Friday night in Priceville,AL

Made it into Alabama! Took long enough, HUH!?!?  LOL!  Met up with Tabitha and the girls in Madison, AL. Had a pleasant afternoon, then did "lupper" in Priceville, AL. Ate at "Ay Chihuahua"!  Guess what kind of food?  Heheheh  First time in quite a while that I got a to go box! Excellent food, good service & plenty in the order!

 

"We" took quite a few breaks on the last two days of driving. You can tell I like being out here on the road...as my grandmother would say..."I can dwaddle with the best of them!!'

 Took a break at the Tenn-Tom Waterway pull-off. Nice break. Room for Abbie to run around. NICE walk all the way down to the overlook!  LOL!

Had the first trashcan I had seen on the Trace in MS. 

Then took another break at the Bear Creek Pull-Off. Was just so nice I had to stop for a few minutes and enjoy the view!

I really am proud of how well the Alabama section of the Trace is kept up! It was just gorgeous!

And then came the end of this part of the 2019 Adventure...well almost the end!  At my last night's stop was still about 190 miles from Gadsden.

 

Last night was my last night on the Natchez Trace Pkwy. Spent it at the pull-off for Freedom Hills Overlook. It was another pleasant night, very little traffic & a light breeze most of the night. Nice way to spend my last night "in the woods" for several weeks! 

 

I'm spending the night in the Ay Chihuahua parking lot...and wouldn't you know that they are having a radio remote here AND a "show me your ride & I'll show you mine" meet in the parking lot! Several nice cars here, and quite a few in various stages of restoration.

 

 

  

I'm sitting about 88 miles from Gadsden tonight. Was a decent day of driving...a bit on the windy side. A few sprinkles of rain. Other than that, it was a good day!

So far this run has been 1,023 miles. And my gas tank right now can do another 125 mile, and the gas budget has enough in it to make another 300 miles! So I'm actually tracking right where I had planned on my travel gas budget!

So that's it for today's part of the run! There will be MANY more days to come and many more miles to cover AND lots & lots & lots to see & talk about!

C'ya soon!

(Maybe even see you out here one day!!)

Frog, Abbie & Snickers

South of Tupelo, MS

It was a good days drive! Great weather, sunny, easy breeze...just perfect!  I'm currently about 202 miles from Gadsden. It looks like I'll be getting there on Saturday. Hopefully!  They are also calling for rain starting tomorrow night all the way thru Monday!  Not only that...basically a cold snap, with possible frost/freezing temps also!!  Yippee!!

I did not realize that this is also the time of the year that the dogwood trees are coming into bloom! They were really just getting started with the blossoms on the Trace as I came up it today.

So pretty!  I saw a few magnolias also....but they snuck up on me and I didn't get any pics of them.

I enjoyed the drive, but I was surprised that the "historical pull outs" have for the most part not been updated to be able to handle the size of today's vehicles. Especially for travel trailers and motorhomes!  Even as short overall as Europa and Sidekick are...most of the sites, if I pulled into them, would almost not leave enough room for cars, much less any other RVs.

Did take a break at the Bynum Mounds. Indian mounds and a small "informational" kiosk. Not really much to see, but a good spot to let Abbie out for a while and take a break.

Be that as it may be...it is a very pretty drive with a lot of history behind it! There is a very good Park Service pamphlet for the Trace that has a lot of great info in it and a very useful map of the entire 444 miles of the road!

 And I have been wondering why my sinuses have been acting up sooo for the past few days....well....I saw my answer this afternoon!! I had actually forgotten that this is THE season for the pine trees to start building up their pine cones!!!  LOL!  Break out the extra tissues!!

Sun is down, darkness has settled in, moths flying all over the place, and of course...gnats and june bugs!!!  LOL!  And the traffic has all but disappeared from the road! So looks like it will be a very peaceful night...great for sleep!!!

Tomorrow I'll be in Alabama, at least as far as close to Huntsville. I'll probably spend one more night on the road. I will definitely be putting a piece of tape over the motion sensor for my porch light! The bugs are keeping it on and boy do they swarm towards it!

