Return to the Stone Mountain

 

The Stone Mountain

We had a birthday party camping at Stone Mountain a couple of years ago and Jessie has been wanting to go back. The campground there is one of the newer North Carolina State Park campgrounds and actually has electricity AND water at each campsite along with nice concrete pads and generous, level platforms for picnic tables and additional tents. I have been camping with Jessie's dog, Franklin, and I've been camping with my dog, Odie, but this was our first trip with both pooches sharing a space. They both, of course, expect to be the center of attention, so there was a little jockeying for space and pats, but in the end, we all managed a good time. 

The Stone mountain itself, according to the state park website, is a 600 foot dome of igneous rock formed from molten lava during an early geologic age. Softer rock on top of it has weathered away, exposing the dome

Top of the waterfall

 and the wet weather springs that continue to erode the surface, which result in a number of dramatic waterfalls. One historic marker noted that there was an attempt to mine the granite, but the miners found the rock so hard, the operation was abandoned. 

Jessie and I hiked to the top of one of the waterfalls (Jessie, having made the mistake of starting the trail from the bottom end on a previous trip, exercised good planning--we left a car at the bottom and drove to the top and hiked DOWN some 300 steps that ran alongside the waterfall) and enjoyed the deep woods and dramatic falls on an extensive staircase running downhill beside the falls. 

We stopped counting at 300  

The days were cooler than the week before but the humidity was epic. The campground existed in a mist and the woods were dank. However, literally thousands of species of mushrooms are found in the North Carolina Mountains and conditions were perfect for them to put on a show. Jessie decided to photograph each different type she saw and it seemed like she was stopping every other step--a walking pace that suited me just fine in the thick air.

So we hiked past the Hutchinson Homeplace with it's sturdy log cabin and generous barn, abandoned in 1945 but preserved by the park. We enjoyed an evening bonfire and S'Mores. We watched the Full Corn Moon rise and slept cozy

Misty campground

in our (air conditioned) bunks. We felt safe and appropriately isolated, and it felt great to be on the road again. In some respects, it's now pretty late in the camping season, but Escapes are designed as a year round camper in Canada. I plan to test their claims with some November and December camping near home this year. Stay tuned.

Hutchinson homeplace

Magical trails

Happy Camper: book & s'mores

Happy Camper: feet up

Full Corn Moonrise

The last embers

Solo Maiden

Awning unfurled

The weather is finally getting a taste cooler and I've settled into my new job with the Tourism Development Authority. I'm now a part time "Tourism Counselor" (read: Greeter) at a highway Welcome Center near Seagrove, NC filling my pockets with travel brochures and my head with destinations. So it was time to finally book some camp trips with children and friends, but first it was time to take the new girl solo and learn the controls. 

My destination was Deep River Campground, not 10 minutes up the road near

View from my campsite

Franklinville, NC. Though not visible from the camp sites, the campground sits within earshot of the Deep River directly across from Sapona Manufacturing in Cedar Falls. There are hiking trails, including along the river, and a fishing pond just outside my camper door. My sense was that about 80% of the trailers there were owned by fisherfolk who make this their summer home and a cozy one it is. The campground is a peaceful place, not overly expensive, mostly shaded, and just what I needed to tackle traveling alone. It was also close enough to town that I was able to invite a couple of girlfriends to dinner and an evening campfire one night and do the same with my children the next. 

Ruthie and Odie at the river

I managed to unfurl the awning several times without incident, something Ruthie and I did not undertake coming back from Washington--we'd heard malfunction horror stories and were not up for equipment failure so far from home. The rest of the operation here went smoothly as well. I have a couple of trips coming up with my daughter in September and I feel ready to go. 

As a little indulgence, I had this tire cover made just to make it all official. If the carport guys ever come so I can keep her clean, I'll give her a bath and a wax job. We are dressed and ready and have places to go...

So you'll know us on the road!

