We are camped at River Plantation RV Park, within a stone's throw of the Little Pigeon River in Sevierville TN. There are 26 Country Coaches registered for this inaugural rally of the SouthEast Country Coachers, a brand new chapter of Country Coach International. Dorcas and I are charter members of this chapter. We have made new friends as well as renewed old friendships. We have good wi-fi service here, and I have updated the blog with some past trip reports. I think I am current now, except I haven't written anything about our Buffalo River trip last month. Maybe soon.
Tonight the Country Coachers attended Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede for dinner and the show. The Stamped defies description. Everyone should see it at least once. It is a combination rodeo, circus, hillbilly vaudeville, Civil War reenactment and game show. I had expected we would eat first, then have a show. It turns out that you do both at the same time. And they feed you with an efficiency that I have never witnessed before. Folks are seated five rows deep around the indoor arena on benches and a narrow bar . A server walks in front of each row and serves perhaps 75 people. The server walks up and down the row as quickly as he/she can, serving a new course and removing the plate from the last course. Your ticket is placed in front of you at the edge of the bar. The server knows what you are drinking due to the orientation of the ticket, i.e. right-side up, up-side down, folded, perpendicular to the bar, parallel to the bar etc. If you move your ticket, your diet Pepsi order may become root beer at the next refill. One side of the arena is designated "the North" and the other is designated "the South". The servers on each side are dressed in the respective blue and gray. Thankfully we were on the "South", so we did not have to ask to be re-seated.
The show started off with some native American dances including some pretty fancy high-wire eagle action. Then the cowboys and settlers came with longhorn steers, buckboards and covered wagons. Later there was lots of fancy choreographed horse riding and some trick riding. I was most impressed with the riding. There would be ten riders doing precision routines in a small arena, going very FAST! Very exciting. The last half of the show features teams representing the North and the South, performing various competitions, some with audience participation. There were also novelty races including pig races (Abraham Link-sausage, et al), pig races with hurdles, kids chasing chickens races, covered wagon races, stick horses races, barrel races and mounted ostrich races. Quite a sight to behold. Where else but in Dolly-land?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Rally Of Our Own: Stony Fork Campground
Dorcas and I are attending a Country Coach rally the last weekend in May and wanted to camp somewhere the 
week before the rally. We invited several of our RVing friends to attend "A Rally Of Our Own". Unfortunately, most had conflicts, but Terry and Peggy were able to join us for the Memorial Day weekend. Terry suggested Stony Fork Campground in the Jefferson National Forest near Wytheville Virginia. We had never been there, but Terry said it was a nice place, so off we went. Dorcas and I arrived mid-afternoon on Friday before Memorial Day and set up on Site 47. This is indeed a very nice campground. It is nestled in the valley between Big Walker Mountain and Little Walker Mountain. It has 53 paved sites in a single loop and the East Fork Stony Fork crosses the loop four times. About half of the sites have 30 amp service and a few have water. The only drawbacks were the kids and the dogs. Since it was a holiday weekend, the place filled up, and everyone had three barking dogs and four whining kids. The kids all had bikes and delighted in circling the loop in packs as fast as they could. Kinda like short-track NASCAR for rugrats. Also, I have recently observed that the smaller the camping rig the larger the attendant dog(s). A 42' motor home will have one small yippy dog. A 10' pop-up camper will likely have three German shepherds and a black lab. Thankfully, on Monday most of the riff-raff cleared out, and it was very quiet and peaceful.
On Saturday we drove to Garden Mountain where the Appalachian Trail crosses VA 623 to perform "Trail Magic". Trail Magic is a term the AT through-hikers use to refer to surprise food or treats provided by "Trail Angels". Terry brought hot dogs, buns, chili, baked beans, chips, cookies, fruit and cold drinks for the through-hikers. We fed about 10 hungry hikers including "Spidey", "NoAmp", "Couscous", "Chili Pepper", "Happy", "Rock" and "Roll".
On Sunday we hiked the Seven Sisters trail along the ridge of Little Walker Mountain. The trail was five miles long and crested 7 minor peaks along its length, terminating, amazingly, at Site 47. About 2 miles from the finish, we met a guy walking up the hill carrying a unicycle. His plan was to walk to the crest of the trail and ride his unicycle back down the hill. I just hoped he was in control when he came back by us. It turns out he was very skilled and whizzed by us very much in command of his vehicle.
