xxxHomeless on the ridge

October 8, 2014

In the morning, I show my frustration with my off-road privileges being suspended.

But she holds strong. So I guess I will have to behave myself for a while.

It’s time to head towards the Blue Ridge. One last shot of the views from Mt Magazine.

We begin the long drive. Arkansas has some very nice roadside parks and we stop at one for a break and to make lunch. I forgot to take pictures.

When we went through Little Rock, AR we thought it would be neat to go downtown. Little Rock has a market area by the river that we thought would be fun for a break.

BIG MISTAKE! The streets in Little Rock are narrow and trying to maneuver our rig proved to be very difficult. I’m not sure how it happens, I think perhaps going over curb at one of the sharp turns, I got a flat on the trailer.

On a narrow street in downtown Little Rock, I am stranded with a flat tire. I call roadside assistance and in about an hour, they come change the flat using our spare.

While we waited we went to go see this market area and was very disappointed.

The sidewall is torn, so the tire is trash. So with the spare now mounted, we then head to Discount Tire to get a new tire. We always buy our tires at Discount Tire because of their good service and road hazard warranty. After some difficulty, I make it to the Discount Tire only to find out that this is “Discount Tire and Brake” that has no affiliation with “Discount Tire”. I’m slightly pissed but too frustrated to go find a real “Discount Tire”, so I drop $100 for a new tire.

Our original plan was to stay at a coast-to-coast resort in Tennessee but we lost several hours in Little Rock and it is getting late and we are still in Arkansas but just outside Memphis. We stop at another roadside park and make camp for the night. At the Arkansas rest areas, there is a designated area for the big 18 wheelers so we get to park in a nice quite area. I forgot to take a picture of our campsite AGAIN. Our stay at the rest stop was uneventful and I was proud of the Saint for enduring this. Our trailer has a built in generator, stored fresh water with large holding tanks for grey and black water. So we can survive pretty good for a while without hook ups.

October 9, 2014

Because our schedule has been thrown off, we make a change of plans. We abandon our plans to divert to Kentucky and decide to just head straight to our destination in Virginia. We don’t know where we will stay tonight but we will just figure that out when it starts to get late.

We cross the mighty Mississippi River into Tennessee.

The traffic and road construction going through Memphis was unpleasant, but we finally make it through. Outside of Knoxville we stopped at the suburb of Farragut.

Surprisingly Saint was willing to stay here.

The roadside park worked out, so why not try a Walmart parking lot.

This Walmart was actually in an upscale market center with lots of restaurants and stores.

We find an interesting place that had good food and craft beers. I enjoyed some of the local brews while enjoying a nice band.

I purchased a 6 pack of various craft brews made here

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The intent of this purchase was to bring these as a gift for my sons to enjoy. After the purchase I learn that these need to be kept refrigerated and the space in our refrigerator is very limited. It is doubtfull that these will make the trip back to Texas. For the sake of space, I may need to consume them. Sorry boys.

Our stay at the Walmart
was not great. About midnight some street cleaning truck ran back and forth making all kinds of racket. Then about 2 in the morning there were some kids playing in the parking lot making a bunch of noise. Then starting about 4, garbage trucks starting making their rounds banging dumpsters relentlessly. By morning, I am informed that we are never doing that again.

October 10, 2014

We continue. We drive and drive and drive. Driving the length of Tennessee is like driving through Texas.

The terrain becomes more rolling and scenic as we near Virginia

We finally pass into Virginia

We pass near the town of Marion, VA and see some sign about a distillery. Oh what fun, we say! Let’s go get us some moonshine! We did not learn our lesson about bringing a long trailer through narrow streets. We never found the distillery and we were lucky to have gotten out of town with trailer intact. I almost, however , took out a telephone pole.

Back on the highway. By the afternoon, we encounter heavy rains and the going is tough.

We stop at a Cracker Barrel restaurant for lunch and a break. After lunch the rain was still heavy. So we just took a nap in the trailer while still in the Cracker Barrel parking lot.

The rains let up slightly, so we continue on to our destination of Greenville, VA

The leaves are beginning to turn here

We arrive at the campsite and set up the trailer. The resort we are at has a grill so we head to the club house to get us something to eat. We find out tonight is BINGO night, so we partake.

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We didn’t win a damn thing, but it was a fun way to end the day.

We are now at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway.