If I could catch as many fish as I took flower pictures, I would be in paradise. Similar to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, you could take pictures in all seasons and they would be different. We didn’t see any bears or signs of bears, but surely they are here. There are lots of deer and rabbits, but they are both wary of people. In Big Meadows, you can walk right up to them, and bear are plentiful.
Expert photographer, Mark Zablotsky, recommended an app to identify flowers – Picture This, and it is great. You have to have internet, of which there is none in Hidden Valley, but when you get home, I just took a picture of a picture and it quickly identifies a plant, tells you the origin, uses, how it might be used in your home garden and much more.
With a macro lens or a phone, you can get good pictures of flowers. The difficulty is getting pictures of a bunch of flowers and to get them in focus. Looking into photostacking.
The Jackson River Trail is approximately 16 miles long following the Jackson River flowing south from Cedar Creek To downtown Covington, Virginia. We wanted to ride from Cedar Creek down, but that section isn’t finished yet, so we went down to Natural Well, first riding north as far as we could, then riding south for about an hour before turning around. It is a beautiful trail with great scenery of farmland and the Jackson River. We talked to a few people, but mostly we had it to ourselves.
After loading the bikes in the truck we drove up the mountain to explore Lake Moomaw from the east side. There is a very nice campground with shower houses at the top of the mountain with very few people there. Driving down the mountain, we found a beautiful sandy beach with only two people there on a hot July day. At the bottom of the mountain the road ended at the bottom of the Gathright Dam, which should be a great tailwater fishery, but I think there is only a short section that you can fish. Not far down is a beautiful private property.
Lake Moomaw is 2,530-acre cold water lake fed and drained by the Jackson River. It boasts 40 miles of undeveloped shoreline. There is a nice campground on the other side as well.
We chilled back at camp for a couple of hours before exploring the bird trail in Hidden Valley. I was surprised by the numbers of birds in trees surrounding a marshy-looking low area. Like the day before, we were amazed at the variety of wildflowers that were worked by bees and butterflies. An ebird list of Hidden Valley birds identified 127 species! Sadly, in a perfect setting, not one quail was noted. Maybe next time I will take the big lens, a tripod, water and some snacks and sit on a bench.
I have been to Hidden Valley several times to fish the Jackson River, but I wanted to return to explore more of the area. A beautiful B&B, Warwickton built in 1848, sits in the heart of the property, but I love staying in the campground with our Airstream. The campsite fee is $15, and is only half of that with a Senior National Park Pass. Originally I was going by myself, since Martha was going to Africa with her girl friends. However, the flight was cancelled, so they returned home from Atlanta. Well, it isn’t Africa, but she decided to come along and discover Hidden Valley.
After loading groceries and clothes, we got an early start for a pretty two-hour drive to Warm Springs. We drove around the campground a couple of times to select a site, which is difficult because they are all nice. We got setup, fixed some lunch and went for a walk. there are about 200 acres of “hay fields” that are just loaded with wildflowers. Well-maintained paths are cut around and through the fields. Butterflies and bees are busy gathering nectar from all the flowers. It was hot in the sun, even though it was about 8 degrees cooler than at home. The elevation is about 1,500′ with mountains surrounding it in 8,000 acres of George Washington National Forest. The Jackson River runs through the valley with 6.5 miles of river. Connecting to the north is Poor Farm, offering more river frontage and dispersed camping. My goal for tomorrow was to hike to Poor Farm along the river, crossing the swinging bridge. On Wednesday I wanted to bike the Jackson Trail, a rails-to-trails, well-developed trail along the Jackson River.
Trying to keep things simple, we just brought the Cobb Stove, a small grill that uses 6-10 lumps of charcoal. Martha is a great camp cook, cooking chicken for me, a pork chop for her and a riot of peppers, onions and squash. It was wonderful. There is no cell phone service in the valley and no radio or TV reception. It is interesting to spend four days without things we feel are “essential”. I had a new book by Kelly Sutton, A River Runs Through It Outdoor Reflections. I finished that the first day, and found it quite entertaining. We have been hunting and fishing together for a very long time. You can find his book on Amazon.
