rain, rain, go away...

The best part about camping, for Chris and me, is the breakfast. I love all the camping gadgets and organizing it all. This morning, we decided to have pancakes, eggs and juice/coffee. Chris fired up the old campstove and I mixed up the batter. He also got to try out his new percolator coffee pot. What a great way to start the day. The rain finally let up, but the high trees above us showered their wet leaves as a light wind shook them. It was hardly noticeable. A pair of deer joined us for a while as we finished our meal.

The plan for the day was to ride the 11 mile loop through Cade’s Cove on our bikes. If we would were here one day earlier, we could have ridden the loop without motorized vehicles, but this morning we had to share the road. At first it was very frustrating—tailing behind the slowest moving cars or Harleys (they are loud and louder), but finally we passed the cars (bikes usually don’t do that, but the drivers would stop at every wild creature they saw—you see one deer, you’ve seen them all!) We did get to see four black bears walking through the meadow—that stopped all traffic for the photo op.

The ride was awesome—a lot of coasting, but when you go down, you have to go up at some point. There were a few very steep, winding hills, but we geared down and made the climb. I love my new bike for its ease of riding on so many types of roads.

We packed up and spent the rest of the day driving through the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The scenery was breathtaking. We stopped for a light lunch under a canopy of trees and listened to the babbling of Laurel Creek. Fly fishermen dotted the streams and tourists stopped to capture the moment. It was a great day to appreciate all that America has to offer.

Tonight we are camping near Ashville NC. Our campground is back woodsy like—Chris thinks he hears banjos in the distance. It was once again RAINING when we got here so we had to set up in the wetness. But, the screen tent was a life-saver (good thing we make happy mistakes) and I made burgers, fried potatoes and pork n’ beans. It always tastes better with the sound of the rushing river in the background. We should sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we will tour the Biltmore Estate before arriving in Florence SC to see Cevyn & Laurie and boys.