Head West not so young Man

[Gunny]

We're pretty much set on the places we go camping now, since the wife hasn't retired yet, so we're not going to be doing much exploring.

When we first started out camping and really didn't know much, I used to google for campgrounds about 6 or 7 hours of driving time in the direction we'd be headed. I'd pick one, then look for the nearest town's chamber of commerce home page to see what was available in the area that we'd be interested in seeing. By not driving long hours, we weren't worn out when we got to our first destination, and we would have some daylight available to do some recon. Destin, Fl, is one of our favorite places, and only about a 10 drive in a car, but we split the trip up with a night in Alabama down and back.

Over the years, we've found a lot of very good campgrounds (and a lot of bad ones), but we've always had a good time. If you're looking for a good restaurant, ask three locals where they'd take their wife/husband out for a great meal if they really weren't concerned with how much it costs. If one place is mentioned by two or three of those peoples, that's where to go!

We also use Passport America. That gets us about 50% off on overnight stays at a lot of campgrounds, but usually only good for 2 or three nights each time, but perfect for us as we don't plan on staying there long anyway.

 

[ronjhall]

When traveling we use RV Park Reviews. Gives a good idea what to expect at just about any park.

 

[EddieWalker]

This thread is titled Head West, but I've always had a Head East dream too. To go back to the little town of Brody in what is now the Ukraine and try to find my grandfather's relatives. Sadly almost all of them were shipped to the local **** death camp and were killed in 1942. About sixteen Augenblicks from what I can figure out. Pretty grim. But I still want to go back, I'm the family historian and everything stops before my grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1901.
I even spent hours on Google Earth looking down in that area, looking for cemeteries, and found two. that's where I would head first. maybe the family was totally eradicated, I don't know. 5% of the town escaped into the woods...

on that somber note, this trip West is going to be nothing but fun, take a million pics, see a lot of tractors, and eat a lot of interesting food. I also want to visit some Quaker Meetings further West, because their service is different than the traditional "Philadelphia" Meeting. Livelier I'm told...

My Mom's family is from the Ukraine. She was born in Canada, but her brothers and sisters where born there. They left when Stalin took over and moved to Northern Saskatchewan. My Grandfather kept in touch with his brother, but after his death in the early 80's, nobody knew anything about them. My brother just went through a divorce and decided to spend some time trying to find them. He got to the Ukraine in May and started looking up the records from the one letter he was able to get ahold of from the family in Canada. They name and city where it came from was all he had. The people at the government offices he talked to where very helpful and they where able to find a farm that my Grandfather had grown up on after several months. He went there and was able to find my Grandfathers brothers son and his family. It's been real exciting seeing the pictures and learning their names. I'm now Facebook friends with several of them and enjoy seeing their pics. What's funny is they comment on my pictures in Russian, which nobody can read. My mom grew up speaking Ukrainian, but has forgotten a lot of it.



Eddie

 

[daugen]

Ok, I've started over. Joined Google, seem to be able to save points ok. I'm also going to do this on Streets and Trips, as I have a gps sensor for my laptop and will track my whereabouts that way too. Learned from boating to always have backup.
Just like docking a boat, you have to make sure you can fit in there before you get to a place where you can't easily get out.

Have a bunch of to do's to get finished today before I can spend more time with this, but when I get a worthwhile number of points plotted, I'll repost it.

Neat pictures Eddie, thank you. My grandfather's father was a farmer and a cattle farmer. Something about fattening up the beef for market, where they shipped the cows away by train. The same train the ****'s shipped all the people away forty years later. But that pic in the graveyard is exactly what I hope someday to do. The problem is how to read Cyrilic.
maybe I"ll find a guide. I need to find out how Augenblick is written in Cyrilic. Maybe there's an online translation site?
I have this dyed in the wool German name and yet my roots are in the Ukraine. On that side. On the other side, I'm related to half of you, since one way or the other many of us go back to Miles Standish. My middle name is Allen and that name goes way way back. Am looking at the family tree on the wall, with Miles Standish at top. My mother's middle name was Delano, which also goes way back. Which is interesting, won't buy a small soda..., but
the past I can't find out about is on my father's side. Now that shall be the topic of another thread. Someday.

if your family tree has any of these names in it, we could very well be related. No, I do not do social media.
Delano,Pope, Wood, Willson, Davis, Sampson, Tobias, Lacy, Allen, and of course Rose, Mullins, Alden and Standish.

 

[dave1949]

Drew,
With the name Augenblick, it very possible your ancestors originated in Germany and moved to the Ukraine. This was not uncommon. There were, and still are, German heritage/cultural enclaves spread around Eastern Europe.

