Linville Gorge Dayhike

We had not done a real hike in a long time. We had been home from three months in Florida for less than a week. What kind of real hiking can you do in Florida? Our friend Andy called and proposed a hike in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. Anytime you hike into the Linville Gorge, well, that's a real hike. He had heard of a special place near the lower part of the river known as Daffodil Flats. It's not on any map but he thought he could find it. It was reported to be an open area with thousands of daffodils. If our calculations were right, they should be in peak bloom about now. Andy sometimes plans rather ambitious hikes, and we had no reason to believe this one would not be hard. It would probably be hard even if we were in good shape. But we are always a sucker for Andy's hikes, so we loaded our packs and I donned my brand new virgin LL Bean Leather GoreTex Cresta Hikers and off we went.

We met Andy at the usual place: the Burger King off I-40 at the Icard exit. From there we proceeded towards Lake James and up the Kistler Memorial Highway (a pretentious name for a steep , mostly single lane, gravel road) to the Pinch-In Trailhead. We put in and began our 1800' descent into the gorge. The trail started rather gently and passed through a recently burned area, which offered unusual and outstanding views of of the gorge and Shortoff Mountain on the far rim. The trail then dropped steeply into the gorge, with no switchbacks and no relief for aching toes and knees. Did I mention my new boots? Normally one would not want to wear out-of-the-box boots on such a trip, but this is my fifth pair of Bean Cresta Hikers and I have always been able to wear them without any break-in period. Today my luck held once more and my feet hurt no more than anyone else's.

Before long we reached the bottom of the gorge and the Linville Gorge Trail. Our exit route was left and upstream, but Daffodil Flats would be right and downstream, at least a mile. So we turned right and proceeded down the Linville Gorge Trail. Most of the Linville Gorge Trail is very rugged. It is steep, poorly graded and poorly maintained, if maintained at all. If a tree falls across the trail, hikers will blaze a route around the tree, resulting in steep and ugly scrambles. However, this section of the trail, while not very heavily traveled, was relatively level and smooth, with few obstructions. After about an hour and perhaps two miles we reached Daffodil Flats. There we found a flat open area perhaps 150' across, thick with daffodils in bloom. I have seen fields with more daffodils, but never in a setting as rugged and remote as the Linville Gorge. How did they come to be here? Perhaps there was a homestead here once, but that seemed unlikely. We saw no signs of a cabin. Perhaps it had been washed away long ago. After a while taking pictures we backtracked up the river to a gravel beach and ate lunch. From there we started our return trek north up the Linville Gorge Trail. After reaching the junction for the Pinch-In Trail, the Linville Gorge Trail I remembered so vividly reappeared with a vengeance. We scrambled up and down around boulders, downed trees and ravines. We probably averaged less than 1 mile per hour for the next 3.5 miles. We finally reached our exit, the Conley Cove Trail and began our ascent. The Conley Cove Trail is pretty heavily used. We saw signs of trail maintenance and foolishly assumed the trail would be clear. No such luck. We had to negotiate several more particularly nasty downfalls before cresting the ridge and reaching the trail head.

It was a hard hike, but a rewarding one. I think we will give Andy another chance and hile with him again sometime.

Andy writes a pretty good trip report. You can read his version of this hike here.

Paddle: Uwharrie River

After months of paddling on Florida's flat water and slow moving springs, it was refreshing to paddle on some real Piedmont moving water. Wayne and Lynda live near the Uwharrie River and paddle on it almost every other day. So it wasn't long after we returned from Florida that Wayne called and said let's paddle on the Uwharrie. The weather was pleasant and the water level was just right, so off we went. As the tradition goes, we met at Rick's Restaurant in Denton for breakfast, then headed to our put-in at the bridge on High Pine Church Road. Wayne and I shuttled a car to the take-out at the NC 109 bridge. I had not seen Wayne in a few months, so we had a chance to jaw a bit and solve all the worlds problems on the short ride back to the put-in. The Uwharrie River passes through a mix of private and National Forest land, and is relatively unspoiled. It has no significant drops, but it does require some attention as you must maneuver through rock gardens and gravel bars. We had a nice lunch at the the low water bridge about half way down the 14 mile paddle. We arrived at the take-out unscathed. After loading the boats and picking up Wayne and Lynda's car, we had an early dinner at Skipper's Seafood Restaurant in Thomasville, another rut ... er, I mean tradition.

