Summer to Remember 2021 - Part One (STR 2021-1)

Sunday, 23 May

After over 18 months of planning, Sprinty has begun his summer 2021 adventure. In January 2020, Sprinty signed up for a 38-day RV caravan trip to join 23 other RVs in adventuring in the Rockies this summer. Back then, Sprinty thought he would leave for the caravan rendezvous in Colorado Sepings in late July. Then his humans decided to sell their Flying Scot sailboat, their 17.5' motorboat and condo on Deep Creek Lake. So part one is a final trip to Deep Creek Lake to tidy up a couple of items, then head West about seven weeks earlier than originally planned. Sprinty is full of joy at the prospect of seven additional weeks of adventuring.

With Sprinty's shakedown trip last week, he is more ready than usual for this summer's adventure. With the sale of Kris' 1952 MG-TD replica,

we even got both cars in the garage for the first time.

Various RV forums and blogs have been predicting that getting a campsite would be very challenging this year. RV sales have skyrocketed, and used RVs as much as 10 years old, are selling for what they cost new. So Part One of this summer's adventures is to leverage alternative overnighting arrangements in preparation for the possibility our typical first choices are unavailable. So for tonight, we are using our Harvest Host membership to overnight at the Smoky Mountain Country Club. While there is no cost to overnight at the Host, you are expected to support the Host. As Kris and Darrell enjoy golf just a wee bit, it is a no brainer to seek out golf course Hosts.

Just before 8am this morning, Sprinty headed for Whittier, NC, just east of Bryson City, NC. Google Maps said it was a 2 hr 35 minute trip, and we had made a 12 noon tee time. As we got near Ellijay, GA, about 40 miles from home, we were treated to seeing a black bear (yearling?) crossing the highway just in front of us. Maybe an omen for the summer's adventures?

When we arrived at Smoky Mountain Country Club, we got Sprinty settled in the parking lot across the street by the driving range as directed. There was another RV in the parking lot, a Winnebago Revel.

Alas, we found the driving range was closed. Fortunately, there were a couple of open tee slots and we were able to get an earlier start, over an hour before our scheduled tee time.

The first hole was a dogleg left, crossing a creek on the approach to the green. Darrell's ball went right looking to play hide-n-seek in the trees, while Kris striped one right down the middle. Darrell laid up, then carefully placed his third shot in the gushing creek and watched his ball make like it was whitewater rafting on the nearby Nantahala River. Kris placed her second on the back of the green, chipped on and made her putt for par. Darrell was tickled to walk off with a double bogey. Little did we know at the time, our hole number one experience repeated itself for most of the rest of the holes.

Kris made three birdies on the front nine, to make the turn at even par - 9 strokes ahead. Meanwhile, Darrell was digging deep into his stash of water balls after contributing several to the poison ivy infested jungle surrounding the narrow fairways.

Hole 5 was a downhill par 5, and we expected it was a little different when we saw the hitting mat located at the end of the fairway. Hitting our third shots from the cliff was quite the experience.

Photo of the hole 5 cliff from the ninth hole tee box:

Photo of us surveying our third shots taken from a guy in the group in front of us looking up from the green:

Darrell played the second nine a little better than the first nine, in part because he lost fewer golf balls. Kris earned honors on the day by a wide margin with a 78. On a course we have never played before with a diabolical layout. A true mountain layout, including some serious steep hills and switchbacks on the cart path between holes. Darrell, meanwhile, played okay considering the multiple deposits he made to the lost ball collections throughout the course and a finding few sand traps.

Starting earlier than planned meant we finished about 2 hours sooner than planned. We briefly considered changing the travel plan and using some of the rest of the day to move towards Asheville, NC (along our route for tomorrow). Ordinarily, we would do just that. But the goal for this trip to leverage alternative overnighting options as practice for later this summer took precedence. And arranging Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome at the last minute is a bit of a challenge.

Monday, 24 May

A very peaceful night, with only occasional residential traffic passing on the main road. The grounds keepers started their chores about 6:30am, which was a non-issue as we hoped to pack a lot into today and an earlier start would be helpful.

As we settled in for the night last night, Darrell came to the realization that we had a very full day plan. We started with an early (for us) departure (especially since golf was not involved) to drive to Lenoir, NC to visit Darrell's sister and her family. While the traffic was heavier than we enjoyed yesterday, it moved along at speed. We made it through the Asheville area around morning rush hour just fine. After exiting I-40 in Morganton, NC, we went in search of diesel. We found several stations impacted by the fuel shortage. We filled up at a Walmart, and observed a number of people filling gas containers, suggesting that things were still not back to normal.

