Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park

We left Keystone RV in Greencastle, PA to head for the C&O Canal National Park. The C&O Canal was constructed in the early part of the 19th century to link Washington, DC with Pittsburg, PA. The grand plan was to connect two great waterways, the Chesapeake Bay & the Ohio River. It was built during the period when America depended on waterways for the movement of commerce. Unfortunately it was only completed as far as Cumberland, MD, due to money problems, labor difficulties, disease epidemics & the competition with the B&O railroad, which started construction on the same day.

So tonight we’re sittin’ at Spring Gap a National Park camp about 4 miles south of Cumberland, MD. The Campground offers no hookups, just vault toilets, a table and a fire ring. It is located right along side the old canal. Turns out the vault toilets are up at the other end of the park so there not much use to us. I selected this spot cause it’s comin’ on Memorial Day weekend and that’s the traditional start of campin’ season here in the north and we need a place to light for the long weekend. When we arrived we we’re surprised to find an almost empty campground and had our pick of sites.

We got settled in had some dinner and then a campfire then it was off to bed. Guess what we’re not near an interstate so we have a railroad across the canal. Seems there’s a big CSX railroad maintenance facility up the road in Cumberland. I think the 27th train just rolled by since we arrived. How can we be so lucky!!

Well yesterday was a extremely hot, 96 degree day and today is follerin’ in it’s footsteps. I was uncomfortable most of the night so I’m lookin’ to go somewhere we can have electric. Think we’ll head down to Camp Copperhead in Alma, WV. We stayed here in September of 2008 and had a great time with the new owners Kathy & Vicki. Hopefully the hot weather will break cause it’s a little early in the season fer 90’s.

So another leg of our journey to who-knows-where is over and tomorrow dawns a new adventure. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Harpers Ferry, WV

We were up early, early today. Remember the nice level, shady, quiet spot at the Casino? Well what we didn’t know was there’s a railroad spur right out front of our truck. Around 2:30 last night a freight rolled by, wheels squeakin’, shakin’ the whole rig. I heard it but must have been asleep sound enough to dismiss it and roll over and go back to sleep. Until around 6 this mornin’ when another freight rolled by, not so much squeakin’, but much more shakin’ it seemed. So that was the end of my sleep. I thought it was comin’ through the side of the camper. I couldn’t believe we didn’t see the tracks yesterday when we chose this spot. It was daylight, what happened? Later after breakfast I investigated and couldn’t see the tracks at first. Then I walked up the parkin’ lot a little and found that the tracks came down the side of the property, straight at us and turned 50’ to the right of where we were parked. So much fer’ the perfect parkin’ spot!

We stopped to get some pics of the horse track this morning since we couldn’t get get any yesterday.

Charles Town Race Track

We drove up the road to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park and parked in the lot. There is no place to park in the town & the streets are very narrow, so the Park Service provides shuttle buses from the Visitors Center.

Typical Street in Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry lies on a narrow peninsula of land at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It is also an intersection of several railroad tracks of the B&O railroad, not my favorite thing right today. There is a railroad bridge with a foot bridge attached where three tracks combine to cross the Potomac River. The Appalachian Trail also crosses on this bridge.

We started our tour at an exhibit that gave a background history on the town. It was a place steeped in the Industrial Revolution. The Harpers Ferry Armory mass produced rifles and pistols for the government, these weapons were the first of their kind to have interchangeable parts. It must have been massive for it’s time covering several blocks.

What Harpers Ferry is most famous for is ‘John Browns Raid’. John Brown and his supporters attacked the armory in an attempt to capture the 100,000 rifles housed there and held up in the Fire Company’s station. His objective was to call attention to the abolition of slavery by arming the south’s blacks with weapons from the armory. Word of the raid spread and the local militia was gathered from surrounding towns to rout the invaders. They were soon replaced by a company of Marines who stormed the building were John Brown and his raiders were held up. John Brown was wounded and captured while most of his men were killed. He was later taken to Charles Town, the county seat and charged with treason, tried and hanged. His raid and more so his death served to speed up the conflict between the states. Harpers Ferry was such a strategic stronghold that it changed hands eight times during the Civil War.

