Heading North

Mike and I have spent the past two weeks heading north toward Cincinnati and eventually Canada, more specifically, toward the Ohio to Erie Trail.

With a few holiday weekends and warmer weather approaching, campgrounds are filling up fast, especially on weekends. That means we have to book ahead, which we really don’t like doing. Even booking just 7–10 days ahead feels too rigid. We like to be flexible, especially if someone suggests an interesting detour. After we’ve paid for a site, we’re stuck.

Once we camped in Indiana and cycled across the river every day to Louisville Kentucky. Two days after we left, tornadoes swept through both states, killing people. We’re not used to this kind of extreme weather, tornadoes, floods, hail. It’s frightening. On top of that, Mike’s spring allergies are extended as we travel north. He  feels like he’s stuck in an endless spring. Great for biking, not so great for my husband’s allergies.

We spent a couple of days in St. Louis. Our last visit was 11 years ago on our first big trip with this motorhome. On this trip we took a bus tour that left me underwhelmed, until we reached Forest Park. Forest Park, which opened in 1876, is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. At around 1,300 acres, it’s even bigger than New York’s Central Park. It houses a zoo, several museums, golf courses, bike and pedestrian trails, and more. The photo below shows just a tiny part of it.

The second half of the tour, through areas near the university, was much more interesting.

From there, we spent over a week on Carlyle Lake in Illinois. The area has several Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds, most fully booked. We snagged the last spot at one, which turned out to be the most unlevel site we’ve ever camped on. It took our levellers and a large stack of wood under the front driver’s tire just to even things out. Once levelled, we were determined not to move unless absolutely necessary. Still, the setting was lovely, and we’ll really miss these COE campgrounds. There aren’t many in the eastern states.

We managed a few days of cycling around the lake, less than we hoped. The rain kept coming. One morning while Mike was out looking for tire liners to prevent punctures, I opened the blinds and found the dash covered in water. Not good. When Mike got back, he noticed a bulge at the top corner of the windshield. We knew we had to get it looked at.

Next stop: Louisville, Kentucky or the “Bourbon City” where we hesitated to announce that we were Canadian. When the U.S. imposed tariffs on Canada, Canada retaliated. Kentucky bourbon was removed from liquor store shelves in addition to a 25% import tariff being imposed. I thought that this was just symbolic as I don’t know anyone who drinks bourbon, but I was wrong. It turns out, Canada is Kentucky’s biggest export market for bourbon, and Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s supply. Kentucky’s governor has been trying to get an exemption ever since.

At the campground check-in, we were greeted by a wall of Trump hats. Not exactly a comfortable welcome. We would’ve liked to stay longer than our four days, but we had prepaid for the next site near Cincinnati. Mike and I both prefer a lot more flexibility than this prebooking allows us. It is something that we were not used to in Europe.

I should tell you about the drive to Louisville. It was terrifying. The wind howled through our front window, the largest one-piece windshield in the RV industry when we bought it. Mike and I were worried sick that we were going to lose the window as we drove down the highway. We pulled into a rest stop where Mike climbed onto the roof (despite not being a fan of heights) and tried to seal the window with packing tape.

This failed and the screeching and howling continued for four hours. We couldn’t even talk to each other over the noise.

In Louisville, we immediately looked for a repair shop. None would touch it. Eventually, we found a glass specialist who came to inspect the window and seal. He said he could remove the window and he could try resealing and reinstalling it or he could install a brand new window. Since it already had a minor defect. Mike decided we’d just replace it. Another $5,000 CAD, on a motorhome we’re about to trade in. The new one is already off the assembly line, with our furniture installed. The current 25% Canadian tariff on U.S. vehicles will nullify our contract unless it is removed. We don’t know what is going to happen.

The glass guy showed us visible air gaps between the window and the RV, terrifying. He suggested we seal it with duct tape while we wait for the replacement windshield. The new windshield is scheduled to be installed Thursday, May 22 at our next campground, assuming it doesn’t rain. The problem is, rain is in the forecast for the entire week so we are holding our breath.

Louisville tidbits: Louisville was named after King Louis XVI, who supported the Americans during the Revolutionary War. The fleur-de-lis appears all over the city as a tribute to France.

Louisville is home to the Extreme Park, known for its 24-foot (7.3 m) full pipe and other intense skateboarding features. That first photo is me at the top, definitely not venturing in.

We tried to visit the cathedral, but it was packed with students practicing for graduation. From what we saw, the practice was needed.

Louisville City Hall’s limestone façade was restored in 2017 and looks fantastic.

Now we’re heading about an hour north of Cincinnati. The Ohio to Erie Trail is more than 90% paved and mostly free of vehicle traffic. It stretches 472 km (293 miles) from Cincinnati through Columbus and Akron to Cleveland on Lake Erie. We don’t expect to complete it, especially since we have to ride the entire distance twice, but it’ll be close enough to home to continue on in the future. That is… if the U.S. isn’t continuing to declare economic war on Canada and trying to make us their 51st state. We might have to wait four years before we can return to complete the remainder of the trail.