Dateline June 29, 2013, Leaving Flagler Beach, Going West
This summer the plan is to travel out to the western states, see some of our National Parks, and visit family and friends along the way. The first leg runs from Florida out to Cody, Wyoming for the Stampede over the 4th of July weekend. We have tickets for the rodeo on July 3rd. Then on to Yellowstone.
Out of Flagler Beach, our first stop was Orlando to swap a glow plug sensor on the Roadtrek. You cannot leave home with a faulty glow plug. A few hours of waiting, and we were on the road north toward Tallahassee. Around 6:00 PM we pulled into the little town of Perry, Florida and found a KOA for the night. Golf clubs always travel with us, and the next stop was scheduled around a course in Alabama we had been meaning to play.
Last May, on the Robert Trent Jones Trail with Pete and Bunny Warenski, we played twelve of the Trail's courses but missed a few. One we kept hearing about was the Grand National in Opelika, not far from Auburn University. We drove over and played it.
The course lived up to its reputation. As spectacular as any we played last year.
We played pretty well, dodged some weather, and got the round in.
One of the great things about traveling through Alabama is the state park system. We left the course for the 45-minute drive up to Alexander City and Wind Creek State Park on Lake Martin. The site was right on the water with sensational views.
This park would be a great vacation getaway for families. Our next golf stop was up in Missouri, so we faced a couple of days driving through the Alabama countryside to Memphis and on to Jonesboro, Arkansas for the next overnight. There we found Craighead Forest Park, on the lake of the same name. The sites overlook the lake, first come, no reservations. Doris, the campground manager, met us at our site, took a driver's license, and came back a few minutes later with the paperwork. Ten dollars for the night, all hookups included. We made a drink and walked down to the lake to watch the ducks and geese. Another good night.
In the morning the road took us up through Arkansas into Missouri. One observation that always amazes us when we drive cross-country is how open and beautiful so much of America still is. The small farms, the long stretches of forest, the unhurried towns. It is hard to remember any of that when you spend your time in cities. The country is much larger, and a great deal of it less inhabited, than the dense corners of it make us think.
We aimed for Cooper's Landing near Jefferson City, Missouri, which had read well in the reviews, only to find it had just been flooded out by the Missouri River. Back into Jefferson City, where we found Binder Park for $15. Another good find, clean, tucked into the trees.
In the morning, on to Independence, Missouri and the Harry S. Truman Library.
