Friday, May 17
Left Topeka at 5:45 pm after getting block of ice.  Odometer reading – 18,586.0.  Miles on present tank of gas (cost $5.40) -- 56.7.  Heading toward KC on the Turnpike.  Mild temperatures, overcast skies – rather gusty winds.

Stopped for gas at 9:00 in Columbia, MO.  Odometer – 18,771.0. Miles on 1st tank of gas – 241.8, 9.7 gal (25 mpg), $5.50.  Bought thermos of coffee at HoJo -- 26¢; continued on our way… pulled into a rest area just west of Minneola, MO to spend the night.  About 10:00.  So far, so good.

Saturday, May 18
Woke up around 5:15 after a somewhat restless night.  Washed up, meditated and hit the road by 6:00.  Nibbled on a breakfast of hardboiled eggs, Triscuits and coffee.  7:00 – stopped at Sambo’s in St. Charles to fill the coffee thermos.  9:35, about 50 miles from Terre Haute, ran into some rain – it’s been cloudy all morning and not too hot.  10:25 – just made it to Terre Haute for gas – 287 mi. on 2nd tank, 10.3 gal (27.7 mpg), $6.60. 

By noon we were on the other side of Indianapolis and more than halfway across Indiana.  Crossed into Ohio just before 1:00.  Between Springfield and Columbia, had to set the clock ahead an hour – it’s 3:00 EST.   

3:45 – stopped just east of Columbus and got 9.3 gals, apprx. 255 mileage, $5.45. 

Rested for about 15 minutes, had a Dr. Pepper (20¢) and fed Domingo. 

It’s been getting rather warm.  4:30 – approaching Zanesville, and the terrain is becoming more and more “roly-poly,” as Robin put it.  5:23 – stopped at a rest area to meditate, about 40-45 miles west of Wheeling. 

Arrived at Fairmont at Louis and Jeannie’s about 8:30 – had to take a winding, curving detour off of highway 79 to get here from Wheeling.  Their house is BIG and OLD and very interesting.  They have varied musical instruments, and lots of plants all over the place.  We drank some beer ($1.50) and had a bite to eat, drank some more beer and talked with them til past midnight, then went to bed.

Sunday, May 19
We awoke around 9:00, freshened up and meditated and had breakfast.  Domingo and the other dogs, Max and Fang, are going around in circles and having quite a time. 

Around noon we drove down to Jeannie’s mother’s farm, got gas at a little station near there – 250 miles, 8.8 gal, $5.20.

The farm was a little mountain paradise – we took a walk up a hill – quite a hike, but worth the view. 

The dogs had a good time playing in the stream. 

Got back to town around 3:00.  Had stuffed cabbage and dee-licious homemade biscuits that Louis made. 

Later on Tom and a friend came over – we sat and chatted for the rest of the evening – tried to figure out plans for the next day’s travel.  Louis had to go to work – then Tom left – we went to bed shortly thereafter.         

Monday, May 20
Got up at 8:30, meditated and had breakfast, left Louis and Jeannie’s around 10:00.  It should be nice weather again today. 

On the way out of town we stopped and got some more ice -- 71¢ for 10 lbs. 

Took a wrong turn somewhere and had to do some backtracking, trying to get from Highway 19 to 79.

Got to Clarksburg and stopped at McDonald’s for lunch – almost
12:00.  Not making very much progress.  Finally got to Beckley at 4:00 and got gas – 251 mi, 8.7 gal, $5.20.

After a long winding drive and a somewhat harrowing search, we found a campsite in Jefferson National Forest (in Virginia) at the foot of the Appalachian Trail.  It was pretty damp and we couldn’t find any dry firewood, but got enough going to heat some pork ‘n’ beans.  “This is a very unlikely place to be camping,” said Robin.

Tuesday, May 21
Got up shortly after 7:00 – our sleeping bag arrangement hadn’t been too successful and made for another restless night.  Before breaking camp a backpacker came down the trail – he said he’d been hiking all the way from Georgia.  We washed up in the stream, meditated, put the tent away and headed south.

Took a short by-pass north to Roanoke, arrived at almost 11:00.  Pulled into Dunkin Donuts to fill the thermos and get refreshments ($1.25).  Continued on to meet the Blue Ridge Parkway.

1:15 – been driving on the Parkway for a couple hours – quite a scenic route, but it’s getting so foggy that we can’t see much of the “views” any more.  Got gas at a station just off the Parkway near Sparta – 268 mi, 9.6 gal, $5.65.  Got a can of pop -- 25¢.  The fog is becoming denser and denser – we can only see about 20 yards ahead of us, if that far.  It’s like an eerie enchanted forest in Transylvania.

