4. FROM HELEN, GA TO NEW JERSEY

Saturday, May 1 - Day 7

Helen, GA to Julian Price Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

The day started out just gloriously with bright sunshine and teperatures in the mid-fifties. First stop, of course, was the Konditorei. Antje bought some pastry that turned out to be just excellent.

Then on to the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway (GA348), GA 80/NC 180 and US 19 through the Chattahoochie National forest to Blairsville. Then east on US 76 to Hayesville, from where SR 175 North connects to US 64. There are several scenic overlooks along the way, worth stopping at.

The next 40 miles on US 64 East are a scenic delight. The road clings to the side of the Cullasaja River Gorge, and there are good spots along the way for taking photos of water falls such as the Dry Falls shown on the next photo.

We stayed on US 64 all the way to Rosman and then cut over to Balsam Grove on SR 215, which is also a beauty of a scenic road.

At Balsam Grove we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway for an absolutely fabulous drive through the Pisgah National Forest. The road around Mt. Pisgah climbs to 5,000' +, and there was quite a bit of snow alongside the road. We pretty much stayed on the Parkway (except for a shortcut through Asheville) until we reached our destination for the day, the Julian Price Campground at milepost 297. Since it is operated by the National Park Service, my discounted cost for the night was $6.00.

This campground consists of four areas. The first is for tents and small trailers, and is directly by a man-made lake east of the Parkway. As expected, every site was taken. Two large areas on the west side of the Parkway are very suitable for pulling through or backing in fairly large rigs. This part of the park was practically deserted, although the sites were very attractive - paved and level sites with fire rings/grills, surrounded by huge rhododendron bushes. The comfort stations do not have showers or electricity. Spent the evening in the van, working on the photo album, and generally enjoying a clear sky with brilliant stars.

We hit the road at 10:30 AM and were at the campground by 7:45 PM, 325 miles and 9:15 hours later. At departure the temperature was around 50F, up from the night's low of 42F. During the day it climbed into the eighties, but was back at 65F when we went to sleep.

Sunday, May 2 - Day 8

Julian Price Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC to New Jersey

Antje got up quite early in order to have lots of time for walking the poodles and taking photos. The lake was especially beautiful this early in the morning:

Unfortunately, I was awakened by rather severe abdominal pains. Had had similar but much milder pains during my California trip and while we were on Key Biscayne. This time it got so bad that I felt I shouldn't drive anymore - and Antje got to drive the van for the first time (which she did very well and smoothly), while I curled up on the rear bench. We headed straight for I-77, then I-81, and finally I-78 and I-287 to take us home as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Made it home about 11 hours later. We were on the road for 657 miles. Bought gasoline in VA for $1.049/gal and in NJ for $.989

Epilogue

It was a fabulous trip, and I was especially pleased to show Antje the beautiful state parks. She loves nature walks, and our schedule provided plenty of time for her to indulge herself and the poodles every morning and every evening. She definitely wants another trip along the Blue Ridge to see the rhododendrons in full bloom.

We drove a total of 3,525 miles and spent $224 for 218 gal of regular gasoline, (i.e. $1.07/gal). We stayed at six beautiful campgrounds at a total cost of $83.20 - about $13.80 on average.

Antje and I hope that you have enjoyed this journal and your virtual trip with us. Why not send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to let you know whenever a new or modified journal (section) has been uploaded. Just make sure that I always have a valid e-mail address for you. I'm eager to get on the road again to start the next journal. However, the abdominal pains led to a diagnosis of acute diverticulitis, a week in the hospital, relapse and an operation and another week in the hospital. A second operation is planned for late July/early August. I don't think I'll hit the road again until late September.

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