Part 5 of our RV road trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway and other destinations.
Sunday, Oct. 20 through Wednesday, Oct. 23
With the weekend rain finally ending, we continue south on the Parkway. On Sunday we arrive at the beautiful town of Bryson City, NC, and camp along the Tuckasegee River at an RV park called Grumpy Bear, where they have some of the nicest bathrooms we have ever seen at an RV park. Our hikes include views of several waterfalls in the Deep Creek area. On Monday we drive to short hikes to Soco Falls and Mingo Falls. Before we leave the Bryson City area Tuesday morning we take a beautiful autumn drive to The Road to Nowhere and walk to and through the long tunnel where the road comes to an abrupt end. The only other visitors this morning are a flock of turkeys crossing the road in front of the tunnel entrance.
We drive to nearby Great Smokey Mountains National Park and head straight for Clingmans Dome observation tower, because we read it gets crowded there each day. This day is no exception. The views from the observation tower at the top are spectacular, and by the time we leave mid-morning there’s a long line of vehicles waiting to enter the parking lot.
Next we head to a trail that takes us up to the Walker Sisters cabin, another fascinating piece of history.
We end the day by driving to another BoondockersWelcome.com host’s home near Rockford, TN. In their description they list their home as a “Trump free zone” so we knew we would have much in common.
Wednesday, Oct. 23
We invite our delightful hosts, Paul and Donna, to our RV for morning coffee and end up talking politics for more than an hour. Then it’s time for our good-byes so we can get to Mammoth Cave National Park in time for our 2:15 p.m. torchlight tour. This amazing walking tour is a throwback to the days when there were no electric lights in the immense cave system. It lasts three hours and covers about three miles underground, including some steep and winding pathways.
Wednesday evening we drive north from Mammoth Cave and spend the night at a BoondockersWelcome.com host home in the tiny town of Millwood, KY. Like all our host homes on this trip, our hosts are warm and welcoming. Their home is close to railroad tracks and they tell us a train may pass by during the night. Pass by? It sounded like it was coming right through our RV! But we lived, and laughed about it the next morning.
