Day 10 Tennessee to Home Sweet Home Alabama

Our last day to do what we wanted to do. We headed out for the Smokey Mountains and wound our way through them and then ended up back in Cherokee National Forest. Up mountains and down mountains all day, we actually ended up higher in the CNF than we did in Shenandoah. We were close to 5000'. Earlier, we had stopped at a roadside market to get a bag of boiled peanuts. I am not deathly allergic to them, but sometimes I do have problems when I eat them, little things like not being able to breathe and getting faint and having my throat feel like it is closing in on me. Oh yeah, it happened at the 4550' level. I pulled into a lookout area and sat there chugging water until I could burp and clear a path to breathe. Then all I had to do was to imagine I wasn't going to faint and shake the looseness out of my body. Once I finally had it all together again, we eased on down the mountain only to be passed by 2 bikers speeding by who gave me dirty looks for driving 20 in a 20mph zone. Rounding the next curve, we saw them sitting patiently while the cop wrote their speeding ticket. We drove slowly by, staying within that 20 mph limit and smiled at them.

Going down the 4 lane, Corgan yelled out, "A Baby Bear!!"

"Where?" I yelled back, afraid I had hit it.

"Back there, just walking down the highway, a cute fuzzy faced little baby bear. We have to save it," he announced.

Now this highway is interstate type of highway. One doesn't just stop and back up. One also couldn't let a baby bear just wander out into the highway and get killed.

We drove to the next exit, a good 5 miles away. Then we drove back the other way to the next exit, another 7 miles away. Then, we got back in our original lanes and drove that 2 plus miles back to where we had started.

All along the way, I was wondering how I was going to capture a baby bear and get it out of the highway. What if the mother was right up that grassy slope, munching away while her baby was wandering out toward traffic. What if she really didn't like the idea of me stopping to rescue her baby? At the same time, I heard Corgan mumble, "Looked like a baby bear, could have been a dog, could have been a bear but might have been a dog."

Okay, a dog I could handle much better than a baby bear. A dog I could put in the car and take to the nearest shelter. A baby bear was a totally different situation.

Driving slowly, I was looking for a baby bear sized dog or bear itself. Suddenly Corgan screeched, "There it is!"

Of course I had passed it by then. There was no way I was going 5 miles down the road and turn around and do it all again. I waited until the 18 wheelers passed and then I got out to find and rescue our dog or bear, all the time watching not only cars coming toward me, but the woods in case a mama bear came rushing out. I had already figured out how I would run around and around the car yelling at Corgan to open my door just as I reached it. I never had to.

Ahead of me on the edge of the green grass next to the highway, a small brown fuzzy creature wobbled ahead of me. It turned and looked at me as if to say, "What is a human doing out here on the roadway when it has a vehicle to travel in?"

It looked like a beaver from the front view as it eyed me, but when it wobbled away, it looked like a giant fuzzy brown rat.

Deciding that if I chased it I might run it right into the path of the cars that were passing me, with drivers and passengers looking at me standing there looking at a giant fuzzy brown rat thing.

We watched it wobble off, seeming to know where the safety of the grass border was and then we drove off too.

Only a few miles away, I saw another one standing right at the edge of the road so I honked the horn loudly and for a few seconds. It leaped onto the grassy hill and ran up to safety. At least we saved one of them without having to brave traffic or angry mother whatever they were.

From there we went to a friend's house and took a break while my friend showed us his yard and crafts facility. He entertained Corgan with the bongos and fruit trees and one of his huge English Shepherd Dogs, and then gifted Corgan with a very special one of a kind item he had created himself. After a cola for Corgan and a water break for PeeWee, we once again drove off into those mountains.

All trip we looked for waterfalls and never did find one. Yet as we drove along those mountain roads, we saw a sign that said waterfalls. It was a small road that went downhill a bit so we were game. The only thing I didn't consider was that it obviously would go uphill also. The road was not wide at all. One lane was it, one vehicle at a time on it. That was okay, we were the only vehicle.

This place was the switchback capital! The road went maybe 300yrds and then switched back sharply around the bend, going down as we approached the switchback and then immediately headed uphill. There was no place to turn around so we kept going up. All too soon, the passenger side was on the very edge of nothing. The road not only got more narrow as we went more up, it was no longer paved, but was a dirt and gravel path.

PeeWee was in his kennel, totally oblivious to the peril outside his safety zone. Corgan and I were not actually panicking, but probably as close as one can get and still maintain some degree of dignity.
As we veered back on one perilous switchback, I was near tears, the road was disintegrating just inches from our tires and there was nothing there but nothing. There was also no way to go but up again.