This was the Fire Company, now known as John Browns Fort

We are spending the night in a Passport park, Keystone RV in Greencastle, PA. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Another day on the road

We left Blue Bend USFS camp and headed west then north, back over to Virginia. I know, I said we weren’t gonna stay here but we decided to go visit Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. We traveled up the road as far as Front Royal, VA and stopped for the night at a Passport America park there. The park was OK, and they had many activities one could partake in, but is in a state of disrepair. The new owners or management is trying to upgrade the park after it’s downhill slide for many years, according to long time residents that seasonally live there. As we travel north we seem to encounter more parks that lean toward the ‘resort type’, trying to attract folks for the entire season and in doing so stretch themselves thin when it comes to maintaining the amenities in the parks. The price is higher than normal and they just got way too much stuff goin’ on.  It didn’t need any pictures. Get off your soapbox Bear!!

We stopped the next day in Charles Town, West Virginia. The town was settled by Charles Washington, brother of George Washington. It also has a claim to fame as the place where John Brown was tried for treason for attacking and destroying the Harpers Ferry National Armory. Charles donated the four corners of the town square for the center of government. Today those corners are occupied by the Courthouse, where John Brown was tried, the City Hall and Post Office.

Jefferson County Courthouse

Charles Town City Hall

After visiting several historical buildings we ventured over a few blocks from Town Square to the Mt Zion Cemetery. Both the Washington family and the Brown family seem to be well represented here, with the Washington’s occupying a section of their own.

The Washington section

We also visited other historic Colonial Era buildings but I couldn’t post all of them. We stopped in the Visitors Center and learned they have a Racetrack & Casino. Guess where we’re gonna stay & play.

We talked to security at the casino and was told “Sure you can stay, we’ve had people stay a week or more before”. We found the lot with RV’s, buses & 18 wheelers and picked out a nice level spot up against some trees bordering a residential neighborhood, perfect. We’re level, got shade, should be quiet near the houses and we have a vegetation buffer between us and the homes for privacy and it should muffle any noise from that direction. We had grabbed some dinner at Subway before settling here for the night.

The races started at 7PM and since neither of us had ever experienced horse racing we we’re excited to see it. We made our way to the Casino and grabbed up a ‘Players Club’ card with $25 complimentary slot play. It was getting close to 7 so we found our way through the Casino to the race track area. Soon we were seated in the air conditioned area above the track. I neglected to mention it was extremely hot here today for this time of year, 89 degrees. Despite the heat Linda said 'We should go outside down on the ‘paddock area’ to really experience this”,  and I had to agree. As luck would have it the temps had started to mellow somewhat after we were trackside. Sorry no pics of the races, but we had to go through the casino and I know how they are about cameras.

We watched eight of the nine races this evening and it was exciting to see. Then we made our way back through the casino to try and lose our $25 each. You know how I normally get my grub-stake cleaned from me in short order! We found some 5 cent machines and decided to try our hand. They got these games down, 5 cent machine, minimum bet 25 cents, why not call it a 25 cent machine? Cause 5 cents probably attracts cheap folks like us, we’re not really gamblers. Linda tried her luck first.

One thing we’ve learned is that the machine displays how much total money you have left to play. What it doesn’t show is the remainder of your original $25 and the total of what you have won.

Let me explain further. The casino gives you a promotional amount of ‘Free Slot Play’ when you sign up for a ‘Players Club’ card, in this case $25. You choose a machine to play and you have to stay on that machine till you’ve expended your $25. Along with that $25 you have made winnings while you play, which you are entitled to withdraw. The remainder of the $25 initial promotional monies you can not ‘Cash in’ or withdraw, but your winnings you can. So as you play along when the machine ‘hits’ for a goodly amount, push that ‘Cash Out’ button and you will receive your winnings, which will of coarse will be deducted from the total money left to play which is registered on the machine. Personal preference is what decides ‘a goodly amount’ when it comes to winnings and ‘cashing out’. You can continue to play & cash out what you win, as long as there is some of the original money left. What you have to remember is the odds are always in favor of ‘The House’ and if you sit and play without ever cashing out your winnings, you will walk away  empty handed.