A last challenge

I am happy to report we are safely home. We've had remarkably good weather and minimal traffic. But there remains one challenge and not the one I feared. I managed, thanks to some new gravel and grading delivered while I was away, to make the sharp turn from the house next door into my driveway. What I did not expect was that the carport that housed my Scamp was too small for the Escape, which SHOULD only be 7" taller and 4" wider. Somebody is fibbing about their specs. And I will need a taller carport. Considering all that we've been through, and all that could have gone wrong, this I can live with. 

Oh, and Ruthie and I are still friends so you'll hear from us on the road again.

Back across the Mississippi

Synchronous fireflies?

Saturday morning we got the oil changed at the Nissan dealer in Billings, MT, then headed out across several Indian reservations on two lane roads through eastern Montana and finally into South Dakota. It was an enormously long day. Sunday was spent crossing South Dakota on the Interstate along with everyone else headed home from their weekend or holiday week. 

We'd left the mountains and not quite entered the rich farmland further east towards Iowa. It's a very open landscape with little population evident from the road. For miles in advance, though, "tourist attractions" made their presence known with eye-catching billboards. One local brewery paired each sign with an antique fire truck. There must have been 30 of them. They were interesting to see but it made me sad to see them weathering rather than being preserved.

Because we were not near population centers, we saw almost no churches (we

clearly were not in the south...) but someone had built this tiny meditation chapel on private land bordering a rest stop. You can see we have left the Rockies and are clearly deep into the Great Plains.

It was another long, hard day of driving. We were headed to our campsite in West Des Moines, IA when we drove at dusk through one of the many extensive wind farms. The vanes were all turned away from us and large red lights mounted on the backs of the rotors were all blinking in unison. It looked like I imagine the synchronous fireflies look and I was almost as excited to see these lights as I would be to see the firefiles. They were everywhere and eerily beautiful. Ruthie tried to catch a picture, but this gentle blur is all she could get.

We have only driven a couple of hours today. We got groceries this morning and at 2:30pm, met our old friend, Barb Swanson, in the historic village of Amana, IA. Amana Colonies includes 7 villages, Amana among them. They were founded as a communal colony of Lutheran "Pietists" who were driven out of Germany by mainstream Lutherans. They first settled in Seneca, NY, then migrated to Iowa in search of a larger, more isolated location. Their communal tradition ended in 1932, but their

None of us are good a selfies...

corporation still holds the original 26,000 acres of land they lived on and many of their communal buildings are preserved as part of the Amana National Historic Landmark. And yes, Amana appliances are part of this history, though the business has been sold several times. 

We had a great time enjoying each other, catching up, and checking out the lovely shops. Of course, we had to visit the local bakery, a chocolate shop and a shop selling goods made at the Amana Woolen Mills. My holiday shopping is now complete...

Electric clothes dryer

We left Barb around supper time and headed further east, finally crossing the Mississippi River near Rock Island, IL where we are camped for the evening. We are still exploring aspects of our new camping set up. Washington and Montana were so cold at night, we learned to use the propane furnace. Tonight we are trying to master the air conditioner, which is wonderfully cooling but loud as a jet engine. We are also trying out a new contraption I purchased to deal with wet towels. It is a portable electric clothes dryer. I have no idea what my camping neighbors will make of it but it has saved us a trip to the laundromat and we are pleased. 

Two hard days of driving ahead of us and we are home. The last challenge will be getting our new friend into my narrow driveway. Ben has been trimming shrubbery and Jessie says the gravel person did a nice job of improving the grade and the surface. I'm hoping the last picture of this trip will be LibraryAnn II parked cozy in her carport (undamaged). Until then, this is how we ended today. 

Traveler's Rest

King pin

Traveler's Rest is the name of the last camp Lewis and Clark made before crossing the Bitterroots from east to west searching for the Pacific Ocean. Traveler's rest is what we took for two days after crossing the Bitterroots to head back east. We are at the Big Timber KOA, having run the gauntlet and being ready to shift gears into vacation mode. 

The KOA is about 10 miles out of the actual town of Big Timber. They both lie in a rolling plain full of horse farms with rugged mountains on each horizon. The KOA is about 6 miles from the I-90 exit but the campground is still right on the highway. Just across the highway is a very active rail line. It's been really fun hearing the trains day and night. I've seen trains as long as 135 cars requiring 4 big diesel engines. We are either increasingly deaf or crazy tired (or both) because the noise has actually been more pleasure than problem and we've

Big Timber Grand Hotel

had no trouble sleeping.

