May 2023-Heading Back Home

 

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Ace Ventura may feel that way, but I don't know about me... I'm on the first leg of my journey home and the first overnight stay is in Hoover, Alabama. After a 129 mile trip that included a fuel stop and a visit to Publix, both expensive experiences, I'm at the Hoover Met Complex RV Park. The best description I can give is that it is a huge, open parking lot with full hookups for RVs. Automobiles have their own massive lot as seen in the photo below. Adjacent to the The Finley Center, it's perfect for the traveling sports enthusiast who doesn't want to pay for hotel lodgings when a big event is in town. Here at the Hoover Met Complex there are six baseball/softball diamonds, five soccer fields, and sixteen tennis courts. In the Finley Center itself, there are volleyball and basketball courts, a walking track, climbing center and Pickleball courts. A visit to their website will show their offerings.

I'm in site #1 with huge parking lot for cars behind me and fortunately, trees to my west that shaded the afternoon sun.

The Finley Center is a massive state-of-the-art 155,000 square foot sports complex and event venue. With 83,000 square feet of continuous space, the facility can transform to fit the demands of events both large and small, including sports tournaments, banquets, trade shows, recreation programs, and community gatherings.

A quick look around before I take off tomorrow, Thursday.

Thursday to Saturday, May 4-6, 2023

On the road again by 9:00 am, my one fuel-stop got me to Ocoee, TN by 2:30 pm.  I crept along in stop and go traffic for about an hour on I-24 going through Chattanooga as it wound around the Tennessee River. No construction, just massive truck congestion. Otherwise it was smooth sailing at the speed limit, 70 mph.

Ocoee, Tennessee is named after the Cherokee settlement that once thrived here and now the area is best known for its white water rafting on the Ocoee River. The Cherokee National Forest Preserve lies within the neighboring counties. The The Whitewater RV Park campground is right off US-64 with Myrtle's Café at its entrance. On the other side next door is Ocoee RV Park.

My site #2 is a full service pull-through on a level concrete slab and close to Myrtle's Café which I plan to visit for breakfast and maybe a dinner during my two night stay. Ladies in the office were very friendly. They were outside when I arrived and walked over to ask about the decals and stickers that adorn Winnie. They were intrigued by the collection.

Myrtle's Café has no website but has a presence on Facebook. Click the link and try. The number of photo showing the arts and crafts that take place for this area is impressive; there's a lot of talent around here. This is where I found the menu and decided to take a walk over and have breakfast. 

Dining in or out, the entrance and first appearance was very appealing. And seeing the FB page of crafts made in classes here, I anticipated and received just what I imagined.  

Such a cozy atmosphere for dining...uniquely different. Unfortunately, Myrtle relies on the summer tourist crowd, the white water rafters, so she's not open all year round. I liked that she posted a surprise visit in April from the Tennessee Department of Health who visited for an hour and gave her a 99 report. I'll assume 100 is perfect. Very nice.

I'm sure the menu taken from the FB page is too small to read

I chose the French toast with a side of very well done bacon. I hadn't had French toast in awhile and this was most delicious. When I complemented Myrtle she mentioned she got the recipe while visiting the Florida Keys. When she raved about it, the chef invited her into the kitchen and showed her to make them.

Later in the day, I heard this monster of a cab pull up the road just outside my site. What a beautiful rig. How much do one of these beauties cost? I'd love to get a "tour" of the inside of one of them. As it turns out, it backed into the site where a Reflection Grand Design Fifth wheel was parked. The link is provided for those who have never seen the inside of a luxurious Fifth Wheel. Search for the Gallery. They start at around $85,000. That's for the Fifth Wheel, not the cab that tows it. 

Very visible is the message: Women in the Driver's Seat

I did some research and found in the trucking industry, less than 7% of drivers are women and Billy and Cindy Bennett are out to change that. If you follow the link in red above, you'll see they provide CDL-A & Non-CDL-A Business Opportunities for women including job search details. 

If you are so moved, check out the details of what it takes to become a truck driver. The little I knew came from fellow Hudson Islander RVer, Johnny, who has driven for Schneider Trucking for years and is now an instructor. This website and the terms used was an eye opener.

For me, truckers are special; hence the sticker on the backside of my Winnie: "Truckers are the Best". At my last stop-over in Toomsuba, MS, my next door neighbor was a retired truck driver from Michigan. He's recently retired and had been at this campground since October. A very quiet, easy talker, he had recently lost his wife...and his voice and delivery showed it. He wasn't new at driving or traveling the country but now he admits, he's new at having the huge fifth wheel. It broke my heart to hear him say, "And now, I'm lost." I tried to lift his spirits by pointing to the many decals and the nine empty states on my travel map and telling him that he's just gotta go. There's a lot of places to see now that he doesn't have to look straight ahead at the road in front of him. I wished him well.

