After my visit to Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, I moved on to the Great Smoky Mountains that straddle the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. I stayed on the North Carolina side the entire time but hope to visit the Tennessee side at another time.

I stayed three nights in River Valley Campground on the Cherokee Indian Reservation,  just outside of the National Park. This was a wonderful campground with beautifully shaded pull-through sites. Mine was just a few yards from a stream where some campers did some fly fishing.

My campsite at River Valley Campground was shady and the nights got down in the low 50s. Perfect sleeping weather!

The camper next to me came in on a motorcycle and unpacked the tiniest tent I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how he fit inside. I was curious about what it’s like to travel by motorcycle so I introduced myself and asked him all about it. Although Shane from Mississippi is married, has a family and a successful business to run, he takes off when the spirit moves him. He told his wife “I gotta go!” and off he went. Apparently, she’s used to this behavior.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a wonderful scenic drive winding through it, much like Skyline Drive in Virginia, with pull-offs to view the breathtaking landscape. But, unlike Skyline Drive, there is no fee to drive through this park.

You can turn off the main road (US 441) and drive up to the top of Clingmans Dome, the tallest mountain in Smokies (6,643 feet). There’s a parking lot near the summit that quickly fills up so an early arrival is best. From there, you have to walk 1/2 mile up a very steep paved trail. There is a 400 foot elevation change in just that half mile, which I found grueling. Luckily, they’ve placed benches every couple hundred feet and I took advantage of nearly every one.

At the summit is an observation tower that looks like something out of Star Wars and offers incredible 360 degree views… and a chance to catch your breath!

The observation tower at Clingmans Dome.

I frequently offer to take photos of other tourists and, occasionally, I get one in return.

The Appalachian Trail runs through the park and I often saw hikers come off the trail to take a break at the visitor centers and rest areas. I couldn’t resist taking a VERY SHORT walk on the trail just to say I did.

That’s me on the Appalachian Trail!

The Appalachian Trail where it crosses the summit of Clingmans Dome.

They’re called the Smoky Mountains because there’s a perpetual haze created by the abundance of moisture in the air from the trees. More recently, that’s been added to by air pollution.

As part of my journey around the country, I plan to leave small amounts of my husband’s ashes in places I feel he would have found profoundly beautiful. Whenever he saw a beautiful sunset, mountain view, or turquoise waters of the Caribbean, he’d wonder how it was that anyone didn’t believe in God. I chose Clingmans Dome as the first spot the leave a little of Mike so he could enjoy the view.

This is Mike’s view of the Smoky Mountains (35°33’43.4″N 83°29’57.7″W).

The next couple of days were spent hiking to waterfalls. First, I drove about 20 miles from the campground in Cherokee to the town of Bryson City for another access point into the park. Here I took an easy hike (the best kind!) to Juney Whank Falls and Tom Branch Falls; both on the same trail.

Juney Whank Falls.

 
Tom Branch Falls spill into Deep Creek, a popular spot for tubing.

While at Tom Branch Falls, I struck up a conversation with a guy who was a retired fireman from West Palm Beach, FL who had relocated to this part of North Carolina after vacationing here for years when his children were young. Now his grandchildren come to visit in the same spot. Since I was on my way to the West Palm Beach area, we had a lot to chat about.

My last full day in Cherokee started out cloudy then rained all afternoon. I took advantage of the early overcast conditions to visit Mingo Falls, just about a mile up the road from the campground. Here I faced a long, steep climb up wooden stairs followed by a fairly level but rocky trail to the falls.

Before starting my climb, I met a guy coming down who assured me it was worth the effort. He was still in the parking lot when I returned and I learned he was from Nashville, TN, a place I’m planning to visit next March for a girls’ weekend.

   

The stairs to Mingo Falls from the parking lot. When you get to the top of the first set, it’s disheartening to find there’s a second set, just as bad, followed by a rocky path that could break an ankle.

The reward was the beautiful cascading Mingo Falls.

