Grandfather Mountain Day!

Day 14 – (Friday, 10-19-12) Grandfather Mountain Day

We woke to a sunny, chilly morning. The plans for the day were to drive up to Grandfather Mountain to see the views and do some hiking on the mountain. The dogs were loaded up and ready to go. The drive up the mountain was very pretty, with the leaves all in autumn colors. It had been at least 30 years since I was here, and it felt great to be back. The road was long and winding up the mountain. There was an admission fee to the G.F. “attraction” since it is owned by a non-profit preservation organization. The main attraction is at the top of the mountain, where there is a gift shop and a swinging walk bridge to cross over to another rocky peak. The pictures we posted show how awesome it is up there.

We parked in a lower parking lot and hiked up to the higher level. The dogs and us enjoyed this hike, even though it was rocky and a little steep. It was only .4 mile up. We went up to the bridge crossing. The wind was blowing pretty strong and the bridge was slightly moving. The bridge is 1 mile high and quite scary for a person with a fear of heights. The dogs and Kurt walked in front of me and were excited about the walk.  The movement of the bridge kind of creeped me out, I had to hold onto the rail. Once on the other side, the boys and I sat on a rock wall and waited while Kurt walked out onto the rock ledge to take pictures. As usual, the dogs got so much attention from people up on the rock, especially the kids.

After crossing back over the bridge, Kurt and Kody went on a short hike on the Grandfather trail. It seemed too steep to take Kirby, so we waited for them on a bench in a sunny place. Again, Kirby got tons of attention! We hiked back down to the parking lot and rested there with snacks and water. Then we decided to go on another “moderate” hike, “Black Rock”, that started from the parking lot. The hike was more challenging than we thought (well for me and Kirby anyway). We hiked back in about 1 mile and I decided to turn back at that point, since Kirby seemed to be tiring and my left knee was hurting. Kurt and Kody continued, but also turned around later, as Kody wanted to go back too. I think we have totally “worn out” the dogs. They are just not used to this much activity, especially since they are used to sleeping most of the day. We then headed back down to the campground.

Later, we drove into downtown “Banner Elk” to check out the setup for the weekend’s “Wooly Worm Festival”. The town traffic was already in gridlock, we turned around and went back to the RV. Kurt built a campfire and we grilled chicken. It was getting very chilly outside and we went inside the RV for the evening.

On to Grandfather Mountain

Day 12 – (Wednesday, 10-17-12) Heading to Grandfather Mountain

The RV was packed, unhooked and ready to go by 10:30. We headed out on our trip to Banner Elk, NC. The drive was beautiful, mostly on 4-lane highways through the mountains. The last 30 miles of the trip was on a two-lane road, going through small towns and mountains. It was one of the best drives yet. We had to stop in a tiny little town to refuel. Kurt went into the store to pay and the people were so friendly and asked where he was heading. These are the best towns in this country. Most small town people are very friendly and genuine. It’s such a breath of fresh air to find people like this.

We finally pulled into the Grandfather Mountain Campground. We were quite surprised to find such a beautiful campground. It was setup in levels, going up the hillside. Our site backs up to a huge grassy field, our backyard that the boys totally love! We also have a wooden deck for a front patio and a camp fire ring setup behind our space. The leaves up here are at peak fall foliage change. This area is a series of small towns. Banner Elk is a nice area and Boone has changed SO much since I was up here about 30 years ago.

The weather here is so much colder due to the higher altitude, about 4000 feet. It was about 45 degrees over night.

Day 13 – (Thursday, 10-18-12) Chilly, dreary day; great hike!