Following the end of the Cold War, some of those folks exercised their "right of return" under German law and moved back to Germany. The result was ghettos of barely German people living in what used to be housing areas for the various NATO troops. My German friend used to say the only thing German about them was they may have had a German Shepherd dog once. :laughing:

Eddie's pic of the family seated around the table could be lifted straight from rural Germany, minus the beer and schnapps bottles. :laughing: In German, what was on the table is colloquially called a "schmiere."


Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

World in Ukraine: German heritage alive in Transcarpathian Ukraine

 

[daugen]

Drew,
With the name Augenblick, it very possible your ancestors originated in Germany and moved to the Ukraine. This was not uncommon.

Thanks Dave, that was interesting reading. The lines were so fluid then, and once again, the populace gets rounded up and brutalized. Just like they did when the Huns came over the hill. Same old, same old.
Sure needed a hidey hole back then.
Luckily now the only hidey hole we need is from the surveillance drones...

Thinking of "coming over the hill" comparisons could be made with our Mexican border.
Luckily they usually aren't armed when they come 'over the hill" or through the Rio Grande, or however.
They are often, not always, the tired and poor, the yearning to be free, and employed. Apparently by any means possible.
And some carry drugs which is clearly not good.

So I don't think I'm coming too close to the border with my motorhome, more to see further North anyway. Not going through any inner cities either. I've seen my share of NJ inner cities, on business, the Newarks, Jersey City's and Patterson's of this world. Where coming to a stop at a light you can hear the clicking of door locks around you.
However, mostly when heading South, it's another world. And I'm looking forward to rediscovering part of it, and seeing some for the first time. After this a New England trip, where the people are also nice, seemingly the further North you go.
And then to the Keys and Gulf Coast for a month or two some winter. Who knows what life will bring by then.

 

[EddieWalker]

if your family tree has any of these names in it, we could very well be related. No, I do not do social media.
Delano,Pope, Wood, Willson, Davis, Sampson, Tobias, Lacy, Allen, and of course Rose, Mullins, Alden and Standish.

My Dad's side of the family is from Great Brittan. His parents where born in Canada, but their parents and siblings stayed there. My brother, the same one, did some searching years ago and was able to locate some of them. They are all distant cousins with different last names through marriage. He went and met them first, then my parents went and met them back in the 90's. Until Facebook, they where just names, but now I'm Facebook friends with several of them and enjoy keeping in touch.

On my Dad's side, the name Walker was created from the Macgregor Clan. It seems that the Macgregor's where not very nice people and because of some things they did, a bounty was put on anybody with the name Macgregor. Walker is one of about three dozen names that they came up with. On my Grandmothers side, Leach is their last name, which has proven to be a dead end so far. The only person of any historical interest is an Uncle who was a major in the Boer Wars that received a medal from the Queen. My Grandfather had the medal and information on it, but after he passed away, we think my cousin stole it and sold it for drug money. My cousin didn't last much longer after that, so nobody will ever know what happened to the medal. I did see it, along with a picture of him getting it and some paperwork on it. Kind of a big deal, but we don't even know his name anymore.

Eddie

 

[dave1949]

<snip>
However, mostly when heading South, it's another world. And I'm looking forward to rediscovering part of it, and seeing some for the first time. After this a New England trip, where the people are also nice, seemingly the further North you go.
.

If you hear a banjo playin', run like he11 :laughing:

People from metro areas, as observed by bumpkins, have their "shields up" a bit with strangers. Once you get past the initial suspicions they aren't all that different.

Rural folks have their "shields up" too, it is done differently though. I think how it's done differs by region too.

Based on stereotypes, a New Englander may be more likely to tell someone they are a danged fool. Other areas may agree about the danged fool part, but just smile and later say "bless his heart." :laughing: What do you think?

 

[RoMad]

I have not read all of the posts, so please forgive me if I repeat what others have said. We have been taking 4 week trips in our motorhomes for the last 26 years and have been on most of your route. A few things that come to mind that we enjoyed

At the grand canyon ride the mules halfway down. It is an all day trip and is well worth it. You should make reservations but both times we did it we just showed up early and got someones cancellation.

The road to the sun at Glacier National park is one of the best drives we have ever done.

At Cheyenne Wy. they have rodeos every day in the summer. (or at least they used to)

In Asheville NC afer you go to the Biltmore go downtown and ride the tourist trolley. It is really interestoing to hear the city history and they take you up to a beautiful old hotel on a mountainside that has a fireplace you can walk into and also a really good car museum.

Ride the narrow gauge train from Silverton to Durango Co. It is a beautiful ride.

Mount Rushmore is really awsome to me.

If you go to Smokey Mtn. National park make sure and drive the loop road around Cades Cove. ( i have told my wife that is one place she could spread my ashes someday)

 

[buckeyefarmer]

And if you do Cades cove, go on top of the mountain to clingmans dome. YOu might want to cross from NC into TN via smokies instead of I40 from ashville.