Georgia

On our way to Florida from Nashville we planned to stay with our friends from the Smoky Mountains National Park. We started having van trouble along the way but she kept chugging along (literally it was like Quicksilver had hiccups) and we were very late (3 hours). The ride towards Atlanta goes right through the mountains and is very scenic but at some points the hills were a bit much for our lovely lady in silver.

Despite our tardiness, even more southern hospitality awaited us. We had a full, wonderful home cooked meal and were able to shower, do laundry and sleep in a real bed for the first time in 12 days. The next day we took Quickie in to the local mechanic and got  the four things that have been breaking down on her 'fixed'.

We passed the time by shooting off some guns in the backyard. It was Brookes first time shooting a gun and at the first shot Beka screamed. Despite being new at it, Beka and Brooke were both great shots.

Target practice in Georgia with some revolvers

I also was able to find a bunch of critters in the back woods including some marble salamanders, newts, lizards and frogs. I wasn't able to find the kingsnake that lives in the shed.

Marble Salamander, Georgia

When we tried to make our way to Florida we made it about 20 minutes down the road before we realized we missed them too much and turned around... Actually we broke down and started stalling but managed to chug a lug our way back.

Fixing up the van

 Todd helped us replace a part on the van that could be causing the trouble and we took out Todd and Elizabeth for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. The Mexican food was amazing at El Durango and it was incredibly affordable for the portions you get.

Nashville, Tennessee

Our very first experience in Nashville started off with some very random southern hospitality at it's finest. We planned to start at Centennial Park and the Parthenon in the west of the city and make our way downtown that evening by walking around.

What ended up happening is that we got out of the van at the park and promptly were offered beers. We had stumbled upon a tailgate party and spent a few hours drinking, eating homemade food and playing games like corn sack (bean bags or sand bags are used for this in Canada).

We left around when the game was going to start and hitchhiked downtown rather than walk the half an hour. Downtown was bustling and it was amazing to see live music at the world famous Tootsie's orchid lounge. The bar is small but the multiple stories provide multiple shows at one time and the rooftop patio has a great view of the Nashville downtown strip. Over the weekend we got to see a lot of the various bars. The music is variable but mostly country and rock.

Downtown Nashville is EXPENSIVE and I don't recommend it unless you like country music and have the money to spend. Otherwise your wonderful buzz from friendly tailgate parties will fade and you'll be sober and out of cash before midnight (but not until after checking out a few bars and riding at least one mechanical bull).


The final attraction we saw in Nashville was the Grand Ole Opry. A classic venue for country music and where the best of the best get inducted as members. The tour was very interesting for seeing the area backstage but it did feel quite rushed and they don't actually let you take pictures on the centre stage (for this you need to pay the professional photographer another $24.)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

The Great Smoky Mountains was everything I had hoped. It was nice to just stay in a place for a while. 

Creek in the morning fog at Smoky Mountains National Park

The first hike we did was 8.5 miles around a mountain. Within the first 15 minutes I flipped a rock with 5 salamanders followed soon after by two more, for a total of 3 species. The small mountain streams are perfect for salamanders. No wonder this is the salamander capitol of the world! I wish I had been here in the right season for finding more.

Blue-ridged Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea wilder)

The trees still have some leaves hanging on making the views gorgeous with fall colours. The fires in Tennessee and Carolina also made the Smoky Mountains true to their name and we could see smoke lower down in some of the valleys. Since we had a bit of a late start on the hike up the mountain we ended up hiking the last part of the trail in the dark. Sunset over the ridge was definitely a worthwhile experience to witness and I found hiking in the dark actually very relaxing and peaceful but the other girls didn’t feel quite the same way about going down a mountain in the dark. I had made sure they brought their headlamps with them just in case this happened.

Sunset in the Smoky Mountains

The scenic loop has the best views since you actually see the surrounding mountains well over the cleared fields and don’t have to look through trees.  The traffic is VERY SLOW because everyone is taking pictures or looking for wildlife while driving. There are a lot of pull off areas for people to use for parking but most don’t and you can see them hanging out of their windows.

Quicksilver on the scenic loop in Smoky Mountains National Park

With the forest fires somewhat surrounding the Smoky Mountains there is a very obvious fire ban in the park but some friends we made along the way (Todd and Elizabeth) had a propane heater so we spent a night having a guitar session with them around the heater.  They were also kind enough to let us hook up to their generator to charge up our RV battery that had died.  

Our new friends at Smoky Mountains National Park

Abram Falls was a gorgeous hiking trail. I was sad we didn’t have time to do the full loop but just walking to the falls and back follows a nice fast flowing creek with some rapids. The understory is a lot of rhododendrons (shrubs with big pink flowers that bloom in the spring) that made me want to visit again when they are in bloom. The falls was very packed with people when we went and I imagine in the summer it is even more so.  It is definitely worth it to bring a tripod to get some long exposure shots but I didn’t even think of this so I had to make do without.

Abram Falls

It was sad to leave the Smokys but Nashville offers a very different atmosphere that will also be enjoyable.

Recipes From The Road – Vinaigrette Pasta Salad

So basically cooking on the road is a lot of tossing together whatever you have at the time, generally including a lot of canned food. Once in a while you get to enjoy a fantastic meal with fresh food so good that it is worth sharing the recipe. Don’t blame me if you don’t find it as awesome because anything tastes fantastic when you’re hungry.

1 can of chick peas (Garbonzo beans)

1 can of corn

½ of a cucumber chopped

½ of a bell pepper chopped

¼ onion chopped

½ package of rotini pasta cooked and cooled

Grapeseed oil (to taste, we probably used a few tbsps)

Balsamic vinegar (to taste, we probably used a few tbsps)

Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning, basil and black pepper

Mix all of that together and you get a very delicious and easy to make pasta salad that gives you a taste of those fresh veggies you are craving.

