Last night was a beast. We went to sleep at about 9:30 CST which made it late for us at 10:30 EST. The air-conditioning in the RV made it tolerable and I, always the optimist, figured that as the outside temperature dropped, and the inside temperature rose, we would have the lower humidity on our side. Put another check in the wrong column. At midnight it was 82 in the RV with not a breath of air. I opened all the windows and vents and the temperature dropped to 81 and the humidity went up. We switched from the upper bunk to the lower where I looked like a 12” long wurst in an 8” roll. I drank water so I could sweat better and we laid there and roasted all night long. We would have moved outside where we had a better option for catching a breeze but I didn’t; want to set up a free buffet for the bugs, so we laid there and cooked. Continue reading
Great Smokies to Mammoth Cave
Since we had gotten in from Clingman’s dome very late the night before, we found a View next to us in the morning. We awoke to discover Robbie and her husband Cory from southern Mississippi parked next to us in the morning. It was a 2008 View H, identical to ours, except cleaner and with some tricked out windows and accessories. They are exceedingly nice people. We talked for a while about the pluses of owning a View. They bought theirs new, and Cory built a storage shelter for it by their house with full hookups. The condition of the View’s roof looks as if new, so it was a good decision on his part to build the structure. They have a married daughter and a son who attends Florida State University. The outside colors of the View is happily the same colors as FSU. Continue reading
Cades Cove
As I write this I’m sitting at a turnout just east of Clingman’s Dome waiting for the sun to set. We decided to finish both our day and stay in the Great Smoky Mountains at Clingman’s dome partially because we were shut out the last time we attempted to make plans without consulting with Mother Nature. After fueling up in Pigeon Forge earlier in the afternoon, we headed back to the park and headed straight for Clingman’s dome. Continue reading
Shenandoah National Park July 11
We woke early, turned over and went back to sleep. Vacation is great, especially when you have a loose schedule. The plan for today was to get to Loft Mountain Campground and see the sights. Cereal and coffee started the day, we broke camp, and it’s getting easier all the time, and headed south. We hit all the overlooks and drove through Lewis Mountain Campground. The camp seemed mostly 1930’s style family cabins. We continued south and at Eaton Hollow Overlook we spotted what I thought to be a fishing lure at the top of f tree. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what it looked like. Turned out it was a bird. It stayed there and sang for a long time, so long that I was able to change out lenses to get a better picture, and then return for the video camera. No video, it flew. A quick reference in the bird book, and Lo!, it was an Indigo Bunting. A beautiful bird that somehow glowed blue/turquoise with a very sweet song. We really enjoyed its presence. Continue reading
Shenandoah National Park, Great Meadows
Early morning rain shower had everyone scrambling to cover up and take in. I left out the chairs, table and firewood from the night before, so I put up the awning low and moved the firewood and went back to bed. It was much better than the middle of the night scratching on the table outside. I was sound asleep when I got up and took care of that, so I have no idea what was going on then. Continue reading