ln honor of our nation's founding father, George Washington and his birthday on Saturday, February 22nd, we figured it would be fun to highlight a few fun connections between Washington and RV Parks along the Ohio River (Olde Oak in West Columbia, WV, Lock 24 in Racine, OH and Blennerhasset RV Park in Belpre, Ohio.

George Washington’s experiences in the Ohio River Valley began in his teens when he was part of a survey expedition of Ohio country for a family friend. He returned several times which led to his involvement with the British militia during the French Indian War and established his reputation as a capable military leader.

Park co-owner, Craig Wix, is a Vietnam era veteran who served in the U.S. Navy on a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine named the SSBN-598 George Washington. As the flagship effort to kick off the U.S. Navy's nuclear deterrent force, SSBN-598 drew upon the inspiration of George Washington and led the way to a whole class of strategic submarines. SSBN-598 was part of the "41 for Freedom" group of submarines the Navy contributed for nuclear deterrent efforts from the early 1960's through the late 1980s.

Features of George Washington class submarines include the ability to stay submerged for indefinite periods of time, have the speed of attack vessels and the ability to deploy missiles while submerged. The sub's 30-foot missile compartment, located between the ship's control/navigation areas and the nuclear reactor compartment, carried sixteen Polaris A1/A3 missiles, six 21-inch torpedo tubes and 12 torpedoes.

The George Washington was capable of 16 knots on the surface and 22 knots when submerged. The only limit to its range was food supplies. It could go as deep at 700ft and was operated by two crews, each comprised of 12 officers and 100 men.

When asked how owning RV properties compares to being on the crew of a nuclear sub during wartime, Wix admits that both carry their ups and downs. What resonates most with him is recognition that everyone needs a place to just get away for well-earned bouts of liberty and that a safe comfortable place to go after a hard day's work does wonders for a productive day of work or play for the day after.

To learn more about the Washington class of nuclear submarines, check out this link..

Also notable is that George Washington owned land along the river. Blennerhasset RV Park is located in Washington County Ohio. Ohio’s oldest county, George Washington was running the continental congress at the time the county was founded. To learn more about how we can make your short or long-term stay in the Mid Ohio River Valley Region a pleasant one, click here.