We drove through the clouds for 14 miles before it cleared up at all.  Kinda nice to be able to see again!  That didn’t last long – soon we were back “in the thick of it” again.  5:15 – the fog is as bad as ever – stopped at Crabtree Meadows Lodge for a burger -- $2.50.  Finally made it to Asheville, almost 7:00.  Got some eggs, bread, beer, ice and a saucepan.

Our efforts and pains of the day were rewarded when we found a “fine” campground at Mt. Pisgah, between Asheville and the Smokies. Pulled in around 8:00 – it’s still very foggy, but not terribly chilly.  The campsite is great – secluded, but with a table, underground waste can, fireplace, tent site and a bathroom nearby. 

Had soup and sandwich and beer for dinner and turned in around 10:00.  It’s been a slow-goin’ day, but pretty enjoyable even tho’ we missed most of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Wednesday, May 22
We awoke around 7:00 with the sound of a drip-drip-drip outside the tent, and the feel of a drip on our heads.  It was a muddy, drizzly, foggy mess outside – there went our plans for a nice big leisurely breakfast of eggs, grits and cocoa.  We packed up the soggy tent, meditated and started for the Smokies with a forecast of rain and fog through the next two days.  What a vacation wonderland.

Arrived at the end of the Parkway at 10:30, got gas in Cherokee – 248.3 mi, 9.7 gal, $5.60.  Arrived in Gatlinburg around noon – it hasn’t changed a bit.  Got a fishing license, chips, wieners, and postcards, grabbed a hot dog and root beer – spent almost $10 all told. 

Decided to try Elkmont Campground, but the fastest route to it was closed.  Got directions on a detour at Sugarlands Center –

quite a bit out of our way, but we decided it was worth it since it would be free and probably not very crowded.

Around 2:00 – we were wrong on one count – there are a surprising number of people for this early in the season and the long route to get here.  The campsite is not as ideal as the one we had last night – the tent spaces are hard rock covered with sand, not too good for sturdy stakes – but it will do.  Had to buy some firewood -- 68¢.  Around 3:45 we tried our luck at fishing – at least the weather had cleared so we can do something.

9:15 – the fishing was unsuccessful, of course – and it started raining a little before supper but we managed to cook some macaroni and cheese and hot dogs – took a walk and then it started raining again – the tent is leaking and we can’t get the sealants to fix it.  We ended up sleeping in the car (and thinking about going home).

Thursday, May 23
It rained all night but stopped by 8:30 or so this morning – tried to get a fire going so we could have a good breakfast for a change.  Breakfast was delicious – eggs scrambled with cheese, grits, break and butter, and hot cocoa. 

We got things straightened up a bit, got the tent to drying.  We had fun with a squirrel for awhile, feeding it pieces of bread.  Around 1:00 we left camp to go see some sights. Drove around Cades Cove, stopped at the John P. Cable Mill.  They’ve built a new “relics and souvenirs” house and use the old one just for display. Most of the rest of it was the same – they were making corn meal at the mill.  We bought some of the meal and a jar of sorghum molasses. 

It was a lovely drive – got back to camp around 3:00, had “lunch” of tuna sandwiches and soup – then tried to repair the tent some more and wrote some postcards.

Around 6:00 we meditated, then went for a hike which turned out to be quite a little jog – really worked up our appetites.  Got back to camp about 8:15. 

We have some new neighbors on either side of us and across the road.  Had green beans, mashed potatoes and hot dogs for dinner – then it was dark and we sat around the fire and had a couple beers and turned in at 10:00.

Then we shook and swept out the tent to get out the flea powder we used to try to get rid of the sand fleas. 

About 4:30 – we meditated and ended up taking a short nap as well – drove to Townsend to get some more beer and film, came back and had Tuna Helper for supper.  Our new neighbors on one side came over and chatted a bit – a young couple and little girl from Oak Ridge – they’ve done quite a bit of camping and hiking around here and are “real friendly folks.”

The campground sure has filled up today – completely.  They put up the No Vacancy sign this afternoon – people coming in for Memorial Day weekend.  Guess it’s gonna be pretty crowded for the next couple of days.  At 8:00 we sent over to the amphitheater and listened to some “old time mountain music” by the Dry Branch String Band – they weren’t terribly outstanding, but enjoyable. 

That lasted for an hour – came back and started a fire and had a beer before going to bed.  It was barely starting to sprinkle, but didn’t amount to anything.  The neighbors next door invited us over to share their fire and have some marshmallows – after talking with them it was another hour before we got to bed.

