Week Nine, Tues/Wed, Oct 23/24

Weather iffy, showers, rain and/or thunderstorms... left Staunton for the Galax VA area so we could be close to New River bike trail and a ride if weather permitted. Drove some by interstate and more on the Blue Ridge Pkwy - but, we ended up driving in pea soup fog on the pkwy, with very poor visibility. Finally able to get off the pkwy at Fancy Gap and into a CG, still stuck in fog and rain. On Wed we left (in soupy fog) for Greenville SC as there's no break in the weather... and no bike ride on the trail. Oh well. On/off rain thru NC and into SC, and rain showers continue. Jimmy has friends in Greenville, and we hope to see them. And watch the first game of the World Series. Found a Whole Foods store in Greenville and spent a bushel basketful of time - and a bit of cash - there (every bit as good as Disneyland)!

How about the wasp nest near the water wheel of the old Mabry mill....

GSMR! Oct 11/12, 2006

(Remember, we had no RV in 2006.)

Wednesday, 10/11 – From Roanoke, we made a decision to head south today, still in the mountains, toward NC and the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad (GSMR) in Bryson City. Drizzling gray skies turned into rain by Bristol, TN. Having the laptop computer and cell phones have proved very beneficial for us, as we could check weather, find things to do and places to stay online, and call for “price and availability.”

We stayed at Ridgetop Motel in Bryson City, up a winding road, with a fine view of the Blue Ridge Mtns. Our room is kind of sparse, but so is the price. Still, it’s clean and adequate; bed is comfy. Made reservations for the train from Bryson City along the Nantahala Gorge, departing @ 9 AM tomorrow – despite predictions of MORE RAIN. We walked around Bryson City this evening, peeking in a few shops, and ate a fine Italian dinner. The antipasto we ordered was so generous, that we had much of it boxed up to add to tomorrow’s lunch. Rain falling at dusk chased us back to our room, where we snuggled under the covers to watch an old (1948) weird movie, “Naked City.” Tis very quiet here. Slept well.

Thursday, 10/12 – Made it to the RR station by 8:15 on this crystal clear morning; we could see forever from our motel, across verdant valleys and hazy blue mountains. No clouds, no rain, no fog… the sun came up bright and blinding! (If we listened to every weather forecast, we’d just stay home!)

Ready to roll at Bryson City!

Our train was long and we were in the last car (closed coach – chilly jacket weather in the mornings and evenings). With a few final blasts of the train whistle, we chugged off on a delightful 4½-hour excursion, carrying us 44 miles along the Nantahala Gorge and back.

We traveled the Little Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers, across Fontana Lake, with a one-hour layover at Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for our picnic lunch. What an enjoyable ride! Fall colors were marvelous. Nantahala is a rip-roaring boulder-strewn, narrow river, foaming with rapids – very picturesque, but not something I’d want to be on or in; plus, the water is cold!

At NOC, the engine detached, reversed, and then reattached to our car, so we were now the lead car. We watched the process (photographed it!), and then hiked to a flat area of river rock for our fine lunch. (Maybe by the time we get home we’ll be tired of PBnJ?) Very lovely area. After five blasts of the whistle, we departed for Bryson City. Everything looked different on our return trip, and we sat spellbound. At the gift shop, we bought our condo another present, not something we usually do.

After the train ride, we drove to Fontana Dam (conductor’s recommendation) and walked around, across the dam. At 480' it's the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains! Awesome to look down.

We spent another night at Ridgetop. Asking about good places to eat, we were directed to Rilea’s, behind NOC (shorter distance by car), where we had really outstanding fresh trout dinners. We have made terrific choices this trip. Back in our room, we watched a bit of TV again before we turned out the light. Tired. But, oh so happy.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, NC, Oct 13, 2006

Friday, 10/13 – Another day that we didn’t plan in advance (often these turn out best!). This morning, we decided to point the Prius west, then south, heading first for the amazing Cherohala Skyway, connecting western NC to eastern TN, driving the crest of the Unicoi Mtns…and man, it was some drive!

Our aim was Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Created in 1975 as a memorial for writer/poet, Alfred Joyce Kilmer (the iconic poem "Trees"), it's a magnificent area of towering trees, many over 400 years old. The forest is one of the last remaining old growth (cove) hardwood forests, unique to the Appalachian Mtns; the dominant species include poplar, hemlock, red and white oak, basswood, beech and sycamore, the largest rising over 100'.

Tree hugger! 

Tree huggers! 

Hey!  You there!  Reach for the sky....

The forest floor was carpeted with cracklin' autumn leaves and wildflowers, ferns and spongy moss-covered logs from fallen giants. We slowly walked the two-mile loop, tho the temp at our start was a chilly 38° and might have called for a more rapid pace – we simply piled on more clothes before setting out. Who would want to rush through such an inspirational place? We passed through some truly impressive stands of trees, warming as the morning wore on and the sun filtered through the trees.

Our spirits refreshed, we left as afternoon loomed, driving on the twisty-turny Cherohala Skyway. At scenic Shute Cove on the Skyway, we ate our good ol’ PBnJ sandwiches in the cheery sunshine.

Lunchtime.

Continuing south in TN, and on into GA, we had no specific destination, but we were aiming south toward Atlanta. With each mile, we regretfully watched mountains shrink and eye-catching autumn color disappear. On I-75, we spied tiny brown heads attached to little furry brown bodies stooging around roadside – (suicidal?) groundhogs. Then they, too, petered out.

Driving into Atlanta was all right; coming out on the other side was NOT – traffic backed up big time near the airport. By this time, we’d decided to just go home since Tallahassee was only five or six hours away. This traffic delay added to our later arrival at home, but we didn’t fret. I was driving and passed a black Viper several times in the stop-and-go traffic, much to Jimmy’s amusement. He said that would be the ONLY way I’d be able to pass a Viper in our Prius.

We couldn’t find a place to eat till we got to Macon and then we settled on one of those “world’s biggest” Chinese buffets, but the food was tasty enough, and we needed to stop for grub by that time and change drivers – something we learned to do on one of our earliest driving vacations.

Darkness settled in and we kept on driving, leaving the freeway at Tifton and heading south on Hwy 319 – which turns into Capital Circle in Tallahassee. Pulled into the driveway close to 11:30PM, unpacked the bare essentials, and fell into bed by Midnight.

We DID NOT set the alarm for the next day!  Slept like dead people.