Oct 31, 2015 Alabama

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween from Alabama

45 degrees this morning.

After a quick stop at Dunkin’ Donuts,  we drove through nearby Chicamaugua National Military Park.   The Civil War battlefield was dotted with canons, wooden fences, and quite a few browsing deer.

We are heading to Little River Falls Nature Preserve which is farther still down Lookout Mountain.  Cloudy but dry, we stop at DeSoto State Park for a map and some information, then head to Little River Falls where we park and walk a bit.

Nice falls.  This area is where the Cherokees crossed the Little River on their Trail of Tears westward march to Oklahoma.

The Little River creates a 550’ canyon, one of the largest east of the Mississippi and Rim Trail Parkway has been created to travel alongside, with multiple scenic pull-outs.  We stop at most of them, along with a few other vehicles.

Mushroom rock, in the center of the Rim Trail Road

From here we are headed further south to Talladega National Forest and a campground there called Coleman Lake.  No one would ever accidentally stumble across this place, as it is quite remote!  But we eventually find it and find a beautiful campsite, lightly populated, with electricity, water and hot showers – all for a $10 a night.  Bingo! 

The camp hosts stop by – wonderful friendly local folks who fill us in on a few items, like the weather siren that will sound in case of dangerous weather (not expected).  We collect wood and Greg chops and splits it.  After showers, we take the walk around the lake, about 2 miles. The lake is placid, with a small beach and picnic area, no doubt popular in Summer, but deserted today.

Greg gets the fire going and we wait a while till there are good coals to toss in some foil-wrapped potatoes. Some of the wood we gathered puts off a green flame...will have to research to find out what this means, as we haven't seen it before.  We mess with some sparklers in the fire, looking for but not finding interesting photo ops.

Dinner is pulled-pork stuffed potatoes and is quite good! We sit and enjoy the fire till about 8:00 when it begins to rain.  Glad we had the whole day to enjoy outdoors!  We break out the Cribbage board for a bit before reading and saying good-night.

Friday, October 30

Smokies to Chattanooga

Woke early to  cool 39 degrees, but warm sunshine!

We decided to drive a part of the Cades Cove Loop, which yesterday was bumper to bumper, then take a little used  12-mile dirt road over Rich Mountain.  (The ranger said we shouldn’t have a problem.)

The loop was busy but not crazy.  Lots of low morning clouds reinforced why these mountains are called the Smokies. 

Saw a few deer and a flock of turkeys before we reached the turnoff.

The sign for Rich Mt. Road warned that it was a primitive, undeveloped  dirt road and indeed it was.  Also, thankfully, one-way! The narrow, leaf-paved road began to climb through colorful trees.  Much more color here than down in the park.

About half way up the mountain there was a break in the trees and a view of the valley below filled with soft billowy clouds.  A wow moment!

  Most of the trees on this route were shades of yellow, orange and gold, with a few red and occasional evergreen. With the warm, bright morning sun,  at times it was like driving through a stained glass forest! A wow ride. We stopped several times to look around and take photos, and we didn't see another soul the whole ride.

 Eventually back to asphalt, we turned south again toward Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain.

We finished listening to Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, about two divers who discover and seek to identify a sunken WWII German U-boat about 65 miles off the New Jersey coast. Interesting!

We  follow our directions through part of Chattanooga and up Lookout Mountain, where we arrive at the entrance to Ruby Falls.  Ruby Falls is a 145’ underground  waterfalls that is located 1120 feet below Lookout Mountain.  We first took an elevator down 260',  and then walked about a half mile through limestone tunnels to the waterfalls. 

We stopped to watch a couple of videos and listen to our tour guide, Tommy Carlson.  Passed some interesting formations – stalagtites, stalagmites, flows, curtains, columns, etc.   Though there was only one formation we were invited to touch, many people in our group and throughout the years have touched (and killed) formations.  Still, it was an interesting walk. 

The cave where the falls is located is dark when we arrive, then dramatically lighted.  Quite beautiful! 

