Nothin’ but I-10

 The last few days of driving before home certainly make you want to get there fast.  The great majority of West Texas, southern New Mexico, and south eastern Arizona (tomorrow) lacks in scenery and interest. Yesterday we stopped in Fort Stockton, which we have visited before.  There are about three restaurants that we thought looked decent for dinner, but all were closed on Mondays.  So, in anticipation of emptying our fridge at home, we had leftovers.  It was an odd combination of egg salad, spaghetti, and chicken and zucchini stir fry!  Oh well, Steve is always a good sport about what I toss onto his plate, and it filled the hole.  We still have plenty of gin and tonic fixings, so all was good.  

Our RV park for the night was an interesting one.  It’s perched on top of a little knoll and has a view of the vast Texas desert.  There were no trees, and the entire park was dirt and gravel.  We had a gusty wind, so things were blowing around a bit.  When we checked in, they gave us a goody bag which was a first.  We got some Oreos, suckers, a bottle of water, and an American flag.  They even escorted us to our site, which is only typically done in higher end resorts.  The RV park was very well kept, and they had lots of games and things around.  Two large TVs were hung under two pergolas, a pool, and lots of yard games like croquet, connect four, corn hole, giant chess, etc.  There were also two dog runs and a walking path around the park.  It was too warm to be outside as it was in the upper 90s, so no one was outside enjoying all the activities.  

After a somewhat fitful night’s sleep on my part, we were up early and on our way before 8:00.  We had another 5 hour drive so got to our next stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico pretty early.  If we hadn’t been driving almost nonstop for the past three months, we might have pushed on.  We are both fatiguing earlier in the day now, so it’s just safer to stop.  It’s hard when you know you are going to be home tomorrow though!  Tonight we are at a nice RV park we’ve stayed at before.  There is a really nice winery and bistro about a 20 minute walk from here, but again it’s in the 90s.  We could unhook the truck and drive, but… we’d have to unhook the truck.  It’s not hard, and we’ve gotten very fast at it, but you do get a bit dirty and  again, it’s kind of hot to be outside doing it.  So, once again I will scrounge through the little bit I’ve got left in the fridge or freezer, and I think we’ll just stay in.  Tomorrow we’ll be home! 

Starting the final push

 Today is Monday, and we will be home on Wednesday!  It’s hard to believe that after almost three months on the road, we will be sleeping in our own bed!  Our RV is dirty, we are tired, and Maggie is ready for a yard without a constant leash. YAY! 

Yesterday was a relaxation day.  I did laundry early in the morning while Steve went back to the German bakery for pastries.  We ate them in the RV and almost immediately fell into a sugar coma!  Wow, were they good!  After a brief late morning nap - haha - we went into town for a while.  We originally thought we’d do some local wine tasting today, but after a little research decided to pass.  Tastings are now in excess of $35 and in some places you need reservations! Boy have things changed from the days when you could just drop by and taste a few wines for free. So, we wandered Fredericksburg a little bit, visited the Luckenbach store, and then found a shaded courtyard and had a margarita. There was live music playing, and they were fun to listen to.

The rest of the day we just relaxed in the RV, took Maggie for a couple of walks, and started researching our stops for the last two nights on the road. There isn’t too much between here and Tucson. We’ll be on I-10 the whole way. It looks like our first stop will be Fort Stockton, Texas, and then we will move on to Las Cruces, New Mexico. From there, it’s just a 4 hour drive home!

Let’s Go to Luckenbach Texas

 Today was a nice day of relaxation.  We were still up early, but it was great knowing we didn’t need to pack up the RV and drive anywhere! Our typical M.O. is to closeup the RV, hit the road, and enjoy a PBJ while on the way.  Today we took advantage of being in Fredericksburg and went to a German bakery and restaurant for breakfast.  We were absolutely stuffed by the time we left, and decided we will pick up some pastries on Monday morning as we continue west.  