Stay tuned for more from the road, Frog's 2019 Adventure continues!!

C'ya,

Frog, Abbie & Snickers

 

On the Natchez Trace Pkwy

 

Sunrise over the Ross Barnett Reservoir on the Natchez Trace Pkwy!  Almost looked like a sunset!! It's been gorgeous here for the past 2 days & nights!

 

Saw this spot almost too late to get pulled in! Needless to say, did not get a good look at the entry point...and almost rearranged the inside of Europa!  LOLL! But once in it has been a fabulous spot to spend a few days and "regroup" mentally for the coming weeks! Almost hate to leave, but it is time to get back on the road.

 I had my first "fire" of 2019 on the road last night, and my little chiminea works like a charm! I put foil on the sides due to wind, it works great! And really puts off a lot of heat, which really did surprise me just how much it did radiate!  Not to mention just now nice it looks with a fire going!

 

And it is now time to get back to the road and see what we find up the road! Will be on the Trace for about 220 more miles before we jump off in AL, from that spot we'll be about 150-175 miles from Gadsden.

Hang in there with us as we travel the roads...it can only get more interesting!!

C'ya!!

Frog, Abbie & Snickers 

On the road...Where I belong!!

Morning folks!  Well the " The 2019 Adventures of Frog" have "officially" begun!! 

 

Stopped at a "historic picnic rest area" coming out of Texas yeaterday, it was built in the 1930's. It was a really nice spot.

 

Spent last night at a really niceRest Area about halfway across Louisiana. A really nice one...on the top of a hill, so nice a breezy! 

 

It is now 1100 & my batteries are taking a good charge, I've dome my "pre-trip", & I guess i should start out my day's drive!! LOL 😆

I should either be close to or on the Natchez Trace Parkway when I stop tonight!!

C'ya!!!

Frog, Abbie & Snickers

2019 Adventure Begins

 

I finally found the PERFECT chiminea for my travels! 

My 2019 Adventure has started! Haven't gotten far yet...but I'm back on the road! 

And it really feels great!  

Still in TX, in a few days will head east to AL, then headed to Corpus Christi TX for a few weeks on the beach!  I haven't done the beach in over 35 years, so will try the "beach bum" thing for a few weeks! 

From there....really don't know yet! LOL 😆 I will be making my way back West, just don't know what route I'll run.  I plan on seeing the Hoover Dam, Gen.Sherman Tree, Great Basin, maybe into the Black Hills & The Bad Lands.  Also want to spend a few days in 

Swedesburg, IA. But it just all depends on the weather, the monies & .... what I want to see!! 

Just a quick catch-up....spent quite a while in AL & TX this past winter. Did repairs to Europa & Sidekick. Finished "purging" a bunch of stuff & re-packing Europa! I also added one more battery to my auxiliary system. Over the next few weeks will be adding one more battery (that'll be 5 total aux batts) & 1 more solar panel to the roof of Europa (that'll be 400 watts of power). 

As of this past Monday I'm 100% off-grid when it comes to power! 👍🏻🐸😎🚙  Basically been testing my capabilities the past few months & I'm quite pleased as of now. With almost 50 gallons fresh water, 3 cases bottled water, 35 & 32 gal black water & gray water tanks (respectively), I'm able to go 3½-4 weeks between dumps.  

Besides the chiminea, I was also able to get a fridge that is 4.7c.f.!! No freezer, which I don't need,  but it is big enough to hold fresh fruit, veggies, drinks, etc....and only uses 0.9 amps of power! So it doesn't drag my batts down! 🐸  I can go 3+ days of overcast and batts hold! 

It is amazing how something so "small" as a fridge can make life so much more pleasant! 

Speaking of purging.......

I don't think Europa has had this much space available or been this clean  since just a few days after I brought her home! LOL 😆

That about brings me up to current with my travels this past few months...and kicks off the next several months...or the next year or so....of travels to come!

Stay tuned for what all is in-store for us to see & explore!! 

C'ya! 🐸

Frog, Abbie & Snickers

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