LAKE POWHATEN October 2015

 Staying in North Carolina for the fall colors of October was a wonderful experience! We returned as campground hosts to Lake Powhaten Campground with a change in both weather and the busy-ness of the park. Our campsite this time was in the Bent Creek Loop, mostly tent campers and only 2 electric sites. The foliage was already changing into an autumn hue so I added a collection of chrysanthemums to our site. The park was full every weekend, but mid week days were quiet and cool, and sometimes damp.

Monday and Tuesdays were our days off so we packed up a picnic lunch and often set out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy the scenic drives so close to us.  One of our favorites was heading up to Looking Glass Falls and the afternoon we visited we'd had 4' of rain so the water was roaring and beautiful!

We also checked out Mt. Pisgah Campground on the parkway to see if we would fit in any of the sites, but it didn't look likely, and nothing like what is available at Lake Powhaten. But, we did add a visit to the Mount Pisgah Inn right across the street. The inn has a beautiful view of the mountains and Looking Glass Rock from all the rooms with rocking chairs on the lawn to relax in.  Lunch was wonderful with a special treat of Edna Valley chardonnay on the list and a blueberry cobbler for dessert. The Pisgah Inn is one of the very few commercial businesses on the parkway and would be a fabulous stay.

The changing foliage made drives in any direction beautiful to see. So, I took tons of photos, though non of them capture the true beauty of the landscape. It seemed that the leaves changed color by the day.  Another favorite hiking trail was at Graveyard Fields.

We took a fun 2 day tent camping trip early October to Bryson, NC at Deep Creek Campground in the Smokey Mountains National Park. Beautiful, cold and  few campers as it was a Monday. Our orange tunnel tent added a spot of color but didn't quite blend. its such a fun and easy tent to set up with so much space inside.

The main reason for going to Bryson was to enjoy a ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. We took the 10am train for the 4.5 hour ride along the Nantahala River and into the Nantahala Gorge, beautiful scenery for 44 miles down and back.

on the return trip we had a one hour lay-over at the Nantahala Outdoor Center to wander around and get a snack. But the most interesting was watching skilled kayakers riding through these trails set along the river. That was a first for us, and fascinating to see it.

In mid October we changed up our fun for a trip to Boulder, CO for the wedding of our niece, Mia to Mr. Joey Getty. Lucky for us, we were able to fly from the nearby Asheville Regional Airport, only a  20 minute drive from our campground. Leaving at 5:30 am with one change in Chicago we arrived in Boulder early afternoon to find the wedding party cleaning out pumpkins that would be the floral containers for the reception on Saturday. So, once the pumpkins were cleaned and ready, I created the arrangements with some beautiful fall flowers. I loved doing it, and all was finished before dinner.

The wedding party and friends took over my brother's home for the three days of celebrations, so fun to see them enjoying it all. Nieces Neeve and Mia, the bride to be.

The wedding was held October 17th at the Greenbrier Inn, at 10:00 am,  beautiful fall morning absolutely perfect for the outside ceremony. Sibling photo, my brother Kurt (Father of the Bride) and sister, Emily.

Nephew Lars with Audrey

Our photo with newly weds, Mr and Mrs. Joey Getty. I loved the flow of the wedding day. We started with the morning wedding ceremony and reception at the inn which finished about mid afternoon. Then time to rest and relax before the dance party later that evening at a club in Boulder. Such a fun day!

Since we still had Sunday morning before flights back to Asheville we hiked once again at the Chautauqua Trails.

Back at our campsite late that evening with an early appointment for an eye surgery for me the next morning; staying busy had kept my worries away. We also a few days off work at the park but before long all was well, and time to plan our move south. Loved getting another hike and drive to see this beautiful area before leaving.

Back in California, our nephew, Skyler and his wife Monique, welcomed beautiful twin boys, Asher and Ender, that October!

A last visit to see the new fall planting of the quilt garden at the Botanical Gardens; beautifully done in chrysanthemums and an afternoon along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

On the last day of October we said our goodbyes to Lake Powhatan and drove on to warmer days in Florida! What began as a 4 night campground stay had become 4 months of time spent in this gorgeous part of the country with new friends included; an unexpected and wonderful summer adventure.

