Athens. The University of Ohio is huge. And it was teeming with students. The old Town Center was very cool, with many of the roads all in brick.

The neighborhoods were very crowded with students and all the beautiful old homes have been converted to rental rooms for the students. It was kind of sad to see these grand old homes being used (and abused?) this way.  There were chairs and sofas on balconies and roof tops. We couldn't get over the masses of kids hanging about. Everywhere! We found the library but it, too, was closed on Sunday. Back at the camp, we went for a walk and had a fire.

On Monday morning we headed back to the McArthur library. We went through quite a few records and gathered bits of family information.  We found the little old geological lady a wee bit annoying and she wouldn't leave us alone even though I suggested she didn't have to stay.  Anyway, we made some photocopies and I was able to catch up on my email before heading back home for lunch. 

We decided to pack up the trailer but first, we went back to the courthouse in McArthur to see what they might have.  This was quite the experience.  The Courthouse was in session and young people lined the halls, sitting on chairs and waited for their time with the judge.  We were shown where the small and poorly organised records room was and we were left alone to have a look. We literally shuffled boxes around and dug through files to find old Wills and other legal documents.  We took them to an office next door for photocopying, but it would have been so easy just to gather these originals and leave. We could even look through the current books and records to see who was in court for what, who just got divorced, etc etc!? Unbelievable!  Anyway... it was rather exciting to go through the old documents!  We probably should have spent more time there.

I found John Shannon Anderson's probate and Samuel and Rebecca Grave's marriage certificate. So that was cool!  And then it was on to Athens.

Jasper, Indiana

May 12,2005
Dubois County Park
Site #30 - $15. p/w (x2)

We stopped at the Court House first. I stayed with the 5th wheel while Ron headed to the court house to see what, if any family tree information was available. Bad incident for me.  I spilled my coffee on my laptop keyboard and it became toast.  Crap.  Until we got to Ottawa and Greg gave me a keyboard, I cut and paste to send emails. Desperate times!?

Back to Ron -- He was very excited to find lots of information and documents to photocopy. The lady at the Court House directed us to the local campground and we headed there.

We had lunch and went back to the Records Office.  Lots of info was compiled and photocopied. The Genealogical room at the library was also very helpful. I was able to make use of the internet for no charge while Ron scoured records. 

Back at the campground we enjoyed a beautiful warm evening and we had a fire.

A young couple set up camp beside us. Apparently they didn't intend to stay that night but were just securing their spot for the weekend.  As they were leaving, the young fella called over and told us if we saw anybody doing anything they shouldn't, we should shoot them. haha.... Typical Americans with guns! 

The next day we headed to St. Anthony. We took pictures of the graves and the church but we weren't able to find any more information from the church secretary.  

We headed back to the library in Jasper, picked up groceries at Walmart and then headed home for supper and a fire. We had another nice evening, but it poured through the night.  In the morning we packed up in the rain and were back on the road by 9:15 a.m. 

We ran into quite a traffic jam between Louisville and Cincinnati. We stopped in Chillicothe, Ohio at the library to see if there was anything on J.S. Anderson's birth. No luck, so we drove on towards Allensville and McArthur.

Vincennes, Indiana

Quabache Trails Park
Site #16 - $13. p/w

This was a beautiful, well treed municipal park on the outskirts of town. We arrived about 7 p.m. Much later than our usual stop for the night time!It was still very hot and muggy at 28 C, so we made good use of our air conditioning.

The town of Vincennes is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana and one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians.  The first settlers were Canadians and it was part of a French Colony of Canada. It was associated with Quebec until after the American Revolution, then it when it became part of Virginia and later Indiana.  However, our visit was short. We didn't get much time to enjoy the pretty surroundings!

Fort Madison, Iowa

Duck Haven Campground
Site #2 - $14. p/w (x2)

The wind was mainly on our tail today.  Prior to our arrival at this campground, we stopped at a Super Walmart in Ottumwa. They sold everything including liquor. Also, we were able to get our tire replaced! Ron took the opportunity to attend a rotary luncheon.