The cave is rather small so it is impossible to capture the entire falls on one photo, even with a wide angle.  We retraced our steps and headed up some stairs to a view of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River.

Next on the agenda is Rock City, Georgia, just a few miles away.  Anyone who has traveled within several hundred miles of Chattanooga has no doubt seen the signs, often painted on the roofs of barns, saying See Rock City.   A successful advertising campaign! This is also on Lookout Mountain which is a very large, long mountain extending well into Georgia.

We started with lunch in their parking lot (thanks, Mom, for the Lebanon Bologna).  Today is partly cloudy but dry.  We follow a designated trail through hundreds of huge and interesting boulders,  including grottos, narrow passageways (Fat Man's Squeeze), swinging bridges, Lover’s Leap (a Cherokee legend of star-crossed lovers) lookouts, a herd of fallow deer and the interesting Fairyland display with scenes from familiar fairy tales in individual caves and caverns. 

Seven states visible from here...

Note the coral ceiling

Also, cafes and gift shops… rather too commercialized for our taste, it was still an interesting walk and was no doubt an amazing discovery back when it was natural.

From here we drove about 15 miles to Oglethorpe Walmart, which had good reviews as being quiet and away from the city.  Rotissarie chicken and potatoe salad for dinner and made plans for tomorrow.

PA to Knoxville; Oct 28, 2015 Van Repair, Smokies

Wednesday,Wednesday, October 28

Heading south/Knoxville

After talking with the folks in Hanover who worked on the Trek previously, we decided to try making a run for home instead of waiting 3 days for a part that cost nearly $2000 and wasn’t guaranteed to fix the problem.  Unfortunately, Kevin’s friend that we dealt with earlier, was out of state with a medical emergency. 

Greg and his Mom fed Dad breakfast, then we bade a sad farewell to Greg's Mom.  We contacted Anita and Barb, both of whom we had hoped to visit, and instead headed south via interstates.  A long day and it was raining the whole way across PA and through the snippets of Maryland and West Virginia into Virginia and route 81.  We stopped at a Walmart in Lenoir City, just past Knoxville. Still raining but warm – 60-ish.

Thursday, October 29

Knoxville and the Smokies

 Headed back onto 81 but the Trek now was wheezing and really having difficulty on hills, of which there are many in this part of the country! No way were we limping home. We decided to once again try our luck with a Chevy Dealership, this time Beaker Chevrolet in Knoxville.  Arrived there about 9:00AM and dealt with Eric, who was as nice as could be.

They assigned our problem, with associated history, to their “most experienced” man and we waited.  He apparently tried replacing several items from a new 3500 van they had in stock to test whether they were the problem.  Fortunately, about two hours into his investigation, he noticed that as he worked on things the oxygen intake varied from rich to lean, and finally tracked it down to a faulty connector to the throttle (?)which worked only intermittently. He replaced the connector and yeah! – it seemed to work.

We decided to test the work – who can blame us for being a bit skeptical – by driving over to the Smokies.  We called Cades Cove Campground and found out they had openings, so headed that way, about an hour and a half ride. Beautiful countryside and the sun made a welcome appearance.

The Trek took the hills normally and seemed fine. Things were definitely looking up!

We stopped at an IGA for a few provisions then claimed a campsite. We saw a couple of other Roadtreks in the campground. Drove around a bit and took some photos.  They had just finished 4 days of rain and wind, so the trees had taken a beating but were still colorful in some areas. 

Cades Cove Campground

 Greg made a great campfire and we cooked hamburgers on the grill for dinner. Two white-tailed bucks nonchalantly wondered through the few empty campsites around us.

Oct 28, 2015 MA to PA

 Monday, October 28
Back to Pennsylvania

Everyone rose early and Gwynne left after breakfast, about 7:30.  Mom is riding back to PA with us and we left about 8:00.  Going to take a different, slower route in hopes of avoiding crazy traffic in the eastern corridor.