Florida Trip Wrap-up

We have just completed our first annual snow bird tour, and it was a big success. This has been the longest of our three big motor home adventures since Dorcas retired last spring. It was also more relaxed and laid back than our long trips out west New England. We weren't totally slovenly, we walked often and walked fair distances, but we didn't do as many rigorous hikes. Hey, this is Florida after all. We did more tourist-type sightseeing and more just hanging out and relaxing. We stayed in a much smaller geographical area and stayed at more highly developed parks (read: water, electric, sewer WiFi, etc.) than on previous trips. We bounced around central Florida between two Thousand Trails preserves and several motor home rallies and RV shows, generally staying within 75 miles of Clermont. We camped, paddled and biked with at least four different groups of friends from NC, and visited and played with a number of brand new friends we met on this trip. Highlights of our trip included seeing a space shuttle launch, seeing three Disney parks decked out for Christmas and canoeing on many of the best spring runs.

Thanks to our friends and neighbors who watched the home front and made it all possible.

By The Numbers:

• Duration: 95 days or about 13 1/2 weeks
• Distance: 1336 miles (not counting miles in the Honda. I gotta start logging Honda miles!)
• Price of Diesel: $3.069 (Dec 14 departure) $3.859 (Mar 17 arrival home)
• Number of Days Paddling: 20
• Number of Nights at Thousand Trails: 51
• Number of Meals at Crown Club: 32

The Eagle Has Landed

Dorcas and I have arrived safely at home. After leaving Tennessee we visited with some friends in Asheville and Morganton before completing our journey. The house is cold and dark, but otherwise everything appears to be in good order. We will be home for at least a few weeks, and will be eagerly planning our next series of adventures.

Almost Home

We left Mom's house late this morning and made a leisurely drive across the length of Tennessee. The weather was fine and we stopped at practically every rest area. We are camped tonight at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Newport TN at I-40 Exit 435. We hope to be home tomorrow afternoon.

The Last Leg: Shelby MS

Sadly, we departed Florida Sunday morning about 9:00 am. We drove north and west across the length and width of Florida and its panhandle, and after about 600 miles, camped at the Cracker Barrel in Hattiesburg MS. We had lost an hour Sunday morning when we went to Daylight Savings Time, but we got it back Sunday afternoon when we crossed into the Central Time Zone, so that was a wash. This morning, after a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast, we drove the last 220 miles to Mom's house in Shelby MS. Our drive was uneventful except for the bumpy interstates through Jackson, MS. We have been on bumpy roads before, but these were the worst. It's ironic: in Florida there will often be a sign warning of a bump ahead, and we never feel the bump. In Mississippi, I guess they don't have enough "BUMP" signs to go around (Florida must have cornered the market), so they don't bother to put any out. Our coach stands 12'1" tall. We held our breath going under bridges with 14' of clearance, because we figured one end or the other of the coach was two feet off the pavement at any given moment. The bright spot of our trip was buying diesel fuel for $3.469. That may not seem like a big deal, but we had been seeing prices in the high $3.80s and over $3.90 all week. When your tank holds 135 gallons and the needle is on "E", it's a thrill to find a bargain, as it were. We squeezed in every drop we could and filled every empty vessel we could find to boot.

There was 6" of snow here in Shelby on Saturday, but it is all gone now. Today was a wonderful spring day. Mom is in the process of selling her house here and buying a townhouse back in Morganton, NC. I expect Dorcas and I will be helping her pack to move and maybe fill up the car with fragile items.

Our plan is to stay here about a week and then return home. We have been gone since December 14 and we are anxious to be home.

