The "I"s Have It

Yesterday afternoon we reluctantly departed Thousand Trails Horseshoe Lakes and within 5 minutes had left Indiana and were in Illinois "The Land of Lincoln". We spent the day cruising across northern Illinois. About dusk we crossed the Mississippi River near Moline and then the Cedar River and the Iowa River near Davenport, IA. We passed through only "I" states on this day. The Cedar and the Iowa Rivers were in high flood a few weeks ago, but seem to be largely back within their banks now. We spent the night at "Camp Wal-Mart" just outside Iowa City. Wal-Marts are great places to stop for a quick layover. They are often convenient to the interstate, relatively safe and secure (most have parking lot cameras and security patrols) and the price is right. We usually drop much more $$$ in groceries than we would have spent at a campground. When we park overnight at a Wal-Mart (or any other similar establishment) we try to be inconspicuous. We make it a point to arrive after dark and do not put out slide rooms, chairs, or anything else that might make it look like we are "camping". We park on the fringe of the parking lot, usually with a small group of other RVs.

We are now parked at Amana Colonies RV Park, in the heart of the Amana Colonies. We are attending a 20th aniversary reunion rally of Safari International, the social organization for Safari motor homes. We no longer own our Safari TREK, but have many good friends who own TREKs and still attend TREK rallies. One of the trademark features of Safari products was a wildlife mural on the rear by one of the members of the Dame family. Our TREK had a family of snow leopards created by Dennis Dame. Dennis is here doing custom murals for $1900 a pop. In this photo he is painting over an older mural and creating a new custom mural because the owners wanted something different. For $1900, I'd go for a whoop-ass solar array instead. There are about 200 coaches registered for this rally. We are looking forward to exploring the Amana villages, but it will be difficult to find time between all the rally activities.

Matilda is doing fine. She will be twelve weeks old on Thursday. She is still chewing, but now is chewing less on us and more on inanimate objects (carpet, chairs, shoes, etc.) . She is very frisky and is the star of the rally. Everyone thinks she is precious. Fortunately Matilda is on her best behavior when greeting her "fans".

The Land of the Hoosiers

We are camped at Thousand Trails Horseshoe Lakes about 15 miles north of Terra Haute , IN, in the heart of the Wabash River valley. We had a choice of several Thousand Trails preserves as a layover spot on our way to Amana Colonies, IA. We had also seriously considered Thousand Trails Indian Lakes, just west of Cincinnati, which was actually closer to our intended route. We ruled that preserve out primarily because it was so close to Cincinnati, and we felt like it would be busy with weekend campers from the city. We were also intrigued by the description of Horseshoe Lakes, which boasts about a dozen spring-fed lakes on-site. It turns out we made a great choice. I think Horseshoe Lakes is the most pleasant TT preserve we have been in yet. It has a relatively small number of campsites, but is a large park and very spread-out. Most sites are on a lake, or just across the road from a lake. I can launch the canoe and fish from our campsite. It is a very quiet and scenic place. This morning the place was only about 25% full, but a lot of people did come in this afternoon, and it may be close to full tonight. I think most are weekenders and will be gone tomorrow afternoon.

Matilda is growing about an inch a day (we have nick-named her "Kudzu") and is acquiring great stamina. Today we took her for several long walks and let her play with a few of the neighbor dogs. She had a great time, and it is doing her good letting her wear herself out chasing and playing with canine companions. We let her get in the canoe a few times, but the boat was on the grass, not in the water. We let her get into the water once, but she didn't want to go in a second time. Perhaps we will take her out in the canoe tomorrow. We have also started teaching her some commands. She is as smart as a whip. It won't be long until she is outsmarting us.

We ran into some Safari TREK friends, Al and Cathy here. They have been here three weeks, but are leaving tomorrow. We will see them again at the Safari rally next week and again at the FMCA convention in St. Paul MN the week after that. It seems everywhere we go, we run into old friends.