I get up early every day, but I slept till 5:00, which is quite good for me. With all the windows open, it had cooled to about 69 degrees, which was perfect with a sheet. Birds were waking and talking to each other, so I crept out to the field to look for a deer or perhaps a bear, but no such luck. We knew it was going to be a hot day for an 8-mile round trip hike, so we filled the water bottles and packed some granola bars and sandwiches. We were off by 7:15.
We drove up to the trail head in front of the elegant Warwickton. Our phones would have to do for cameras today. We had already seen four deer and several rabbits. The grass was wet with dew, and it was a beautiful morning for a hike. Deer, rabbits, butterflies and bees were everywhere. After two hay fields, we were in the forest, nice and cool. It took about 45 minutes to get to the first bridge, where I went straight toward Muddy Run. The trail followed it along until it crossed the now small stream. We saw a blaze on a tree on the other side, so we crossed, but were unable to follow the trail. Disappointed, we headed back down.
When we got to the bridge, we decided to cross and see where that went. It led back to the Jackson River and the famous swinging bridge. We paused in the middle to admire the beautiful river, then crossed to the other side. A sign pointed to the right to Poor Farm in 2.5 miles, but we had spent our energy going up Muddy Run. I turned around to cross back over the bridge when I was attacked by yellow jackets, quickly running back to the side. those little things just stick to you and keep stinging until you smack them off.
Well, fortunately the path went in both directions, so we headed downstream, hoping to end up at Warwickton. With no phone service and no map, we weren’t really sure where we were going, but hopefully not up and over the mountain to Back Creek. As long as it followed the river, we should be good, but we were on the mountain side, so it went up and down on a narrow trail.
After a lot of trekking, we indeed found ourselves in front of Warwickton. Crossing a bridge we saw a man leading people on a horse ride. Now THAT’S the way to do it! We talked to him for a bit, getting his information before they jogged on. We were tired, hungry and thirsty by the time we got back to camp, but it was all good, except for a bunch of itching bee stings.
Saturday’s highlight is the Farmer’s Market, which is conveniently at the end of our street. Starting at 8:00 gave us time to have coffee and sweet rolls as well as cleaning up our trailers. As a good will gesture, people can go into our trailers and check them out like an open house. We also find it interesting to go and see what other Airstreamers have with their trailers. Martha had new bedspreads made, which we were quite proud of.
It’s a great Farmer’s Market – not too big, not too small, but with great variety. Martha made two trips. My college roommate, Doug Schnabel, came up from Nashville for a visit, so we stood in front of the trailer talking while people came to take a look. It had been raining, so they were very polite about not wanting to walk all the way through. Two couples stayed to talk a while. They were friends who had come to watch the play. One lady was in the Marines for 27 years, so we called our neighbor across the street who had also been a Marine. They talked in terms we didn’t understand and told stories about 46’s, which we finally learned were helicopters that had a habit of crashing. Our neighbor, Richard, had flown helicopters, told about a 46 going into a combat area to pick up a squad, but they refused to get on, saying, “We’d rather fight the enemy than get on that thing!” Then they asked where they were stationed and what their duties were. David said he was SecNav while she was there. We later learned that was Secretary of the Navy.
Richard’s beautiful tableJeff and Kevin Slevin’s gorgeous 33′Jeff wants to catch a trout in every state
Then Doug took us for a tour around town. He had raised his family in Abingdon, and they still have a house here. He had a sawmill for about 8 years until he sold it. He showed us where it used to be and the machine shop which was so valuable for his business. A few weeks ago he had walked into the building and was attacked by two German Shepards that tore him up pretty good before the owners came out. We drove through his neighborhood, then through a rather high end development on a golf course. He took us through a lot of places we hadn’t seen. Then he took us to his ice cream store, “The Ice Cream Stop,” which he owned for four years before selling it. We went in to see it and give it a try, and it was very good. We told the young lady with a Virginia shirt on that Doug was the original owner who had built the building. That brought a big smile to her face. Turns out she had just finished her freshman year at UVA.