We went back to the RV for a rest - no kidding, that breakfast took it out of us - and then decided to drive the short distance to Luckenbach.  It’s really hard to describe this place.  We were here once before with our friends Hank and Jen, and we looked forward to returning. I guess it has been designated a town, but it really looks like a music venue nailed together with old barn wood and license plates.  We took Maggie with us, and after arriving and grabbing a couple of beers, we joined a small group of people around a small stage where we listened to two very talented guys sing covers from everyone from George Straight to Matchbox 25. They were great, and one of the guys actually talked to Maggie during the set. She actually perked her ears up which was really cute.  We had seen yesterday that the band Asleep at the Wheel was going to play tonight, but unfortunately it was sold out.  We spoke with one of the security guys about how we could go about getting a ticket last minute, but he was really more interested in showing us pictures of his dog.  Despite a lack of all his teeth and his interest in sharing stories about his dog, he was very nice and told us we could try and come back before the concert begins to see if we could snag a no-show ticket.  We both knew it was unlikely we were going to do that, but we appreciated the tip.

Luckenback Texas… with Steven and the boys 

Live music in Luckenbach

From there, we dropped Maggie back off at the RV and drove again into Fredericksburg.  There is a bar called Pioneer that we have visited every time we have visited Fredericksburg.  One of their specialties is a smoked Old Fashioned, and we looked forward to having another.  There was a singer playing who made the mistake of asking for requests. Steve asked him to play a Ray Wiley Hubbard song called ‘Snake Farm.’  You will have to search it on YouRube or Apple Music. I couldn’t believe the guy had heard of it and even played a version of it.  Steve was so happy! 

We were getting hungry so went to a restaurant nearby called Hill and Vine.  We shared a couple of appetizers and it really was delicious.  The place was packed and had a fun vibe.  It was a really nice end to a fun and relaxing day.  We really enjoyed not having a 5 hour drive today! 

Westward ho!

 I wish I had something exciting to say about yesterday’s drive, but it was just a drive.  And it was a long one.  I guess the only thing to report besides road construction, is a little insect called a Love Bug.  It’s a real thing.  We were stopped in traffic for a while in Louisiana and all of a sudden a gazillion bugs started swarming the RV.  We weren’t moving so fortunately they weren’t splattering across our windshield.  Upon closer look, it appeared that each bug was actually two of them.  I quick opened my Seek app and it said they were Love Bugs… and in September they mate and stay stuck together for DAYS OR WEEKS! We were sitting in the midst of a giant orgy! They fly this way and word is they can really damage the paint on your car if you don’t get them off quickly.  Yuk.  

We arrived at our campground around happy hour time, thank goodness!  This campground was pristine.  Each site was mowed and edged.  There were beautiful trees and the roads looked more like big sidewalks than a road.  Each of the sites had been laser-leveled.  Our RV jacks hardly knew what to do without bumps and rocks and unlevel ground.  The dog park was huge and Maggie enjoyed sniffing all the foresty smells.  

Today’s drive was 6 hours and 45 minutes.  It was a long one, but honestly this part of Texas is beautiful.  Lots of rolling hills, ranches, and little used highways… until we hit Austin.  We have been to Austin several times, and we have always commented on the crazy traffic and construction.  Today was no different.  It was only 1:30 in the afternoon when we drove through, and anywhere else it would have looked like rush hour. We passed through an area where they are building a whole new multi-level freeway interchange… it was crazy!  Steve got us through it safely and we were on the final stretch to Fredericksburg.  This town was started by German immigrants back in the day, and it is a wonderful mix of German restaurants, breweries, and many many vineyards and wineries.  So many, in fact, that we wondered why we never see Texas wine in stores.  These wineries are HUGE.  They are very grand, with long sweeping drives, large outdoor areas for tastings, live music, and I could go on.  We hope to inspect some in a little more detail while we are here.  We plan to stay in Fredericksburg for three nights.  Steve really needs a driving break, and we both have enjoyed this town when we’ve been here before.  This will be our last multi-night stay on our trip.  

Marathon driving!

 There isn’t too much to share today as we spent the whole day on the road… seven hours and four minutes to be exact.  That’s not ‘terrible’ in car travel, but it’s quite fatiguing in an RV.  Needless to say, Steve did a yeoman’s job and is now sitting happily with a gin and tonic. 

Our original plan was to leave Georgia this morning and shoot for Meridian, Mississippi.  We were feeling fresh after a good night’s sleep, and decided we could go a bit further.  Vicksburg, Mississippi became our destination.  It’s on the Mississippi River and there is an RV park with full hookups that is part of a riverboat casino.  So off we went! We crossed into Alabama from Georgia, drove through that entire state and then into Mississippi.  We are now on the border of Louisiana and will hit that state about five minutes into our drive tomorrow morning.  