I left the Smoky Mountains on June 9 and headed to Georgia. I passed by Atlanta but did stop. Maybe another time. I stopped at Andersonville, GA, the site of the famous Civil War POW camp. There wasn’t much to photograph here, as it’s just an open field, but the National POW Museum is worth a visit. It honors POWs from all wars and includes a 30-minute film that left me teary-eyed when I walked out.

The open field at Andersonville, GA where tens of thousands of Union soldiers were held as POWs.

Nearly two weeks in and I’m finally on my way to Florida. Andersonville is a bit off the interstate and took a while on back country roads to return to it. There were very few gas stations along the route and none of them could accommodate my motorhome. I had enough fuel to get me through but not enough to keep the generator running to power the motorhome’s air conditioning and it shut down. It gets really hot in a hurry and I couldn’t wait to get to that night’s Cracker Barrel stop to get things running again.

When I parked for the night, it took a little bit of effort to get the generator started again since it gets air in the fuel line when it shuts down for lack of fuel. I got it running but it wasn’t sending power to the “house.” After several calls to knowledgeable friends, I was able to determine that the circuit breaker switch on the generator was broken. Without being able to flip the switch, there was no electrical connection…and I had to sleep in a parking lot in Florida without any AC. Now that’s roughing it!

  
Broken circuit breaker switch (L) and what it looked like after being repaired a week later (R).

My next stop was Port Orange and Daytona Beach to visit friends from New Jersey. I had planned to stay in a Walmart that night but opted for a campground so I could plug in for AC. I normally don’t bother with a campground if I’m staying only one night. It’s not worth the money or the effort to hook up just to leave first thing in the morning. But air conditioning was a vital necessity so I found myself checking in to New Smyrna Beach Campground. I’d stay again if I plan to be in this area for a few days.

I spent the afternoon visiting with family members of my former next door neighbor in New Jersey. I’d gotten to know his entire family over the years and I’ve visited his mother in Port Orange on a previous trip to Florida. On this day, I picked up his mother, Barbara, and we went to his sister Suzanne’s condo in Daytona Beach. The three of us had a wonderful time sitting by the pool and catching up on things.

Hanging by the pool at Suzanne’s condo in Daytona Beach.

Finally, on June 12, I arrived in Jupiter, Florida for a 3 1/2 week stay to establish residency, get a driver’s license and get my vehicles registered. It’s going to feel great to stay put for awhile.

I arrived too early to get into my campsite so I had to waste some time. What better way than to have my sister, Barbara, and cousin, Pam, pick me up in the local Walmart parking lot and head out for lunch and Margaritas. We went to Calaveras Cantina at Harborside in Jupiter and what a lucky break… it was Margarita Monday! $5 Ritas and tacos for lunch.

L-R: My cousin Pam, me, my sister Barbara awaiting our Margaritas at Calaveras Cantina in Jupiter, FL.

I spent my time in Florida at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, located between Stuart and Jupiter. It’s a beautiful campground and I believe it’s fairly new. If I’m not mistaken, they moved the campground from a different area of the park to this location. All the sites are spacious, level, and gravel with full hookups available at most, if not all. Clean bathrooms with large showers located throughout the campground so you never have to walk very far. Its only downfall would be the lack of shade. They’ve planted trees but they’ll take a few years to provide any shade. All this for only $26 a night.

Camping at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, FL.

The campground is just a half hour drive to my father’s house on Singer Island, near West Palm Beach. He’s 93 and has lived in Florida for about 35 years. I don’t get to see him nearly enough so my plan is to visit him every day of my stay.

Upcoming post:

My stay in Florida doesn’t go according to plan but being retired means I’m flexible.

 

My name is Lindsay Reed and I’m a photographer and graphic artist with a passion for both lighthouses and road trips. I am living as a full-time solo RVer in my 31 foot Coachmen motorhome and plan to spend the next few years traveling the U.S. and Canada photographing not only lighthouses, but everything else there is to see in this wonderful land. I hope you enjoy my blog and will follow my adventures in the months and years ahead.