The Proverbial Catch Up Post...again

It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness;
to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask himself
"Who am I, and where have I been and where am I going?"
                                            Carl Sandburg

Today was the finish of my Revolutionary War Trifecta. We had Guilford Courthouse yesterday and today was King's Mountain and Cowpens, all three tolling the bell of defeat for the British.

King's Mountain National Military Park, North Carolina – The Loyalist militias under Ferguson took the top of the hill, the Colonial militias surrounded the hill and crunched out a victory. Miko and I walked the mountain. According to the storyboards on the trail, the trees covering the mountain were huge and there was no underbrush. Then the giant trees were logged so now it doesn't look like it did during the battle.

 

Miko sitting in one of the old trees that the Colonials hid behind

 

Cowpens National Battlefield, South Carolina – Cowpens, named because this is where the frontier folk kept their cows before sending them to market. Colonial Daniel Morgan vs. British badboy Tarleton. Tarleton was the guy who several months previously had beat a bunch of Colonial militia and when the Colonials waved the white flag and tried to surrender, Tarleton slaughtered them all. Nice guy.

I think I'm done with the Revolutionary War for this trip.....finally. Interesting, but I think I need to space out this battle stuff a little bit more.

Headed north up toward the Asheville area.

 

South Carolina likes to make sure you stop when you should

 

 

 I had picked out a couple of campgrounds to stay at in the area. The first campground was sort of a mom/pop operation called Red Gates RV Park. In fact, as I checked in, I had quite a lengthy conversation about ham hocks and collard greens, neither of which I know anything about. Got myself a pull through site but when I tried to hook up the electricity, my surge protector went nuts and I couldn't get any power. Mr. Camp Host said “well gee, it works fine for everybody else”. Moved to a second back in site. Super narrow and very unlevel. When I put my leveling jacks down, three of the four tires were off of the ground. This would not do. So, I had to hook up my car again and try to find another RV park. It was getting late in the day and I was worried about finding a place and then having to get set up possibly in the dark. Ended up in Park Place RV Park in Flat Rock which although it had no charm, was very close to my next destination.

Carl Sandburg National Historic Site – this is where Carl Sandburg ( poet, Lincoln biographer, Pulitzer award winner and married to one of the premier goat breeders in the country) lived. Tied Miko up outside the visitor center, watched the movie and then we walked around the property. I could not tour the house because it was being renovated but we got to go into the goat barn and meet the goats and feel the space as Carl Sandburg must have felt. 

 

Carl Sandburg's House

Carl Sandburg's Pond

After getting a little culture with Carl, we headed up into Tennessee and I mean up. We had to cross a mountain range. I have a book called Eastern Mountain driving. It tells me what type of hills I am  going to encounter on a certain road. Well, in my giant RV, I seem to have lost it. How is it that in this small space I lose things? I don't get it. Anyway, there are nine miles of up, up, up followed by forever miles of down, down, down. I need to find that damn book.

I ended up in Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park in Tennessee. Yes, it is that Davy Crockett – the Alamo Davy Crockett. The campground is laid out like an RV park – we are all lined up, row after row. But, we are right on the Nolichucky River and the sound of the rapids really made me want to keep my windows open. Unfortunately, it got down into the thirties at night – I get the feeling that there will be no more open window sleeping.  I'm thinking I am going to need electric hookups for the rest of the trip just so I can run my space heater and not use up my propane.
 

Nolichucky River cascades right outside my door

Morning

We got a couple of good little hikes in before we headed over to my friends in Knoxville.

Anytime I am in the Knoxville area, I have to stop in and see two of my most favorite peeps ever – Bill and Kathy. We checked out some real estate in the mountains, I rode my first Paso Fino and my old favorite Icelandic Logi, went out for our traditional Mexican dinner and ate a whole lot of junk food. I really enjoyed my weekend in Knoxville.

Kathy and Tux

Bill

Last Day in Knoxville - Knoxville Girl

I'm getting ready to hit the road tomorrow and start the journey north. According to the Mountain Driving book that I have, I have to drive a downhill 5/6% grade. I'm not sure how big of a grade that is, but it sounds scary. We shall see.