We will stay here until Monday, then head north and west towards Amana Colonies for the first of our three scheduled rallies. If all goes well, we will arrive in Amana, IA on Tuesday.

Off Again

Dorcas and I are leaving this morning on our next great adventure, "Upper Midwest Summer 2008". We will spend tonight on the road then three nights at Thousand Trails near Clinton Indiana. From there we will head to Amana Colonies, Iowa, for back-to-back Safari and Country Coach Rallies. Amana is in the heart of the flooding in Iowa, only about 10 miles from Cedar Rapids and from Iowa City, but the RV park is largely unaffected and is "business as usual." Then on to St. Paul, Minnesota, for an FMCA convention. After that, our plans are less well defined. We will spend a great deal of time paddling and biking in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Near the end of August we will meet our friends in Ely, MN, for our annual Boundary Waters trip. After that we will turn towards home, probably via Michigan's UP, returning home sometime near the end of September.

Today we are doing final packing and chores. Matilda is eleven weeks old today and has an appointment with her vet for her 12 week vaccinations. I really can do the math, but our vet said it was OK to bring her in a week early, since we will be traveling. The vet will give us her 16 week vaccinations and we will administer them when it is time.

Flashback Friday: A Tandem Unicycle Ride

It's a slow news week here on the home front. Dorcas and I are trying to beat the heat and keep Matilda from eating us out of house and home; or rather keeping her from eating our house and home. I'm hard at work making repairs and modifications to the coach and preparing it for our next trip.

Flashback Friday is a new feature here at "The Adventures of Myron and Dorcas". I know it's not Friday yet, but I just couldn't wait. In this feature I will post some experiences and/or photos from the past. Faithful readers will remember a few weeks ago when we saw a person unicycling on a mountain trail in the Jefferson National Forest. That experience reminded me of one a few years ago when Dorcas was treated to a rare tandem ride on a unicycle. The occasion was the Dixie Classic Fair in WS. Steve Mills is a world class unicyclist and juggler, and Dorcas had no idea what to expect when she was called onto the stage. I'm glad, and I'm sure Mr. Mills is glad, that he didn't call on ME!

Home Again

Dorcas and I, and little Matilda arrived home last night late. After six nights at Mt. Pisgah CG on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we reluctantly left the relative cool there at EL 4980' and headed down the hill to the sweltering Piedmont. Had we not had appointments today in WS, we would still be on the mountain. We spent Sunday afternoon with my mother in Morganton, and helped her with some chores. Specifically, we hung some pictures, re-hung some pictures we had previously hung and moved some furniture. Mom is about to get all of her stuff settled and nailed down. Unfortunately, she is still missing a few things. They will show up sooner or later though, because we left nothing in Mississippi and we left nothing on the trucks.

I have posted several photos of Matilda previously, but Dorcas insisted I post this one showing Matilda with several of her favorite chew toys. Her most favorite chew toy is not shown, however. That toy's name is Dorcas. Matilda really likes how that toy smells and tastes, and especially how it squeals and moves when she bites it. I hope she outgrows that chew toy very soon.

We will be home for a few weeks and then off to the upper midwest. We will leave sometime near the end of June and will attend the first of three RV rallies beginning July 1 in Amana Colonies in Iowa. From there we will go on to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, coming back home sometime in September.

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.

Onward to the Great Smoky Mountains

They don't have the part I need at Buddy Gregg Motor Homes to perform the recall, so Dorcas and I have decided to head into the Cataloochee Valley on the eastern edge of the GSMNP. I have not camped there in about 20 years and Dorcas has never camped there. We did do a backpacking trip originating there many years ago, but weren't able to see the resident elk or see much of the historic features in the valley. The Cataloochee area has some nice hiking trails. There is good biking along the roads, and has many historic structures. It also has some nice fishing streams, but I haven't packed any tackle. (Note to self: pack fishing tackle.) The road into Cataloochee is largely unpaved and there are some steep and curvy sections, but we should have no serious problems. We will enter from the west via Big Creek area. That route is the shortest from our current location, but it involves more miles of secondary roads, although, those secondary roads are probably less rugged than the approach from the east.

