July 14 Stayed at Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia
Start Mileage - 45527
Last night we saw no bears. But we have decided to stay in this campground for two days so we could explore the area a bit more so we may see some tonight. There is supposed to be a mom and two cubs wandering around. The park lady said they weren't dangerous and appeared quite blasé about the whole thing asking us only not to feed them.
Our morning walk took us to Amicalola Falls. A cascade of about 750 feet. Quite a pretty ribbon rippling down the mountainside. Lots of flowers. More types, shapes and colors of fungi than I have ever seen anywhere. And it is still cool with very low humidity. I am happy.
We need a chain tool for Bob's bike, so headed off town the highway to the only bike shop we could find for miles. Closed on Wednesdays. We wandered down the Elijay River. There are kayak and canoe rentals. Seems to be an outdoor area. The homes mostly are nicely maintained.
This reminded me of our honeymoon in New England. No matter what day we showed up, the restaurant, gas station, or motel would be closed on that day.
The kudzu here is amazing. Kudzu is a vine that the Japanese brought over to grace some embassy or display in the 1920's. People thought it looked good, and then they discovered that it was great at anchoring soil in erosion-prone areas so they started planting it all over the place.
Big mistake! Now it's everywhere and growing like there's no tomorrow. We've seen vast fields of it. One quarter mile on both sides of the highway - trees, telephone poles, fields…all completely covered by kudzu. We have pictures.
You should see the size of some of these lawns. And with the heat and humidity it is a constant mowing process. About every third home had someone out doing the yard. Ridem mowers are very popular, but you see some struggling with the old push mowers.
Stick update - I love my stick. I have been using it on our hikes. Yesterday I even got a compliment on it. It's a fine stick. Thanks to Howdy's Verathane, it's now a rich brown color with a deep sheen. I need to find some leather to cover a section of it for a handle, and I still need to figure out a way to get a compass for the top of it. I may attach a whistle to the leather strap.
July 15 - Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia
Start Mileage - 45626
The bears were into the garbage cans last night, but there is no moon, and it is so dark I couldn't see them. Call me silly, but I wasn't about to go wandering about with a flashlight looking for mamma and the cubs in the middle of the night.
We left Amicalola Falls at around 9:30AM. Deb rode for a few miles while I followed along in Vinnie. We stopped at the local bike shop. Now for a bit of history…
Deb and I stopped in Savannah and walked around the downtown area. I needed a chain tool so we stopped in a small bike shop we happened to walk by. The way too cool dude running the shop had no chain tools. In the entire shop was one (1) road bike. We asked about the state of road biking in Georgia, and during the conversation, the guy told that since we were going to be near Elijay (in the opposite end of the state), we should stop in at the Cartecay Bike Shop. We were told that Mike, the owner, was a dedicated roadie, and he would have all the parts we needed. Since we saw hardly any bike shops in the entire state, we made it a point to stop at the Cartecay Bike Shop.
So we stopped in Wednesday. It was closed on Wednesday. We went back on Thursday. It was open, and we met Mike. Nice guy. He even had our parts! We asked about the notable lack of road bikes in Georgia since we had seen only about two. He proudly informed us that we were mistaken. Road biking was alive and well in this area. He informed us that there were five (5) local road bicyclists. Then he stopped and added he was the only one who rode every day. We politely stifled our chortles, thanked him for the parts, and quickly left Georgia.
We had to go to Brasstown Bald, which is Georgia's highest "mountain". It's 4,874 feet. Not really a mountain, but the Georgians seem quite proud of it.
Four states can be viewed (on a clear day) from the top of Brasstown Bald. Mountains are named Bald because no trees grow on the top of them at these lofty elevations. This area of Northern Georgia is beautiful. Slightly rolling hills with tall stands of hardwood trees. Small homesteads and little farms. Creeks and ponds and the TVA lakes. We noticed lots of "cottage industry", such as signs for jam, jelly, honey, and quilt makers alongside the road.
We're in a very nice campground in North Carolina, and Deb just noticed that the women cooked the food, the men sat down and ate it, and then the women cleaned up. She asked me if I had a problem with that. Nope. It's a system. It works. Why change it?
I had my hands around his neck, saying "See a problem with this?" He is now outside with the BBQ doing the pork chops while I am in air-conditioned Vinnie. I don't have a problem with this.
Out for our after-dinner walk along the cool, misty banks of the Fontana River. Cool waters off the base of the dam and foggy mists swirl along the river basin. Suddenly, Bob points out to me a big fly. Why should I be interested in this fly? Normally I am swatting at them. A flickering light off his butt. It's a firefly. Somehow I thought they were little like the Dropsophila (fruitfly) of my biology !A classes.
