9/16/15

Changing Gears


2015-08-19 18.51.35
Our life of selling, discarding, moving and remodeling is coming to a close. Yes, there’s lot still to be done but nothing that can’t wait until later.  Definitely time to take a long slow breath and relax.
And time to focus on something else….like our new to us Escape!
Mid-August finds us heading north to Tennessee RV in Knoxville where Andersen Weight Distribution Hitches are installed.  Our little 2002 Tacoma needs all the help she can get.  It is worth the 3 week wait for an appointment and we are out the door in a few hours.
Friends meet us on the side of the freeway and escort us to Panther Creek State Park where we take the above photo of Cherokee Lake.
From there we head to our favorite summer camp, Mt Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway (just below Asheville, NC.)   I worry about pulling the trailer straight up the mountain from Waynesville.   The last 4 miles are all hairpins curves but the truck does ok after shifting to second gear.
We have our hiking gear with us but it goes untouched.  We spend 4 days of doing nothing but enjoying the views and the cool air.
2015-08-20 19.35.39
DSC_0011
DSC_0018Looking Glass Rock

DSC_0012
Mt Pisgah
We are still getting acquainted with our new trailer.  We put everything away in May before the onslaught of moving chores.  Now we can’t remember where any thing lives!  Constantly searching!   But this is our first real camping trip…not counting the two days in June…and we will eventually find a routine.
Sylvester is not bothered by all the fuss.
DSC_0001

DSC_0006
Notice how the truck is dwarfed by the trailer.
DSC_0002
DSC_0005
Our time in the mountains goes fast.  Soon we are back home and learning how to live at a less demanding pace.  We see our first movie of the year, take our first bike ride in 6 months.  I hike with my Tuesday group, another first for the year!
DSC_0017DSC_0013
Adjusting to the unknowns of a new home and a new trailer is not enough stress for me.  A visit to Best Buy during our August tax free weekend results in a new tiny HP laptop.  Now I am trying to learn how to transition from my 2008 Windows Vista to Windows 10.  Windows 10 is ok, so far, except for my inability to download Live Writer.  Still have much to figure out.  Also did not realize the photos would look so poor on the small screen.
Speaking of inabilities….I am unable, so far, to get the Casita language off the blog as it is distributed.  I may need to create another URL.  If anyone can help, sure would appreciate it!!  I am so technically challenged, it is a miracle that the blog exists!
Also been playing around with the new Google photos app..thanks to videos from Geeks On Tour.  Still learning, but hope to get all my photos uploaded.  Lots of fun so far!
2015-09-12 11.22.072015-09-12 11.05.14
A short hike on Signal MTN results in a few phone photos.  Left, David at Mabbit Spring; right, turkey tail lichen.
2015-09-12 12.02.25
Looking north from Falling Water Falls overlook.
2015-09-07 10.55.122015-09-11 17.11.25
David on the Chattanooga River Walk and Sylvester trying to be good.
96d24f45-722c-48a3-a132-24cc380b901f
Results of playing around with the app, PicsArt. ( which disappeared when I was playing with Google Photos.)
Looking forward to beau coup good times this fall in our yet unnamed Escape.  Heading east in 5 days back to the mountains of North Carolina.  Then west to the Land between the Lakes Rally.  October will find us at the rally in Cherokee, NC. 
Looking forward to seeing many of you out there!
LIFE IS GOOD!!!