Fair Play, South Carolina

On October 31, 2005 we arrived in Fair Play, South Carolina. It was partly cloudy, warm and humid. This Thousand Trails preserve is called Carolina Landing. The trees are beautiful this time of year! Located on beautiful Hartwell Lake, this preserve offers a natural setting for many outdoor activities. The lake's calm surface and gentle breezes are ideal for sailing, water-skiing or fishing. Snow skiers find ample opportunity to enjoy this sport at the numerous ski areas located in the neighboring North Carolina mountains. Pendleton offers many restored historical buildings and museums with exhibits of pioneer days, as does the campus at Clemson University. There are 72 full-hookups here and it offers lots of amenities. There is a basketball court, boat dock, country store, family lodge, horseshoe pits, just to name a few. For more information go to www.thousandtrails.com. We really liked our stay here. The park had a potluck on Fridays and we were able to attend two of those. Lots of good food and nice people.

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Wilmington, Ohio

We arrived here on 9.22.05. Very pretty and the leaves were starting to change color also. Our neighbors were real nice people and we sat by their fire one night and visited. We also went to see the Wright Brothers Air Force Museum and it was really neat! This Thousand Trails preserve offers 170 acres of gently rolling land surrounding a lake that offers good fishing and calm waters for canoeing (boats available). Eight miles away state parks of Cowan Lake and Caesar Creek offer fishing, boating, swimming, and horseback riding. Local attractions include King's Island Amusement Park and the Clinton Country Historical Society's Museum in Wilmington. This preserve has an adult lodge, basketball court, campfire circle, canoes, enclosed swimming pool, family lodge, fishing, horseshoe pits, nine-hole mini golf course, picnic area, playground, shuffleboard, spa, tennis courts and volleyball courts. I rate these preserves as we go and I rated this one as very nice.
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Clinton, Indiana

We arrived here on 9.2.05. I bet you can't wait for me to get caught up right? Well, as a matter of fact we are here right now and will be headed north next Tuesday and then back out west! Thank the Lord. This Thousand Trails preserve is called Horseshoe Lakes. Nestled in a beautiful setting of spring-fed lakes and wooded landscapes, this 290-acre preserve offers recreational activities for every member of your family. There are 11 spring-fed lakes in all, including a horseshoe-shaped lake for which the preserve is named. Ten of these lakes offer excellent fishing, while the 11th is rather shallow with a base of rock and sand, makin it an especially inviting swimming lake for families and children. It has quite a few amenities such as a family center, hiking trails, horseshoe pits, laundry facilities, miniature golf, picnic shelter, shuffelboard courts, swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts and a basketball court. This is one of our favorite preserves and the people here are so nice. It is just 30 minutes from Terre Haute where you can dine in your choice of restaurant or shop in any of your favorite stores. It is also known as the 'Covered Bridge Capitol' and they have an annual festival every October. We hope to go this year.
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Chills and Thrills at Thousand Trails Resorts

'Chills and Thrills Greet Members at TT Halloween Haunts' . It is time for a short change of pace from the traveling days. It is almost Halloween and spirited fun is brewing at your favorite Thousand Trails preserves this fall. Besides rig-to-rig trick or treating, kids and families can enjoy a cauldron full of Halloween festivities, from spook trails to creepy haunted houses. In addition to costume- and pumpkin-carving contests, which most of the preserves will offer, you'll also find a wide array of frightful and not-so-frightful events. You can make caramel apples at Pacific City, bowl pumpkins at Colorado River, bob for apples at Bay Landing and cozy up around the campfire at Soledad Canyon to hear scary ghost stories.
Would you believe that the weekend before Halloween is the busiest weekend of the year at the Chesapeake Bay Preserve? Not the Fourth of July or Memorial Day Weekend; it's Halloween that brings members out in droves. "You have never seen so many kids at the park, "Preserve Manager Terry DuRose said. "Our members really get into Halloween and go all out for our campsite-decorating contest and costume contest. "DuRose says it's standing room only for the costume contest. One of the funniest costumes DuRose remembers is when a group of adults rented cow costumes. "It was hysterical because we didn't just have one cow, but a whole herd of cows were running around the park!" DuRose recalls with a giggle.
Aliens will be landing at the Medina Lake Preserve as its old Riverside House is transformed into an out-of-this-world haunted house on October 28, helping to raise money for a good cause. Every year, the haunted house has a different theme and this year's theme will be "Aliens". Last year their haunted house, along with a bake sale raised $500 for Christmas for Children.
We thought that was pretty good for one night of fund-raising. The recreation director and some volunteers put their imaginations to work, coming up with creative ways to scare guests. For the rest of the Halloween weekend, kids and families can take part in pumpkin carving, costume contests and an evening dance with the Jimmy Cribb band. For trick or treating, kids are carted around the preserve on trailers pulled by tractors. (how lucky is that!). More spine-tingling haunted houses will be open at Verde Valley, San Benito, La Conner,m Soledad Canyon and Lake Texoma. For a nail-biting stroll down a darkened trail, head to Lake Conroe, Lake Whitney or the Hershey Preserve. You never know what creatures might be hiding behind the next tree. This year, the Hershey Preserve will debut a new haunted trail. They are updating their trail with all new skits. It's huge event in the community and at the preserve, and they want to keep it exciting for everyone. The haunted trail is open on the two weekends before Halloween. For tamer activities, you can pick a pumpkin from the Hershey Preserve's own pumpkin patch to carve and decorate, and then take part in the seed spitting contest. The trick or treating takes place on the Saturday before Halloween. Members who welcome little goblins coming to their door hang an orange colored pumpkin in their RV window. It's a good system, so the kids easily know which sites to go to for candy. For more ghostly and ghastly entertainment, try to find your way out of Lake Minden's haunted corn maze or take a ride on their "hay wagon of doom". For younger kids, the preserve is planning a Halloween festival with games and prizes.
Remember, many of the preserves plan their Halloween festivities for the weekend before Halloween, so be sure to check the activity schedule for the exact dates. Then pack your costumes, lots of candy and get ready for a spook-tacular Halloween!
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Spring Grove, Minnesota

