Another Day, Another Winery

Next, we drove from eastern Kentucky to western Kentucky, stopping at Carriage House Vineyards, a Harvest Host location. On the road, I called for permission to stay that night.  No one answered the phone, so I left a message.  Within an hour, I got a call back from David, the owner.

“Actually, we’re on vacation from the winery,” David said.  “But you can still stay on the property.  Do you need electricity?”

With the temperature at 95 degrees, the answer was “Absolutely, if you have it.”  Harvest Hosts properties do not normally have electrical hookups, but David had a 30 amp outlet installed on an outbuilding for that purpose.  I was very grateful.

I went to the tasting room during the late afternoon and sampled six wines (free tasting).  I liked all of the wines except for one and purchased a green apple/grape wine and a maple dessert wine.

There was only one other visitor during my entire stay.  The employee went home at 6 p.m, and then I had the place to myself.  This turned out to be a very relaxing stay.  Callie and I took walks up the long gravel driveway.  When the sun went down, it cooled to about 60.  The air conditioning was off.  The skies were dark (no artificial light on the grounds).  I slept well.

Daniel Boone National Forest: Grove Campground

After three nights of delightful weather in the Virginia mountains, I was ready to continue my journey west.  I crossed back and forth between Virginia and Tennessee until I settled in southeastern Kentucky.

The weather had changed from mid 70’s for highs to low 90’s for highs.  By the time I arrived at Daniel Boone National Forest near Corbin, Kentucky, I was ready to plug into some air conditioning.  The Grove Campground has multiple loops and two different campgrounds.  One is called the Drive-in campground, where campers drive in and set up.  The other one is the Boat-in campground, which is not accessible by vehicle.

The drive-in campground is past season.  There were only a few trailers when i arrived.  Rates are discounted, and reservations aren’t being accepted. The header photo shows the large hickory nuts that have been falling on my trailer, both in Virginia and Kentucky.

After setting up for one night (leaving the Brew Hut hooked up to the truck), Callie and I hiked down a path recommended by the campground host.  We walked down the Closed C loop to the dumpster, and then hiked past the “road closed sign.” From that point, the asphalt turned to gravel and then to dirt. Eventually, we reached the Boat-in Campground, which it turns out is accessible by foot.

After hiking back up the trail, we continued to walk each of the campground loops.  Before you know it, Callie and I had our 12,000 steps in for the day, despite a full driving day.  Dinner tonight was burgers and cold beer.  Later, I went over and sat with an older couple with a Casita who had traveled tens of thousands of miles during their three years of ownership.

They keep a home in Florida but are no strangers to adventure on the road.. After we solved many of the world’s problems and philosophical issues, I headed off to bed.  A cold sweet tea sounded better than a beer, so that was my nightcap.

Grayson Highlands State Park

I hiked through Grayson Highlands during my Appalachian thru-hike in 1996, but I didn’t camp here for a very good reason.  The Appalachian Trail back then was 2159 miles.  The blue blaze trail to the state park was 0.66 miles.  

My hiking partners and I had some rules during the thru-hike.  We would walk 0.2 or 0.3 if we needed water or a shelter, but I tried to keep extra miles at a minimum.  If there was a cold six pack of beer or a hamburger and fries at the other end of the 0.66, there would be no question.  But the blue blaze trail leads only to a gravel overnight parking lot.

With the Brew Hut and Nissan truck, I am no longer constrained by those rules.  I parked in the ugly little gravel overnight parking lot and started hiking up the mountain where it  joins the Appalachian Trail. Within a quarter of a mile, I saw something that I never saw on my thru-hike: one of the the famous Grayson Highlands wild ponies right on the trail walking towards us.

For once, Callie was quiet and still.  Eventually, the pony got too close (they bite and kick), so we wandered to the left.  It wandered to the right.
Soon, we climbed to the intersection of the spur trail and the A.T.  Just like on Roan Mountain, the ridges are grass and shrubs.  The views are stunning.

Callie and I continued southbound into the Mount Rodgers Wilderness.  We peaked out at around 5200′ in elevation.  The climb was in direct sun and without wind;  Callie was hot.  I shared some of my water bottle with her, but it was time to head back.  A breeze picked up for the mostly downhill hike. We met some other hikers who were southbound and stopped to chat with one guy who wanted a photo of Callie for his daughter.

On the way down the spur trail, there were more ponies.

Hickory Ridge Campground

The campsites at Hickory Ridge are wooded.  I haven’t seen any hickory nuts, but the leaves are falling, and so are the acorns.  When one hits the top of the Scamp, it is startling.  Something that sounded like a larger hickory nut falling several hundred yards just hit the roof, but I couldn’t find the evidence.

