Rainy Days in the Smokies

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs right into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We did not stay in the parkway the whole way. 

 Driving with a view down the road like this is tiring. We dropped off of the mountains and traveled on the interstate for some of the way. We stopped in Asheville NC for groceries. We found a Trader Joe's and next door was a nice upscale market called Teeters. Asheville seems like the kind of city we would like to know better. There is a Habitat for Humanity affiliate there, so maybe we can come back and work someday. 

On the east side of the Smokies the  parkway has several low clearance tunnels so we drove through Cherokee NC on a secondary highway to come to the park. Cherokee is a sister city to the towns near Mt Rushmore in South Dakota. There are miles of dense tourist traps, including Santa Land and a Zoo! 

 Once in awhile we could peak through the clutter and see the mountains. We stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to get oriented to the park. We learned the weather forecast was for severe weather for the next 24 - 36 hours. We went to Smokemont Campground and settled in for a 2 night stay. 

 We explored the campground area before the storm arrived. Smokemont was cultivated by the early Cherokees and later was a townsite for a lumber operation 

 We even saw a bit of blue sky! 

We arrived Monday afternoon; the rain started about 8 Tuesday morning. It did not stop until Wednesday morning. So what is a quilter to do? Quilt! I got lots more sewing done. I was a happy camper. Dan was feeling a bit of "cabin fever" 

 ... but nothing a little snooze wouldn't cure. With the crazy weather we thought it prudent to keep the radio on. Wouldn't you know it the only station that was clear was country music. At least every hour we heard those loud beeps that in Oregon mean there is a test of the emergency broadcast system. Only these were not tests. There were tornado watches in many counties - not the one where we were. Then flash flood warnings and severe wind warnings - again none seemed to be in our immediate area. In between the warnings I think I heard "Drunk Americans" about 10 times! Uhg! The rain was steady but winds were not bad. That was good because we were under lots of trees. 

 This the camper bumper in the morning after the storm. The next two pictures are of the stream near camp before and after the rain:

 before

 after. 

We drove through the park Wednesday morning before the next storm arrived. There had been several trees down, but roads were clear by the time we passed. 

 We had a few good views. 

 Oconaluftee River. 

 

 This is one of several "Quiet Walkways".

 At the beginning of the path is a sign suggesting walk a ways - no destination - just enjoy the beauty of nature. Very good advice.

We have been surprised by the crowds here. The weather is marginal at best and it is midweek, but many of the parking lots are swamped. At one where we managed to park I had to get out and stop traffic so Dan could back out. The quiet walk sites rarely had anyone parked there. Hmmm

By lunch time the rain was coming back so we got a campsite at Elkmont and settled in again. Dan worked on photos on the computer and you guessed it - I quilted. I only need to sew 120 more of those 840 blue/neutral squares! More good news - on this side of the Smokies Tennessee's NPR station comes in clear.

Blue Ridge Days

 We went north south east and west in the parkway. Sometimes we were driving in the clouds. The sun poked out occasionally. Rather than write a narrative I think this will be more of a scrapbook style post of a few of the highlights. 

 This is a bit of reconstructed rail from a logging RR. The interpretive sign said over 100 million board feet of lumber was taken from these mountains in the late 19th century and early 20th. 

 Nearby waterfall. 

 Living history area. 

 Interesting gate. 

 Here from another angle. The short end has a piece of wood hanging on it to balance the gate end and it pivots on a post. 

 Chickens. 

 Quilts. 

 Stone walls. 

 Dam and pond from old grist mill. 

 Early hydroelectric plant. 

 The waterwheel here is turning. In the mill were stones for grinding grain and a saw for lumber. It was set up to use the power of the water in several ways. 

 In the clouds. 

The real highlight of our time in the Blue Ridge was a visit to the music center. Our timing was right for the final concert of the season in the amphitheater. 

 In the afternoon before main concert this 12 year old fiddler played with a friend of 17 on the mandolin, accompanied by a couple with guitars. The have free live music everyday from 1 to 4. 

 The main act at the concert was a terrific blue grass string band called "Steep Canyon Rangers". The fiddler was the best I have heard. An unfortunate climax of the performance was when the fiddler fell off of the stage during the final song! Pants torn, knee skinned, chin rest bumped out of whack-- but he got back on stage and sort of retuned and finished the song. A standing O for sure!

We purchased their CD and have been enjoying the songs over and over. 

 Rapids near Linville Falls. 

 Upper Linville Falls. During a break in the weather we took a little two mile hike to see some falls. By the time we got to the view of the main falls here is what we saw:

 This is an artist's version from the same view:

 Oh well I am sure there are many images online. At least we got to stretch our legs and breathe some fresh mountain air. 