Play Ball: Part Deux

Today we watched the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, the Braves spring training camp. The difference in the venues at Oceola County Stadium and Disney's Wide World of Sports complex was like night and day. The Oceola County Stadium is nice, but the DWWS stadium is grand: much larger, cleaner, colorful and stylish. Of course, this IS Disney, so you would expect it to look nice. Besides that, the entertainment was much more, well, entertaining. There were games and music between innings. Several times the Disney Philharmonic Saxophone Quartet performed between innings, including the seventh inning stretch. These guys were dressed in old-timey baseball uniforms and played different saxophones ranging from harp-sized horns to flute-sized horns. Even the game was much more entertaining. Being a former Braves fan, I recognized a few of their older stars, particularly Chipper Jones and Javier Lopez. Both these guys played at least half the game. The players were very relaxed and had a good time. Chipper Jones hit a long line drive to the outfield during his first at-bat. As another runner was headed for third, Jones got pinned between first and second. Just before getting tagged out in the run-down, Jones called a time out. The umpire didn't buy it of course, but the fans loved it. The Astros won 7-4, but who cares anyway? It was a wonderful day at the ballpark and a fitting last day before we were to leave Florida.

Play Ball: Grapefruit League Style

We have spent a lot of time in Florida during the last few winters, but we have never watched any Major League Baseball spring training or attended any training games. Many MLB teams have training camps all over central Florida and play each other during exihibition/training games in the "Grapefruit League". When we were in Port St. Lucie a few weeks ago we were within walking distance of the Mets training camp and stadium, but they had not started playing games. Time was running out on our Florida trip, and we still had not been to a game. Yikes!!! Well, it turns out that our friends John and Pat had made plans to attend two games. We had become fairly close to John and Pat over the last few weeks. Before we ever met them, I had noticed their motorhome: it is the same model, year and color as ours. It's the first one I had ever seen with the identical color pattern as ours. The only difference is that theirs is a 40' model and ours is a 33' model. It looks just like ours, but on steroids. So John and I had been swapping motorhome woes and fixes, etc., and I had been playing Pickleball with both of them every day. In any case, they invited us to join them for a couple of games.

Today we attended a game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians at Osceola County Stadium about 20 miles away from our camp. It was a warm and hazy day and a great day for baseball. I don't know if they were only playing rookies, or if I'm just out of it, but I didn't recognize any of the players. I guess it was naive to expect to see Roger Clemens pitching. Maybe he's tied up this week lying to Congress. Both teams were changing pitchers every other inning, and I expect most of them are headed back to the minors, because the game was a slug fest. The Indians won 11-5, out-hitting the Astros 19 to 9. Neither team tried very hard to win; apparently that's not the objective in spring training. But that certainly didn't keep us from enjoying the game.

It's a Zoo Out There!

Dorcas is a zoo freak. We have passed by many zoos in our travels, and most were probably quite nice, but we have stopped at very few. Dorcas really wanted to visit Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, but I was a little skeptical. I figured it was a relatively small county operated zoo and wouldn't be that good. I mean it was bound to be a disappointment, with Busch Gardens Africa just down the street and all, and having recently visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom. But Dorcas was determined, and you have to keep Momma happy. Besides, she found a 20th anniversary deal where tickets were $10 each (normally $18.95) with free commemorative T-shirts to boot. Besides that, we needed a reason to go to Tampa and visit the Crown Club one last time before we left Florida. So off we went. I will admit I was pleasantly surprised; the zoo was really very nice. It was larger than expected and had a much wider array of habitats and animals than I expected. The only real down side was that there were hoards of small school kids about, and it was difficult to move without getting ice cream on your knees. Thankfully, the kids were short enough to see over and were gone after lunch. Highlights included the African penguins, a warm-weather species, very content in the West Central Florida climate and the kangaroos and wallabies. The kangaroos and wallabies were in a habitat where you could enter, and if they wished, you could pet them. There was one momma with a baby in her pouch. The baby looked quite large to me; a large head and two large legs protruded from the pouch. She was very nimble bounding around the habitat, even carrying her full load. Another very exciting moment occurred when a large black snake blundered into the habitat of a young Florida panther. The cat anxiously watched the snake for a few moments, and then pounced and chased the reptile. The snake beat the inexperienced hunter to the edge of the habitat and narrowly escaped the attack. Wild Kingdom lives!

