siga siga

Day 6

Sat 30th June North Carolina/ (Georgia)/ Tennessee
Hushed morning conversation with the inevitable snowbird with lipstick and powder wife. Admired eachother’s Toyotas and gave guided tours. Saw some weird chicken things on leaving and headed south towards the Georgia line on what turned out to be a major road.

Took a brief tour into Georgia around a pretty lake and became aware of the importance of Jesus in these parts. Southern accents getting longer, slower and more tunefully deliberate.

On to Chattanooga so I can see choo choo but swept onto giant highway where we were assaulted on all sides by real vehicles until we were forced down a sliproad by an unyielding greyhound bus into a blinding rainstorm that washed us up on a semi-derelict industrial railyard outside town. But it had a choo choo so we aborted the town center mission and headed north into sunshine. Pleasant drive to yet another RV park we had found on the internet who had assured us there would be room as indeed there was. Newly opened and badly designed and up a steep winding road we were one of only two guests of desperately kind and hopeful Bostonian entrepreneurs. We met their neighbours while buying gas at the 2 pump shack up the road so we got the whole story. Unpleasantly hot with zero shade but strong Wifi so skyped Dan and showed him some Tennessee cows and their many flies.

Felt the need to get free of sweat, road grime and clothes and take a break from the journey so we decided to turn back NE a little and get our kit off for 2 days. 18 mpg - the truck likes flat country.

Day 5

Friday 29th June North Carolina
Hike up to the falls - they are tall and fast moving through rock channels and the valley was deep.

There is a fire further down that 3 helicopters and 300 men cant contain it so they let it burn. We saw the pall coming in the night before. Back on the bus headed for Ashville city NC for stuff. Passed by a hill of rhododendrons and tunnels and there were a few flowers still to see.

Came down off the mountain at last led by George (or Stupid as Lisa now calls him) to a dead end looking for a Best Buy. Good signal so we found a nudist camp to aim for in Tennessee in case the world was booked up for Independence Day. Found a battery charger, made contact with family and headed out on the highway for the Smoky Mountains.

Decided not to push the truck through the mountains but to take the easier southern trail down to Chatanooga tomorrow. It seemed that Cherokee was all about the tourist dollar. Stayed the night in Holly Cove, another RV park at the foot of the Smokys with the obligatory single dad with the rude whiny kids and beautiful butterflies. 18.8 mpg - must be some mistake?

Day 4

Thurs 28th June South Virginia/ North North Carolina
Try to find Pinnacles of Dan but the route takes us through narrow steep country roads before rocking out so we abort and turn around.

Weird silent aircraft fills sky briefly. The one that checks your speed. Rejoined Parkway and trucked on through North Carolina towards Linville Falls, supposedly one of the best sights on this scenic drive.

Found Grandfather Mountain and decided to drive up it. Bottled out at the last carpark before the summit when the truck strained then threatened to go down backwards and I took to the footpath in lightning and heavy rain.

Looked out over the country from a very high suspension bridge during a brief lull then cadged a lift back to the truck for a towelling and a hot cup of tea. George got very lost taking us to Linville Falls so Lisa took arcane directions to an RV park from a good ole boy. Parked next to a Class A who advised me on connecting directly to a sewer hook-up. Slimy work. Looked forward to a good swim in the pool but forgot to pack trunks. German kids dressed as Cherokees lurking with bows and arrows. 13-14mpg.

Day 3

Wed 27th June - 38281 Mid Virginia
Good Sam recommended a garage close by. Drove down impossibly steep hill in lowest gear to giant Truck Stop and threaded through giant parked rigs to the guy who explained we were too small a vehicle for truck services. Sent us to a small place down the road where they had lunch before dismantling the back end and thoroughly checking it out for $32. Suggested the hand brake may have unrusted itself. Smiles and life stories all round and onward with a lighter heart and a cooler wheel, bullied up the highway by SUVs before a difficult hairpin climb back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Head for Meadows of Dan because of the name. George gets lost a lot but country folk here stop to make sure we are ok when we U turn.