We woke up to a cold, cloudy, foggy morning. After discussing the plan for the day we decided to just go on a hike. We wanted to drive up to Grandfather Mountain and hike to the top. However, with the fog and clouds, we wouldn’t have any view. The trail we took went up to Grandfather Mountain, from the East side, is called the Profile View Trail. The trail was 2.7 miles one way, but very steep and with a major altitude change. We went from 4000 feet up to 5200 feet during the hike. It’s tough with the altitude, you wouldn’t think that it affects your breathing that much, but it does.  It was also very windy and chilly. The boys stayed at the RV while we hiked, due to the strenuous nature of this hike. When we reached the Profile overlook, we realized that this is the great vantage point to see the “profile” of the “Grandfather face”. We saw the rock face profile and got a couple of pictures before the fog rolled in thicker and we couldn’t even see the face.  We decided to head back down the mountain as the weather was deteriorating quickly. As we went down the mountain, the weather was much different. When we got back to the RV, the skies were clearer, but it was still chilly.

Arriving back at the RV, the boys were very happy to see us. They came out for a run around our grassy “backyard”. We ate lunch and then Kurt wanted to take a ride up to Blowing Rock to check out the area and hike up to the actual craggy blowing rock. With the weather getting worse, we decided just to drive to Boone and look around. There is a fairly new mountain bike trail in that area. We drove out there and Kurt looked around the course, thinking he might be able to go bike there within the next couple of days.

We drove back to the campground and Kurt built a camp fire. Later we prepared a dinner of leftovers. After dinner and watching some TV, we went to bed very tired. The weather is supposed to be sunnier tomorrow, but still a high of 60. Tonight is supposed to get down to 37 degrees. 

Last 2 days in Franklin

Day 10 – (Monday, 10-15-12) Hike the Appalachian Trail!

Let’s try hiking again! This can’t be that difficult!!  Not finding an awesome hiking trail in NC is like not finding a dive site in the Keys. We decided to try a section of The Appalachian Trail (AT) which crosses a major highway just west of Franklin (no forest service road). We drove out to the trail head and took the dogs with us. They really do enjoy hiking with us. We took the trail side that heads north. It was a beautiful sunny, but chilly day. When we started up the trail, we warmed up quickly. The boys actually liked the chilly weather; it seems to get them all excited. Kirby really surprised us and was more active than Kruzer (Kody). Kruzer wears a backpack and carries water bottles for both dogs. (He needs the extra exercise, as he could lose a couple of pounds.) The trail was so beautiful and the fall foliage made it even more awesome! The trail was mostly uphill, but the hike back was mostly downhill (just the way it works). We crossed a couple of creeks and the boys took advantage and drank from the creek. There was one nice little waterfall that fed the creek. We stopped at a couple of campsites that AT hikers use, and we rested and drank water there.  Also, met a couple of guys who had just embarked on a week-long hike on the AT with their dogs.  We hiked in for about 2 miles, which was perfect timing. Kruzer always wants to lead the pack and Kirby follows. We hiked for about three hours total, including the return trip. When we got back to the truck, we were all pretty tired.

When we got back to camp, Kurt decided to kayak a part of the Little T, just upstream of our camp.  I dropped him off at a nearby put-in and he paddled upstream for about 1 mile, then headed back to the camp.

Day 11 – (Tuesday, 10-16-12) Tsali again!

OMG!!! We are going to Tsali Recreation Area again. We got up fairly early; well, early for this crew, 7:30.  The plan was to go to there and spend about half a day, then come back to the RV, drop off the dogs then ride the Greenway Bike Trail, which goes thru Franklin along the Little Tennessee River.  Well, we get to Tsali mountain bike parking lot and discover we forgot our ice chest (contained lunch, water drinks, etc…) AND the change of clothes we were intending on using. So we decided that we would just make the best of the situation and work with it… We did have snacks and water, so we could survive! Kurt went on a trail ride and I hiked with the dogs.  No new pictures, since this was a repeat of Saturday at Tsali. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed the day.  We were all ready to go back to the RV and have some lunch. After lunch decided to go for the bike ride that I wanted to do all week. We left the “tired” dogs in the RV, then Kurt and I went to the Greenway trail to ride the river front path through 4 miles of Franklin.  It was very nice, mostly paved or packed trail alongside the Little Tennessee River. There were various river crossovers and bridges. The trail was more than what we expected; we both actually enjoyed the ride very much. It was even an easy respite for Kurt, who had busted his ass on the mountain bike trails. (Some day he will learn that it’s not all about “balls to the wall”.)  We returned on the same route and 1.5 hours later we were back in the truck and heading to camp.

