Day 6

Today we drove from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Toomsuba, MS. The drive was about 425 miles long.

We weren't expecting to see or do anything along the way today ... it was simply a travel day, and that's pretty much how it turned out.

We left the park and then passed through Chatanooga, TN, the Northwest corner of Georgia and then clear across Alabama, passing right through Birmingham, and then finally into Mississippi. While we were in Alabama, we had to get gas and while we were doing that, we decided to get lunch at a Waffle House restaurant ... Josh was thrilled! Later on, we stopped at a WalMart for a couple of things, completing our Alabama experience.

We arrived at the campground in Mississippi and it was BLAZING hot. I was told by one of the workers at the campground that the heat index was 107!!! We got our trailer set up and then Josh went on the water slide they had at the campground. It was actually a pretty respectable slide ... unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera over with me so I didn't get any pictures.

We did some laundry and were able to take a shower for the first time in a few days ... it felt great!!!

Unfortunately, we discovered a little later on that our air conditioner is in fact leaking. It seems that condensation from the compressor is "falling back into the unit". This was NOT good news. Things have cooled off, and we're able to run the air conditioner in "fan mode", which is actually doing a decent job of moving the air around and keeping things reasonably comfortable. I'm not sure what we're going to do about the air conditioner. I'm sure we'll come up with something.

A short while ago, we discovered that we moved into the central time zone at some point during the day today ... wonder when that happened!!!

Tomorrow is another travel day, with a detour to New Orleans for lunch and dessert ... one Po' Boy and one Beignet please!!! From there, we continue on to Lafayette, LA which is a little bit West of Baton Rouge.

We'll be back tomorrow night with the day 7 report.

Day 5 (Delayed)

The plan for today was to drive to the “top” of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hike to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the park, and then do a couple of additional hikes.

After breakfast, we headed out for our day's adventures. We drove to Clingman's Dome and then hiked up the half mile trail, which ascends 330 feet to the observation tower at the top. It was a pretty steep climb. All the way up, we were surrounded by clouds, and it was becoming pretty apparent that we weren't going to be able to see much of anything from the top, and sure enough, that was the case!!!

We hung around on the observation tower for a little while, in hopes that maybe the strong winds that were blowing would create a clearing, but unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. We walked back down to our car and then drove back down the mountain to a trailhead called Alma Cave. 

As it turns out, Alma Cave is not actually a cave, but a large rock outcropping. We found a parking spot and started out on the hike. It turned out to be a 4.6 mile round trip hike, several sections of which were fairly steep. It wouldn't have been that bad if not for the unbelievable heat and especially the humidity. It felt like you could drink the air!!!

We reached the top and Josh decided to hike up a little further just for kicks. See if you can spot him in the last picture below!!!

I wisely decided to stay right where I was. We then made our way back to the trailhead and were trying to decide what to do next. It was lunchtime, so we decided to drive further down the mountain to the Chimney Tops Picnic Area. We were very fortunate to be driving through the picnic area just as someone was pulling out, and we grabbed their spot. We had a brief lunch and debated whether or not to do the Chimney Tops Trail hike. I opted out, and suggested that we call it a day. Josh reluctantly agreed.

We drove back in to Gatlinburg so that we could get online and call Patty, and then after that, we headed back to our campground. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening getting prepared to move on to our next destination, Toomsuba, MS.

We'll be driving approximately 425 miles tomorrow, but we're both really looking forward to a nice hot shower when we get there, laundry, and electricity for the air conditioner in the trailer!!! Josh is also looking forward to having internet access. The drive tomorrow will take us into two new states, Alabama and Mississippi. We're not expecting to stop for anything along the way, other than gas & bathroom breaks. I'm also not expecting to have much to say about day 6, but you never know!

Day 4 (Delayed)

We woke up really early this morning, made a very quick breakfast and got into the car to head down to the Cades Cove area of the park. It's about a 20 mile drive, but it took above 45 minutes due to all the curves in the road. As I mentioned previously, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the Parks Service closes the 11 mile loop road to vehicular traffic until 10:00 am. It was a good thing we got there as early as we did, as the parking lot was almost full when we arrived.

We got on our bikes and started to ride. Shortly into our ride, we were greeted by this little fellow …

Not sure whether the picture expresses it fully or not, but this little fellow was REALLY close!!! Yes ... It's a real bear ... small, but still a bear!!!

If you ever travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and can arrange to be there on a Wednesday or Saturday morning, I highly recommend this ride. The road featured a lot of rolling hills, some of which were a little bit steep, but it was a great way to spend the morning. Along the road, there are numerous old homesteads, some of which were very cool to check out.

