RV LIFE Podcast

RVing Kentucky: Discover This Hidden Gem Campground Experience

• Patti Hunt • Season 4 • Episode 141

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In this immersive episode, I (Patti Hunt) am on location at one of the most unique RV campground experiences in the country. Joined by Tonja Lesmeister, co-owner of Firefly Hills and seasoned full-time RVer, the episode explores how this family-run campground blends community, creativity, homesteading, and education into an unforgettable stay for RVers. From whimsical children's spaces and mud kitchens to scenic hikes and local gourmet stops, Firefly Hills offers something for everyone seeking more than just a parking spot.

Guest Bio and Links:

Tonja Lesmeister is the co-owner of Firefly Hills Kentucky, a full-time RVer, and her husband, Troy, designed the campground to reflect their values of community, creativity, and sustainable living.

  • Website: fireflyhillskentucky.com
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fireflyhillskentucky
  • Instagram: @fireflyhillskentucky

Key Takeaways:

  • Firefly Hills offers full hookups, spacious 70-ft sites, heated bathhouses, and a century-old guest house.
  • Unique kid-friendly spaces, such as the Whimsical Woods and Hidden Hangout, feature a mud kitchen, a fairy village, and a paracord web.
  • Guests can participate in homesteading activities, including gardening, orchard work, and daily chicken chores.
  • The campground emphasizes community with shared fire pits, themed events, and social spaces.
  • Nearby attractions include Red River Gorge, underground kayaking, local farms, and unique eateries.

Resources Mentioned:

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Patti Hunt:

Looking for a unique camping experience in Kentucky, Firefly Hills is the place to go. I'm Patti Hunt and you're listening to the RV Life Podcast. Tanya what makes Firefly Hills so?

Tonja Lesmeister:

unique. I think what makes it unique is that we are full-time RVers. We, you know, traveled and lived full-time in our RV for the past four and a half years, and so we knew what amenities that you know long-term, you know RVers want, not just the weekenders and so those features, I think, is what makes us unique. It sets us apart from other campgrounds.

Patti Hunt:

And we're going to talk about all the unique features of Firefly Hills, Kentucky. We're going to talk about the area and what's special about this episode. I actually did an episode with you a year ago almost a year to the day, so this is cool. I decided to come back and be on site and now people could actually see the things we're talking about. So people could go check out the campground review on my new YouTube channel, Inspired Travels with Patti and when they go there, if they like what they see, they should subscribe and, you know, give a thumbs up and also to comment on things. You know, if they have other suggestions for you that they might like to see in a campground, yeah, we love that.

Tonja Lesmeister:

We hear from our work campers and our guests all the time, and we're open to considering any ideas.

Patti Hunt:

Great.

Patti Hunt:

So we are going to jump in. Today. We are going to talk about this unique campground experience, and when you and I talked to unique, I had never seen anything like that. This what I saw, what I heard you talk about. A year ago, I, my husband and I started traveling. As some people know our story it's been over four years now. We traveled back and forth across the country three and a half times. We love to see the unique, unusual experiences. It's why, to this day, I've never been to a national park. We always found those cool places and people, things to experience. And then, as some people know, a year ago, I started traveling solo. And now what's cool about coming here to Firefly Hills? As people will hear about and see on the video, there is a beautiful 100-year-old house that people could stay in, which I've had the experience, and it has been amazing. So these are just some of the things we're going to touch on today and before we get started, as people are traveling around, I love to talk about open roads resorts. They have seven incredible parks and they're in Idaho, nebraska, new Mexico, two in Texas, one in Wyoming, and their brand new park is in Louisiana, near New Orleans, and that is called and I hope I'm not messing the name up Bayou Barataria RV Park. I hope I said that right. All of these parks are highly favored because the RVers have given their honest reviews of these parks. So they are all highly favored and people can see what people are saying, what RVers are saying, by going to campgroundsrvlifecom or openroadresortscom.

Patti Hunt:

Now, as I said, you were on the podcast a year ago. We're going to put a link to that in the show notes, but I want people to get to know who you are. So you and your husband, troy, were world schoolers. We'll explain a little bit of what that is to people. After doing your world schooling, you decided to go full time in an RV, love traveling, and then we're going to hear the story about how, at some point, you decided buying an RV park or piece of ground was a good idea. So let's just jump in. Welcome, tanya to the RV.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Life Podcast.

Patti Hunt:

Thank you, Patty, you are welcome. So first of all, for people who don't know real quick what is world schooling Sure?

Tonja Lesmeister:

World schooling is. I compare it. It's very similar to road schooling. It's traveling around the world and educating your children while you're doing that slow travel, international travel. So it's very similar to full-time RV life. It's just doing it around in other countries and many RVers actually dabble in that as well, and that's how we got introduced to full-time RV travel was through a conference that we attended World Schooling Conference, where there were people at this World Schooling Conference who, when they're not world schooling, they are RVing full-time.

Patti Hunt:

Your kids had grown or most of them had grown and you decided that RVing sounded like a good idea. So how'd you get to that step? You heard about it from people you were talking to. Yep who? I know it was your idea. It was you and Troy. I know it's your idea. I know they're all your ideas.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Troy just goes along with it. He does, he's a trooper. Let me tell you, I'm the dreamer and he's the one who oftentimes makes it happen.

Patti Hunt:

And right now out the window as I look, mowing the lawn, and he has a full-time job outside of here. But he is here, he's been here for the last couple of days and he's out mowing the lawn, so people hear the lawnmower going you know, the RV park life never ends. That's true, that's true.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, so we we were had been to a world schooling conference in 2018, met some of these cool people who were you know. I heard that they were living in their RV when they were not world schooling, and they were back in the US and we were attending our second world schooling conference and I said to my husband hey, let's, this is our second conference, let's have dinner with a different family each night, and, of course, I'm the one who made the invitation and invited people, and by the third night, he's like I'm noticing a pattern here. All these people we've had dinner with are full-time RVers when they're in the US.