We realized we had a lot to do before leaving in the morning. We prepared and packed as much as possible to save time in the morning. After having a “leftover” dinner, we were ready for some rest.  Again, the boys were in bed long before we were.

We finally made it!

So we finally got caught up on our daily journals/blogs.  Here's our first 8 days in chronological order. We have setup an album of pictures on Picasa. Here is the link that you can use ongoing. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/Trip23October2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCLGhtZCl5q2_KQ#

Also, here is the link for our blog site. Check in whenever you can to follow our daily adventures.

http://www.alreadygoneontheroad.blogspot.com/

Day 1 (Saturday, 10-06-12) – Travel to Savannah for overnight RV stay

Left home around 9:30 am, our first day of official “Retirement”. Traveled north on I-95 heading towards Savannah. The drive was uneventful, with the exception of one accident that only delayed our progress about 20 minutes. There were some coastal storms that did slow down the traffic, but we got out of them south of the Savannah area.  We arrived at the RV park about 4:30.  Were able to select the site we wanted and setup for the night. We didn’t even unhitch the truck, leveled the RV and made all connections. We had a simple dinner of salad with lunch meat and cocktails, of course. We were tired and were in bed by 10:30.

Day 2 (Sunday, 10-07-12) – Travel to Seneca, SC

Unhooked the RV around 9:00 and hit the road. The weather was nice and made the drive more enjoyable. The dogs are not used to riding in the truck for so many hours, so they would get antsy quite often.  We stopped for lunch in Georgia along the way and ate KFC, not our favorite, but it was quick and easy.  We arrived at the Wagner’s home around 4:00. The dogs were really ready to get out and run. They found a new doggie friend, as Sharon& Jim have a mixed breed sweet little girl, Remi, who has more energy than Kody! They all became best friends and had a great time visiting there. On Sunday evening, they had a very nice dinner for us, with neighbors and their son and his family. Sharon prepared a wonderful meal, Low Country Boil, which is like a crawfish boil, only with shrimp.  It’s a S.C. favorite. We had an enjoyable evening getting caught up with Sharon & Jim. We slept downstairs in their guest room, which we felt like we were in a 5 star resort!

Day 3 (Monday, 10-08-12) – Hanging around the Wagner Resort!

We woke up to a chilly, blustery morning. Not like the forecast that said it would be sunny and 70 degrees.  We went down into Seneca and had a wonderful southern style breakfast at a local Mom & Pop restaurant. When we got back to the house, we decided to take a short pontoon ride around the lower part of Lake Keowee. It was windy and cold, but we made the best of it. Sharon brought thermoses of coffee laced with Bailey’s. It was a warm and welcome treat. We had all three dogs with us, and we were all bundled up with jackets and blankets. The lake is awesome with very nice upscale homes. Sharon is a realtor and specializes in the lake homes. We headed back to their house and decided to have some lunch and play poker for a couple of hours. Later, Sharon made a wonderful roast dinner and we enjoyed that tremendously. After dinner, we went downstairs to their home theatre room. We watched the musical movie, Mama Mia.  It was very cute and enjoyable. Kurt slept through most of it. Bedtime was upon us, as we had all played, ate and drank too much!

