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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Amazing Trip

Our trip on Monday began with a climb up I-40 to Ridgecrest, NC. Sunday evening we stopped at Catawba Falls Campground off I-40 at Exit 73. Elevation there is 1530 ft. The peak of the climb (2570 ft) is just North of Ridgecrest, NC Exit 66. That was my first real test of our truck, trailer combo on a long climb. Transmission downshifted when needed and kept things rolling pretty well. Big trucks in the truck lane were struggling but we just went on up and up and up. I was impressed.

Then I-40 turned West as it traversed through the Southern part of Asheville. The view from the highway into Asheville was pretty cool. Made me want to consider a trip to Asheville for an extended stay. Maybe we can get workamping jobs at Ridgecrest Conference Center. Or may be at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Or maybe at Biltmore Estate. I am sure we can find something in the Asheville area.

Several places along the route, the NCDOT apparently planted some colorful tress to improve the view. The white an pink blooms added a touch of color to the natural forest.
   IMG 0640
A few more miles and we left I-40 at exit 27 (Clyde) to get on US 74 Southwest to NC 60.
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Things were going pretty well until confusing road signs had me going through the center of downtown Waynesville. Don't ask me how that happened. Let the photo speak for it self. We certainly got a few stares.
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While there, I took on fuel at $4.25/gallon. That is the most I've paid ever. They saw a sucker coming. A few miles down the road, closer to US-74, fuel was cheaper. Finally got back on to US-74. I needed to turn left - but could only turn right. So rather than jump a few curbs, I went right for a few miles, and found a spot where I could get turned around.

Finally, we are headed down US-74, also know as The Great Smokey Mountain Expressway. Then we noticed that US-74 went down, down, down. Next we saw a sign for Rolling Thunder River Company (Whitewater Rafting) in Bryson, NC. Then we noticed we were driving next to the Nantahala River. Not what we were expecting but WOW, what a spectacular view.
   US 74
We started climbing again. When we entered Cherokee County, we knew we were getting close to GA state line.
   GA 60
We were in Murphy, NC and Carol decide we should stop for a Subway Sandwich. So we stopped. When I got out of the truck, I noticed the driver side dually tire looked low. Uh Oh! I asked the clerk behind the counter if he knew where a tire store was and he suggested Walmart. No, I mean a real tire store. He was clueless. Then I noticed three NC State Troopers enjoying a conversation so I asked them. They sent me to Well's Tires about 4 miles back the way we came. I pulled the truck part way into a service bay so they could check tire pressure. Before they did anything, I noticed the tire looked normal now. SHEESH!! I had them check the tire pressure. Inner tire was a little low so they air that tire up and check the others. Back on the road, we finally made the turn to NC-60. Then a few miles later, we were home in Georgia.
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It did not take us long to get set up once we were here. We certainly enjoyed the view of the Llama pasture at our front door.
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Well, that's it. Today we shadowed Dennis and Mattie, the other workamper couple, while they fed the Llamas, scooped Llama poop and fed Sophie and Bear two Great Pyrenees dogs who guard the Llamas.  Dennis and Mattie leave for Branson in a week so we have just a few days to learn what they do.

Then we went into Blue Ridge to take a look around. Did a little grocery shopping and checked out the town. It is certainly larger than Maysville and has more to offer.

Thanks for stopping by.

1 comment:

  1. Just wanted to let you guys know we do have volunteer opportunities at Ridgecrest. Here's a link with more information: http://ridgecrestconferencecenter.org/volunteer

    Please feel free to check it out!

    Byron Hill
    Esecutive Director, LifeWay Conference Centers

    ReplyDelete