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Destination: Great Smokey Mountains National Park and The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

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NPSGreat Smokey Mountains National Park

So, yet another National Park destination, and this one is not only in the Appalachian Mountain Range, but also is at the south-western end of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  But instead of being in Virginia, here we’re located in North Carolina and Tennessee, with more wilderness in the park.

Cades Cove (Elev 1807), Elkmont (Elev 2150), and Smokemont (Elev 2198) are the only campgrounds that can accommodate an RV as long as our 35′ bus, but there are others that can fit smaller campers and RVs.   All of these are “frontcountry” campgrounds located around the edges of the park, with trails leading in farther.  But even with these edge locations, there are no showers or electrical or water hookups in the park (except for a few 5 amp sites for those with medical needs).  All the sites farther into the park are hike-in “backcountry” sites.

The 360 observation tower atop Clingman's Dome, on a nice, clear day.
The 360 observation tower atop Clingman’s Dome, on a nice, clear day.

One of the places I want to hit here is Clingman’s Dome,  which at 6643 feet, is the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi.  There is a seasonal road to get up there, but the Appalachian Trail crosses over Clingman’s Dome as well.

The night sky at Clingman's Dome.
The night sky at Clingman’s Dome.

There is a 45 foot observation tower to make sure that you get a chance to see as far as you can (on some days over 100 miles).  Just seven miles from the Newfound Gap Road (Route 441) (Newfound Gap is the lowest altitude drivable pass through the Great Smokey Mountains) that traverses the park from south-east to north-west.   Just along this road to the south-east is the Smokemont campground and the start of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway that runs from there to Charlottesville, VA (Right up along by the Shenandoah National Park).

The 'Tree of Shame' at Deal's Gap motorcycle resort.
The ‘Tree of Shame’ at Deal’s Gap motorcycle resort.

On the western end of the Park is the (infamous) ‘Tail of the Dragon’ road (Route 115) from Chilhowe, TN to Cheoah Dam, NC.  This section of road has been seen as a ‘proving ground’ for motorcyclists and sports car drivers as it borders the Park and has thus stayed undeveloped.  This 11 mile section of roadway has nearly 320 curves to it, and even with the reduction of the speed limit from 55 to 30 miles per hour, there are numerous accidents, commemorated at the ‘Tree of Shame’ at Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort, decorated with bits of wrecks.

So lots of scenic drives and hikes through the area, but just over 100 miles to the south is the:

 

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
The General
The General

An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History of Kennesaw, GA, houses The General, a famous locomotive stolen by Union spies during the Civil War who tried to run it to Chatanooga, TN, a story that inspired Buster Keaton’s 1926 silent movie The General.  And while much of the museum is apparently built around preserving the historic locomotive, it also focuses on how important the supplies and mobility provided by railroad networks were for both sides during the Civil War.  They even have an machineworks exhibit that details the process of building a locomotive, from casting to assembly.

 

And, because it’s available, here is the full-length comedy classic:

Destination

Destination: Shenandoah National Park, The Natural Bridge, and Colonial Williamsburg, VA

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Coat_of_arms_of_Virginia_(1876)Another group of places that we want to go to with the bus is in Virginia.  While not a tight cluster, the farther we travel from Buffalo, the more distance we can have between destinations all on the same trip, and this one would puts us in the realms of nature, urban space, and history, but not too much of any one (except maybe history, but you can do that anywhere if you look hard enough).

 

NPSShenandoah National Park

Based on a foundation of rocks that are in some areas over a billion years old, the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Park form a dramatic barrier between the east and west ends of Virginia.  Part of the Appalachian Mountain Range, they  rise to 4000′ in some areas.  The Park covers about 311 sq. mi., including the 105 mile long Skyline Drive (park map here) that follows the eastern side of a number of mountain and ridge-tops along the greater north-east/south-west run of the Blue Ridge formation.

A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Skyline Drive.
A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Skyline Drive.

The Skyline Drive is a National Scenic Byway which started as a WPA project in 1931.  While it’s speed limit tops out at 35 mph, it IS accessible to skoolies (and RVs), but there is a height limit of 12’8″ at Marys Rock Tunnel, so be careful what you put up on those roof-racks!  But with over seventy scenic vistas and lots of twists and turns, it’s a road I definitely want to drive.

A view from Skyline Drive in the Fall, with fog still in the lower areas.
A view from Skyline Drive in the Fall, with fog still in the lower areas.

Outside of the Skyline Drive, there are over 500 miles of hiking trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian trail, over 70 mountain streams where you can fish, six rock faces with guides for climbing (and others without), and seasonal ranger-guided activities.  You can do back-country camping, and while there isn’t a specific RV campground, Mathews Arm, Big Meadows and Loft Mountain campgrounds have sites that should fit RVs with toads (reservations can be made here). But there’s also the first-come, first-served Lewis Mountain campground for tenting.

