Monday, June 18
After three wonderful weeks of being in place at Ashland’s AmeriCamps RV Park, it was once again “moving day” for us…time to head back toward New Mexico and our “homestead” in Artesia.
For once, we were almost on schedule with our leaving time. I had told Mike when he asked when we were leaving that it would be nice to be away by 7:00 am. We woke up even before the alarm clock sounded and, since the car and cargo were already on the big trailer and nearly everything was packed and secured for the trip, all we had to do was put away a few last-minute items, disconnect the water, sewer, and electricity, and slide in the rooms. This was all accomplished in a short time, and we pulled away from the park at 7:15, maybe a new record for us.
It was a gorgeous morning, but it soon became obvious that we were in the middle of the early morning rush hour…all lanes full of traffic going both directions on the fast-moving and crowded I-295 around the northwest quadrant Richmond. This wouldn’t have been a huge problem, but when we looked at the video screen to check on the trailer, we noticed that the motorcycle cargo trailer seemed to be shifting from side to side. At Barbara’s request, we pulled over to the shoulder of the highway to check it. I didn’t think it could roll off, but we sure didn’t need it banging around against the front shield.
With traffic blowing past us at 65 – 70 mph, we disconnected and reattached a couple of the straps so they held the trailer in place to keep it from moving around. Then, we faced the challenge of getting a slow-moving RV up to speed so we could merge into the traffic flow. Luckily, we found a gap in the traffic that allowed us to get back on the highway and up to speed with the rest of the morning lemmings.
Even though we felt that the trailer was secure, we decided to stop down the road at a Wal-Mart in Waynesboro (just over the Blue Ridge Mountains) and buy a couple more straps for the trailer and some nylon cord to keep the cover from flapping too much…also purchased some groceries for a couple of days, and were then on the road again.
As we drove, Barbara checked the map to see how we could break the trip up into segments so that we weren’t running a marathon race to get back to Artesia. Our first decision was to check with Heather and Andy in Carrollton, Texas, to see if they could use a little help with the kids this weekend while they do some house-hunting. After getting an enthusiastic “Yes,” we started breaking the trip up into 400 mile segments so we could arrive in the Carrollton area Thursday evening. Our first stop, we decided, would be Sevierville, Tennessee, where we could spend a couple of days by ourselves.
And so, here we sit in beautiful River Plantation RV Park on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, just kicking back, working on the journal and blog, and anticipating a leisurely trip through the Great Smoky Mountains tomorrow…life really is good!
Tuesday, June 19
After a busy weekend and a full day of travel yesterday, we decided that staying in the Sevierville area and playing like tourists for a day sounded like a great idea. It was well after midnight when we finally got to sleep last night, so it was a bit surprising that we both woke up around 6:00 this morning.
Because of the way we made and then altered our reservations at the RV park, it was necessary for us to pack up and move this morning before we left for our trip through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately, the folks who had to vacate their site before we could move to it weren’t moving with any sense of urgency, so we elected to leave our site and park Big V and the trailer in a large lot just across from the park office (with their permission, of course). They were very gracious and told us to just check back in and pay for the night when we finished our touring.
So, armed with our trusty road map and the ever-present camera, we got into the Vibe and headed south through Pigeon Forge into the national park. We had been through the park on several occasions, but never fail to admire and appreciate the beautiful scenery. God truly did some beautiful work here!With all the heavy traffic (many cars and motorcycles on the road), it took us about an hour and a half to get from Sevierville all the way across the park and down into Cherokee, North Carolina. Cherokee is a very delightful community with no shortage of activities for the tourists. Local tribe members were giving native dancing lessons to youngsters, folks were tubing or fishing in the river, and tourists were crowded into the numerous curio shops and rest
aurants. This is a place that we would love to spend several days in on one of our trips.After driving around, watching the crowds, and taking time for a great lunch, we headed back over the mountain, keeping an eye on the dark afternoon clouds that were quickly piling up ahead of us. We took our new walking sticks with us – we had already staked out a parking area with an adjoining nature trail – and were looking forward to trying them out on a short mountain hike.
As we started up the mountain, we ran into a little shower activity, but it didn’t last long, so we were beginning to feel confident that we would get the hike in. Unfortunately, as we got about halfway between the state line and Gatlinburg, the rains came with a vengeance…so heavy in places that it was extremely difficult to see the traffic in front of us. Obviously, the hike wasn’t going to happen today. Sorry about that, Kelly…we were really looking forward to it.
On our return to Pigeon Forge, we decided to stop at a book warehouse that we found on our last trip through the area. Unlike the last time, when we could have spent a ton of money, nothing struck our fancy today, so we walked out empty-handed and headed on back through surprisingly heavy traffic to the RV park.
Our original goal for the evening was to rewrap the cargo trailer and get the Vibe back on the trailer in preparation for tomorrow’s travel. Needless to say, that didn’t happen either. We were lucky to get Big V into the new site and get everything hooked up without getting drenched. Oh well, the sun will come out tomorrow (gosh, is there a song somewhere out there?).
Back in Big V we got things set up for the night…found an email from Andy and Heather with new pictures of Abby and Alexander and decided to share them with you. It’s unbelievable how much they are growing. We’re really looking forward to seeing them this weekend.
Wednesday, June 20
The point of today was to get from Point A (Sevierville, Tennessee) to Point B (West Memphis, Arkansas) as quickly as possible. It was still cloudy and foggy when we got up this morning, with heavy fog warnings until 10:30 am in the Knoxville area. We got away from the RV park a little before 10:00 and were on I-40 and headed west by 10:15. A word of caution to any of our readers – if you ever come to this part of the country for a short stay, don’t plan to get In a hurry going through Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, or Gatlinburg – that would be for any time during the day or night. The traffic does move, but at its own pace.
There’s not much else to say about the day. We saw lots of pretty country at 60 miles per hour, passed through or around Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis, made a couple of comfort stops at beautiful Tennessee rest areas, and saw more large trucks than I care to see in a day.
By 7:00 pm we had crossed the Mississippi River and pulled into a Pilot truck stop and travel center just off I-40 in West Memphis, ready to get out of the heavy traffic and call it a day.
And that, dear readers, is where we now sit…dinner out of the way…time to kick back and relax for the night before firing up tomorrow morning and heading toward Denton, Texas.
Thursday, June 21
It was another Point A to Point B Day. We got away from West Memphis around 7:15 this morning, traveling through Little Rock and Texarkana, Arkansas, before heading into Texas.
We settled in for the night at Destiny RV Park in Denton, Texas, and then went to the nearest (we think) Albertson’s to buy some groceries. Heather, Andy, Alexander, and Abby will be joining us for a pancake and all the trimmings breakfast tomorrow morning.
Resting in North Texas,
Jim & Barbara
"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tze (600 BC-531 BC)
