Pod and Jackson tell about a new friend......

Happy Sunday afternoon everyone.  It's Pod and Jackson (woof, woof) both here blogging today.  We both asked to blog to tell all of you about loosing a new friend we made at the ERU.  

You may remember Rob blogging about the new 179 pod model and posting a picture of one of the two at the ERU.  Here's a picture to refresh your memory.....

Well it seems that this Pod's person is named Kevin.  Kevin had his dog Dory at the ERU with him.  Now us Pods all know that dogs make the best people by far.  Kevin called Dory his "old lady".  How funny was that.  Anyway, it seemed that right after Dory and Kevin got home, Dory got real sick.  Here's a picture of Dory.....

We don't know the whole story, but we feel like Dory just couldn't get better, so now she waits at the Rainbow Bridge for Kevin.  

Yes this is a sad story, but wait, it has a happy turn.  You see, Kevin went and found a new dog to be his friend and traveling companion.  This dogs name is Remi.....

What as handsome fellow.  Remi has a little upper respiratory infection but will soon be right as rain, and going to live with Kevin.

Jackson and I wish both Kevin and Remi all the best and hope they have many, many fun times together.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Pod & Jackson

Down into the Ground.....

Happy Monday evening.  We're happy to report that we are safely back home and getting everything squared away from our week long adventure to Kentucky.

Pod is resting in the pod-port, and told us that while traveling is fun, it's good to sleep in your own pod-port too!!

As we watched pods pull out Sunday morning, and then again Monday morning, Mark, Suzie (furpod's people), Trisha, and I decided to go on an easy cave tour monday afternoon.  

We picked the Saltpeter Cave Tour for two main reasons.  First it had only 75 total stair steps.  Second, the cave temp was a constant 47-49 degrees.  That sure did feel good monday afternoon!!

Our tour was 3:30 in the afternoon, Kevin another podder tagged along, and counting our tour guide Alek, our group was six people.  

Our guide did a fantastic job of telling us the history of the cave, it's significance in the history of our country, and the sacrifices the men and their families made for the several years the Saltpeter works was in operation.  

While very few written records were kept, the importance of the Works to our young nation cannot be in doubt.

I won't go into detail to explain all about how this works, you can research that for yourself if you are so inclined.  What I will be sure to pass along is about a fungal infection brought over from Europe in recent years called White-Nose Syndrome that is spreading through the bat population in this country.  So if you ever go anywhere (caves) where bats live, be sure to decontaminate yourself afterwards.  Bats eat mosquitoes, lots and lots and lots of mosquitoes!!  

Thanks for checking by today.  We will be taking a few days blogging break.  But we'll be right back.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

The 2014 ERU Stats......

Happy Monday evening from Kentucky.  Fupod and R&T's-Pod are hanging out for one more day of camping, but we will all be leaving in the morning to go home.  

We just wanted to give one more little 2014 report.  Here are some stats for your to crunch on.  Thanks to Mrs. Dingo (Sylvia Grubbs) for her help with this.

Number of official rally nights:  3

Number of pods:  17

Friends in other camper types:  3

States represented:  North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio. 

Tow vehicles:  Six Fords, several Jeeps, several Chrysler/Dodge, a Toyota, a Subaru, two Nissans, and only one Chevrolet...

Dogs:  A Bunch!!!

Cats: two...

So this is what we remember, if you remember something different, that's great too!!

Until next, stay safe out there.....-R,T, & J with M, S & M!!

The 2014 ERU is Winding Down......

Happy Sunday evening from Carter Caves State Resort Park, Olive Hill, KY.  The 2014 ERU is drawing to a close.  Many podders pulled out this morning, with more due to pull out in the morning.  At last count, only three podders will remain through Tuesday morning, then the 2014 ERU will only be a happy memory for all.

Before going any farther, we want to thank our un-leader for all of his amazing un-leading the past few days....

Today, after helping several pod friends get ready to leave, we got ourselves ready and along with furpod's people all climbed in Truck, drove to Morehead, KY in search of lunch, a drug store, and to scout out Twin Peaks COE campground.  We were successful on all counts.  Returning in the late afternoon to our campground where furpod's and R&T's Pod's dads used our tote take to empty furpod's grey water tank.  Such fun podding....

We also did two loads of laundry, and checked in with our parents to make sure all was well back home.

Around six this evening, the remaining podders gathered for a pot luck left over clean-out-the-fridge dinner and campfire.  Which of course showed no signs of breaking up when Rob got back to our pod about 10 p.m.   

Also two of our podders, Billie & Debbie showed off a custom made awning.  Be sure to be watching for a special blog post all about it.

This year's ERU has been a great event.  Thanks to everyone who attended and made it great!!  We are all looking forward to next year's ERU.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

Saturday at the ERU.....