We enjoyed a too-short visit with Darrell's sister and her family. They were in good health, vaccinated, and have settled into life in Lenoir, NC. Their house was easy to find as they have the nicest looking yard in the neighborhood. We gave them a tour of Sprinty - maybe a North Carolina-based Sprinty cousin in the future?

Our other activity for the day was bike riding on the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail, which runs from Abingdon, VA to Whitetop Mountain. https://www.traillink.com/trail/virginia-creeper-national-recreation-trail/

Last year, we rode some of the section from Damascus, VA towards Whitetop Mountain - all uphill. The main attraction for visitors in Damascus is to arrange a shuttle with one of many companies in Damascus to take you and your bike to Whitetop Mountain, and ride back downhill to Damascus. And if you don't have a bike or didn't bring one, there are lots and lots of places to rent bikes.

Today's plan was to ride the section from Damascus to Abingdon.

We knew it was about 16 miles, but conveniently skipped reviewing the research on the trail from last year. Sprinty picked out a parallel parking location on Main Street to hang out while his humans adventured off.

The ride from Damascus going west had a slight downhill, such that Darrell rode most of the first 7 miles or so without pedal assist. His Apple Watch fitness app showed no elevation gain until we got to the lake about half-way. From the lake to Abingdon was mostly uphill, recording 390 feet of elevation gain over the 8 miles (about 1% grade).

In Abingdon, we took a rest break, and enjoyed learning a little about the history of the Virginia Creeper.

The popular nickname, "Virginia Creeper" fittingly describes both the steep twisting mountain route and the speed of the trains. In some places, the posted speed limit was only 5 miles an hour.

The Abingdon branch crossed some of the highest and most scenic terrain of any standard gauge railroad in the United States. In the 55 miles from Abingdon to West Jefferson, there were 108 bridges, mostly made with timber, and no tunnels. The last train between Abington and West Jefferson ran on March 31, 1977.

Another sign told the story about the creation of the trail and its designation as a National Scenic Recreation Trail.

Photo of Kris on the trail

The trail was very nice, and reminded us of one of our favorite bike rides on the Great Allegheny Passage trail - the section from Ohiopyle, PA to Confluence, PA. The ride was a well groomed, unpaved trail that was mostly in the shade. For part of the trail, we rode along one of the branches of the Holston River.

We particularly enjoyed the 390 feet of elevation decline on the ride back, and the uphill from the lake to Damascus was a lot less uphill than we thought - only a little more than 100 feet. A welcome surprise as we returned to Damascus.

After the bike ride, we headed back to Abingdon where Sprinty was staying at a Boondockers Welcome host for the night. Boondockers Welcome is an RV Club where people offer their driveways, lots, etc. available for RVers to stay for free. With no expectation of purchasing anything. A key requirement is that you must be in a self-contained RV. Sprinty has used Boondockers Welcome several times, but has not made as much use of it partly because most hosts require a notice of one or more days to stay with them. And as long time readers of Sprinty's adventures will recall, Sprinty's preferred travel style is winging it, sometimes not picking where to spend the night until mid-afternoon. Another opportunity for Sprinty to leverage some of his other overnighting choices.

Our host for the night has a farm located on the highest point in Washington County. A very nice gentleman, he is also a fellow Roadtrek owner. And a Rad electric bike owner. We enjoyed spending some time with him and his guest on their deck taking in the views of mountains in the distance.

Tuesday, 25 May

One of the many advantages of using a Boondockers Welcome host is that many are located in the country where it is very quiet. We were both up at first light and started reviewing the plan for the day. The golf course we had planned to play had not called us back. We called yesterday to make a tee time, and only got a recording. Around dinner time, we switched up the plan to play a different course and made a tee time. However, a check of the weather forecast this morning indicated thunderstorms around mid-day in the vicinity of both of the courses.

We commenced to checking weather in other areas, and found that if we drove two-and-a-half hours north, the chance of rain diminished considerably. So we changed the plan - instead of playing golf in West Virginia, we headed up I-81 to Buena Vista, VA to play The Vista Links, a municipal course we had played once before. Having to travel up I-81 was a small price to be able to play golf today.

