Blog+Travel=Change

Seventy days!  That's how long it's been since we took out the Casita for a trip, no wonder things do not feel right in my world!

But all of that is going to change within the next few days as we are heading south (and, hopefully, into warmth) sometime after Christmas.  Our plans are to join a small group of egg campers in the panhandle, celebrate New Years, and then decide where to spend the next few weeks before heading down to south FL.

Don't know why I drag my feet about writing a post...and when I delay, there are so many topics to discuss.  There has been the winter solstice, always very important to me, and the end of the world that did not happen.  I am one of those who want to believe that we are starting a new civilization, one of heart, love and peace, like the age of Aquarius we sang about in the sixties.  Also there is Christmas and my coping skills to just get through it, the end of the year review, the history of this blog and the life changing experience of camping in the southwest last winter.

So where do I want to start this?  
Twelve months ago, I started blogging, a big deal for someone who has never had the courage to share thoughts and feelings in print, did not realize that my life was changing. The blog was started to keep me off of Facebook while traveling the southwest.
The winter trip to Arizona was wonderful, blissful, spiritual, peaceful and exciting at the same time. We would be heading back this week if there was not another western trip on the horizon for spring.

So a year ago we were excited and scared, 2000 miles is a long way from home and anything could happen.  But everything that happened, we handled.  
I quit writing as soon as we returned...after all, there was only a handful of people following us.  But in July the blog got resurrected by adding "in the Mountains" to the title while we were camped up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
This is when the blog started changing.  Sharon,(http://www.tinycamper.wordpress.com), sent me an email asking campground questions and we started emailing. Through her encouragement, I kept writing.  Thank you, Sharon.

And I want to thank all of my readers including my special blog friends...you know who you are...for being there.  Merry Christmas and may your new year be full of wonderful, exciting travel adventures!

2012 had the Chatta-Egg going out every month but two, March and August.  Thought it might be fun to document the year in pictures.

January and February

This rock towered over our campsite at Tortilla in the Tonto National Forest.  I climbed it!

View of Canyon Lake and our campground from the top of the above rock.

Our favorite campsite of the whole trip...12 days in January and 10 days in February.  At Tortilla Flatts.

April

Bald River Falls in Cherokee Forest

Tellico Plains, TN

May

Cumberland Falls, KY

June

Little River, Elkmont Campground, Smokies

July

Davidson River Campground 

Brevard, NC

Blue Ridge Parkway view

Turks Cap Lily

September

Farnum Creek gathering

Milford Lake, KS

October

Happy Holiday RV park, Cherokee gathering

Thanks, again, for stopping by and allowing me to share our year with you.

Life is Good!

After days of storms and rain we have finally had a perfect sunny day!  We are still at Davidson River and currently plugged into one the electric sites.  We got on a waiting list Friday when things looked bleak and I was considering just packing up and going home.  I knew it would give us another option, move back to Mt Pisgah, go home or try an electric site.  Early Saturday afternoon we were informed that a site had become available and did we want it?

With all of my electronic batteries running down, we opted to move and pay for another night.
There is just so much to do here!  Yesterday was spent riding our bikes, moving from one site to another and going out for a late lunch at the Pisgah Fish
Camp and then taking another bike ride.   We discovered a wonderful trail that goes along the Davidson River that takes us all the way into town.

Sunday we attended church services at a tiny stone chapel that is on the edge of the campground.  It is called the English Chapel and I thought, with that name, that it might be an Anglican church or something British.  No, it was named after the first circuit rider preacher whose last name was England. We enjoyed the quaintness and being reminded of our southern roots.

I went to the swimming hole that afternoon and played in the water.  If I had a partner that was willing, I would have rented a tube and gone down the river with all the other tubers.  After the swim we jumped on our bikes and rode to a yogurt store that was almost in Brevard.

We have fished several days.  Even if I don't catch anything, I enjoy standing in the mountain streams and watching the water.  We tried to hike up Looking Glass Rock but it was too many miles cause we did not get started early enough.

We have gone out for dinner, shopped, bought groceries and washed clothes.  Making the most of our forest/city camping before returning to the isolation of the mountain.
 
But as the rain showers have diminished, the heat has increased.  In the low 80's today, time to return to Mt Pisgah!