Asheville NC 2018

October 20, 2018

Asheville Trip

     We left Geneva and drove to the Kentucky Horse Park. They only had Primitive sites. Signed up for two nights at $58.00 and stayed in the open field to the south. We left the Jeep hooked up and ran the Generator to keep warm as the temperature dropped to 27 degrees and the wind was terrible. Thankfully we were able to move to a full hook up site the next morning with only a slight increase in cost.

October 21, Sunny 48 degrees

          Decided to use the 300 best drives from the National Geographic book and drove the Red River Gorge. This is a beautiful winding road through the eastern mountains of Tennessee and had a very narrow tunnel. We stopped at the Glade visitor center, they had a barn loom on display. Then we stopped at the Sky Bridge and walked the ¼ mile jaunt to the top of the arch.

 Skyway Bridge

 Red River Gorge tunnel

Red River Gorge East Tennessee

October 22

          We drove to Asheville East KOA and as soon as we were set up we headed to My Fathers restaurant in Black Mountain where we enjoyed the Pizza. We have stopped here before and it is one of our favorite restaurants.

Swannanoa River through KOA campground

October 23

          Went to Black Mountain to the stores and looked around, Jay enjoyed the old hardware store downtown. For lunch we went to Veranda Café and enjoyed their fare.

October 24

          Drove to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway and looked at the local artist’s works. We then ventured further up the Blue Ridge to Greybeard Mountain view. Leaves were turning but not as beautiful as they were in 2017.

 Folk Art Center

 Blue Ridge Parkway

 Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway tunnel

October 25, Sunny

          Chimney Rock SP was the destination for the day with a great winding road from Black Mountain to the park. After you enter the park and pay your entry fee you continue a couple of miles to the parking lot and take a elevator to the Visitor center and then it is a short walk and stairway to the viewing platform at the top of the chimney. It was very windy or super windy as Sherry says. We returned to the town of Chimney Rock and feasted on hamburgers at River Watch Bar and Grille. This sets right on the river that travels through town.

 Chimney Rock State Park

 Chimney Rock State Park

 Chimney Rock State Park

Chimney Rock State Park

          We went to see “Avenue Q” at the Asheville Playhouse in the evening and really enjoyed the performance.

October 26

          SAFF or Southern Appalachian Fiber Festival was our destination for the day and was the main reason we come to Asheville this time of year. Sherry really enjoys all the fiber goodness. She makes several purchases to weave into her beautiful scarves.  We then headed over to Sierra Nevada Brewery for supper and enjoyed the walk around self-guided tour before supper.

October 27

          Downtown Asheville to Appalachian yarns for some more yarn then we ran into an artist show. Hotworks.com had booths set up downtown and we enjoyed the crafts and artwork.

          We had lunch at Farm Burger restaurant which was super busy but worth the wait. We went into a Chocolate shop before but the line was so long people were backed clear out the door and onto the street. A waitress came where we were just inside the door and told the people there not to block the door as it was a fire exit. So we just left and then searched until we found Farm Burger.

October 28

          Travel day back to Kentucky Horse Park for an overnight before returning to Geneva the next day.

Michigan Fiber Festival

Michigan Fiber Festival

August 16-18, 2018

    I spent some time and had some maintenance done on the RV in early August. Rotated tires, oil changed, refastened screws in the shower area, and cleaned the inside.

      Sherry was ready for a fiber festival and we have attended the Allegan Michigan festival in the past. We enjoy staying at the fairgrounds because you can shop and then return to the RV for breaks and meals. This year we left on Thursday and arrived in the afternoon to set up in one of the spots by the fairground buildings where we normally camp. Sherry made her way over to the vendors and looked and talked to vendors. Most vendors at the fairgrounds set up on Friday and so she got to visit and examine fibers that day as well.

Sherry ready to load up on skeins of yarn

At the Waters Edge park Allegan Michigan

 A few of the animals at the fiber show

We also always visit the Baker Allegan Studios Fiber Arts Studio and Old Mill Yarn. Their website: http://www.bakeralleganstudios.com/

     Later Friday we drove to Holland and looked the town over. We had been here several years ago, but it was great to see the Red Lighthouse again. There is a great Tulip festival held here every spring, but being August we didn’t visit the festival site.

   

       Friday evening we went downtown and listened live music performed at the waters edge park. Several people were taking the Zip line across the lake. The bridge on an adjacent street is lit with colored lights and the whole area is quite beautiful.

Amana Mills, Shipshewana, and Trip home

Amana Mills, Shipshewana, Trip home

July 24, 25, 2018

RV Mileage 58,050

       We left Winterset, Iowa at 6:00 AM after refueling the RV and Jeep we headed to the woolen mill at Amana, IA. This mill was originally built in 1857 and has been in operation since. When we arrived we drove through town to the mill and it was too early so we took the Jeep to the bakery downtown. The rolls were great and we then headed back to the mill. This is the only operating weaving mill in Iowa and while they weren’t weaving they were threading up new warp on one of the looms.

Amana Mill

Making warp decision

Amana Mill Blankets

Warp holding racks

Loom Room

 Warp tensioner

       They have for sale lots of their work including beautiful blankets. We toured the facility and found out the original mill was much larger. Some of the buildings were destroyed when an adjacent flour mill exploded from the dust. Sherry bought a cone of wool and a shuttle, and I purchased a Tilley hat I had been wanting since Glacier National Park.