Tonja Lesmeister:

I'm like funny how that happens. And then so that is how I was able to convince him to become full-time RVers is by exposing him to other people who were doing it, and he could get all of his questions answered, and so you were full-time for how long?

Tonja Lesmeister:

So we started full-time RVing in November of 2020. So we've been living full-time in our RV for four and a half years. We still live full-time in our RV. We are just not moving as often now since we opened the RV park, but we do still take trips in our RV and in the winter months we do our own exploring across the US.

Patti Hunt:

And you have a son that has been traveling with you as well. Yes, so you're homeschooling.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yep, our youngest son is now 17. He's the only kid out of our five kids that we raised that has traveled with us. Some of the older kids have done a little bit of world schooling with us, but he's the one that has been around the most and he's the one who's been with us in the RV.

Patti Hunt:

So, as we talk about I said in the beginning, unique, and I honestly wish there was a different word what you're doing here in this campground again is different than anything I've ever seen. Campground again is different than anything I've ever seen. I've gone to RV parks where maybe they're doing a little bit of gardening type things, or they have special areas for the kids, or, you know, you have the Gaga pit, which is the new big thing that we'll talk about for people who don't know what that is. So you have different parts and they have what they call unique things. Your unique is a different sort of Next level, next level, next level unique. Yeah, so let's just jump in and talk about it.

Patti Hunt:

Sure, you did this world schooling, so obviously you had a different idea of how you wanted to educate your son. And then you're very much about community. We're going to talk about and conserving where you can. So let's talk about how you got to this place of such a unique place. First of all, I just want to let people know you have 15 sites, 15 RV sites that are full hookup. They're going to see all of this if they go to the campground review video, but I want to let people know, you have 15 full hookup sites.

Patti Hunt:

These are long, 70 feet minimum, yep, 70 feet minimum. There is space on both sides. There is a picnic table, full hookups, electric water, sewer, everything you can need at that site. There are fire pits here. There are community fire pits Because it is a lot about community for you. There's the laundry room, which we RVers love and need. There are shower, there are bath houses. So there were times I wanted to get out of my RV and take a nice long hot shower, even if you were on full hookups, those showers that you have. There's space.

Patti Hunt:

I can feel like I can move they have heated floors and they have heated floors, which my RV did not and you have a little store that you have merchandise, but you have local products and you're bringing in more. Okay, that's standard. That's the standard sort of stuff in a campground the fact that you bring in local products local honey, soap, teas, teas, hot sauce, local teas and you're going to bring from the local community, which is awesome. But for the most part, we've got the campground and people could stay. Let's talk about the stuff that just makes this unique. First of all, kids are obviously a big important part of who you are. First of all, kids are obviously a big important part of who you are. You want to talk about how you've adopted some kids and fostered them.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, we've done foster care. We have adopted kids, international adopted kids. We hosted over 50 exchange students when we were in our sticks and bricks. They were mostly college students so they didn't live with us, which made it a little bit easier, but exposure to different cultures and still, you parent young adults. You've got young adults. You understand that. So, yeah, kids are a big part of who we are and what we do.

Tonja Lesmeister:

My background is social work. I always worked with kids during my social work career as well. So, yes, our kids space is top notch. Um, you will not find a traditional playground, um, here at Firefly Hills. Um.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And how I decided what to do with my kids space is I asked the kids themselves. So I pulled all the kids together on property. I said what do you want? They gave me three and a half pages of what they wanted in their space and I'm just slowly knocking them out. You know and what we have. I'll describe some of the things we have now and just know that when our guests come I just tell them. I said, well, next time I'll have some new things, but some of the unique things we have here.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And, again, the kids helped to name the spaces too. So we've got the whimsical woods and in the whimsical woods we have a mud kitchen on that One of our camp uh work camp families helped build and it's located on a piece of the property that has a natural spring down there, so I endless flow of clean, fresh water where kids can make mud and they can make mud muffins and mud pizzas and whatever down there. So we've got the mud kitchen down there, which kids love and I love, cause my site is just up the hill and through the tree so I can't see the kids down there but I can hear them playing and so I know that it's well-used, cause I hear kids down there all the time.

Patti Hunt:

And again, you described this on the podcast episode last year and I had this idea in my head okay, mud, and I know my kids. I had a kid that loved to play in the mud and I let her. I, you know it's, it's. Some people are like, oh no, you don't get dirty, but you know, that's experience. Um, and I had this vision, I guess, in my head. But when we walked down there it was nothing like what I thought, it was, just beyond. And I said to you I want to go down and play in the mud. I unfortunately don't have time to go down, yes, or I would have gone down. I have adults that go down there. Yeah, absolutely, I could see it being just such a serene space. Yeah, and again, because of this podcast episode, I want people to know about this campground, but that they can also see it, because it's just like nothing else. When you say unique, you mean it.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, so we've got the mud kitchen down there. We just installed a couple parent benches down there, so the little little ones who can't be down there by themselves, there's a place comfortably where parents can sit, because kids literally spend hours down there. Um, on that same hours down there and that same area down there which is very magical, because you've got this, you know two inch, you know flow of water going down there is also our fairy village, and so kids can go down there and they can build a fairy house. And I tell them, when they walk through the little arbor that we have down there, that they're entering the land of imagination where fairies and gnomes and unicorns live, you know, and so I do on occasion guide them through building these fairy houses, and sometimes they just go and do it on their own, and then our only rule with that is that you only use things that come from nature, so pine, cones and sticks and rocks and moss, and you know whatever you can find down there to build these cute little houses and forts and museums. And then they tell me who lives there.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Is this a fairy? Is this a gnome? Who is this? So that is the whimsical woods area. We have a second area in the woods in a different part of the property called the Hidden Hangout, and down there we have what's the best feature for the kids. Anyways, down there is the web and the web. It's hard to explain because it's not very common, but it is kind of like a trampoline made out of paracord in the trees, with sides not quite as bouncy and it's a little bit bigger than your traditional trampoline, sides not quite as bouncy and it's a little bit bigger than your traditional trampoline.