Saturday to Monday, May 6-8, 2023

Today's 5-hour, 321 mile drive once again gave me reason to exclaim what a totally beautiful country we live in. Driving through Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia provided me with picture post card views. Since leaving Florida, it also marked the first time I've traveled with the elevation reading more than 2,000 feet above sea level emphasizing the enjoyment of the rolling hills of Tennessee and Virginia and the mountains of West Virginia.

A gorgeous day for driving. Temperature remained in the mid-seventies. I noticed drivers are beginning to get the hang of how directional signals operate. I made a stop to refuel and one to break for lunch. Another observation had to do with "road kill." You have images of what you recall as road kill, did you ever see an Armadillo laying belly up on the side of the road? T'was a first for me. As a matter of fact, what do you know of Armadillos? If you've heard of  Ze Frank, you'll enjoy learning and chuckling at "The True Facts of The Armadillo" through this link.

As I traveled northbound along I-77, I was not prepared for the TWO tunnels I encountered. Putting aside any claustrophobic tendencies that I had, I looked at the mountain I was about to go through (under) and merely muttered, "Oh dear." The first was Big Walker Mountain Tunnel near Wytheville, Virginia and is 4,200+ feet long.

About 20 miles to the north was East River Mountain Tunnel, 5,412 feet long. The southern portion of its length is in Virginia, the northern portion in West Virginia.

 

The Brushcreek Falls RV Resort is located about 9 miles north of the city of Princeton, West Virginia; population of 5,200. Once off I-77, the road to the campground was narrow and winding.  

View of campground from one end...My site is the blue dot.

An aerial view from the other end.

My site #42 is on level gravel, has full hookup and close to shower and laundry. Even though I'm just here for a two-night layover, check out the link to their website to see the many attractions and amenities available for families.

I had hoped to make a visit to the Brush Creek Falls, about 2 miles south of the campground but chatting with Sara at the front desk, she did not recommend taking a 25' long RV to visit. Besides the roads unable to accommodate large vehicles there is no area where an RV can park or turn around once there. She mentioned many RVers do get stuck there. Instead, I'll cheat and take from the Internet what I was unable to see in person.

Monday to Thursday, May 8-11, 2023

Low lying clouds caressed the forest like wisps of cotton.

Monday's 239 mile drive to Luray, Virginia gets filed under "Pay attention to the road and nothing else." The change in topography from West Virginia to Virginia is both amazing and dangerous. The rolling hills turned to riding up on side of a mountain and down the other along I-64 and I-81. I found my best gas mileage was achieved when I traveled 65 mph (which was most of the route). I had to because of the winding roads and terrain. I got an early start for the trip and I was in no hurry to arrive. The elevations went from a low of about 1,200' to today's high of 2,900' during the 3½ hour trip. The tricky portions were the 3 to 4 mile downward slopes with grades of 7%! That's steep! Pumping breaks or depending on them for too long could be costly. I found setting my cruise control at 60 mph kept me at a constant speed without relying or over using my brakes; yet the posted speed limit was 70mph!

A long downhill drive was always waiting on the other side of a long incline over the mountains of the Shenandoah.

My 3-night stay at Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views Campground was chosen for is its proximity to the Luray Caverns, "the largest caverns in the eastern United States." It will mark the fourth cavern I toured. Each was spectacular and memorable but this one took the first place prize. I'm telling everyone, "If you've never toured or experienced Nature's Wondrous Underground Worlds that took 400 million years to create, you must place this tour high on your bucket list." For this blog, I'm adding a link below that will take the interested among my readers directly to the collections of photos I've taken on my self-guided tour. As always, the links I post in RED are worthy of a visit by my readers just to get the "full flavor" what I was fortunate enough to experience. 

$29.00 Senior Admission which includes entry to
the caverns, the Luray Valley Museum and The
Car & Carriage Caravan Museum 

I decided to stop at the Caverns first, grab a bite to eat and then take the 2-mile walk. Yes, two miles (actually 1¼ but add getting to it and returning from it.. I won't go into what that was like ("taxing," to say the least). Afterwards, I would then travel another two miles to the campground and set up for my 3-night stay.

The quarter-mile hike each way to the entrance of the caverns.

William and Andrew Campbell and Benton Stebbins discovered the caverns on August 13, 1878 after noticing a quarter-sized hole emitting cool air from a sinkhole.

Below, I've selected just three of the sixty photos I took as I went through the hour long walk. I've created THIS PHOTO PAGE where I also included descriptions from the brochure explaining some of the formations in this blog page. Here is a 4-minute INTERACTIVE VIDEO introducing you to the caverns, linked in red. What's cool about the video is, as it plays you can pause, click and drag your mouse in the direction of the white rings to see the spectacular formations the narrator is talking about. Move your mouse in all directions, including up and down, for an awesome viewing experience. Fascinating.  

Just four miles away Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views Campground was my next relaxing time, always an enjoyable part of my travels. As it turned out, it was fortunate that I chose Monday to tour vs. a Tuesday "Jack Day." For my non-RV friends, a "Jack Day" = RAIN...the more the better.  Jack (not my neighbor) loves 'em. For me it was a good day to continue writing my blog.