In our case Linda would hit and ‘cash out’, play some more, hit and ‘cash out’, she walked away with $14 and I played the same way and ‘cashed out’ $32. Not bad fer’ playin’ with the casinos money!!

After cashin’ out, we went back to our home and called it a night. Since we didn’t make it today, tomorrow we head to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Blue Bend Camp

Hi! Were sittin’ in a USFS camp outside White Sulphur Springs, WV, near Lewisburg off I-64. We had enough of VA so we decided to come on over to WV. We have visited here before in 2008 for an month. The economical camping opportunities are abundant here. On the way over on I-64 we made one last stop in VA at the Humpback Bridge. I can’t remember the exit number but it is well marked on the interstate. At the site of the bridge they have a lovely wayside park with picnic tables & grills, all along a bold creek.

I guess it was designed with the arch to be self supporting over the span of the water. It was constructed of hand hewn timbers in 1835 and reconditioned in 1953. Other than the Graffitti it’s still in surprising shape.

Big enough to accommodate the largest wagons

We also stopped for fuel before we crossed into WV. Really small town grocery/convenience and I thought I’d be paying a premium price. Surprised was I, $2.79/gal for diesel.

We ventured on the few miles to WV & White Sulphur Springs where we turned north a short drive on our way to Blue Bend Camp. There are no hookups but they have showers & flush toilets and $10/night. After settin’ up we sat down to relax fer’ a spell before it was time to fix dinner. We decided to relax here for two days. It’s a quiet camp on a beautiful creek stocked with trout every week. The ‘Blue Bend’ is cause the creek has a large bend, with a deep blue water pool that the highway and the camp wrap around.

Here’s the ‘Queen’ relaxifyin’.

The camphost here came by askin’ about our truck camper. Seems he and his Mrs. have a Palomino truck Camper and they love it but it was to small to live in while they ‘Host’ so they bought a travel trailer to use while they’re here. B’sides they needed room fer the grand youngins’. Both John & Linda the ‘Hosts’ came back in the afternoon of our second day to visit some more. We had a great visit and John offered us some firewood for the evening. At first I turned him down, then I decided to take him up on it and he delivered the wood before they left for a ‘Pot Luck’ all the hosts in this forest district were havin’.  We had our fire and made an early night and showered at 9PM, instead of our normally later 11PM. We ran out of hot water and decided we should stick to our late schedule long after everyone has showered.

Today is Monday and we’re headin’ out this morning for parts unknown.

Got a little writers block so I’m gonna go fer now.

By the way I haven’t posted fer a few days cause there is ‘NO’ signal here, no TV, no nuthin’. I believe we’re under what I call  the ‘Dome of Silence’. See there’s a National Radio Telescope facility up the road about 50 miles and there are not any transmissions in that area. We visited here on September 21, 2008 and I did a blog entry after that visit, when we got back to civilization.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Last of Virginia, We’re Cheap!!

Since our last post we have traveled leisurely northward through Virginia. We stopped for the night at a Forest Service campground named Bark Lake Camp after we left Cumberland Gap N.H.P. I kinda wish we’d discovered that later in our trip, cause now we’re comparin’ everything to that and sayin’ “We shoulda’ stayed at Cumberland Gap longer, It was great”. Oh well gotta move on.

Bark Lake had 30 amp electric, restrooms, showers and a dump station, as well as a day use area with picnic tables, grills and a pier and boat dock. The fee was $12 for a site + $5 for electric. FIVE DOLLARS for a little electric, we’re not drivin’ a 40’ diesel pusher. Besides you couldn’t get anything like that near this little camp out in the middle of nowhere. It was nice but didn’t compare with “You know where”. We talked with the ‘Camphost’ and her son, Sam, for awhile when arriving. Then he came down later and we talked some more. Then it was time for the season finale of ‘Gray’s Anatomy’. What an edge of the seat show, we kept saying WOW.

