This summer cold or allergy attack (or, God forbid, COVID 19) has interrupted a great summer getaway. A low grade fever, itchy eyes, and occasional sneezing is keeping me in to avoid infecting others, if this is, in fact, contagious; however, I do not feel bad, just not great! Consequently, Monday through Thursday were spent largely inside the motorhome. And, it has rained everyday we’ve been here; in fact, it has rained on our parade everyday since leaving on July 22—so glad 97% of scientists are wrong, and we DON’T have global warming and/or climate change!

Encouraged by Kay, we drove part of the Blue Ridge Parkway beginning at its southern terminus in Cherokee, MP 469, east and slightly north to approximate MP 412 at US Hwy 276. Notable was transiting the highest point on the Parkway at elevation 6053 feet, and all the wildflowers adjacent to the roadway and pullover viewing areas.

We stopped at one small viewing area to photograph wildflowers along the opposite side of the road only for Kay to find lots of wildflowers and butterflies at the viewing area. We spent about 30 minutes making photos. Among the butterflies were Silver-spotted Skipper, Pipevine Swallowtail, Variegated Fritillary, and Eastern-tailed Blue.

We turned off the Parkway to hike to a waterfall, but the parking area was packed. In fact all the trailhead parking areas along the Parkway were overflowing with hikers, so we chose to social distance!

After arriving back at the motorhome, it began raining, and rained hard for several hours, accompanied by high winds, after which it slackened as we went to bed about 11 PM. The silver lining in the cloud was the sound of raindrops hitting the rooftop made sleep come easily. Did I say it has rained everyday since we left?

We have always enjoyed visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway, having first seen it in the late 1970s on a cross-country ski trip, even spending some time skiing on it. Subsequently, I have driven it several times and with Kay a couple of times. Begun during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the project was originally called the Appalachian Scenic Highway. Work began on September 11, 1935, near Cumberland Knob in North Carolina; construction in Virginia began the following February. On June 30, 1936, Congress formally authorized the project as the Blue Ridge Parkway and placed it under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Some work was carried out by various New Deal public works agencies including the Works Progress Administration, Emergency Relief Administration, and Civilian Conservation Corps. Interestingly during WWII, conscientious objectors from the Civilian Public Service program worked on the Parkway. The Parkway links Great Smoky Mountain NP to Shenandoah NP, and runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It continues through Shenandoah NP as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road. The Blue Ridge Parkway has been the most visited unit of the National Park System every year since 1946 except four (1949, 2013, 2016 and 2019). Construction of the parkway was complete by the end of 1966 with one notable exception. The 7.7-mile stretch including the Linn Cove Viaduct around Grandfather Mountain did not open until 1987. The project took over 52 years to complete. The following photos were taken from near MP 451 of the Parkway.

Because of weekend traffic and an influx of tourists, nothing was planned until late afternoon. After entering the Blue Ridge Parkway near Magic Valley at about 4:30 PM, we drove east, stopping at each pullover to marvel at the “smoky” mountains. Waterrock Knob, Milepost 451.2, lured us off the Parkway, and, as we discovered, is the second highest of all Parkway peaks and one of the highest in the eastern US at an elevation of almost 6400 feet.

We hiked the rugged 0.6 mile trail to the summit.  The steep climb gains 412 feet in elevation with great views along the way. The first 1/4-mile of the trail is paved, ending at a nice overlook with a small rock wall that you can sit on to catch your breath, except that recent heavy rains had flooded much of the overlook. The remainder of the trail was rough, with slippery rock steps a bit too tall for height challenged people.

At the top, there are several vantage points for distant views (although it’s not a 360-degree panoramic view). On a clear day, you have 50-mile views, including the highest peaks in the Smokies.

Today, it was foggy, and we could only see abut 50 feet! The wildflowers along the trail were plentiful, and quite beautiful.

We settled in for the rest of summer, removing the bicycles from the car rack, removing the car rack itself, and unpacking and stowing fly fishing and bicycle accessories stored in the back of the Honda. A late breakfast was followed by a short drive to familiarize ourselves with the area. 