We had dinner at the Greek restaurant on the corner, having a nice dinner and solving all the world’s problems. Walking back, we toured a large, new business that Doug called a yuppie grocery store. He wondered if there were enough to support such a business. We would continue our conversations in the morning.
The weather forecast for our stay in Abingdon wasn’t good, but it kept changing. It’s a tradition to gather around the coffee pot and sweet rolls in the morning. I asked Jeff about the hike to “The Devil’s Bathtub”. He said it was an hour drive, a two-mile hike out and two-miles back with 6 stream crossings. “There have been 100 rescues since 2018!” Scott County advises not to hike if the water is above your knees. Amanda had warned us yesterday that “people die in there.” The rain was supposed to hold off until 2:00. With some hesitation and discussion, we decided to go along with 8 others.
We rode with Martin and Karen and had some nice discussions along the way, which made the hour drive go quickly. It looked like rain as I got a couple of pictures at the trailhead. This was a serious mining and logging area years ago, so probably not a good trout stream, although it sure is pretty. We soon came to the first ford, which was up to our knees, but the water was clear. Jeff said it was an inch or two higher than when he hiked it Wednesday. Being the good leader he is, he wanted to test it before taking a group. That made me feel better. Our group was pretty hardy, and everyone helped at the crossings.
It was a very pretty hike to a very cool destination. The main pool is reported to be 10-12′ deep. We paused there to take pictures and have lunch before heading back. A couple of people slid down on crossings, but after a few crossings, no one seemed to mind getting wet. Small gravel is always safer than big, slippery rocks to step on, but despite my warnings, people seem to want to step on the big rocks. Fortunately there were no injuries and everyone was happy to have gone. Lee felt we should have merit badges for having accomplished it in less than ideal conditions.
We got out of our wet clothes, showered and managed a little nap. At 5:30 we met Randy and Xan for dinner at “The Tavern”. Somehow the Tavern seems to always be good with good service. Our waiter coached wrestling, and Randy encouraged him to get with UVA’s wrestling coach, Steve Garland.
We went to the small venue of the Barter Theater to watch a two-person play, “Grandma Gatewood Took a Walk”, by Catherine Bush. “I said I’d do it, and I’ve done it.” One fine spring day, Emma Gatewood, a 67-year-old mother and grandmother, told her children she was “going for a walk.” She failed to mention that her walk would make her the first woman to solo hike the newly formed Appalachian Trail. “Grandma Gatewood Took A Walk” is a wildly theatrical adventure following Emma and all who played a part in her incredible journey.
It is an incredible true story and one of the best plays I have seen. It plays until June 9th and worth the drive just to see this play. Mary Lucy Bivins does a marvelous job as Grandma and John Hardy is great, playing about 6 different people. Grandma not only hiked the AT once, but became the first person to hike it three times! She hiked the Oregon Trail in 1959 and worked on a section that would become the Buckeye Trail. She was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2012. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood).
It was 10:00 by the time we got to bed, and I was asleep at 10:01.
This is the fourth year we have held this Airstream Rally in Abingdon. The concept of Silver in The Streets is one mutually beneficial to Airstreamers and to the town. Abingdon closes down Remsburg Drive for us, and we parked 14 Airstreams on it. This little town has it all; history, two great venues for the Barter Theater, The Virginia Creeper Trail, fishing, hiking, shopping, a great farmer’s market and excellent restaurants. In turn, we bring business to the town.
After a 5½ hour drive, we parked, set up and said hello to everyone. We grabbed a little nap before driving northwest to Lebanon, Va to visit Amanda Rose and her family. Amanda is a great hygienist who worked with us for four or five years before moving back to Chad and Amanda’s hometown of Abingdon. They have two lovely daughters, Ainsley and Cadence.
Amanda gave us a tour of their new house on.about 12 gorgeous acres on top of a mountain. It’s in a small development with great neighbors, one of whom likes to do projects for them. While we waited for the rest of the family to get home, we took a walk up the street to a fantastic view of mountains all around.
When Chad and the girls got home, they all started cooking. I felt like I was in a Japanese restaurant with Chad cooking on a big griddle outside. First he made a huge portion of fried rice, then chicken, mushrooms, squash, carrots and shrimp. The girls hustled things in and out of the house between rounds of volleyball. Ainsley took us over to the fence for a great sunset view. Along the tree line were huge blackberry bushes, and to the right of those were wineberries, or raspberries. I asked if they were going to put in a garden, but there are too many deer.
After a huge, wonderful dinner, Amanda served up delicious cake she made with a raspberry filling. We were hoping to watch Cadence play softball in the regional tournament tomorrow, but with heavy rains predicted, it was moved to Monday. We would later find out Cadence hit a home run and the team won. She is quite the athlete, playing basketball and volleyball as well as softball. Ainsley is into art, theater and acting.
It was a wonderful visit with great friends. We made it back to town as it turned dark, carrying a whole bunch of left-overs and cake!
One of the highlights of the Virginia Airstream Club’s Silver in The Streets rally is the farmer’s market at the end of Remsburg Drive. It is one of my favorite farmer’s markets. Seemingly small, there is a lot of good stuff. One guy is so well-know for his strawberries, they are usually sold out within an hour. Some people order in advance. Martha was right there at 8:00 and there was a line behind her. People were buying cases! As I watched the show, a young boy standing in line told me there is a great bakery on the other side. “Is that your bakery?” I asked. He nodded and smiled. I went over and bought a few things and told the ladies of the little salesman. I think his name is William. They just raised their eyebrows and continued their busy orders.
Since we were traveling, we had to pass up lots of beautiful produce. A cider shop had all their varieties out. There was a great coffee stall with a line of people. A woodworker displayed butcher-block tables and cutting boards. At 8:15, the place was hopping. I spotted Martha talking to a man who made pork rinds. Behind her was William talking to a lady. I walked behind, listening to his great pitch. He was so nonchalant and engaging – the perfect salesman at 9 years old.
From 10-12:00 we had an open house, where anyone from town can come look through Airstreams. I was surprised by the turnout. Lots of people were asking questions and going through trailers. During breaks in the action, I went into other Airstreams. It’s a great opportunity to see how people do things. Mindy had a great solution for shoes, which are often stacked by the door. Pat McLemore did some great things with pictures. He has a similar solar system, also done by Lew Farber. I liked Jeff’s bedspreads.
In the evening we went with Gary and Lynn Brink to dinner at the Tavern, which started as a tavern in 1779. It is one of the oldest buildings west of the Blue Ridge. It has served as post office, bank, bakery, antique shop, hospital and once again, a tavern. Maybe I was still in New Orleans mode, but I ordered Jambalaya in Abingdon, Va! It was excellent! Everyone enjoyed their dish in a very pleasant, outdoor, environment.
The only available time for seating was 5:00Martha ordered soft-shell crabs, also excellent
Barter Theatre opened its doors, proclaiming “With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh.” The price of admission was 40 cents or an equivalent amount of produce. Four out of five theatregoers paid their way with vegetables, dairy products and livestock. To the surprise of many, all the seats for the first show were filled. The concept of trading “ham for Hamlet” caught on quickly. At the end of the first season, the Barter Company cleared $4.35 in cash, two barrels of jelly, and a collective weight gain of over 300 pounds. Today, at least one performance a year celebrates Barter’s history by accepting donations for Feeding America Southwest Virginia. Barter Days happen in the month of June as a birthday celebration for Barter Theatre, and we will list those performance times on our Ways to Save page.
The theater is in great condition. We have been to another play across the street, a smaller, intimate venue. It was a very enjoyable play, receiving a standing ovation at the end. I hope to be back for many more. Maybe I can coordinate with Cadence’s softball games.
18 Airstreams lined Remsburg Drive in downtown Abingdon for a Silver in The Streets Rally. Coffee and breakfast sandwiches brought everyone out on the street on a beautiful morning. It’s interesting to see how other Airstreamers do things. I enjoyed talking with Bruce Campbell and seeing how he had setup his bikes in the back of his truck.
Peter Davey has a great truck-top tent by IKamper, so I checked that out. It would be great for fishing the backcountry of British Columbia or Montana. He has also recently installed an impressive solar system.
We walked one block to the new Visitor’s Center, once a beautiful brick home, and now so nicely restored. A nice young lady gave us some history and advice on where to go and what to see.
One of the great attractions to Abingdon is the Virginia Creeper Trail, a wonderful rails-to-trails that follows beautiful Laurel Creek. The usual ride is from White Top Laurel down to Damascus or Abingdon, but Martha is getting ready to walk the El Camino Trail in Spain, so she opted for an out and back from Abingdon. It’s a beautiful trail that we have walked and ridden a number of times. My bike got a tune-up after this ride, and the technician advised me to clean the braking part of the wheels, as my brake pads had worn a lot. The cinder of this kind of trail will surely collect on it, especially in the rains we got.
That evening, after a shower and some rest, we walked two blocks too Greeko’s Grill and Cafe for a greek salad with chicken. Then to Anthony’s Deserts for some home-made ice cream.
Preparing for the trip to Grayson Highlands, I turned on the propane and started the refrigerator in the Airstream. Luckily, I went back for something and smelled smoke. Checking the refrigerator vent, I saw smoke coming out and quickly turned it off. I already have a leaking water tank – now what? A couple of hours later I turned it back on with the same result – smoking. OK, without fresh water or a refrigerator, what should we do? We decided to load the groceries in my big Pelican cooler and carry a case of bottled water. We might have been OK without water, because the campground has full hookups, but they have cut off the water at campsites due to drought.
I read up on a smoking refrigerator on Airforums, and there were several suggestions. One was to blow out the tube leading to the stack. Two – clean the stack by banging on it. Three – remove the refrigerator and clean the stack. Four – buy a new refrigerator for $1,500 – $2,000. Before leaving at 10:00, I blew out the tube with canned air. Three stink bugs came out. The refrigerator would not work on electric, so I opened the cover to the circuit board and removed 15 more stink bugs! Still wouldn’t work on electric, so I changed a small glass fuse. Still didn’t work on electric. I banged on the stack and more stink bugs fell out. I think the smoke was coming from roasted stink bugs. I then fired up the refrigerator on propane – no smoke 😀. I didn’t want to travel four hours with it on, so I turned it off and would fire it back up when we got there, keeping a close eye on it.
Description
Elevation: 3853 ft.
The extensive 4800-acre Grayson Highlands State Park provides any nature enthusiast premier wildlife watching potential within the mountain range home to Virginia’s highest peak, Mount Rogers. The park offers camping, picnicking, overnight horse stables, a visitor center, hiking trails, and access to the Appalachian Trail. The Rhododendron Trail can be accessed from Massie Gap in the park. Hiking along the summit of Wilburn Ridge can produce spectacular cliffside views. This trail connects to the Rhododendron Trail. The Rhododendron Trail then forks to lead into either the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail or the Appalachian Trail to Mt. Rogers (not accessible by horses). Habitats within the park range from open meadows, northern hardwoods, rocky outcrops, rhododendron thickets, sphagnum bogs, grazed pastures, Fraser fir groves, and red spruce forests. Nine trails originate within the park, but several of these connect to the extensive trail networks of Mount Rogers National Recreational Area and the Appalachian Trail. Mountain hikers should note that the least strenuous and shortest hiking trail, at 4.2 miles to the summit of Mount Rogers, originates at Massie Gap within this park. Sullivan’s Swamp can be accessed from Massie Gap, as well. This rhododendron bog holds many unique treasures, occasionally including alder and willow flycatchers. Wildlife watching in this park can be rewarding any time of the year. In addition to eastern hardwood breeders such as wood thrush, ovenbird and black-and-white warbler, in summer, visitors can look for nesting songbirds typical of high-elevation forests, such as black-throated blue, black-throated green, Canada, and chestnut-sided warblers, as well as scarlet tanager and rose-breasted grosbeaks. Spring and fall visits can produce a copious number of migratory warblers, thrushes, and vireos. This park is also home to a large diversity of other wildlife as well. Visitors should keep an eye out for black bear, bobcat, red fox, ruffed grouse, deer, and wild turkey. Salamanders can be plentiful, and this is one of the few regions where Weller’s salamander can be found.