What we did have trouble with was unhooking the trailer. Day one here has been a day of rest and learning the equipment. We've sorted all the accouterments we brought from the Scamp and all those left by the previous Escape owners. We've tried to optimize which to use and how to pack. We've watched videos and re-read the owner's manual. But the big job was mastering the 5th wheel hitch. We watched the videos, consulted the checklists and could not get the latch to open enough to release the kingpin. Kudos again to our friends at Americamp, we sent them a picture and they coached us over the phone until the latch opened and we were free.

McLeod Street, Big Timber

To celebrate, Ruthie treated me to 

carry out from the Big Timber Grand Hotel. I had a handsome Montana steak on top of a garden salad, made even better by the day's accomplishments. A restful end to our day of rest. 

Day two has been spent at Yellowstone National Park. When I was about 8, my grandfather drove my sister and I from Indiana to the Seattle World's Fair via Yellowstone and home through the Canadian Rockies. We won't mention how long ago that was but there was a mixture of the familiar and the totally new as we drove through the park today. Yellowstone is the first of the American national parks, established in 1872, and some claim the first national park in the world. It is home to some amazing geothermal features and remarkable contrasts--among them, cool mountain rivers and boiling springs. The park is huge and we only had time to visit a few places. Rather than attempt to describe them, I'll leave you with some pictures below. Remember, they can be enlarged by clicking on them. Tomorrow we head to Billings for an oil change and will plan our final leg home tomorrow night from Rapid City, SD.

Odie providing commentary

Roosevelt Arch, North Entrance

Engineer's offices, employee's village

Village elk, employee's village

River bottom to mountain top

Mammoth Springs

Mammoth Springs

Where Daddy B bought gas

Boiling springs

Gibbons River

Waiting for Old Faithful (we didn't...)

Rainbow blessing

Road test

Bitterroots

Today was the road test for the truck and camper. Our goal was to get back across the Bitterroot Mountains, across the Continental Divide at a little better than a mile high, and find a good place to take a rest. Between the stress of hard traveling (oh, and did I mention traveling during a pandemic?), the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the import process, getting the brake controller serviced and learning to manage the new rig, I'm tired. Mentally and physically. The last hurdle, which we undertook today, was to be certain I had enough truck to pull the trailer safely. Having gotten through all that, we decided to book three nights in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park. The plan is to take a day completely off the road and just mess with all the bells and whistles on the trailer, review the manual, and rest. Friday we hope to visit the National Park. Saturday we have a mid-day appointment in Billings for an oil change and a relatively short hitch to South Dakota and we'll plan the next leg from there.

So today was the road test across the Bitterroot Mountains. The truck is a mid-sized V6 with an extended wheel base. I'm rated to carry 1391# and tow 6300# just somewhat over the minimum requirements to tow the trailer set by the manufacturer. I took a deep breath, took my time, and we made the trip in good form. Ruthie took her first turn at the wheel today and all went very well. We don't climb tall mountains very fast, but we climbed them without straining the engine. I don't tow over 60 miles an hour anyway, and it felt almost effortless on the flat. The truck has a transmission cooler and we used the transmission coming down the steep grades as to not overuse the brakes and never felt out of control. With the Rocky Mountains behind us, the rest of the trip should be a breeze. Kudos to the engineers at Nissan trucks!

Beyond the road test, the day has been a geography lesson. Montana is an ever-changing landscape. The Interstate follows river valleys between mountains that open in to broad plains of irrigated fields or wide expanses of buttes and folded hills covered in sagebrush, native grasses and fir trees. We crossed through July 4th Pass again today (Ruthie took a picture to prove I'm not prevaricating) and frequently across the Clark Fork River. We are staying these three nights at Big Timber. 

The trip today has been gorgeous at every turn. There really is no way to photograph all we saw, so I include only a few samples. Our only disappointment was not getting back to Wheat Montana before they closed...

