Past six days

We have been out in the boonies for the last six days.  We have had no phone service, no internet connection and only the electric that we have made with our generators and the solar which was almost most non-existed under the forest trees.

And when I say under the trees you can see, I had a rough time getting into this site.
We did get a couple of the PBS tv stations, but didn't watch very much of them.

Come on let me show you around where we spent those days.

There are 23 camping spots in this campground with most of them for tents, yet some for big rigs. 

This is what I like about this camping area is the small peaceful lake, just to sit and be lost in your thoughts.

Two small ducks enjoy swimming around in the lake.

The leaves starting to show their beautiful colors.

Small flowers as if saying "not so fast you autumn leaves, we have one last showing."

Can you tell Nancy likes the fall colors?

We had a very good time at Parson Mountain Lake Campground.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Laundromat and not so good Mexican Restaurant

Tuesday was the laundry day and we did find a laundromat within 10 miles of the campground so that was good.  The laundromat building was small in size,  but the way they had the washers and dryers laid out there was plenty enough room.  First off the place was nice and clean with a lady continually  cleaning, the hour and a half we were there.

We then went to a Mexican Restaurant that I looked up on  the internet that had reviews of 4.4.

Well that was a mistake because Nancy and I did not think to highly of the restaurant.

First the chips and dip, the dip looked like homemade tomato soup with hot sauce in it, no salsa one tiny bit.

And as you can see the same sauce minus the hot sauce was on the burrito's.  Refried beans was also bean soup without any sign of beans. plus all that without much taste.  You know if you have eaten at a Mexican Restaurant there is always plenty of taste in the food they prepare for you. 

We rated this restaurant at the bottom of the Mexican Restaurants where we have eaten before. 

 

Here is the door side of our campsite, showing the firepit, table and the lantern holder up by the motorhome. A nice area with plenty of room.

Yesterday Nancy cooked another pot of pinto beans and cornbread in an iron skillet.  I cut some cabbage and made slaw to go with it, really good eating. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

 

  

Close to the water

We are settled in on site 14 of the COE Springfield Campground on Lake Hartwell settled for at least 5 days then one more move for one day.

 

This site looks to be the best site since we've been here.  Looking up one way is a good view of the lake. We are really enjoying this site that is so close to the water.  The sound of the water rippling against the shore is nice and soothing.  

 

Looking straight across is the view where there are houses.  The day we got to this site it was a very rainy day, but it didn't stop someone from doing a little fishing.

This guy was getting in his fishing time also.

We are over a couple of sites from the boat launch.

Nancy and I need to go to the laundromat today to catch up on doing the laundry.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

 

 

WHAT, another moving day!

I finally got a chance to pick up the throw rugs, to take outside and give them a good shaking to get the sand out of them.  Most were the small type 18"x30" and pretty easy to shake out.  The large one 38"x60" I have to stand up on the picnic table seat to shake out.

I did get time to grill out a couple of 1/2 pound ground beef patties while Nancy prepare us a salad and baked potato as the sides.  I tried something different in grilling the ground beef.  After putting spices on them I put some bacon on to grill, then took the bacon off and just set the beef patties down on the bacon grease to grill. I gave them a real good taste.

 

Well today is another moving day for us.  This time it is to site 14 for 5 days, then one more move to site 1 for one day.

In order to stay the two weeks here it will  be a total of moving four times.

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.      

 

Another day another campsite

We are still at Lake Hartwell and will be for another week.

This was our site p until yesterday.  I say was because we were due to change sites today but had to change yesterday because they over booked the site we were on so they moved us.  We only had to move six sites day for three days, then move again.
The only way I could stay as long as we wanted to was stagger our sites.

I saw these Canadian Geese on the shore the other day,  Then they flew out to join------

 

the others floating out in the lake.  I counted 33 of them in the lake.  The Canadian Geese are nice to look at,  but don't walk where they have been.  Oh my what a mess they make.

I did get the oil changed and a new filter in the 5500W Onan generator Wednesday.  Also changed the oil in the small 1000W Sportsman generator which is a good small generator and is really quite.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day. 

 

And the rest of the story.

OK, here we go again with how we got to where we are.

 

 

The following morning after we were at Smokemont I got up early to run down to Cherokee to get Nancy and me an egg biscuit.  I also wanted to see if the elk were out in the field and sure enough I got to see them.  The photo above looks like the grand daddy of all.

 

In all I counted seventeen in all besides the old buck.

The elk were even out in the road.  This was really exciting for me because I usually just get to see a few stray out and around.

Tuesday, October, 2 Nancy and I did the laundry at the only laundromat in town.

After doing the laundry we went to be the popular restaurant in Cherokee which was Paul's Family Restaurant.  Nancy had chicken fried steak with two side and I had porkchops with two sides.  We both agreed that the food was very good and the price was satisfactory also.

 

The next morning I got up early to see if I could get a few good photos of the field at the "Pioneer Village."

 

 

I did get a few fair shots, but I think I didn't get there early enough.

We left Cherokee Thursday, but it wasn't very long until I stopped at a roadside market to buy us some fresh fruit to snack on.

We stopped in Clayton, Georgia to spend the night at the local Walmart for the night.

