Fifth Wheel – Page 3 – Wandering Dawgs

Blue Ridge Parkway, Creek Side Camping and Barbeque in North Carolina

September 28, 2015November 18, 2015Posted in North Carolina, Restaurants, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVingTagged autumn, Blue Ridge Parkway, Devil's Courthouse, fall colors, Fifth Wheel, Heywood Smokehouse, Highest Point on Blue Ridge Parkway, Looking Glass Rock, Scenic Drive, Waynesville NC13 Comments

After two days of elk watching in Cataloochee Valley we packed a lunch and set out from our campground in Waynesville for a 40 mile drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of fall colors.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile scenic parkway through the southern Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. The northernmost point of the parkway is Mile 0 in Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, Virginia. The southernmost point is Mile 469 near Cherokee, North Carolina. There are scenic overlooks, picnic areas, hiking trails, and campgrounds all along the way.

Although we have traversed several sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the past we had never been on the area in North Carolina north of the Highest Point at Mile 431. On our journey this time we traveled south from Mile 408 at Mount Pisgah to Maggie Valley at about Mile 455.

The first order of business was a picnic at the Mount Pisgah picnic area at the top of a short paved trail. After lunch under the trees we started our journey south, stopping at several of the scenic overlooks. It was too early in the year for the peak autumn colors but a few of the leaves were beginning to change.

Looking Glass Rock got it’s name because sunlight will reflect off the granite when there is water collected on it.

Looking Glass Rock Blue Ridge Parkway in NC

There was beautiful scenery every where we looked.

Beautiful day for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC

We found a few more fall colors.

A few fall colors on the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC

There are many folktales surrounding the Devil’s Courthouse. It was getting late and we decided to skip the trail to the top.

Devil's Courthouse Blue Ridge Parkway in NC — Devil’s Courthouse Blue Ridge Parkway in NC

The picture on the left was taken 8 years ago when we first stopped at the Highest Point of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mile 431. The one on the right from this visit.

Highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Highest Point on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The photo below is the view from the Highest Point.

A few clouds rolled in as we continued south,

Our home base for exploring Cataloochee Valley and the Blue Ridge Parkway was Creekwood RV Park a few miles north of Waynesville and Maggie Valley. Our site backed up to a beautiful creek. It was a perfect place to relax after a day of wandering.

Beautiful Creek behind our campsite

Sitting by the creek was a great way to end each day

Duck in the creek behind our RV

Of course we had to try some North Carolina barbeque while were were there. The Heywood Smokehouse in Waynesville was recommended and the spareribs, chicken, and brisket were done to perfection. And it turns out the owners are originally from Georgia!

Beautiful fall weather, bugling elk, scenic drives, camping beside a creek, and delicious barbeque. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Wandering around Ridgeway, South Carolina

September 11, 2015July 9, 2017Posted in Restaurants, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, South CarolinaTagged Fifth Wheel, Labrador Retriever, Little Cedar Creek Campground, Old Town Hall Restaurant, Ridgeway SC9 Comments

We’ve had a wonderful summer at home in Georgia but the fifth wheel hasn’t moved in four months. It’s time to hit the road and do a little wandering in the RV.

We are heading to Virginia to spend a few days visiting our daughter’s family. We’ve made this trip several times before and although we could make it in one day we like to stop somewhere in North or South Carolina to break up the trip.

We enjoyed taking a walk around the pond in the campground

I love staying in new places so after I read a good review of the Little Cedar Creek Campground I decided we would check it out. The campground is clean and well maintained with friendly and helpful camp hosts. The sites are wooded, spacious and quiet. There are trails through the woods and at the bottom of a hill is a little pond and a creek. We decided to stay two nights so we could explore the nearby town of Ridgeway.

Downtown Ridgeway has some interesting old buildings, shops and a wonderful restaurant in the old town hall. We strolled around downtown and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Old Town Hall Restaurant.

Old Police Station in Ridgeway, South Carolina

Right next to the old police station is the Ridgeway Police Department Today

Old Town Hall in Ridgeway, South Carolina

Ruff & Company Hardware Store since 1840

Old Ruff Hardware store on the left of the new store

The original Ruff Hardware Store

Ridgeway, S.C. Elevation 625

Old Town Hall Restaurant

Next stop, Virginia!

Hooray for Hollywood

July 30, 2015August 14, 2017Posted in Road Trip, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Fifth Wheel, film locations, Movie Sites25 Comments

I love movies. Comedies, westerns, mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, love stories. I love them all. One of the things we love to do on our RV trips is visit film locations. It’s fun to visit a place and imagine the actors playing their parts while the cameramen capture the action.

