They Do Not Call Them The Smoky Mountains For No Reason

 

October 2024

A perk above and beyond being parked steps from our children and grandchildren is also just being minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It's very easy to just jump on the parkway and go either direction for some beautiful fall scenery.

On a weekday soon after our arrival in the Asheville area we dropped our granddaughter off at school that is well north of Asheville and then we meandered on backroads our way to Grandfather Mountain.  We thought that with it being a weekday that we would miss the fall color crowd.  Didn't work that way.  The place was jam-packed with retirees just like us.

But all was well, the lines to pay to get in moved well and the drive from the pay booth to the summit was unhurried and pretty.  Our last time to the visitor center at the summit was in 1997, everything sort of looked the same but we're pretty sure that some renovation and "upscaling" had taken place in the last 27 years.  The visitor center building more or less blended into the environment and the inside was all full of light and sparkling clean.

But the main attraction is the mile high swinging bridge.  It spans a chasm between two granite outcroppings, the farthest being the peak of the mountain.

The above bridge still has the same tower supports from our visit in 1997 but the bridge itself was obviously updated.  The walking surface was all galvanized steel as well as the side rails.

The bridge in 1997 was a wood plank walking surface and the side rails were just heavy gauge chain-link fence.  It took lots of coaxing to get Cyndee to cross that bridge in '97.  She wasn't coaxable in 2023.  I popped across and clambered around for a few scenic shots of the Smoky Mountains on my own.

Mixed in with our sightseeing are some chores.  We have not been anywhere that would let us wash our camper since we left Granger Lake in Texas back in the spring.  The 35 sq ft that is the leading edge of the camper collects a considerable amount grime and bugs.  Being almost 14' tall it is quite a challenge to be able to properly remove impaled and baked on "stuff".  The use of ladders and long-handled brushes is a must.

This is the third wash of the day.
All the big stuff is off, now to climb on a ladder and hand-wash
the more stubborn things the power washer couldn't get.

A bigger chore was to finish the construction of our RV pad.  The contractor that built the pad made no allowance for the contractor that was installing the septic system.  The result was I had to make my sewer connection 30' away.  Most RV sewer hoses are just ten feet long.  I carry two for the occasional connection that is just a couple feet further than my single hose will reach.  Upon arrival we had to acquire a third hose and build a sloped ramp to put it on.  This is okay as a temporary solution but not good long term.  Time to put on my hard hat and get to building.

The retaining wall at the end of the pad had been partially removed so that the septic system could be installed.  The stub pipe (my connection) stuck up out of the ground at the very edge of where the retaining wall should be, thirty feet from my connection on the camper.  First order of business is to hand-dig a thirty foot trench at the proper slope for drainage pipe.  As if hard packed clay wasn't bad enough, the space was so cramped between the shop and my rig that it was not possible to get even the smallest ditching machine in there.  So for three days a shovel, pick ax and knee pads were my best friends.  If not for the cramped working space I could have had the ditch dug in a few hours.

Ditch dug, pipe laid, ditch covered, connection to septic system done.

Pretty ugly!  The wall needs to be finished 
and a lot of fill dirt brought in.

Okay, fifteen new blocks, custom cutting around the pipe 
and thirty loads of fill dirt in that wagon from an acre away.

Much better but the stub pipe is a bit of an eyesore.
I'll get gravel for the pad, grass for the slope and maybe 
an azalea bush to hide the pipe.

With the above work done my sewer connection to the rig is less than three feet away.  Very manageable for a winter's stay.  I have a number of other projects lined up to do but the next immediate thing to do is enjoy being with family for Thanksgiving.