Category: Towns

Arches National Park, Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Moab, Uttah, Utah

Arches National Park

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We were up early, so we grabbed some things and drove north 10 minutes to Arches National Park. The park is so busy, you have to reserve an entrance time between 6:00 am. and 5:00 pm. We got there at 5:30, showed our National Parks Senior Pass and drove right in. There were others in front and behind. 

It’s about 12 miles to Delicate Arch trailhead, the featured attraction of the park. It’s hard to zip along, because the scenery is so spectacular. It was a beautiful morning with some cloud cover, a perfect morning for a hike.

The hike is 3 miles round trip, rated moderate. It’s a cool hike with incredible scenery. A pretty girl with a nice camera was walking out. I asked her if it was still there, and she said, “It is, but the sunrise isn’t.” I smiled and walked on. I guess we were about an hour late. The last stretch is along a cliff, which I do NOT like, but we made it. I could see why this is #1, as it is unique and very pretty. 

On the way back out, we took a short side trail to some pretty spectacular petroglyphs made by the Ute Indians, for whom the state of Utah is named. 

We stopped for a picture of Sand Dune Arch. Then we drove through the campground. It’s a very cool campground. Two sites had spectacular views of the valley below. One in particular looked so cool. A young lady was making breakfast with that view in front of her. There are also some nice picnic areas near the campground.

Then we went for a 1-mile hike to Landscape Arch. By now the parking lots were filled and the trail busy, but not really a problem. People watching is also fun. There were lots of young children, some not looking so happy. One very fit mother was carrying an infant on her back and holding the hand of a young girl. 

There are 2,000 arches in the park! The landscape changes dramatically with different shapes, vertical walls that seem to have been cut with a laser. I envisioned riding a horse through a gorgeous valley below. 

By 9:30, I was tired and sore and now hot. This is a good time to be finished, although the crowds were still pouring in. At the entrance cars were lined up for a quarter mile in two lanes.

Back at the trailer it was well into the 90’s, a good time to finish my projects. I finally I realized I had to go back under the sink and rotate the base 180 degrees and turn the handle around. Voila! It all worked! We have water 😊. As a bonus, the sprayer worked – not great, but it worked. There is a little spring with a plastic basket that goes in the line under the sink, but I couldn’t figure out how to place it, so I left it out.

On to the reading light. Trying to solder a dangling light proved a challenge. With Martha’s help, we tried a few times, but managed to just end up with a big ball of solder that didn’t hold. Finally, I saw how to remove the little on/off switch, which made access better. I cleaned off the solder, and while I held the the wire to the switch pole, Martha held the solder in her left hand, soldering iron in the right, and working between my two hands holding the wires, she soldered it! How she managed to not burn our fingers or touch the other pole, which would have blown a fuse or worse, is amazing, but she did it! 

We screwed the light back in its hole, turned it on and it worked! Yahoo! It was a good day. I put all my tools back in the truck and cleaned up. It was 105 degrees outside, and pretty hot inside. The air conditioner runs all day, and never catches up during the day. We both considered that. God help us if that thing dies! We turned it off for a while and sat outside. Oddly, sitting in the shade with a little breeze is fine. A dip in the pool also helps, but by the time we walked back to the trailer in the sun, we were hot again.

We took Bob to dinner at his favorite pasta place and enjoyed further conversations. He had ridden his bike all through town this morning and found the trail with a line down the middle goes all the way through town, a street behind Main Street. This will give Karen even more distance to run when she comes. He said all side roads just lead to developments, although several were very nice. 

We drove up the side of a mountain to Sunset Grill to see what the view was like. It was pretty spectacular. We could see the whole town, and for the first time to realize the town sits in a valley. It is also bigger than how it seems when you drive through it. Bob heads out tomorrow for Montrose, Colorado. Maybe we can visit later down the road.

Faulty Faucet, Moab, Uttah, Utah

The Faulty Faucet

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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

I had a list of things to fix while in Moab. I had fixed the propane problem by finding a leaky connection on the tank harness. I checked again today with a propane sensor, and it picked up a bit of a leak where the big knob connects to one of the two tanks. I tightened it, but may have to get a new line if it continues.

Faucet clogged with birdseed
Fan-Tastic Vent fan not working
broken wire and dangling reading light

My stuffed up faucet is the immediate problem, so I removed it and went to Ace Hardware. They had a bunch of faucets and a very helpful young lady, but nothing quite matched. We went to another plumbing supply store, Riverside Plumbing & Heating. 

I plopped my faucet on the counter with its three hoses dangling. Debbie said it is likely the cartridge inside that needs to be replaced, and she showed us what it probably looked like. She said Moen faucets are guaranteed for life, so we could send it back (not an option), or they would send a new cartridge. I could have left it for them, but they are very busy, and it might be a day or so before they could get to it. She said to try to get to the cartridge so we could replace it.

Back at the trailer, I tried again to get it apart, and watched five videos, which weren’t the same faucet. Finally, with Martha’s help and a spark plug socket wrench, I removed the top and took out a cartridge. For two hours in the hot sun I tried to remove the inside to get to another cartridge. 

Finally, I took it back to Riverside Plumbing. This time Cindy was at the counter. I retold the mice in the fresh water tank story. She looked inside and saw the seeds. Thankfully the young plumber, Steven, came in, and she asked him to take a look. I told him I couldn’t remove the inside parts, and he said that’s because you can’t remove anything else.

Taking it to a big sink in the back, he flushed it with water, poked at the seeds with an ice pick, blew air into the lines and managed to get a few seeds out. He was able to clear the cold and hot lines, but not the sprayer line. I said good enough for me, and thanked him profusely.

I bought a new top (and only) cartridge for $39 while Cindy told their story. She and her husband grew up in Moab. A good date in those days was to go up to Delicate Arch at sunset or Dead Horse Point. When they got married, she wanted to leave Moab, the small town she grew up in, so they did. Once she saw other places, they finally decided to return home and started the business. Both their sons work the business, and a daughter lives in town. She said she felt very blessed to live here and to have her family here. Steven was a very good athlete and pitched for the Minnesota Twins for a while. Then she showed me a picture of her young grand daughter sitting naturally on one of their horses. With a tear in my eye, I told Cindy she was very blessed and gave her a hug.

I could have bought a new faucet along with three braided lines for maybe $300-400, if I could have found it, but thanks to this wonderful place with great people, I was able to fix it for $39. 

I went back to Ace Hardware and bought a couple of picture wire spools to try to further poke out the sprayer line. Then I went to Radio Shack for some solder and a soldering iron so I could solder a broken wire on a reading light that had dropped down while driving. I thought all Radio Shacks had closed. It is such a handy store! A nice young man helped me find what I needed.

I poked and blew and flushed the spray line all I could, then hooked everything up. Somehow I had the handle on backwards so when I pulled the handle down the water came on. Hey, but the water came on!

Great Sand Dunes NP to Moab, Uttah, Moab, Uttah

Great Sand Dunes to Moab

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June 27, 2022 

It rained all night, which I would think is unusual for this area. Yesterday we were able to book another night in Capitol Reef National Park. We had one night in site 28. Now we have a second night in site 29. They have had some terrible flooding. Hopefully it will be OK when we get there in 9 days.

We hooked up and got on the road a little after 8:00. The rains subsided as we drove south on 150 and turned west on 160 again. 160 has proven to be a great and beautiful road to travel. Driving through the cute little town of Alamosa, I spotted a Starbucks, the first we have seen in quite a while. I put on my blinker looking for a place to park and started to turn when I noticed a car coming behind me in the left lane. I really had not realized we were on a four lane road separated by stores. When the car passed, I turned into a vacant lot. the car was a state policeman, and he pulled in too.

Aren’t I an idiot? All for a cup of coffee I really didn’t need. Sergeant Noga, of the State Police, approached the car with what I thought was a very slight smile. “You were trying to make a left turn from the right lane.” “I know it. I was trying to get a cup of coffee”, I said. “You almost hit me. I had to swerve to avoid you.” “I know it. I’m sorry”, I said as I handed him my license and registration. He went to his car to check me out while I just shook my head. “When did this turn into a four lane?” I asked Martha. 

After about five minutes, he walked back to the truck and handed my license, registration and his card to me. With a little smirk, he said, “You can go get your coffee now. Be careful driving.” I smiled, thanked him and gave him a fist bump. Whew! What a nice guy! I walked back and got a cup of coffee, even though I didn’t need one now.

As I am writing this up, I read the card he gave me. “Officer Noga of the Colorado State Patrol has contacted you as a result of a traffic stop. If you have comments (positive or negative) about this traffic stop, you should contact the office on the front of this card using the information provided.”

We are living in a time where some want to defund the police. Here is what the other side of the card says:

“The mission of the Colorado State Patrol is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all persons by utilizing the strengths of our members to provide professional law enforcement services that reflect our core values of Honor, Duty and Respect.”

I sent a $100 Starbucks card to the Alamosa Patrol with gratitude and respect.

