Shorts

Repel Insect Repellent, Sportsmen Max with Deet.  It's my new go-to hairspray this summer in the mountains of Tennessee.  Works well as a backup perfume, too.

On the agenda for today was a hike to Laurel Falls just off the Appalachian Trail.  As we headed out the door, I happened to glance down at the footwear consort had chosen for hiking.  Loafers.  That's when I realized I really am married to a city boy.

A vintage 1973 Volkswagen Bug spotted on the side of the road.  I miss my buggy!!

This is Pal's Sudden Service where you can get a hot dog or burger, fries and a shake.  I love their signage.  Consort and I had a dog covered with old-fashioned drugstore chili.  It was quite tasty!

Life here, at least for us, has been slower.  I think if I stayed long enough I might finally unwind!

Out and about

Pedestrian/bicycle bridge in Damascus, Virginia

We have been out and about exploring the area.  The above pictures are of Damascus, Virginia, about a 30-minute drive from where we're camped.  Damascus is known as Bicycle Junction as several bike trails converge there.  We'll be headed back to Damascus in the near future to ride  the Virginia Creeper Trail.  A shuttle drives you to the summit of Whitetop Mountain where you are dropped off with a bicycle.  You then ride/coast down the mountain back into Damascus.  Sounds like my kind of ride... little to no self-exertion.

This photo is of the Watauga Lake Winery.  Consort and I paid them a visit earlier this week.  We shared two board flights of different wines.

Consort and I are not big wine drinkers, but we liked most everything we tried.  We ended up purchasing the Blue Bear Hill wine, which is made of blueberries, and the Bear-gria, a white sangria wine.

Both could be served over ice with a little seltzer and you would have the perfect adult Kool-Aid.

We have moved our trailer, within the campgrounds, to a new site.  This site was added after we moved in.  It is much more secluded than our previous site, very quiet, and has stunning views.

This is the view from our front door. There is plenty of room for the wee mangy mongrels to enjoy the out-of-doors and the creek.  As far as the dogs are concerned, this is the best campground they have visited so far.  There are ducks in the yard every morning who seem to be waiting for the pups to come outside for a chase.  The three mangy mongrels are willing to oblige.

This area of Tennessee offers much to see and do:  Hiking trails, caves, waterfalls, kayaking and canoeing, bike trails, ATV trails to the tops of mountains.  It is a bit overwhelming at times trying to determine what all we'd like to see and do.  What we have found that we are enjoying most is just relaxing.  We are surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever encountered and are happily taking it all in.  Add to that the excellent company of our friends who own the campground, and life is pretty good.

Moving to the new campsite boosted our wi-fi signal which improved cell phone reception, but we are still without any television at all.  When I was a kid, there was at least one summer when my parents decided we children should experience a television-free summer vacation.  It was a great idea and forced all of us kids out of the house to find alternative activities.  I followed the same plan with my two children:  No TV for the summer.  They say turnabout is fair play and that if you wait long enough, everything comes full circle.  I guess it's my turn, again, to go without television this summer.  It's been over a month since I've seen any news, but I seem to be surviving just fine.  Apparently there is life worth living outside of Washington, DC!

Why are they called the Great Smoky Mountains?

The name "Smoky" comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the mountain range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance.  Often the plumes are a single column that appears to be smoke from individual campfires.

The fog is caused by the vegetation exhaling volatile organic compounds, chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure. (Wikipedia)

This black bear crossed the road in front of us -- apparently to get to the other side -- as we were driving back to the campground the other day.  It was an uncommon sight for these Midwestern Plains natives.

The weather here has been rainy for the past week and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.  We didn't experience any real rain showers the whole time we were in south Texas.  Daytime temps have been running in the low 70s, nighttime temps in the upper 50s.  Mission accomplished:  We found cooler weather!

We are having a wonderful time with our friends here at Roan Creek Campground.  I have a new appreciation for the work that goes into running a successful campsite; they are busy all the time.  But when there is downtime, it has been fun catching up and playing rounds of, Do you remember when...? and, Whatever happened to...?  


 We are headed out shortly to visit one of many local wineries.  The temps are cool enough the pups can go along for the ride and wait in the truck for us.  After the winery, we plan to go to Roan Mountain State Park for a short hike.  In June 1947, the park began hosting an annual Rhododendron Festival.  The festival has been cancelled for 2020, another fallout from the Coronavirus, but the rhododendrons are still there and they are blooming.  We met some campers here that recommended the hike.  They said not only are the rhododendrons in bloom, but there are blueberries and strawberries ripe for picking.  I'll catch you up later on how the day turns out.