We are at Cross Creek RV Park in Maggie Valley, a small resort town in Haywood County in western NC, about 35 miles west of Asheville. It’s population is less than 1000, though swells in summer with the onslaught of tourists visiting the town, and snowbirds mostly from Florida “summering” here to escape the heat. Both the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains NP are within a few miles. It is a motorcycle town with many riders Harleys and on “slingshots” and “spiders”—3-wheeled motorcycles—riding through town and staying for a few days.. It is also home to Cataloochee Ski Area. The community gets its name from Maggie Mae Setzer; her father John “Jack” Sidney Setzer founded the area’s first post office and named it after one of his daughters.

Our day’s drive took us up the mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the west to its terminus at Cherokee, NC.  Cherokee is the capital of the Eastern Bandof the Cherokee Nation. In the 1870s, the Eastern Band purchased the land for what is called the “Qualla Boundary” in the 1870s. It is another small  resort town adjacent to Great Smoky Mountain NP, and now a gambling town with several large casinos. 

From Cherokee, it was off to Lake Junaluska, just a few miles east of Magic Valley. Lake Junaluska is formally known as Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center; it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, but open to all. It’s comprised of 1400 acres, including the 200-acre Junaluska Lake, and has virtually anything one would desire: golf course, rv park, fishing, canoes and kayaks, cycling, tennis courts, etc. We spent the afternoon walking around the lake, a 2.3 mile circuit. The wildflowers and gardens were incredible, and several butterflies were busy nectaring. In that regard, I brought the wrong lens—like taking a knife to a gunfight. However, we will go back, several times, over the next few weeks. We were verbally accosted by a middle-aged runner because we slipped on our masks as he approached—people just don’t get it!

With a a relatively short drive today, we enjoyed a lazy, unrushed morning, complete with a full breakfast. Afterward, it was back to the river’s edge where we watched a pair of adult eagles cajoling, and catching and eating an occasional fish; they are very efficient fishers—swooping down picking up a fish without missing a wing beat.

At 11:30 am, we withdrew the slides, contracted the leveling jacks, and unhooked from shore power. And then we hooked up the Honda, checked brakes and lights, and began the last leg of the trip onto I-40 and through the mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina just as the rain began in earnest. It rained the entire 75 miles, and the interstate was both hilly and curvy, with speed limits of 45 mph in places, and we passed through several tunnels—not the best of driving days.

After arriving at Cross Creek RV Park on the eastern outskirts of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, we set up in the rain. As it continued to rain, we caught up with social media, extended the awning, and enjoyed the cool air and terrific view of the Smokies. We feasted on leftovers from home—smoked spareribs. Even with great cable, we continue watching Deadwind, a Finnish mystery television series.

Natchez Trace State Park was in our review mirror by 7:30 AM. Early mid-morning saw us through Nashville and noon saw us through Knoxville. One has to hand it to Tennessee, they maintain the I-40 route superbly, and it was such a pleasure driving through the clean and neat countryside. Turning off the interstate past Knoxville towards Gatlinburg, we veered away from the touristy highway to Douglas Dam Tailwater Campground, where we parked on the shoreline of the French Broad River for the night. After setting up and having lunch, we extracted folding chairs from the RV’s innards, set them up near the river, and enjoyed piece and quiet outside until rain came. And then it was back in for dinner and more downloaded television. While we had cell service, it was limited and sporadic, though I did find enough bandwidth to post several blog entries from this Journal.

Okay, I admit it. I am a nomad, wayferer, and wanderer, a modern day explorer. I really enjoy seeing new places and experiencing new adventures. While I really like having a home base, I so enjoy the free spirit nature of full time RVer, just part time. And, as I get older There is less tolerance for really cold or really hot weather. Thankfully , Kay tolerates it, and is my traveling partner. And my very good friends, Dan Olson and Jim Morris, also tolerate it.

Now that that is established, we departed the Hot Springs Village RV Park at 7:30 AM, in the rain, with a day’s destination of Natchez Trace State Park between Jackson and Nashville, TN. It was an uneventful trip (thank you, Lord) as we stopped only once, for gas, east of Jackson. Kay checked us in via phone as we neared the state park. After unhooking the Honda, we found our site, and backed in—challenging because the neighbor had parked where we needed to turn. Jacks were extended, slides put out, and electrical cable plugged in. All set. Well, not quite. The sun and night shades on the front windshield would only go halfway down; nothing would budge them. Kay and I unattached them, ran them up and down, and then reattached them. They worked, but I contorted my body in ways unimaginable assisting in the repair.