Claytor Lake State Park

I woke up at sunrise and went for a hike around Claytor Lake Trail. This was the longest trail in the park but it still only took about an hour to do. The park seems really nice for having a nice extensive beach and boat launch but the wild areas aren’t too impressive. Getting out in the morning and being active after so long in the van was exactly what the doctor ordered and I felt infinitely better afterwards.

Trails at dawn in Claytor Lake State Park

The park was a bit disappointing in the off season since they charged us $41 for regular camping because only their expensive RV campsites were open. We didn’t use any of the hookups but got charged the full amount. It didn’t say anywhere online that only the RV area was open and that you couldn’t get regular campsites that were half the price.The staff at the office were also some of the most unfriendly staff I have ever dealt with at any park I have been to (and this includes a lot).

Claytor Lake State Park

We FINALLY made it to the Smoky Mountains National Park. Again we arrived at night. After a few drinks we went to bed excited to finally wake up in one of our main destinations.

Battle of Cedar Creek Campground

 Battle of Cedar Creek Campground, Virginia is a nice and friendly small park that even though it wasn’t what we wanted was extremely useful to stop at. The park manager (Chris) got our microwave screwed in so it won’t fall out on our heads anymore. He was great and very helpful in terms of getting the washrooms and showers working and heated for us despite the building being under construction for the season.  This was also after the 100s of phone calls we had made to him the night before when trying to find the site (it was a large pull through site that to us just looked like a road) and get the water hooked up at 10pm.  

Cedar Creek at Battle of Cedar Creek Campground

 The park has canoes we could have used to go up the creek but since we didn’t really get going until 2pm we decided to just get on the road and keep heading south instead. The creek did look very nice and it would have been a nice experience. Everyone in the park had little dogs and Beka got her ankles attacked by a very fluffy Pomeranian that was upset with her for not continuing to pet him. 

We drove about 3 hours south along I81 to Claytor Lake State Park. After leaving so late we didn’t get there till dark and Brooke went to bed soon after we did some updated planning for our route and schedule that would compensate for our delays so far. Beka and I went for a short night hike from the campsite to the beach. It was quite lovely to get out even for a short period of time and walk. 

The Journey Begins... With a Bit of a Rough Start.

18/11/2016

After many delays, we finally crossed the border at Gananoque (Thousand Islands) around 6pm tonight. We are headed in the direction of Syracuse. Initially we planned on making it all the way to Locust Lake State Park in Pennsylvania but with the delays we didn’t make it out of New York. Luckily there are many places along highway 81 that you can stop at to avoid driving all night. We parked at a rest stop near Whitney Point, New York.  

Morning view from the rest stop

19/11/2016

We headed towards Philadelphia, PEN today to visit Brookes friend Neil. On the way we changed our plans and headed towards Locust Lake State Park. We were driving in a blizzard with wind strong enough to blow around the van on the highway. Arriving at Locust lake State Park really felt like the trip actually was beginning. We were 11 days behind schedule but having our first meal made in the van, playing cards, singing along with the guitar actually made it feel like we were on our way and done with the delays.

So far both Brooke and I (the short ones!) keep hitting our heads and hips on the van. We are covered in bruises. Beka keeps pinching her fingers on the old style seat belts and the corners of the cupboards are the bane to my already very scarred head.

Sometimes you try to find interesting ways to unscrew things... until you realize the swiss army knife has a screw driver on it.

20/11/2016

Waking up this morning to a gorgeous view of Locust Lake in a winter wonderland was refreshing and peaceful. The hemlocks were drooping with snow and the ground was sparkling.  Beka and I braved the cold and went for a bit of a dip in the lake. It was FREEZING! Beka was screaming the entire time until she got back into the van. My feet didn’t defrost for an hour.

We assumed that because the park was closed we didn’t need to park normally. The night before we had parked the van horizontally, giving us a great view when we walked out the doors in the morning.  As we were about to start a hike around the park the park ranger (Brian) pulled up and told us to park normally.

Locust Lake State Park 

We had a nice chat before heading out on our hike around the lake. It was a nice approximately 20 minute hike that was perfect for not spending too much time in the cold and getting on the road in pretty good time. The snow looked gorgeous in the forest and over the lake. I am definitely a fan of doing this trip in the season when parks aren’t busy.

Locust Lake State Park in a winter wonderland

Today we headed further south along highway 81 towards George Washington National Forest... BUT we didn’t make it. All of us are getting more and more frustrated as things never really work out as we planned them. Our RV battery died today so we realized we needed to actually hook up our van tonight. Many of the parks are closed for the season and we don’t know what ones still have access to hydro.  This meant stopping just north of George Washington National Forest in an RV park called Cedar Creek. The RV park means we have access to water and hydro to charge everything up again but it’s really crowded and I really just want to be outside in the wilderness. 

Van life combined with the constant delays is getting frustrating and definitely takes some adjustment to get used to. With three of us in one space there is very little room to store anything and we are constantly tripping over shoes and bags. All of our storage space is constantly blocked from being opened by bags and shoes. I am realizing that although I am not a clean freak by any means I might be a bit OCD about organization. I’m not really sure how to cope with this yet. I’ve tried organizing things in the van but it just doesn’t seem to help and I am constantly doing it. 

Brooke is also finding the space a bit cramped but mostly from the perspective of dealing with such a tiny kitchen when she loves to cook and prepare meals with a lot of space. Beka is finding the tight space stressful because all of us are getting frustrated and we have all had very little chance to relax.  For me writing this journal is a way to get things out of my head and relax at the end of the day. 

Beka trying to relax with a bit of colouring