Friday October 26, 2012
We were up and out of the Lake Powhatan CG by 8:30 this morning.
Our very first stop was a Waffle House in Ashville for breakfast. Wilma and Betty need a break from cooking breakfast every once in a while, and they thoroughly enjoyed having someone cook for them. The next stop was at Walmart to buy oil for the rolling caves and groceries to restock the caves refrigerators. 
Then there was a stop at Speed Dee Oil Change shop that Fred and Barney had checked out yesterday. Once the caves were finished we roared out of Ashville, NC at about 12:30. 
Back on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) we stopped at the Blue Ridge Parkway VC where an appropriate amount of stamping was accomplished and we looked at some of the exhibits. 
There was a photo of a 1957 Oldsmobile station wagon which looked something like a tank with lots of chrome hanging on the sides of it. It was pretty neat. 
Back in the cave-mobiles we rolled north on the BRP for 3 or 4 miles to the Folk art Center and several more stamps. There was a craftsman outside by the exit door who makes bowed psalteries. He had several on display which were made of woods native to the USA. They are triangular in shape with a couple of octaves of strings running up each side. The strings are pinned across the base and staggered up the edges so that each string is exposed about ½ inch from its pin on the side of the triangle. The exposed portion of the string is played with a small bow. They are really pretty little instruments. We also went through the store where there were all sorts of hand-made items, by local artists. They were really nice, and, really expensive. We ate lunch there at a picnic table under several oak trees which had glossy dark green leaves but the edges of the leaves were dark red. 
The next stop was the Craggy Gardens VC for another stamp then to Crabtree Falls VC for yet another stamp. At Craggy Gardens Wilma asked why the area was called gardens. The ranger said in the late spring the hills are covered with pink rhododendrens. They also line the roads through much of this section. It would be beautiful to seem them in bloom. 
We looked at the Crabtree Falls CG, but it was early enough that we decided to press on a little farther. We also wanted to make sure the rolling caves were full of fuel before we stopped for the night. 
We got off the BRP at the Museum of North Carolina Minerals VC where stamps were obtained while Wilma and Barney helped one of the rangers fold the flag that she had just taken down. Betty also purchased several rock samples that probably reminded her of dear old Bedrock. We left the VC and went down route 226 to the thriving metropolis of Spruce Pine, NC where Fred and Barney fueled up the rolling caves. 
Back on the BRP after a turn that Fred and Barney were glad was not witnessed by the rangers or sheriff, we pulled into the Linville Falls CG and found adjacent spots for the night. 
There are about 30 campsites in the loop we are in and there were 2 taken. Right after we got backed in and leveled up a family pulled in across the loop from us and set up their tent. How is that for attracting campers? Now there are 6 campsites occupied 3 with 10 empty sites next to them and 3 in adjacent sites. Later a couple more tents went up a few spots from us, and they were still talking after midnight. 
We had a great day. The weather was beautiful. We drove about 75 miles today; really tiring. And, we are settled in for the night. More tomorrow.
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