Suddenly, a car rounded the switchback above us. We inched up and passed one another in the bend of the switchback (the widest spot) as I rolled down my window. The man looked at us, his face white as a sheet, his wife's matched. "Turn around," he offered. "There is a place right here, turn around."

They went on past us, down the gravely road and we turned a sharp left on the current switchback. I saw a small level spot but it was not large enough for our Expedition to turn around so I figured it was a little farther on. ... No.

We were stuck. We couldn't go down, we most likely wouldn't make it up to the top, and top was still a ways to go. As we manuevered around yet one more switchback without going off into the void, I saw a spot where someone had leveled to dump stuff. I was able to pull in as far as possible into the side of the mountain and back up ever so gingerly until we were finally facing the down position of the road.

Going up was rough. Going down was rougher. The tires slid on the gravel road and I had to drive just a wee bit past 1 and a half miles an hour to keep from sliding. Switchback after switchback passed as we descended yard after yard until we could finally see the ground again. We were through with waterfalls.

Driving a few miles down the highway once again, I looked over and out Corgan's window and saw........a waterfall. Screeching to a stop on the side of the road, we got our cameras and locked the car and walked back to the edge of the road where we could see the waterfall. We did a lot of switchbacks and tested our level of fear for nothing. The waterfall was right in front of us and we didn't have to do anything to see it but look.

Once back in the car, we drove a wee bit more and saw a sign for a state park. Driving in, we saw a huge lake to our right. We drove on until we came to the park station, paid our fees, and drove til we found a parking spot. For the next 30 minutes I took photos, walked with Corgan and PeeWee and finally let PeeWee swim in the creek. He needed to swim in the creek because only an hour earlier he had rolled over and over in a dead chicken back at my friend's place.

Slowly we began driving out of the mountains through small but very picturesque roads until we reached the interstate and were once again facing Alabama.

It was a great road trip and an interesting one with a 12 yr old. He was a fun and witty companion and we formed a bond that you only get when trapped with someone 24/7 for 10 days. I hope his mom knows what a special boy he is and I pray she enjoys each and every day she has with him. They grow up way too fast.

I don't know if I will ever get to take another grandchild on a road trip, the others are so young now. I may have to settle for just PeeWee for as long as he and I can plan a map and hit the road. Night all.

Day 9, Falling Waters to somewhere in Tennessee

We had breakfast at the Holiday Inn and headed out for Shenandoah National Park. Wow! We traveled up the mountain, down the mountain....up a different mountain, down that mountain. We did that for almost 3 hours. The mountain roads are so different from the Rockies. There are not really any switchbacks, just one rounded corner after another. Of course, those rounded curves were really high and the turn offs were overlooking great vistas of green mountains that graded to blue and then lighter blue with each following range of mountains until they blended in with the sky. It was fascinating. The roads were good and once I got over the initial mountain road going up fear, it was great. I had read about the Sky Drive and now I have driven it. PeeWee liked the rest areas the best.

We had planned to camp there tonight, but circumstances changed that. Then I figured we could drive on to Cherokee National Forest and we would camp there tonight rather than tomorrow night, but that changed once we got there. My quiet little creek that would run close to our campsite turned out to be a lake the size of Lake Martin and was apparently the one spot all of that part of Tennessee and Virginia went on weekends.

There were no campsites available. Just as well as there was a lot of very happy people in boats and swimsuits. We would not have got much sleep tonight. We drove on until we found another Holiday Inn (PeeWee likes them). So, we get a good nights sleep, an early start and we head to the Smokey Mountains tomorrow.

A prayer goes out tonight for Jeelani who is in the emergency room tonight.

Sleep well all.

Day 8, Danbury to Falling Waters WVa

We are back at the same Holiday Inn we stayed in on our way to Maine. Today was another day of just driving and all of our photos are of that drive. There are some very pretty views of the landscapes from NY to Falling Waters. The roads were especially nice going thru NJ.

There was a bad accident on the middle of the bridge between New York and New Jersey. Between the accident and the toll bridge on the other side, we sat in non moving traffic over an hour. I like Auburn.

We are going to hit the sacks early tonight so that we can get to Shenandoah National Park early enough to get a good campsite. It is only a three hour drive and then we can explore for the rest of the day.

So, until tomorrow, night all.

