KATHY'S FANCY STITCHING NEWS



Postings and ponderings of a quilting and knitting addict!





Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Next Leg of the Journey

Sorry for the lack of posting… we have camped primitive for 3 nights in a row now, so there was no internet available. That’s not a bad thing… camping primitive gives you access to some wonderful scenery that you would not otherwise get to enjoy. However, our last night of primitive was spent in a Wal Mart parking lot in Hazard, KY… a BIG change in noise and activity levels.

So you may say, “Where have you been?” Here’s the short version, or at least as short as I can make it… I tend to get long-penned when posting, for some reason. (I’m that way in person, too… just ask my hubby!) Sorry, but there is no short version of this story. You will just have to suffer through all the details!

At last check-in with the blog we were in Asheville, NC. We hopped the Blue Ridge Parkway again and headed on north, covering all of NC and on into Virginia. BEAUTIFUL!!! If you ever have an opportunity to travel the parkway during the fall leaf-change, DO IT!

(Click on pictures to enlarge them.)

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We also made a stop at Mabry Mill on the parkway. This was a nostalgic part of the trip. I was here about 40 years ago when my family made a trip to VA to visit some friends.100_1991

At this point we decided to hop off the parkway and just head out across Virginia. Realize that on trips in the RV hubby drives and I am the navigator. I can get us into some real messes sometimes, and since we have a tow vehicle it can be difficult to get out of them because you really can’t back up very far when the jeep is in tow.

I bet you saw this coming, but I got us into a “situation”. We were using a regular VA road map for navigation, but we normally use the DeLorme map books that show you every pig trail, so you REALLY know EXACTLY where to turn. We didn’t have one for VA. Well, in Marion, VA we missed our turn. HONEST… it was NOT my fault because I really don’t think they had a sign marking the road. Once I discovered we had missed the road I quickly looked at the map and found another road (106) that would circle back to get us to HWY 16, found one, and directed DH that way.

OK… picture this… wide RV, jeep in tow, going down a very narrow road with no center line. This usually causes me to sit on the edge of my seat. So we traveled on, and on, and on, we finally intersected the road I thought was HWY 16, but the road sign gave the road a name, but no number. We turned, followed it just a very short distance, and then 106 turned back to the right, so we took it. The road continues to get narrower as we go, and is now essentially 1 lane. (Can you say, “Hairpin turns, no shoulders, no guard rails, no stripe?) We continued until 106 turned again and it was GRAVEL. Nope, we decided not to go there. (Remember, we can’t turn this rig around without unhooking the jeep, turning them both around, and then re-hooking.)100_2006

So we took a different turn, and then another, and NONE of these road are on our map so we are just guessing. Plus, HWY 16 goes north, but these roads we are taking are mostly heading east. This went on for over an HOUR, and I am beginning to get frantic. I really thought we would NEVER see a road with a center stripe again! We passed a farm house with a wide driveway and a bit of a road shoulder so I told DH this was a good spot to turn around. He had seen a couple of men at a farm building across the road so he walked back to see if they could help us.

OK… you’ve go to understand something about him… he NEVER meets a stranger, and loves to visit. I’m sitting in the truck, motor running, waiting, and waiting… and waiting… and waiting. About 20 minutes later here he comes. (WHEW!… I thought maybe he had met some terrible fate!)

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(I took this picture of an old church while waiting for him.) He had a good visit about farming, gardening, dogs, and who-knows-what-else along with getting directions.

They told him, “No problem, stay on the road you are on, go over the next 2 mountains, turn left, go over 2 more mountains, turn at FROG LEVEL (Yes, that really was the name of that tiny place) and you will run into HWY 16.” Now that I know we WILL eventually get back to civilization, I can relax and enjoy the trip. This whole misadventure took about an additional 2 hours of traveling time and BOY, were we glad!! We saw some of the most WONDERFUL scenery that we otherwise would not have gotten to enjoy.

YAH!!! Now we were finally on HWY 16 but about 20 miles north of where we had planned on getting on. If you EVER make it to the western side of VA you MUST drive HWY 16 in the fall!!! It was a most-beautiful drive, and almost no one else was on the road.100_2022

(Note the CENTER STRIPE in the photo below… I LOVE center stripes now. And just look at those GUARD RAILS! Thank You, Lord!)

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The next leg of our journey was to head on into KY. We went to Mammoth Cave National Park and took a short tour of a portion of the cave. Today we have traveled almost across KY and have stopped in Dawson Springs for the night.

Now if YOU were a quilter and YOU were in KY, WHERE would YOU want to go? Yep, tomorrow we are heading to Paducah, KY to go to the quilt museum and of course, Hancock’s of Paducah.

So that is the not-so-short version of the last 3 days of travel, along with some of the beautiful scenery pictures. Hope you enjoy them!

Kat

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a DE adventure to me! I love the color - wish we were there. Oh, by the way, my 4-patch posie is waiting on you :) (finished it up last night)

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  2. Beautiful pictures! Guard rails are so comforting, aren't they! Our friend says a road trip isn't a road trip without at least one night at Walmart. ;-) Looks like you are having a fabulous trip.

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  3. I grew up in Virginia and absolutely love the countryside this time of year. Don't you wish we have such leaf color change in these parts...at least sometimes? Of everything I miss about living there it's the mountains and fall.

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