Patti Hunt:

I think it's quite bouncy, I've got to say. I tried to stand up in it. So I went down there last night. I tried to stand up. I had to crawl across. I could see where kids would have a blast, oh yeah, but I went and laid down for probably close to an hour, just laid there and it bounces and it just. It was magical In the middle of the forest. Yes, in the middle of the forest. You look up and you see all these trees and they have leaves on them right now. I could see a break in the trees so I could see the stars and the fireflies yeah, the fireflies. It was truly magical.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, we have done an evening event once where we brought in glow sticks on the web and the kids had so much fun. But yeah, so the web is probably the most unique feature down there, but we also have other things down there as well and, like I said, we keep adding to it. We've got the ninja course down there. We have teepee down there. The kids have built a little teepee area down there with um fallen small trees, um, we're adding a little campsite, cause the kids wanted to tent camp. You know they're used to RV camping but they wanted to tent camp. So there's a little fire pit, a mock fire pit area for them to pretend to have to be camping. We've got cars made out of big logs that they can sit in and pretend they're driving someplace.

Tonja Lesmeister:

We have a couple of unique swings down there. We have the surf stand up surf swing. We have the net swing. We'll be adding a slack line and the zip line soon. And also down in that area is our hammock circle, and that's always an argument between the adults if it's the napping space or the kids if it's a play space in the hammock circle. But it's right on the edge of the woods so it's shaded most of the day, but at night, if you want to go down there, you can stargaze down there in the hammocks as well.

Patti Hunt:

Yes, I did not get to do that, but that is one of the things I mean. You probably find me down there in the morning because it is just to lay out there and look at the stars. There's not light pollution around here. Oh my goodness, I just you know, obviously I'll have to come back and do all these things you will.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Well, let me tell you about the rest of the kids spaces. We've got the Gaga ball pit that you mentioned earlier, and, for those who aren't familiar with that, it's kind of like dodgeball, but without teams in a a roundish, you know area pen pit. It's like a big playpen. It's the pit. We also have pickleball basketball. We have two fishing ponds that you can keep the fish or catch and release. That's up to you. And then, of course, we have trails all over, and then we have the thinking spot, and the thinking spot is a single table and a chair with a jar that has different thinking prompts in it that you can either journal on, just ponder about, or have a discussion with your family, and so those thinking prompts have to do with nature, inclusion and travel.

Patti Hunt:

So much here, and you have the garden, as you said. Yeah, let's talk about the garden and the chickens and the trees, yep.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So we offer homesteading experience. One of the things that myself and other full-time RVers said that they really missed was having a garden and teaching their kids where food comes from. So we have a well-established orchard. I've taken out some older trees and put in some new ones as well, but I have just to name a few hazelnut, apple, cherry, pear, peach, persimmon, pawpaw trees in that area, blueberries, raspberries, and then we have our vegetable garden Trees in that area, blueberries, raspberries, and then we have our vegetable garden. We have raised beds and then another area for garden where our guests can come and help themselves.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Right now we have lettuce, kale, onion, cucumber, green beans and mint, and then we also have down in the park some whiskey barrels we are in Kentucky after all, so I have to make a little nod to the history there. So we have whiskey barrels down in the park that have tomato, pepper plants and then herbs as well. So you can help yourself to any of those to enhance your meal when you're here cooking, and the kids just can help themselves. Like I always tell the adults good luck finding any ripe raspberries, because that's where the kids head first every morning to pick and eat them right there, but also kids and adults can join us for chicken chores once a day, every day, and see what it's like to care for chickens. So they can help collect the eggs, feed the chickens, give them fresh water, let them out to free range so they get a little flavor of that as well. And in the future we're hoping to add some more farm animals to the property too.

Patti Hunt:

And this is a huge property, so many things that you talked about. There's so much to do here, homesteading. You refer to full-time RVers and as a full-time RVer, I miss my garden, so being able to go out there. You know, I said I looked at some weeds that I was going to get. I knew once I started I wouldn't stop pulling out the weeds, which you're more than happy to have people do. But for the people who are part-time, that are trying to show their kids or, you know, maybe don't have the garden.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Maybe they don't live on a homestead, maybe they don't have a garden, maybe they're in an apartment or something like that To really be able to get out there and get fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs every day.

Patti Hunt:

I had eggs today that were just. It's not the same, you know, when they're growing, especially when you go out to the chicken coop and you grab them yourself and you eat them. Now I got to say I did not. This, you know, maybe shouldn't be mentioned, but I did not go into the chicken coop because there were many stories over dinner about snakes in the chicken coop.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So, yeah, we have had a snake or two in there. Yes, yeah, yeah. So if people don't want to help with that and they don't want to dig in the garden, they can purchase our produce in our little farm stand. So I know, I recognize that not everybody enjoys or knows how to pick their own, so all these things are also available in our little farm stand as well.

Patti Hunt:

Right. So honestly, I could see being here at the campground for two weeks and just not maybe even longer. I usually stayed somewhere for two weeks. There's also a hot tub that you know people who have memberships. We talked about that in the video.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Or guests in the house or guests in the house.

Patti Hunt:

We'll talk a little bit about that. There's places that people can, you know, get together and have the you know a fire and surround the campfire. It's all about community. That was a big thing for you, bringing people together. People could stay here forever, and not for me this is amazing and serene and just being in nature for me.

Patti Hunt:

I love going, I love the experiences, I love doing, but there's also those times to just be and be still and rest. Be still to be with other RVers, to be with community. It was great hanging out with you and Troy and going to dinner and and experiencing things. But let's talk about people who do want to go out. I'm honestly didn't know much about Kentucky. I learned a lot the last episode. You talked about things in the area. Now that I'm here and I experienced some of those things, let's talk about them. First of all, there are a bunch of little towns around that offer, you know, shops and food and restaurants I liked. We went to a lot of. The sort of one of them was, I felt, like a hidden restaurant. So let's talk a little bit about restaurants. The pizza place Miguel's. It wasn't just a pizza place, it was an experience.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, miguel's is has been around for over 40 years and it really caters to the rock climbing community, so there is a huge draw in this area. We get over a hundred thousand guests just for rock climbing in this area and Miguel's is kind of the heart of that community because not only can you eat there, but also that's where typically the younger rock climbers who tend camp stay there at Miguel's and they can get laundry you know laundry and coin showers and things like that there as well. So Miguel's, yes, is one of the restaurants.