Day 4 (Tuesday, 10-09-12) – Pontooning on the Lake

Sharon prepared a nice healthy breakfast. After that, we loaded up and prepared for our lake tour. Even though the weather didn’t cooperate, we decided to go for it anyway and hit the lake. We took a lunch of chicken breasts to grill and noodle soup. After motoring up to the northern end of the lake, we went back into a cove that has a beautiful waterfall.  Jim beached the pontoon up on a nice sandbar. There we setup our chairs, coolers and food. We had a great lunch. Kurt and the dogs hiked up around the waterfall. We got some nice pictures. After returning from the pontoon ride, we later decided to go out to dinner at a local restaurant on the Lake, called Tiki Hut. We ate chicken wings, fried grouper fingers and drinks! It was a fun place, with karaoke entertainment. After getting too full, we headed home. Later, we went to the home theatre and watched a DVD of an Eagles concert. It was very enjoyable, as we are all Eagles fans. Thus, the name of our RV rig, Already Gone!

Day 5 (Wednesday, 10-10-12) – Heading to Franklin

As we had a fairly short drive to Franklin on this day, we decided to go out for breakfast before taking off.  Sharon & Jim took us to a small local area town, Pendleton. Went to a local restaurant/bakery and had another scrumptious, southern style breakfast. We drove through Clemson and got a tour of the Clemson University campus.  What a wonderful place! After going back to the house, we packed up our stuff and loaded the RV to head to Franklin. We had such a great time visiting the Wagner’s; we want to go back again soon.

The drive to Franklin was awesome, beautiful and very challenging. It was only about 60 miles (Hwy 28), but the road went through the mountains, two-lane and mostly winding switchbacks. Kurt was nervous the whole time due to the traffic, it was pretty busy. During this ride, we were beginning to see many of the trees changing colors. It was a very pretty sight to see. When we arrived in Franklin, we stopped at a local grocery to pick up a few items that we would need for the coming week. Then we finally arrived at the Great Smokey Mountain Fish Camp, where we would be camping for 7 days. It’s a great place right on the Little Tennessee River. They are fishing and paddling outfitters. We got the RV setup and ready for our stay there. We made tacos for dinner and enjoyed the meal.  Kurt made a campfire and we ended the evening enjoying the cold weather and warm campfire.

Day 6 – (Thursday, 10-11-12) – Great Smokey Mountain Fish Camp

We woke up later than normal; I guess you could say on retirement time. After a light breakfast, we spoke with the camp outfitter about doing a kayak shuttle the next day, as the weather forecast was looking very nice. So for the rest of the day, we just hung out around the campsite and checked online stuff and reorganized our already mess of things in our RV. With so little storage space, it’s most important to stay organized. We usually end up with a “salad” of stuff just strewn about, either in the RV or the truck.

We decided to take a drive northward to look at the fall foliage and check out the Little T (Little Tennessee) River, which the road follows most of the way. It was a beautiful scenic drive and we stopped a couple of places to let the boys out and take short walks. We headed back to the RV to make some lunch.

Around mid-afternoon, I shuttled Kurt and a kayak to a put-in site just upstream of our camp. He did an exploratory upstream paddle and then floated back to the fish camp. The Little Tennessee River has a strong current and is very rocky, with many Class 1 rapids. We were looking forward to the next day’s downstream paddle.

Later, we fired up the charcoal grill and made steaks for dinner. Kurt made a campfire and we spent the evening around the fire with the boys. We hit the sack early, as we were tired. However, the boys were way more torn up and they went to bed way before us. We think they are having a more difficult time at this retirement transition than we are! They are used to sleeping and lounging all day long while we WERE at work!

Day 7 – (Friday, 10-12-12) Paddle on the Little T

We awoke around 8:00am. After breakfast, we decided to drive into Franklin and visit the Chamber of Commerce. There we were able to get local maps, information and brochures. Then we went to a local bicycle shop to get more details on the mountain bike trails. The business owners were very helpful and provided some more trail maps. BTW, we LOVE Franklin!