Up on Friday, had breakfast, got ready to roll and then took a shower before we pulled out. Later in the day we stopped at "’Wally World” in Princeton, VA and bought a new clock. This will replace the one on the wall that I have tried to silence the ‘TIC-TIC-TIC’ that seems deafening when your ‘Boondocked’ and have no fan or A/C. I carried a AA battery into the store and tested this one. I can’t hear it so it’s good fer me. after our fulfilling purchase we were faced with ‘The Outback’ at the front of the parking lot, so we caved in and had a great dinner of ‘Alice Springs Chicken and Baby Back Ribs’. It didn’t hurt so bad cause my Mom gave us a gift card for our anniversary before we left home, Thanks again Mom. So we applied that to most of it and we still have $10 left plus $18 from a gift card from Xmas 2008, I see another dinner in our future.

When dinner was done I opted for a nap but I was voted down and we went down the road further. We were headed for another FS camp called “White Rocks’ but decided to stay at ‘Wally World’ in Pearisburg instead. This was the quietest WalMart we have ever encountered in all our years of travel. There was no trucks pulling in during the night with their KA-SISSS of airbrakes, no sweeper during the night, no locals showing off for the girls with their cars and trucks. It was so…. quiet that I didn’t sleep very well. I guess not havin’ power to run the fan or A/C I missed the noise. I’m gonna’ have to work on comin’ up with a 12v fan or such to make noise when we ‘Boodock’. A little breeze wouldn’t hurt either sometimes.

Saturday dawned and we were going to go to Shenandoah N.P. We started heading in that direction and were going to stop for lunch at ‘Natural Bridge’ but they wanted an astounding $18 each to see it. Pooh on that!! I can see all the natural bridges, arches or what ever you want to call them for free lots of other places. During lunch I started thinking, “If Virginia wants to charge for every little site, does this National Park have a entrance fee”? Sure does, $15 then were gonna’ spend $17 for a ‘NO’ hookup camp, for one night? Nah…. We’ll do that after we get the Golden Age pass. Then the entrance fee is waived, the campground is half price, gettin’ real frugal aint’ I? Well there aint any ‘Stimulus Dollars’ comin’ my way.

No pictures today except these two scenery pics. In the first one, my sweeties holdin’ down the railin’ and the second one is the beautiful scenery behind her.

That’s all fer this episode, stay tuned fer the next one. In the meantime, hope to see ya down the road as were;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Linda and I arose around 8:50AM. Amy was making breakfast this morning and we were just fixin’ to sit when Randy came back from his early morning hike. We all enjoyed a hearty breakfast then I started packin’ some so I wouldn’t have much to do later.

We went for a drive to the dam area and took a walk along the river. The day was nice, no rain, and our stroll was beautiful. The TVA has plaques on the trees identifying each species. after our two hour stroll we headed back to prepare to depart. When it was time to leave, Amy & Randy left first, after many handshakes & hugs. We really enjoyed being able to spend time together. We’ll miss ya and love ya.

Linda & I headed north & east on our way to Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. We have never been there and wanted to check it out after we got a tip from another camper. We drove the 50 some-odd miles to the park along some beautiful country.

We followed the signs to the Wilderness Road Campground just check it out. WOW!!! This place is nice!! Were stayin’ at least the night. The campground has 100 sites, 41 of which have 20/30/50 amp electric, paved roads & sites in the electric area, dump station with potable water available, new bath-houses, which have heated individual private showers and guess what every site has firewood piled up at the back. The primitive sites are gravel and are $12/night, Electric sites are $17/night, half price with Golden Age/ Golden Access passes. This is one Beautiful Park!

We settled in and had dinner, made a fire, walked about half of the campground, then it was showers and off to bed.

Wednesday after a breakfast of ham & eggs, we headed out to check out the rest of the park. First stop the Visitors Center to gather info. We watched two movies in their auditorium, visited the museum, then were off to Pinnacle Rock Overlook. The road up is very switch backed with several steep climbing hairpin turns and there is a length restriction of 20 feet.

After parking we started the climb to the top. Not far or steep at all, an easy hike on paved path. This was our reward.

A little hazy, but still worthy of a picture.

We checked out some rock formations.