Saturday, May 25
Got up about 7:15, washed up and meditated.  The neighbors said that during the night a bear had come into their campsite and tried to get their ice chest – it was pretty good size, too – but they got the ranger to come and shoo it away.  We wished we could’ve gotten to see it.

At 8:00 we took off for the Little Pigeon River to do some fishing.  Robin caught one nice little 7” rainbow trout right away – then nothing else for the next two hours – we took it back to camp and ate it with some eggs, grits and sausage.  It was really delicious.

After lunch we cleaned things up -- then it was 1:00 and we left to go to the other side of the park to see Clingman’s Dome and the Sugarlands Museum.
 

The hike to the dome was longer than I (Jenith) remembered, but the view was worth it.  Stopped at Newfound Gap, too – then Sugarlands before going to Gatlinburg for ice and gas.  The gas was 60¢ a gallon – mileage about 245, got 9.4 gals -- $5.70 -- plus 68¢ for ice. 

Got back to camp around 5:00; the Park is really crowded now, what with the big weekend.  Almost too many people and cars to be able to enjoy the scenery.  Meditated and took a nap; had stew, potato chips and peaches for supper. 

At 8:00 there were some James Thurber skits at the amphitheater by Tennessee Tech players – lasted til 9:15, they were pretty funny.  Came back and sat by the fire awhile and then went to bed at 10:00.

Sunday, May 26
Woke up, meditated and left camp to go fishing by 7:20.  Thought that with an earlier start we might have better luck.  Fished for about 2 hours but didn’t get a bite – then it was starting to sprinkle and found out there was 80% chance of rain so we decided to pack it up and head for Knoxville.

By 10:00 we were ready to go.  Got to Knoxville around 11:30.  I found the way right to our house* – everything’s basically pretty unchanged and quite familiar.  Then we went to the Ragsdales** – the kids were home – Lee, Frank and Margie, and Lee’s wife – but Ann and Lee Sr. weren’t home yet. 

We went in and had some coffee and talked for awhile – then decided to go eat and see a show.  Decided on Shoney’s, where we had Slim Jims and chocolate shakes -- $3.20.  Then we went downtown and saw “Blazing Saddles” – a hilarious flick.  The theater was really quite an elegant old place.

After the move we went back to the Ragsdales, had dinner, then around 7:45 we left to go over to Mrs. Chris Benson’s house***.  Had a lovely chat with them, and she gave us some coffee and coffee cakes.  They have a lot of house plants, love nature and talked about the mountains quite a bit.  Stayed there for about an hour, then it was dark, still raining, and we drove down Cherokee Boulevard and by our house once more before going back to the Ragsdales.

A girl who had gone to Bearden****, Mary Jo Cowart and her husband, had come over and we looked through her old yearbooks for awhile and all drank beer til about midnight, then went to bed.
     
* The house that Jenith’s family, the Parises, had lived in from 1960-64 while in Knoxville.
** Dear family friends of the whole Paris family from the Knoxville years.
*** Another Paris family acquaintance from the Knoxville years.
**** The junior high school Jenith attended in 7th grade.

Monday, May 27
Woke up at 7:15, meditated and came upstairs – Lee and Ann weren’t up yet – they’d come in from Florida on a late flight, but Lee got up soon after and finally Ann came down.  We had some coffee and talked with them til 10:00 – then left and started west. 

Stopped first at a truck stop on Hiway 40 for breakfast -- $3.68.  Got going again a little after 11:00.  It’s a nice day for a change – sunny and bright.

A little after 11:30 we entered Central Standard Time – set the watch back to 10:35.   At 12:15, about 55 miles to Nashville, got gas – 262 mi, $5.50.  4:45 – arrived in Memphis, got gas – 244 mi, 8.1 gal, $4.65.  Missed a place to eat in Memphis, the next town was Blytheville, had a burger at 6:30.

9:00 – stopped at Perryville for root beer, filled the thermos with coffee and got gas – 211 mi, 7.4 gal, $4.20.  11:40 – pulled into the same rest stop near Minneola, MO where we spent the first night out.

Tuesday, May 28        
Got going around 8:00.  8:45 – stopped at Denny’s in Columbia for coffee and a roll.  Got gas in Concordia at 10:05, 253.4 mi, 9.2 gal, $5.35.  Got home around 1:00, stopped at Taco Tico and brought lunch home. 

Odometer reading 21,697.0. 
Total number of miles driven – 3,111.0. 
Total cost – slightly more than $150 ($64 for gas, 12 fill-ups). 
Covered 10 states, not counting Kansas.