We crossed the very pretty Rio Grande River at Monte Vista, then followed it for a while.160 climbs through the San Juan Mountains surrounded by beautiful, green scenery and through Wolf Creek Pass at 10,856’. Headed down the west side, we missed a crowded parking lot for Treasure Falls, but we had a full day of travel, so on we went. 

160 then follows the beautiful San Juan River. We took a drive through very busy Durango, filled up with gas and stopped for lunch on the other side of town. You know you are in the west when I noticed a moss-covered elk antler next to the trailer. 

We drove past places we will return to in a few weeks, Canyons of the Ancients and Mesa Verde.  We got a pretty good look at National Monument, Chimney Rock. At Monticello (pronounced Cello), we turned north on 191. Soon we began to see rocks and cliffs. 

We arrived at Portal RV Resort in Moab, Utah at about 3:30. As we were unhooking and setting up, a man stopped to talk with Martha. Bob Dombrowe lives in Crozet and used to live in Glenmore (our development)! 

We ended up going to dinner with him. He loves this area and came to ride motorcycles through back roads and canyons of the area. He told us all the best places to go, gave us brochures, then took us for a drive along the Colorado River where a bike/running trail winds its way through a beautiful canyon. You can get to this from the campground, and it will be a great place for Karen to run. 

Bob is like a tour guide, knowing the area well. He is on the Crozet Tunnel board and told us the history. I didn’t know there were five tunnels, some of which have been “unroofed”. I was also interested in the history of Claudius Crozet, who designed the tunnels. He taught at VMI, where there is a building in his name.

Abingdon Farmer's Market, Abingdon, Virginia, Silver in The Streets, Abingdon, VA, The Tavern, Abingdon, Va, Virginia

Abingdon, Virginia Farmer’s Market

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Saturday, May14, 2022

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 5:00
Martha ordered soft-shell crabs, also excellent

Then on to the Barter Theater to see “Kentucky Spring”. From https://bartertheatre.com/history/

June 10, 1933

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.

Abingdon, Virginia, Anthony's Deserts, Abingdon, VA, Silver in The Streets, Abingdon, VA, Virginia, Virginia Creeper Trail

Abingdon, VA

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Friday, May 13, 2022

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.

Anastasia State Park, Florida, Anastasia State Park, Florida, Anastasia State Park, Florida, Florida, O'Steen's, St. Augustine, Florida, St. Andrews, Florida

Anastasia State Park

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It’s next to impossible to get a campsite in Anastasia State Park to the east of St. Augustine. Only Jane B knows how to get it done! Although we love North Beach Campground, we drove over to Anastasia to check it out. The campground is excellent, and there are two main attractions – the beach and a big lake. It is also nice being close to St. Augustine. We went for a long walk on the huge, flat, peaceful beautiful beach, where there are no houses or hotels for four miles. The alternate mode of travel was the bicycle, or even better, an electric bike with fat tires. This is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. I can’t imagine what it is like in warmer months.

On the way back to town, I stopped at a car wash and washed my filthy truck. We stopped at Ace Hardware for a new thermometer for the outside of the trailer. Then we met Sandra and Ruff at O’Steen’s Restaurant for lunch. We have eaten there before, and it is truly unique. They are always busy, with lines outside. We checked in and sat on the bench outside. I asked a fellow, who looked the part, which bike was his. He said the red one. It’s bike week, and they had enjoyed the ride up from Daytona for lunch at O’Steen’s. I sat next to a young man who rode a different kind of bike – a bicycle – with his grandfather. Four ladies were dressed nicely and had obviously been here many times before, as the the lady keeping track of the line knew their names. We were still sitting when they came out from having their lunch, toting little leftover boxes. I offered to buy one, but got no takers.

From last year

After serious study and debate, we all ordered the lightly battered and butterflied shrimp. They also have great vegetables and hush puppies. It’s where we learned about Datil sauce, made from local Datil peppers.They are great shrimp! Great service, great food at a good price. It’s on my favorites list.

9) Where someone is always being blessed”
Cherokee, NC, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, North Carolina, Smokemont Campground, NC

Museum of the Cherokee Indian

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Thursday, September 30, 2021

53° at 6:00, batteries at 45%, fresh water tank 0%

I went to the Museum of The Cherokee Indian. The town of Cherokee is in the middle of the Cherokee Indian Reservation, 57,000 acres of land, known as the Qualla Boundary. Their land covered large parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky and measured in square miles before President Jackson threw them out, marched them on the “Trail of Tears” and took their land. 