We met our friends, Ruff and Sandra, Tuesday afternoon for a three-night stay in Grayson Highlands. They have a new camper, and were worried about pulling it up the mountain with their Honda Pilot, but they had no trouble. We enjoyed an evening by the fire catching up on the latest happenings.
Each morning I went down to the overlook for sunrise. With colors about peak, it was beautiful.
Martha and I hiked the Cabin Creek Trail the first morning. It is listed as strenuous, but really isn’t too bad unless you hike up Cabin Creek, which we did. This section of Cabin Creek is a tremendous series of waterfalls, all of which are pretty.
The next day we all hiked up Massie’s Gap Trail to see the ponies that remain wild here. We then walked up the Appalachian Trail south to the park boundary. A ranger at check-in said we would find horses there, and sure enough, three were there. A photographer was coming down and said there was a great overlook ahead, but it was socked in with fog. I love fog, as it often makes cool pictures, but I have recently had a fog overdose.
Sunrise at the overlook the next morning was cool with the clouds.
Martha’s chicken black beans and rice skillet dinnerCampground storeShower house and PepsiWayne Henderson is a highly sought-after guitar maker lives nearbyVisitor’s CenterVisitor’s Centter
We have barely scratched the surface of Grayson Highlands and will surely return. Happily, the refrigerator worked fine on propane, although not on electric. It might require a new circuit board, but I’ll read more on Airforums.
It’s a 7-8-hour drive to the Smokies from Charlottesville, depending on how you go and where you are going, but Martha wanted me to break it up, so I booked a night in Highland Haven Campground outside Roanoke. I went down 29, which is pleasant enough. You just have to be alert to turns. Then 220, to 221 up the mountain. It is not an easy drive to Highland Haven, especially in the rain, but I arrived and met campground hostess, Nancy, and pulled into site 26. This campground is known for its spectacular sunsets, but I wasn’t going to see it tonight. It was hard to see anything.
I drank a half bottle of wine listening to music of Andrew Loyd Webber turned up loud while making a salad. Hope I didn’t wake the neighbors.
I got up at 4:00, read for a while until daylight, then hooked up, filled the water tank and got on the road at 8:00. It was raining lightly as I followed Rt. 221 south through the cute little town of Floyd, famous for its country music.
I thought about Virginia Highland Haven Campground, which is an Airstream only campground that is owned by its campers. When someone is not there, you can rent a site for the very reasonable fee of $35 with full hookups. It’s a beautiful spot with wonderful views looking west.
I have never driven 221, but it’s beautiful country with lovely, mountain farmland and quaint, little towns. Surely it would be more fun to drive when I have more time and it isn’t raining. At Hillsville I got on 77S. The rains became harder and would continue the entire drive, sometimes hard, sometimes light. One hand seemed to be constantly changing the windshield wiper speed. Still, I could see the majority of the big storm was to my west. Traffic was busy, but not as bad as I81. Still, it winds through the mountains to Statesville, where I turned onto I40 west, and into the storm I went.
