Focht Family Blog

Nathan and I have decided that we should stay in one place for the summer so that the kids can get some time with other kids. So we came up with a list of what we wanted in a campground and I stumbled upon a nice campground in Transfer, PA named Shenango Valley RV Park. So, instead of heading south when we left Iowa we headed to Pennsylvania so we could check out the campground. We called the owners and they told us we could come out and look at the campground on Monday because they were at an RV show in Erie. We arranged to have dinner on Sunday with my Aunt Sue and Uncle James in Cleveland.

As is often the case with our travels we changed plans. We drove to Erie and spent the night there on Saturday so we could go to the RV show and check out the campground exhibits. Erie was a scary town. We actually had a teenager throw a snowball at us while driving through the streets downtown. I told Nathan I was glad that it was just a snowball.

The RV show was held at the Bayfront Convention Center. It is on the lake and the lake was frozen. I took some pictures of the icy lake and of the marina with all of the boats out of the water…

The RV show had 18 campgrounds exhibiting but we decided that Shenango was still the only one we wanted to look at. Next we drove back to Cleveland for dinner with my aunt and uncle. Here is a picture of my Aunt Sue and my mom while we were waiting for dinner…

After dinner we drove to a Walmart in Chardon, OH for the night. The next day we went back to Pennsylvania to check out the campground. We had a lot of fun running up and down the hills covered in snow. We checked out a couple of areas for possible sites, the playground, the pool, and the river. We ended up putting a deposit down on two seasonal sites at the top of the campground further away from the playground. The sites are further away from overnight sites so we figure there will be less traffic on “our” street. Nathan is already designing the deck he is going to build so we can sit outside and watch the kids. We will try it for a season and if we like it then we will continue to “season” and travel during the winter months.

From Colorado we drove to Iowa. We had already called a campground that we had sites at but when we called again they said they were covered in ice and we wouldn’t be able to get in. We located a campground in a small town named Albia. It was called Indian Hills and is part of a motel. It was quite nice. They gave you a coupon for two drinks per site and 10% off at the restaurant. So we went to their restuarant for dinner and with all of the coupons it was pretty inexpensive.

The next morning Nathan went to work at one of his customer’s offices, Sinclair Interational. While he worked, my mom and I went back to the restaurant for lunch and then I took the kids to the indoor pool and jacuzzi that is with the hotel. After swimming we used their shower room and everyone took showers and dressed in dry, warm clothes before heading back to the RV for some Wii Fit play time.

While we were in Denver we stopped by Paladin Press, as I mentioned before. A few of the employees came in to look at the RV and they took a few pictures. Here is Kathy playing with Josh’s toy helmet…

And a very cute picture of Misty…

After showing off the RV we went down the street to a Walmart and called my sister-in-law’s sister, Melissa, and her and her husband Todd drove to meet us for dinner with their kids. They drove to the restaurant and we walked a half mile to meet them. I love it when you can walk off the calories going to and from the meal. :) We had a woderful dinner at one of my new favorites… Red Robin.

Here is a picture of Melissa with Josh after dinner…

Todd and the new baby Braedon (I hope I spelled that right)…

And a picture of their daughter Abigail who was playing with Samantha and Timmy before heading home…

Driving through the mountain passes were so beautiful that we have decided that we are going to spend next January in Colorado and try to find a one month pass to skiing. Here are my favorite pictures of the mountains…

Unfortunately my camera finally took one too many tumbles. When I started taking pictures in Utah I found that the only way I could get a clear picture was to zoom all the way in. When I put the pictures on my computer I found that the pictures looked like they were in a bubble. The middle was clear but the edges were blurry. It is really too bad because there were some beautiful mountains in Utah. Part of the time it looked like snow covered mountains and then it would look like you were in Arizona with the painted desert mountains. Here are my favorite pictures of the day that came out the best.

We were planning on making it to Denver but night was falling fast and we wanted to see the mountains as we went over so we stopped for the night at a Walmart in Rifle, CO. Thankfully my mom let me borrow some money and I was able to buy a new camera. My last two have been Fuji. This time I bought a Kodak. I am hoping it is more durable.