It is a large and excellent museum. It walks you through history starting at the Archaic Period 9,000 – 900 BC, showing relics from that period. In the Mississippian Period a new kind of corn was introduced, which changed things for the better. I was very interested in how they fired pottery when there were no ovens.

The history of basket-making was detailed with some huge baskets, at least one surviving from its original time. Also interesting were the tools they were able to make with wood, leather and stones. Hammers, picks, axes and of course, arrows and spears.

Their games were described, some with serious competition. Stickball was huge as well as Chunkey. Hunting and fishing would have been incredible in this area. There are so many streams and rivers.

And then the Europeans arrived. One sign describes it perfectly. At first they prospered with new tools, new ways to farm and guns. King George forbid whites settling i”n the Appalachians and all parts West. We thought we would be safe…..but then came the American Revolution.

Sequoyah, who wrote Cherokee language

Unimaginable today, a book I am reading compares “The Trail of Tears” to the “Bataan Death March”, along with the lies and dirty deals Andrew Jackson made. Some refused to go. Some hid in the mountains, so there became a “Western Band” and an “Eastern Band” of the Cherokee Nation. Thousands died along the trail, many by diseases spread by the Europeans. $3 million was given for their land, but the seller did not want to sell. It was called The Indian Removal Act, and involved not only the Cherokee, but the Chickasaw, the Creek, the Seminoles and the Choctaw, virtually all of the Native Americans in the southeast.

  • In the Syllabary, written by Sequoyah

Like most museums, you can’t take it all in on one visit, but it is very well-managed and displayed.

Bradley Fork, Cherokee, NC, Fishing, Fresh water tank leak, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, Repairs, Smokemont Campground, NC

Errands in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Friday,  September 24, 2021

47° at 3:00AM

As I lay in bed, slowly waking up, I thought it unlikely the fresh water tank was leaking in two places, although possible with all the bumps and jolts I give it driving rough highways at 70 mph. At Highland Haven, I had trouble closing the drain cock after draining the tank so I could fill with fresh water. I had to use a screw driver to leverage it. Maybe I cracked it, or maybe it was just worn out. At any rate, it appears to be a simple thing to replace. If it still leaks and is the tank that’s leaking, I may have to go to Charlotte to get it replaced.

I went into Cherokee with a list. Call Martha was first. I wasn’t sure she was getting the InReach satellite messages, as reception here is spotty. It’s an easy 15 minute drive into Cherokee. Martha was doing fine, playing tennis and going to the UVA football game tonight. I told her about the leaking fresh water tank.

I went to an auto parts store in Cherokee. The plug for my forward-facing video camera had come apart, so I was looking for the parts that screw into the end of a plug that goes in the cigarette lighter. I consider this an essential piece of equipment. If I am in an accident pulling an expensive trailer with an expensive truck, I want evidence to show what happened. Since I have already had one expensive issue, the insurance would probably drop me if I had another.

A very nice gentleman said he didn’t have anything like that, but if I was going that way, there is a Walmart in Sylva, with several auto parts stores near it. I was going that way anyway, to Fallin’s RV Repair for a water tank drain cock, wishfully thinking the leak was coming from a faulty drain cock. This was a busy, little place with RVs in every available place to park. There was one man inside the small store. He was serving one customer while he talked on the phone to another. I wandered up and down the isles looking for a drain cock. I turned to a voice asking, “Can I help you find something?” He went right to it. There were two designs, so I bought both and thanked him. As he checked me out, he answered the phone, while another man came in. How he kept his pleasant demeanor through all this, I don’t know. 

Now on to Sylva, about 17 miles away. I thought my GPS was taking me a crazy route, winding my way around this old railroad town, but that’s just the way it is. As I headed to Walmart, I envisioned walking around there for an hour looking for something they probably didn’t have. I spotted an auto parts store…… and turned left across busy traffic. 

Three service people were helping customers, so I started wandering around when a kind female voice said, “Can I help you?” I showed her the screw and cap, telling her what they went to. She went right to the electrical isle and scanned plugs, selecting one, asking, “Will this do it?” Staring at it while rearranging my mind, I thought all I needed was the button. Then I looked at the price tag – $6. I smiled and answered, “Yes, thank you very much.”

Walking to the truck, I looked at the plug with two wires coming out of it. OK, I would have to cut my wire and connect these. I can do that, I thought. Staring at it in the truck, I realized I could just unscrew the end, take the button and put it into mine. I headed back to camp, optimistic I was going to solve both problems. Just out of Cherokee, I stopped at a pullover beside the Oconaliftee River. There is a well-traveled foot path beside the river. Across the river I saw three fishermen beside a huge pool. In the reservation, they stock the river with trout. Entering the park, cars were pulled over next to a big field where elk grazed.

After eating some lunch, I decided to go fishing for a couple of hours. I didn’t have time to go far, so I started at the end of the campground where Bradley Fork comes into the campground. I got in at a beautiful pool. Fishing a hopper, nothing was interested, so I started for the next pool. Someone was standing in the middle of it. 

I walked up the road, heading up the mountain. I gave him what I thought was enough room to fish the next two hours and got in at another beautiful pool. Having no luck, I changed to a Royal Wulff. No luck. After fishing a gorgeous pool without moving a fish, I changed to a nymph. No luck, so I changed to a big streamer. No luck. I was changing again when the young fisherman who I thought I had given enough room, camp tromping past asking if I had any luck. I shook my head. I think he said he was doing well, but I couldn’t hear over the roaring river.

Bradley Fork is a beautiful trout stream – big, powerful, crystal clear water still flowing hard after the rains. Sometimes I heard airplanes flying over. Sometimes it was the river making a similar sound. Cicadas were also singing their mating song. Frustrated after a few more pools, I decided to head back. It was Friday afternoon, and two more fishermen passed me, going up the mountain. Then I saw two fishing their way up. What’s it going to be like on Saturday?

Cades Cove Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, Tennessee Sally's, Townsend, Tn, Townsend, Tennessee

Work Day

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Saturday, August 14, 2021

Karen went for a 6 mile run up Anthony Creek Trail while the kids had fun cooking pancakes, pouring batter in letters for their names, then adding caramel M&M’s on top. Of course they couldn’t turn them over very well, but they had fun with the project and readily ate them. Karen needed to get back at a decent time, so they packed up for their 4.5 hour trip home. I have been trying to kiss Melissa on the forehead for a week while she squeals, kicks, pushes and calls me “Crazy Dude”. I was taken by surprise when she jumped up in my arms with a big hug I will forever remember. It was a great week with the kids, one that will be hard to top.

We took the trailer to the Loop parking lot, which was busy on a Saturday. I blocked one lane of traffic while I parked it and unhooked. The batteries are at 35%, and we needed a good day’s charge so we can stay 5 days in Cataloochee.

Then we went to town to do laundry, fill up gas, get a fuse for the jack, grocery shop and fill a propane tank. We were too efficient. Everything was right there in one lot – the laundry, Ace Hardware, a propane refill, and even an excellent car wash that could fit any size RV. 

We started four washers. Then I went to Ace for the fuse, but they still didn’t have it. Fortunately, the 25 amp I bought a few days ago was working fine. I got some more firewood and filled the propane tank. The people in this Ace Hardware are really nice and helpful. They also own the propane station. 

A lady named Melissa, at the laundry told us places to go, showed us pictures of wildlife in her yard, and videos taken by a doorbell camera, of bears, turkeys, wild boar and a bobcat. She was a cool, big lady and very nice. She told us to go to Tennessee Sally’s Craft Store, where we would find local arts and crafts. Angels come in all shapes and forms.

We went to Tennessee Sally’s, and it must have been Sally who greeted us. It’s nice, little store with lots of interesting things. Martha bought a solar Mason Jar painted with a bear and trees to remind us of the Smokies. I bought a photography book with pictures of Cades Cove to send to the kids.

It was a good, productive, efficient day. where we got a lot of stuff done with good teamwork. We loaded groceries in the hot trailer parked in the parking lot. Checking the solar, we had gotten to 56%, not enough to make it five days in Cataloochee, so I suggested we go for a hike. We might not be at 100%, but maybe 75. Martha wanted to get out of the heat and go back to the campground. We hooked up, blocking traffic in one lane as people poured in for the Loop Drive on a Saturday afternoon.

People run their phones and iPads down to 0% all the time, but then they buy a new $1,000 phone before the battery wears out. As Lou told us after he installed the solar system, “The batteries are happiest between 20 and 80%.” These are lithium batteries, not lead acid. It’s pretty amazing we have been able to stay in Cades Cove with five people in the trailer for a week in a shaded site that got little sun.

At the campground, we packed up for the move to Cataloochee Campground tomorrow, and we had a full load with all the cooking stuff, bikes, firewood, cameras, tents and sleeping bags. Then Martha went to the Institute to hike to a waterfall someone had told her about. I was ready for a glass of wine.

I sat and listened to some music, first Elke Brook, then Andrew Lloyd Webber. I couldn’t connect Bluetooth from outside the trailer, so I put some earphones on and turned it up.

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