Patti Hunt:

Here in the Red River Gorge area you have Hop's, which is a Well, before we go into that, I just want to go back to because we did eat at Miguel's. They had pizza, they had every topping known to man. They have all kinds of, Even the ones you didn't think were pizza toppings, I know right. And I got to be honest, I got just the cheese pizza.

Patti Hunt:

I couldn't decide. I was so overwhelmed. I was really hungry and overwhelmed. But they have lots to offer and it's just right on the main highway. But again, it's an experience. You could eat outside, you could eat inside you could play basketball where you're waiting. Yeah, the view of the place. So it's not just a restaurant to go to.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Okay, so then, hops is another, yeah, hops. I like to recommend hops because it's farm to table and April Reefer, the owner there, only sources locally and what she can't source she grows herself in a greenhouse. She's got the ducks wandering around there. She uses the duck eggs and some of her restaurant items that she provides, and it's right next to a lovely creek, so I like to mention Hop's restaurant. Rock House is another one. They have burgers and burritos. One of the things I love and appreciate about Rock House is they do not have plastic, so you will not find plastic in. You know. They don't have plastic straws, you know, and I just really appreciate that they don't have disposable plastic cups, things like that. So I really appreciate that and we were going to go there so maybe I'll stop there.

Patti Hunt:

Before the airport they weren't open. But when you said burritos we were like, yes, we need a burrito, so maybe we'll stop there on the way to the airport.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, and then we took you to dinner last night, to one of our favorite restaurants, red Point Barbecue.

Patti Hunt:

And that what's really cool was the view. Yeah, and that's something just from the time we left the airport and started driving here, and it is about an hour and a half drive from the airport, so people are flying in and people can stay in the house down there, but such a scenic, beautiful ride. It was just incredible. And so Red Rock, we are sitting. Red Point, red Point.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Red Rock is in Las.

Patti Hunt:

Vegas that's, yeah, near Las Vegas. Wrong way, Sitting outside, overlooking just. It was beautiful. It was just beautiful, Overlooking all the mountains oh, is that what it is Okay? Overlooking mountains and the best barbecue ever. Like, I don't eat barbecue that often, I don't like the spacey and some of the sauces, and all this and barbecue sounded like a great idea. Well, it was amazing, and some of the people that were with us were like this is the best I've ever had, and they do eat a lot of barbecue. So that says a lot and it is the atmosphere. The people were so friendly and just it's an experience.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, and I was listening to the table behind us. We're talking to the other table and they had a long conversation and they were strangers to each other. So, yeah, it was yeah.

Patti Hunt:

And I find that in Kentucky people are just so friendly. Other places, other restaurants you could think of.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, there's Toad's, which is a newer restaurant. They often have live music and sing-go, which is bingo, but with music, Like you know, name that song, name that artist, kind of a thing, so that's fun. There's Skybridge Station. We enjoy going there on Tuesday nights and doing trivia. That's their trivia night, but they also have live music. Many of these different restaurants in the area have live music various nights of the week, so you can probably listen to live music probably three nights a week in the area for free, and then we have a couple of venues where you can pay to see a little or listen to a little bit bigger names as well.

Patti Hunt:

And it is just endless what this area has to offer. We are nowhere near done. As I said, I mentioned that I flew in and then drove here and stayed in the amazing house which we'll talk about. For people who don't have an RV, that is an option to stay here in the house. Enjoy the beauty of this campground and the area.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Or RVers can stay here and grandma and grandpa can come visit and stay in the house, or aunt and uncle.

Patti Hunt:

Every possible option. I like to refer people to Blue Compass RV if they need sales or service. So they're upgrading their RV or they're just thinking about RVing or need service. They have over a hundred locations coast to coast, more than 15,000 new and used RVs and over a hundred service bays with the most technicians of any other dealer. So that's great to know. You can get your RV fixed because there's nothing worse than there being a service bay and not the technician to fix it. Blue Compass is definitely the place to go. It's the place RV Life recommends and you could visit a local Blue Compass RV dealer or go to bluecompasscom.

Patti Hunt:

Let's continue on, because one of the things that we did in the area was to explore. There's so much to do in this area and, again, I wasn't really all that familiar with Kentucky. We're in sort of almost southeastern part of Kentucky, correct, and there is so much to do and I've been here for four days and I will say not enough time. Not enough time to spend in the campground I know you did. You're like are you sure about that? So I have decided that we're going to come back. Fall is your busy season. Fall and spring yeah, the leaves, the beautiful fall leaves, but there are a lot of people here and it's the middle of summer and there's things that people do.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, so we do host a fall event every year, if anybody is interested. It's a two-week event. Again, it's catered to those full-time RV travelers. It's our Halloween in Dio de los-week event. Again, it's catered to those full-time RV travelers. It's our Halloween Indio de los Muertos event, and so they can go to our website and check that out if that's something that they're interested in joining us. This will be our third year doing it and we have activities for kids, we have activities for families and we have activities for the adults. Yeah, we look forward to having that. That's our favorite thing that we do every year.

Patti Hunt:

You talk about it. You just glow when you talk about it. So and I've seen pictures of it it looks like an incredible event and there are different events and activities here at the campground as well as in the area that people could go to your website, kentucky Firefly Hills, kentucky and check out all of that. Okay, let's talk about the area. Yeah, things that just amazing. So I'm going to. You are the ultimate tour guide. You have, like, taken us everywhere and just given us this grand tour. So let's talk about some of the things.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So some of the highlights in this area. Really there's something for everybody here. There's hiking, and our hiking has both waterfalls and arches natural arches here so we went on a couple little quick hikes ourselves. So that's one feature. We've got the Danubun Backcountry Byway, which, if you're an off-roader or you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, there's several miles of that in and around Firefly Hills. Here we own a Jeep, so we've enjoyed some of that, and if you don't have your own, you can rent one in the area side-by-side and enjoy the backcountry as well.

