Late Coffee…Early Cocktails

Our last day on the road for this trip was an easy one and The Big Lebowski is safely backed into his designated parking spot. The plan was to unload and start right in on the growing project list. It was a plan that Mother Nature was definitely not in tune with as two days later the Big L looked exactly like he did before we left, covered with snow and ice.  Watching the migrating birds shivering on the tree branches outside our window we think they have the same thought; maybe we started home too soon?

Digging out last December 10th before departure.

Digging out April 19th, oh and several other storms in April.

Our April showers this year have not only been frequent, they have all been freezing rain or wet, heavy snow, pretty much negating any outside work, other than shoveling. Even the inside projects have been limited due to the cold and to avoid tracking snow inside. The blame for all this might be on my shoulders as decided I absolutely refused to winterize the water system in April, after all, “it’s going to warm up again in a few days”.  So instead I installed a 60 watt work light in the water pump compartment and left the furnace on in the vacant Lebowski to keep things unfrozen, if not warm. Good plan, except that after three weeks the propane ran out and the electric heaters had to be pressed into service. So now the daily routine is to check the Big L’s temperature and heaters in the morning to make sure nothing has frozen, shovel snow, check the temperature, order parts, shovel snow and repeat, seemingly day after day.

In the expectation that spring will eventually get here, and project list be damned, we made reservations at a park on the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week in July.  The nice lady that took the reservation was very helpful and, we think, only joking when she told us she was pretty sure the North Shore would be snow-free by then.

The Big Lebowski gets a tow.

There is something about being close to home after months away that makes one eager to get going.  Yesterday we drove twice our usual distance in order to leave only 4 hours of driving today to make it home.  The Big Lebowski would be parked in its own berth by midday, well before the freezing drizzle and Friday afternoon congestion ground traffic to a halt.  Plans do not always resemble actual results.  We’d only been on the road for 11 miles, streaming up I94 in Wisconsin, when Greg noticed that Big L’s  temperature was 200 and climbing.  By the time he pulled over and stopped all the lights were flashing on the dashboard.  Shoot.  Greg hiked to the bedroom and took a quick look see under our bed to find the serpentine belt long gone and the engine hotter than a Cheesehead watching the Vikings beat the Packers.  I can’t pass up the opportunity to point out that on the sailboat the engine was in the kitchen, on the RV its in the bedroom, every guy’s dream.  Geez.

Heavy traffic whizzes by at 70 mph.

Being good scouts we were prepared and had a spare serpentine belt on board. Unfortunately, it was stowed in one of the basement cargo lockers on the port side of the RV and neither of us was keen on standing in the traffic lane of this busy interstate in order to rummage through those lockers until we found the belt.  So we called Good Sam’s, our tow insurance provider and requested assistance. It took nearly an hour on the phone with Good Sam’s very proficient Ilia before the proper belt was located and a tow truck dispatched.

Tony, one of our rescuers, securing the tow bar to the axle.

Greg then called our designated rescuers to confirm a few details, including that they needed us to back the car off the tow dolly.  Traffic was intensifying and I noticed that while most truckers at least attempted to change lanes and move over, only about 50% of the car drivers made the effort. We didn’t exactly feel safe inside the RV, let alone standing unprotected on the shoulder.  Where is a trooper when you need one?  I spotted for holes in the traffic while Greg removed the trailer pin and the wheel straps, crouching nearly in the lane of traffic for the left strap.  We breathed easier when Greg backed the car off the trailer and parked it on the shoulder.  Which was the cue for the trooper to finally appear.  It turns out all those car drivers are fully capable of moving over when there is a trooper parked on the shoulder.  The trooper was happy that a tow truck was supposed to arrive in 30 – 60 minutes and took off.

The disabled FedEx rig is towed into Sal’s.

The mega tow truck from Sal’s Towing and Truck Repair soon appeared, backed up to the front of the RV, extended a lifting arm under the chassis and raised the front like it was a stripped down Yugo.  That was the easy part.  The hard part about towing an RV is that the drive shaft must be disconnected and air must be hooked up to the brakes, both requiring a lot of work beneath the RV.  Sal’s employee Tony hustled to minimize the time he spent as potential roadkill beneath the Big Lebowski. And even though Sal, dressed in bright neon  green, kept waving traffic to the far lane, an unhealthy percentage of drivers couldn’t bother to move over, whizzing by at 70 mph.  Our  rescuers completed their prep without incident and Sal took off down the interstate towing all 30,000 pounds of the Big Lebowski at 70 mph.  As we accelerated in the car to catch up we passed a FedEx truck with double trailers parked on the shoulder just a mile beyond where we landed. Greg noticed a dangling mirror and wondered whether the truck had been clipped while sitting there.