After the bike ride, we drove back up to the area of the park near our campground. There's a hike to a waterfall nearby, and we were very lucky to arrive at the trailhead parking area just as someone was pulling out. We grabbed the spot and headed out on the hike. It was a nice hike that ended at a very picturesque waterfall. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the waterfall, I was busy trying to stay out of someone's picture and wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. Next thing I knew I was on my rear end … very embarrassing!!! By the time we got back to the car, I realized that my knee was a bit sore, so I told Josh that I thought it would be a good idea not to do any more hikes today. 

After that we drove back into the town of Gatlinburg, this time taking more time to explore it in the car. By the way, it was incredibly hot and unbelievably humid, so getting out of the car and walking around wasn't an option for me! Gatlinburg is an “insane” tourist trap town … I'd recommend avoiding it … at least on a weekend in the Summer!

We headed back to our campground and made lunch. After that, we spent the afternoon playing board games and relaxing. For dinner, we decided to make lasagna, using our new Coleman stove top oven. Let's just say that it worked out great!

Tomorrow we plan to get up early again, though maybe not quite as early as today, and head to the “top” of the park and probably it's most well-known feature, Clingman's Dome. Our plan is to do the hike and go to the top of the observation tower there, and then work our way back to our campground. On the way back, there are several hikes that we hope to do, though that's going to depend largely on whether or not we can get parking at or near the trailheads.

Day 3 (Delayed)

The plan for today was to drive the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Fancy Gap, VA to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Like yesterday, we decided to adjust the plan slightly, using the interstate highway system for part of our travels.

We followed I-77 and I-40 from Fancy Gap, VA to Asheville, NC. From there, we drove the final 100 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful drive, though I don't think the car appreciated it too much. Lots of climbing followed by descents … very rough on the engine and the brakes. Fortunately, the car seemed to make it through without any problems. We weren't in any particular hurry once we got on the Parkway, so we stopped along the way for a picnic lunch, and stopped at many of the scenic overlooks.

Once we reached the end of the Parkway, we had to drive across Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the Eastern entrance to the Western entrance, which is where our campground is located.

We got the trailer and our other gear set up and then we decided to head into the town of Gatlinburg, TN, which is located just outside the park's Western border. It's only about a 10 – 12 minute drive from our campground. When we reached the edge of the park, we were shocked by what we saw … you go from a drive through a heavy dense forest with a full canopy into what can only be described as something that could rival Las Vegas (without the skyscrapers).

We picked up a couple of things that we needed and returned to our campground. We cooked dinner and then played a game of Stratego. It's really HUMID here … we're really missing the electricity for the trailer and the air conditioner!!!

We're planning to get up really early tomorrow morning to drive to an area of the park called Cades Cove. It's about 20 miles from our campground and we were told that it will take us about 35-40 minutes to get there. On Saturday mornings, they close the road to vehicular traffic from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. It's an 11 mile loop and it's supposed to be really nice. We're going to bring our bikes down there and ride the loop. After that, we're hoping to do a couple of hikes and just enjoy the day. Unfortunately, after we got the trailer set up, I realized that I didn't bring the adapter that I need to mount the bike rack directly to the car's trailer hitch. We had to rearrange everything in the car (the cooler & food bins) so that we can put the bikes in the car to take them with us. What a pain!!! The good news, was that we were able to make it all fit, so at least we'll be able to do the ride.

More on that in tomorrow's post.

Day 2

Today's plan was to drive the rest of Skyline Drive and then continue onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive to Fancy Gap, VA to spend the night. The distance is only about 250 miles, but for most of the way, given the nature of the road, you can only drive about 30 - 35 mph.

We started the day with breakfast ... cinnamon rolls ... the new Coleman box oven I had bought is awesome ... it's going to take a little bit of getting used to it, but it definitely works really well. The cinnamon rolls were slightly overdone ... the next time will be much better.

After breakfast, we got packed up and decided to do a short hike to a waterfall near the campground. The trail map indicated that it was a very steep trail ... and it was. Downhill all the way going to the waterfall and uphill all the way coming back. It was a really nice waterfall so the hike was worth it.

When we got back to our car, we were changing out of our hiking boots and we saw a young couple walking towards the trailhead with what appeared to be a photographer. They appeared to be newlyweds, or perhaps will be married soon. The young lady was wearing a dress and heeled shoes and the young man was wearing blank pants, a white shirt, a vest and dress shoes. We didn't stick around to find out, but I REALLY hope they weren't planning to hike down to the waterfall!!!!!