It’s hot here now… not the coolish temps we had while in the Carolinas and the Smokies.  Humidity makes it worse of course, but for the south, the humidity isn’t that bad right now.  I’ll be glad to get to a drier climate though.  

We did see a few interesting things today… I’ll just comment on the pictures below.  

Maggie is still working on the best way to ride in the RV

We could not figure out what this car was about.  I did a google lens search and evidently it’s a camouflaged 2026 Kia Telluride X-Pro test vehicle.  I don’t really know what a ‘camouflaged’ car is, but evidently it has something to do with wrapping it in nylon.  I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be hiding from.  It just looked like it was wearing a windbreaker to me.

This next group of pictures are of a place called Buc-ees.  If you are not familiar with this phenomenon, it is a fuel station and  more… A LOT MORE.  We have heard of these in the past and even stopped at one once for gas.  We marveled at the number of gas pumps, but we never went in.  Today we did…

This is only half of the fueling pumps… they’re are 120 of them! 

You know you are in the south when you can get pickled quail eggs and pickled okra at the gas station

Even Steve was speechless

I had no words…

Chopping fresh brisket they smoke ON THE PREMISES.  When a fresh brisket comes off the smoker, all the employees yell ‘FRESHHHHHH, BRISKET ON THE BOARD!’

Chatchki heaven and every possible dust collector you can imagine 

I had to try the famous Beaver Nuggets - basically fried sugar pops

And then there were these signs as we drove along…

They are very phonetic in Mississippi

Just another town in Mississippi

So that’s about it for today.  It’s hard to know what gems we might come across tomorrow!  Until then, good night! 

Keep on Truckin’

Today was a travel day, and whew, what a day. We decided that we were SO close to South Carolina, that we really should place all our wheels in the state since we had come so far.  It added about an hour to our drive, but we did it! 

We had a little rain as we got going, and the famous Smoky Mountains fog was on display. It was a pretty farewell to this beautiful area.  We hit construction and delays off and on all day.  There was one in particular that went on for more than an hour, and it encompassed only four miles of progress.  Our nav system just couldn’t decide what it wanted us to do.  Get off the freeway at the next exit, no, stay on.  Whoops, get off in a mile, and when we got there 10 minutes later, no… keep going.  Each time that happened, we had a discussion, tried to look ahead at traffic, and make a decision.  We got off once (for a bathroom break) and then promptly got back on.  It was a long and tedious journey.  Once there three lanes had scaled down to one, things got moving.  Whew.  On our way again.  

There was much discussion regarding our route through Atlanta.  I had read in RV forums that RVers will do almost anything to avoid driving through the city.  We talked it over, reviewed the beltways, and decided that since we would hit Atlanta around 2:00 in the afternoon on a Tuesday, that we should just for for it and use the freeway that passes right through the middle of the city.  I guess the folks in Atlanta don’t consider it traffic if vehicles are moving, which we did.  It was pretty much bumper to bumper across EIGHT lanes of traffic!  It’s super fun when you are 47 feet long in the third lane from the left and you have to exit in a mile. Although we never got stopped for more than a second or two, I’m in the camp of avoiding Atlanta.  The picture below is before all the traffic began, but it is the only one I took.  

Once we got through all that, we had about 30 more miles to our destination for the night. We stopped for fuel and to buy DEF, and I have to say everyone in Georgia I talked to was so nice!  Almost like being in Newfoundland! We are staying at a city park tonight with electric and water hookups. It’s a beautiful spot in the forest and I just love the name of this place… Little Tallapoosa Park.  

I’m not sure how far we’ll get tomorrow, but we may pass through Alabama and get as far as Mississippi! 

Our neighbor enjoying the evening

Asheville, NC

 Yesterday’s day started with two large loads of laundry.  We are staying at a nice campground with full amenities, including a very nice laundry room, so I took advantage.  I drove our truck as the basket was too heavy to carry the distance.  I knew where it was on the map, but had difficulty finding it.  I walked over to the office to ask, and the lady in there (with a very impressive beehive hairdo) also wasn’t sure. She tried to show me on the map I had just looked at.  Oh well, I walked around some more and eventually found it.  After carting that heavy basket from the truck to the laundromat, because of course I didn’t park on the correct side of the building, I went looking for a mailbox to send a birthday card.  The lady in the office didn’t have one of those either, but told me to walk up the hill and there was one there.  I found that much more easily than the laundromat.  I then moved the truck closer and waited for my two loads to finish washing and drying.  I was very happy to see that each load cost $1.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry.  In the current world of laundromat costs, that is very cheap.  I also used the change machine to get $20 more in change as I know I’ll have at least one more load to do before getting home, and it will likely cost the $4 I’ve been paying per wash load at other places.  