We will have no phone service and no internet, and therefor will be incommunicado with the outside world while in the valley. We also will have no hook-ups, although that is no problem for us. We will stay until about Saturday or Sunday .... unless we decide to pack up and go somewhere else. If the temperature gets to hot there, we might move up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mt. Pisgah maybe?

1) Which Way To Go????? 2) Awning All in a Flap

We have had a great time at this rally. Lots of good friends; lots of Country Coach technical talk. Tomorrow we will leave Sevierville, but are not sure now where we will go. We could go east (the Smokys); we could go north (Mt. Rogers area); or we could go west (Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, Knoxville). First thing Monday morning we will call Buddy Gregg Motor Homes. If they can fit us in for an easy recall project, we will go that way. Otherwise, we will head for the hills. We don't need to be home until Monday, a week from tomorrow.

The technical project for the week has been to replace the roller spring in our rear slide topper/window awning. A week ago while camped at Stony Fork the awning roller spring broke, during the middle of the night without apparent provocation. Consequently, the awning unfurled and no amount of rude language would convince the fabric to return to its coiled state in the housing. I couldn't drive the coach with the awning in this manner, so Terry and I removed the whole awning assembly from the slide. I called Carefree of Colorado, the manufacturer of the awning, and described the problem. Carefree would not agree to repair the awning under warranty. First, the 4-year warranty ended 5 months ago; second, I am not the original owner of the unit. Dang. They did provide me with a part number and a list of Carefree dealers in the area. The first dealer I called said he had the part on his truck, but he was a mobile service guy and would charge $60 to bring me the part (his usually house call fee) plus labor to install, plus the cost of the part, plus the shipping charge to replace the part he already had in-hand. Thanks, but no thanks. The second guy I called said he had a complete assortment of Carefree awning springs, but when I described the specific application, he said he didn't have it: "Those springs never break". That's encouraging. Finally I called Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, a Country Coach dealer west of Knoxville. They had three in stock. Furthermore, they had a demo coach coming to our rally in Sevierville and could put the part in the storage bay. Sweet! It turns out that the demo coach had the campsite next to ours reserved for the rally. Free delivery to our back door. Extra sweet!

At this point it gets ugly. The spring must be installed in an aluminum tube, tensioned to a certain specification and then all the parts re-installed on the coach slide. Easier said than done. I had instructions telling how to install the awning parts to the coach, but the roller assembly, as originally supplied from the manufacturer, has the spring already installed and is pre-tensioned. I had no instructions describing how to install and tension the spring in the roller tube. Ok, I used to be an engineer, and there were 25 other Country Coach owners parked within 100' of our coach, all offering advice. This is doable. OK, the last part about the other owners probably wasn't a good thing. But I took it apart, I should be able to put it back together. That's when one of the other owners observed that my old spring was coiled in one direction, but the new spring was coiled in the opposite direction. Only one broken spring came out of the roller and it was tensioned on the left side; the Carefree guy only gave a single part number and said it was a left-hand spring. The label on the new spring had the correct part number and indicated "left". But there was no way I could correctly tension the spring if I installed it on the left side. The only thing I could figure was that a mirror-image, right-hand spring, had been mis-labeled at the factory. Either that or an assembly line guy or a parts guy likes playing cruel jokes on motor coach owners. It was now Saturday afternoon and there was no way to get a replacement part before Monday, short of calling the mobile service guy. I wasn't that desperate. Not yet, anyway. After a great deal of pondering, it became apparent that I could install the spring on the opposite side, the right side and tension it in the opposite direction than the original spring. I went through all the mental gymnastics of determining how to install the spring, which direction to tension it, which direction to roll the fabric and the straps, how to hold it in tension while I reinstalled it to the slide, etc. Thankfully, all the other CC owners had left the park to go to dinner, and I could talk to myself and draw pictures with my fingers in the air without anyone I knew thinking I was insane or talking to me or distracting me. Finally, after I thought I had it all figured out, I called Dorcas out to go over my thinking, and so she could be a scapegoat, if things went all wrong. The final assembly was actually fairly anticlimactic. I worked from the ground on the ladder, and Dorcas was on her belly leaning out over the edge of the coach. We had it all back together and installed on the coach before everyone returned from dinner. It now works much better than it did before; much better, in fact, than the corresponding front slide topper awning. When I get home, I think I will try re-tensioning and lubricating the forward awning. If it breaks while tensioning, I can repair it in the sanctity of my own driveway, with all my own tools. I would rather have it break there, while I have time to get the part and don't have to get anywhere, than I would repairing it on the road .... again.