After the hike, we started the drive to our destination. We reached the end of Skyline Drive and then continued onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was even "windier" and "hillier" than Skyline Drive. After a while, Josh started to feel a bit car sick, so we decided to cut the drive on the Parkway short and return to the interstate. We stayed on the Parkway for about 115 miles to Roanoke, VA and then took the interstate from their to our destination for the night. In reality, I don't think we saved much time, but at least Josh felt better and had internet access.

When we arrived at the campground, we set up the trailer and got settled in. This was our first chance to fully test the electricity in the trailer. The good news, is that everything worked great, including the air conditioner!!!

Next up was dinner ... It was taco night!

Tomorrow morning we leave for Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. I think there's a pretty good likelihood that we won't have any internet or cell phone access while we're there, so I don't expect to post to the blog again until Monday night, but of course, you never know.

Day 1 (Delayed)

We've stopped near Roanoke, VA for a quick break and our first internet access since entering Shenandoah National Park yesterday afternoon. Here's the day 1 recap!

Day 1

First, because I know how much “Jimmy Jones” appeciates this, here are the car pictures. Note that the back seats are NOT folded down for this trip!

We got off to a slightly later start than planned … unfortunately, as I had kind of expected, I wasn't able to get everything into my “regular” cooler and so we had to take the “big one”. It took a lot of extra time packing the cooler, unpacking it, repacking it, and then trying to get it all to fit into the car.

After that, everything was good. On the way, as I had kind of planned, we stopped at Cabela's in Pennsylvania. I was VERY good, and was able to resist buying the camp kitchen I've had my eyes on.

A little while later we stopped for lunch. We didn't pack a lunch in the morning, due in part to the cooler issues. After the lunch break, we continue on our way until we arrive at the North entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.

We stopped at the Visitor's Center and asked a Ranger if there were any decent hikes we could do on the way to our campground. Everything on Skyline Drive is referenced by its milepost number. Our campground was around milepost 53. The Ranger told us that between 41 & 42, we could do a short hike to the summit of Stony Man Mountain, the second highest mountain in the park, which would provide us a great view at the end of the trail. That sounded good to us, so that where we headed.

Skyline Drive is exactly what I was expecting … a windy round that works its way up and down through the mountains. The interesting thing about it, was that at any given point, there were views to the East, and then just a mile or so later, the views were now to the West, and so it continued.

When we got to the trailhead, we put on our hiking boots and headed out. It was a fairly short hike … just under a mile each way. When we got to the summit view point, this is the view we had …

A minute or two later … this was the view!!!

We turned around and hiked back to our car and then headed to the campground. We got there, checked in, and then set up camp. It went VERY well. In less than 30 minutes, we were completely set up, and that included at least 5 – 10 minutes of me explaining how to set the trailer up to Josh. We had no cell phone service in the campground so we went out to try to find a place where we could go to call home. We went to the Big Meadows Lodge, and were able to get a signal to call home.

After that, we went back to our campsite, cooked dinner (chicken parmigiana and penne pasta), and now we're just hanging out.

Tomorrow, we'll drive the rest of Skyline Drive and then continue onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before we head out, we may do a couple of short hikes in the area near our campground. The Ranger gave us some info on a couple of short, but nice hikes.

That's it for Day 1!

'Twas The Night Before ...

So the trailer is packed up and ready. Most of our other stuff is ready to go as well. I didn't want to open the trailer tonight or in the morning, so all of our clothes and "personal" items will travel in the car tomorrow. When we set up the trailer tomorrow night, we'll move all of that stuff into the trailer.

The only big task to complete now is to pack the cooler in the morning. I'm pretty concerned that I'm not going to be able to fit everything I want to take in the smaller cooler and I really don't want to take the big one. Maybe I'll be lucky and everything will fit after all. If not, I'm either going to have to leave some stuff behind, or I may take a second small cooler that I'll use just for the first few days, but that's really not something I want to do. We'll see what the morning brings.

Based on the weather reports, it seems like we may run into a few showers here and there along the way tomorrow. Hoping for the best. I'm still concerned about the leak we recently discovered in the trailer roof. When I washed it the other day, it didn't seem to leak at all, but under constant rain, that may not be the case. I had covered the bed where it was leaking with some plastic and a towel, so if it does leak, hopefully that will be sufficient to prevent any serious problems.

Not much to do now but head to bed and get a good night's sleep. The "Fantastic Voyage" begins tomorrow!!!