Boone Over the 4th

We left Asheboro on Monday, June 30, for Boone, NC. This town is named after THE Daniel Boone and is situated high in the Appalachian Mountains. The drive was only about 135 miles, but it was just about all up hill on somewhat narrow roads making it slow going. But it’s beautiful country, so we didn’t mind it!

We got settled in and met several of the neighboring dogs, including a silver Schnauzer who was also named Heidi. We found the weather here to be completely different from Asheboro. It had been very hot there – not true in Boone. The temps dipped into the 50’s over night and it was still chilly for our morning walks. We aren’t complaining, mind you, just stating the facts. It was actually a very welcome change.

We were close to the Blue Ridge Parkway here. We only drove about 8 miles of it, though. These pictures make it easy to see why it’s called the Blue Ridge.

We took a 50-mile scenic drive one day… and it took all morning to do it. It was beautiful, but those mountain roads are very windy and very narrow. This scenic drive took us right by Grandfather Mountain.

At the Visitor’s Center there was a natural habitat area for a number of animals that are native to this area. We saw this beautiful bald eagle.

Not to mention more beautiful vistas.

And a black bear.

(“Show them the backside!”)

At the top, this bridge spans the two peaks of the mountain.

We did cross it. It wasn’t so bad. That’s me in the black sweatshirt. (I told you the weather was colder here.)

Here’s both of us and some of the fantastic view from up there.

We continued on with the 50-mile drive and arrived in Blowing Rock for a late lunch. We stopped at a pub and had a fantastic sandwich. We walked around the shops some and then drove out to the Blowing Rock. We decided we’d seen enough mountains that we didn’t want to pay for another one, so I don’t have any photos. From the brochures, I don’t think we really missed anything special.

There was a parade in Boone on the 4^th of July. We drove down and had no trouble finding parking or a place to see it all. Here’s the color guard who got the whole thing started.

I tried, but was too slow to get a picture of the Grand Martial. He rode in the back of an old pick-up and his name is Orville Hicks. He must be pretty well known around here. I checked and he’s got a book written about him and his stories. There’s a picture if you follow that link, and that’s exactly how he looked on the back of that pick-em-up truck.

These guys led the way for every fire truck in the county (if not beyond). That ax could not have been shinier!

Did I mention we were in the sticks? Can you hear the banjo playing?

Much of this parade was pretty similar to the one in Troy. There were the cars, the politicians, some very young beauty queens, a couple of dance troupes, and a few horses bringing up the rear. We were both surprised that there was no marching band. But it was a fun way to spend the morning.

As is our custom (even when we travel), we’d gone to bed a little after 9pm on the 4^th. It wasn’t long till we heard fireworks – and not what you’d expect in a campground. So we got up and checked out the skies where we could see a city display taking place. We knew there was a show at the armory but had no idea where that was. Apparently, it was just over the hill from our campground.

We visited the Farmers Market on Saturday. It was small, but we found a couple of things that we just couldn’t live without.

That’s the excitement for our time in Boone. Unless you want to count the fact that the shower was still leaking and the starter on the coach was still giving us trouble. This being the case, we made an appointment for repairs at a place that (fortunately) was right on our course to our next stop. Since we had to be there at 8am and it was 40 miles of windy, narrow, mountain roads, we left the afternoon before and stayed in a Wal-Mart a couple miles away.

We left there at about 3pm with a new battery and a fixed shower. Apparently there was never a rubber gasket in the drain, so it may have been leaking since day one. Yikes! But it’s fixed now.

They had a great customer waiting area at this place and we had to keep Heidi with us. She did great and even made friends with this guy (an employee).

OK, he gave here fresh bacon, but still.

We arrived at Creekwood Farm at about 5pm and it was raining off and on. Thankfully, not very hard so we could get leveled and set up. It was a long day and we were happy to sack out early.

We got the rest of our stuff set up this morning and felt great about getting to start enjoying things again. We went into town to our favorite pizza place for lunch. (It’s still wonderful pizza.) When we got back, the air conditioning was making a funny noise and then pumped out some hot air before starting to cool. This was NOT normal. Even after we turned off the A/C something up there kept running. Julian climbed up on the roof to inspect things and realized that whatever wasn’t shutting off was VERY hot. So we cut power and called the RV repair place again. We’ll be going back there on the 16th to get the A/C fixed and will be without it until then. Pray for cooler weather here! And while you’re at it, pray for things to quit breaking! (Thank you.)