We left the next day going to Lake Hartwell, trying to get a campsite on the lake without any luck.
So---I made a reservation at the local Home Depot in the town of Hartwell.
The next day while Nancy was getting ready I found and made us reservations at the Springfield COE Campground for six days.  All the campgrounds are filled up on the week-ends so we will just have to play it from there.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little catching up

 

 

Dee and her children came down to visit while we were at the Douglas Lake campground last Sunday.  So we planned a picnic at the area overlooking the lake.

 

This is a nice picnic area looking out at the lake and mountain tops.

The lake is low this time of year because they let out the water getting ready for the winter season.

Monday,  the 30 day of September it was time for Nancy and I to leave the campground and to our next stop along the way.  But first it was through Pigeon Forge where I thought we might be stuck in traffic.  It was not a hold up at al with every thing going good.

 

Now it was different once we got up to Gatlinburg where the traffic is always bumper to bumper.
So were the people on both sides on the sidewalks.

Nancy and myself like to drive through Gatlinburg to see the changes from season to season with how they decorate the town up.

They did October and the fall season up real nice this year.

Pumpkin head people all over the place. 

 

The least I could do for Nancy is to take a photo of her favorite store in Gatlinburg since we didn't get time to get her fudge.  It was nice for me that the traffic was slow going through I had time to look around at the things in town.

This is the sign we saw before we got the Sugarland Welcome Center.

 

Once we got started up the mountain Nancy had me to turn down the air-conditioner, because it was getting cooler.

 

 

We enjoyed the ride up in the mountains and looking at the "Chimney Tops".

We were soon off the mountain top, checked in at the office of Smokemont Campground and set up at our campsite.  It was late so we did nothing!

I think this is enough for now so I will finish up in a day or two.

I do thank each one of you for stopping by and have a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

Last day at the lake

Dee and the children came to visit with us one more time before we got away and to far for her.
She knows it will be a year or longer before she will be visiting with her grandparents.

We have enjoyed Dee and the little ones being with us.  Yesterday they all went down to the lake for a swim and cooling off in the water.

The lake is down quite a bit with them letting water out.  Bit down stream of the dam the river is flowing full.

Hunter and I went to get some Little Caesar's Pizza for the gang to eat and I guess they enjoyed eating it because there were only a few pieces left over.

Today is our last day here at the lake, we have to move on down the road.
We will be at the Smokemont Campground in the Cherokee National Forest.

The campground is 4 miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina.
This campground has no electric, sewer or water hook-ups,  but they do have a central located water supply.

Even though we have solar the trees cast so mush shadow that the solar will not help very much.

No problem we have our 5500W Onan generator on the motor home. We also have the small 1000W
Sportsman generator that we use most of the time because it will run 6 1/2 hours on the .55 gallon tank.

I like to stay at the Smokemont Campground it is so nice being out in the forest.  The only draw back is we have no internet or phone service.
That does not bother me because I've lived over half my life without those things.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Hanging around the park

Nancy and I have just been relaxing with sitting around the motorhome.
I have been to the grocery store a couple of times and will go a few more time while we are here.

The National Quartet Convention is going on in Pigeon Forge at this time. 
Nancy and I like Southern Gospel Music and we used to go see and hear all the groups for the whole week.  That is until the prices got too high for us.  The price of $32.00 a ticket now would really be very much for us.
But we are still watching it online for a reasonable price.

I got this photo of a woodpecker a while back and had forgotten about it being in my camera.

 

Here is a nice little vintage camper that is in one of the sites beside of us.

 

Thats for stopping by and have a great day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Douglas Lake Headwaters Campground

We got here safe and sound, so everything is good.   Well everything except the site that we are on.
In the reservation system it said the site was a level site.  Maybe for a pop-up trailer but not the motorhome we have.
Our motorhome listed at 32 feet is just shy of 34 feet.  On first try I was level but 3 wheel off the ground.  That would not work for us, so I moved the motorhome off the cement pad 1o foot to the right.  Leveled up again, went outside to have a look and just one wheel in the air.  That with the first step being knee high.  Set up two stools to get in.

Good view looking out the right side windshield of the motorhome.

Closer look at the same view.

 

 

Looking left is the boat launch, that keeps busy on the week-ends.

The lake is lower that usual, I don't know if they let out the water or maybe it has been dry here.

 

We will be here a week or so before we move on.

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

 

 

Panther Creek State Park

Yeah that's where we are but we are leaving today.

We have been visiting our grand daughter Dee and her kids for a short couple of days and have really enjoyed it.
All this time has been in and around the motorhome.

 

While we were at the Cumberland Gap Campground we went into the small town of Cumberland Gap where I took a couple of photos that I will put up today.
The above photo of the Antique Shop.

The old General Store.

 

As every small town they had their Drug Store where you could got to the soda fountain to get the best tasting Coke Float.

By looking in the window of this store you can see some old Post Office mail boxes.

 

And here is the Cumberland Gap Inn that looks to be too large for the small town.  But what do I know?  I hope they do have a lot of visitors.  It is so sad to see this small town that not many people visit as they once did.

Today we will be going to the Douglas Lake Campground which is close to Sevierville to stay a week or so.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.