We returned to camp and made a lunch of sandwiches and snacks to take on the paddle. Kurt and the outfitter took our truck to the take-out site. When Kurt returned, we put the kayaks in the water and headed downstream. The river is wide and beautiful, but the rapids are another story. We are not used to having rocky rivers and rapids. The paddle was very fun, but we had to negotiate the rocks/rapids to keep from getting in trouble. A couple of times we got stuck on top of rocks, but were able to work our way out. The worst rocky area was right before the take-out. We both got stuck, but I was behind Kurt. I maneuvered my kayak off the rocks, only to be turned around backwards. I knew at that point, that I would just go with the flow and was able to turn the kayak around. Whew! Made it to the take-out without anyone getting dumped! All in all, it was a great paddle and was a new experience for us!

Day 8 – (Saturday, 10-13-12) Tsali Trail!

This day was special for Kurt! We drove north toward Lake Fontana and the Tsali Recreation Area. This park is known for the excellent mountain biking trails. Since we had the boys with us, Kurt rode one of the MB trails while I hiked with the boys. Kirby, Kody and I headed out on a horse trail, as the bikers and horses alternate days on the designated trails. The boys were having a great time and with the cooler weather they both enjoyed the hike. However, the trail map didn’t look as long as I thought, so we were over 1.5 miles into the trail when Kurt called to say he was back at the parking lot.  We were already 1 hour into the trail, so we turned around to head back. Kurt went ahead and rode his bike on the trail and met us halfway. We all headed back to the parking lot. We had brought a little grill and cooked hot dogs and had lunch. Kurt advised me that it was not a good idea for me to ride these trails, as they were more difficult that any I had ridden.  Especially, when I can crash on a packed rail trail and break my shoulder, I decided to stay at the picnic area with the boys and just hang out. Kurt rode another mountain bike trail and was gone a little too long..  I was concerned about him, since he didn’t take his cell phone, the battery had died…  Did I mention that he is the most cell phone challenged techy person that I know…? Anyway, he finally showed up one hour and 45 minutes later.  He had wandered off the main trail and got kinda “lost”… (He’s also very directionally challenged) He made it back safely and we decided to head back to camp.

We had made plans to go into Franklin and have dinner at a restaurant that was highly recommended. But prior to dinner, we attended a local “Pickin’ in the Square” on Main Street in Franklin. We brought our chairs and “camouflaged cocktails’ (we are in the Bible belt) and listened to a local blue grass gospel band. They reminded us of the “Darlings” on the Andy of Mayberry show. Then we went to dinner at Caffe Rell, a popular place with excellent French food. Amazing, since it’s located in the back side of a large gas station.  But, the inside of the restaurant was very nice and the food was excellent. I had the NC fresh mountain rainbow trout, with a side of awesome steam veggies! Kurt had a beef ravioli dish with truffles and brown sauce, and steamed veggies. We truly enjoyed our dinner, even though Kurt claims he doesn’t like French food!

After heading back to camp, Kurt made another great fire and we enjoyed the evening watching the flames until we got so tired we had to retire for the night.

Day 9 – (Sunday, 10-14-12) Wasted day!

Let’s go hiking!! So we decided to go to some place called, Coweeta Hydro Lab/Albert Mt. Fire Tower . Not a lot of information, just a map.  This area is supposed to have some awesome waterfall hikes that everyone would enjoy.  So we follow the map that leads us to a gravel road (forest service road… uh oh).  So for 10,000 miles we go UP this single lane, very steep gravel road to a point where it comes to a fork in the road with, NO SIGNAGE, as to what goes where.  We make a decision to go to the left…  another 10,000 miles DOWN an even more treacherous road that leads us to a DEAD END in the middle of nowhere!  AHHHHHHH!!!! With banjos playing in the back ground we proceed to unwind this trip from hell.  Three hours later we end up back at our RV on the river wondering… What the hell…  That SUCKED!!! 

For the remainder of the day we had a party on the Little Tennessee River which included fishing (5lb carp… no we didn’t eat it), drinking, eating and the nightly bonfire. Maybe back to Tsali tomorrow…