Route 66 and Beyond

At the Biltmore Estate of George Vanderbilt

Greetings from North Carolina!  We’ve been on the road for 18 days and 3,600 miles now, and are finally into the groove of driving a lot, laying over for a couple of days, then driving more.  Best of all, we’re still enjoying each other’s company. 

We’re on our way to Becket, MA in the Berkshires where daughter Skyler owns a vacation home with us.  Feruza from nearby New York will join us for a weekend.  Unfortunately, Shanti, Alan, and granddaughter Hazel had to abandon their plans to join us, due to the UK’s Covid restrictions regarding international travel.

We’ve done the I-80 and I-90 cross country more than enough, so this time we thought we’d take a roundabout southern route.  We started off on backroads in OR, CA, and NV. By the time we got to AZ, we followed the path of the Historic Route 66, mostly paved over by I-40 all the way to where we are now.  Still, we could see traces of American past and think about the Joads (from the Grapes of Wrath) while traveling through desolate north Texas and AZ. Brother Mark drove from Casa Grande AZ and we enjoyed a 7-mile hike with him in Sedona.  

I-40 out of Las Vegas all the way to the Arkansas border was stressful, with crosswinds and mostly trucks out of CA going 75 mph, but overall it’s been interesting to see how the landscape transforms from flat dusty barren rockscapes to the verdant hillsides of TN and NC.  I used to think the rudest drivers were from MA, but they are actually from NC.  Such nice, friendly people turn into complete jerks when we’re trying to merge or change lanes.

Somewhere in SE Nevada

We’ve stayed in Forest Service campgrounds, RV parks, and Harvest Host wineries, a farm, and a wildlife park.  Some were tolerable, but most were nice. 

Mina, NV.  Only one other rig there.

Our Harvest Host Campground in Arkansas.
We even had use of his showers in “the Barn.”

One of our highlights was staying in Arkansas with a Harvest Host hay farmer for free, who hooked us to to utilities and bought us pizza.  We had four hours of delightful conversations visiting his home and viewing his massive John Deere collection.

Pete and Cheryle, hosts in AK

What we've noticed since last September, is that camping is now cordial again. The fear of strangers in masks has abated somewhat. So many people at rest stops and campgrounds talk to us and want to see our Airstream. Nothing like that happened last summer.

Memphis was good, but for the fact that the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi was closed due to a recently discovered crack.  (Infrastructure spending, anyone???).  So we had some massive grid-lock delays getting into town from our camp on the Mississippi in Arkansas.  But Graceland, a walking tour, and above all the National Civil Rights Museum made it all worthwhile.  From the start of slavery in the 1600s to 1968, the museum encompasses the Lorraine Hotel, where Dr. King was assassinated.  One of our best ever museum experiences, especially being where history took place.   We don't see how anyone can go through that museum unchanged. It was a very emotional experience.

Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony
Visitors can actually see his room as it
was in April 1968.

We ate well, in the big carnivorous barbeque scene in Memphis, but it was devoid of vegetables and healthy non-meat alternatives. Glad to be back to our own cooking!

The Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway were stunningly beautiful, especially at 15-35 mph. 

Somewhere along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Pretty impressive.  We didn't know the
South had such high elevations.

Forrest Service campground outside
Asheville, NC  Nice campfire with
hobo stew (foil-wrapped veggies, etc.)

With 7 miles left, our Jeep’s electronics had a nervous breakdown.  No gauges, only a warning that said “Don’t turn off engine or shift, as you may not be able to start again.”  So, on Memorial Day,  without turn signals or brake lights we made it down 8% grades and onto I-40 to a dealership in Asheville, NC.  A kind salesman on duty directed us to a level spot on the dealership lot where we could camp until things opened on Tuesday morning.  But after we unhitched and pulled forward three feet, it started right up again with everything back to normal!  So, onward to a very nice Forest Service campground for two nights.

Yesterday, while JP (the name of our Jeep) was being looked at, the dealership’s shuttle driver took us a long distance to the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s.  It was like having our one locally-born tour guide coming and going.  (He said his name was Mack, but I think in the thick local dialect it was really Mike).

The estate and tour were definitely worth it.  Best of all??  All the mechanics had to do is a simple reset of the system and remove the after-market WIFI module we had added two months ago. Kind of like turn your phone or computer off, then start it again.

The spectacular and over-the-top
Biltmore mansion.

What’s next?  We’re heading to Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown  tomorrow for a couple of nights, then on to Pittsburgh to visit our long-term mentee and only ‘son’ Nati Zavala and his fiancé, Jasmine.

Here’s a link to a few curated photos, more or less in chronological order.  Enjoy!

“What We Can, While We Can!”

Ps:  Here are a couple of gratuitous photos of Hazel, now 14.5 months old.

Ron & Kathy

Rwk777@gmail.com         Kathyek@gmail.com