We did have one unfortunate technical mishap when leaving the zoo. Dorcas had placed her computer under the seat in the car while we were parked. At some point the CD/DVD drive apparently self-ejected, and when she pulled the unit out from under the seat, the drive caught on something and was mutilated. The PC still works, but the drive unit was totaled. The PC is still under warranty, but we haven't contacted Toshiba yet to see if this kind of abuse is covered. Maybe we could tell them that a gorilla got it and thought it was a piece of Samsonite luggage or an elephant stepped on it. Might be a good advertising angle.

Pedal: West Orange Trail Again

Today we biked on the West Orange Trail. Dorcas and I met our friends Dave and Audrey at the Panera Bread store in Clermont. From there Dave and I sprinted about seven miles on the Hancock and South Lake Trails to Killarney Station where we met Dorcas and Audrey. From there we biked on the West Orange Trail to Winter Garden and lunched at Stromboli's. After lunch Dave and Audrey returned to their car at Killarney, while Dorcas and I continued north on the trail to the Ingram Outpost. We then enjoyed a liesurely 12-mile return ride back to Killarney Station.

Happy Leap Day on the Pinellas Trail

I had been intrigued by the Pinellas Trail since I learned of it several months ago. The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail runs 34 miles from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, pretty much the length of Pinellas County, along an abandoned railway grade. This clearly is an urban trail. I had been told that it crossed busy intersections and was not terribly interesting, but we were compelled to give it a try. We got up early and drove 50 miles to east Tampa and breakfasted at the Crown Club at Lazydays (any excuse to get to the Crown Club!). After breakfast we encountered our biggest challenge: actually getting to the trial. We had decided to do the the northern third of the trail from Curlew to Tarpon Springs. It is almost 30 miles from Lazydays to Curlew and it took almost an hour and a half to get there. Most of that time was spent on I-4 and I-275 in stopped traffic. We finally arrived at the trail and put on at Curlew Road at MP 25. Once we got onto the trail I was pleased to find that it was very enjoyable. There is a separate lane for pedestrians, so conflicts with the foot soldiers are minimized. There were a number of minor cross streets, but at most crossings motor vehicles were required to stop before crossing the trail. Most actually did stop. There were also a couple of major thoroughfares to be crossed. The end of the trail at MP 34.5 was fairly anti-climatic. The last mile weaved through a subdivision and then just ended. We reversed our course but took the spur into the North Anclote River Nature Park. The spur trail was a dead end, but we bushwacked through the preserve to the other side and pedaled to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. Tarpon Springs has rich heritage in sponge diving by the Greek community. I had visited Tarpon Springs over 20 years ago and found it very quaint and interesting. As usual, things change, and today we found it to be very touristy and glitzy. On our return we also stopped at Wall Springs County Park, which was the highlight stop on our ride. It featured an historic spring, a nature trail and an observation tower overlooking Tampa Bay. After a total of about 24 miles, we returned to the car and endured another grueling cross-town drive to the Crown Club for dinner. It was a very enjoyable ride, and I can certainly recommend the Pinellas Trail, if you can get to it.

At TTO Again

We arrived at Thousand Trials Orlando about 1:00 Sunday afternoon after an uneventful drive from Port St. Lucie. We are set up in site D-131. D loop is our favorite in the park, because it is the most wooded and remote of the loops. This is our fourth and final stay at this park this winter. We will be here until Saturday March 9, then head to Mississippi to visit Mom.

In the meantime, we have no specific plans. I hope to play Pickleball about every day. Dorcas may start running again. We may spend a few days biking and canoeing. We have friends we want to visit. But mainly we will just take it easy. I have done a few coach chores and there are a few others on my list. We broke the handle off the washer/dryer (Dorcas the Supergrip) and have ordered the replacement part. This morning we defrosted the fridge, which was severely iced over. I am a little concerned about the fridge function, as it has not been cooling as well as I think it should. Ice cream is a good indicator of fridge cooling. The ice cream is not rock hard, as it should be, but it's not dripping out on the floor either. Now that the fridge has been defrosted, I will monitor the function and try to determine what, if anything, is wrong.