 This is my national parks passport with all of the stamps from the stops in the parkway. We have been to 33 national parks just this year -- more to come:-)

So much to see in this big country!

Appomatix and a breakdown

Here is the camper off of the truck at the Ford dealership in Lynchburg Virginia. 

That was last Thursday. On Wednesday, as we drove from Williamsburg to Appomatix, smoke started blowing out of the air vents and it smelled horrible! It was early evening so we got a place to stay at an RV park in Appomatix. Our original plan was to go see the courthouse, and the area where Lee surrendered to Grant the following morning. Instead, Thursday, morning we drove to Lynchburg to find a mechanic for the truck. We had to take the camper off for them to get the truck into the garage. 

 Here is where I spent the six hours while the truck got a new heater coil. I was able to get lots of quilting done; so I was a pretty happy camper. First the "ol' man" breaks down then the "ol' Ford"; hope I am not next!  It is a good thing we travel on a flexible schedule. 

 A small world moment in Lynchburg - we were visiting with employees at Ford and discovered that one of the salesmen is from Oregon. He grew up in Hermiston and lived in LaGrande for several years. He knows my brother Bob and even had Bob tie some kind of knot for him. He gave us his card to pass on to the crew at the Ford dealer in LaGrande when we pass through again. 

 After the truck was fixed, rather than backtrack to Appomatix we decided to head for the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

 We arrived near milepost 65 where the James River passes thru the lowest point in the parkway as it flows to Richmond and on to Jamestown. 

 Fall colors were beginning to brighten the mountains. 

 We drove just a few miles north to camp near Otter Creek. From there we began to see a bit of the famous parkway. I will post more on that in my next installment. 

Over due for a post

 I keep seeing these unreal looking berries here in Virginia-- does anyone know what they are? We have been here in Newport News for almost a week. Last Tuesday we had a quick visit with our friend, Susannah, who is a student at College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. 

 She took a bit of time from her busy sophomore schedule to show us around campus and advise us on our visit to Colonial Williamsburg. 

 I was not sure what to expect at Williamsburg, everyone had just said it was great and we should go... The historic town is a combination of a few original buildings and many reproduced buildings. Tour guides are generally in period costume. In the afternoon there was a reading of the Declaration of Independance. Then we time traveled a few years to 1781 when the citizens of Williamsburg were called upon to help with the battle of York. 

The marching and speeches go on in the midst of many tourists and a few planted actors/townspeople. 

 They recruited a few guests to the marching ranks. After drills and marching they demonstrated the cannon and musket firing. 

It was fun and interesting. Hopefully we will go back to see some of the things we missed. 

We are staying at a city/county park in Newport News. 

We took the camper off of the truck for ease of driving in the area. And since we had the camper off we decided to take the opportunity for Dan to have a little surgery done. He needed a few days to recouporate and I was able to drive as needed. 

 He is feeling good and chomping at the bit to get going again. Meanwhile...

 I took advantage of the nice bike path here at the campground. It is just over 5 miles and goes by the site of General Washington's headquarters. 

 Not much there to see, but I will say again I love these eastern woods!

 I have also been quilting quite a bit. I have 100 of the string blocks made and today I stitched 150 of these blue and neutral half square triangles (HSTs). I know 150 sounds like a lot, but I probably need over 600 more!

This weekend there is a big fall festival in the day use part of the park. They have a shuttle between the campground and the festival. 

 We went over and enjoyed some western Virginian bluegrass. 

The stage is at the edge of a pleasant lake. 

 Our camp is just through the trees on the other side of the lake.

Fabric seems to be my souvenir of choice. 

 I bought these fabrics in Williamsburg. They are reproductions of colonial fabrics. Many of the costumed actors had garments on that were made with these fabrics. I also bought a tatting kit. My grandmother did a little tatting. I have a vague memory of her showing me quickly her shuttle and how to tat. Then she popped it in a drawer and I never saw it again. I have always wanted to learn how. The shop lady in Williamsburg suggested YouTube if I have trouble. I made an attempt on my own and it didn't make much sense to me. 

 Today at the fall festival I met Lena. She is a Russian immigrant, who recently joined a quilt guild that had a booth in the heritage area. She had a large display of her tatting projects and was demonstrating the art. She gave me a very helpful lesson. 

 Here is my first bit of practice. Lena was a very good teacher. I think I have the gist of it; it will take plenty of practice to get it down. 

What did you learn today?

Late addition: 

 I kept working and made quite a bit of progress. jb