6. Forests and Mountains: Alabama, North Carolina,

Tennessee and Virginia

Day 15 - Tuesday, May 16

Enjoyed some pretty highways and byways today.

Left Three Rivers State Park after a good night's sleep. The nighttime temperature was 68F outside and a comfortable 71F inside the van. Had another shower, plenty of hot water but not as good a flow as I enjoyed at the previous campground. Headed out at 9:15 AM and took the very pretty state roads 271 and 95 north to Abbeville, and US 431 to Eufaula - a very "Deep South" type of town with beautiful homes and huge old trees lining the road. Straight out of "Driving Miss Daisy."

Picked up SR 169 at Seale to go to Opelika, US 431 to Lafayette, SR 77/49 to Lineville, and then the spectaculary scenic SR 281 into the Talladega National Forest and to Cheaha State Park. Stopped along the way to restock the pantry.

Altitude at the park is 2,470' - the highest elevation in the state of Alabama. $13.26 got me a site with water, electricity, and sewer, an inoperative grill, and a very dirty and decrepit picnic table.

Grilled my dinner under the watchful eyes of the two huge dogs that my neighbor let run free. Alabama license plates on the van, the pick-up, and the trailer, the Confederate flag prominently displayed. Oh well . . .

Drove 300 miles today, mostly on attractive byways. Was on the road for 8 1/2 hours. Bought gasoline at $1.419 and averaged 17.5 miles to the gallon on the last tank.

Day 16 - Wednesday, May 17

A mixed day, as far as scenic beauty is concerned. In Alabama, SR 281 through the Talladega National Forest is so beautiful it defies description. US 78 to Heflin, Edwardsville, and Fruithurst have scenic stretches. Crossed the stateline into Georgia. Little scenic beauty beyond Tallapoosa. Might just as well have taken I-20. At Bremen switched to US 27 and enjoyed a few scenic views around Cedartown and on the way to Rome. Then US 411 to Fairmount, SR 53 to SR 136 and SR 5 to Ellijay. Picked up US 76 and followed it through some pastoral landscapes to Mineral Bluff. SR 60 took me to North Carolina, and US 64 (quite scenic from time to time) to Murphy. About 20 miles north of Murphy the road enters the Nantahela National Forest and it get very scenic as it winds its way through the Nantahela Gorge.

At Almond turned off onto SR 28 to find my way to Tsali, the NFS campground.

Tsali offers hiking and biking trails as well as a boat launch. It has two campgrounds, the second one has prettier settings. But the bathhouse is an abomination. The NFS has the unmitigated gall to charge $15 per night for a site that lacks hook-ups, is not level, gives access to a filthy and run-down bathhouse, there is no host/office/attendant/security, and the pay phone does not work. But the setting is lovely, and my Golden Access card cut the cost in half.

Was on the road for 6 hours, drove 250 miles. Morning temperature was in the low seventies, after the night's low of 67F. Overcast most of the day, but the sun did finally manage to come out briefly in late afternoon. Evening temperature is in the upper sixties - it's going to be a cool and comfortable night. Grilled a couple of hot dogs - took advantage of a blessed absence of bugs.

Day 17 - Thursday, May 18

It was a beautifully cool night - 57F outside, 60F in the van. Slept very well until 7:30 AM, finally got going by 9:30 AM. Then some very beautiful driving: SR 28 back to US 19/74, then the scenic Great Smoky Mountains Expressway (US 74) to I-40 West for just a few miles to SR 209 - a truly amazingly scenic road - to Hot Springs, NC and then on the Dixie Highway (US 70) into Tennesse, US 25E to Tazewell, a little loop on backroads to Sneedville, back to US 25E and US11W to Bean Station, Mooresburg, and the Cherokee Lake Campground.

I chose the campground because Map 'n Go indicated "phone hook-ups" and I had visions of a phone line at my site. Management had no idea what I was talking about, but did let me use the office phone to connect to the internet. $18.01 for water, electricity, a small and uneven site, and a bathhouse that looks pretty shabby, but is very clean and the showers work very well. The location is very nice, directly by Lake Cherokee, and the manager couple was extraordinarily friendly and helpful.

Drove 260 miles, was on the go for 6 3/4 hours. Bought gas in Sneedville, TN at $1.459/gal. Averaged 16.1 miles to the gallon on the last tank. Daytime temperatures climbed into the mid-nineties and it was still quite warm when I grilled myself a cheeseburger for dinner.

Day 18 - Friday, May 19

Was awakened at 6:30 AM by some birds doing their chirp thing in the tree next to the van. Really didn't want to get out of the warm sleeping bag - it was a bit coolish inside the van, 70F.

But after a comfortable shower and a rich breakfast, was on he road by 9:30 AM. The temperature had climbed to 78F, the sun came out occasionally as I stuck to US 11W and then US 11 in order to avoid I-81.

Stayed on US 11 for most of the day, mostly a waste of time. Abington, VA and Salem, VA are pleasant to look at, but more often than not, US 11 (the Lee Highway) is junky. The best way to go, I think, is to get off I-81 to visit Abington and Salem (but be sure to avoid Roanoke) and to take the first exit for Pulaski and then stay on US 11 for a while - probably the most scenic stretch of US 11 in Virginia.

Made my way to US 340 and Waynesboro, VA. North of town is the Waynesboro North 340 Campground, a rather nice place to spend the night. The sites are wooded and level, reasonably well-separated, water and electricity are provided, there is a pool, the office lady is super friendly, modem connection is allowed, and the bathhouse is spotless. $18.81

Was on the road for 300 miles and 7 1/2 hours. The sun came out during the day and the temperature climbed into the low nineties. Strong thunderstorms came up in the late afternoon and the temperature dropped to 70F.

Since this is the last night on the road of this trip - as usual, I'm regretting that the journey is coming to an end and looking forward to getting home. Because of the light rain, am spending the evening inside the van, finishing up whatever is left of snacks, fruit, and adult beverages.

Day 19 - Saturday, May 20

Got up at 7:30 AM. The sky looked undecided, cloudy or sunshine. For a couple of hours it looked as if the sun might win out, but by the time US 340 met up with US 211 near Luray, the clouds had taken over. Indeed, as I drove the spectacularly beautiful South Fort Valley Road, Camp Rooseveld Road, and Fort Valley Road - I was often driving right through the clouds - at altitudes around 2,000'. Checked out the NFS campground at Elizabeth Furnace - looks OK - and then on to Font Royal and I-66.

Jumped off at the interchange I-66 and US 15. This road, at times overcrowded and merely two lanes, took me through some beautiful parts of Virginia and the very pretty town of Leesburg. The road improved as it enters Maryland, and the drive through the Catoctin Mountains is quite scenic. Stayed on US 15 to the turn-off for Gettysburg. The place was crowded, despite the cold weather.

Got on US 30 - The Lincoln Highway - for the drive to Lancaster. There is one attractive little town along the way - New Oxford. The rest is unpleasant, to put it mildly. The road construction around York is horrible and potholes and bumps abound. As far as I'm concerned, that whole part of Pennsylvania should be placed off-limits for tourists until decent roads can be provided.

At Lancaster switched to US 222, a much improved road, that took me to Allentown and I-78/I-287 - the road home.

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Epilogue

Traveled 4,800 miles over 20 days. Consumed 280 gal of gasoline, at a total cost of $400. Averaged 17.2 mpg. Stayed at 16 campgrounds at a total cost of $244.85.

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