Rain, Sirens, and OH MY!

Last Sunday night was quite the night.  Heavy rain, thunder, and lighting  continued into the early morning hours.  The weather was not threatening....just loud.  Come morning; however, an unfamiliar sound filled the air and brought myself, hubby, and the furballs fully awake.  At first, I thought tornado....but then I realized it was quiet no rain, no wind, no storm.  So I went to the window and noticed the bath house across from us had a flashing yellow light to go along with the sounding alarm.  I turned on the local news.....nothing about a tornado, but plenty about flash flooding.  It seems Cincinnati had received almost 4 inches of rain.  The lake here at Winton Woods was up.....way up....and that is why the alarm had sounded.  Have a look.....

This is the scene out our back window.....there had been no water there last night.  That am I'd say it was up a good 3 to 4 feet on the tree line and that was about 8 feet from our back window.  I didn't feel we were in any danger.....I think the worse was over at that point.  Looking around the park, I noticed just how bad it really was.....a deck overlooking the lake...one I had stood on the day before, was completely under water and the boathouse where you could rent rowboats, kayaks, and pontoon boats had water over it's decking as well.....scary stuff.....that much water and it came so fast.

This guy didn't seem to mind that the lake had been "enlarged"......

So we began our day.  We were going to be leaving Winton Woods and heading over to Precision Temp for repair on our On Demand Hot Water System.  We headed out around 11am.  Right at the exit of the park was a sign stipulating a road closure due to the flooding.  We had no idea where that road was....so we turned to the right to head out to the highway.  As soon as we rounded the first curve, we knew we were in trouble.  The blockade stopped us dead in our tracks.  To the left...nothing but lake....to the right a steep climb into a subdivision we knew nothing about....we were trapped.  We discussed the situation and I decided to head up the hill on foot and see if we could find our way out that way.  Fortunately, a park ranger happened by and told us he would lead us through the subdivision.  By that time....a motorhome had also joined in the caravan.  The ranger called the station and told them they needed to change the sign....as a lot of folks leaving were unfamiliar with the area and the name of the road meant nothing.  We were all just trying to get out the same way we got in!  We slowly wound our way through the subdivision.... tight turns, low tree branches, and narrow roadway....but we made it through.  I sure hope this area gets a break from the rain and can dry out soon.
We arrived at Precision about 30 minutes later.....repairs were completed as well as adding their "cold pack" to our unit.  The cold pack is simple heat tape....which we can turn on to prevent freezing just in case we find ourselves in unexpected cold weather.....it happens.


Ok DAD....pay attention....we arrived in Rising Sun Indiana around 6pm.  We are currently parked close to the Ohio river in a little park that my Dad recommended.  It is called "Little Farm on the River".  Of Course.....our journey to this quaint little park was not without its problems....stay tuned for the "rest of the story" in my next post.......

A Day at Camp Winton Woods

I promised some photos of our site here at Winton Woods......

Most all the sites are like this one.  Nice and level with a gravel pad and a concrete patio and picnic table.  Lots of lush green grass for the furballs...a beautiful lake and great walking trails.  In fact, that is what we did today.  Billy, me, and the furballs took a 5 mile hike around the lake today.  Needless to say....we is all tired tonight!
Here is another photo.......

I wanted you to see just how much space you have between sites.....very nice little buffer zone!  We are really enjoying our stay here...even though we have had quite a bit of rain.  This weekend the place really filled up.  It was fun watching everyone come in and get set up.  Campfires abound tonight as the rain finally cleared this afternoon.  As to us, we are both taking it easy in our recliners....with tired little furballs at our feet.  By the way, I have been doing a bit of laundry with my new washer and dryer and I love them.  I have done jeans, king size sheets, and towels.  Everything came out just fabulous!

"I've fallen and I can't......."

Well, I did actually get up..with a little help from Bill.  It was early in the am and I was just waking up.  Cosmo, who sleeps with us, decided to jump off the bed.  Unfortunately, I think he landed just a little too close to Belle, who sleeps on the floor.  Next thing I know....trouble is brewing....dogs are growling.  I quickly grabbed Cosmo, who weighs about 40lbs, and tried to put him back on the bed.  What actually happened.....Cosmo and I fell back onto the bed together.  We landed too close to the edge of the end of the bed and away we went.....rolled right off the end of the bed.  No way to "catch" myself cause I've got 40lbs of dog in my arms.  My knee hit the dresser and I crashed to the floor on my left side.  I've got some scrapes on my knee and everything else just hurts.  I guess I don't "bounce" as well as I used too!  It has been about 3 days since I fell and my neck and shoulders are still giving me problems, but mostly in the morning....everything is just stiff and painful.  Time will heal or I'll end up in the Chiropractor's office..  LOL!
I do have some photos to share today....here is our campsite in Richmond Indiana

Nice little park.....little old and rough around the edges, but great for an overnight or two.  Plus it is a passport America park so we stayed for $20.00.  It is called Deer Ridge Camping Resort....I'm not too convinced about the "resort" tag!
Here is a look out our back window.......

Nice!  But the sites are very close together, we were lucky cause the place was fairly deserted while we were there.  I took an early evening walk and did find some interesting subjects to photo.......have a look...

 

A little Angel bird bath......I loved the color and the soft reflection in the water.

And this guy.....pretty cool.....I had just the right lighting to "capture" this old man of the forest peacefully sleeping.
We are currently in Cincinnati.....had our on demand water heater checked out.  The techs think we have a faulty gas regulator as the unit seems to function properly, but can't achieve "high" flame.  Real nice bunch there at Precision Temp.  We think we spoke with both the president and the owner who came out to take a look at our unit.  They were both really interested in our problem and getting it solved.  We even got a Precision Temp cap and visor.  They couldn't replace the regulator for us, but told us where to find one.  Once the regulator is replaced they want us to come back in for a re-check.  So far, there has been no charge and they spent most of the day last Monday running diagnostics on our unit.
We are now staying in a very nice park known as Winton Woods here in Cincinnati.  Billy located and purchased the regulator and plans on installing today.  Photos to come......