Continuing beautiful drive - fairly empty road which is good since we’re the slowest thing on it. Not getting very far - feeling this could take a long time. Countryside very similar (but beautiful of course).

Meadows of Dan is a small slow hick hamlet with an eclectic general store and cheap petrol.

More snowbirds at rv park living in a homemade box on the back of a truck. We admire their lack of friction. They appear to ignore eachother even whilst in conversation. I light a fire which attracts a zombie group of old people who exchange grandchildren stories with us. They are all perfectly coiffed. Got better at wheel levelling. Slept marginally better once I turned 180 degrees to put head higher than feet. Civilised tent sites here - they all have electricity. Lisa’s camera battery runs out - recharger back in MD. 15 mpg but petrol getting cheaper.

Day 2

Tues 26th June - 38198 North Virginia
First experience at dump station. Corrugated plastic pipe jammed in rear 4″ square bumper. Got wet and sticky prising it loose, attaching it to our outlet and making it not jump out of the sewer hole. Surgical gloves disintegrate - need thick rubber gloves asap. Fill up with petrol - apparently getting 13.3 mpg which is a bit disappointing but its been tough going. See more baby animals - wild turkey with triplets.

Getting used to slow travel, wondering if 30 mph will be the average speed across America. Its a small truck with a heavy load making truck noises in low gear - sometimes walking speed. We see a lot of nature close-up. Skyline Drive begins to open out to viewpoints and we see we have climbed high. We stop at a scenic view of Virginia and the wheel is still running hot.

We have a (poor) internet signal so I try to find a mechanic while Lisa makes tea and sandwiches in the kitchen. Too big a vehicle for car services - rv shops need 2 weeks notice. We program Montebello rv park into George the TomTom GPS unit and carry on along the ridge through treetop country and river vistas. Lisa reads manual and discovers the overdrive switch. Lovely empty campsite down by a big pond with geese, big fish and bullfrog conversations.

Used our lego style levelling blocks to try for a better nights sleep. Deaf Snowbird shouting advice reckoned wheel about to fall off and recommends calling my Good Sam breakdown service. Wife had knee replacements and Lyme’s disease. Boats locked up but pleasant evening walk around pond vainly looking for turtles and snakes. Made drumsticks. Burned them in fire which Lisa lit with witchcraft. No signal but lots of birds and cicadas. We are constantly rearranging ourselves and our stuff to keep all the surfaces clear and useable. Didnt sleep too well.

Day 1

Monday 25th June 2007 - 38085 miles on clock Maryland / Northern Virginia
Preparations came to a head in frustration and wrangling - we ditched the big tent and set off far too late at 5pm on a miserable afternoon. Hit rain on 340 and headed for Skyline Drive at Front Royal. Stopped at last 7/11 for bread and supplies, washed broken egg off front of shorts and left toilet to pitying looks. One rear wheel extremely hot. Dusk gathering so nothing to be done but worry, buy yearly ticket at the park entrance and head up the hill at 25 mph.

Manual says we can change gear on the move. Unconvinced but more confident after a few grinding miles of tight bendy hills at 20 - 30 mph. Quaint leafy road, gentle evening, delicate light - rain stopped. Gloaming drove right past twin bear cubs on the road - too surprised to photograph. Lisa spotted mother’s head rising out of the ditch so we moved on. Unconcerned deer walking almost at our speed, treating us as fellow evening loiterers. Driving in the dark down headlit leaf tunnels we found Big Meadows campsite and drove onto an unoccupied rv pad. Electricity and water on wrong side. RV pads are designed to reverse in - 1st 6 point turn in the dark. Plugged in our wealth of rechargeable electrics, showered in the disabled toilets because it was free and slept very badly on a tilt. 100 miles from home. No signal on ultra expensive Sprint EX720 mobile broadband express card with 2 year contract. Repacked all my stuff into more intelligent paces - most used things in front. Forgot to take photos. Camp toilets open to the world, not quite clean enough, spooky at night and attracting great banging black insects. How to clean your backside properly?