       We left Amana and found out this is one of seven towns in the colonies at this location. We were intrigued and would like to return and visit the other colonies in this area. We made reservations at Shipshewana Indiana for the night at the South RV Park. After we arrived we setup camp and then headed downtown to the shops. We then enjoyed the food at the Blue Gate restaurant.

     

July 25, 2018

      We left the South RV campground at Shipshewana and arrived in Geneva at 1pm. It has been a trip of a lifetime we saw several state and national parks and the Oregon coast line was magnificent. The Redwoods were awesome and words can’t describe all the sights we have seen.

      We were gone seven weeks and one day on this trip and traveled 7028 miles.  This trip has contributed to our memory banks and we hope to enjoy more trips in this beautiful country.

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Utah to Iowa

July 22, 2018

RV mileage 56418

          Sherry woke up at 3 am I hadn’t slept as I was having trouble breathing, phlegm in my throat. Anyway we decided to travel on down the road. We left the Coalville, Utah RV park at 4:45 and drove separate. After 2 hours we pulled into a truck stop and I got about an hours sleep. I felt better as I had taken some sinus meds. Refueled two times and pulled into a roadside park for lunch. Found a place to stay in Chappell, Nebraska at Creekside RV Park. We had driven about 600 miles and I went to bed early and slept all night.

July 23, 2018

       

         Left the campground at 7:45 and hooked up Jeep to RV and then drove about 150 miles. Decided to drive separate again as it was extremely windy and crosswind was causing swaying. When we reached Iowa we stopped at the Visitor center and it was recommended we stop at Winterset and get a site at the city park. We found out the movie “Bridges of Madison County” was filmed here. This is also the home to John Wayne’s birthplace.

     

          We stayed 2 nights at the City Park as it was very nice and only $20 for full hookup. The city of Winterset is very beautiful with lots of hanging baskets lining the streets. There was shopping for Sherry with a Fons and Porter quilt shop and a fiber shop.

 John Wayne birthplace

 Castle at city park

July 23, 2018

    

        Toured the John Wayne museum, after a short film we walked to the house and museum where the actor was born. They had restored the inside to look like it would have when he was here. His father was a Pharmacist and moved the family to California when the actor was still a young boy. This whole town gets a thumbs up from us as a place to visit.

 Relocated bridge of Madison County to Winterset city park

 This tower structure is in the Winterset city park

Our campsite at Winterset IA

Drive across the salt flats.

Coalville UT

Saturday July 21, 2018

RV Mileage 56026

       We had the oil changed in the RV when we left the New Frontier RV park at PDQ oil change. I had called another quick change but they couldn’t take a RV. After fueling up we drove separate until the Utah state line. We could see for miles when we hit Utah and the salt flats were unique. 

        We saw the Morton salt operation as we passed on I-80. Our stop for the night was at Holiday Hills RV park along a little stream. 

This was in Coalville, Utah and after set up we headed into town for Brisket and Mac and cheese. 

 Salt Flats

Morton Salt facility

Decision time

July 20, 2018

491 miles today
RV mileage 55,634

          Well it’s decision time we are leaving the Redwoods and which way will we be going. We have decided to head home. There are forest fires south and north east of our location. We had talked about heading south to Sacramento and taking Highway 50 east to Lake Tahoe. There was a larger fire in the south, when I checked our other route to Grants Pass it looked possible. We left the Klamath River RV park and headed north on 101 to highway 199 and took it east to Grants Pass.

          We drove separate because it was a winding road with steep grades. The scenic views along this route were awesome and we both enjoyed the drive. We filled up with fuel at Grants Pass and the smoke from fires on three sides of the town made it uncomfortable. However the locals said it was much worse last year when everyone was wearing masks when outside.

          We then took highway 140 east across Oregon and were awe struck by the isolation and desert conditions. Having no cell service I stopped along the road and talked to Sherry to see if her vehicle had sufficient gas. She was fine but asked if I had seen the sign at the last town that no fuel would be available for 100 miles. I hadn’t and now was concerned about fuel for the RV. Anyway we made it to Denio Junction in Nevada. When checking the fuel pump I found they were charging $4.32 per gallon. While finding this outrageous I put $75 in and was happy to have the opportunity to add fuel.

Highway 140 Oregon

Mountain range north of Winnemucca

 We then hooked up the Jeep and headed down to Winnemucca Nevada to New Frontier Park to our campsite for the night.

 Sunset in Winnemucca

Frontier RV Park 

Redwood National Park, Klamath, California

Klamath River RV Park

July 18, 2018

RV mileage 55143

          Went Whale watching this morning with no sightings at Umpqua Lighthouse. We left the campground at 10am and drove 176 miles down 101 to Klamath River RV Park in the country along the river. We are here at this campground for the next two nights.

We stopped several times and enjoyed the ocean views at the pull-offs.

We stopped at Crescent city California and picked up medallions and information about the Redwoods. Visited the Battery Point Lighthouse and enjoyed the views.

 Battery Point Lighthouse 

 Love this picture of Sherry's shadow looking toward the

 lighthouse

Highway 101 South Oregon view

       

 Highway 101 South Oregon view

         After setup at the campground we drove the loop with the Big Tree and also the ELK Reserve. We didn’t see any Elk in the reserve but did see a one along the road as we drove back to the RV for the night.

Redwood Trees are HUGE

July 19, 2018

          This morning we had breakfast at the RV then drove to the Jedidiah Smith National Forrest. We stopped at the visitor center and received directions to the Stout Recreation area. There we walked among the Redwoods. This was AWESOME to be able to be with these giants. It is along a river so there was no undergrowth and the trail was just over one half mile and only had slight grades.