TENNESSEE September 17-28, 2015

With doctor appointments over, we returned to a new area near Erwin, Tennessee and the beautiful Rock Creek Recreation Area in north eastern TN. The park is a combination of facilities built by the CCC in the early 1930s and the campground built by the Forest Service in the 1960s. We loved the deep wooded privacy and yet the nearness of some darling small towns and more history. Being a forest service campground we had a 50% discount, love that!!!

Though only 55 miles north of Asheville, it was a steep climb at times and took us about an hour and a half to get to the campground. But the change in elevation also brought cooler temps, very nice. Along our drive the GPS took us a bit off track with a route leading us over a very steep railroad crossing...one we couldn't make! As the hitch dug into the road we were stuck...and blocking traffic along a small country road. There wasn't much we could do but unhitch the car and the dolly, then back down the ramp. With the help of a friendly driver we were soon back in business and headed to the park using an alternate route. 

Sunday was a beautiful drive to the nearby town of Greeneville and the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. The town was sleepy-quiet and we had the museum and home tour pretty much to ourselves. Johnson was the 17th President of the US who became president after Abraham Lincoln's death. The historic site includes two of Johnson's homes, his tailor shop, and his grave site. 

 Friends had told us to be sure to have lunch at a restaurant along our drive that day, just wish we had stopped on our way over to Greeneville rather than doing it on our return. The after-church Sunday crowds were surprising but we just waited for our table and soon we were seated at The Farmer's Daughter with family style dining and way more food than we could ever eat.  

 Monday was a perfect day just to stay at camp and take care of little loose ends as well as time to read. We both love all the amazing places we get to see, but every so often we just need to stay at the RV and take a breather. So, that's what we did adding lunch at this fun drive-thru restaurant, Pal's.



Then Tuesday we headed north to visit the historical site of Rocky Mount, TN. and step back in time to 1791. Costumed interpreters gave us a a personal look at the life of the Cobb family members and neighbors and life on the then "frontier".

 From Rocky Mount we drove on to Elizabethton, TN, the historical site of the first independent American government located west of the Eastern Continental Divide and the original 13 British Colonies. And of course, always fun to find a covered bridge in tact!

It was amazing to me that in such a small part of the state we had so many places to visit, so Wednesday we took a pretty drive over to Jonesborough, TN and an afternoon in the charming village. It is "Tennessee's oldest town" founded in 1779, 17 years before Tennessee became a state and is often considered the center of the abolitionist movement.  But today the little town is the home of the International Storytelling Center which holds the annual Storytelling Festival the first full weekend of October.  Being there just a week early, we missed the crowds of the festival but did enjoy the fun of a storytelling performance at 2:00 that afternoon. Besides the storytelling, we toured the Chester Hotel Museum and had lunch at the General Store Cafe. I also had fun picking up some hand made fall decorations to use at our campsite.

 And so we continued our touring the next day going north to see Roan Mountain State Park where we hiked to an iron ore mine, checked out the campground, and drove to a lovely overlook and walked to the Miller historic farmstead settled in 1870. It was such a beautiful day, we put the top down on the car and took a scenic route back, stopping for ice cream to finish the day.

 Saturday we returned to Elizabethton and Sycamore Shoals Historic State Park for the reenactment of the Overmountain Men and an event that happened in 1780. Many historians believe that the battle of King's Mountain and the men of Sycamore Shoals turned the tide of the American Revolution. So much history every where we turn!!! It's also amazing that so many local citizens treasure the history of their area and continue to tell the stories through costumed events such as these. It certainly brings history to life!

 Leaving all the history behind we found a small little coffee house for an afternoon snack before returning home.

 On our last morning at the campground we took a beautiful hike up Rock Creek Falls Trail. Cloudy but such a lovely peaceful hike.

 This is our campsite as we pulled out, it was such an amazingly wonderful site, large and spacious, no neighbors this time of year. That makes it pretty wonderful!!

 From Erwin we went a little west to Jefferson City and the Cherokee Dam Campground for two more nights before returning for another month at Lake Powhaten as hosts once more. This lake was built by the TVA in 1940-1943 and so beautiful still today!

 And then it was time to return to North Carolina and have a fun month back at Lake Powhaten.