Tonja Lesmeister:

There's the Gorge underground, the underground kayaking in the mine, um here, which is wonderful any time of the year because it's the exact same same experience in the mind, whether it's, you know, 30 degrees outside or a hundred degrees outside, um. So that's, we have that. We have the zip lining. We also have the Sky Lift. The Natural Bridge State Park has the Sky Lift up to our biggest arch in the area. So you can take the Sky Lift up, enjoy that and take the Sky Lift it's like a ski chair lift and take that back down, or you can hike it as well. I think I mentioned the zip lining already. There's kayaking, not underground. You can just kayak one of the many rivers in the it as well. I think I mentioned the ziplining already. There's kayaking, not underground. You can just kayak one of the many rivers in the area as well. I already mentioned listening to live music and enjoying the local food. The farmer's markets are here, the list just goes on. And on the Moonshine Museum, which I took you to.

Patti Hunt:

I got to say I don't really drink that much. I don't know much of anything about alcohol, like in how bourbon and moonshine and all that. It was such an incredible tour. It was amazing, so that was truly an experience.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, it's a part of history. So if you enjoy history, that's good. You don't have to be a drinker to enjoy the museum. And Donnie, who is the owner there. He's a great storyteller and has some very funny and entertaining stories to tell.

Patti Hunt:

And not only that, but people could see his sidekick, the dog. I don't remember the dog's name, but he was a character, he was hilarious. That was incredible. My favorite part of the trip, other than spending time here at the Cape Groton truly I could have spent weeks just being here, being in nature. Yeah, resetting, regrouping, relaxing and we've talked about it as business owners both of us are business owners being able to recharge and disconnect and be in nature so important. My next favorite part was the Red River Gorge Drive the drive.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So I call it the Red River Gorge Loop. It's also known as the Eye of the Dragon. So if you've heard of the Tale of the Dragon that many motorcyclists and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy, this is where the Eye of the Dragon is. So that drive you go through the Nata Tunnel, which truly is a small tunnel. It was built in 1910.

Patti Hunt:

And that tunnel and again, I've seen lots of different structures in different areas. You know the Grand Canyon I've seen and that was, it's a tunnel. It was amazing.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Through a mountain. Yeah, through a mountain, and you know, and it's small.

Patti Hunt:

It's very small. It's very small. So you said that Troy drove a dually through there. I don't recommend that.

Tonja Lesmeister:

We've had lots of people drive their dualies through there. Yes, really, yes, okay, fold your mirrors in.

Patti Hunt:

I was feeling a little claustrophobic about it, but truly amazing to see that orange. It was just amazing. Yeah, the scenery.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So yes, and on that drive it's about 30 miles in length, the full loop of that there's numerous pull-offs where you can pull off and hike. Use your AllTrails app. If you don't have that, there's other trails there that are marked. There's places to pull off and enjoy the river and jump in the water. There's the Gladdy Visitor Center where you can learn about the history of the area and the lumber that they used to pull out of that area.

Patti Hunt:

And again people could see it on the video. We pulled into the Visitor Center, which is very informative Lots there. It's a small visitor center but they really pack it in with a lot of great information. And then the waterfall and there's a rock, so people jump off the rock. There's jump rock yeah, jump rock.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, that was a little, not something I'm going to do, I would have just gone in and gotten in the water.

Patti Hunt:

That was a little intimidating.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, and then the views you know, so you can be down by the river or you can climb up and do the hikes up where the arches are and see the view of the area from top as well. And we got to do a little sneak peek of that before we got a little rain shower that came through.

Patti Hunt:

So, as we're walking, I just want to guide people through. You took us on it. What you said was a quarter mile. Whenever I see a sign and I want people to comment on this like you see the sign that says a quarter mile or a half mile, easy walk, and you're walking, and you're walking, and you're walking, yeah, so I'm not as sure as the bird flies, and that's what I thought. Absolutely beautiful walk. I love those types of hikes. I'm going to call it a hike. I did not have the right shoes on and I'm getting ready to say how much further. When we came to one of the arches, how beautiful, how spectacular. And then I climbed up and climbed through it. Again, flip-flops, not a good idea, please wear the right shoes. Just spectacular. And then we're out on this cliff ridge, which I'm afraid of heights, but it was amazing. And, like you said, it started lightning In the distance. In the distance. Yeah, it was kind of a wow moment, wasn't it?

Patti Hunt:

Yes, and then we get to the car and not two minutes the sky opened up. Yeah, literally opened up, not two minutes later. Yeah, our timing was impeccable, it really was, yeah, and then we ended our day. There's so much in that park, I mean just in the Red River Gorge yeah, we barely sampled it. Yes, you could spend days and days. I can imagine people and you have a lot of guests that stay here, that go to the Red River Gorge every day and experience the water.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And there's things that aren't in the Red River Gorge as well in the area. So that is one place and I do recommend, if you're coming, if you're going to explore that area, to do it during the week. It does get very congested. There's not a lot of parking there and so I do recommend I recommend other places in the weekends that I know have bigger parking lots that aren't as well-traveled traffic, you know, not as much traffic as that, but that's a great place to go during the week.

Patti Hunt:

Right, and usually us, our bears, can do that. Yeah, yes, yes, and and again, it's great. It was only about 30 minutes from Firefly Hills Kentucky campground. It was a beautiful ride to get there.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And the view on the way there is gorgeous.

Patti Hunt:

Yes.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And stop on the way and get ice cream or get lunch or whatever.

