From Piney Creek to Mount Airy

We arrived to Mount Airy NC at noon ,this is our 5th stop on the 2012 trip  ,it was so hot that we stayed in the trailer with A/C till 5PM and then took of to down town Mount Airy.

The Mayberry C.G (just 5 miles from town) can accommodate any size of RV,has full hookups including cable TV,but no shade at all.

We chose this place as It is close to Hanging Rock S.P,Pilot Mountain S.P it is also near to some nice towns and wineries on the Crocked road area.

     

 

The D/T is all about Andy Griffith and Wally Spencer,movie sets,old cars,gas stations and ice-cream soda parlors ,it felt like stepping back in time-but unfortunately everything (except food)is closed at 5PM….

    

    

So we strolled along the Main street ,treated ourselves with an Ice Cream soda and enjoyed the place, you would not believe the prices back then, I would like to change oil for $4.50 or lube for $1.25-how did it go so high since then???

Well, I saved $2.00 today –I washed the truck myself….

                         

I hope the storm will stay away from our way and we can go ahead with our plans.

Thanks for visiting.

4th day Piney Creek NC-Stone Mountain S.P NC

Stone Mountain Creek State  Park North Carolina is an hour drive from our C.G in Piney Creek ,the park .

Located on more than 14,100 acres in Wilkes and Alleghany counties, Stone Mountain State Park offers cascading waterfalls and cool mountain streams, quiet forests abundant with wildlife, scenic hiking trails and a historic mountain homestead.

One of the park's most spectacular features is Stone Mountain, a 600-foot granite dome. This magnificent feature is part of a 25-square-mile pluton, an igneous rock formed beneath the earth's surface by molten lava. Over time, wind, water and other forces gradually eroded the softer layers of rock atop the granite block and exposed the outcrop we see today. Wet weather springs continually carve troughs in the granite as water runs down the mountain's sloping face.

Established in 1969 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975, Stone Mountain is bounded by the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Thurmond Chatham Game Lands.

Long before becoming a state park, Stone Mountain was settled by families of English, German, Irish, French and Scotch-Irish descent who built the log homes, farms, mills, churches and schools needed for self-sufficient communities.

We decided to hike a strenuous  Stone Mountain Loop Trail for 4.5 Miles round trip as it has it all:Waterfalls,Cascades,Brooks,Bridges,view to the STONE and 400 steeps….(well we did not hike yesterday..)

Rhododendron flowers covered the trail  that  created a beautiful carpet of colors .

From close by I could l get a good shot of the flower still on the bush.

                               

All along the trail we found beautiful hidden corners and we took the time to enjoy as many as we could ,the atmosphere,the bird songs and the tranquility were all over the place and I do not have enough words to describe the our feelings,so I will let the pictures tell the story (one picture=thousand words)

   

    

After the hike we found a picnic place in the woods,it was so quite that we could almost hear the grass grow.

The magnificent Stone was visible form the Hutchinson Homestead area  where some old building are on site.

    

                               

On the way back we closed the windows,put the a/c on strong enough to cool us down without disturbing Frank Sinatra playing “My Way” and we were on OUR way…..

Thank you for visiting. 

3rd Day Piney Creek NC-Blue Ridge Music Center

WARNING-No Hiking or Waterfalls in this post ,sorry Jim and Sandie,but tomorrow we will compensate you for todays loss.

We took a scenic drive to visit the small towns in the area,starting from Sparta NC,a nice small pictures town,that can offer a visitor a good coffee in the local coffee shop with free internet and nice seating,a small produce shop that sells a variety of fruits,vegetables and Jams ,we did not get close to the avocado as they coast the same as gold…and a small theatre that is about to be opened to the public in 2 weeks and has maybe 30 chairs in it.

We then continued to The Blue Ridge Music Center and were lucky enough to meet Willard Gayheart & Scott Freeman that played and sang old mountain music,we enjoyed it so much that  we stayed and listened for 2 hours and took their music with us by buying their CD.

    

A busy  hamming bird was buzzing around the feeder and it took me 11 shots to catch a good one of this bird that can not stand still for one single moment…

Our next stop was Galax VA  located on the crooked road ,we strolled the downtown area that has many small nice shop and got directions to the New River Trail from the tourist information lady.

47 miles is the total length of the New River Trail  with many entering points,it is meant only for horses ,bikes and hikers,along the trail C.G and cabins can be found for those who like to stay overnight,we walked( not  hiked) along the trail for half an hour and returned to the truck.

On the way back to our C.G in Piney Creek we felt that we deserved a treat after this long “exhausting “ day so we stopped at the famous and the only  BBQ restaurant in the area and had the best BBQ chicken and BBQ Pork Chops you can imagine (while Clint Eastwood was watching our back…)

Good weather,great views,fantastic music and delicious food-what else one can ask for…

Thanks for visiting.

2nd day Piney Creek NC-Grayson Highlands S.P VA

Grayson Highlands is Virginia's third largest state park with just over 4500 acres of land and is located in Grayson County near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The elevation is higher than any other state park in Virginia and  best known for  beautiful vistas and the wild ponies that live in the highlands (we did not see any). Expect to see spectacular views from  many trails and overlooks, such as the famous Sugarlands Overlook on the main park road. On a clear day, you can see for 70 miles and in the fall the red leaves of the sugar maples create a beautiful sight.

We chose 2 hikes ,first- The Cabin Creek Trail ,2 miles round trip as the trail is a long a running Creek and a waterfall ,I must say that we expected the waterfall to be more with water but maybe at the end of June that’s what you get.