It has been hot and muggy for the past week, but a strong cold front is coming through tonight. It is extremely windy today. There will likely be some storms tonight then lows near 40 in the next few days. BRRRR!!!!

In the Lap of Luxury

Today we mainly hung around the resort and looked at all the lots. We had a list of lots for sale and walked around daydreaming. Undeveloped re-sales started about $120,000 and landscaped lots went up over $250,000. There are lots here I'm sure that go for much more. It's a buyers market, but I don't think we are ready to settle down yet. Too many good places left to see. We did find one lot we liked, however. It faces the right direction, is in a good location, has nice simple landscaping, and is reasonably priced. An investment opportunity??? Maybe in a few years.

Tomorrow we will return to Thousand Trails Orlando and camp with the commoners.

Surf's Up!

Today we did a little shopping and explored the greater Port St. Lucie area. The biggest part of our day was spent cruising the beach on Hutchinson Island between Jensen Beach and Fort Pierce. It was a balmy 85 degrees, but there was a stiff ocean breeze. Excellent winter weather. Much nicer than the sleet and rain we are currently having back home. At the southern tip of the Hutchinson there was a park with about a dozen windsurfers out. The amazing thing is that each sailor appeared to be over 60 years old. Geezer heaven.

We returned to the resort and visited with our friends Jim and Luci, who have been here a couple of weeks. Happy birthday Luci! We first met Jim and Luci at Lazydays and then saw them again at Thousand Trails. They have recently started full-timing and seem to be getting into it. Maybe that's what we will do one of these days.

The more we look at this place, the nicer we realize it is. Outdoor Resorts of America does rent sites by the night, but their real aim is to sell the lots. Naked lots run from about $130,000 to $190,000, based, I guess, on their proximity to the clubhouse. Most owners put another $50,000 to $100,000 or more into developing and landscaping their lots. We're talking palm trees, Disney-type stone work, fountains, etc. Kinda like Beverly Hills with 20' x 80' lots. Many places we go, our coach is the envy of the campground. But here, we are out of our league. I figure the median price of a coach here is $500,000. I don't think we'll buy just yet. We're not ready to settle down.

On the Ocean Side

We are set up at Outdoor Resorts of America at Port St. Lucie near the Atlantic coast. This is perhaps the ritziest place we have ever stayed. The sites normally run $70/night, but we are here on a coupon that allows us to stay 4 days and 3 nights at no charge. We would never pay that much to stay in a campground, even one this nice, so it seemed like a good opportunity. Best of all there is no mandatory sales presentation to attend. Internet access is an additional charge: $2.95/hour or $5.95/day. And that's for a crappy signal, at least it is at our site. If we were paying for the site I would be pissed about the internet charge. As it is I guess we will just have to vow to never come back here again. The resort encompasses an 18-hole golf course and most sites are designed to pull straight in and face the course, rather than back in, as is more common. It looks dangerous. I wonder what happens after a golf ball goes through the windshield.

This is a part of Florida unfamiliar to us. The NY Mets Spring Training Facility is just 1/4 mile down the road. Unfortunately their first game is Feb 29 and we are leaving Feb 24. Maybe we can catch some practice. We are looking forward to exploring the area. Perhaps we will hit some of the beaches. It was almost 80 degrees today, but it is spitting rain now and there is a chance of storms. Rains should diminish tomorrow and the temp is forecast to be 86 degrees.

An Astronomical Day

The space shuttle Atlantis landed safely this morning. We were not able to see it pass over from our camp near Tampa, but faithful readers will remember that we did view it's launch on Feb 7.

The US military shot down a rogue US spy satellite over the Pacific Ocean today. Hit it on the first whack. China is worried. Let 'em sweat. After all, they've been sending us toxic toys and toxic dog food.

There is a lunar eclipse this evening and Dorcas and I are watching it as I write. It started at 8:43 PM and is currently in its totality. The eclipse will end about midnight. It was mostly cloudy all afternoon, but the clouds magically cleared shortly before the start of the eclipse.