Patti Hunt:

It's an experience driving so I could see definitely going for, you know, a couple hours each day, if I don't want to be there all day. It's definitely convenient and, like you said, just beautiful. Stop and get a snack. There is a Beattyville, the town of Beattyville, which is where Firefly Hills is. They have a gas station that has donuts Delicious donuts and I'm not a donut fan, but we went and got donuts, yeah and we've got the Bobcat Cafe.

Tonja Lesmeister:

We can get some ice cream there. Yes, I think get ice cream.

Patti Hunt:

I'm going to get some ice cream.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, there's a few places around here to grab ice cream.

Patti Hunt:

Yes, I keep hearing that, and while I was here it's been very hot, so we probably would have done. I'd say I probably would have done a lot more, but we did a lot.

Patti Hunt:

You were the ultimate tour guide. For sure, there is no shortage of things to do in the area. Let's just circle back to the campground. So much about who you are and what you do is around community being inclusive. No matter who you are, what you are, what you look like this is the campground to be at. The community is important and that's a lot of what you do here at the campground, like with the fire pits and things like that.

Tonja Lesmeister:

What else is the second thing? So we were very intentional about building the park, because when you are full-time sometimes it's hard to find community, so we wanted to create a space where it was easier to do that. So instead of having fire pits at each site, we have community fire pits and we say, if there's a fire there, everybody is welcome. And I've been able to introduce people to people they would never have met otherwise before, from all over. And we had a couple that were staying in the house from Switzerland here rock climbing, and I got to introduce them to some RVers that were here rock climbing. They're meeting up again this fall.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So that's one piece. You can rent a fire pit if you aren't a people person or you're celebrating something special. We understand that too. So we certainly can accommodate that. Our picnic tables are intentionally not the long, skinny ones, but it's more circular in nature so that it's more conducive to community and conversation and not leaving people out on the far ends of the picnic tables. And then we also we plan activities here on site, along with our gathering events, and other groups have come in and had events here as well. So, um, if you are wanting to plan some sort of a gathering event or retreat, family reunion of stuff. You know, a wedding? Um, we'll be getting ready to host weddings here pretty quick. Um, this we've. I think we've got a great setup for that as well, and we didn't talk about that.

Patti Hunt:

The event space. What is that called? Yeah, blossom Hall. Blossom Hall. It's being renovated. We did show a video of it on the YouTube channel, but it is being renovated and that is a space for RVers that want to do what they're calling hangouts now, and some people call it a crawl or a meetup, whatever the new terminology is. That would be an amazing space for people to come. Yep.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So it'll be our rec room by day. We'll have, you know, ping pong and foosball and things like that. But then we have the ability to change it up and have it set up for a corporate retreat or have it set up for a movie night or have it set up for a reception or to offer a class in there. So it has a lot of versatility in that space. So we've got a nice sound system in there, a light system, so if we have a performance, a musician or something like that, we can accommodate a lot of different uses for that multi-purpose space. And that's another way for us to bring community in as well. And we also not only promote community on site but also with our greater community, the county and the city as well.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So we've led different service projects here in the area. We helped with the flood relief. The town of Beattyville flooded twice this year so we had a group this spring. We helped clean up their town square. We've done roadside cleanup. We are doing a river cleanup here in August and we are the host for that. So after everybody comes off the river and we get all those tires and garbage and stuff out of the river, then they're going to come here to enjoy a meal and some music, and there'll be some vendors of some local nonprofits and government organizations that promote conservation and healthy environments will be here. So we also try to give back to the greater community. Encourage our RVers to join us in doing that as well.

Patti Hunt:

That's incredible, yes, and if everybody would chip in just a little bit, it would make all the difference in the world right, as we like to say.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Many hands make for lighter work. Yes, absolutely.

Patti Hunt:

Let me just give. We're going to come back. We have more to talk about. I just want to give a bit of an update for people. You know it's July that this is going out.

Patti Hunt:

The Hershey RV show, which is actually called America's largest RV show, is September 10th to the 14th. I will be there the entire week. I love it. It's only about an hour and a half from where I live. That is a great event. So I want to give a heads up to people that are looking to you know, do an event like that.

Patti Hunt:

I did do a video not a video, but a podcast last week talking about what there is to do in the area around Hershey, as well as navigating the Hershey event and ways to get there. You and I both use the RV Life Pro Suite of products. We'll talk a little more about that. But somebody that wants to plan their trip and then RV safe GPS, we highly recommend the RV Life Pro Suite of products. Also, rv TV and I don't think you and I talked about it we need to. So they have what's called RVers Top Talent and this is the first ever nationwide you know about it, okay, the first ever nationwide talent competition. So when people think of talent, they think you know singing, dancing. No, this could be storytelling, this could be juggling, this could be anything you could think of. And for those people who just said I don't have a talent because I don't feel like I do, you might want to find a talent because there is a chance to win the grand prize of $5,000. And you've heard of this.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yes, In fact, at our hangout that we did last fall, we held a talent show here and we promoted that exact thing. We said hey, if you have a talent here and you want to share it with us, you can also put your name in the hat for this and see if you can win that money.

Patti Hunt:

I think we talked about it when we did the podcast. I think I told you about it because you were doing the talent show. That's awesome, and this is what it's all about Community letting people know what's going on. You know, just sharing. That's what the RV Life podcast is about. Okay, so certainly we could talk for another hour. There's so much in the area, so much to do, so much to explain. What else would you like to share with my RV Life?

Tonja Lesmeister:

podcast, I think. Our membership, because that is something unique, that we've touched on it here and there, but we haven't spent much time talking about it at length. So we offer a unique membership program and we created this really for full-time RVers and had them in mind. So with our membership program, it's a year commitment and the RVer will get one of our premium RV sites which has a casita on it. The casita is a building that is finished, lovely on the inside. You got to see it while you were here. It has a table and chairs and then some other seating in there, has electricity, it has heat and air conditioning in there, um.

