More Lake Roosevelt and good news!

Our week at Lake Roosevelt  passes uneventfully.  Our time is more precious with the thought that it may be our last week in the desert.  There’s a path along the bluff above the lake.  We walk it each morning for exercise and entertainment.


Unidentified hawk….possible red tail?

The campground from a small hill…red truck..bottom right.
Four Peaks Wilderness Area is to the west of us….seems strange as the peaks have always been east of where we previously camped.

Although the lake level is down, its beauty still overwhelms us.


The campground allows the winter visitors to stay for months.  This makes for some interesting neighbors.
This Canadian has the right idea for simple camping.  Notice the smoke vent in the middle of the tent!  A good neighbor…very polite.

Found an old graveyard where workers who died while constructing the dam are buried.  The Theodore Roosevelt Dam was completed in 1911.


T Roosevelt Dam

Roosevelt Bridge…built 1992.

At the end of the week, on a mission, we leave this peaceful camp.  It is time to WASH CLOTHES!  This is capitalized due to importance…we have not washed since January 18th…4 weeks ago!.........(Later I realized that I am lying! Completely forgot about using a RV park laundry in Yuma...not a senior moment....a senior two days...so sorry!)

Deciding that we are not able to drive 90 miles, wash for two hours and then drive through traffic to Phoenix in one day, we move closer to civilization…back to the parking lot at Phon D Sutton Rec Area.  This way we will only need to drive 18 miles to the laundry.  The parking lot is full of a singles group and we move to the next lot.  From this position we are able to see the fountain at Fountain Hills shoot up at 6 PM and a bald eagle circling the Salt River looking for dinner!

Choosing to wash at the Superstition Laundry is a wise decision.  With the help of an assistant we are able to get everything in one 50 lb. washer! ($5.50) Twenty four minutes to wash and 30 minutes to dry and we are done!!
(Note: we did not go around dirty and stinking…)

This past weekend is spent back at the relatives and we are now, happily, back at Lost Dutchman State Park, near Apache Junction.
And, thanks to my friends and relatives, our house has been cleared of foul odors and brown liquids.  No need to go back home early!  Hooray!

But the countdown has begun….must hit the road going east in two weeks or less.

Happy New Year from Beaumont, TX!

 

Not sure how we could be moving at this turtle pace, but tonight, on this new year’s eve, after three days of travel, Google says it is only 729 miles back home!  I am sure our truck odometer will show more but maybe it is a divine intervention to keep us out of this storm that’s bearing down on us.

Our first day of travel we made it to Meridian, MS….just like the trips in 2012 and 2014.  But this time my 2 year old Garmin gps announced that all the maps had been locked!! 

After driving all day, I spent another 3 hours on the laptop (in the tiny trailer in a rv park) trying to find a way to unlock the maps.  Then more time on the phone the next day with customer service.  A stop at Auto Zone for new windshield wipers, a stop at Dollar General for a kitty litter scoop and a stop for food and gas ate up more of our travel day.  Tried using my phone’s navigation system but grew impatient with the inability to see where we were going.  After several wrong turns, I thought I was turning right onto I-59 south and wound up in a Best Buy parking lot!  After making several less than spiritual comments, my husband urged me to go buy a new gps.  Which I did.

Spent last night at Fontainebleau State Park near Slidell, MS. Very cold but we did get in a nice walk to see Lake Pontchartrain.

This am the skies were clear with a beautiful blue …wonderful to see the sun again.  We were making great time all day…no need for extra stops….until we decided to stop at the Texas Welcome Center to discuss the possibility of taking 90 instead of I-10.  We were warned to stay off of the roads past San Antonio, I-10 or 90, for the next 36 hours due to ice and possibility of snow.  It was after 3 by then and we started looking for a PA camp for the night.  Got the last site at Hidden Lake Park in Beaumont. 

