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.
   
A few more miles and we left I-40 at exit 27 (Clyde) to get on US 74 Southwest to NC 60.
   
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.
   
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.
   
We started climbing again. When we entered Cherokee County, we knew we were getting close to GA state line.
   
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.
   
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.
   
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.

We Have Arrived

Yes we have landed in Georgia, Blue Ridge to be exact.
   
That is the good news. The bad news is I am too tired to blog tonight. So tomorrow you will get a full report of an amazing trip.

I can say our truck performed flawlessly. We had sufficient power to go up hills and plenty of stopping power when coming. I even beat out a Ford F250 pulling a lighter 5th wheel. You could say I left that Ford in the dust. 

Please check back tomorrow for the full story. This is the view we get while sitting under our canopy or sitting at the dining table.
   
Thanks for stopping by.

Almost There

We are almost there now. There being Blue Ridge, Ga. One more short drive of 160 miles through the Southern part of the Appalachian Mountains.

This morning I got a little turned around when we left. The plan was to grab a breakfast at the Backyard Grill (recommended by Hagan-Stone Park manager), then fuel up the truck and head west. I should have taken I-85 to I-75 then I-40. Somehow I missed I-75 and stayed on I-85. That put me on course for Charlotte. Carol did a little navigating and determine that we can get back on course by taking US 64 North at Lexington. That is what we did. I-85 was rough in spots. We certainly would prefer something smoother. Oh yes, US-64 is asphalt. This is what we prefer.
   
We still cannot get over US highways being 2 lanes wide with no shoulder. We made it back to I-40 and are now headed for Asheville. Our camp site is just east of Asheville. At Exit 94 (South of Lake James State Park, I got a glimpse of what lies ahead. Pretty cool.
   
So far our truck has not stumbled on any of the small grades up or down. In fact at this point, I am very pleased with the way our truck has performed; no engine strain and good stopping ability. We pulled off I-40 at Old Fort to find our stop for the night; Catawba RV Park. This is a small family operated park.

The park is nestled in a valley so TV reception here is nonexistent. We watched a DVD movie instead. Carol worked on a seeing project while I worked on the blog.  We tried to connect via Internet with our Houston daughter but due to iffy Internet, could not make that happen.
   
Our site backs up to the Catawba River. Currently it is flowing like a small creek. Here is a view from our back window.
   
After a short rest, we ventured into Old Fort and found most of the better restaurants closed. We ended up grabbing a quick meal at Hardee's. Nothing to brag about other than that it was quick. When we got back, we walked the doggies and chatted with our neighbors. They are here from St. Agustine, FL. They came up to celebrate their twin Aunt & Uncle's 95th birthday. Tomorrow we need to make one stop at Camping World in Asheville to replace or water hose. It has developed a leak at the fitting where it connects to spigot. Then we will take more photos as we travel along to Blue Ridge.  Hope the rain in forecast will not interfere with our travel plans.

Thanks for stopping by.