Purpled mountains majesty

Clark Fork

Did I say "whupped"? But not whipped!

Canadian Border crossing, Sumas, WA

We are safely back near Spokane again. It's been a tiring two days, although happily victorious. Monday morning dragged, waiting for the time to pack up and leave for the Canadian Border. The broker said all the paperwork was in order and had been sent to the trucker. The trucker assured me they had all they needed. We took off for the US Customs office in Sumas, WA intending to arrive and meet the truck at 11:30am and be on our way. Just as soon as we hit the road and I could not easily answer phone calls and texts, my phone exploded with them. Stuff from work, paperwork needed by the seller to give the truck driver, word that the truck driver

US Customs, Sumas, WA

did NOT have the papers that HAD to be stamped at the border and I'd have to find a place to have them printed off my phone, the broker with instructions, the trucker with questions...oh, and the guy who bought my old house wanting to know where the septic tank was. I must have pulled off the road a dozen times to answer and respond. Suffice it to say, I was a noodle when I arrived.

The broker had said that the Customs agents would be tough to deal with and would not help me, especially with the papers I needed to get printed

Love at first sight

out and stamped. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I walked in, explained my problem and they were great. It was clear everything would have to be done correctly, but they also made it clear they would do whatever they could to help. It took at least two hours, made longer by a typo in the VIN number supplied by the broker. But they got it fixed and about 2:30pm, LibraryAnn II rolled across the border and into sight. 

The trucker graciously stayed to help us hook up the new fifth wheel hitch and we were on our own. We had a reservation about an hour away at the KOA near

Getting acquainted

Burlington, WA. There is a brake controller in my truck that coordinates braking between truck and trailer. It was not properly adjusted for this new trailer so we had an appointment the next day near Burlington to get that fixed. Driving her was a little dicey as she is about 1000# heavier, slightly wider and two feet longer than her predecessor and with brakes that worked but not optimally. I crept. But Washingtonians are as courteous as their Canadian neighbors and we safely arrived. It took watching a couple of videos on YouTube to get the hot

Burlington KOA

water heater working and the set-up complete. We ordered dinner via GrubHub and groceries via Instacart. Then we unpacked and stowed everything we brought to camp with her coming home and  then Hit. The. Hay. But before we did, we took Odie on one last walk. We'd been so focused on the problems at hand, we'd missed the natural beauty that surrounded us. This lovely mountain view brought us back.

I have to say, this camper is elegant. I've told Ruthie we will have to say that we are "rv-ing" as it is hardly camping. Temps dropped into the 50s last night and I woke cold and with a very

Stuart Mountains (and LibraryAnn II)

upset stomach from dinner. I set the digital thermostat to 68, used one of the many overhead lights to find some Rolaids in a cupboard and crawled back into a comfy bed. In the morning  I got a hot shower. My initial purpose was to find a trailer with a bigger dinette and better bathroom, but this feels like a mobile hotel room. 

After breakfast, we headed to Mt Vernon, WA to Poulsbo RV to have the brake controller adjusted. A friendly young women from Tennessee saw to our repairs and had us on the road in an hour. They did an

Wind on the plains

excellent job on the brakes--stopping is seamless between the two vehicles. We headed via Interstate back to Spokane. I did all the driving, working on getting a feel for things like cornering and braking distance. There is a learning curve and I will keep my speed down as this trailer approaches the limits of my truck. But we've had another safe day and took some time to enjoy the beauty around us.

Burlington was in the Cascade Mountains. The mountains disappear into the distance to be replaced with buttes and plains. For a while, there are enormous farms, thanks to river water for irrigation. But where the irrigation ends, the land is arid and sparse. We drove through one stretch of road experiencing enormous crosswinds. The trailer handled well but you can see from the picture of the trees in the rest stop just how strong the winds were and how barren the landscape behind them.

So we are safely in Spokane Valley at their KOA deciding on our next leg. Enjoy some fun pictures and I'll be in touch as the trip home develops.

We know now where he hides

Odie in the pokey

Art appreciation

Settled in

Evening blessing