Day 319 (West Jefferson, NC)

We explored Boone, NC and drove the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway. There are a couple of older local churches with frescos. We stopped by and looked at one.

There are acres and acres of xmas trees in various stages of growth. Doug said it takes about 9 years to get the right size to be harvested for sales. They make for beautiful views - must be the replacement crop for tobacco.

Day 318 (West Jefferson, NC)

What a beautiful town in the mountains of North Carolina! Spring is beginning to bloom and the trees leaf out. We followed Doug (Boots’ Nephew) up Bald Mountain to his mountain top cabin at about 4,600 feet. “Cabin” may be a misnomer as this is really a large home with all of the modern amenities (flat panel TV, washer/dryer, running water, pool table - Karma wanted to play with the balls - etc.). But it is definitely up the mountain. Halfway up is a slow rise back and forth up the mountain. Then there is a sharp double switchback and the drive up gets seriously steep. It’s like the last few yards on the Flattop Mountain Trail in Anchorage but its’ about 5 miles. It felt like straight up especially on the curves. But the reward is the beautiful view down the mountain and across North Carolina.

Again, we are in a small town with a lot of public murals around the commercial downtown. We have noticed these in a number of smaller towns so far on our trip. West Jefferson also has a historic and well known fresco in a local church. It’s on our list to visit –so we’ll let you know.

Day 315 (Roebuck, SC)

We have found a replacement for our favorite pizza places in Anchorage (Moose’s Tooth OR Bear Tooth) – Mellow Mushroom. They have the best Bruschetta, even better than Olive Garden! And, there was a Mellow Mushroom in Foley, Alabama and here in Spartanburg, South Carolina. On their web page, they have other ovens around the South, even near our next destination in North Carolina (West Jefferson).

Day 314 (Roebuck, SC)

On the way here, traffic on Interstate 85 slowed to a stop. We crawled along for an hour before seeing the accident on the other side. I think our side had been closed for 1st responders to get to the location. The other direction was backup for 3 ½ miles. Anyway, a semi with a load of autos had flipped over and was blocking both lanes and the shoulders.

This campground (Pine Ridge Campground) is truly a woodsy area. We had to drive through a narrow lane down and up a hollow to get here. “Hollow” is another name for a “draw” or “wash”. We can’t get satellite transmissions and forget about the internet –hence the lateness of these entries. The roads into and through the campground are VERY narrow so we are practicing our turning/maneuvering capabilities.

We are not anywhere near the fires on the SC coast. Though, we are getting fire hot temperatures – 94 degrees. HOT HOT HOT

In SC, ants come in 2 colors (red and black) both are about ¾ to an inch long. Black one had wings – so maybe it’s a termite not afraid of light. Up close like this, ants really look vicious. Ruthi hasn’t been bit yet but if they do bite they will find her. She seems to attract all sorts of bugs that bite or sting – flies, gnats, small red ants (in Alabama), bees, wasps, etc. etc. etc. Her calves are their favorite spot. She’s itching and applying awful smelling bug repellant which doesn’t seem to work too well.

Day 312 (Norcross GA)

While we haven't gotten into downtown Atlanta, maybe next time, we have seen a good deal of the Northern suburbs. Georgia is the first of the 13 colonies we will explore this trip. With the exception of the interstates, the roads seem to meander around the landscape rarely going due North, South, East, or West. Our memories of Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey is that the roads were built upon old wildlife or Indian trails instead of the surveyed straight lines in the later explored/developed states.

Boots’ good friend, Jean, took us up the Appalachian Mountains as to see her cabin (really a 3-story rustic abode). While the hills aren’t as high as the Chugach in Anchorage or the Canadian Rockies the roads were very curvy with little or no shoulders to pull off on. Thankfully, Jean was driving her car and we got to “white knuckle” it as passengers. With little to no passing zones, she did pull off when driveways or other available space was there to allow for the “parade” to pass us.

More on the roads in the Atlanta area - there were many roads with Peachtree in the name: Old Peachtree Road, Peachtree Industrial, Peachtree Corners, etc. etc. etc. The next most popular was Sugarloaf this and Sugarloaf that.

Day 307 (Norcross, GA)

Well, this RV park is not empty nor as spacious as Opelika was. But we are in the city with all of the additional options - Costco, Pet Smart, ethinic resturants, dog parks, etc. etc. etc.

More later . . .

Day 304 (Opelika, AL)

We drove up to Alexander City, AL to see Charles Duncan, Boots’ brother-in-law and his girl friend, Billie. They both have houses on Lake Martin. What a beautiful area! Lots of lawn and great views of the water. Alexander City is a small community of retirees that was originally founded by the Russell Family of Russell Sport clothing mills for their workers. They apparently used their wealth and influence in a positive way in the community.

This particular RV Park is empty except for us! There are concrete pads and lanais at each site. About a third are pull-throughs. Without anyone else here, Karma gets to run free. She has had a lot of exercise while in Alabama (all the relatives had large yards - great for ball throwing). She wants to chase the ball no matter how many times she has already. So, after she runs around like a "crazy" dog, I get the ball and we play catch. Then she is ready to sleep for a couple of hours. A tired dog is a good dog!

Day 303 (Summerdale, AL)

We are getting ready to leave tomorrow and the rain, lightening and thunder have returned.

They get REAL rain in Alabama; not the misting we were used to in Anchorage. The rain drops are big enough to knock you out. I thought it was hail at first. This morning Karma and I were out for her first relief of the day when it started to drizzle then really rain. She looked at me and started back to the house. I guess she didn’t need to go as bad as I had thought.

Day 291 (Summerdale, AL)

Our RV park neighbor (who had also made a similar mistake but DROVE his motorhome) gave us a ride to pick up our cleaned truck. The cost for my mistake was $280 (plus lost fuel). If we had driven it, it could have been in the $1,000 to $1,500 range. Whew!!!!