NC-VA Mountains

Note: Up to this point, this Blog has been written by We-2-B's (the Motor Home). As of this entry Dolan will take on the writing duties.

August 14, 2012 we began a 28 night trip to the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. Our first stop was 5 nights at Tom Johnson's RV Park in Marion NC where we were attending the annual Blue Grass and Gospel Festival that ran from Thursday to Saturday. We arrived on Tuesday and got set up and relaxed the remainder of the day. Wednesday we drove the "Toad" over to Old Fort to visit their train museum and the Mountain Gateway Museum. Both are very interesting and if you are in the area check them out. We also checked out a nearby campground but it was not something we were interested in. Friday we drove into Marion to check out the old part of town where we found a good coffee shop upstairs in an old building. We really enjoyed the Festival. This was the second year we have attended the festival.

Sunday the 19th we departed Marion and drove to Davidson River Campground in the Pisgah National Forest outside of Brevard NC where we will stay 6 nights. This is one of our favorite CGs. We got lucky and got an electrical site when we checked in. There is only one site with electricity that can be reserved. We  spent the 6 days traveling around the area, checking out some campgrounds and riding our new fold up bicycles and taking walks around the campground. I cooked some great ribs in my Dutch Oven. I think I am getting better with my oven. Tuesday evening one of the campers rode by on his bicycle and invited us to his campsite where he was going to sing and play the guitar and banjo. Wednesday evening while we were sitting by the campfire an older lady that was camped near us stopped to ask about the weather forecast. As soon as she began taking I knew she was from Germany. She was very interesting to talk to. She has had a very interesting life. She is 86 years old and was traveling alone and camping at different campgrounds along the Blue Ridge Parkway until October. She was traveling in an older model Ford Pickup and using a truck camper that was over 25 years old. She and her husband (before he died) had traveled to Alaska twice with the truck and camper. You just never know who you will meet while camping.

On Saturday the 25th we departed for Julian Price CG at milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our site was A30 (a pull through) and it was one of the few in the entire CG that we could have got the motor home into and get it leveled. The pull throughs in the CG are really just wide places in the street. I parked as close to the curb as possible and when the driver side slide was out it completely filled the space allotted for the campsite.The CG has lots of sites but it needs LOTS of work. It doesn't look like any maintenance has been done in many years. It is a beautiful area and Price Lake is really nice. There are lots of walking trails in the area. Sunday we visited the Moses Cone home and then drove into Boone and did some shopping at the Mast General Store and then I cooked chicken in my Dutch Oven. It is amazing how tender it was.

Monday was my birthday so Lena cooked me blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Later in the day we walked  the 2.7 mile trail around Price Lake. Tuesday we drove to Blowing Rock for dinner at Glidewells on main street. We got some really good food unlike some of the reviews I have seen on the internet. Wednesday we drove back down the parkway a couple of miles and exited to a local road where we had seen an old country store earlier in the week that offered free WiFi. It was managed by a nice lady that told us of some of their plans for the place. The building was over 100 years old. They have a very nice stock of items and free WiFi.

Friday the 31st we departed for Bandits Roost CG at W Kerr Scott Lake near Wilksboro NC. Our site was A18. It took us awhile to get our Tailgater Satellite setup due to the trees around our site. The site was on the lake and spacious. The picnic table and firepit was on a lower level down several steps. Saturday we drove to Glendale Springs to check out Racoon Hollow CG. We didn't like it but did enjoy the local crafts store nearby on the Parkway. We also visited the The Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to look at the Frescos by Ben Long. We also found a nice cafe nearby - The Blue Ridge Bakery Cafe.

Monday we checked out the other two campgrounds on the lake. We liked Warrior Creek but most of the sites at Fort Hamby CG were two small for our motor home.Tuesday was Lena's birthday so we drove into North Wilkesboro. We visited a used book store and bought some books to read and then we found an old hardware store. The owner told me  it had been in business since 1947 and was founded by a local moonshiner. We checked out some other business and then went to The Branciforte’s Brick Oven Italian Restaurant for a pizza and dessert. The pizza was the best we have had since we lived in Germany and had brick oven pizza in Italy. The Tiramisu was also very good.

Thursday the 6th of September we departed for Wildwood CG near Lynchburg VA. Wildwood is a nice campground and is just over a mile off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 62. We had site "A" - a nice level pull through. We visited the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford VA on Friday. The visitors center and memorial were impressive. Friday evening we went to a party for a friend and his finance that was getting married the next day. The road was very curvy and hilly but a beautiful drive. We returned Saturday afternoon to attend the wedding. It was held in the yard and the rain held out until about 15 minutes after the vows were said. But the rain didn't last but about 30 minutes and they had two large tents for the reception.

Monday we rode down the parkway and did some hiking along a stream. Tuesday the 11th we departed for home. We had a very good time and had no major problems and drove 1049 miles with the motor home and stayed 28 nights and spent $539.84 on campsites. We rode our new fold up bicycles over 30 miles.