On to the campground and a relaxing dinner!

The good news? This was a really nice campground on beautiful little pond. 

The bad news? Right beside the train tracks. ugh! 

Anyway, we turned on the fan and we used our ear plugs. 

We spent the day at Fort Madison. The home of Ron's forefathers.  We found lots of records at the local library and at the Recorder's Office. So many Vital Statistics records. We drove around the community and we took pictures of the old Kesslar and Seemann family homes and the church they would have attended. We couldn't find any records for the burials or for their graves. 

Pa Kesslar home

And we found remnants of the old Button Factory where Pa Kesslar worked.

We went back on Wednesday morning for further information but the fellow there wasn't able to help us with this. We spent another hour wandering through the town (and the grave yard) looking for Seemann and Kesslar graves. We learned later that there was another old graveyard in the town that we had missed.This is where they would have been buried. Anyway, we were back on the road at 10:30 am.

It was not a good travel day. There were a lot of slow downs and some missed turns. We had to turn around when we found one Highway was closed for repairs with no warnings posted. We didn't get as far as we had hoped, but we did find a nice Municipal Campground to spend the night.

Crescent, Iowa

Honey Creek Campground
Site #31 - $24. p/w/s

This Campground was in very poor condition. The facilities were a mess, the lawn needed mowing and the water tasted crappy. Definitely not worth the price! Luckily it was only for one night!

We unhooked, had a beer and then drove 12 miles to Council Bluffs for a Chinese smorg. We spent the evening watching TV.

Wahpeton, ND

Kidder REC Area
$10. - p/w
Temp 24C

We couldn't find a campsite at Fargo, but this turned out to be a good alternative suggestion from a fellow in the grocery store. It was a nice little park located at the town dam. It is a popular fishing and hunting spot on the Red River. (Hunting because it is in the midst of the Central Flyway for migratory waterfowl.) At one time flat boats would carry freight directly from the railroad downriver via the Red River all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba!

It was very warm and muggy in the evening and also windy. We went for a walk through the park area and around the town cul-de-sac. Ron posed with the world's largest catfish!

We had more rain through the night, but we both slept well with the fan going. We left the campsite at 9:15 a.m. It was 18C with more wind.

We filled up at Ortonville and somehow strayed off in the wrong direction at a fork in the road.  We ended up going northeast when we should have been headed south. Our first instinct was that the truck compass needed re-calibrating.  Because really, we were certain we were headed south! I got out the truck manual for re-calibrating, but I also turned on the GPS. Well, it turned out the compass was right and we were wrong! We had quite a chuckle, but unfortunately we ended up driving a good hour out of our way. 

The temperature reached 30C at one point but it clouded up just before we stopped for the night and it cool down to 24 C.  We've been hearing of tornadoes in the Nebraska area. 

Williston, ND

Lewis & Clark State Pk
Overflow, n/s - $10. + $5. pass
Temp 18C

We left Medicine Hat at 9:07 a.m. The temperature was 15 C. We stopped in Havre, MT for lunch at noon then fueled up in Malta at 2 pm. It was 27C.  A great start to May camping!

The road was very winding plus there was a fair bit of climbing topped with that dreaded wind. Also, we drove through a lot of small towns so there were many slow downs.

We arrived at the State park about 6:15 p.m. The campground was not officially open for the season, so we had to park in the Marina parking lot. There was one other camper stopped for the night.

We had a beer went for a walk. Then dinner and another walk. It was an early to bed night. It poured through the night complete with a lightning storm.

We were awake at 7 am and on the road by 8:15.  That was a pretty early start for us! We ended up with a truck tire separation just before we reached Minot (Hwy 52) so we were 1/2 hr lost doing a tire change.  Looks like we will be tire shopping somewhere en route.