(I am posting this as we ride along and my curser is bouncing).As we leave Asheville, we are headed to West Virginia and then home. We thought we would stop for some fireworks in North Carolina but found out they are illegal in NC. Our ride was through the Blue Ridge Mountains then over the Appalachian Mountains into Tennessee where we stocked up at the Fireworks Supermarket in Bountville, TN. Score! As we rode through the rolling mountains it struck me how beautiful they were spotted with farms and little towns tucked into the valley floor. Going over the Appalachian mountains in the RV made me feel like we were on the “Little Engine that Could”. After stopping at the gas station, I calculated that we got 7.1 miles per gallon on the mountain roads :(.
We have been very lucky with the weather on our driving days. We have been on the east side of a string of thunderstorms all day and as we approach our destination today, 45 minutes out, it started to rain…just enough to wash the bugs off the massive windshield! As we approached New River Gorge, the fog started rolling in but really only in the valleys and river beds. As we wind through the interstate, the fog just reached out over the guide rails like fingers trying to touch the cars.
We got off the interstate and stepped onto a windy 1 ½ lane road taking us to Kirkwood Winery/Isaiah Morgan Distillery. We were greeted by 2 “good ole boys” who seemed happy to have someone to talk to. We got the history of the area, floods that ravished the town and some background of the men. We are definitely in the hills of West Virginia. As usual, we were greeted with southern hospitality and they were happy to share some of their local wines and Bourbon whiskey. Wines included lots of fruit wine, dandelion wine, ginseng wine and ramp wine (made from local ramps which taste like sweet onion wine). Paul chose to sample the Bourbon, Corn Shine and Rye Whiskey…guess what we purchased!
Today we completed the wish list by purchasing fireworks and moonshine! After 2 hours, they showed us where to park and we settled down for the night. We are dry camping tonight (no water, power or sewer) and thankfully we are self sufficient in these situations. Paul did all the driving today so he was glad to have dinner and chill watching a movie I had downloaded on the iPad last week. Storms rolled through the area all evening and we woke to another sunny travel day. Take me home, country roads….
287 miles today