As with most families with school-aged children, August means that summer is ending and another school year is upon us. Since my kids’ school starts a bit later than most, we took the opportunity to get in one last vacation before returning to the school year routine of early mornings, packing lunches and PTO meetings.
We did a rather “touristy” experience in June, buying tickets for an experience and a museum. This road trip involved multiple hotels with the first one being my husband’s absolutely favorite hotel we have ever stayed at. He likes the outdoors and rustic décor. Thus, staying at the Big Cypress Lodge inside the Bass Pro Shop is the crème de la crème in hotel stays. I have to admit, it’s a very nice place. One day, we will actually have time for me to visit the on-site spa.
Anywho, on this multi-day trip to the touristy place in Kentucky, we did several things but when I asked my kids about what were their favorite times, one of the top picks was a rather random, last minute side excursion we did that didn’t require any tickets or reservations or even a paved parking lot. We had an hour to kill before the museum we were scheduled to view opened so I did a quick Internet search of things to do near Petersburg, KY. Very few options showed up; one of those options was the USS Sachem Ruins. Someone on TripAdvisor provided some helpful tips on how to find this derelict boat and between those and the main directions, we decided to venture forth to check this out for ourselves.
We drove through winding, paved roads and the pavement became a gravel road that kind of looked like a private drive but we kept going. Part of the road was washed out a bit by a rather large culvert but we kept going a bit further and found what the helpful tipster said was an RV park. If that was an RV park, it definitely was not quite how I would define one; there were only three RVs spread far apart that looked like they had been there a while. However, my husband cheerfully pointed out that the gate was open, so we drove down the drive to see if we could find the ruins.
The notes had said the USS Sachem was in a tributary off the Ohio River. We got to the end of the RV park and looked around but didn’t immediately see it. The Ohio River was to our right and nothing in front of us but a creek. It wasn’t until we got out of the car and started walking up the creek that we saw the boat, rusting away beneath the growing vegetation that was taking over. It has a pretty fascinating history that we were not aware of at first. It is worth looking up if you have some time. What other boat can you name that has ties to Thomas Edison, Ronald Reagan and Madonna as well as has history in World War I and World War II?
My kids ranked trekking down the shores of the tributary to look at a rusting boat that sported more growth than our parched yard back in Texas as one of the highlights for them. No electronic/animatronic interactions, no lights, bells, nor whistles. Just us getting out and walking through nature to see the impact nature had on a 100+ year old award-winning Navy boat. It was a lightbulb for the hubs and I; finding enjoyment didn’t have to cost much and it didn’t have to include electronics. I can appreciate electronics but there are times when the kids need a lengthy break from those things. I can tell a difference in behavior and attitudes.
With that epiphany, we purchased the yearlong Texas State Parks Pass in July so we could start immersing our kids in more experiences where we get back to nature even though we live in the country. It is good for our mental health and the wallet. We visited two state parks this past week and for five nights, we spent $165 for lodging. That is less than what we spent for one night at the Big Cypress Lodge. The frugal me is pretty okay with that. I will share more in the next post about which parks we tried out and what our thoughts were, but I will say that if you haven’t visited the state parks in Texas, you are missing out. There is so much to do and see at these places and the costs can be minimal.
Stay green, fellow Texans! Get out there and enjoy that nature!
Going Green In Texas 