First Officer’s Log: 20-15-07-09

We is a-riz.  We are docked, locked, and loaded in space 14 in the Ashville East KOA, which turned out to be a huge RV park.  Our space is an extra large end-cap space with lots of room for our new carpet and tables, of which I plan on buying tomorrow.  When I signed in I asked, “How much of the park has the Norton Club reserved for the rally?”  The nice lady responded, “All of it.  All 195 spaces not including all the tent areas.”   I was surprised and said, “Wow!  It’s going to be a big rally!”  She replied, “I was told over 500 people have signed up.”

 

Today’s drive from Lebanon, Tennessee, was 285 miles.  We left at 8AM and got here at about 4 PM, with rest stops meals for breakfast and lunch. The last 50 miles or so was some of the most stressful driving of the trip as we passed through the Great Smokey Mountains.  The road surface is good enough but the road itself passes through narrow gaps in the mountains and is only two lanes each way.  There are dozens of long up hills, followed by dozens of long down hills.  The curves and hills are further enhanced by the CAUTION 45 MPH CURVE AHEAD signs that proclaim rollover disaster for any car, truck, or RV driver who should let his speed get away from him for even a few seconds.

I quickly found out that 45 MPH meant 45 MPH, not 46 MPH.

On the other hand, the Great Smokies are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.  My goodness you wouldn’t believe how green these mountains are.  It’s green on green on green.  A landscape artist could save a lot of money as he would need only one tube of color.

We had another “Oh my gosh, slam on the brakes episode today.”  Luckily it was earlier and on the interstate.  Some young people were carrying a fully assembled basketball net, backboard, and stand in the back of a pickup, without having it strapped down of course, and it flipped up out of said pickup truck and landed in the middle of the road resulting in lots of red brake lights, lots of tires smoking, and lots of cars and trucks coming close to disaster as the idiots scrambled to get the thing off the highway.

Ya just never know what’s going to happen out there and once again, maintaining nice loose traffic spacing resulted in no collisions and no injuries.

End First Officer’s Log

Captain’s Log 20-15-07-09

Tomorrow the FO is taking the rig for an oil change in Asheville. The dogs and I will hang out here in our RV site with the car and trailer.  We’ve set up our chairs in a shady spot, and if I get my act together tomorrow, I can have an afternoon snack at our little picnic table. Also, in another part of the park there are steps leading up to a hot dog stand on the road if I get hungry. 

A really robust creek runs through the campground on the far side of the bridge and that’s where the lake is as well. Many RV’s are backed up to the lakeside and fisher-people seem to be having a good time with their fishing tackle and fancy reels. However, I didn’t see anyone catching anything – maybe tomorrow.

I’m sure by the time Frank gets back with the coach, I’ll have scoped out this whole huge campground.There are lots of big trees here for shade, but the humidity seems a bit high for those of us used to “a dry heat” – don’t laugh. Anyway, I plan to have lots of cold water around to keep me company. 

We’re a whole four days early for the rally, so it will be fun to settle in and watch the rest of the crowd arrive on Sunday and Monday. Our spot is up by the main store and office, so we’ve got front row seats to all the activity.

The drive today seemed very tiring at seven hours (my limit being six hours).  However as the FO said, the scenery couldn’t have been more magnificent! 

Final Note: The KOA marriage between campgrounds and railroads has once again prevailed. This afternoon a big freight train roared past just on the other side of the highway that is hidden from the campground by tall bushes.  And, that is all!

End Captain’s Log