We finally left Georgia on August 1st, planning to spend the next 1 1/2 months in western North Carolina. Our first stop was a campground just north of the city of Franklin, Great Outdoors RV Resort. This campground is built on the side of a hill so that sites are staggered and have a nice view over each other. With the various levels it felt that we had more space.
Jill relaxing in the shade 
Our site at Great Outdoors 
View over the campground from our site
The only down side to this location is that it’s close to a 4-lane so you could hear road noise. But overall it was very relaxing and just nice to have a change of scenery.
We had some rainy days but did get out one day for a hike up to Wayah Bald. On the way up we came to a homestead which turned out to be the cabin built for the first Forest Ranger to live full time within the Nantahalla National Forest. You could not go inside but could walk around it and try to think what it would be like to live in this house over 100 years ago. Luckily there was a sign with more info and a pictures from when the house was built (unfortunately also used for target practice it would appear).
We traveled farther up the road and finally arrived at Wayah Bald Fire Tower. Originally built of wood, it was replaced with a stone structure that still stands today, although its upper structure was removed and a new wooden roof was built recently due to fires on the mountain. We arrived in time for some fog to come drifting over the ridge. We also had time to speak with some thru hikers who were taking a break along the Appalachian Trail (Wayah Bald sits along the Trail). They were very kind to warn us to stay upwind since it had been several days since their last shower.
While we were enjoying the cooler weather and sites of the NC Mountains, our grand girls continued to grow and learn back in Atlanta. Their latest accomplishments as they moved into their 8th month was to learn to crawl/race and wrestle!
Skylar is serious about taking down Savannah! 
Savannah thinks it’s more of a game
Savannah has the lead… 
but then a burst of speed from Skylar!
Back at camp, we encountered a unique spectacle. We’ve heard of Murder Hornets (but luckily have not encountered any!) but one day we were relaxing outside when a large cicada came falling out of the sky with a hornet attached to its back. We watched as the hornet struggled to drag the cicada thru the grass, trying to get to the point that it could get its heavy load airborne again. It was not successful and soon flew away without its now dead loot. We later came to learn that this was, in fact, a cicada killer wasp. These wasps are able to pick up and carry much larger cicadas back to their nests in the ground and we just happened to have one drop right in on us. They are rather harmless to humans, mainly focused on two things – food and mating!
After a week in Franklin, it was time to head farther north to the small town of Maggie Valley, NC. This sits about 45 mins west of Asheville, nestled up against the southeastern edge of the Smokey Mountains National Park. We would spend about a month at Cross Creek RV Park. Sitting at about 3,000 feet, close to a stream and next to a field of corn, this is a nice quiet campground off the beaten path. We see turkeys a lot although have yet to spot an elk (others have).
When we arrived, the camp host hopped in her golf cart to lead us to our site. As we followed, we started getting a bit confused. We passed by two sites next to the corn field and we were pretty sure one of those spaces was ours. We crossed the road and were shown to a beautiful fully paved site under trees and nestled up right next to the creek. With some help from another host, we were backed into a perfectly level site! And then the host asked our name again and realized….we were in the wrong site! We all had a good laugh (well, actually, the lady host was very embarrassed by the whole thing and keeps apologizing and telling everyone how she messed us up) before driving back across the road to one of the sites we had first passed.
Soon after we arrived, we turned around and left Lola behind and the campground, loaded up the car with the dogs and drove back down to the Atlanta area to spend a few days with Jill’s BFF, Donna (who we hadn’t seen since February when we met up at Disney World, which now seems so long ago and in another time/world). Jill had a doctors appointment on Monday so we figured we’d make a weekend of it, visit and then head back after a few days. The dogs (sort of) enjoyed having a little more space and it was nice to hang out with friends for a few days.
Soon after returning to NC, we set off on our next hike which was on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is not very far from where we are camping. We drove along the Parkway for about 15 miles which included the highest point on the parkway (which runs from Cherokee. NC into Virgina) at 6,053 feet.
After this stop it was on to the trail head for the Richland Balsam Loop trail. Dan had read that this was an easy trail and assured Jill she wouldn’t have any problems. Let’s just say that his information was “fake news”! It turns out this was a relatively moderate trail with lots of washed out areas, large rocks, trees down, etc. It was a rough trip but it was worth it to spend some time in a beautifully changing forest as we ascended to the top of the trail. We encountered lots of variety of vegetation, mushrooms and the wonderful smell of “Christmas Trees” along the way. We had a few views along the trail although there is not a view at the summit (but there was a bench where we enjoyed our lunch before heading back down).
On our way back into town after leaving the Parkway, we also enjoyed several views of a flowing creek along the road, don’t know it’s name…
Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, the kids were looking for a bigger place for their growing family. We are happy that they found a house to rent in East Cobb County that will have plenty of space for the kids to roam and a nice fenced in backyard for the dog. The down side is that they’ll have even more of a challenge keeping up with the girls who are moving fast and starting to stand with assistance!
Just before the end of the month, we set off on another hike which promised to be less challenging than Richland Balsam. However, it had the foreboding name of Devil’s Courthouse and although was paved for a significant portion of the hike, it was a very steep incline of up to 25%. It is a very popular hike and the parking area was busy when we set off up the trail. After going about 2/3rds the way up, the pavement ended and we encountered a very narrow, rocky, slippery trail. There were times when we let other pass us but in the end, we were rewarded with great views at the top and a nice place to rest and snack before heading back down.
It was really nice to be back on the road and doing some exploring versus sitting in the same place for 4 months. This trend will continue as we head into September as we pick up the pace:
- Sept 1 – 12 – Still in Maggie Valley, NC
- Sept 12 – 19 – Hiawassee, GA
- Sept 19 – 29 – Corp of Engineers Campground on Lake Allatoona, near Woodstock, GA (catching up with family and friends in Atlanta!)
- Sept 29 – Head back to Florida panhandle and Navarre, FL