Exit Great Smokies, Enter Blue Ridge Parkway

Thursday October 25, 2012

Wilma and Betty got up before breakfast this morning and fixed breakfast burritos for us all. They were delicious. Fred and Barney were assigned the task of washing the windows on the rolling caves. We made a quick stop at the dump station then we were off to see the world…well maybe only part of it.

Our first stop was not for a stamp , but at the Mingus Mill. It is a mill that was built in 1886 and is powered by a 13 inch diameter water turbine that puts out 11 horsepower. The turbine runs 2 mill stones, wheat cleaner, a sieve cabinet and numerous conveyors. The mill was not operating today, a leather drive belt had broken and someone had gone for the replacement belt. The replacement belt cost $600 and in 1886 the entire mill was built and the machinery installed for $600. A miller, Harold Chochran told us about his grandparents, who were moved from their home when the GSMNP was created, about his parents who live nearby, and that he had lived in the area all of his life. He said the park was great thing and that if it had not been created the area would be full of condominiums and the trees would be gone. It was a very interesting stop.

Next stop was at the Oconaluftee VC, this time for a stamp, in fact 3 stamps. A lady happened to be there with a great horned owl, a screech owl and an American Petrel. She was a very interesting “bird lady” who is licensed to recover and rehabilitate injured birds. Those that she had with her could not be rehabilitated for release so she keeps them, cares for them and exhibits them to the public. The rangers were also very helpful. Another nice stop.

We left the park and entered the Eastern Branch Cherokee Indian Reservation at Cherokee. We turned south on route 19 to Bryson City, NC then went back into the park at the Deep Creek CG where we got another stamp. Fred talked to a ranger who didn’t know where the stamp was. The ranger called someone to find out where it was located then finally took us to the campground check in booth where he found the stamp. The passport books were taken care of and we were off, north on route 19 to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). We didn’t enter the parkway at its Sothern end because a ranger at Oconaluftee told us there were a couple of low clearance tunnels between there and Waterrock Knob.

The first stop on the BRP, other than overlooks was at the Waterrock Knob VC for the first of the BRP stamps. We continued north on the parkway, stopping at several overlooks until we reached the Mount Pisgah Forest Service CG. We went in and found adjacent camp sites but since it was only 2:30 we decided to press on to Ashville, NC and the Lake Powhatan CG. We stopped and selected sites then dashed into Hendersonville, NC. While Wilma and Betty beat our clothes clean on a laundromat rock, Fred and Barney found a Taco Bell and cooked up some dinner. They also located a place to get the oil changed in the cave-mobiles.

We are back at the CG and settled in for the night.

G’nite y’all.