Tonja Lesmeister:

So whether you're here in the cooler months or here when it's hot, um, or what's raining, you can have that extra living space, um. Spread out your family a little bit, um, maybe the kids are doing homeschool, maybe mom or dad are working, um, and you can have a little bit of separation and a little bit more space to just live. And then on the backside of that building it's a separate door. There is a four by 12 foot space for storage. That is yours. If you don't want to, you know, carry your Christmas stuff all year. Jimmy outgrew the bike and Johnny hasn't grown into it. You don't need your paddle boards for the next few months. You have that extra space, which is nice, because then you know, you know how we collect things and we don't have much storage right, depending upon your setup and your rig. Um, it's nice to have that little extra storage. So that is yours, um, to store your stuff in. Um. And then we have a 60 by 70 foot shop and again, I took you down there. It's, I think it's, pretty impressive. It has two bays in it, that we have a 44 foot fifth wheel. We can fit in there with no problem.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And one of the things that we heard in our travels is that full-time RVers, many of them, are do-it-yourselfers, but they can't carry all the tools with them to be able to do their own repairs, their own upgrades, their remodels, their adding solar to their rig, whatever it is. But with this membership you get to use our bays, so you're out of the weather, out of the elements, use our tools to do those tasks, those maintenance and improvements to your RV. Now, if your project is longer and you can't stay in your RV, it's going to take more than a day. We offer a discount for rooms in the house and for our RV rentals that we have. And then maybe, as we mentioned before, a family member wants to come visit you but they're not an RVer. They can stay for a discounted price and coming up, we're going to be having glamping eventually here too. They can stay for a discounted price and coming up, we're going to be having glamping eventually here too. We've been working on that as well. So that will be part of that, as in addition to the other accommodations that we have.

Tonja Lesmeister:

And then the best part about that membership program oh, I also forgot to mention they get to use the main floor of the house. So we have a coworking space we mentioned. We have the dining room, the very large farm style kitchen, and sometimes you know if I'm making, I want to make a bunch of salsa or I want to do something a little bit bigger. It's really hard in our tiny kitchens and our rigs, so it's nice to have that bigger space.

Tonja Lesmeister:

But the best part about this membership is when our RVers and our members are off exploring the rest of North America, we will rent out their RV site to somebody else who's coming through the area and then we revenue share that back to the member. So they get 60% of that. We keep 40% for managing it and they get to recoup some of that investment. So they can stay as long as they want. But when they are off exploring the rest of the area then they do recoup some of that. So it's kind of like a semi-home base for those full-time RVers. I've had guests here that come to reset. They need to slow down. They've got a big work project or something like that and they just need to be in one spot for a while. So that would be that membership program might be ideal for them.

Patti Hunt:

Right and people can reach out. They could go to the website and that's fireflyhillskentuckycom, so people could go there. I'll put it in the show notes as well as reach out with questions that you have.

Patti Hunt:

There are people that will answer the phones when people call and if they have to leave a message, I know somebody's going to call them back very quickly. I know the frustration we talked about that of calling sometimes campground, not getting an answer. Then they don't call back. You guys absolutely will call back quickly. Somebody will call back quickly. That membership is really incredible for somebody who, like you, said full-time. I want that break. I want to be able to use the kitchen or having the rooms in the house, getting a discount, being able to cook. You know, like I said, cook some meals. I would cook a bunch of meals and then put them in the freezer and put them in my RV.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Do your repairs? Yes, the repairs the garage is is unbelievable because then you can save money because you're not paying somebody else to do these projects.

Patti Hunt:

So many rvers they want to do it themselves. You know it, just it. It has it all in there and again people could see video of the garage and it's so.

Tonja Lesmeister:

It's so well stocked. My husband loves his tools, so it's a well-stocked shop. I know that feeling. I'm sure it is.

Patti Hunt:

Yeah, so that's a great advantage. I've seen people try and put solar on their roof or fix the battery bay and they're out in the middle of the elements and it just it doesn't always work, so that is a great extra feature. Okay, the other thing we didn't talk about was work campers. Yes, you have a lot of people we love our work campers. Yes, let's talk about that.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yeah, so I feel like our work camping experience is a little bit unique compared to a lot of RV parks. We take singles, couples and families, um. We take singles couples and families, um, our families that work camp for us. Um, oftentimes they want their kids to learn new skills, um, and they work camp as a family, um, as I mentioned, the mud kitchen was built by a work camping family, um, so we have regular chores that need to get done um every day, and so our work campers are scheduled typically three or four shifts throughout the week, either am or pm, and I try to be as flexible as I can with that and accommodate, you know, if you do have another job or you're doing, you know, an excursion in the gorge, and we want people to take advantage of that as well. They might have tickets for one of the events happening and then we assign projects based on their skillset. So, if you're right now in the next room, we've got our work camper. Tatum is doing a little bit of light sewing for us. Yes, I helped with it.

Tonja Lesmeister:

I was glad I could help. It was unfamiliar with the sewing machine so we've got people who help with maintenance things, with building out some of our new kids' spaces. Sometimes my work campers are more skilled in the gardens. Sometimes they have another special talent they help with social media. There's just numerous things here, including feeding Ralph the cat, yep, ralph the manager, taking care of Ralph he is on duty which is a great.

Tonja Lesmeister:

It's a great task for the kids, right, and that's what you know.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Especially full-time RV families, they're like I want my kids to have some responsibilities, so of course I always chat with parents about it and make sure that we're giving them tasks that are age appropriate.

Tonja Lesmeister:

But that is one of the tasks that often my work camp kids are, and one of them that I really love seeing my work camp kids do that really helps build some confidence and skills is they give the tours to new kids who are arriving in the campground, to the kids' spaces on the property, and so I like to treat my work camp kids as part of our work camp staff and they get a staff t-shirt, just like the parents do, and they take their responsibilities seriously when they are giving the tours.

Tonja Lesmeister:

I remember we did a hangout last fall and all of my tour guides were all of the tweens and teens that were our work campers, including my own kid, and at the end of the week one of the guests said I was very skeptical when you sent me off with a 13-year-old to give me the tour of the campground, but I had already given them. You know, I trained them well, gave them a checklist, what to say at each stop and the flow of the tour, and he's like I, was highly impressed. I even tested this 13-year-old with some questions and she was able to answer them.