Sometimes the rains were so heavy, traffic slowed to 45mph. My strategy is to get behind a tractor trailer and follow at a distance that allows stopping, but where I can see his lights. If you are a car driver, you curse the trucks that are slow uphill and fast downhill. If you pull a trailer, you appreciate their professionalism, their knowledge of the roads and their ability to drive in all kinds of weather. They move into the left lane when passing a disabled truck on the shoulder. They blink their lights to let you into their lane. If you let them into your lane, they flash their brake lights to thank you. Actually, they put on their flashers for a second or two. It took me forever to learn how they made those brake lights flash, but without slowing down.
I have the greatest respect for truck drivers. They deliver to every store, merchant, gas station and post office. They are the life blood of our economy. They drive at night or in daytime. They put up with poor car drivers entering the highway at too slow a speed, or changing lanes right in front of them. Whenever I am driving through a city, I follow a truck. It’s like a running back getting behind a 6’6. 360 pound lineman. They run interference for me. When I am in heavy rains like this, I follow a truck, and when I stop following, I flash my headlights or tap my brake lights to thank them for their help. At a rest stop, I laid down for a 1-hour nap. Whew! Renewed energy.
I thought I had a big truck!
I turned onto 220 south with the rains still coming. In Asheville, I missed a turn and had to go into a Home Depot to turn around and get new directions. I’m still not sure what I was supposed to do. Then onto 221 in heavy rains, then Rt. 19 through Maggie Valley. I’ve been in the mountains all day, and the rain wasn’t helping. When I could barely see the road, I ended up behind a pickup pulling a large water tank on a trailer. In front of him was another truck pulling a trailer with a front end loader on it. They were obviously working together, and they knew these roads, so I continued to follow. When they pulled into a rest area, I did too. Then back out on the road, following. These guys were excellent drivers. When I turned onto 441, I flashed my lights to thank them.
441 is called “The Smoky Mountain Parkway”. Driving through Cherokee, NC I stopped to fill up the gas tank – well the diesel tank in my case. This is a nice little town, not far from the campground. I thought I would be climbing up a steep mountain, but was surprised to see it was fairly level, following the Oconoluftee River. The rains had lightened up, and people were watching elk graze by the Visitor’s Center. I could feel my blood pressure ease.
At 3:00 I pulled up to Smokemont Campground and said my prayers, thanking God for guiding me safely in a difficult two days of driving. In a light rain I parked and leveled the trailer for my 9-day stay. I put the awnings out as it drizzled rain. By the time I finished, the rains stopped. I went for a walk around the campground to get my bearings straight.
It’s a nice campground that would be entirely full by the weekend. Bradley Creek runs through the campground, joining the Oconoluftee River just below the campground. I was interested in fishing both of these, so I walked right over to the stream. High and muddy, as I suspected. It wasn’t terrible, but also not fishable. I wondered how fast it would run out of here. At the north end of the campground, I found the Bradley Creek Trail, which looked more like a highway. I could easily drive my big truck up it, except for the locked gate. As I read the fishing regulations sign, I noticed a yellow caterpiller walking up it. An odd looking creature, it’s black head had four antennae, and there was a black tip on it’s tail. Was this a Yellow Sally nymph? I have no flies that look anything like this. I reached for my phone to take a picture, but had left it in the trailer.
Walking back down the other side of the stream, I talked to an Airstream couple who were dumping rain from their awning. “Did it rain a lot here?” the lady asked. “Oh yes!” I replied. They had gone home for a few days. They were in a nicely shaded spot, but that wasn’t good for their roof covered with solar panels. The husband was deploying two portable panels, aiming them at the sun that was now peeking through the clouds. “One amp”, he noted. “Well” she said, “that’s the end of the rains for a while.” It was nice to see sun peeking through the trees.
As I walked along the stream, I looked tor yellow bugs, but didn’t see any. Back at the trailer, I got the Garmin InReach and turned it on. Without cell phone reception, it is my only means of communicating with Martha. “No signal” the device indicated. I took it up to a clearing, where i could get clear access to the sky. No signal. I waited 15 minutes before giving up. I set it on my little ladder in a clearing behind the trailer, leaving it there while I cooked dinner – ratatouille and chicken. Checking it again, I was happy to see the message and tracking were sent.