Bob is trying to capture the flickering moment on camera. He is chasing flies down the road hoping the catch the shining moment. They flicker, then he finds them, then he chases them, then the camera flash goes off and the firefly flicker is lost to the flash.
This is a great evening. We are camped directly below the tallest TVA dam in the USA. Most of us remember the TVA from US History in High School. The TVA is the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of Roosevelt's programs, which built many hydroelectric plants and dams in the Tennessee/Carolina Areas. It's one of those long, slow, warm summer evenings that many of us remember from our childhood. The sky is taking forever to turn black. The bats are flying in search of a meal, and the field before us is full of fireflies. Hundreds and hundreds of fireflies - flashing their mating message over the field. It's quite magical, and it reminds me not to forget the simple, wonderful things that are all around us.
July 16 - Fontana Dam, NC just north of the Smoky Mountains
Start Mileage - 45827
We got up early today. The river was completely covered in mist. We took off for Smoky Mountain National Park, the only NP that, because of a clause in the enabling legislation, does not charge an entrance fee. However, there are containers all over the park begging for money. It is a beautiful park. A sparkling river runs alongside virgin hardwood forests as you enter the park.
We kept stopping at lookouts, but you really can't see much except for the blue haze of the Smokies. I would not want to be the fire lookout for this range straining your eyes all day. Also the clouds come swirling down especially in the afternoon as the thunderheads build up.
There is an eleven mile one way loop through a pretty little valley called Cades Cove. We rode it on our bikes. This valley still has many of the original buildings from the early and middle 1800's. There is no electricity, and the only noticeable improvements in the valley are the road and the visitor center/store at the top of the loop. At the visitor center there is a farm that has been restored to the time it was originally occupied. It's a real slice of Appalachia in the 1800's.
They even had a working gristmill, and you can buy wheat and corn meal that has been ground at this mill. Deb asked how often they had to change the grindstones, and we were told that the ones they were using were the original stones from 1864.
This little ride was very pleasant. They had called it moderate, but not really--it was slight rollers. Most of our danger came from the car drivers stopping suddenly in front of us. We were going faster than they were most of the time and they didn't seem to be able to let us pass.
I had to hike to the top of Clingman's Dome. It is the name. The mountain itself wasn't so tall or spectacular, it was just the name. Different forest at the top--conifers. And cool. Bob stayed at the car to work on our email program. Someone sent us a really large message and we can't get it and it blocks all of our other messages---who did that?
We continued on through the park and then entered the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs 469 miles along the Appalachian mountains from Great Smoky Mountains NP in Tennessee and North Carolina to the Shenandoah in Virginia. Many people consider it to be America's most beautiful drive. There is no commercial traffic allowed, and speed limit is 45mph.
The first thing I noticed about the Parkway is that there is absolutely no litter. It is pristine.
I don't know how they do it, but it is quite unique for any roadway to have no litter. There are also no commercial establishments along the length of it. If you want food, a motel, or gas, you have to exit the parkway and find a town.
We drove about 40 miles and then found a RV park in Waynesville, NC for the night. Since it's Friday night I decided to take my best girl out for dinner, but then Deb found out so I had to take her instead. We had an overpriced martini prior to a very good overpriced prime rib at the local steak shop.
Afterwards we headed for The Stomping Ground, a local clogging club. Unfortunately, there was a huge crowd out front (at 930 on Friday night) we headed back for Vinnie and our books. So much for the high life!
July 17 - Leaving Waynesville, NC
Starting Mileage - 46008
Tonight I am truly enlightened. Tonight I am camped next to, and I kid you not, the French Broad River. I think it was very progressive of those old Frenchmen to name a river after one of their women. She must have been a lusty and buxom woman. The visual images swirling around my brain are quite magnificent. I picture a woman of 5'-6", not too skinny, broad hips, slender waist, heavy long chestnut brown hair, full lips, wide laughing mouth, pouting lips, with - quite naturally I think - a proud and perky set of hooters. I applaud the Frenchmen for naming a river after her.
Where does he come up with this? What I see is a wide, shallow river stretching across this valley. It is a light muddy brown. The campsite host is telling us that due to the drought conditions the river is low. A group of ducks seems to think campsite #5 will feed them. The sun is soon to set and we are sitting under the trees with no netting or bug repellent. It is great! I just saw a foot long fish jump up and do a loop in the air in front of our campspot.