Happy Saturday evening from the 2014 ERU here in Kentucky.  Our day started out cloudy and overcast.  We wanted to try out the resort restaurant for breakfast.  It was a buffet style and wasn't all that impressive.  Oh well, now we know.

It was back to the campsite, to straighten up the pod for the pod walk at ll a.m.  It was fun seeing what other podder's have done, and also showing off the mods we've made to R&T's-Pod.

After the pod walk, it was a light lunch, visiting with friends, figuring out future mods, and even naps for some of us.

Of course the highlight of the day was our hot dog cookout at six p.m.  Furpod supplied the dogs, buns, and trimmings.  It was up to everyone else to bring either a side, dessert, or both.  Needless to say there was plenty of food!!

While the dogs were being grilled, and afterwards all the way until dark (some even now as Rob types this) podders sat around and visited, ate, played cornhole, and in general had a grand old time.  

We even managed to get in a quick game of dueling cameras.....

On a special note, the person in the last picture above happens to be one of the co-hosts of next year's ERU.  (Getting this all worked out was a part of the afternoon's activities.)  Be sure to be watching in the coming months for more information. 

Until next time, stay safe out there.....R,T,&J.

Friday at the Eastern Round Up.....

Happy Friday evening from here in Kentucky at the 2014 ERU.  Our Thursday ended about 1 a.m. Friday morning.  Seems after supper was cooked and eaten, and a few late arrivals were seen safely in, we gathered under the dome and chatted with friends until the wee hours of Friday morning.  Jackson of course was up at 6:30 a.m. for his first bathroom walk of the day.  

By 8:00 a.m., podders were out and about starting their day.....

Our morning was spent not only with all the usual morning routines, but also just standing or sitting around talking.  Late morning we got ourselves together and ventured out of the campground.  

We stopped by the visitor's center.....

Here Rob got a t-shirt and some more stickers for his ever growing sticker collection.

The we set off to the town of Olive Hill, KY for a grocery store visit and just to see what Olive Hill was all about.  It was a nice little town with all of the normal little town things.  

We also stopped to take a few pictures of the scenery here at Carter Caves.....

After our stops and sightseeing, we returned to camp for lunch, smoothies, and a great nap.  (Wonder why we needed a nap?)

After even more visiting, some podders cooked, while other podders opted to visit the restaurant here at the State Park.  We fixed burgers on the grill and tater tots in the oven.  Gotta love this podding lifestyle!!

We did have some afternoon and evening rain storms, but as of this posting, nothing too bad yet.

Also, one of our group, technically a non-podder, in "Not-A-Pod" big white box camper decided to get crazy and show some leg....

This evening was supposed to be the pod walk, where podders could gather and tour each other's pod, but once again a storm rolled though and so the pod walk is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday.

So that pretty much sums up our day here at the 2014 ERU.  We really don't plan on staying up until the wee hours of Saturday morning, but you never know what may happen.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....R,T,&J.

The Pod's are HERE.....

Good evening everyone from the 2014 ERU here at Carter Caves State Resort Park, Olive Hill, KY.

Our day started off on the warm side, along with a morning thunderstorm to make things exciting!!

This cooled the temps down nicely, then the sun came out, and it really got warm.

The morning was quite, with a few pods starting to arrive around mid-day.  Along the way we got phone calls from one podder with vehicle issues, but were able to coordinate with other podders to keep an eye out for her.  Another podder had to stop en-route and replace an alternator.  

Soon, the routine of backing-in, helping to back-in, leveling, sorting out water and electric connections, setting up, and all the other little tasks necessary to get the ERU off to a good start.  (For it seems the unleader was the one changing the alternator on their tow vehicle!!)

And hot, oh my, by this time, it was just plain hot.  So hot in fact that one of our group dropped her pants right out in the open.....

Well part of them at least! These podders are a wild and crazy bunch!!

We grilled pork chops and fixed a salad for dinner to round out our day.  Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy.

Well that's about it for today.  Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who else may take whatever off....

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

We're in Kentucky with a Moose....

Yup that right, a moose.  In fact it's hanging out just two sites over from us.  But lets back up just a bit.

We left home at six a.m. on our way to Carter Caves State Resort Park in Olive Hill, KY, site of the 2014 r-pod and friends ERU.

We had a great day for our drive, light traffic, couple of comfort stops, two fuel stops, a Starbucks stop was combined with one of the fuel stops, two tunnels, a few miles of Jersey barriers, and even just a few rain drops to boot.

We arrived about 1 p.m.  Over the next hour or so, we got all set up and ready for a few days of fun, visiting, old and new friends, and just good ole relaxation.  

Here's a picture of our campsite, #42.

But wait, what about the moose??  Well here you go.....

See I told you, an honest to goodness plywood moose!!!  Now you didn't think there are real moose (meese?) in Kentucky did you??

A couple more pods rolled in prior to dark.  Tomorrow promises to be a busy day with a bunch more pods and their people arriving.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.