On Monday we slept late and lounged around camp. Terry helped me remove the rear slide topper awning, which had blown its roller spring. Terry and Peggy left for home about noon. I'm hoping I can get a new spring when we get to Sevierville and maybe some fellow Country Coachers at the rally can help me put it all back together. Somewhere I am going to have to borrow a pop rivet tool. (Note to self: pack pop rivet tool in coach for next trip.). Tuesday and Wednesday were both lazy days. On Tuesday we explored Wytheville, bought groceries and checked our e-mails. We wanted to do a hike, perhaps on the AT near Burke's Garden, but the weather was threatening, so we wimped out. On Wednesday it rained for sure, so we just hung out, read and did some computer maintenance. On Thursday we will pack up and drive about 175 miles down I-81 to Sevierville, TN.
Matilda is doing great. I think she has grown four pounds this week. We have not had a single "accident" in the house (knock on wood). She is doing some serious teething, though, so we have to watch and make sure she doesn't eat the tires off the coach. A Toyo 12R-22.5 is an expensive chew toy.
week before the rally. We invited several of our RVing friends to attend "A Rally Of Our Own". Unfortunately, most had conflicts, but Terry and Peggy were able to join us for the Memorial Day weekend. Terry suggested Stony Fork Campground in the Jefferson National Forest near Wytheville Virginia. We had never been there, but Terry said it was a nice place, so off we went. Dorcas and I arrived mid-afternoon on Friday before Memorial Day and set up on Site 47. This is indeed a very nice campground. It is nestled in the valley between Big Walker Mountain and Little Walker Mountain. It has 53 paved sites in a single loop and the East Fork Stony Fork crosses the loop four times. About half of the sites have 30 amp service and a few have water. The only drawbacks were the kids and the dogs. Since it was a holiday weekend, the place filled up, and everyone had three barking dogs and four whining kids. The kids all had bikes and delighted in circling the loop in packs as fast as they could. Kinda like short-track NASCAR for rugrats. Also, I have recently observed that the smaller the camping rig the larger the attendant dog(s). A 42' motor home will have one small yippy dog. A 10' pop-up camper will likely have three German shepherds and a black lab. Thankfully, on Monday most of the riff-raff cleared out, and it was very quiet and peaceful.On Saturday we drove to Garden Mountain where the Appalachian Trail crosses VA 623 to perform "Trail Magic". Trail Magic is a term the AT through-hikers use to refer to surprise food or treats provided by "Trail Angels". Terry brought hot dogs, buns, chili, baked beans, chips, cookies, fruit and cold drinks for the through-hikers. We fed about 10 hungry hikers including "Spidey", "NoAmp", "Couscous", "Chili Pepper", "Happy", "Rock" and "Roll".
On Sunday we hiked the Seven Sisters trail along the ridge of Little Walker Mountain. The trail was five miles long and crested 7 minor peaks along its length, terminating, amazingly, at Site 47. About 2 miles from the finish, we met a guy walking up the hill carrying a unicycle. His plan was to walk to the crest of the trail and ride his unicycle back down the hill. I just hoped he was in control when he came back by us. It turns out he was very skilled and whizzed by us very much in command of his vehicle.
On Monday we slept late and lounged around camp. Terry helped me remove the rear slide topper awning, which had blown its roller spring. Terry and Peggy left for home about noon. I'm hoping I can get a new spring when we get to Sevierville and maybe some fellow Country Coachers at the rally can help me put it all back together. Somewhere I am going to have to borrow a pop rivet tool. (Note to self: pack pop rivet tool in coach for next trip.). Tuesday and Wednesday were both lazy days. On Tuesday we explored Wytheville, bought groceries and checked our e-mails. We wanted to do a hike, perhaps on the AT near Burke's Garden, but the weather was threatening, so we wimped out. On Wednesday it rained for sure, so we just hung out, read and did some computer maintenance. On Thursday we will pack up and drive about 175 miles down I-81 to Sevierville, TN.
Matilda is doing great. I think she has grown four pounds this week. We have not had a single "accident" in the house (knock on wood). She is doing some serious teething, though, so we have to watch and make sure she doesn't eat the tires off the coach. A Toyo 12R-22.5 is an expensive chew toy.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Good News; a New Family Addition and Other Stuff
Great news: On Wednesday my mother went to see her new doctor in Morganton. He told her that her cancer is in remission. Yeah!!!! No more treatments, and he doesn't need to see her for two more months. Dorcas and I visited Mom on Tuesday and helped her hang pictures and did some other chores. Every time I look at all her stuff, I am amazed that we got her moved at all. Folks who know me know that I keep things and have a lot of stuff. Folks who know my mother will understand where I got it from.
We have a new family addition. Izaak has been gone a little over a year now, and it was time to fill that terrible void in our hearts. Last night we picked up Matilda, a six-week old Australian Shepherd. She is as cute as she can be. We took her to the vet this morning for her initial exam and vaccinations. We are leaving this afternoon for two and a half weeks in the motor home, so I guess she will get used to traveling and camping pretty quickly. At least that's the plan.
