camping – RVing With a Purpose

Neko Harbor Landing, Paradise Bay Zodiac Cruise, Disappointment

Monday, February 10, 2025

January 23rd was another beautiful day in Antarctica. It began with us being up around 6AM, out on the front deck of our ship, watching whales and sipping hot chocolate. What a way to start the day!

This morning we were blessed to see a pod of whales feeding nearby.

Following another delightful breakfast, we proceeded in our zodiac towards our morning destination at Neko Harbor. We had another large colony of Gentoo penguins entertaining us here. They are just so much fun to watch. We had two of the penguin researchers with us “professionally” counting penguins and their nests. Neko Harbor has been classified as an important bird and biodiversity area because it supports a breeding colony of more than 250 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins that nest on the hill near the beach to avoid risk of being washed away by the large waves frequently generated from the calving of the nearby glacier. We hiked up toward that glacier making sure we were avoiding the penguin highways. At the top this was the one place where we were allowed to sit down in the snow, relax and just soak in the views. On this landing, back down at a lower level, and around a curve, there was a quiet zone – an area where everyone would refrain from talking and just listen to the sounds of Antarctica. (The penguins were never quiet.) Our quiet zones were designated by the crew at various locations on various days just to remind us to be quiet and try to take it all in. “Taking it all in” when in such a massive, beautiful, and totally knew to us environment was pretty much impossible – but we did our best.

This is how the zodiacs are lowered into the water each time.

A zodiac motoring toward the landing at Neko Harbor.

The penguin colony

One of the professional penguin counters that traveled with us.

The landing at Neko Harbor was the only place we were allowed to sit or play in the snow – so somebody had to do it.

Gentoo penguins use pebbles to build their nests and use them to attract mates.

It’s always fun to watch penguins walk. They are much better at swimming.

Today was a very exciting day for the four of us because we learned this was this night we would be doing our overnight exploration on Antarctica. We would be camping on the continent! After lunch we had a mandatory briefing and training on how the excursion would go and we were given all our gear and instructions. Then we went back out in our zodiacs for the afternoon cruise.

When we had our pre-camping meeting the weather looked great.

The camping gear is stored in a large waterproof bag. We were taught how to set everything up so we could do it quickly in the cold.

The Captain had moved us to Paradise Bay during lunch and our briefing time. Paradise Bay is one of the most beautiful and pristine spots in all of Antarctica. (And we were actually here!) “Mountains and glaciers reflect off the calm water, and it’s a perfect place to soak up the peace and stillness of Antarctica.” Unbelievably amazing. Another vista that brought tears. Additionally, we saw whales, birds and a leopard seal. While being immersed in all the beauty, it seemed to suddenly begin to get foggy.

The low clouds in Paradise Bay gave it kind of a mysterious look.

The whales were not disturbed by the zodiacs (or the excited voices in the zodiacs.)

One of the icebergs we saw on the cruise

The guide found this salp in the water and was explaining it to the passengers. One of the passengers took it out of her hand and ate it. He said it tastes salty.

We headed back to the ship and noticed that the fog was getting worse. We had another briefing shortly before dinner and got the bad news that the overnight camping on Antarctica was off. The new forecast called for dense fog and below freezing temperatures – freezing fog. Our guide told us we would be frozen popsicles by morning if we camped out. As disappointed as we were (the campout was high on our list of must do items) we understood and appreciated that they were taking good care of us. So that evening everyone visited in the lounge for a while.

This is why we couldn’t camp on the ice.

Balloons and Trees

Thursday, October 24, 2024

After leaving Selma, on our way to South Carolina we made a too brief stop to visit Anne’s brother south of Atlanta. We had a great time visiting some sights around Peachtree City, sharing meals and catching up.

City Hall Fountain in Peachtree City. The tubes gradually fill with water, then tip forward and spill the water.

Since we arrived at Max’s brother’s house we have been enjoying our time here catching up and clearing trees downed by Hurricane Helene.

One of many trees down at Max’s brothers house. We were actually very blessed that none of the trees fell on the house or on our motorhome that was parked there.

The tree in the picture above pushed to the right-of-way for pickup

The four of us did take a weekend camping trip to North Carolina to see the Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville. We camped at Blake Farms RV Resort which is a small family-owned campground. There are large full hookup gravel sites, a short hiking trail, and all the miniature golf you want to play – at no charge. There is also a general store. We recommend it to anyone needing a campground in the Statesville area.

Our campsites at Blake Farms RV Resort

Saturday was our day to spend at the BalloonFest. We were up early to be able to see the first balloons go up at about 7:30. There were about 25 balloons in the morning flight and there was a competition to see which pilot could drop their streamers closest to the center mark. Later in the day there was a mass ascension of balloons and later still there was an evening glow. It was a day of great fun. We particularly enjoyed the special shape balloons.

We are back in Johnston currently, still working on trees and enjoying time with family.

Crew Campout in Higginsville, MO

September 28, 2024

We left the NOMADS Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 19, 2024 (a day early) and overnighted at Cracker Barrel in Bentonville, Arkansas and then drove on to Arcadian Moon RV Park in Higginsville, Missouri Friday morning. We were meeting with some of the Switch It Up Crew for a Crew Campout Friday and Saturday night. We had about 70 people – which is very large for a Crew Campout and included about 20 new members. We had a good time meeting the new crew and it was great to renew friendships with people we had not seen in a while. The weather Saturday didn’t cooperate, and we had several downpours that curtailed some of the morning and afternoon activities. However, we were blessed with late afternoon sunshine and cooler weather for the great potluck Saturday evening. What a great time we had eating and visiting with friends from several states.

After the heavy rains, this heavy RV that was parked in the boondocking area got stuck …

… but was rescued by another Crew member.

This truck was also rescued by a Crew member.

One of the odd sights we saw along the road in Missouri

We also spent some time with Sheila discussing future plans for the crew. For those that are not aware, it is through the sponsorship of Switch crew that we lead a Bible study for our RVers on Wednesday nights. It’s our “small group” since we are not able to attend small group at our church due to our travels. Such a special group of friends helping each other grow in faith. We are hoping to begin additional faith groups soon.

A really special time with some of our Wednesday Night Bible Study Group

We are now in Selma, Alabama setting up for a NOMADS Disaster Rebuild project to repair home damaged by last year’s tornado.