Once back at the RV, I found Steve finishing up with sewer hose duty (no need to explain more there) and he had done some cleaning inside.  We tucked Maggie in, jumped in the truck and headed into Asheville.  We decided to take a hop on, hop off trolley tour of the area.  Our first stop was at the Omni Hotel which was build around the turn of the last century.  We got off as we had heard it was a beautiful hotel, and holy-cow was it gorgeous!  We had a lovely lunch on the terrace overlooking the valley and the smoky mountains.  Wow just isn’t a big enough word!  After lunch, we strolled the lobby awhile and then waited for the next trolley to pick us up.  

Feeling a bit rumpled and tired, but happy

This view at lunch was spectacular 

This fireplace was massive! 

Our tour guides were wonderful.  The two we rode with were both born and raised North Carolinians and were a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of the Asheville area.  They were entertaining and we learned a lot.  If you ever have a short time in a new city, we highly recommend this kind of tour.  Steve and I had actually driven past some of the places yesterday on our way to the brewery, but had no idea what we were looking at.  

By this time we were both very tired and so headed back to the RV.  I, in part, was exhausted.  Our RV mattress is good, but not great, and I’ve had trouble sleeping and have awakened with a backache a few times.  Traveling in an RV is really fun, but can also be tiring.  Steve is constantly faced with blips in our electrical system, a tv that might not work, poor internet, or any number of other issues that can come up with driving a small, highly technical house on 6 tires.  Although our space is small, I have no dishwasher, washer and dryer, and things just seem to get dirtier faster.  Having an 80 lb. dog who sheds heavily doesn’t help.  All of that has been quite manageable, actually, and we’ve been able to balance that with long driving days, tours, activities, excursions, and exploring new places.  We’ve gotten lost, got stuck in rush hour traffic, and navigated miles and miles of construction.  Despite it all, we’ve had a blast and have really enjoyed this trip.  

I say all that, because yesterday we decided to change plans one more time and head home.  We are going to skip the last two cities and a national park we were looking forward to seeing, and this morning we are turning our RV west.  We don’t plan to break records getting home though.  We are tired, and there is no need to exacerbate it with 6-8 hour driving days.  We have chosen to make our way to I-20 as we haven’t traveled that interstate yet, and we can still see some new things on our way.  We figure it will take about a week, give or take, to make the trip.  I’m sad we aren’t finishing, but I am ready to be home.  Steve is too.  

The Great Smokies

 Yesterday was our travel day.  Our planned destination was Asheville, North Carolina.  As we were doing research on where to stay, we realized there weren’t any RV parks in Asheville, and there weren’t any that looked particularly inviting nearby.  As we were looking at maps and apps, we realized that we were quite near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We thought we were going to miss this park since we had decided not to go to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood on the Tennessee side of the park.  We hadn’t realized it was so close to Asheville on the North Carolina side.  So, we found a campground half way between the park and the city.  It wasn’t a particularly long drive to our campground, but we were both tired and even though we got to our destination early afternoon, we didn’t do any site seeing.  I made an easy dinner and we did our best to stay awake until 8:30! 

After a good nights sleep, we were up early and raring to go.  Well… maybe not raring, but we left the RV before 8:00.  We were in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just before the Visitors Center opened.  We were greeted by the biggest elk I had ever seen… just walking through the parking lot past our truck.  He even bugled for us several times!  Of course there were a few idiotic visitors with giant camera lenses who tried to get up close and personal, but there were park employees there with orange vests and big sticks keeping them back.  

I’m glad we got people in the background for scale

While everyone was busy following the elk, I walked through the exhibit they had on mountain farming.  It was really interesting.  All of the buildings were original and had been moved to this location from various locations within the park. Included was a home, blacksmith shop, corn crib, apple house, barn, sorghum press, etc. As I walked the property, there was a chicken that felt compelled to tag along.  There were two more elk in the field as well as a young doe or buck who jumped across the creek.  It wasn’t hard to imagine what this all looked like in the 1700 and 1800s.  

My walking buddy

It was amazing how much smell just two pigs could make!