We departed our Host in Abingdon pretty early just in case the rain decided to include Buena Vista later in the day. Traffic was typical I-81 until we got past Roanoke, then it thinned out considerably. Sprinty much have enjoyed it, getting almost 19mpg traveling at speed.

As we hoped, we were able to get on and play once we got to the golf course. We both hit okay drives - both wishing they had turned out better. Darrell managed to get on in two strokes and one-putt for birdie. Already he was thinking today was going to be different than the last course we played. On the next hole, Darrell striped his drive down the middle for about 275 yards on a downhill Par 5, but only managed a bogey. Still ahead, he picked up a stroke here and there throughout the front nine to make the turn 6 strokes up. Kris started executing better on the back nine, but Darrell gave no ground to have honors on the day.

After golf, we looked for a Starbucks and found none nearby. In a city the size of Lexington, VA, we expected to find at least one. We headed to Lexington, VA for diesel and a McDonalds for Darrell to pay up with one of their caramel frappes.

With a bike ride planned in eastern West Virginia for tomorrow, we headed in that direction on Virginia 39, a twisty road through the mountains. We picked out one of several National Forest campgrounds in the George Washington National Forest to spend the night. Typical of a National Forest Campground, they were rustic (no hookups, no dump, pit toilets) and cheap - $12/night; $6 with the Senior Pass.

We arrived at Blowing Springs Campground, west of Warm Springs, VA, about 4pm. Just as a small thunderstorm started drizzling. As somewhat expected, we found only one other camper in the 41-site campground. Sprinty got his pick of sites, and picked a nice on on the back loop.

One disadvantage of rustic camping in remote National Forest locations is the absence of any cell signal. No cellular coverage from Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. Fortunately, we have the first activity for tomorrow already planned and don't need internet to plan the morning.

Wednesday, 26 May

After an evening of no internet, we anticipated that we would wake up starving. Not starving for food. Or coffee. But starving for internet. So we planned to get up and hit the road at first light to stop in Marlington, WV, to make breakfast and enjoy our typical routine of coffee, breakfast, and catching up on email and the news. One of the advantages of bringing your home with you everywhere you go.

Our main activity planned for the day was a bike ride on the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Rail-Trail, also called the Cranberry Rail-Trail, named for the Cranberry, Cherry and Gauley rivers it travels along or across. The trail begins in downtown Richwood, immediately behind the visitors center, which is housed in the old passenger and freight railway depot. (https://www.traillink.com/trail/cranberry-tri-rivers-rail-trail/)

We arrived at the train depot and found the trail was not obvious, which was unusual for Rail-Trails. We rigged the bikes and set off for what appeared to be the direction of the trail based on AllTrails app and TrailLink app. We started down past a dilapidated house, got chased by four dogs, and only saw a disturbed dirt trail heading off. It did not look Rail-Trail quality.

We decided to ride down the adjacent road to see if maybe it was just a short section - and found it no different. It looked like the earth had just been bush hogged in preparation for putting in a gravel base. Maybe.

While at the Visitor Center, we noticed a sign for the West Virginia Hellbender, 132 miles with over 1,300 curves. We can attest to the curves as Sprinty had been driving on WV 39 to get to Richwood - and it was indeed curvy. Looking up WV Hellbender later, we learned that Richwood, WV is home to the Hellbender (https://wvhellbender.com).

Screenshot of route

Maybe a future trip for Sprinty to complete the full 132-mile Hellbender. After all, he has already completed the southern side from Hillsboro to Craigsville. And on a previous trip, Sprinty did the eastern side from Snoewhoe to Hillsboro.

So we gave up on the Richwood trailhead and packed up the bikes to see if the other trailhead near Fenwick, WV (about 5 miles away) was any better. We arrived at the designated trailhead and found a much better condition trail, but the parking area was only big enough for Sprinty and one other car. With little around except a couple of rural homes, we decided against leaving Sprinty unattended for several hours. While it might have been just fine, one of the prime rules for remote camping is to trust your gut. Don't try and reason with your gut - if it doesn't feel right, move on. So we did.

With the rest of the day a clean slate, and no cellular signal, we headed to Sutton, WV for grocery shopping. Being along US19, we were confident we would have sufficient cellular connection in Sutton to plan the rest of the day.

