Smokey Mtn, Blue Ridge Pkwy & Shenandoah

I've been in gorgeous country and campgrounds, but no cell service and no way to update the blog. I left my cousin in Murfreesboro TN early to avoid driving in rain.  I arrived in the Great Smokey Mountain national park in time to set up camp and take a hike.  I had great neighbors at the campsite and we visited.  Heavy rain came in the night.

In Smokey Mountains I saw bears twice!  One time it was a momma bear with 2 cubs.  

One of the cubs scampered up a tree so quickly!  That little blob is a bear cub!

I got out my bike finally and was biking along a portion of the loop road at Cades Cove campground in Smokey Mountains when I saw the bear family, deer, and a coyote!  I did well on the biking...

I did more hiking and biking the next day.  

Because it was Memorial day weekend, I could not camp more in Smokey Mountains, so it was off to the next park--Blue Ridge Parkway, which travels from North Carolina to Virginia.

I stopped the first night at Mt Pisgah campground near the southern entrance of the 469 mile parkway.   

The view was amazing and wildflowers were out.

There were wild rhododendrons, azaleas, (including a bright orange flame azalea) and mountain laurel and so many other wild flowers.  The motto on the parkway is "enjoy the view but watch the road" and I could see the temptation to look at the wonder set out before my eyes!  But I often pulled over and enjoyed the view or took a hike.  The mountain sides are very steep.

I took me a few days to work my way up the parkway, stopping at the folk art center, the Blue Ridge music center, Linville falls, among others, and also spending nights at Doughton

campground and a private campground near Roanoke (I needed a shower and my rig needed a charge).

I met a guy who was hiking the Appalachian trail and meeting up with two of his friends.  We had a great talk and then they were off on the trail.

I was inspired to hike a couple of miles on the Appalachian trail just to say I did it!

I finally left the Blue Ridge Parkway and entered the Shenandoah Valley Park..  I stayed two nights in this park, in the southern most campground at Loft mountain and again at the northern  camp at Mathew's arm camp.  

The terrain is not quite so rugged as in the Blue Ridge Parkway, and you saw towns rather than mountains and forests.  

I had a chance to meet up with  some friends from home. Bob and Eleanor Manley, who were visiting family in Front Royal, the town at the north end of Shenandoah Park.  It was a great time to visit  and hear from home!  What a special time!

Now I'm looking forward to seeing some historical places in the area.

Natchez parkway and beyond

I visited the Acadian/Creole cultural center in Vermillionville outside of Lafayette, LA.  This is a reconstructed village with old buildings moved to the site demonstrating Acadian and Creole life.  Volunteers demonstrated crafts and music. It was interesting! 

There was a group having a Cajon music jam session that was fun.  All ages were playing.

After that I headed for the Palmetto Island state Park near the Gulf but when I was almost there I was blocked by a bridge being out!  I tuned around and headed for another state Park, but that didn't have camping!  It was getting very windy so I headed back to Baton Rouge. I stayed the night in a Walmart parking lot because I wanted to check it out.  It felt safe enough, but a car alarm went off incessantly at 4:15am!  I doubt I'll do that again.

The next day I headed for the Natchez Parkway. This is a beautiful road along the path used first by Indians and in the late 1700s and early 1800s by people walking home after taking their boats laden with goods to Natchez or New Orleans.  It is one of the prettiest roads I've ever driven!  It goes through parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee.

There were lots of magnolias in bloom.  And the cicadas were so noisy it was like an orchestra turning up.  These insects come out every 7 or 13 years, depending on the type, living most of their life underground. 

The old trace was walkable in many places. There were lots of historical spots to stop and see.

There are Civil War battlefields along the way.

I camped for the night at Lake Davis along the Trace.  It was a beautiful spot on the water.  But there was a thunderstorm and heavy rain and I was glad to be in a rv!

The next day I drove more on the Natchez Parkway, for a total of about 300 miles over the two days.  It was a relaxing drive at slower speeds, beautiful views, and limited access. 

Then I headed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and a great visit with my cousin Nancie and her husband Bob.  I had a great time catching up and admiring their beautiful home.  Nancie showed me some of her beautiful quilts and I look forward to taking another class when I get home and learn more.  Nancie is a master quilter and was president of the state wide quilt guild.  Bob cooked a wonderful meal and induced me to 18 year old scotch!  Wow!

Since rain was forecast, I headed out a little earlier to the Great Smokey Mountain national park.

Louisiana

We arrived in Louisiana after yet another long drive east from Dallas.  We had a late start because the guy worked on my AC...needed in the South!  We camped for the evening in a pretty County park on Cotile Lake, west of Alexandria, LA.  We had a great Lake view.  The host said a baby alligator lived in the cove, but I didn't see him!  We did see and feel plenty of mosquitoes, though!

The next morning we took a quick walk near the lake and admired the wildflowers.

Then we headed towards New Orleans.  We took a diversion to see a plantation written up in the AAA guidebook, but it was closed for a private party.  Elegant on the outside. 

We arrived at the New Orleans RV park in time to hop on the bus and head for the French Quarter.  We walked and listened and watched.  Bourban Street is really loud and wild!  

The next morning we headed out again for sightseeing and later lunch and a ride on an authentic steamboat. Nice views of the waterfront.