What a wonderful day today. Had to go to the dump – Kathy doesn't have garbage pickup and we had to haul garbage to the dump. Then to Walmart for a few supplies.

Then the day started to get great. Knoxville is really promoting itself as a dog friendly city. They have been developing all these dog parks and we decided to check one of them out. We took Jaspar, the whippet and Miko.   Miko likes dog parks although she sometimes gets a little carried away. She finds a dog she wants to play with and then is obsessive with that dog, barking if the other dog doesn't want to play with her. Jasper, on the other hand, has never been to a dog park and was a little overwhelmed. He stuck pretty close to us and just did little ventures out into the park. He got a little nervous anytime another dog came up to say hi to him, but by the end of our visit actually ran a little bit. He just needs more time to get used to the idea of doggie mayhem.

Came back home and Kathy and Bill rode their horses. I then got to ride Logi, one of my favorite horses of all time. He wasn't too happy with me because I was making him work and actually walk like the majestic Icelandic horse that he is. Got some tolt and trot out of him and just enjoyed myself immensely. I don't think Logi enjoyed it quite as much as I did. Kathy then rode Logi and I got to boss them around a little bit as I pretended to give them a riding lesson. I had great fun.

Met up with a few people(Ann and Donna) that I have met over the years since I started to visit Kathy in Knoxville. These are southern women – it is so much fun not only to see them, but to listen to them talk with all their I reckon and y'alls . By the time they left, I was almost talkin' all mush mouth myself. I say that with a great deal of respect – it is a very pretty way to speak. Tennesseans have a nice soft southern accent.

Did a few chores around the motor home – heading out tomorrow – next stop Indiana. I would have liked to spend the night in Kentucky someplace so I could knock that off my list of states I've slept in, but the mileage and timing won't work out very well. I probably will not have WiFi for a while, I will update the blog, but probably no pictures so check back for the pictures.

Pictures of Spring:

 

Another low-key day

It rained today. Not just any rain, but a flood your basement rain, a run for the ark type rain. Crashing lightning simultaneously with thunder. Quite exciting. I'm pleased to say that the RV did not leak Well, except for the roof vent I left open, oh and maybe that back window that was open also – luckily I got them both closed within a couple of minutes of the storms start. I'm also pleased to say that the RV did not move at all when the high winds came through. By ten o'clock, the storm had passed. Putzed around until late afternoon when Kathy, Bill and I trekked back into Knoxville for a doctor's appointment that Bill had.

 

Each day I figure out something new in the RV.  One day, how the ice maker works, today it was how the passenger seat moves forward, backwards and up and down.  Such simple things that give such great joy.   

Picked up some supplies from Traders Joe's and ate dinner at Don Gallo – a Mexican restaurant. I had fish and shrimp tacos. I think fish tacos are such a welcome addition to the mexican cuisine. I don't remember fish tacos as an option when I was growing up. Mediocre wine and lovely tacos.

Watched the movie Despicable Me 2. I have such a soft spot for Gru, the lead (villain/hero) in the movie.

Chores

Did a lot of chore running around with Kathy. Everything in Knoxville is at least a half hour drive from Kathy's house so a lot of time was spent in the car.

It has been cold all over the country even down south here in Tennessee. The difference between Minnesota and Tennessee is that we insulate our houses much better than in Tn. During one of the cold snaps, some water pipes in Kathy's ceiling broke and flooded out most of her house. This happened to a lot of people down here. It has taken Kathy three months to get her house back into shape. She had no kitchen during that time, doing dishes in her bathtub. The house is finally put back together with one last detail. Getting the wireless hooked up. As we all know who live with Comcast, that one little task took several hours.

I'm finding that driving long distances in the RV, my lower back gets a little sore. So the search is on for a lumbar support thingamabob. I have one already but I need a more extreme one. I'm still looking.

As I use the RV, I am figuring out little things that I want to adjust in the RV. One of the things is that the driver's seat swivels around and sort of a lounger. When you are lounging, there is no place to put a glass down next to you. So I am looking for a small side table. Kathy just happened to have a perfect table that worked so now I am extremely close to all the creature comforts of home.

Went to lunch at P.F.Changs which was good eating even though it went against my “never go to a chain restaurant when traveling” mantra.

Ended the day by shoveling horse manure. All in all, a good day.