We started heading west on the Massachusetts Pike, route 90.  Pretty, sunny day and while the colors were somewhat past their peak, there were still areas of great beauty. 

 We got off the turnpike at exit 2 and wound through some pretty small towns, like _______bridge.  Reached the Tectonic Hwy in New York and headed south.  Beautiful divided highway with no commercial traffic.  Stopped and had sandwiches along the way.

 The check engine light came back on near Poughkeepsie L.  We reached Pennsylvania and went south through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.  Nicely wooded with a few campgrounds and signs for waterfalls and other interesting sites if we were truly meandering.   Saw many hunters in their orange gear along the way, and several deer that had been hit by vehicles.

Wound back through PA – this trip is way longer than I anticipated, as you can only go rather short distances before changing highways.  Greg irritated, partially because of the Trek,  but Mom and I enjoyed the scenery.

Arrived at Garden Spot Village (Mom’s place) in New Holland around 5:30 and headed over to their dining area for a nice dinner before unloading the Trek and settling in for the night.  Watched a little football and called it a night.

Tuesday, October 27

Gettsyburg

Mom and Greg went to give Dad breakfast. Gwynne was able to take the day off today and she came by around 9:00 to join us for a jaunt to Gettysburg in Mom’s car.  It took about an hour and a half and we arrived at their visitor’s center.  Bought tickets for the film, the Cyclorama and the Museum.

The 11:30 film, produced by the History Channel, was “A New Birth of Freedom”. It dealt with the time leading to the Civil War, including State’s rights, slavery and other issues.

Next we went to the Cyclorama Display.  This is a huge painting done by Dominique Philippoteaux in Paris in 1884.  After studying the terrain and the battle, he and a crew of 20 painted this detailed depiction.  It is curved to give a 3-D look – quite incredible for the time. It toured the country for a bit before finding a home here in Gettysburg. It is floor to ceiling and 360 degrees around, so one stands in the center and turns to see all the action.

Next we visited the on-site museum, which was very well done.  It would take many times the 2+ hours we spent if one were to read all and watch all the videos.

Over 7,000 soldiers died at Gettsburg, with another 40,000 wounded, captured or missing. 

 Nearly half the bodies were never identified.  There were displays of clothing, weapons, medical care, food, even examples of the different music played by the bugler to signify waking, marching, retreating, taps and more. How the thousands of men were fed and clothed (mostly poorly) while marching all over the country was quite amazing. 

 Also interesting was how the small city of Gettsburg was left to deal with the incredible number of dead bodies and wounded soldiers. They initially buried most on the battlefield, but later moved them to cemetaries so that the locals could reclaim their pastures and farmland.

The timeline begins before Lincoln is elected president, with details regarding the issues of economy, state’s rights, slavery and common rights of citizenship. Succession and the ensuing battles throughout the country are chronicled. Each of the three days of the Gettysburg battle has a film and area of displays. It was impressive how very narrowly the Union won the war – a few different twists of fate and --- we’d all be whistling Dixie, or more likely there would be two separate countries.

Even though Gettysburg was “decisive”, and Vicksburg fell only a day later, the war continued for four more bloody years, with the Union battling under flags that included stars for the Confederate States. 

We drove in to town to have lunch at Dobbin’s Tavern, which is in a stone building built in 1776.  We ate downstairs, which still has one of the several springs that ran through it for water and refrigeration.  Upstairs we saw a hiding place where escaping slaves sometimes stayed as part of the Underground Railroad. The food was tasty and service excellent, served by women in colonial garb.

Next, we wound our way through parts of the hilly Battlefield, including Cemetary Ridge. The blood-soaked fields are dotted with canons and memorials for soldiers and leaders from various states. The Union cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous address is close by.

We headed back to New Holland, taking a bit longer but faster route using the PA Turnpike. Arrived around 6:00 and chatted for a bit and had ice cream before Gwynne headed back to her home in West Chester.    We watched a little TV and enjoyed chatting with Mom before calling it a night.