This one has the big ones stacked on the smaller ones.

Here we’re standin’ on the TN/KY state line along the trail.

After leavin’ the Pinnacle, we headed for the historic town of Cumberland Gap. We stopped the ‘Olde Mill Bed and Breakfast’ cause it looked like the oldest building in town. Attached to the B&B is the Regimental Headquarters of a TN Volunteers Infantry Battalion. Later we drove to Wilderness State Park, we were not impressed. Back to the campground for another night.

Here I am, Hard at it! 

This is our site from the back.

Well that’s all for today. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Norris Dam, TN

We left our mountain home at 10:30 Saturday and drove over to TN through Smoky Mountain National Park. We debated weather to take this route or the southern route, but since the southern route involved traveling along Hwy 321 in TN, we decided to go through the park. Driving on Hwy 321, also called “The Dragon” because of the 318 turns in 11 miles, can be a challenge in any motor vehicle but we didn’t feel like fighting our way through in our camper today.

We arrived at Amy & Randy’s around 2:00 after a stop for lunch at Long John Silvers. Amy was waiting for us and said she knew we’d be there around 2:00. We talked and looked at their new trailer, then had some ‘adult beverages’ while we waited for Randy to get home from work. After he arrived he and I visited, we ate dinner,and we all talked & laughed some more. Randy turned in early and we took showers and followed soon after.

Sunday Amy made us a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee, while I turned on the LP gas in their trailer and tried to get the fridge started. After four attempts at gas or electric, we finally leveled the trailer and it lit, success. Amy was pretty well all packed so Linda & I headed out to get to the park and secure two sites for us. When we arrived at the campground it was old, rundown, sat on top of a mountain with no trees but lots of high tension power pole & lines overhead. Oh My this will never due. We went around & around trying to find two sites where we would be in close proximity to each other, but nothing worked very well. I decided we should go down to the Visitors Center by the dam and ask if this is the only campground. The attendant there said “No we have two campgrounds”. The East campground, which we had just left and a west camp across the dam and 2 miles down the road. We loaded up and left after thanking him. I said to Linda as were driving, “If the campground is better and the restrooms are just as bad as the East campground it will be OK”, or if the restrooms are better and the camp is similar it will be OK.

Well The west camp has all paved sites and nice restrooms, Hurray! We picked out to sites back to back and settled in. Amy & Randy arrived at 6:09PM and we helped them get settled in. I made hamburgers on their new grill that attaches to the side of their trailer. With the potato salad that Linda made and some fresh corn on the cob that Amy had soaked and Linda roasted on the fire we had built, we were stuffed. On thing I forgot to mention, We battled rain, on & off all afternoon and evening.

 

Here we are, all settled in.

Here’s both campsites.

Monday dawned bright & sunny and we dined in Amy & Randy’s trailer on Sausage gravy & biscuits, Linda had prepared, Um.mn. After breakfast we left for some sightseeing around the park. This park seems to cover a lot of country between the east & west sides, the dam, river & lake. We drove to the pool and while explorin’ the sky opened up. We waited till the rain let up and ran for their truck. From there everywhere we went was rain on and off all morning.

We visited the Dam, it rained.

The Grist Mill, it rained.

The Threshing Barn, it rained.

We came back around 1:30 and the skies were starting to clear, Yeah. Linda & I cooked Pizza’s for us all in our ‘pie irons’. hey were enjoyed well by all. We spent a lovely afternoon laughing and visiting around the campfire. Amy served a delicious dinner of ‘Ring baloney’, mashed potatoes & baked beans, with some corn on the cob on the side. After we sat and talked 7 joked & enjoyed each others company until the dark clouds moved back in late in the eve. We all decide to call it a night.

