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After our mini-vacation, we returned to South Lake Tahoe for a few final days. The highlight of this time was a boat tour to Thunderbird Lodge. Steve and Wende’s new neighbor in Tahoe runs these tours in addition to tours to Emerald Bay. Their business is called Cruise Tahoe.
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Wheatland sort of amounted to a time filler for us. We had booked a spot in Cheyenne for the Labor Day period some time ago and needed to fill a couple of days before going to Cheyenne. In Wheatland we parked at Mountain View RV Park.
We took advantage of our proximity to the Fort Laramie National Historic Site to make a day trip out there. Located at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte River, Fort Laramie was founded in the 1830’s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century. It was a primary resupply point for those traveling along the Oregon Trail. In 1849, the Army purchased the site in order to provide protection for the many emigrants travelling though this region. Later on, Fort Laramie became central to issues which arose between the local Native American tribes and the growing emigrants and settlers. A number of treaties were negotiated and signed here. After the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the importance of Fort Laramie gradually decreased until it was decommissioned in 1890.
Next stop: Cheyenne, WY
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As we previously mentioned, our original plan was to visit Savannah, GA, in early October. But then Hurricane Matthew came along and we had to re-route, heading south along the Gulf Coast of Florida as far as the Florida Keys, then north along the Atlantic Coast. Weeks ago, we had already booked a spot for an extended stay beginning in mid-November in Navarre, FL, on the Gulf Coast of the Florida panhandle between Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach. Bottom line, in order to get back to Savannah, we stopped off in Brunswick, GA. This would save us 150 driving miles to get to Navarre.
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St. Augustine bills itself as the oldest city in the United States. When we stopped here we parked at the Stagecoach RV Park just off Interstate 95.
The territory we now know as Florida was first claimed for Spain by Ponce de Leon in 1513. On September 8, 1565, St. Augustine was founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles. In 1763, the Spanish gave up Florida to Great Britain following the Seven Years’ War, only to regain control in 1784. In the years following the American revolution, it became increasingly difficult for the Spanish to control the Florida colony so in 1819 they relinquished it to the United States.
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The village of Urbanna is located east of Richmond, VA, on the Rappahannock River which connects to the Chesapeake Bay. We parked at the lovely Bethpage Camp Resort in Urbanna. It is a large RV park with terrific facilities, however, since we arrived after the Labor Day weekend it has been very quiet here.
Second Act 