On the stereo:  Paolo Nutini, Pencil Full of Lead
On the TV:  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Currently reading:  The Child in Time, Ian McEwan

Waterfall and Covered Bridge

Consort and I took the three mangy mongrels and went exploring today.  We hiked to Blue Hole Falls and then drove into Elizabethton to see the Elizabethton Covered Bridge.  The hike caused both consort and I to realize how long it's been since we've done any hiking.  The mangy mongrels didn't seem to have any trouble at all, even Annie kept up.

Here is the day in pictures.

On the way to the falls.

Midway, shooting down to the bottom.  Can you make out the swimmers?

Second set of falls.

Second falls spill over into the Blue Hole.

Walking back up the trail.  The sunlight through the trees was magnificent.

I cannot seem to add captions to the last four pictures, so I'll just tell you they're of the Elizabethton Covered Bridge built in 1882.  It's in downtown Elizabethton in the courthouse square.  Everything out here is as pretty as a postcard!

A Feast for the Eyes

To reach Padre Island when we were in Brownsville, we had to cross the Queen Isabella Causeway.  The sight of the Gulf with all of the boats, dolphins, and parasailers; the towering hotels in the distance, is something I will never tire of seeing.  I now feel the same way about northeastern Tennessee.

By just walking out the front door of the trailer, one is transported into a cool green forest with mountains bordering all sides.  A quick walk around the trailer and you'll see Roan Creek rushing by.  The creek is two to three feet deep, currently, and maybe 30-40 feet across.  The water is cold and fast.  The creek bed is lined with smooth stones and small boulders.  This isn't exactly what you'd call a babbling brook; the water is choppy running over the stones and it is fast.  It has the general appearance of what you'd expect a river to look like when you go white water rafting.  And that is exactly what the campers here are doing:  Riding down the creek in innertubes.

Miniature waterfall at the entrance to Roan Creek Campground

Annie's favorite pastime: Standing in the cold water

I have been friends with the owners of Roan Creek Campground for over 40 years; consort came along a little while later and has fit right in.  It has been great fun catching up with old friends and sharing meals.  Their knowledge of the area is priceless.  We took a drive to check out a piece of property they own near the Appalachian Trail in the Cherokee National Forest.  My friend suggested we ride with them as the road to the property is very narrow and full of switchback turns.  We -- or maybe it was just me -- decided it was a good idea to drive separate vehicles.  We would drive our F350 dually and bring the three mangy mongrels along for the ride.  

My friend, who has always been the more level headed of our dynamic duo, just rolled her eyes and shook her head, then reluctantly agreed to us following them.  The road was very narrow and every 40-50 yards there was a hairpin bend.  There were several unnerving tight spots when we crossed paths with oncoming big trucks; but in the end, consort navigated the mountainous terrain like a pro.  His driving skills never cease to amaze me -- and almost always in a positive way.

While we were at the property, a horse-drawn, covered wagon passed by.  Now that's something you don't see every day.  The collage pictured below shows some of the tight curves leading up, and down, the mountain.  

We are presently parked in the Smoky Mountains, which are a part of the Appalachian mountain range.  The highest peak of the Smoky Mountains, Mount Mitchel, is 6,684 feet high.  The highest peak of the Rocky Mountains, Mount Elbert, is 14,440 feet high.   This should give us plenty of practice for future trips through the Rockies.  

This past Saturday morning, consort and I went with our friend to a flea market and fresh produce stand.  I was thrilled to find white squash, also known as Patty Pan or scalloped summer squash, at the produce stand.  In the world where I live, summer is not summer until you've had a serving of Patty Pan squash.

This picture is of a glass platter friend and I found at the flea market.  We knew immediately that one of us had to have it.  It was only $3, but a glass platter in a fifth wheel?  Every time we move the trailer it's as if we've had a small earthquake inside!  We finally decided I would enjoy the glass platter while parked here at Roan Creek, and she would keep the platter safe in her stationary home when we move on.

There is so much to see and explore here, and the weather is perfect for being outside.  We're still trying to figure out cell signals and internet.  It's a little hard to research where you're going to explore without access to a cell phone with internet.  We are slowly figuring it all out.

In the meantime, I think I'll head back outside to sit and stare at the creek.  My first-born recommends staring at the creek endlessly; he tells me I’ll find there everything I need to know, and all the news is included.  

