Another Travel Day

 It was REALLY windy last night.  When we went to bed, it felt like we were trying to sleep in a small rowboat in the middle of a tempestuous sea.  The wind direction was such that it buffeted the RV broadside, rocking it severely (or at least that's how it felt).  It howled through the open windows and rattled the roof vents. Deb asked me several times if we were in danger of tipping over.  I reassured her that we were not.

After an entire winter of sleeping in a space that is often just above freezing, trying to sleep in a rocking bed in nearly eighty-degree temperatures was a bit difficult. I wonder if the three other RVs parked here had the same problem.

A front moved through at about 1am and brought rain and cooler temperatures, so we were able to sleep.  The wind also died down.  Early morning was blessedly quiet.

After breakfast it started to rain.  We were just leaving our parking space when we spotted a vivid rainbow. We stopped to observe it and it disappeared just as fast as it had come.  It was beautiful for a short time, though.

Since we were right next to Georgetown, we drove through town, just to see the architecture of the stately old homes and the downtown businesses.  Always neat to see the ornate buildings.

We left the prescribed path and headed toward Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.  Probably added an hour or two of drive time, but we wanted to see this and we were not in any hurry.  We arrived at the park just before noon and Google Maps, probably in an effort to save thirty seconds of drive time, routed us to the back entrance of the park along some very narrow and twisty roads.  An enjoyable drive but it took a lot of concentration to keep the RV on the road.

The road to Pinnacle Overlook was limited to vehicles under 20 feet long so we hiked the trail suggested by the ranger in the visitor center, starting on the Object Lesson Trail, going by the historic Cumberland Gap Pass, and climbing steeply for nearly two miles to the peak.  This has been a popular view point for many years, and offers a commanding view of three states.

Daniel Boone spent a lot of time here, blazing a trail and building a road that hundreds of thousands of settlers used to cross the Appalatian Mountains in their push westward.  The road was eventually removed and US-25E was routed through a tunnel under the mountain to restore the beauty of Cumberland Gap.

Cumberland Gap was also a strategic location during the Civil War, changing hands between Union and Confederate armies several times as it was the only way across the mountains.

A few miles up the road was a parking area next to the Wilderness Road State Park Bike Trail.  We parked here, made dinner, then unloaded the bikes and took a 15-mile bike ride.  This trail parallels the Cumberland Ridge and is very picturesque, with farms and pastures having the mountains as a backdrop.  We saw a few buffalo in the state park, grazing in a small pasture.

Back in the RV, we headed south on US-25E a very scenic road which winds through the mountains on its way south.  Finally stopped for the night in Morristown, Tennessee, in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.

On Daniel Boone

The visitor center had the journal of Daniel Boone.  One of the pages highlighted on the wall talked about his impression of the mountains.

At a vast distance I beheld the mountains lift their venerable brows, and penetrate the clouds.  All things were still. I kindled a fire near a fountain of sweet water, and feasted on the loin of a buck, which a few hours before I had killed.  The sullen shades of night soon overspread the whole hemisphere, and the earth seemed to gasp after the hovering moisture.  My roving excursion this day had fatigued my body, and divested my imagination.  I laid me down to sleep, and I awoke not until the sun had chased away the night.

We were then in a dangerous, helpless situation, exposed daily to perils and death amongst savages and wild beasts, with not a white man in the county but ourselves.  Thus situated, many hundred miles from our families in the howling wilderness, I believe few would have equally enjoyed the happiness we experienced.

Such eloquence.  Too bad this kind of language is not taught today.  I would imagine today’s description, sent via text message, would look something like this:

we r like lost in the mts had 2 kill a deer for food got like too dark to see so we slept on the ground i wanna go home

On RVing

Our step quit working today.  Made a couple clunks and now the step just hangs loose halfway down.  Another thing in the growing list of things to fix, which includes a partially plugged faucet aerator and a computer charger.  Part of the charm of putting a house on wheels and driving it down the freeway, right?  The maintenance issues come along.