So our new year will arrive in another 90 minutes.  Occasional booms can be heard in the distance from those who celebrate with noise.  They are not bothering Hubby and Sylvester who have been asleep for an hour. I am snuggled into the corner of the bed with my laptop keeping me company. 

Don’t know what tomorrow will bring…other than rain.  We still have not de-winterized and camping with the pink stuff is getting tiresome.  Guess we will either stay here or head to San Antonio.

Highlights of our three days……

 

Apologies and Summer Recap

 

Although shame would run through me when I realized how long it had been since I posted, the guilt was not great enough to get me to write.   At times I would think of my loyal readers and try to heap coals upon my head, but it did not work!

For my lack of discipline….I am sorry!  I am vowing to do better in the future.

My last post, the end of July, praised the campground at Mt Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We returned home with good spirits ready to tackle more painting of the paneling.  (For those not following our adventure…..after touring Alaska and the West last summer, 2013, we decided to sell the house and move into something smaller.  This summer has been about downsizing and getting the house ready to sell.)

(Hubby working.)

(Done….photo makes it look more narrow than reality.)

After completing the painting, our house took on a new energy!  Our de-cluttering and lightening the dark walls made the space so much more enjoyable.  I could sit in the kitchen and watch the morning light move across the walls.

(Photo taken before clutter removed.)

David’s grandson arrived around this time with a U haul trailer, taking away many of the old family heirlooms and almost all of hubby’s woodshop!  Between the new energy of our home and absence of old family pieces, I began to feel happy!   Have not been very happy since we came off the road in March.

We managed to attend a brief fiberglass rally at Fall Creek Falls State Park.  It was great to see old friends but constant thunderstorms got in the way of photography.  We were there less than 48 hours!

About this time we started reevaluating our plans to sell.  It’s so important for us to spend the winter in the southwest…more a priority than selling the house!  It was decided to put our home on the market next spring after returning from the winter trip.  What a relief!!!

Since that decision was made, we have been enjoying ourselves!  The photo of the water and crepe myrtle is at Chester Frost Park where we spent several days last week.  Our kayaks have been neglected this summer….now we can justify keeping them!

 

This is Chickamauga Lake with Signal Mountain in the background.  We are in the middle of the Tennessee River during this photo.  (We are 12 miles from home!)

Neighboring site.

Setting sun.

My attempt of the super moon...

It has taken 6 months but we have learned (or relearned) how to enjoy life at home!  We are biking and hiking….not much, just  a little, spending time with friends, listening to bluegrass on Thursdays, going to movies and I have seen Seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Downton Abbey, DVD’s from our public library!

In two weeks we will be heading to another fiberglass rally at Land Between the Lakes….after that comes the Cherokee Rally, one of my favorite events!   And we may squeeze in a trip to the panhandle of Florida before Christmas!

And we are still downsizing……I have never been so sure of something.  For everything there is a season….and this is my season to let go of all things without purpose or beauty. 

One of my inspirations is a blog that was mentioned by my blogging friend, Kim.    I found the Be More With Less blog from her….thank you!

And thanks to you readers who have not abandoned me. Love!

Mt Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway

view from the campground

After spending eight glorious days and nights at this idyllic mountain retreat, we returned home jumping back into home updating projects.  The bath is mostly done and it’s time to take a break before returning to kitchen painting.

Waking at 4 AM this morning with blogging on my brain, it is time to take another look at our favorite summer get away.

Introduced to this magical place over 20 years ago, we were drawn here initially for biking and hiking opportunities.  The campground has 5 loops, two RV and three tent, with around 140 sites.  There are no hookups for electric, water or sewer and we never need a reservation….due to the lack of facilities! 

The Mt Pisgah campground is the highest, coolest and most secluded on the 489 mile Blue Ridge Parkway.  At 4, 980 feet, it  provides us with cool breezes and temps that welcome a fire at night.  Mt Pisgah, photo above, is at 5,721 feet with the television tower being the highest east of the Mississippi River.  There are showers in the campground now….years ago we bathed under a sun shower hung in a rhododendron thicket.  The fee is $16 per night, $8 with a senior pass.  The time policy allows camping for 30 consecutive nights, a recent change from a 2 week limit.