Hidden Bluffs Resort (Resorts of Distinction), is in the Heart of Minnesota's Bluff County surrounded by Amish Communities and endless Trout Fishing. The Resort is complete with walking and hiking trails, swimming pool, and mini-golf. Playground, bonfire pits, horseshoe pits and a live stream for on-site tubing and fishing. Hidden Bluff Resort is complete with 195 acres of land. There are 106 sites of which there are 24 full hook-ups, 67 partial hook-ups and 15 dry sites. When we were there at the end of August the weather was perfect but the pool was not heated. That was okay because the places to hike were awesome. Everything was green and beautiful. Their amenities include beautiful tent sites, grassy RV sites, outdoor swimming pool, playground, mini-golf, laundry facilities, horseshoe pits, walking and hiking trails. The local attractions for this area are beautiful Amish farms with guided tours, shopping & antiques, art galleries, community theatre, nearby Niagara Cave, Root River and surrounding streams provide excellent canoeing, tubing and trout fishing. Root River Trail with 60 plus miles of bicycle and walking trails, excellent restaurants & shopping. It got cool in the evenings but we had a wonderful time.

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Rapid City, South Dakota

We arrived in Rapid City on 7.21.05 and will be staying for the Sturgis Rally. The weather was partly cloudy but warm, so we are looking forward to some beautiful rides on our Harley. The resort here is and ROD (Resorts of Distinction) and is called "Rushmore Shadows". It is centrally located in the heart of the Black Hills, midway between Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Rapid City. Rushmore Shadows Resort allows easy access to all area attractions including Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, and historic Deadwood, South Dakota. Rushmore Shadows is your quiet retreat in the ponderosa pines of the Black Hills. It has 160 full hook-ups and trailer and cabin rentals. The amenities are grassy tent sites, shaded RV sites, pull-through RV sites, heated outdoor swimming pool, playground, sports courts and equipment check out, expansive commons, bonfire pit, horseshoe pits, clubhouse, convenience store, laundry facilities, free showers, clean restrooms, public telephones, bus tour access, rental car access and picnic area. The local attractions are recreational access including, fishing, boating, waterskiing, rock climbing & hiking in the Black Hills National Forest, and 10 area lakes. 10 minutes from shopping centers and 6 golf courses, 2 area water parks and 17 movie theaters. Historical attractions of the old west, scenic byways, amusement parks, and shows. The list is never ending. We went into Sturgis to check out the town before the rally and I got my first tattoo. It is a cross with a rose on it. We went to Mount Rushmore about 4 times while we were there because it is such an awesome sight to see. We also went to Custer State Park twice so we could check out the buffalo. There was a lot to see. Saw Rushmore Caves, very beautiful and big. Then we went to the rally and had a blast! I had bought a tank top and I had Arlen Ness (King of Bikers) sign it and his son Cory signed it also. I also got it autographed by Rick Fairless with Stroker Dallas and Randy Simpson from Milwaukee Iron. What a great group of people too. It so happened that around 600,000 bikes showed up that week for Sturgis Rally 2005. We ended up staying 5 weeks here so we could see everything and we really want to go back and see the Black Hills again but not during Sturgis Bike week. Too busy. :-)
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