Photo of the Week

I don't know what this tournament is about. I do know that I am going to be nowhere near the pavilion on Saturday at 10:00.

Stampede!!!!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bicycle Fleetwood to Todd: A Most Calamitous Bike Ride

The bike ride from Fleetwood to Todd and return in Ashe County is a very popular ride. This Sunday a number of our friends met on this overcast Sunday for what was supposed to be an easy and uneventful ride. Little did they know .... The route follows the South Fork of the New River along an old railroad grade and probably doesn't rise more than five feet during its ten-mile length. Thousands of bikers negotiate this route each summer, most without incident. Not so on this day. In the following account the names have been changed to protect the stupid. The day started out OK. Dorcas and I arrived at the parking lot on time. I unloaded our bikes and gear. I then proceeded to pump up our tires. While doing so, the valve stem blew out of my rear tube and went flying across the river. Of course the tire immediately went flat. There was no chance of locating and re-installing the valve stem, but thankfully I had a spare tube. I installed the new tube and was ready to go. However, it is now 1/2 hour after our meeting time and the rest of our group had not arrived. Then Dorcas gets a call. It turns out that Biker No. 1, who is not accustomed to carrying bikes on the top of his car, does the drive-through at McDonald's in North Wilkesboro. You get the picture? Thankfully the bikes are not damaged, but the sign is mangled. It takes about 15 minutes to untangle the bikes from the bar and chains hanging from the "Low Clearance" sign. In the meantime the other drive-through diners get rude and things start to get ugly. The manager calls the cops. The cops arrive and bring on a ton of reports and paperwork. Things must be pretty dull in North Wilkesboro on a Sunday morning. Film at 11:00. Finally the bikers escape McDonald's and arrive at the trail head only about 1 1/2 hours after the appointed time.

The ride to Todd was uneventful. We had lunch at the old Todd Country Store, where Biker No. 2 was busted for taking pictures inside the store. I am pleased to know that Homeland Security is alive and well, and keeping the Todd Country Store safe. After a very nice lunch at the store, we started our return ride to Fleetwood. Not far from the start, I stop to put on my jacket. As I catch up with the group, I see a tangle of bodies and bikes in the road. Oh no!!! My first thought was that Dorcas had taken a spill. On most bike rides Dorcas takes a spill. But this time it wasn't Dorcas. It turns out that Biker No. 3 had run off the road onto the shoulder and then suddenly back onto the road. Biker No. 3 then collided with Biker No. 2 resulting in a tangle of pedals handlebars and wheels, with both bikers going down in the road. Biker No. 3 was uninjured, but Biker No. 2 had a badly bruised and swollen knee. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, and everyone was able to bike on. About a mile from the finish Jim and I were biking side-by-side when a car approached from ahead. I sprinted ahead to get into single file and my chain broke. I looked back and it was laying in the road like a snake. My first reaction was to stop and turn around to go get the chain, but I quickly realized it would be better to just keep going ahead. I was only about a mile from the car, and it was all down hill, as it were. I hollered back for someone to pick up my chain, and I hunched into my best low-profile racing crouch. Eventually I slowed and began pushing off like I was on a scooter. Finally, about a half mile from the finish, I grabbed Jim's luggage rack and he towed me the rest of the way in. The way things were going you might expect that that would lead to another catastrophe, but you would be mistaken. Jim and I arrived safely at the parking lot without incident. By now everyone has arrived at the parking lot, and you might expect that there would be no more calamities, but, again, you would be mistaken. Before parking his bike, Biker No. 4 (Evel Knievel) rides over a pile of logs and wipes out. Woodpile 1, knee 0. Thankfully we all survived to ride another day.

Off to the Buffalo River

The Buffalo River is by far the best camping river we have ever paddled on. It flows freely through public land in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas for over 135 miles before converging with the White River. Along its course it flows by numerous 300' limestone bluffs and large gravel beaches, perfect for primitive camping.

Tomorrow we are leaving home headed to the Buffalo River.We hope to put on the river on Tuesday afternoon for a 10-day camping trip. We had originally planned to leave yesterday and put on today, but were thwarted by high water levels due to monsoon-like spring rains and storms. Barring further rain, water levels should be perfect when we put-in on Tuesday. We are hoping the heavy rains will stay away for the duration of our trip. As you can see in this hydrograph, water levels can and do reach flood stage very quickly after a heavy rain event. Anything above 8.5' at this station is rated for "Experienced Floaters Only" Above 12.5' the National Park Service "closes" the river. The long term forecast doesn't look too bad. Wish us luck and bon voyage.

I won't be able to update this journal again until we get off the river about Apr 24.

Photo of the Week

I guess he drove his Chevy to the levee ...... but the levee didn't stay dry.

Paddle: Mitchell River

We had planned to paddle on the Uwharrie on Saturday with friends. The Uwharrie is a nice float and the water level was good, but the weather was terrible. Several newbies who particularly wanted to paddle the Uwharrie backed out, so we postponed that trip. Instead, we decided to paddle on the Mitchell River on Monday with our friends Wayne and Lynda. The Mitchell heads up in Alleghany County and flows into the Yadkin River near Elkin. It is very difficult to catch the Mitchell with enough water to paddle. Typically you have to put on just after a hard rain but before the roads begin to dry. Ferguson sites a minimum level of 2.4'. Yesterday the river peaked at 4.5', so we decided to give it a shot. By the time we put on the river today, the level was 2.5' and dropping fast.

I had not paddled the Mitchell in about five years. For Dorcas, it had been even longer. I had forgotten how scenic and unspoiled it is. The Mitchell has dozens of 2-3' ledges that are not very hard, but that are a little technical and really keep you on your toes. We had no difficulties, but did put some wear on the bottom of the boat. We put on at Kapps Mill and took out at NC 268, a distance of about 14 miles. We saw dozens of belted kingfishers, mallards and great blue herons. We saw a few ospreys. A wild turkey flew across in front of the boat and landed on the right bank before scurrying into the rhododendrons. Normally we see some deer on this trip, but not today.

After the paddle we stopped at our favorite burger joint in the greater Elkin area, Basin Creek Country Store. While waiting for our burgers and wings to be served, I dazzled everybody with my gaming prowess. I swung a washer tied to a string hanging from the ceiling onto a hook in the wall 10' away. It only took me 147 tries.

Izaak Remembered

Today is the first anniversary of Izaak's death. Izaak was, by far, the best dog I have ever had. He did everything with us; he paddled, he hiked, he even biked on occasion. He had a great disposition and everyone loved him. Even Wayne admitted: "He was pretty good .... for a dog." We still miss Izaak terribly and think of him every day.

We want another dog, but had decided that we would not start looking until the end of the summer. We had planned to visit Isle Royale National Park on Lake Superior this summer and you can't take a dog onto the island. We have learned that our friends, who really wanted to visit Isle Royale, won't be able to meet us there this year, so we may skip that destination. Consequently we are now receptive to another dog adopting us. We won't look very hard. When the right dog comes along he will find us. In the meantime, we have told our friends to be on the lookout. We continue to pet OPDs (other people's dogs) every chance we get.