The second hike –Big&Small Pinnacle 1.6 miles R/T, it was very rewarding as you could see 360 from the highest point in this magnificent park.

       

      

After a picnic we decided to get “lost” on the way back and took the back roads from the park to our C.G ,the way to do it is you put your GPS on “Shortest” instead of “Fastest” (it is like this in my Tom Tom) and let the GPS lead to you through some stunning places you would never drive without this instrument,I tried to find a road without view but there was none ,all roads in this area are like taken from paradise.

That’s it for today ,we try to hike every day to keep the doctor away……

From Bluff City TN to Piney Creek NC

From a huge C.G in Bluff City with no shade and loos gravel to a small ,shaded,on the S.Fork New River C.G in Piney Creek NC and what a change it is.

Rivercamp USA is located on the historic New River in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains,it has full hook ups and some sites are waterfront,canoes,kayaks and tubes can be rented on sight for a fun day floating down the gentle New River.

           

           

From Bluff City we followed Hwy 81 to Marion and from there a very scenic curvy road Hwy 16 South,it did not take us more than 2 hours from the time we departed till we settled down.

The C.G is located in a central location for our further activities and side trips.

CAMPGROUND VIEW

Taking it easy the rest of the day.

7th Day Bluff City TN-A Day OFF

It is our last day in this location and we decided to take a day off ,get some groceries,go to the pool,and get things done in the 5W.

But plans is one thing and reality is another,at 10PM (yesterday) we suddenly lost power throughout the trailer ,I did all the regular things,looked to see if it is only us or power is out in the C.G,checked the electrical box outside and the fuse box in the trailer.

Finally I figured out that the Hot Water Tank is causing the problem , so I emptied the tank and regained electricity.

I sent an e-mail to Crossroads service and asked for help,next morning there was an answer advising me to go to a local RV repair shop.

I called the local RV repair mobile person recommended highly by the C.G management  and at 5:30PM ,an hour earlier than scheduled he arrived with his “shop”.

In no time he found the problem-BAD FACTORY WIRING

Accordingly to the repair person it could cause a fire easily, so we are lucky to end this episode with only $171 less in our bank account. 

So this was our last day here,it is a part of any RVers life from time to time ,we put it behind us and are ready for some dinner with wine .

Thank you for visiting.

6th Day Bluff City-Grandfather Mtn.NC&Blowing Rock NC

Grandfather Mountain is the highest peak on the Blue Ridge , a hanging bridge connects parts of the mountain to the top ,there a few trails in the area from all of them there is fantastic view that is hard to describe with words http://www.grandfather.com/about/

Just before the Mountain a Gospel Festival took place starting at10Am till 3pm ,the place was crowded and a few bands took turns playing on the stage facing the beautiful Grandfather Mountain.

            

After 2 hours of great music we drove to the Grandfather Mountain S.P,after been separated from 30$ (expensive) we entered the park taking the round-trip around it and discovered every possible corner.

The scenery all over is stunning and although it was misty it did not take any of the beauty,in a clear day it is possible to see Charlotte (accordingly to the ranger).

           

              

             

We found a great place for a picnic and drove to Blowing Rock a beautiful manicured town,with nice shops,playgrounds nestled between the mountains,we were greeted by a Blue Grass Band playing in street while people sat around to listen.

Just a short distance from the town The Blowing Rock Trail located and the legend says:

that a Chickasaw chieftan, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams.

One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.

It was a nice long drive “home” and as I am writing this blog I experience it all the great minutes of the day  all over again.

5th Day Bluff City-Abingdon VA

Just opposite our C.G in Bluff City is a huge Flea Market operating only on weekends,not that we needed or wanted anything to buy but could not resist  the temptation of poking around  the endless stands loaded with tools,toys,dolls,and all other kind of unidentified stuff…..so we spent 2 hours in the heat looking around and you know what we came back with STUFF….don’t we always?

After lunch and a snooze we drove to Abingdon VA located on the music trail so called the Crooked Road  .

At first we hit the Barter Theatre on the main street ,a very known old establishment and found out that at 8:30PM a musical named Legally Blond is on stage and there are still tickets left.

We were asked our address,telephone number,E-mail address –I thought we came to buy tickets for the show I said to the nice lady in the ticket boot and not get a citizenship…yes she said but this is the procedure…well now after you explained it so nicely it makes sense   it is clear it is the PROCEDURE..OK we got 2 tickets’ it was only 5:30 so  went to kill some time by driving down the road to a Blues Festival in Latture Field behind the Police HQ and next to a huge grave yard (don’t the tenants there deserve some music too. .)

It was really fun,but people at the Theatre did not know about it and there was no notice anywhere in the streets or even near the park about the event,so we were lucky to read about it on one of the local newspapers.

In the park there was a Beer section -a beer tank some tables and chairs surrounded with a fence,at the entrance were sited 2 people  and their job was to allow into the “Beer section” only people over the age of 18,so here we go and they ask us to show an ID,very flattering but  we do not look like anything close to 18 or even 50….OK we show our ID (a law is a law) so after they searched very seriously for the birthdate on our DL and made the math they put a band on our hand with 3 stripes on it meaning we can get  only 3 drinks per person,each time you take a beer they rip off a strip-we were very impressed…

     

Of course if you wanted to cheat it was easy ,go out and come back again and get a new band or drink your wife’s beer…but no one does that-so why bother with the band???? Just a thought.

I almost forgot,the play in the Baker theatre was FANTASTIC,we even got a present for being the ones that came all the way from Israel ,further than anyone in the audience.

Important Remark-all that is written here is in no way meant to criticize it was all done in good humor-thank you.