Wednesday Sept 11 With 16 days since our last trip – the Silvermine had a complete going over – inside and outside! If you aren’t camping . . . you can always spend time getting ready for the next campout! Wednesday morning we left at 9:00 a.m. with 200 miles to Clifty Falls State Park, near the town of Madison in Southern Indiana on the Ohio River. This gathering was the inspiration of Alan, who was hoping to choose a new central location for several Airstream families to gather. Featuring rugged cliffs created during the Ice Age, it is believed that Clifty Falls plunged 200 feet into the newly formed Ohio River. . . a million years ago! Since then, the falls has cut its way into bedrock more than two miles north of its original position, and continues to travel one-quarter inch per year. It is a haven for wildlife, wildflowers, and marine fossils. Unfortunately, things were very dried up, and there was very little water going over the falls location. Arriving at 2:00, the big surprise was the 94 degree temperature! We set up, turned on the AC, and waited for the inside to cool down a bit. With fans and air movement we were able to retreat inside in comfort. At 5:00 we took a quick trip to the Clifty Falls Inn -- a year-round retreat overlooking the Ohio Valley and the historic river town of Madison. The unique architecture is newish brick with the appearance of a college dorm on the outside. On the inside, however, it is very much a charming Inn with lobbies, sitting rooms, dining areas, and meeting facilities. On this mid-week day, well after Labor day, there were few people in residence. We ate a late supper (Cornish Hens) at the Silvermine, waiting for temperatures to cool down enough to take the dogs for a walk. Finally, at 8:00 it was bearable enough for a walk around the campground loop. Shortly after that it was dark; there was no desire for a campfire tonight Thursday, Sept 12 It was getting hotter by the minute when we left the Airstream at 9:00 a.m. prompting us to go on a sight-seeing expedition early – while it was still tolerable. Historic Madison was just a couple of miles down the road. I was very impressed with Madison – every store front, sidewalk, and street in the downtown area sported efforts of pride, time, money, and upkeep. The downtown was just two blocks off of the Ohio River, which also showed a major commitment of the community along a fancy river-walk. We walked along the river, amazed at the sponsored and dedicated stonework, masonry, benches, swings, gazeboes, and piers that extended the entire paved path. When we returned to the campground – Alan was set up in the site next to us! His site had nice shade, and his trailer cooled down quickly. He was off getting groceries, but soon returned. It was hot enough in the afternoon (95+) to while away time inside the trailers. By 5:30 nobody felt like cooking outside and we headed to town and the Key West Shrimp House. The service was horrible – the food was great! On the way to eat we passed new NOVA members Jamie and Judy as they arrived . . . their very first time camping in their new 30’ Flying Cloud! When we returned, even though it was still hot, Tom started a fire, and we got down to the business of meeting Jamie and Judy. Former sail-boat racers and big-rig campers, they were used to the general group camping experience. Fun night! Last to arrive, having the furthest to drive, were Dane and Elaine from the St. Louis area, in their 16’ Lucy (the short-short trailer). They dropped Lucy and headed for the Shrimp House to try their luck at food and service – great on both accounts. When they returned, the circle was complete except for Carie, who arrived Friday after work! Friday, Sept 13 We had brought our new Biolite Campfire, and Tom had it cranked up for a morning fire. The fire is elevated from the ground and encased in a mesh screen for good visibility. Two handles remain cool and allow you to pick it up and move it! The little fan unit on the side runs from Tom’s phone, and he can adjust the air flow/flame from his chair! It is not completely smokeless – but does dramatically cut down on the smoke. We also noticed that by the end of the campfire, all of the wood is burnt, and there is just a fine ash to empty. Late morning we headed for the Clifty Falls Inn, hoping to make the breakfast buffet – missed it by 5 minutes! We ordered from the menu in a mostly empty dining room, and dawdled over our meal while making afternoon plans. Brave ones (Jamie, Judy, and Elaine) headed for the trails, and the rest sheltered back in the trailers! Tom, Alan and I headed on a brief shopping trip to some downtown antique stores – - - and an ice-cream fix. The heat was oppressive and at 7:30 we again headed for the cool of the Inn; Carie was with us! The parking lot of the Inn seemed to have filled up quite a bit with weekend guests – but we were the only ones in the large dining room. Again we lingered enjoying the cool before heading back to the campsite for another fire! Saturday, Sept 14 Tom had a plan for today that included watching the Ohio State/Indiana game at Shooter’s in downtown Madison. We headed out early for the noon kick-off, while others hiked the tunnel trail. All of us ended up at Shooters off and on during the afternoon, where our waitress worked hard to shuttle us meals – staggered over several hours. She actually stayed two hours beyond her shift to care for us! The day was cooler by 10 degrees, and we shopped the stores, walked along the river-walk, and stopped at Scoops – Ice-cream! At the campground we had planned for a grill-meal . . . too full! Later Alan brought out cheesecake, and with that we finished our campfire, chat-fest, and Clifty-Falls campout Sunday, Sept 15 Usually Sunday morning signals a fast drive home for Tom and me. We changed strategy and headed north for a few nights at Indiana Dunes State Park – and the new National Lakeshore! We had been here over 35 years ago – but the memories are dim! Just recently, the Indiana Dunes State Park has been surrounded and enlarged by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We opted to stay at the State Park Campground knowing that it had electric hookups. It was a longer drive than we had expected, and we didn’t get set up until 4:00.The afternoon was cooler, but the humidity was still high. We took the dogs to walk on the dog beach; they enjoyed the walk, but the deep sand made walking hard for Tom and me. We made a fire in our BioLite Firepit and sat out for an hour – until the mosquitoes started biting. Monday, Sept 16 Tom was up walking the dogs in the morning when he heard someone calling his name! Dan and Dawn, and Luscious and Danielle, long-time Airstream friends, were camping a loop over from us! Aside from that, there were at least 5 other Airstreams in residence! Tom and I walked with them up to the Visitor Center, before heading off our own to explore. Forty Years ago Tom and I met members of my Kintner-family in Michigan City for a weekend get-together. Remembering that it had some nice historical and scenic sites, we set out to revisit the town and spent a nice couple of hours seeing this lake-side town. We arrived back at the campsite in time to walk the dogs and walk over to the next loop for an Airstream mystery get-together. We, of course, knew Dan and Dawn and Luscious and Danielle. But there were 5 other Airstreams in the park, and Dan had visited each one inviting them over for a 5:30 get-together. One couple we had met several years ago and it took us about 10 minutes to realize that we weren’t complete strangers! Another couple had three young girls, and they were on their 2nd week of full-timing; they were heading to a family full-time rally in North Carolina. All in all, it was a good example of the way Airstreamers come together to share experiences and enjoy a good chat around the fire pit.
The next morning we cleared camp and headed for home -- just a 3 hour drive. At this time there is nothing in the works until early in October.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |