Marion NC August 10-15, 2018

Day 10    Friday August 10, 2018 We got up early and was able to depart the resort at 8:15AM. We fueled up the motorhome just before arriving at Tom Johnson's Camping World in Marion NC. When we arrived at Tom Johnson's Service Center I got them to do a NC State Inspection and install a cutoff value in the water line going to the fresh Water tank to solve a problem we have with water filling up the tank when it is not supposed to. While we were waiting for them to finish we ate a catfish lunch at TJ's Cafe at the service center. We go the motorhome back and set up in site 35, the same site we have used for 4 years now. This is our 7^th year coming here for the NC Bluegrass Festival.

We got lots of rain later in the day and night. Sometimes it was coming down so hard we could not hear the TV. Sure wish California was getting this rain to help with the fires.

Day 11    Saturday August 11, 2018 We went to Black Mountain to check out their Sourwood Festival. We usually go every year while we are here. They have lots of really good craft vendors. We don't usually buy anything but do like to look. It was a little cooler this morning that in past years which was nice.

Train tracks that run through Black Mountain

On the way back to Marion we took a side road to check out Andrews Geyser. We had seen the road sign on prior trips in the area but never checked it out. It was built in 1912 by George Fisher Baker of New York as tribute to Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews of Raleigh NC in appreciation of the great Public Service he rendered in the development of Western NC. The Geyser was not functioning today. The area around it is maintained by the town of Old Fort as a public picnic area. There was a large group at one end of the open space having a picnic. The grounds had recently been mowed and the mower had torn up several pieces of trash. There were several trash cans around but some people just can't be bothered to walk a few feet and properly dispose of their trash.

Then we stopped in Old Fort, a small town just off I40. I had read in a magazine about a mural on one of the old buildings that we wanted to see. We found it and got to looking and there were several murals and large painting and a number of barn quilts on buildings in this old town.

We went on to downtown Marion and stopped at Burrito Brothers for lunch. I had also read about them in the same magazine. They were voted best Mexican Restaurant in McDowell County in 2017. Their food was really good. Best Tacos I have had in a long time.

Then we stopped at the new Harbor Freight store and Tom Johnson's Camping World for some shopping before returning to the motor home.

Day 12     Sunday August 12, 2018 We returned to the Harbor Freight store again for a few more item. When we returned we put our chairs in line that was already forming to get our wrist bands and place our chairs under the pavilion tomorrow. The remainder of the day we relaxed and watched several RVs and set up for the upcoming Blue Grass Festival.

Day 13    Monday August 13, 2018 About 8AM I went to the pavilion to get our wrist bands and then place our chairs under the pavilion. I was able to get in row 11 from the stage which is a good position. Then we went to TJ's Cafe at the Service Center for breakfast and then to Moon Doggy's in Marion for lunch. Late in the day I rode my bicycle around until I found a group that was playing music near the pavilion.

Day 14    Tuesday August 14, 2018    For breakfast we decided to be bad and go try Mr. Bob's Do-Nuts in Old Fort. We had seen reviews about their donuts and the reviews were right on. They have really good donuts. They also have what they call apple uglys (apple fritters). We order one of the small apple uglys and two bavarian crème filled donuts. The small apple ugly is bigger than a saucer and the large is bigger than a dinner plate. The crème filled donuts have an abundance of crème unlike those that the donut chain with the initials DD sells. They also have a special order donut that is 14” and will feed about a dozen people.

After our donut fix we drove up the mountain to ride a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the parkway we checked out two of the park campgrounds. As I have said before on this blog the National Parks Administration really needs to upgraded these campgrounds on the parkway. They were build decades ago with no hookups, no bathhouses and really small sites. The hookups are not as big a deal in my opinion as no bathhouses and the size of the sites. Modern campers are much larger than those of decades ago so the majority of the campsites are not used. Both of the campgrounds we stopped at had dozens of sites in a beautiful setting with less than a half dozen sites occupied.

Linville River

Co-Pilot

Linville River

Linville River

Linville River

On the way back we stopped for lunch at Switzerland Cafe in the community of Little Switzerland. We always stop here for lunch if we are in the area. I had a Flatbread Turkey Panini with Feta Cheese and kettle chips that were very good and Lena had Chicken Salad with potato salad. The temperature on the parkway was 71 degrees and when we got back to the motorhome it was 84 degrees.

Flatbread Turkey Panini

Switzerland Cafe

Later in the evening we rode our bicycles around and stopped to listen to some of the music being played by some of the attendees.

Day 15    Wednesday August 15, 2018 After breakfast we drove to Old Fort to hike a trail up to Catawba Falls. It was a nice hike through the woods along a stream of water but we didn't make it all the way to the main part of the falls. About a mile into the hike we came up to a crossing of the stream that required crossing the stream on rocks. Lena did not feel comfortable crossing the stream on the rocks so we stopped there, rested and took photos of the small waterfalls at the crossing.

Over the shoulder selfie

Resting my feet

Co-Pilot

After a rest we hiked back to the car. Lena decided she deserved another one of Mr Bob's Donuts so we stopped and tried another one. It was very good also. Then we returned to the motorhome and Lena did some laundry.