Today we continued down the Blue Ridge Parkway. I am becoming bored with it. Due to the heavy smog, the visibility is severely limited. What used to be 90-mile views are now 20 miles. The scenery is quite monotonous, but Deb is still enchanted with it, and so I keep my thoughts to myself. I feel, however, that we will soon be rid of it. Due to Deb's constant complaints about my driving habits on the parkway I am going to let her do all the driving on it from now on. I will be a silent passenger... no complaints, no advice, no comments.
Yesterday coming down off the Smokies Vinnie's brakes got to smoking. Since then we have been using brakes much less frequently and resorting to second gear as much as possible. We don't want to wear out the trannie nor do we want the brakes to deteriorate totally. Bob constantly criticizes my driving and I criticize his. We alternate driving.
I'll let Deb tell you about the Vanderbilt Estate, the largest house in America. For $29.90 per "guest", I am struck speechless….
Those of us in the middle class have a hard time understanding the wealth of the "truly rich". I can't believe someone really liked all that ornate stuff. Or did they just buy it to have something to do with their money? The gardens were great though. The grandson of the Vanderbilt builder welcomed us as guests into his family home (via welcome movie). There were lots of innovations that only money can by--such as instantaneous hot water in a 269 room home, dumb waiters, indoor pool and 2 lane bowling alley all of wood (no plastic back then). It is pretty fancy and is equivalent to a museum with original art works. The servants' furniture is better than most of us have in our homes now.
The estate used to be 125,000 acres. How big is that? Now most of that has been donated to the feds and is considered part of Pisgah National Forest. The remaining land is still plentiful and sits nestled between 2 rivers on some fertile bottomland. The house sits upon a hill with sweeping views of the nearby mountain ranges. Yes, it would make a great retreat. One of the guardians said they didn't use it in the summer since they go to the summer estate and their yacht in Bar Harbor, Maine. Here we come!
July 18 - Asheville, NC
Starting Mileage - 46103
We awoke this morning to the sounds of the "campground rookies" yelling back and forth as they broke camp and set off on the road. We didn't appreciate it.
They were making noise at 0600. I kept hoping one of them would tell the others to be quieter, but they did not know to do that. Luckily they packed up fairly quickly.
I have never seen so much Darwinism as I have seen in the South. Today while we were filling Vinnie at the gas pump, some guy drives up, jumps out with the motor running, and fills his tank with one hand while smoking a lit cigarette with the other. He pulls the nozzle out with gas splashing all over the place. I ran around behind Vinnie so I wouldn't die in the first explosion.
I suspect that many of the families here in the south just don't like to let outsiders into their gene pools.
We didn't do too much except drive today. Deb finally realized that the Blue Ridge Parkway was a bit boring and monotonous so we stuck to the backroads and had a more interesting time. We drove by some beautiful countryside and many small farms and ranches. It seems that almost every one of them had a small tobacco patch.
We wondered if there is a government subsidy for the tobacco growers. Some of the patches are so small it does not seem that there would be any money in it. But again it makes me understand more why this state fights so hard to keep smoking popular. Lots of people make dollars from this crop.
North of Asheville there was a café with a "No Smoking Establishment" sign on its door. We almost backtracked to take a picture of this rarity.
As a footnote, I would like to record that today we had the opportunity to drive over Mt. Mitchell, reportedly the highest point east of the Mississippi. I declined. Mostly due to the fact that some people reading this would certainly respond with cheap innuendo. You know who you are.
You can see nothing from the Blue Ridge Parkway due to this excessive haze. Plus it doesn't go through any little towns. We drove today and drove. It was boring. I wanted to ride a section of Little River Bike Trail. Bob only wants to ride all day or not at all. I am not happy. I don't see why it has to be all or nothing. Then we couldn't find any campgrounds, so we kept driving. The country was very scenic and we just kept driving. Yuck!!!
So we splurged for a motel room in Roanoke, VA tonight. The rain when we entered the city was fierce. The power was out all over town, and there were emergency vehicles with red lights and sirens all over.
One weird thing I've noticed is that we have seen very few California license plates once we left New Mexico and entered Texas. I doubt if I have seen many more than ten. Do people from CA not travel back east, or do they just fly back and rent cars?
July 19, 1999 - Roanoke, Virginia
Starting Mileage - 46361
We woke up early this morning so we could get some errands done. Shortly after we woke, Richard Brunner and Margaret Barnes called to chat. I don't think Richard knows about Margaret and I. We've done an excellent job keeping it a secret. I doubt if he or Deb will ever find out.
Margaret told us that Frank Romeo is doing well, and that made our day. It's good to know he's improving.
Headed downtown to a local bike shop for route sheets and information. Closed on Monday. What a surprise! Had a good cup of coffee though and looked about the historic district of Roanoke.
