Kentucky in October

This trip began Sunday, October 5. We have not been able to write in a timely way that corresponds to when we have Internet service; thus, we are catching up.

We are on the road again. Today we are in Kentucky. This trip began last Sunday when we traveled from home to Halsteads’ Hacienda in Louisa, VA. The Tolsons were there when we arrived. We three couples were leaving Monday morning for a trip to Renfro Valley, KY. The Halsteads invited us to assemble at their place for an early start in the morning.

Larry and Mem put on a fabulous fish fry Sunday evening. The fish were from their pond at the farm. Larry and Mem caught, cleaned and deep fried the fish along with hushpuppies, green tomatoes, and french-fried potatoes. Janice made Asian coleslaw and Donna provided lemon-bars for dessert. What a feast!
Monday was a perfect weather day for travel. We headed out around 9:00 AM. Larry led our caravan as we headed west along I-64 and then south on I-81. Our first destination was Camping World in Roanoke. Purchases were minimal; we had to park in the Gander Mountain lot across the street so we also shopped there. Next, we stopped at the Flying J truck center in Wytheville for fuel.

The Flying J was closed. There was yellow tape around the RV pumps and orange cones in front of the truck lanes. We made a big circle through the lot and were about to leave when Chuck decided to try to find out why everything was closed. As he turned toward the RV pumps, the tape was being removed. We never did learn why the tape was there, but we did get fuel. Our best guess was a power failure.

We left I-81 for route US 68 West at Bristol. This route took us into an area we had never seen. The first 20 miles were curvy, slow, two-lane, hilly, and beautiful. The foliage was beginning to change color and the day was sunny and clear. Who could ask for more? Chuck was lead-dawg and Larry was tail-gunner. Chuck would alert us to oncoming cars so that we could take the curves in the middle of the road. Larry was forever playing catch up after being caught at traffic lights and a Jeep Liberty that kept getting in front of him.

We arrived at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in the early afternoon. This is a relatively new National Park opening being established in 1955. The visitor’s center is quite modern and shows two films about the history of the Gap, Daniel Boone, and Dr. Thomas Walker. This was a great visit and reminds us that we need to know more about our history. After the visitor’s center we six crowded into Larry’s Ford and drove to the Pinnacle Overlook, 2440 feet above sea level. The views were extraordinary. We began the day in Virginia, dipped into Tennessee, and ended the day in Kentucky.

Our destination for the night was the Wal-Mart in Middlesboro, KY. We arrived before the rain began and even had time for happy hour in the parking lot. We made our obligatory shopping trip into the store, had dinner in our coach, and were ready for “Dancing With the Stars” on TV. Rain arrived in sprinkles by 11:00 PM, and in earnest around 4:30 AM. We delayed our departure until 10:00 AM because we had a short trip to Renfro Valley. It was raining when we drove away and stayed wet until we arrived.

We are now settled into our campground. We have 20 Discovery coaches scheduled for this rally. So far, we are the only SOB (Some Other Brand) couple here. Tonight we met many of the early arrivals; these are nice people. Two couples parked next to us have roots in Columbus, GA. Janice has enjoyed talking “southern” with them about things past and present in Columbus. The rally officially begins tomorrow.