Backed in without hitting the truck or running off into the culvert

After dinner (leftovers from home), we watched “Dead Wind” and “Silent Witness”, downloaded from Amazon Prime.

On Monday Kay took care of business (including an oil change for her car) in Hot Springs, while, procrastinator that I am, I finally started packing clothes and personal items. Fortunately, we keep lots of checklists, so one was retrieved from the computer’s memory, and items checked off one by one as they were packed. Kay had made arrangements to park the motorhome at the HSV RV park to facilitate loading and stowing our things—smart lady! I moved it from storage to the reserved site, set everything up and was met by Pam who delivered me home. There, all the packed stuff was loaded into the Pilot for transporting to the RV park. Kay unloaded the Pilot and stowed all of it; I played golf in weather so hot and humid that it was no fun, miserable! Dinner was fried chicken, real mashed potatoes, “yankee” gravy (that brown stuff), green beans, and a biscuit from Granada Grill for $7.95 each. It was delicious!

Fly fishing gear for both Kay and me

Today is Tuesday, July 21, and is my big sisters’s 78th birthday. She has watched over me my whole life like a second mother. Happy birthday, Carma. I love you. This morning, Kay changed the “bed clothes” (we like to come home to a clean house and clean sheets on the bed) and packed “pantry” food and refrigerated and frozen items. I emptied the hot tub, shut down all the electrical toys, and put new batteries in virtually everything that used them. Kay’s longtime friend, Sue, is kind enough to house sit for us while we travel, and we wanted things to be just right for her. We collected last minute toiletries, charging cords and devices, and other last minute items and took them to the motorhome. The rest of the day was quiet, and we read, etc. Sue arrived early evening, and Kay served us Subway sandwiches; they never tasted better. After eating, we left Sue to take care of things while we were gone, and returned to the motorhome to spend the night before leaving tomorrow. As luck would have it, Ron and Bev (from Conway, and who we met in Arizona this winter) were next to us. They had sold their house in Conway, and downsizes from a diesel pusher 41-foot motorhome to a 25-foot Tiffin Wayferer. They dropped by and we had a great visit. They are building a house in the Village, and it will be so great to share their friendship again. After all, they like Southern gospel music!

Hot Springs Village RV Park

Jim Morris and I had a socially-distanced coffee time in his back yard under the trees relatively early Sunday morning, but the rest of the day got lost in the busyness of getting ready to travel. Toys (cameras, computers, and fly fishing gear) were assembled and cleaned. Travel bags were recovered from the attic, and a box of camping and fishing stuff was retrieved from the crawl space. The box of stuff stunk from the crawl space stunk to high heaven, and when I dumped it, a dead mouse was discovered. It was quickly dispatched, and the stuff sprayed first with ? and then with Lysol—didn’t work. The items were thrown in the washer, and soaked for a couple of hours, washed, and then hung out to dry. Some residual “stink” remained, so cotton balls were soaked with pure vanilla, put in the box with the stuff not being packed for the trip, and stored again. The float tube was disassembled and the bladder filled to determine if it leaked. The cover was washed. Seems like when something is begun, a bunch of other tasks emerge! Since Kay had finished packing her clothes and personal items, she joined longtime friends and book club members, Pam and JaneAnn for the afternoon at HSV’s new million dollar swimming pool, and really enjoyed it. She is far more efficient than I.

Pam and JaneAnn

Friday morning, after gathering all the tools and accessories, it was off to Walmart for oil and an oil filter; fortunately, most people were masked, and with self-checkout, it was relatively safe. And then, I was off to the RV storage garage to perform an oil change on the motorhome.It was fairly quick, and yes, I managed to get oil all over me! Upon returning to the house, all oily and soaked with perspiration, it was time for the first shower of the day. Meanwhile, Kay ran errands including picking up our meds for the next 90 days, and did other odd jobs for which I’m so grateful. It was too hot and humid to do much anything else, except stay in out of the “miserable” weather.

Up early again on Saturday morning, it was back to Balboa Storage where I moved the motorhome from its “garage” to the wash rack. Of course, I ran out of car wash soap, but Kay was quick to the rescue. Two and a half hours later, the motorhome was washed and dried, and I was soaking wet with perspiration. Back at home, the outdoor potted plants got watered, and I took the first of two showers for the day. Kay got “beautified” in the morning, even scheduling and paying for my pedicure later in the afternoon. She spent the afternoon packing.