Patti Hunt:

That's awesome, and it is again a skill when you're on the road no-transcript.

Tonja Lesmeister:

A growing number of work campers come and they're wanting to do something similar. Either they're wanting to have a homestead in the future or they're wanting, they're considering opening and building their own campground, and we love mentoring other people. We have already done that a few times and somebody who worked camped with us two years ago just opened their small eight site RV park in West Virginia and they came back a couple months ago to see us to see now that we're open here, because this was before they were open when they were camped here, and they occasionally send me a text or an email and ask a question or whatever, and I'm happy to promote them and what they're doing over there as well.

Patti Hunt:

So when I started this episode and said unique, there's everything that is being done here is different and unique, for sure, and you've thought of everything and you take advice from the kids. You listen to the kids as to what they wanted. You know, you're hearing what people in the RV community wanted and that's what got added in, even with the house staying here in the house, the amenities there was nothing that wasn't thought of. Everything was thought out. Staying here in the house. It's just what an incredible experience.

Patti Hunt:

Okay, my final question for you we're going to start wrapping up, but even though there's so much more we could cover, we're going to do the question of the week and it is brought to you by Cool RV and I want to ask you've traveled the world and traveled to US, but what is on your bucket list still? So that's a person you want to be, a place, an experience. I'm going to give you a minute to think about it while I talk about CoolRV, because it is a game changer. It has been really hot here and I know some of the RVs that are out there right now are struggling a little bit. Coolrv is a add-on to your air conditioning system that will create more air, cooler air, more airflow, and the air conditioner will be quieter, which was just an extra bonus. So if you don't want the hot weather to ruin your trip, visit CoolRVcom today. Okay, what's on your bucket?

Tonja Lesmeister:

list. So this has been on my bucket list for a few years. Okay, I'm going to answer. Does Troy?

Patti Hunt:

know about this yet. Oh yeah, we've talked about it.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Okay, good, oh yeah, yeah.

Patti Hunt:

Yeah, he's on board Because you come up with the things. And I sat down with Troy and I said so you know, do you just go along? So he seems okay. I just want to make sure he was okay with all your crazy ideas.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Yep, Okay, Yep, hey but look at, I'm sharing this with others. My crazy ideas is benefiting others. So my bucket list destination is New Zealand. We have some dear friends of ours that have family that live in New Zealand and I want to rent, you know, have us each rent like a little sprinter van and spend a month touring New Zealand. So that I'm hoping to do, maybe not this winter, but maybe the following winter. That sounds pretty incredible.

Patti Hunt:

Yeah, yeah, that sounds incredible. Okay, it's now time for the feature campground of the week and it's brought to you by RV Life Pro. We're going to talk about a little bit in a minute about the. We started talking about the suite of products, but I want to talk because where we are in Beattyville, kentucky, people staying at Firefly Hills, kentucky and traveling can go to Thousand Trails, diamond Caverns and RV Resort and that's right near Mammoth Cave. So it's Park City, kentucky, and it's near Mammoth Cave National Park. And you said it's about how far? Just under three hours, just under three hours. So these are two great stopping points either on the way there or back from there.

Patti Hunt:

This is a great place to stop. It is a Thousand Trails. You do not need a membership. They have 68 full hookups and they do have cabin rentals. They have a solid 7.7 rating on the RV Life Campgrounds review site and they have 210 reviews and that means 210 RVers gave their opinion of that park and RVers gave their opinion of that park. It's easy to book If you go to campgroundsrvlifecom type in the campground and you'll find everything there is to know about this campground and so many more, including Firefly Hills, kentucky is listed on there, and for Firefly Hills, kentucky, or for this campground, thousand Trails, diamond Caverns and Golf Resort. What's really nice is there's a great big book now button, so people do not have to leave the site. They could book right from there. So RV Life Pro you use it for trip planning and RV safe GPS. Why did you guys choose RV Life Prep?

Tonja Lesmeister:

That's a great question, because my husband, that's my husband's department but he raves about it and he feels like it's the most reliable. He likes that he can plug in the dimensions of our rig and be assured that wherever we travel, we'll be able to get there safely without running into low bridges or anything like that that we would not be able to navigate right through. So, but yes, he raves about it, it's his thing.

Patti Hunt:

And we were talking about it at dinner the other night. And again, it's not just for large RVs. You have a large fifth wheel. I had a 40 foot class A. It is for anything bigger than a minivan. Because you want to know the roads you're traveling on are safe. You can do your trip planning with this suite of products. It's one price for everything rv safe, gps and then campground reviews that are only by other rvers, so nobody else is putting reviews on there.

Patti Hunt:

For anybody who does not have the RV Life suite of products, there is a 20% discount in the show notes and I want to tell people right from the beginning it's $65 a year for everything. They also have a maintenance tool and education and so many other things included. $65 a year, that's worth it. 25% off if it's the first time and then it's less than $50. So it's so well worth it. But, tanya, thank you so much. Thank you, patti. People need to reach out to you by going to your website, firefly Hills, kentucky. They could go to you on social media Facebook, facebook and Instagram and Instagram, yep, okay. And reach out with questions about work, camping, membership, staying in the house, the RV park, hosting a retreat here.

Tonja Lesmeister:

Hosting a retreat or an event? Having a wedding yes.

Patti Hunt:

Yes, so much. Just reach out to you. We would both love to hear people's comments. Have they ever stayed here? Leave a comment. What do you think? What other questions here? Leave a comment. What do you think? What other questions People have. Questions go to social media and I will make sure to get the questions answered. People could also reach out to me at RV Life Podcast on Instagram and Facebook. Wow, what an episode. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, patty, and thank you my listeners. Life's a journey. Live each day to the fullest, without regrets. I'm Pettie Hunt and you have been listening to the RV Life Podcast. Bye.