In about an hour we are leaving on a short (for us) motor home trip. Our first stop is Stony Fork Campground in Jefferson National Forest, about 5 miles northwest of Wytheville VA. We will be there six nights and then head southwest to a Country Coach rally in Sevierville TN. After 4 nights in Sevierville we will move again to either the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or to the Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, for about a week. Ain't retirement grand?
I am grossly behind updating this journal with past trips. I have been very busy and not a little lazy about posting reports. I will try to post something soon. In short, 1) we survived eight nights on the Buffalo National River, in spite of a deadly thunderstorm as we were taking out, 2) we experienced a very interesting and eventful bike ride from Fleetwood to Todd, a trip not usually known for being interesting and eventful and 3) we enjoyed the friendship of our Lumber River Canoe Club friends while camping at Hanging Rock State Park and paddling five straight days on the Dan River. Whew! Too many adventures, not enough time.
We have a new family addition. Izaak has been gone a little over a year now, and it was time to fill that terrible void in our hearts. Last night we picked up Matilda, a six-week old Australian Shepherd. She is as cute as she can be. We took her to the vet this morning for her initial exam and vaccinations. We are leaving this afternoon for two and a half weeks in the motor home, so I guess she will get used to traveling and camping pretty quickly. At least that's the plan.
In about an hour we are leaving on a short (for us) motor home trip. Our first stop is Stony Fork Campground in Jefferson National Forest, about 5 miles northwest of Wytheville VA. We will be there six nights and then head southwest to a Country Coach rally in Sevierville TN. After 4 nights in Sevierville we will move again to either the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or to the Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, for about a week. Ain't retirement grand?
I am grossly behind updating this journal with past trips. I have been very busy and not a little lazy about posting reports. I will try to post something soon. In short, 1) we survived eight nights on the Buffalo National River, in spite of a deadly thunderstorm as we were taking out, 2) we experienced a very interesting and eventful bike ride from Fleetwood to Todd, a trip not usually known for being interesting and eventful and 3) we enjoyed the friendship of our Lumber River Canoe Club friends while camping at Hanging Rock State Park and paddling five straight days on the Dan River. Whew! Too many adventures, not enough time.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Paddle: Dan River with the LRCC
From Wednesday May 14 until Sunday May 18 we attended the spring campout and paddle at Hanging Rock State Park with the Lumber 
River Canoe Club. Members of the LRCC converge at HRSP in the spring and again in the fall every year for a long weekend of camping, partying and paddling on the Dan River. The Dan River is a jewel. It is scenic and relatively unspoiled. There are tall rocky bluffs and the rhododendrons were blooming. There are no
real rapids, but there are enough turns, riffles and ledges to keep it interesting. Best of all it is only about 25 miles from our house. During the week Dorcas and I paddled tandem on two days, and I paddled solo in 
Dorcas' Bell Wildfire on three other days. Five straight days of paddling on the upper Dan River. Heaven. To read Don's trip report click here.
River Canoe Club. Members of the LRCC converge at HRSP in the spring and again in the fall every year for a long weekend of camping, partying and paddling on the Dan River. The Dan River is a jewel. It is scenic and relatively unspoiled. There are tall rocky bluffs and the rhododendrons were blooming. There are no
real rapids, but there are enough turns, riffles and ledges to keep it interesting. Best of all it is only about 25 miles from our house. During the week Dorcas and I paddled tandem on two days, and I paddled solo in 
Dorcas' Bell Wildfire on three other days. Five straight days of paddling on the upper Dan River. Heaven. To read Don's trip report click here.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
A Mother's Day Homecoming
The mother hen is roosting in her new coop. We have successfully moved my mother and all her belongings 666 miles, from Shelby MS to Morganton NC. Mom was raised in Morganton and raised her two sons there. She moved to west Tennessee in 1973 and to Mississippi about 10 years later, but has looked forward to coming home for many years. She now is in a townhouse three blocks from the courthouse square in downtown Morganton. She is a short walk away from many services and the downtown shops.
Dorcas, my brother Ran, and a few of Mom's friends, packed all day last Sunday. On Monday we picked up a 26' U-Haul truck, the biggest, baddest truck that U-Haul offers. U-Haul claims this truck will hold all the furnishings in a 4-bedroom house. They lie. Granted, we are not professional movers, but I put myself through college loading trucks at UPS, and I do know how to pack a tight truck. We packed this one so tight that the mice were suffocating. However, by the time the truck was 3/4 full, it was obvious to all that there just wasn't going to be enough truck. And we still hadn't loaded the beds and mattresses, the exercise bikes, the washer, the dryer, Mom's clothes, her two 1500 pound armoires and the bottle tree. Don't even ask why we were moving an eight-foot tall, 100 pound, wrought iron bottle tree 666 miles to a house with no yard. After much discussion, we determined that U-Haul's 12' trailer (their largest offering) would not be enough, and they had no more trucks. Ultimately we called Budget Rental and rented a 24' truck. Ironically, the Budget truck cost only half what the U-Haul truck cost. On Tuesday we began our trek to North Carolina. The U-Haul truck had a gross weight rating of 20'000 pounds and was certainly overweight. The Budget truck had a gross weight rating of 26,000 pounds and was only 1/3 full. Go figure. We skipped the weigh stations; I was prepared to claim ignorance if we got stopped. Ran and I drove the trucks straight through to Morganton, while the ladies took it easy and spent the night west of Knoxville. On Wednesday and Thursday we unloaded the trucks. On Friday and Saturday we put it all back together and helped her get settled. All in all things went pretty smoothly. We only broke two items, a glass lamp shade (unfortunately, an antique) and a glass hurricane globe. We are still missing two marble table tops, but I know they went onto the truck, so they will show up sooner or later.
The bids from professional moving companies exceeded $10,000. We did it for a small fraction of that price and gave our mother a very happy Mother's Day gift and a fine homecoming.
Dorcas, my brother Ran, and a few of Mom's friends, packed all day last Sunday. On Monday we picked up a 26' U-Haul truck, the biggest, baddest truck that U-Haul offers. U-Haul claims this truck will hold all the furnishings in a 4-bedroom house. They lie. Granted, we are not professional movers, but I put myself through college loading trucks at UPS, and I do know how to pack a tight truck. We packed this one so tight that the mice were suffocating. However, by the time the truck was 3/4 full, it was obvious to all that there just wasn't going to be enough truck. And we still hadn't loaded the beds and mattresses, the exercise bikes, the washer, the dryer, Mom's clothes, her two 1500 pound armoires and the bottle tree. Don't even ask why we were moving an eight-foot tall, 100 pound, wrought iron bottle tree 666 miles to a house with no yard. After much discussion, we determined that U-Haul's 12' trailer (their largest offering) would not be enough, and they had no more trucks. Ultimately we called Budget Rental and rented a 24' truck. Ironically, the Budget truck cost only half what the U-Haul truck cost. On Tuesday we began our trek to North Carolina. The U-Haul truck had a gross weight rating of 20'000 pounds and was certainly overweight. The Budget truck had a gross weight rating of 26,000 pounds and was only 1/3 full. Go figure. We skipped the weigh stations; I was prepared to claim ignorance if we got stopped. Ran and I drove the trucks straight through to Morganton, while the ladies took it easy and spent the night west of Knoxville. On Wednesday and Thursday we unloaded the trucks. On Friday and Saturday we put it all back together and helped her get settled. All in all things went pretty smoothly. We only broke two items, a glass lamp shade (unfortunately, an antique) and a glass hurricane globe. We are still missing two marble table tops, but I know they went onto the truck, so they will show up sooner or later.
The bids from professional moving companies exceeded $10,000. We did it for a small fraction of that price and gave our mother a very happy Mother's Day gift and a fine homecoming.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Off to Mississippi ... One Last Time
My mother has lived in the delta region of northwest Mississippi for the last 26 years. It is a miserable place. Many times I have told her that I would only come out there one more time, and that I would be driving a U-Haul truck to bring her back to North Carolina. Every time I said that, it was a lie .... until today. Today Dorcas and I and my brother Ran are departing for Shelby MS. On Monday we will lease the largest truck that U-Haul offers, and by Thursday next week we will have her moved into her new townhouse in Morganton, the town where she was born and raised.
Mom has been battling lung cancer since her diagnosis in Dec 2006, but the doctors think the cancer has stopped growing. She feels tired and sick due to her chemotherapy. Her doctor suspended the chemotherapy about three weeks ago, so maybe she will begin feeling better soon. She probably is not up to this move, but she is headstrong and this is what she wants to do. Perhaps coming home will be good for her. At least, it will make it easier for her sons to visit.
Mom has been battling lung cancer since her diagnosis in Dec 2006, but the doctors think the cancer has stopped growing. She feels tired and sick due to her chemotherapy. Her doctor suspended the chemotherapy about three weeks ago, so maybe she will begin feeling better soon. She probably is not up to this move, but she is headstrong and this is what she wants to do. Perhaps coming home will be good for her. At least, it will make it easier for her sons to visit.
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