Lake Lure NC to Home - 8-16-15 Sunday - 8-18-15 Tueday

Lake Lure NC – 8-16-15 Sunday We did our morning walk and had breakfast and finished packing up to leave Marion. We departed about 9:30AM and stopped to fuel up the motor home before heading out for a couple of days at Apple Valley Farm Motorcoach Resort in Lake Lure NC. We arrived about 11AM and set up in site 121. We discovered this resort just recently and decided since we were so close we would try it out for a couple of days before heading home.

It is a beautiful place. There are 46 sites that are individually owned that are situated around a 2 ½ acre lake. The grounds are part of a former apple farm and the barn has been restored and converted to the clubhouse. The original farm house has been restored and has been used as a restaurant but is currently not in operation. Some of the owners rent their sites out when they are not using them. The resort is about a mile from Lake Lure and the owners have access to the amenities at Rumbling Bald Resort, including golf courses, pools, fitness center, lake access, restaurants and also a boat.

After we got everything setup we went to the Pizza Restaurant at the Rumbling Bald Resort and got a good pizza. Then we road around the resort to check out all the amenities the owners and their guest have access to.

We also checked out another campground in the area before returning to Apple Valley Farm Motorcoach Resort. Later we walked around the resort and stopped to checkout the produce stand near the clubhouse. There was a large selection of nice produce in the building. It was setup on the honor system. You select what you want, write it down in a notebook and leave the money in a desk drawer. We learned that the man that maintains the grounds in the motorcoach resort owns the produce stand.

Lake Lure NC – 8-17-15 Monday We walked around the resort before having breakfast. We relaxed and read most of the day. We were given a tour of the clubhouse and a little history of the resort by the chairman of the resort board of directors,

Lake Lure NC to Home – 8-18-15 Tuesday It began drizzling rain late yesterday and most of the night. We had breakfast and departed for home about 9:15AM. It rained about half the way home. We arrived safe and sound at 4:15PM.

Final Trip Recap:

We departed May 12^th and returned August 18^th for a total of 98 days. We drove the motor home a total of 11,689 miles and drove the Jeep 2,297 miles. We saw some amazing scenery both in the Lower 48 states, Canada and Alaska. We met some nice friendly people along the way, We saw lots of wildlife and were blessed with really good weather, having to only alter our plans one time due to rain. We feel really blessed to have made this once in a lifetime trip (combined miles driven 13,986) with only two mechanical problems and they were just a minor inconvenience. And most of all we were blessed with a safe trip.

I will leave you with this thought – if you are thinking about traveling to see some of the beautiful areas in this country – don't wait – life is short – do it now if you can. 

Marion NC - 8-12-15 Wednesday - 8-15-15 Saturday

Marion NC - 8-12-15 Wednesday We did our morning walk and then walked over to TJ's Cafe' at the service center for breakfast. We didn't do much the remainder of the day except for some housekeeping duties around the motor home until late in the day we rode our bicycles around the campground until we found some of the campers that were “picking and grinning”. We stayed and listen to them for awhile before calling it a day.

Marion NC – 8-13-15 Thursday We did our walk and had breakfast and then read until about Noon when it was time for the Bluegrass Festival to begin. The music started at 12 Noon and ended about 10PM with one 45 minute intermission to give people time to get something to eat. The Del McCoury Band was the closing act. This was our first time to hear them in person.

Marion NC – 8-14-15 Friday We did our walk and had breakfast, then Lena went into town to a small local grocery store to get some of their breakfast sausage. We discovered this sausage three years ago and try to get some of it when we are here. They prepare the sausage every Thursday. About noon we went to the pavilion for today's music.

There were lots of good musicians and singers again today like yesterday. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage is always a crowd favorite. Goldwing Express is a group made up of three brothers and their father. The boy's mother was a full blood Creek Indian. Near the end of their second show they called a 13 year old boy up on stage that had been hanging out at the stage door entrance playing a banjo. The boy has only been playing the banjo for a year and he was really good. He played one song with them and did really well.

The father always does some comedy routines while they are on stage. This year he did a good impersonation of Donald Trump.

Gene Watson & The Farewell Party Band closed the show. They are a country music band but have been coming here for the last three years and the crowd really likes them. Gene and Rhonda Vincent had recorded a few songs together so they have a connection to bluegrass and he always gets the fiddle player and the flattop guitar player from Rhonda's band to play with him on stage when they are here. The show ended about 11PM.

Marion NC – 8-15-15 Saturday We walked, had our juice and went to TJ's cafe' to get a country ham and egg biscuit for breakfast.

The singing started again at 12 noon and ended just before 11PM. The most well know groups today were Little Roy (of the Lewis family a well know gospel group that performed for many years) and Lizzy, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Jimmy Fortune (who was with The Statlers Brothers for 21 years before they retired) and Dailey and Vincent.

There were lots of talented musicians and singers in all the groups that performed the last three days. Neither Lena or I can play any musical instruments so we call ourselves “Professional Listeners”.

Marion NC - 8-10-15 Monday - 8-11-15 Tuesday

Marion NC – 8-10-15 Monday We did our morning routine and then took the motor home to the service center for an 8AM appointment. We had an appointment to get the NC State Inspection done, have new shock absorbers installed that I had ordered and had delivered here and also get the motor home washed. Most campgrounds don't allow washing your RV on site and I was tired of looking at our dirty motor home.

Then we went to the main building to look around. Tom Johnson's Camping Center has recently been sold to Camping World and they have converted the show room into a camping supplies sales area. We got a few must have items before going to McDonald's for some coffee and use their WiFi. We can usually get the courtesy WiFi from the service center at our campsite but it is not working. Tom Johnson's Camping Center lost all their telephone and internet service a few days before we got here but have everything fixed except the courtesy WiFi.

We came back to the service center about 1PM and had lunch in the Cafe' and thought our motor home would soon be ready but we didn't get it back until after 4:30PM. They had the shocks on and were trying to wash it but several rain showers came through and delayed them. It sure looked better after a good wash job.

Marion NC – 8-11-15 Tuesday After our morning routine of walking and breakfast we drove up highway 80 to the Blue Ridge Parkway and rode it to the turnoff for Weaverville NC. We like riding the parkway. It got so foggy in the area of Craggy Gardens I could barely see how to drive and had to slow down to 20 MPH.

We stopped in Weaverville to buy some wood from Cormark International – a exotic wood importer. I needed some wood to make some pepper mills. Then we drove into the small town of Weaverville to eat at The Creperia and Cafe. We discovered this place last year when we came to Cormark International to buy some wood. They make really good crepes.

After returning to the campground we relaxed for awhile, then later in the evening we rode our bicycles around the campground until we found a group of campers that were “picking and grinning”. We stopped and enjoyed the music and singing for awhile. 

Marion NC - 8-8-15 Saturday - 8-9-15 Sunday

Marion NC 8-8-15 Saturday We did our normal morning routine of walking and having breakfast. Then I went to pickup our wrist bands and seat assignment number for the bluegrass festival.

(Rant on) The company that puts on the festival does a great job of getting top notch groups to perform, have a great announcer and great sound company but they don't do such a good job with the assignment of seats under the pavilion. This is a popular event so lots of people come and all can't get a seat under the pavilion so they set up two large tents on either side of the pavilion. So to get a good position under the pavilion you have to get here a few days before the actual event. Then on the day the numbers are passed out you have to line up, get your number and wrist bands and then come back a few days later and line up again and wait for your number to be called to place your chairs in any available place. One thing that bothers me is a person can come and get their wrist bands and number and also wrist bands and number for other people that have not arrived yet. I don't see why the numbers aren't assigned based on when you pay for your tickets. This would eliminate the first day of lining up. Then have one day to get your wrist bands and place your seats based on what your preassigned number is. Also a person that has not purchased a ticket can get in line ahead of those that have prepaid for their tickets and buy a ticket and get a lower number for their chair location. (Rant off)

Then we drove to Black Mountain. This is a neat old town just off I-40 between Marion and Asheville. We discovered it a few years ago while attending a PT Cruiser car owner's event in town. The town was having their 38^th Annual Sourwood Festival. We attended last year but had forgotten that it was this weekend. There were lots of tents setup on the side streets where people were selling crafts, sourwood honey, a variety of food and lots of other products. We visited the vendor tents and listened to some of the music in the entertainment tent. We went to My Father's Pizza for lunch. We have eaten here a few times and really like their pizza. We got there just ahead of the noon rush.

Then we returned to the campground and relaxed until later in the evening when we rode our bicycles around for awhile.

Marion – 8-9-15 Sunday We did our normal morning routine and then the rest of the day was relaxing, reading, riding our bicycles and watching the NASCAR race.

Marion NC - 8-6-15 Thursday - 8-7-15 Friday

Brevard – Davidson River to Marion NC 8-6-15 Thursday After our morning walk and breakfast we packed up and drove about 60 miles to Tom Johnson's Camping Center in Marion NC to attend the 41^st Annual North Carolina Bluegrass and Gospel Festival. This will be our 5^th year to attend. We look forward to this event each year. Before we got to Marion we began to see and could smell lots of smoke. After I checked in to our site (35) one of the employees told me there were 2 forest fires in the area.

Later in the day a breeze picked up and blew the smoke away and then a rain shower came through to cleanse the air. I hope it helped put the fires out because I was told the fires were in an area the fire fighter could not get their heavy equipment to.

We rode our bicycles around the facility. There is over 400 campsites here and most will be full before the festival begins plus many people drive in each day to hear the music. There have a large covered pavilion where the stage is and also put up two large tents. Tom Johnson's Camping Center is a large RV sales business plus they have a large service center and cafe' inside the service center office building.

Marion NC 8-7-15 Friday We walked and had breakfast in the cafe' before driving to the Lake Lure area to do a little exploring of the area. We found a nice Motorcoach RV Resort in that area a few days ago and decided to go look at it again with the thought of staying there a couple of nights before going home since we are so close to it.