The damage one wild turkey can do.

About an hour after we were towed into the shop,  Sal’s mega  truck reappeared with the FedEx truck and both trailers in tow,  reminding us of one of the long barges being towed down the ICW.  Greg eyed the largish hole in the windshield on the driver’s side and the blood streaked cab door and strolled over to get the full scoop.  A large wild turkey had flown directly in front of the truck, smashing through the safety glass.  FedEx trucks roll with 2 drivers so they can run around the clock.  The driver who had been sleeping at the time of the strike asked Greg if he was hungry as there was still turkey left. He opened the door to show that part of the turkey wound up inside the cab. Yikes. We now thanked our lucky stars that our serpentine belt had left us disabled, protecting us from collision with this turkey.

Roadkill turkey INSIDE the cab is more than I could take.

Two more disabled trucks were brought in that day and we chatted with their drivers, comparing notes and silently noting that these guys were all losing pay as a result of their misfortune. By 4 pm the repair was finished, our car reloaded and we were streaming north on I94.  By 4 pm it was also raining in Minneapolis, with the temperature hovering near the freezing point.  We also took note of the dead deer littering Wisconsin ditches at a rate of one per mile and decided there was no need to drive after dark and tempt fate once again and parked for the night in Eau Claire.  Tomorrow is another day!

On our way to DC from Georgia, we planned on seeing many of the sights the Appalachian mountains offer that simply cannot be seen by boat.  Unfortunately, our sight-seeing karma was not with us.

Massive landslide in Great Smoky National Park.

We new that a massive landslide in January closed the main highway that connects the Tennessee side of Great Smoky National Park to the North Carolina side but presumed that there must be something there to see.  And, if all else failed we simply take a nice long drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway which starts near Great Smoky National.

Much to our chagrin, the Blue Ridge Parkway was also closed with no explanation why or when it would reopen.

The entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hmmmph.  We drove back to South Carolina where the Big Lebowski was parked just a bit miffed. Why was the RV parked in South Carolina anyways? Because the campgrounds at Great Smoky National Park were closed due to sequestration.  On our unplanned route back we did stumble upon the nicest views of the day.

Gail standing behind Dry Falls in North Carolina.

So we headed off to Virginia where 2 inches of accumulated snow reminded us that spring had not yet arrived.  To top off our string of near misses, the cherry blossoms in DC bloomed 6 days after we left.  Ho, hum.

The Deep South Does Schnitzel

We were touring the foothills in northeastern Georgia when we happened upon the little town of Helen.  We should have known something was up when the glossy tourist brochure described Helen as “a little slice of Bavaria nestled in the Georgia mountains”.   Up until this point we’d seen few tourists, vehicles, or mountains, but we did admit that it was possible that all those big billboards we kept passing were screening our view of the mountains.

As we rounded the last bend into Helen we came to a swift halt behind herds of Harley riders all leathered up for action.  Ooooh, must be something good up ahead.  What a disappointment!   Helen turned out to be bunches of trinket stores and fast food joints trumped up a la Tudor with a few flowers tossed in for extra measure.  Hey!  All Y’all should know better!   We waved at the Bavarian Bubbas who were parking their Hogs at the Troll Tavern and got outta town.  Alpine, my ass.

Memorial at Camp Toccoa

With expectations adjusted, the rest of the foothills were fine, especially as we stumbled upon Camp Toccoa, the training camp featured in the “Band of Brothers” series.  Greg, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne, marveled at the hill used for their daily run — 3 miles up and 3 miles down.  He was unable to persuade me into  ”a quick hike”, especially in the drizzle and we returned to our lovely campsite  at Watsadler Corps of Engineers Campground on Lake Hartwell.

Watsadler Campground on Lake Hartwell.

This park was one of the loveliest we’ve stayed in — quiet, scenic, and well cared for by witty campground host Jasson.   We did wonder if the attorneys were designating the verbiage on park signs:

Watsadler Campground sign.

Where we come from, this sign would say “Boat Launch”.  OK, no more poking fun — remember the film Deliverance?  It was filmed in northeast Georgia in the same area we toured today.  We like it here, really!

After successfully making concrete castings of elephant ear leaves in February we’re always interested when we spy large leaves.  This stand of elephant ears in Sumter Oaks park made us wonder how many pounds of Quikrete would be required to cast one of these?

The largest leaf we cast with concrete was probably twenty inches.

This one is 51 inches long!