Roan Creek Campground

Butler, Tennessee

We are parked at Roan Creek Campground outside of Butler, Tennessee, and it is beautiful.  The entire area is a pleasure to see and hear; it delights both the senses and the mind.  The above picture is the backside of our campsite.  It is lush and green everywhere with Roan Creek running through the campground.

This is a video of a kaleidoscope of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.  

They gathered on the bank, then took off in a group as if playing a game of tag.

The scenery is everything here.  Southern Texas was desert; eastern Tennessee may be the perfect opposite.  The downside, for the moment, is that we have intermittent cell phone signal and absolutely NO television.  Consort and I were both prepared for no television and planned to take a vacation from the same.  I think it's more difficult for me, being the news junkie that I am -- thanks, D! -- but I was definitely due for a break from my 24/7 coverage.  We're working on the spotty cell signal and internet, but for now, it's a no-go.

Around Christmastime, I replaced the comforter on our bed in the trailer.  I like a lot of color in my world, and the new comforter filled the bill.  Consort was pleased that I changed only accessories and did not paint the walls.

The bed cover and shams looked great, but the headboard was really ugly.  It had a solid gold, satin-type fabric in the headboard insets.  I knew the fabric could be replaced and have had my eye out for just the right piece.

While we were on the road, I think maybe in Amarillo,  I found an indoor/outdoor rug at Walmart.  It was $10 and perfectly matched the colors in the comforter.  I wasn't sure how I was going to use the rug, but I picked it up and brought it home with me.

It didn't take long to determine this was the perfect replacement fabric for the headboard.

Consort removed the headboard from the wall yesterday, then I began the task of removing all the staples holding the insets in place.

Once the staples were removed, I measured and cut new panels from the rug to replace the original fabric.  Of course, I chose a rag rug for my fabric, and it is not meant to be cut.  There are heavy yarn threads running throughout the rug that hold it together.  Once I cut the rug to fit the headboard insets, I had to go back and stitch -- by hand, where's my sewing machine?? -- all the edges so the rug wouldn't fall apart.


While I was working on this latest project, we had a mobile RV repair unit at our site fixing another broken cable in a slide.  This is the fourth cable that has snapped on one slide.  We've got to figure out what's causing this problem or learn to fix the problem ourselves.  There are lots of other things we'd rather spend our money on!  But I digress...

As I sat at the kitchen table stitching up the sides of the rug, the repair guys worked on the slide.  It took them a couple of hours to replace two cables.  All the time they were working, and I was stitching, one of the repair guys told stories -- you know, just life experiences.  He was a really good storyteller and made the afternoon fly by in a most enjoyable way.

Consort and I were well pleased with the end results, both the slide and the headboard.


NOTE:  I am writing this blog in a parking lot in front of the Coin Laundry.  We drove a half an hour, more or less, to get into town.  We have grocery shopping to do, a little laundry -- and access to internet and cell phone.  All of this to say, I will blog each time I have access to the World Wide Web.  Bear with me, faithful reader, as I figure out this newest move.

The view from the road

Nashville

We stopped in Nashville for a few days and met up with some friends we met months ago in central Texas.  They have been full-time RV'ing for 15 years.  They are on their final voyage.  After 15 years, they're moving into a stationary house.  We wish them well.

Nashville is a great city with lots to see and do.  Consort and I only skimmed the surface.  We definitely plan to revisit.

The above pictures are from Centennial Park in downtown Nashville.  We went on a very long, uphill hike to the dog park only to find it closed due to the coronavirus... arghhhh!!!!!  But the park and the entire downtown area is beautiful.  There are blooming Magnolia trees lining the streets.  Completely breathtaking!

The architecture, both new and old, was interesting.  I love seeing old buildings reclaimed and housing new businesses.

One of the new businesses we stopped into was Antique Archaeology, Home of the American Pickers.  Consort is a big fan of the TV show American Pickers.  They had some really unusual things in the store.  Consort settled for the bumper sticker to add to his collection.

We stopped and ate lunch at White Castle burgers.  I've only eaten them a couple of times, and both times were with my grandmother in Kansas City.  In honor of what would have been her 100th birthday, consort and I shared a sack of burgers.  They were quite tasty!

Who goes to Nashville without stopping for a peek at the Ryman Theatre?

And for you football fans, the Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.

The hills in NE Tennessee beginning to gain some height.

Consort dumping our stored fresh water to lighten the load before heading into the Smoky Mountains.

The rise of the Smoky's.