From there, we drove up the park road and turned where we could visit Clingman’s Dome which I think might be the highest viewpoint in the park.  We didn’t hike to the top as we weren’t dressed for the cooler weather, but the views from the parking area were spectacular.  The low lying clouds in the valleys were beautiful.  I had really hoped we’d see the ‘smoky’ look and we weren’t disappointed.  

We then headed back down the mountain and dropped Maggie off at the RV.  From there we drove into Asheville, another 30 minutes or so east.  We found one of the over 40 breweries in this city and enjoyed a drink on their third floor patio.  They had the usual pub games, and something else I hadn’t seen before… a table of rocks.  People had made small cairns and designs with them.  I gave it a go and was shocked when I was able to balance one on top of another! 

We were getting hungry, so decided to head back towards the RV park and stop for dinner at a bbq place next to the campground.  Its name was inviting… how could you just drive past? 

Our goal for this evening is to make a plan for the next few days.  We’ve changed our itinerary several times as we’ve moved along and are doing it again.  We plan to skip our next spot and head towards a National Park we hadn’t heard of and know nothing about in South Carolina.  Congaree National Park anyone? 

A stroll down memory lane

 

Steve and Thelma-Lou

This might be my favorite picture of the whole trip!  Haha!

Yesterday was a fun day.  One of the benefits of staying a couple of nights in the same location is it gives you time to explore a little without the fatigue of having a couple hundred miles of travel mixed in.  Our plan for the day was to explore Mount Airy (yep, they spell the word rather than abbreviate Mt. - which if you don’t know that, it makes it hard to find in maps and weather apps.) We were specifically interested in seeing the tributes to Andy Griffith and his 1960s TV show that takes place in the fictional town of Mayberry.  Since Andy grew up here in Mount Airy, this small city was the inspiration for the town.  

We started by driving past ‘Wally’s Garage’ where Gomer and Goober worked.  They were cousins, and it does make me wonder about their parents’ choices in names.  Out front was a squad car that was a replica of the one Andy drove on the show, and for $10 a person, you can get a tour guide to drive you around town and show you the sites.  We opted to take a photo from across the street and just move on.  We then went to the small, but well done, Andy Griffith Museum.  It was fun to see some of the costumes, furnishings, and clips from the show.  There was even one small display of things from Andy’s time on the Matlock show.  I saw the following album in one of the cases and it immediately reminded me of my childhood.  My parents had this album and my sister and I would listen to it.  There were two tracks in particular that we loved.  One was called ‘What it was, was football’ and the other was ‘Romeo and Juliet.’  They are on YouTube so I played them in the car for Steve.  So funny!

After visiting the museum we drove a few blocks to the downtown area and walked around a bit.  There was the ‘Snappy Lunch’ restaurant, ‘Opie’s Candy Shop’, and closed but opening again soon, ‘Floyd’s Barber Shop.  Steve had hoped to get his haircut there.  The talk in town (we were eavesdropping) is that ‘some guy from Alabama bought it!’  It didn’t sound like folks were excited about this new purchase, but it looks to us like the new owner plans to continue it as Floyd’s.  

It was now late afternoon so we headed back to the RV to let Maggie out.  We walked with her back to the vineyard tasting room, and this time I tried a cider and mead flight and Steve had a glass of wine. We had a lovely afternoon sitting on the patio overlooking the vineyard.  The only thing that happened that I could have done without was the ‘Bold Jumping Spider’ (thanks Seek for the I.D.) that was on me! At first Steve tried to tell me it was just a fly, but I loudly informed him it had 8 legs! AND, it appeared it could fly!  I now know it jumps! Anyway, a lady said we could come sit with them but to leave the spider where it was!  I just moved to another chair at our table and the spider settled itself under the arm of the one I was in, waiting for the next unsuspecting wine drinker.  

We then went back to the RV where we had burgers for dinner.  I then took Maggie for a walk through the vineyard while Steve did the dishes.  We ended our day by watching a very old Andy Griffith movie, ‘No Time for Sergeant's.’ After watching it, we think it might have been the inspiration for the TV series, ‘Gomer Pyle, USMC.’

Today we leave our vineyard and head for Asheville, North Carolina.  I’m looking forward to hookups for water and electricity.  For the past three nights we’ve been ‘boondocking.’

