Arrived in Florida

We're camped here at Fort Clinch State Park on Amelia Island.  We like it here, our 4th visit.  All the comforts of home including electricity!  Even hooked up an outside speaker so we can listen to 60s music while hanging outside.

Looking forward to biking to Fernandina Beach Old Town and lunching on Shrimp PoBoys and Shrimp n Grits.

BIW visits Aberdeen

We pulled into Aberdeen to visit Michael, Jess, & Jordan!  Slid right into our dedicated parking spot and spent the next four days in fun activities.

First we said Hi ! to our NC family.  Then we prepared for Jordan's 3rd birthday, then the big day with a train and pony rides, and then choosing and carving a Halloween pumpkin.  All FUN stuff !!!

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Smoky Mountains National Park

We arrived in the Smoky Mountains and the rains stopped.....blue sky and fluffy clouds!  Fall color in full glory and the creeks and streams overflowing as they crashed down the waterfalls...all just perfect for our 5 days of adventure.









For most of this time, we camped at Cades Cove.  Not the prettiest campground, but convenient to the "loop" which we biked twice; checking out he homesteads of the locals from the 1800s, and hiking some awesome trails.  We even had a park ranger demo how to react to a bear encounter!

Car traffic on the loop was a little ugly as the car tourers made the obligatory stops along the way, but we cycled through the traffic and enjoyed the history and the beautiful Autumn days.  A hike to Abrams Falls was our highlight for this segment.

For our final night we moved to Elkmont Campground; nicer sites with the river in view.  And another 6+ mile hike along Little RIver and Cucumber Gap.  Only 7 miles from Gatlinburg, but we did only a drive through, as no RV parking.  Next time, we'll have to stop in town and purchase a genuine Cherokee tomahawk, now made in China.  (When I was a kid visiting, they were made in Japan....how the world changes)

Ruthie gives a thumbs up to Lake Powhatan !

What a great campground!  We even saw Smoky the Bear and told him personally that our US Forest Service is doing a fine job.









Best was our hike along some of the 40 miles of Bent Creek trails to the North Carolina Arboretum.  After all of the rain, the blue sky was back.  And the leaves were even more vibrant, as we walked along the creek.

Six miles of trail walking and we saw some great gardens showcasing Blue Ridge plants.  Even made a stop for a baked apple with hot caramel at the Savory Thyme Cafe.

Monsoon Rains hit Asheville, NC

And what do we do in the downpour?

First, we head to the city's farmers market.  Ruthie checks out all of the pumpkins and squash.....and of course the 14 varieties of apples grown down here along the Blue Ridge.  Hardly got wet.

Then we try to park in downtown Asheville.......impossible.  Narrow streets, meters (which aren't designed for 30 ft RVs), and hills.  So we drive across the interstate to Harris Teeters grocery and park in their lot.   Morey does go into the store and asks the store manager permission; because Morey KNOWS RETAIL!     AOK.

Next a walk in the driving rain 3/4 mile to the Wicked Weed, one of the many microbreweries in Asheville, the craft beer capital of the US.  Recommended by Danny; well worth the stop for a brew and some lunch.

Then the fun begins when we board the LaZoom purple bus.  Being naive older people, did we know we boarded the "drunk bus?"  We had a 90 minute tour of Asheville with a bee, a nun, and some
other interesting creatures jumping on and off the bus.  And of course, a stop midway for a refill.  Crazy....in all the rain.

Ted, our tour guide.  He wanted to get to Broadway, but only got to Broadway Avenue in Asheville

Ended our day at Lake Powhatan Recreation Area run by our National Forest Service.  NICE campground, full hookups, so we watched TV.

Camping and Hiking along the Ridge

We've completed 390 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and are now camped at Lake Powhattan, a few miles from Asheville.  What a great week of camping and hiking.  Even though we had a goodly amount of rain, most of it was at night and didn't impact our hikes.  Watching the fall leaf colors continue to get more vibrant as we traveled the week, was definitely the highlight!

All of our campsites were fabulous.  Our favorite was Doughton Park where we had incredible views (and even a very level campsite).  Linville Falls was another nice place to park BIW, and walks to the Linville Falls with all of the fall color was awesome.

A highlight included our stop at the Blue Ridge Music Center where we listened to some live, blue ridge music....where the German Dolcimer and the African banjo come together to make great sound.

And today, we drove through really thick fog up at the highest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Craggy Garden near Mount Mitchell (elevation 6,684 ft).  A white knuckle drive, but took it slow and found the sun breaks as we headed down to Asheville.

Another highlight.... the great apple pie that Ruthie made from the fresh apples we picked up along the way!  Amazing what she can cook up in our RV kitchen.

On the Blue Ridge Parkway

Just arrived at the Lodge at Peaks of Otter....We walked in seriously driving rain, the half mile from our campground.  All for a special dinner of fried chicken; and maybe some apple pie.  What could be a better destination in inclement weather.  Plan to dry off a little before dinner; the rocker looks mighty comfy...just need a fire in the fireplace!

Had a great day here on the Blue Ridge.  Hiked down from Sharp Top Mountain.  Could have hiked up also, but climbing 2600 feet was more than we decided our bodies would take.  So up the shuttle to the top (almost), then hiked to the summit and then down to the base.  Great hike!

And to add to our outdoors activity; we next hiked to Johnson Farm; way up in the hills.  Another great walk!

We continue to head down the Blue Ridge tomorrow.  Fall color is just starting to pop. Next week looks like the peak.

PS  Hope the rain slows down before our walk back to BIW; in the dark.  FUN.