The campground is at mile 408 on the parkway, about 15 miles south of Asheville, NC and 61 miles from Cherokee, NC.  It is 5 1/2 hours drive from our home in Chattanooga, 200 miles.  We never hurry as it’s beautiful …traveling through two river gorges and 40 miles on the parkway.

Within walking/hiking distance of the campground, a restaurant, inn and camp store can be accessed.  These photos were taken in early evening from the deck behind the restaurant.

Always love seeing the beautiful flowers found growing along the parkway.  The elevation makes for a much later season.  We find columbine, a very early blooming wildflower, on a hiking trail.  Rhododendron is blooming throughout our campsite.

This wildflower, fly poison, is found along the campground road.

Calla lilies are in the restaurant’s garden.

From the eastern overlooks, Looking Glass Rock, (near Brevard, NC) can be viewed.  There’s a steep hiking trail that climbs to its base.

Sylvester seems to enjoy the trip…or maybe he just likes getting away from his two older sisters!  Lots of entertainment can be found just outside the window.

Sylvester lets us know when it’s bedtime by crawling on top of David’s book, persistently returning every time he’s removed.

A few fiberglass trailers breeze through the campground, most staying only a night.  We are fortunate to make friends with Holly, new Casita owner, and Carrie, proud owner of a pre-owned Scamp.  Will be seeing them again at future rallies!

Too busy talking to get any pictures of their rigs but the campground does have an abundance of small trailers.

This is a cool but pricey little all-aluminum trailer… Camplite.

A 1960 Shasta…no peak inside …still remodeling.

Beautiful homemade teardrop type.

The Retro Lite’s owners are on a multi-month trip….fun people who travel constantly.

The last few days on the parkway are spent hiking…. driving to the Shining Rock area and taking the Ivestor Gap trail.

It is mostly flat, an old roadbed, but the large rocks in the trail prove challenging.  Will take the Art Loeb trail next time!

More of the Same and Blue Mountains

 

What can I say about this summer?  It’s been difficult?  Long? Exhausting? Hot? Not to mention depressing and confusing….

Our downsizing has continued.  Some days we do nothing, other days are full of accomplishments.  The basement is now  mostly organized.  All the boxes have been explored and categorized.  Unused items have found other homes….occasionally in the trash and we have moved on to phase two: painting the kitchen.

“The kitchen paneling and wall paper will look better painted” the realtor said and we both agreed.  The paneling is done and looks great!  Now dreading  painting the wall paper!

Before

After

The confusing and often frustrating part of this project is our ambivalent feelings about selling the house.  Most days it is a “go”, definitely the right thing to do.  But there are also many times it’s a “how in the world are we going to manage in that little duplex without a basement or garage?”  These thoughts mostly arrive in the middle of the night or in odd moments while sitting on the deck looking at the flowers.  And then there’s the cats.  How do we downsize them?

Speaking of the flowers…last year we were in Alaska during the daylily season.  This year I took many pictures as a way of keeping their memories while saying good-bye. 

We received encouragement from a blog post during one of our downtimes.  The Winnie Views post of “How to Eat an Elephant” arrived just at the perfect moment to help me to realize that the plan of updating the house for 3 months, selling the house in 4 months and heading out to AZ by December 1 was causing the stress.  So the plan is now thrown out the window.

The new plan is to keep painting, keep throwing out the stuff we don’t need and take a break from it all!  We headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway and our little bit of heaven at Mt Pisgah Campground.

It is now day 3 here at 5,000 feet and my body, mind and soul are being renewed.  We have done very little but walk and ride the campground and sit, inhaling the cool breezes and peace that flows through the mountains.

We hope the tranquility will last and stay with us once we return to the flat lands.