Green Things and Bad Food

 Last night we camped in a State Park off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The park amenities were shut down and there were no staff so we just picked a spot and settled in. When we woke the light was filtering through the dense stands of trees and the air was heavy - almost a spooky feeling - remote and isolated. We enjoyed our coffee and slowly packed up to leave, pulling out about 8:30 AM. 

We had to leave the parkway due to a construction closure so traveled along a narrow county road through the town of Bedford. Bedford has a tragic history, losing 14 young men during the DDay invasion. Given the size of the town, that was proportionately a greater loss than any other small town in America. The road(s) were generally narrow and winding - but less so than the Parkway.

Breakfast was a sandwich from the gas station/chicken store where we stopped to top off the fuel. The destination was Mt.Airy, the birthplace and many year residence of Andy Griffith. Mt. Airy was the inspiration for the town of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith TV series and has milked that cow by naming many of the local businesses after the locations and characters from the show. 

The trip was largely uneventful but ever more rural with narrowing roads and ever more modest homes. Then suddenly we’d pop onto an interstate highway only to turn off a few miles down the road to join another winding rural road. Winding, rural roads are exciting when driving and towing 47 linear feet of vehicles. 

Our camp spot for the next two nights was to be a Harvest Host destination - Round Peak Vineyard. The winery turned out to be a true plus. The grounds were beautiful, the staff friendly and helpful, and our site was down the hill from the main building beside the vines. Beautiful, greenery squared. That’s amazing for desert dwellers.  The wines weren’t the finest but the place was dog friendly and the scenery wonderful as we tried a flight of the local wines.

We came here to visit (commemorate? explore? be amazed by?) the home of Andy Griffith and the inspiration for Mayberry RFD. This was just a quick pass through the town of Mt.Airy, NC with the intent of more time tomorrow. BUT we were hungry and told that food was to be had at a brew bar called the Angry Troll. OK. We tried it. The beer was fine. The food was perhaps the worst either Pam or I had ever eaten. Pam - ever concerned about offending anyone - gathered our barely bitten sandwiches and dumped them in a trash can around the corner so the waitress wouldn’t feel badly. We left, drove home to our wonderful campsite and ended the day.

Well, almost ended the day. And then the Martians arrived! We knew there were Martians because we saw their intensely green laser beams illuminating the RV and sweeping across the vineyard. If not Martians it must be huge, turkey sized, fireflies. Nope. Green laser beams that scan the premises to scare birds from eating the grapes. Whew! We went to bed fully believing we’d wake up in Mt. Airy instead of Mars. Tomorrow we explore Andy Griffith land.

The spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway

 Sometimes it’s just hard to describe a place, and this is one of those times.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is a spectacular drive along the ridge of the Appalachian mountains, spanning 469 miles between Virginia and North Carolina. It connects the Shenandoah National Park to the north and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to the south.  We were fortunate that last night’s stop in Charlottesville is very close to mile zero of the parkway.  

Services are extremely limited, so before jumping onto the parkway we stopped and got fuel.  We had purchased an audio tour of Shenandoah and it included a tour of the parkway so we were able to start it right from the beginning of our drive.  The narrator is great, and he not only describes what you are looking at, but he also tells stories about the area and the people who made this parkway happen.  

Once again, we were practically alone! I’m guessing we didn’t see more than a couple dozen cars the whole day.  That’s going to change in the next few weeks when the fall foliage is at its peak.  We were lucky on our drive that some of the trees decided to turn early and we got to see some beautiful colors.  Our plan today was to drive about 86 miles to a campground that has first come first served camp sites.  The speed limit on the parkway is 45 mph. Sometimes it’s 25.  With stops at various overlooks and visitor centers, it took us over 4 hours to make the drive. 

To say the views are spectacular still doesn’t describe the beauty of this place.  The vistas go on forever and the blue color you see in the mountains is actually a chemical produced by trees called isoprene.  It scatters light into the atmosphere and causes the bluish hazy cast to the mountains.  

Our campground is located in a place called Peaks of Otter.  I’m still not sure why it’s called that, but a lot of the places here have odd names.  We got a bit worried when we were about 5 miles from our destination because there was a sign saying ‘parkway closed ahead.’ Not a good thing as we would have had a long drive back to the closest road leading off of the parkway.  Turns out the closure was right at the campground, so ‘whew’ we had a place to stay.  Our plan was to continue on for a while tomorrow and then jump off the parkway to our next adventure.  Because of the closure we will be taking a detour off the mountain from here instead.  It was a long and curvy drive for Steve today, so we are both fine with the change in plans.  As I looked at the rest of the parkway route, there are many sections in North Carolina are closed due to damage from last year’s hurricane Helene.  I think we got the best of the parkway and I’m happy we got to see the 86 miles that we did! 

The beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway 

A recreation of an Appalachian pioneer garden and scarecrow

An authentic Appalachian cabin 

At the end of the day, the sun would cast a glow on some granite rocks here 20 minutes before sundown, hence the name

Our campsite at Peaks of Otter

❤️

Monticello

 This morning’s travel day was far better than yesterday's.  I was sad to say goodbye to Shenandoah National Park.  We did pull off at a couple more lookouts as we headed out, and the morning light filtering through the trees was just beautiful.  

We only had about an hour and a half to our next destination, Charlottesville, Virginia.  We are staying at a tired KOA in the forest, but it is near Monticello which was today’s activity.  Once we got set up and had a little lunch, we headed out.  On our way there, we stopped at James Madison’s home, Highlands.  It is adjacent to Thomas Jefferson’s property, and the home was designed by Jefferson himself.  Jefferson was Monroe’s mentor and wanted him to live nearby.  We didn’t take a tour while there as we had a scheduled one at Monticello we needed to get to.  We did walk around the property and enjoyed the tree lined drive to the plantation house.  

Steve enjoying a rocking chair on the porch at James Madison’s Highlands

We had about a 10 minute drive to Monticello, and we passed something we totally didn’t expect to see… I’m going to let Steve talk about that! 

We decided to take the ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour of Monticello.  This tour took us to see all three floors of the mansion as well as the basement where the kitchen, wine and beer cellars, and storage areas were located.  Prior to the tour we had some time to walk around the property and view some of the other buildings and the multi-acre vegetable garden! Our tour guide was excellent and there wasn’t a question he didn’t know the answer to.  He was extremely knowledgeable not only about Monticello, but also of Jefferson and the history of our young country at the time.  

The house is 11,000 square feet but really didn’t seem that big.  Rooms were small by today’s standards, and there weren’t any large areas like ballrooms.  Even the dining room seemed small for the large dinner parties that were hosted there.  I hadn’t realized that Jefferson had everything the plantation used manufactured on the property.  He had a small textile mill, blacksmith, carpenters, and of course the crops he grew.  All of this, of course, at the expense of the over 600 enslaved people whom he owned.  

I think Monticello did a pretty good job of discussing the lives and living conditions of the enslaved people.  The very first thing we saw upon arrival was a graveyard for the slaves.  It was set away from the plantation house and none of the graves were marked.  If it had not been for ancestors of those buried there, that graveyard likely would have become a parking lot.  

The entire time I was there, I could not get out of my mind that all of this grandeur was built on the backs of enslaved people.  I was shocked to hear that the mountain top that the home is built on was rather pointy at the top, so Jefferson had slaves dig it out with shovels before the home could be built.  As we climbed very narrow and steep stairs, all I could think about were the slaves running up and down them with full chamber pots, laundry, or carrying the young children of the residents.  I was greatly moved by the thought of it all, and I found myself thinking about these people more than the house itself.  While some in our group were commenting on how hot or cold it must have been without central heating or AC, I kept thinking about the stone buildings on the property that were the homes of the enslaved people that didn’t even have the luxury of a window. 

By the way, Jefferson did not really agree with slavery, but he knew it was the backbone of the southern economy, and he didn’t have a solution for abolishing it without causing financial collapse.  He commented that slavery was a problem to be solved by future generations.  

This mirror is original and hasn’t been moved since it was first hung in the drawing room.  It was weird to be standing in front of a mirror that so many famous people from Jefferson’s time had also stood

These stairs are only 24” wide and very steep!

These holes in the doors were to let cats through… it was their pest control system 

Interesting information about Sally Hemings 

Ok - my contribution (Steve).  On the way to Monticello we passed Trump Winery. Apparently our failing octogenarian president, would be dictator, bought the winery in a bankruptcy sale. It is run by son Eric so Donald obviously has no interest in it and makes no profit from it (interested in buying some nice swamp land?).  The flags you see actually extend for a least a full mile along the road - perhaps even more. The gates and structure look like they belong to a sultan. It’s so nice to have a leader whose concern is centered on the well being of common folks.