After we returned to Marion we had lunch in the cafe'. They have a good catfish dinner on Friday that we normally get.

Another good rain shower came through about mid afternoon to cool things off a bit. I rode my bicycle through the campground after it stopped raining. It seems there are less people here than last year by this time but it will probably get busy tomorrow. 

Brevard NC - Davidson River CG 8-4-15 Tuesday - 8-5-15 Wednesday

Brevard – Davidson River CG 8-4-15 Tuesday The temperature was 66 this morning when we did our walk at 7:30AM. We are at 2150' elevation and in a forest of tall shade trees. Nice!

After breakfast we went to Hendersonville to check out a couple of campgrounds in the area. As we were leaving Davidson River campground we saw a white squirrel.

Then we stopped at a McDonald's to use their WiFi to update the Blog and checkup on email. There aren't any WiFi in the campground and the cell phone signal is very weak. After getting everything caught us we decided to go to Lake Lure to check out a RV Resort where the sites are privately owned but some of the owners rent them out when there are not using them. We found one we might rent in the future.

We stopped for lunch in Chimney Rock before returning to the campground. We passed several apple orchards on the return trip. Hendersonville area is the apple capital of North Carolina.

Brevard – Davidson River CG 8-5-15 Wednesday We did a longer walk this morning before having breakfast. The temperature was again 66 degrees when we got up. We bought a bundle of firewood so we could have a campfire this evening. Later in the morning we rode our bicycles for awhile in the campground and out to the Jobs Corps grounds outside the campground.

I cooked my “almost world famous” potatoes and sausage in my cast iron pot for supper and enjoyed the campfire until about 9:30PM before calling it a night. These last 3 days has been very relaxing. Tomorrow we move to Marion NC to attend the North Carolina Bluegrass/Gospel Festival.

Cherokee NC - Brevard NC - 8-3-15 Monday

Cherokee 8-3-15 Monday We did our walk, had breakfast and got ready to leave about 9AM but the battery in the Jeep was dead, so I had to get out the battery charger to get it started.

We got to Davidson River Campground in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard about 12 noon and checked in for site 121 in the Hemlock Loop. When we got to our site, the battery was too weak to crank the Jeep. A man that was camping across the street helped us get it unhooked from the motor home and helped us push it into his site. He needed to leave the campground and couldn't get by until we were out of the way. Then he contacted the staff of the campground for us to come and give us a jump start.

After we got setup we drove into Brevard to buy a new battery and get a late lunch. So with a full stomach and a billfold $140 lighter we returned to the campground. We're sure glad the battery didn't die in some of the remote locations we were at in Canada and Alaska.

We camped here about 34 years ago when our son was a young teenager and again in 2011 and 2012. This is one of our favorite campgrounds. It has 160 sites but only 28 have electrical hookups and only 10 of these can be reserved and none have water or sewer hoohups. All the streets are paved and all the sites have paved parking pads and gravel tent pads. It is a good place to ride bicycles and walk. There is also a swimming hole in the mountain stream that kids really enjoy.

Hemlock Loop

Site 121

Site 121

It seemed good to set outside to read and not have to breath road dust.

Cherokee NC 7-29-15 Wednesday to 7-31-15 Friday

Cherokee NC – 7-29-15 Wednesday We did a walk around the campground, had breakfast and later went to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park which joins the Cherokee Indian Reservation. We saw some wild turkeys as soon as we got into the park. We had planned to stop at the visitor's center and tour the homestead that is there but the parking lot was about full so we decided to come back some other time when it was not as busy. We went the Smokemont Campground in the park to see if they had made any improvements to it. We camped here in August 2011. There were a lot of people using the campground. They have added two new dump stations in a much better place.

We checked out a few more commercial campgrounds in the area and then stopped in Cherokee at the DQ for some lunch and an ice cream sundae before returning to the campground.

Cherokee NC 7-30-15 Thursday We did our morning walk, had breakfast and later went to Bryson City about 10 miles outside of Cherokee. We had not been here since bringing Jackson (our oldest grandson) with us on a PT Cruiser Car Owners' Get-to-Gether in 2010. They have a old train that you can ride that takes trips up into the mountains.

We walked around town and stopped at the Cork & Bean to try their coffee and pastries. The cinnamon bun was excellent but the latte was just okay. I think we have come to the conclusion that most of the coffee shops we try are afraid to put any coffee in the lattes so most of them are like warm milk with some flavoring. The building was kind of neat. It was a former bank building that was built in 1905. They were using the vault as a storage room. This is the second coffee shop we have tried recently that was a former bank.

We returned to the campground to relax and read the remainder of the day.

Cherokee 7-31-15 Friday We did our morning walk and had breakfast. I finally installed the new tube in my bicycle tire that I had blown up when we were in Canada in early July. The rest of the day was relaxing, reading and watching all the weekend campers coming in and setting up. This campground has about 375 sites plus several small one room cabins and almost all were full by dark.