With our plans for tomorrow set, we decided to spend the night at Tygart Lake State Park near Grafton, WV. A check with West Virginia State Parks found a number of available sites, so we headed there with no reservations. As we headed north, the skies darkened, and just outside of Clarksburg, WV, we encountered a rain shower. We were hoping to play golf this afternoon, and kept checking the weather apps to see what the weather guessers were guessing about the rain.

We selected Tygart Lake Golf Course as a municipal course near the State Park. With the uncertain skies and being a weekday afternoon, we hoped we could get on. Arriving at the golf course, the weather app said thunderstorms likely at 5:30pm. As the course was almost empty and it was 2pm, we figured we could play 18 holes before the forecast thunderstorms arrived.

We both started off well with great drives, both making par. Darrell picked up some strokes on the next hole. Kris chipped away at Darrells lead including making a long putt for birdie on hole 8. We made the turn tied up in about 1 hour 30 minutes. Finishing before the thunderstorms seems likely.

We played the back nine close except for one hole where Kris found an adjacent water hazard. As we finished the 17th hole, at about 5pm, the skies opened up. So much for "thunderstorms likely at 5:30." Checking our weather app, the forecast was for rain for the next hour. So we decided to quit and drove the golf cart in the pouring rain back to Sprinty, appreciating that the parking lot was directly upwind as we ducked behind the golf cart windscreen to stay drier.

As luck would have it, about two minutes after getting back to Sprinty, it stopped raining. We briefly considered going back out to play the last hole, and decided we were wet enough. After 17 holes, Darrell managed to take honors on the day.

After golf, we headed to nearby Tygart Lake State Park campground. After checking out the available sites (21 non-electric sites and 2 electric sites) we selected one of the electric sites. Almost all the non-electric sites were designed for tent campers, and we could not find any we could park Sprinty level enough to sleep comfortably.

Thursday, 27 May

During the night, a light rain moved in making us glad we had covered the bikes. As has been typical this trip, we found ourselves waking up at first light. After our normal morning routine, made a little better by park wifi, we headed for Morgantown, WV on US119 - another Hellbender style road. We arrived at the rendezvous spot by Deckers Creek Trail.

While we were getting the bikes ready, we saw a young lady getting her bike ready to ride. She was interested in Sprinty as she was driving in a small Nissan van. She had a bed rigged in the van to be able to camp in it, but none of the other comforts of a full van build - like solar, refrigerator, roof fan etc. We invited her to take a peak in Sprinty, which she appreciated a lot.

The plan was to bike ride with Tom and Heidi Kammer, who live outside of Morgantown a few miles away. As the local experts, they picked the ride. We started down the Deckers Creek Trail to the Mon River South Trail, and turned south. We rode along the Monongahela River - one of a few American rivers that flows north - and its tributaries. The Monongahela River Trail was inducted into the Rails-to-Trails Hall of Fame last year. We had previously enjoyed a ride on the Mon River Trail riding north to the Pennsylvania border. https://www.traillink.com/trail/mon-river-trail/

The ride was very pleasant along the river. One of the many topics we talked about during the ride was how having such a bike trail treasure in one's backyard could make you spoiled. Certainly sets the standard that Cranberry Tri-Rivers Trail and other trails should emulate.

After the bike ride, we headed for Deep Creek Lake (DCL) for the weekend. As many blog readers may already know, back in February we decided to close our chapter of sailing at DCL. We began that chapter in 2005 when Darrell retired from the Navy. Sailing at DCL has been the primary focal point of the last 15 years until last year when had planned to take the RV to Alaska until the pandemic changed everything. The primary driver to closing the DCL chapter was that we are focusing the next few years on RV-based adventuring. With extensive summer adventuring plans for 2021 (Rockies), 2022 (Lewis and Clark Expedition), and 2023 (Alaska?), our boats were going to be unused for years. We offered the boats for sale to two friends we thought might be interested, and in less than 48 hours, we had agreements to buy.

They say the two happiest days in a boat owners life are the day you buy a boat and the day you sell one. We are still wondering how selling two boats in two days measures up.

With the sale of our boats, we put our stateroom (kind of like a condo) at the lake for sale and reached agreement with a buyer pretty quickly. Earlier this month, we made a trip to DCL in the Toyota to clean out the room and prepare it for transfer.

This trip, the first leg of our RV adventure for this summer, is to finalize a few things at DCL.

Next week, we head for Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in search of dolphins. And Beauty and the Beast.

Deets in the next blog post.