Just before turning into the entrance of the campground, this structure caught my eye. I'm guessing the former two-story house, with a fireplace on each floor, was a cozy homestead. The cows didn't seem to mind.

A former KOA campground, this location had spacious grounds with concrete pads and fire pits, picnic tables and two Adirondack chairs at each site. Spacious Skies membership (for discounts) for my fellow RVers is highly recommended. For information about becoming a member, CLICK HERE.  

During my 3-night stay, there weren't very many RVs present.

This little critter, unfortunately, had the beginnings of a new nest removed to save future campers from having a surprise when connecting to their power source.

Once again, I made a good choice. Scenery is terrific, the only noise I hear all day are robins singing...from morning till dusk.

The welcome sounds of birds are rarely heard these days, but Mr. & Mrs. Resident Robins and an abundance of others provided the entertainment beginning at first light, all day until dusk. So pleasant. You don't know what you're missing until you hear that familiar sound.

This was my "resident robin" whose nest was in the crotch of limbs in a nearby tree. It had no fear of foraging in the deep grass very close to where I sat on the concrete pad...so close that I was able to get this great shot. At one point I decided to try and capture a video of what I heard all day long. I just pointed to where I thought the nest was. I hope you can hear all the birds in the background.

The campground was clean, bathrooms/showers/laundry immaculate; the entire experience was one of relaxation.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

For the last leg of my travels, I decided to take a slight detour and take advantage of my proximity to the Skyline Drive. This too is a "must-see" for every traveler's bucket list. Opening in 1932, the work of the CCC boys is evident over 90 years later. They graded the slopes on either side of the roadway, built the guardrails and guard walls, constructed overlooks, planted hundreds of thousands of trees and shrubs and acres of grass to landscape both sides of the roadbed, built the picnic areas and campgrounds, comfort stations, visitor contact and maintenance buildings, and made the signs that guided visitors on their way. Many served as the first park interpreters.

The arrows in the map above indicate where I entered and left the Skyline Drive. My entrance at Thornton Gap in Luray is one of only four accessible entry roadways. It's also only 31 miles to the northern most entrance in Front Royal, VA. The entire Drive is 105 miles with an average speed limit of 35 mph. The southern most point is Rockfish Gap which is also the northern entrance to The Blue Ridge Highway  
 

This is the map of my 30 mile drive entering from the bottom and driving north to Front Royal. Note the curves and as it traverses the Blue Ridge Mountains, all part of the Shenandoah National Park. I was expecting the ups and downs would be numerous and steep. With only one fuel stop in the Park, I went in full and planned on stopping at as many overlooks as time would permit.

As I approached the Rangers Station to enter the Park, I was greeted with the information that the one fuel stop...wasn't opened. I gave a sigh as it would not affect me.\

Just along the short route I took to reach the northern end, there were nine "overlooks" which provide travelers with amazing vistas of this great land of ours. Unfortunately, even though it was a cloudless, sunny day, there was enough grey mist in the distance that it took away from the crisp greenery that dominated the scene. I was disappointed that I couldn't capture those picture-post card color shots...but I did take some. This is the first overlook, Pass Mountain Overlook at 2,460' 

Jeremy's Run Overlook, 2,410'

Hogback Overlook, 3,385'

Other views along the way I did not document.

Took this photo to show the "art" of wall building so long ago by the CCCs. 

The speed limit throughout the Park is 35 m.p.h. Once I reached the North Entrance in Front Royal, VA, I had another 173 miles, 2½ hour drive to my last overnight in Bethel, PA

Camp Swatara. owned and operated by the Church of the Brethren, has as its motto: "Faith Formed. Memories Made. God Glorified." Located w-a-y out of the way in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this was a family campground, retreat type camp for youth and adults. With some 99,000 members in 900 congregations throughout the US and Puerto Rico, they are based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and celebrated their 300th anniversary in 2008. Check out the website in the link above.

Nope, I didn't know any of this other than it was time-wise and mileage-wise a good place to spend the night. When I drove in, the camp store was closed (at 2:30pm), not a soul around. My information was tacked to the bulletin board as were four other packets for future visitors. I drove another hundred feet to my site #1, backed in, hooked up power only and settled in for the night. I saw no other RVs; a few cars passed by, two couples walking their dogs and that was it. Canadian geese in the large pond behind me "chatted" throughout the otherwise silent night. 

The only two photos I took were of the entrance and the two beautiful horses above grazing in the fenced-in area across the street.

By 9:00 am the next morning I was on my to Croton Point Park, CPP

And that, my friend, brings closure to yet another season of RVing. My 34-day stay at Croton begins my "2023 Summer Adventure". I hope you've enjoy the past 16 blogs I've written and hope you'll join me this summer. My next blog will describe the itinerary already set in stone. Till then, stay safe, happy and in good health. As usual, I'd love to read your comments.

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes

...and as I tell everyone: "Death and Old Age can't hit a moving target."