Cherohala Skyway

Winding up and over 5,400 foot mountains for 15 miles in North Carolina and descending another 21 miles into the deeply forested backcountry of Tennessee, the Cherohala Skyway crosses through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests thus the name "Chero...hala"... 36 miles of road, built with 100 million dollars of taxpayers' money. It was estimated that 5 million cars a year would use the skyway. In reality, only about 20 cars and 100 motorcycles a day enjoy the winding, mile high beauty of this unique byway . . . so come on up, drive the skykway, enjoy the area's sights, and get some use from your hard earned taxpayer dollars!!

Near the skyway's midpoint, we found Indian Boundary Campground - a nice place to have an up close lake experience. With the rear window open at night, the gentle lapping of the waves on the rocks made it sound as though we were sleeping aboard a boat!

An easy day trip from the campground took us to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Born in 1886 in New Brunswick, NJ, Kilmer was a soldier with the 165th Infantry Rainbow Division, killed in action in France during WWI in 1918. A poet, he is best known for his poem:

"Trees"

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

The forest has a steep, winding trail that takes the wanderer high up through lush vegetation where you can savor the sights and smells of a virgin forest. Along the way, you'll cross streams;

Delight at a community of mushrooms growing on a moss covered log;

Wonder why this lone "shroom" took up residence on the side of a tree;

And lean against the most humongous Poplar you can ever imagine.

The Cherohala Skyway. Visit it sometime, relax . . .

Natchez Trace Parkway

Rounding a corner on our way east, Oscar said "Hey Pete, you've either taken a very wrong turn or Scottie has beamed us to The Planet of the Apes! Look at that sign . . ." I calmed him down by assuring him it was not THE forbidden zone, merely a warning about a flood area when they released water from a dam. We continued eastbound.

Finally, we arrived at the southern end of the Natchez Trace to start our slow meandering along this historic byway. 444 miles of slowly winding beauty that extends from Natchez to Nashville.

The Wonder Egg felt right at home.

Nothing is fast here . . . 50MPH is the rule for 444 miles! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride or you'll go bonkers.

Stop at any of the markers along the parkway to see sights such as this Old Trace Exhibit that looks a lot like Aubrey! LOL

Be sure to check the rear view mirror to see if anyone has fallen too far behind.

There are plenty of choices for overnight stays. We chose Davis Lake Campground after about 243 miles of Zen inducing , hypnotic scenery.

A brief walk from one of the points of interest along the parkway will bring you to 13 graves.

These are 13 unknown Confederate soldiers who were laid to rest in the forest along the Trace. Were they some of Shilo's wounded who retreated in 1862 to die beside the trace? Did they serve under the daring General Nathan Forest who passed this way in 1864? Or were they guarding the Tupelo headquarters of J.B. Hood's Army of Tennessee near the end of the Civil War?

We exited the Natchez Trace near Chattanooga, TN and found a quiet place by the river to think of all we've seen along the historic path.

Fall 2010 Adventure - The Beginning

We were all packed and ready to go . . . I looked everywhere for The Smiley Dog and couldn't find him! Hearing the honk of the truck's horn, I went out to the driveway and found him proudly sitting in the driver's seat of the Tacoma saying "Hop in, Pete! I'm driving the first leg!" Oscar claimed he passed an on-line driver's training course and pulled his license out of his wallet, showed it to me, and said "Let's go Pete . . . time's-a-wastin'!!!


So off we went with Oscar grinning from ear to ear and me, "Mr White-Knuckles" in the passenger seat. He actually did a good job and got us to Aubrey's house southeast of Dallas where we assembled the Eggs for our convoy to the Appalachians.

To be continued . . .

Oscar Reminiscing

Oscar's been reminiscing about cooler times we had this summer, like the bank of snow near our campsite in the Rockies. He thought it was pretty cool, literally!

Although, he wasn't too keen on the guy that engaged him in a snowball fight!

Oscar grabbed the camera and snapped a picture of this momma elk on one of our walks.

Although he wasn't able to go on the tour, Oscar enjoyed seeing the pictures of my tour of the Caverns of Sonora. I had a special, one on one 2 1/2 hour tour given by Jenn. Here she is standing in the Hall of Giants.

The formations are pretty under different lighting . . .

These are some of Oscar's new best friends, Jenn, Johnny and their dog, Rain. Jenn and Johnny are full time RV'rs with a great web site . . . check it out!
Hitek Homeless

We've been home in the Texas Hill Country for a bit, catching up with the kids & grandkids etc. It's time to hit the road again . . . it's festival time in the Appalachians!

National Storytelling Festival!
Fall 2010 East of Asheville Studio Tour!

The Woolly Worm Festival!

Time to pack..................

Mesa Verde

Pete can be such a slug sometimes . . . I see he's been negligent on keeping up our blog (using weak excuses such as a remodeling job on the house and arrival of his 4th grandkid, Elliot, who literally popped out into the world yesterday) So I figure it's up to me, Oscar, to take up his slack and get this on the road again . . .

Here's the wonder egg at "Baby Rock" a cool formation of red sculpted shapes . . .

Northeast of 4 Corners is the Mesa Verda National park where we got to see some of the most unique homes ever built in the US. Around 600 AD, a group of people chose this area for their home. The climate allowed them to plant crops on the tops of these mesas. Eventually, they constructed grain storage and living spaces in the sides of vertical cliffs! An amazing feat to be sure. It provided them protection from enemies and the most famous one, called Cliff Palace, even has its own source of water from a natural spring that sprouts out of the rock.

House of Many Windows

Here's a "Kiva" which is a room dug down into the earth used for religious or communal purposes. It's entered by a ladder from the roof, has a ventilation shaft with damper, fire pit, altar, raised platform, wall niche, and a hole in the floor ‑ the sipapu. To the Pueblo Indians the sipapu symbolizes the place of emergence ‑ the channel through which the living communicated with the spirits of the dead. It also represented the navel of the earth.

The rest of the photos are of the Cliff Palace. Walking among it, we could discern the improvements in design and masonry techniques. Starting with raw rocks fitted together without mortar (these were the early ones near the natural spring) to shaped bricks forming complex shapes, held firm with a long lasting mortar.





Sometime around 1200 AD, within a space of two generations, these homes were abandoned by their inhabitants for unknown reasons. Maybe the crops wouldn't grow due to severe drought or the soil was no longer fertile. Perhaps the animals they hunted all moved away. Today their descendants are spread among 24 tribes that inhabit Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.