We walked and walked and took in all we could!  Sampled good food and had a praline or two!

The next day we did more sightseeing in the French Quarter.  Interesting and unique architecture.

It was fun to see the colourful buggies lined up waiting for the tourists.

We took a city tour so we could see sights not easily reached by the bus line and it was interesting.  We stopped at one of the above ground graveyards.  An average plot costs $50,000.

Our last evening was spent at Presrvation Hall hearing a traditional jazz concert.  It was great!

Colleen left for California early Saturday morning and I'm off on the next portion of my trip.

Texas, Texas, and more Texas

We left Carlsbad, New Mexico, and drove for miles and miles through the flat, deserted looking landscape of western Texas.  We saw lots of small oil wells and many large oil trucks and workers.  Lots of oil activity in west Texas!  

We stopped to see the infamous Piasano Pete, the world's largest roadrunner, at Fort Stockton.  We expected something grander!

We camped at Junction, Texas, at South Llano River State Park.  We had a beautiful site not far from the river--with hookups!  Since CA state parks don't have water and electricity and charge much more, I am delighted.  It is bird migration season and we watched at a bird blind where we saw quite a number of birds and a skunk skittering off!  We also saw deer grazing.

The next day after a restful morning at the park, we drove to San Antonio.  We had to deal with traffic to get to our RV park.  My GPS was not working right and Colleen had to guide me through the city streets.  We stayed at a passport RV park with a great discount rate. The spaces are close together compared to state parks, but they have a pool and laundry and wifi. We quickly changed and took a bus to downtown San Antonio where we had a riverboat tour and dinner in the river walk.

The next day it was museum time!  I drove the RV to the Insitute of Texan Cultures and had to park the RV at the Alamodome  and walk back to the museum.  This was about current cultures in San Antonio and we were more interested in history.  

So we headed to the Witte Museum in a different part of town.  No parking here either because I could not go into the garage!  The Witte was much more interesting to us because it covered Texas history.  They incorporated technology and animation and it was very well presented.

Then we met my niece, Deanna, and Carol and Bill, my former sister in law and her husband for dinner.  We had a great Mexican food dinner and a nice visit!

Friday it was off to Dallas.  Storm warnings were forecast so we skipped the LBJ presidential library in Austin to make it to Dallas before the storm. 

Colleen went to her son Don's to stay for a few days in Ft. Worth.  I headed to Carrollton to stay at an RV park and visited with my daughter Laura.  It is nice to see family!

Texas storms are different than in California!  I had great RV neighbours who warned me of the possible tornado and what to do.  6:00 am Sunday morning the siren went off.  It wasn't as loud as I expected so I did not rush.  I got dressed and took valuables with me and headed to the clubhouse.  I was greeted with Happy Mothers Day!  If the tornado seemed imminent, we would all get in the centermost room of the clubhouse, which is the women's bathroom.  I can't imagine it would be big enough!  As it was, we watched TV storm coverage and visited until we saw the danger had passed.  It made for an exciting memory!

I had a nice visit again with Laura on Mothers Day.

Monday was spent taking the RV to get checked out in Dallas.  The engine developed a noise I was not familiar with.  But all is well.  The AC also needs a repair and the RV park had a person who does work for them.  He is coming tomorrow and as soon as he is done, we will be on our way out of Texas!

Las Cruces and Carlsbad

I have some catching up to do!  We have been in New Mexico state parks for four days and the beauty has been plentiful, but the cell service scanty.  Personally, I'll take the beauty any day!

We left our Route 66 RV park and stopped outside of Albuquerque at the Petryglyph national monument.  It was so fascinating to see pictures carved onto rocks from 700 years ago by American Indians.  

Then we drove to Las Cruces and stayed at Leesburg state Park for a couple of nights.  We went to the farming museum and an old Mexican Town, Mesilla, outside of Las Cruces.

Camping was great.  We were next to yucca and prickly pear cactus and had water & electricity for $14.  We walked down to the Rio Grande river, which was down to a small stream because water had not been let out of the dam.  

Sunday we went to church and then headed to White Sands National monument east of Las Cruces.  It was interesting and so hot!

Then it was a long drive via El Paso TX to the Guadeloupe Mountains and on past Carlsbad to Brantley Lake State Park.  In the morning we went to Carlsbad Caverns and the caves were amazing.  My pictures do not do justice!

That night we had a tremendous storm with fierce lightening and thunder and hail and winds that rocked the RV.  It was beautiful and frightening!  There was no way to sleep and we just waited it out.  My weather app gave me warning but no way anyone would try to drive!  In the morning it was sunny and we were glad to get on the road.

Albuquerque

We drove from Sedona to Albuquerque with a stop to see the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  Fascinating!

We also saw ancient Indian dwellings

We made it to Albuquerque late and stayed in a rv park on old Route 66.  The park has some vintage campers that they rent out!  

The morning was filled with chores like laundry.  For fun we went to a Balloon museum celebrating Albuquerque's history of hot air balloon shows.  Colleen and I were the only ones there!  Then it was on to Old Town and a great Mexican dinner.  

Tomorrow we will stop by the Petryglyph monument as we head out of town to Las Cruces.