Well I know I left out a bunch but I’ve got to get to bed so’s I’m ready for Amy’s breakfast tomorrow. Hope to see ya’ down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Visitin’ & Time to move on

We followed Sam to his Dad’s house the other day and had us a long-a-waited visit. Most every time we’re up here we ask around lookin’ fer Gary to no avail. When we arrived Gary was settin’ on the porch waitin’ on us. We visited, got the nickel tour of his home and property. He is located in a ‘holler’ with a small creek runnin’ through the middle of his property. Gary & Sam had been cuttin’ just like us and was waitin’ fer a local fella to come and burn a big brush pile he had cut about a month ago. Gary had gotten a burn permit just that morning and when the guy he was expectin’ came by we had us a heck of a bonfire. We continued to talk and laugh into the early afternoon. We wrapped up our visit and said our goodbyes. But we know where you are now and we’ll be back soon. Great seein’ ya’ again Gary.

Sam, Gary & Me

Our time here has come to an end for now. Gary & Jean are comin’ up tomorrow so we’re movin’ on.

We’ll head over the mountains to our friends Randy & Amy’s place in TN. They bought a new camper last fall and have never used it yet, so we’re going on their ‘maiden voyage’ with them. Their new camper was already winterized when they picked it up late in the season and Randy didn’t want to flush it out and have to turn around and winterize it again. The ‘Plan’ is we’re off to Norris Dam State Park on Sunday fer a few days.

Linda & I were in town today and decided to ‘Go for It’ and have lunch at our local Mexican restaurant, “Guayabitos”. We didn’t know exactly what to order, but we’ve wondered about eating here for years. Well I ordered Chori Pollo, which is chicken strips grilled with Mexican sausage, poblano peppers and mushrooms. It was served with Mexican rice and refried beans. Linda had Chicken Quesadilla Rellena with Mexican rice. Both our lunches were very good but mine was simply outstanding, delicious, scrumptious, anyway it was dang good. We won’t hesitate to come back again. I told the waiter that I saw a problem with my lunch, it was so tasty that I fear I won’t order anything else when I do make a return trip. We came away feelin’ ‘fat as ticks’ and lookin’ fer a nap. When we got back home I went to loadin’ the camper, some of us might have sneaked in a little shuteye while that was happenin’. We’re all packed and ready to roll tomorrow sometime, so I’ll go for now.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

I Need A ‘Baa-cation’!!!

The Cuttin’ & Trimmin’ is done. Fer’ now! My Arthur that the doc says I have in my shoulders has shut down any remaining work fer now. I feel like I have a 10P nail in each joint. It’s difficult to lift my arms over my head and I can’t quite get all my parts washed when I shower, good thing I have a helper. Well on to other things.

It’s still springtime here and things are still a poppin’. Linda got loose with the camera and I thought I’d post some of the pics she captured.

White Azalea

Pink Azalea

Nice Purple Azalea

Rhododendron

Not sure what this is but it’s BIG & Beautiful

The other day while I was finishin’ up down at the creek. I was talkin’ on the phone and I see this fella stnadin’’ on the road just above me. So I excuse myself from my phone call cause I figger’ it’s one of the neighbors wantin’ to hire me for Land Clearin’, HA! When I looked up at him I realized it’s the young fella who lived across the street. Haven’t seen him in 10 years. He lives in D.C. now doing some computer stuff fer schools from VA to Philadelphia makin’. Doin’ alright fer himself. We talked about what he was doin’ and of ole times. Learned his dad was still in the area and made arrangements to go visit him. Linda and I have been lookin’ fer his Dad for the past 12 year or so, glad we’re gonna get to see him.

So that’s all fer now. Ya’ll have a great day.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Axe Men continued?

We are still cutting and burnin’. We still have a bit to do and the weather has gotten hot over the last three days, 88 this afternoon. It wears us out prematurely during the day and we’ve been gettin’ up early so we can get some work done before the sun gets the temps real hot.
 

This is what the creek looked like when we started.

 

This is what it’s shaped up to be.

This morning is Mothers Day, temp was 36 degrees at 7:30 this morning. I had to work with a jacket this AM, It goes from one extreme to another, don’t know weather to dress in my BVD’s or my ‘Long-handles’ till you stick you’re nose out the door.

I’m about sick of cuttin’ & burnin’. I NEED A VACATION !!!!!!