We spent the day driving up the Shenandoah Valley. I've always thought that the name "Shenandoah" was especially beautiful. And now I'm here with an especially beautiful woman. Things are going pretty well. We've stuck to the back roads, and this has made the trip much more interesting. We are following Route 11 or the Lee Highway. We are apparently paralleling the 1976 Bike Centennial route through Virginia to Washington, DC. We keep seeing signs that say 76 with a little bike under it. It looks like a Bianchi to me.
This area is definitely worth a return trip and a long series of rides. There are tons of secondary roads threading through the mountains. It will take some research and consulting with local bicyclists to get cue sheets. And soooo much history. It is old. And lots of old houses and structures and history.
I have been watching the gardens. There is much diversity in the plantings. A good sign for me, since I like flower collages.
They say they are having a serious drought. With last night's deluge still in the front of my data banks it is had to fathom, but the locals know better. It is also so green and lush that it is not comparable to our drought of "87-88 when everything was so dead at home.
Bob is so excited right now. There are lightening bugs all over again. And square dancers across the drive. We have 2 squares going and they are good. The caller just asked if they were all from the South. Then the next song starts "If the South woulda won, we'd a had it made." Bob tells me that it is not the time to espouse my theory that General Lee extended the war by being such a great strategian.
Today we drove up the Lee Highway. Lots of historic references. Now I noticed that we are on the Jackson Highway. This Stonewall Jackson dude has also been mentioned quite frequently in these parts. Plus we passed Sam Houston's birthplace.
I'm not sure Deb is quite into this Mason/Dixon thing. Some of these southerners still feel quite strongly about Mr. Lincoln's Little War, and I'm not sure we should make a big deal out of my being born in Pennsylvania where Gettysburg is.
July 20, 1999 - Waynesboro, VA
Starting Mileage - 46483
I woke up at 2:00 this morning to the sound of dripping water. Finally I could stand it no longer and had to go outside and turn off the water. As I climbed back into bed I noticed a blinking light under the drivers seat. We had acquired our very own firefly. Sort of a built-in nightlight for wayward travelers.
Today we visited the backside of the nickel. Monticello. It looks really big in all the old pictures, but it is not. It is about the size of the houses they are currently building in Santa Clara Valley on small lots. They wouldn't let us upstairs to see the dome room due to fire code restrictions on the tiny stairs. Jefferson didn't want to waste space on grand staircases, so he built 2 tiny stairways to the second story. He did have some good construction ideas, such as double windows and lots of verandahs and a skylight. I thought the house was much more livable than the Vanderbilt place down the road.
I lost Bob on the garden walk. Due to Jefferson's extensive record keeping skills (50 years of documentation), they have been able to recreate the garden similar to the late 1700s. He had imports from all over the world and did a lot of grafting and other hybridization experiments on his own.
And the view from the estate is marvelous…or it would be on a clear day. Apparently it was most unusual to build an estate on a mountaintop. Sufficient water was always a major problem. Jefferson seemed to think the views more than compensated for the extra resources required to hydrate his surroundings and family.
I have three subjects to discuss - Smog, Bread, and a Recipe…
1. The recipe - For the best tomatoes you have ever had, do this…
Into a bowl put tomatoes cut into bite sized chunks. Add crumbled blue cheese and Italian salad dressing. Eat. Make a lot. It's good.
3. Bread - I would kill for a piece of bread with a crunchy crust. We had a great dinner last night… Virginia cured ham, chunks of purple potatoes with Deb's secret sauce, fresh corn from the people at the next campsite, cold martinis, and an amusing yet unpretentious California white wine. I wanted crusty bread. So off we go to the local Kroger's grocery whose motto is "Let's Go Krogering" so I should have known in advance.... ButI digress....
Bread with a crust????? Ohyeahright. Even with a large bread department and an in-house bakery do you think there was any kind of bread with a crunchy crust? Nope. I even found a display advertising "Genuine San Francisco Sourdough Bread". I thought my prayers had been answered!!!!! Nope. Soft, bready crust. I am morose. And all the stores and bakeries are like this. There is no honest bread anywhere. It's all soft, doughy "truck stop" bread. I haven't had a decent piece of bread since Arizona.
I have told him before and I will probably have to tell him again…a hard crust is a sign of poverty. It sits out and gets hard. I suggested that he put his loaf on Vinnie's front window in the afternoon sun to crust up.
Also we have been days without significant bug levels. I am sitting with the doors open and my flyswatter is not even within arm's reach. The humidity is still high, but I'm getting used to being constantly drippy.
Week 10
FIN