Oct. 12

Guest Blogger! Welcome David Ledet

Bonnie is fixing spaghetti so I get to write today's blog.  Howdy!  We left our camp in Gattlinsburg, TN this morning on our way to Asheville, NC.  A word to the wise, when you see a sign that says turn left to the interstate, take it, no matter how many miles you think you will save,  TAKE IT . I didn't remember just how curvy this road was and the countless number of hairpin turns there were.
The curves didn't feel as sharp in the short wheelbase Jeep. Try it in a 31' motor home.  Pucker factor of 20 on a scale of 1 to 10. Thank goodness Bonnie was driving the Jeep rather than being hooked up to the motor home and we never met anyone coming the opposite direction for the entire 13 miles. But we did it, and then I forgot the road turned to dirt before we made it back to pavement. Hell, I was just on it yesterday!

But we made it to NC, set up camp and began to explore.  A brief stop at an antique shop,
Sonic for lunch and then we found the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The color was beautiful and the views, breathtaking. Drove 60 miles north from Asheville. With a 45 mph speed limit and countless number of pullouts for pictures, we made back to camp at 7:30 pm.

We drove into Mount Mitchell State Park and went up the the observation tower. It's the highest point east of the Mississippi, there was plenty of parking, a SHORT uphill walkway and clear skies at the top. Beat Clingman's Dome all to pieces!

We thought of you, Jud Hall. You would have had fun building a new rock cairn!

Views from Mount Mitchell

Haven't seen many sunsets because of all the trees!