Yesterday Linda & I drove to Waynesville to check out a Mexican restaurant that had just what we’ve been lookin’ for, a BUFFET. We never know what to order when Mexican is offered so we’ve been lookin’ fer a buffet, so we can sample and find out what we like. The Buffet was a joke and we didn’t stay ‘dos minutos’ and we were out the door. We instead decided on Ryan’s Steakhouse, a more traditional buffet. We decided to go Saturday instead of Sunday to beat the crowds, it worked, except there was Graduation exercises at Western Carolina University in town & there were folks celebratin’.
Well I think I’m gonna ride my recliner fer’ a spell an’ check my eyelids fer’ leaks.
Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

We’re sittin’ in high clover, or somethin’

We got up this mornin’ achin’ & moanin’ from the ‘Fun’ we’ve had so far here. After breakfast & puttin’ together somethin’ fer’ lunch we headed for Standing Indian. Linda and I both love leeks or ramps as they’re called here. We’ve tried to purchase some and luckily every produce stand we ask at they are out. I say luckily cause they get $3 for a few ramps in a sandwich bag.

When we arrived at the camp in Nantahala National Forest, we paid our Day Use fee and spoke to the camp host, then we were off to the woods. Neither one of us knew if the trip would be a wash and we would find nothing. Well guess what?

Success!!

We checked a couple o’ plants before we found what we were lookin’ for. Ramps are like a cross between a green onion and a garlic, pretty strong. We picked & dug until we had what we figured we’re enough. On the way back down the mountain trail I snapped several pictures of wildflowers, since Mother Nature has things poppin’.

 

This is the area were we were diggiin’. No one can deny that this is ‘God’s Country’.

We’ve been lookin’ to maybe re-do some o’ the plumbing at the house here in the mountains. But we’re havin’ trouble choosin’ which model to go with.

One o’ these three or,

This one.

Well Linda has cleaned us some ‘Ramps’ so we’re gonna have some supper.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Springtime in the Smokies

We reached our destination in North Carolina on Thursday evening. We left the ‘rancho’ on Wednesday and stayed the night at ‘Wally World’ in Milledgeville, GA. We stopped during the day to check out a small county park that is always advertising for camp hosts. It is a nice 2 year old park with nice facilities and it would be a good ‘cooler weather’ job.

Thursday after a hearty breakfast we were off again. Along the way we stopped again at two more parks. First was Lake Russell, a US forest service campground in north GA. The campground has two loops, no hookups, but restrooms with hot showers, of coarse the ‘Host Sites’ have full hookups. The lake is a small 260 acre, electric motors only site. It is located on the back side of a mountain ridge and seems pretty quiet. The next stop was a GA State Park, Moccasin Creek. A nice remote park, even though it wasn’t far from the town of Clayton. Nice manicured park on Lake Burton. The campground is flanked by a state fish hatchery which volunteers may also be assigned to work at. The host sites are right at the park entrance and back up on the state highway, which kind of detracts from the location if the highway turns out to be busy. There is just one bathhouse and an office/store so the assignment can’t be too difficult. We are lookin’ at doin’ some work campin’ and we are just checkin’ out some parks that have openings. All of the parks we visited we have never been to before. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, we just have to weigh the options. We still have some other locations to checkout if we can before we make a commitment.

Arrivin’ at our ‘Mountain’ home’ we were greeted by Gary, our friend who preceded us up the road by a couple o’ days. After unloadin’ the “Lance’ we all went to dinner at Smackers in Maggie Valley. Twenty five cent wings is what draws us back time and again.

Friday we started cutting and trimming trees, Linda is a ‘Slave Driver’. Thanks to Gary we got a lot done. He decided to head for home on Saturday, he has things to take care of at home before he and his wife head back up here for two weeks.

Saturday Linda and I were back at it cuttin’, and burnin’, we succeeded in gettin’ a lot done again. Damn near killed us both. We’ve worked longer in the last two days than we have in a long time, gonna’ need some Advil tomorrow.

Tomorrow we’re headed over to Standing Indian Mountain to see if we can find some ‘Ramps’, ‘Leeks’ to all the northern folks. Our neighbor gave me some insight on where to look.

Gotta go fer now I here the pillow callin’ me.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.