Our Country Coach rally ended this morning. Country Coach service technicians spent several hours working in our coach. One tech performed a much-needed wiring repair. There was a completely severed cable serving the security system, and now that system is functioning again. While one technician was working on the security system I consulted with the other technician and received excellent guidance and advice on about a dozen other projects and repairs that I will perform at a later time. A stellar accomplishment.

In the morning we will move about 150 miles to the Atlantic side of the Florida peninsula and camp near Port St. Lucie.

Rally Ho!!!

Today we moved from Thousand Trails Orlando and are camped at Rally Park, an on-site campground at Lazydays near Tampa. We are attending a Country Coach owner's rally here. The rally is hosted by Country Coach Inc. but is also considered as an area rally for three Country Coach area chapters: the Florida Coast-Alongs, the Nor'easters and the Country Cousins, to which Dorcas and I belong. An early count showed 82 registered coaches. Rallies are a lot of fun. Good companionship, good food and drink, and good entertainment. Country Coach Inc. is subsidizing the rally to the extent that the rally fee is approximately equivalent to the camping charges. Country Coach expects to sell 8-10 coaches to rally attendees. If you buy a coach, after you negotiate your best deal, you spin a wheel to earn an additional discount ranging from $2000 to $10,000. Great fun and excitement, but Dorcas and I will resist the temptation to buy a new coach. Another great benefit at this rally is the complimentary coach service. Factory technicians will come to your coach and fix up to three items and spend up to one hour. With RV service rates here at $120/hour this is a big perk. We hope to get our money's worth. The rally ends on Wednesday, but Dorcas and I will stay at Rally Park until Thursday.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

We have been taking it easy here at Thousand Trails Orlando for the past few days. But today was a work day. Today we washed and waxed the coach. At 8:00 AM we started on the roof and washed the coach from top to bottom and stem to stern, finishing just after 10:00. In the middle of the day we took a break and did some easier chores. About 3:00 the real grunt work started. We had never polished the coach before, but we did today. Dorcas polished everything below the side molding about 3.5 feet high, and I did the rest. We finished up just before dark, and it's a good thing, because my arms were falling off. Today I was especially glad we had a 33' coach and not a 45 footer! The coach looks better than we have ever seen it. We will be attending a Country Coach rally tomorrow. Most of the coaches will be bigger than ours and some will be newer than ours, but ours will SHINE!

Happy Anniversary!!!

We are still at Thousand Trails Orlando and will stay here until Sunday when we will move to the Tampa area to attend a Country Coach Rally. Last night was a cool one, getting down to 40 degrees, but the forecast is for warming as we head into the weekend.

Today is Valentine's Day, but more importantly, it is Dorcas' and my seventh wedding anniversary. People have accused me of marrying Dorcas on Valentine's Day in order to kill two birds with one stone, meaning I had to buy only one gift for both events. In reality it was Dorcas' idea all along. There are a couple of other side benefits, however. First, it is difficult to forget our anniversary with all the Valentine's Day hoopla. Second, if (when?) I do forget Valentine's Day and our anniversary, I will only get fussed at once. But if that does happen, it will be one heck of a fuss.

Tonight we are going to dinner with friends to celebrate our anniversary and our friendships.

Disney Again

Faithful readers will remember our friends George and Jackie. We met George and Jackie while traveling in Montana last summer. They winter not far from our camp here, and Jackie works in the Magic Kingdom. Just before Christmas they invited us as their guests to several Disney parks. Today they invited us once again to visit Disney. We chose Animal Kingdom since we had only been there once, the year that Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. The weather forecast indicated rain, but we actually had pretty good weather. It did rain once pretty hard near the end of the day, but we managed to be inside during the worst of it. The highlight ride was Expedition Everest, a relatively mild roller coaster with a very fun theme and some interesting twists. At 200' "Everest" is the tallest "mountain" in Florida. We also saw some excellent shows. The Festival of the Lion King features music, high energy dance and acrobatics. Finding Nemo - The Musical features amazing puppets, original music and a strong story line. We had a great time. Can you not have great time at Disney? Thank you George and Jackie for showing us such a fun day!