Day 7 Maine to Danbury, Conn

Corgan, PeeWee and I got up early and took a couple of side roads to say our last goodby to Acadia. There was so much fog, something I associate with Maine.
We stopped at a Denny's and got hot chocolate and I used internet to book us a hotel room for tonight.
There are not many photos for today, it was driving through Maine, New Hampshire, Mass. and finally Conn. For most of that drive, we were in heavy rain and thunderstorms. It made driving difficult and scary. It also cut down on our pit stops. PeeWee was not happy.
We did stop in Salem, Mass and went to a mall that was primary Salem Witch Trial shops, all with merchandise centered around Salem Witches. The nice thing was that PeeWee was allowed in all the stores.
Corgan loved it, especially enjoyed the haunted house in the mall. He is ready to move to Salem. Salem is a difficult city to find one's way in and about. The GPS was not that much help. Corgan is eager to get home and go to the Library to find books about the witch trials. At least he is getting some history and some geography lessons on this trip as well as learning how to use the map. He is making a collection of maps of all the states we have visited.
We hit Hartford during rush hour, followed by Waterbury rush hour. Lots of just sitting in traffic.
Tonight we are in Danbury, Conn in a hotel and ready to just chill out. Tomorrow, we head to West Virginia and then to Shenandoah National Park.

Day 6 Maine all day

What a beautiful place on this earth, Maine--specifically, Acadia National Park.

Corgan and I discussed the first rule of the trip after he missed out on 2 great sites by choosing to sit with his gameboy rather than get out with me and see such fantastic views. 1st rule, no gameboy until we get on highway.

Thunderhole was as spectacular as it was when I was here before with Tom. Corgan got out and walked along the rocks and heard the great thunderous sound as the waves crashed in the gorged out area of the rocks.

The beach was wild, the waves frantic as they surged against the cliffs and splashed the cold, cold water onto the rocks. We couldn't get in the water because it was so cold.
We saw so many things and we got here at high tide so it was really beautiful. We hope to go back later at low tide so Corgan can see the difference.

We passed a group of people looking up at Cadillac mountain, (what a view from there!) I stopped to see what they were doing as there was a park ranger with them and they all had big cameras. Corgan didn't want to get out so I walked a few yards ahead and asked what was going on. The ranger told me to look through the telescope. I saw a rare peregrin falcon roosting on a ledge of the rock face of the mountain. As I watched, he stretched out his neck and spread his wings. What a sight! I most likely will never see a peregrin falcon in the wild ever again. I feel blessed.

PeeWee had a rough day walking, running and climbing and having a very friendly looking Golden Retriever attack him. I snatched him up and out of harms way, but it was scary. The man with the dogs could not believe his dog did that. We were on the top of a very high cliff with rocks below. It was a scary moment for me and for PeeWee. Luckily, Corgan was looking at something else and wasn't very close. We kept coming to signs that said 'to Parking area', but they lied. Everyone we took just led us on a new and very long trail to other areas of the cliffs. We had about a 5-6 mile trek by the time we got out. The cliffs are high and drop down to huge boulders below and then the ocean hammers at the rocks. It was all very breathtaking. I could walk those trails everyday. Wow!

PeeWee is very tired. He is stretched out beside me in the tent, snoring and having doggy dreams about this day. This is a very dog friendly area, dogs are everywhere, even some of the restaurants.

We went to a couple of places to shop and stopped at one of my favorite Barbeque places and ate lunch. Like Tom before him, Corgan's eyes were much bigger than his stomach. No matter, we boxed it up and we will have it for dinner tonight. He had a terrific rootbeer made right there where we ate lunch, at a brewery. He got to taste rootbeers and other sodas and I got to taste beers and wines.

It has been an exhausting half trip and I am looking forward to the return trip and the great sites we will see there. I do not have cell service here and can only post when I get to a spot with internet. I hope Katie reads this and can convince Corgan to enjoy the sites and places we are yet to go. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to see a lot of places he may never visit again.
Computer battery dying. Will post this tomorrow when I find internet. Night all

Day 5 Vermont to Maine

Our day started out with the drive from Laura's down the mountain and across Vermont. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. We drove all the way across Vermont and across New Hampshire and into Maine. It took us a very long time to get there because we relied on the GPS rather than the good old map. In the end, we put the GPS in the dash and got out the map and found our way just fine. There were mountains covered in clouds just about the entire way.
We drove down quiet country roads that were lined with white birch trees, like out of a magazine, so beautiful.
As we drove along, happily lost in our own thoughts, suddenly a huge shiny thing loomed in the sky ahead. It was IN THE SKY, way up, beyond high, it was like a hole broke through the sky and left this metal thing. I was hoping, hoping, but as I turned the bend, there it was---the Devil's Bridge. I call it that because once you were on that path, one mistake and your only path was down. It was not truly a bridge. It was a monstrosity!
I pulled off and asked a cyclist if there was another way to Ellsworth, but it was the only way. Well, maybe for her, maybe for most people. Not for me. I turned around, drove back a long ways down the highway, found another road going in the general direction, made a few turns and drove a lot of miles but I ended up on the other side without having to do that bridge.
We drove on to Bass Harbor, found our campsite and settled in for the night. There is a storm coming. Night all.