Plan B: Mt. Pisgah Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway

OK, I lied. Big time. We had intended to go to the Cataloochee Valley, but it didn't work out. We knew it would be difficult to get the coach into the valley. There are only two roads in. One is bad, the other is worse. The problem is, I didn't know which one was which. Both roads are narrow, winding, steep and unpaved. We had decided to approach from the west and the Big Creek area. The unimproved portion of that road is a little longer, but it was more direct for us, and it looked straighter on the map. Bad plan. We managed to get about 5 miles up the road. It was hairy, but we were making it. Think 8' wide RV on 10' mountain road and hairpin turns. Dorcas was holding on with both hands and all ten toes, and I was laying on the air horns at every bend. Luckily we didn't meet anyone going up. Funny how you forget to take pictures in those moments. Our luck ran out about 2 miles before Mt. Sterling gap. We entered the national park and there was a sign that said bridge ahead 5 ton limit. Uh-oh, we weigh over 15 tons. Do we go for it? Surely the bridge is designed with a significant safety factor. I was considering it, but Dorcas said "Hell no". Luckily, we found a forest service side road, and were able to turn around and head back down. We unhitched the Honda so she could warn on-coming traffic. Luckily, we only met one other vehicle; unluckily, it was a UPS delivery truck. Another hairy moment, but we made it.

When we made it safely down the mountain, we pulled over to discuss our options. Dorcas wouldn't hear of driving around and going into Cataloochee from the east. Not an option. We knew hot weather was coming, so some altitude would be nice. We decided to go to Mt. Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This campground is near EL 5000' and is the coolest place in many miles. We finally arrived late Monday afternoon and set up in a nice pull-through in loop A, dedicated for motor homes, with a nice grassy area for the pup. We registered for three nights, but may stay longer, depending on ..... well, I don't know, just depending.

Tuesday we just hung out and recovered from our ordeal yesterday. We read and napped and played with Matilda. We also set up the Coleman GeoSport 15' screen room we bought in Pigeon Forge at the Coleman Factory Outlet. It's pretty cool and the price was right. We figured it would come in handy in Minnesota this summer. This morning, we hiked about 6 miles round trip from the campground to the top of Mt. Pisgah. This afternoon, we drove into Brevard to do some errands. As I write, it is 89 degrees in downtown Brevard. I'm looking forward to getting back on top of the hill.

While in passing through the village of Pisgah Forest, we stopped in an outfitter store. They had a scale, so we weighed Matilda. She weighed 8.5 pounds. She only weighed 6 pounds when we left home 12 days ago. I'm not sure we've even fed her 2.5 pounds of food. She will be 8 weeks old tomorrow, and is chewing on everything in sight.