Here are a few of the most memorable film locations we have explored.

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota – This cold war spy thriller had Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint being chased around the Black Hills in “North by Northwest” (1959).

Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota

Devil’s Tower, Wyoming – Who can forget Richard Dreyfuss making a sculpture of the Devil’s Tower and then climbing the actual tower in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977)?

Moab, Utah – In “Thelma and Louise” (1991) starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, Thelma and Louise drive off a ledge into the canyon at Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab.

Thelma and Louise drove into the Canyon at Dead Horse Point State Park

Between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico – When taking a day trip in New Mexico we turned off the road to stop at an overlook and stumbled upon a filming location for “Wild Hogs”(2007) starring John Travolta.

When looking for a scenic overlook we found this movie site where "Wild Hogs" was being filmed — When looking for a scenic overlook we found this movie site where “Wild Hogs” was being filmed

Dyersville, Iowa – The baseball field and house from “Field of Dreams” (1989) starring Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan are surrounded by corn fields.

If you build it he will come — If you build it they will come

Winterset, Iowa – In “Bridges of Madison County” (1995) photographer Clint Eastwood and housewife Meryl Streep fall in love.

Roseman Covered Bridge, one of the Bridges of Madison County, Iowa

Pembroke, Virginia – Patrick Swayzee and Jennifer Grey fell in love in “Dirty Dancing” (1987) filmed at the Mountain Lake Lodge.

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada – “Niagara” (1959) While honeymooning at Niagara Falls, Marilyn Monroe plots to kill her husband.

Monument Valley, Utah and Arizona – although many westerns were filmed in Monument Valley, the most famous is probably director John Ford’s “Stagecoach” (1939) starring John Wayne.

Goulding’s Lodge near Monument Valley, Utah – John Wayne’s cabin from “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949) is next to Goulding’s Lodge.

Savannah Georgia – “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997) starring Kevin Spacey and “Forrest Gump” (1994) starring Tom Hanks are two of the many movies that have been filmed in and around Savannah.

Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah, Georgia

We’ve also explored a few places where the stars lived.

Winterset, Iowa – John Wayne’s birthplace

John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa — John Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset, Iowa

Harlem, Georgia – Oliver Hardy’s birthplace

Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee – Elvis Presley’s home

If the idea of visiting film locations sounds appealing to you, the IMDb website includes film locations for many movies.

A great resource for finding film locations in the southwest is the book “Cinema Southwest” by John A. Murray

Celebrating Nine Years of Wandering

July 25, 2015Posted in Road Trip, RVingTagged Adventure, camping in the snow, camping with a view, Fifth Wheel, Titanium Fifth Wheel24 Comments

Nine years ago this summer we purchased our fifth wheel and set out on the first of our many RV journeys across the United States and Canada.

During these nine years we have traveled to the west coast and back, crossed the Rocky Mountains and Continental divide several times, wandered around Florida, enjoyed campgrounds in our beautiful home state of Georgia, and made the ultimate RV journey to Alaska. We’ve visited National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks, tourist traps, historic sites and museums. We’ve seen the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, most of the Great Lakes, many rivers, creeks, streams and lakes. We’ve enjoyed birdwatching, wildlife viewing, wildflowers blooming in every season, sunsets and sunrises. We’ve attended RV rallies, met many friendly and interesting people, and made new friends.

In all, we’ve camped in 41 of our beautiful United States including Alaska. We discovered that there is something interesting to see and do no matter where you are. Here are a few of our most memorable experiences.

We learned not to head north in early April because you never know when it might snow!

We had the park to ourselves at Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, Minnesota

One very hot day in August we made the hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah.

We hiked to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah

We enjoyed many magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean as we traveled south on the Pacific Coast Highway from Washington to California.

We felt small beside the Redwoods in California.

In Yosemite National Park, we took a drive on Glacier Point Road to the Washburn Overlook.

We took a drive on Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park, California

On the American side of Niagara Falls we took the Cave of the Winds tour and stood on the Hurricane Deck underneath Bridal Veil Falls.

On the Hurricane Deck at Niagara Falls in New York

We visited the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Itasca State Park, Minnesota twice and walked across it once.

We enjoyed walking around the bases at the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, Iowa.

The highest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway was one of the highlights of our several visits to the parkway.

Being snowbirds in Florida is a great way to spend the winter.

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

You can’t beat the views from some of our campsites.

Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, Utah

Watching for whales in Haines, Alaska

Sagebrush Campground Palo Duro Canyon State Park

It’s been a wonderful nine years and we have so many great memories! Although our future trips will probably be closer to home we are looking forward to many more adventures.