Back to the Fairgrounds

The North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh has been a very convenient place for Julia to arrive and depart from.  It’s only about twenty minutes from the airport and offers full hookups for $30/night.

Showers and bathroom are a bit of an issue.  Almost everyone here is self-contained.  We are too, but showering takes some effort in the Brew Hut with the small wet bath. Camp-ground showers are always appreciated, especially from Julia’s perceptive.

On my first visit, I talked to the security guard about potential showering opportunities. He told me that there were some off-site showers, but I never did find them.  On my second visit, however, I got clearer directions.  The bathroom and showers are at the H6 gate.  Drive up towards the first horse barn on the right.  There’s a bathroom on the far side of the building.  There’s a door inside the bathroom leading to three shower stalls.

I’m pretty sure these are for the horse people, but there was only one other guy taking a shower there during the entire time that I was there shaving, etc.  One caveat:  don’t do what I did and park to close to the horse barn.  When I came out, the truck was parked in by a long horse trailer.  I managed to get out with the help of some spotters.  But it took a lot of wriggling back and forth.  Julia was worried because she needed to be dropped off at the airport, and I was late.

Visit with Friends

We  combined our second stay with an opportunity to visit with one of Julia’s graduate school classmates who lives in nearby Chapel Hill.  Jane and Julia spent an afternoon sightseeing, and then the husbands joined in at dinner time at Kitchen.

A good time was had by all.  After dinner, we picked up some pie and spent time at the residence, meeting their teenage daughter and the family’s crazy but friendly dogs. Callie would not have been amused.

I stayed at the Fairgrounds two more nights in order to get some errands done.  I’m not sure how long I’ll take on the return trip, but the plan is to make a couple of multiple day stops in Virginia and Kentucky.  The rest of the way will depend on the weather, which has been hot, humid and dry.  That’s going to head the other direction at some point in October.

It’s been so hot that Callie and I get up to take our long walk before and during sunrise when the temps are the coolest.

We towed the Brew Hut through countless cotton fields and past numerous Confederate flags on the way to Medoc Mountain State Park.  This area is known as the coastal plains.  We really felt that we were getting a look at the South in a way that we had not experienced before.  We traveled past the  Tillery Resettlement, a New Deal program in 1936 that offered Depression-era benefits to “both races”, separately.

Medoc Mountain State Park

The summit at Medoc Mountain is only a 325 feet above sea level.  I’m sure it wasn’t the elevation, but we did experience milder temperatures during our two day stay.  Nights were pleasant in the high 50’s and low 60’s.

The campground was amazing.  First, because we were there on a weeknight, there were only a few other campers.  The sites were generously spaced and wooded for privacy.  Electric hookups are available but primitive sites are in the majority.  There are water spigots and trash cans conveniently located.  Also, there are very nice bathrooms and showers within a short walk.  The camp-ground was immaculate, and we saw workers cleaning and sprucing things up during our entire stay.

We spent much of our time hiking: there are trails leaving from the campground, and we hiked at least ten miles of those trails.

On our last night, we treated ourselves to takeout at Lynch’s BBQ & Grill in Hollister.  There’s no seating here; you call ahead or just show up and it’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.

There’s also a free Paranormal and Bigfoot museum in town that Julia originally wanted to see, but she chickened out when we learned that it was in someone’s house.

She may have missed her opportunity because we are headed back to the Fairgrounds in Raleigh, where Julia catches her flight back home.

Historic Edenton, North Carolina

When we went to hitch up the Brew Hut on the morning of our departure, we learned that the Outer Banks wasn’t quite done with us yet.  One of the Brew Hut’s tires was markedly low (20 psi).

I got the “opportunity” to try out my low tech bicycle pump to re-inflate the tire.  After about  20 sweaty minutes, I was able to get it back up to 50 psi.  In the meantime, Julia found a tire repair place in Manteo that promised to fit us in.  I have nothing but good things to say about Tread Quarters Discount Tire.  They found the screw (in the header photo) causing the problem, patched it, and got us back on the road in about an hour for under $30.   We were fortunate not to have a blowout on the rod and to be within driving distance to get the slow leak resolved.

We drove on to a nondescript RV park near Edenton.  There was a nice view of a pond from our campsite, electric to plug into on a hot day, and a serviceable shower.  The main reason for our detour to Edenton was history.  This is the site of the Edenton Tea Party, where the 51 American women defied King George’s Tea Tax in 1774.

My wife Julia loves women who stir things up so this was a must stop for us.

There she is by the famous tea pot sculpture, Next she is lurking in the shadows of 1767 Courthouse.  Finally, she poses for her rabble-rousing punishment.  I am there to take pictures and perform the final rescue.

We only spent one night in the area, but it was a worthwhile stop.    Our next destination is Medoc Mountain State Park.