 

The Natural Bridge (Virginia)
The Natural Bridge in Natural Bridge, VA
The Natural Bridge in Natural Bridge, VA

While many states have a Natural Bridge, the Natural Bridge Park in Natural Bridge, Virginia is one of the oldest tourist attractions in the US, and glorifies that history.  It not only allows one to examine the limestone arch which is the only existing remnant of an ancient cavern, and still existing caverns, but also the history of Native Americans and tourism there.

While the park maintains a historic hotel and ‘entertainment complex’, they also acknowledge the prehistoric Monacan culture with a living history village.  And, as this is just about 46 miles southwest of the end of Skyline Drive, it’s an easy trip from the end of a Shenandoah outing.

 

Colonial Williamsburg (and Colonial/Historic Jamestown)

Col WilliamsburgOf course we want to check out the restored Historic areas of Williamsburg that are set aside as ‘living history’ areas.  I remember going as a youngster and being struck by the peanut soup in the tavern and the amazing furniture in the houses, along with the lack of cars on the streets and how calm the whole area was.

A street scene in Colonial Williamsburg
A street scene in Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is the world’s largest living history museum.  Focusing in on the 18th century, the 301 acre large ‘museum’ is actually a recreation/restoration of the governor’s palace, upper and lower class houses, tradesperson’s spaces and businesses, as well as restaurants and lodgings; that is, a whole section of the original town.  And it’s populated by actors/educators in period dress, demonstrating period skills, etiquette, and language.

There are guided tours you can sign up for, or individual tickets to particular buildings/events if you want to make your own way (check here for events/schedules/options).  You can also make Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center, but as I recall, some things fill up quickly.  Reserving ahead for things like a table at some of the restaurants for lunch can be the only way you get to sample the foods!

Preparing food in the Governor's Palace.
Preparing food in the Governor’s Palace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archaeological digs at Jamestown.

Just six miles to the south-east is the real first permanent English settlement in the New World, Jamestown, which was founded in 1607.  Recent archaeology has identified the original Fort layout, and cataloged many artifacts and remains which can be traced back to the original settlers.  The archaeological works continue, and there’s an interactive map you can check out to see where things stand, and new finds!  I remember very little of being here when I was a kid, except that they were making glass bottles, but the modern museum/campus layout looks like a day’s worth of fun (and it looks like there’s room for buses to park in the picnic area loop).

So, about 160 miles east of Natural Bridge (on the other side of Richmond), Williamsburg and Jamestown are coastal, so you have to watch which roads you take with the skoolie, as some dead-end at the water.  But, our target park in this area is the Anvil Campgrounds, just a few miles away from Williamsburg and on the shuttle-bus line that would get us right to Colonial Williamsburg without parking hassles.  It doesn’t look like it has too, too many sites, though the site amenities look great.

While, of course, I like the privacy of a wilderness-like campsite, the location of this one makes it the site of choice.  There is a KOA a few miles farther away, though, if that’s more to your taste, and others even farther.  We aren’t looking to tow a car with us, of course, so we’re biased into something closer.Shenandoah National Park

Allegany State Park, camera, camping, Dash Cam, Destination, driving, horns, school bus RV, Skoolie

A Week in the Bus (Allegany State Park trip – Part I)

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So, after a hectic summer hiatus of making updates, I’m back.

Not much has happened on working on the bus, but we DID get to make a trip, and I got some night footage on the dash-cam.  During the last week of August, we spent a whole week in the Red House area of Allegany State Park.  Due to some other scheduling, our Saturday departure (and the less than 24-hour prep time) wasn’t during the afternoon, like I’d hoped, but well after dark.

But with the bus relatively packed and the canoe on the car (with my wife following behind) we started off on the ~80 mile trip.  The trip encompassed well-lit streets, in Buffalo, and smaller villages like Ellicotville and Salamanca, as well as expressways that ranged from well- and sparsely-trafficed, and from well- to poorly-lit, and then there were the more rural two-lane roads as well.  And then there was some rain – an interesting test, as there’s no wipers up on the eyebrow window.

I thought that in the well-lit (lots of streetlights) or well-trafficed (lots of headlights), the camera did well.  After I had the alternator rebuilt, the headlights are MUCH brighter, but in some places in the recording you’d never know they were on.  And the footage of the reflective signs on the 219 where there was hardly any late-night traffic reminded me of an early 80’s driving game I had for our family’s Apple IIe.

But once we were there, we did plenty of troubleshooting (another upcoming post), socializing, and I got requests to sound the horns!  But perhaps the coolest thing was when we were driving the canoe to the launch and saw a warship out on the lake.  We ran into Gerald and Esther Kirk who were our running their nearly 11 foot long working model of the U.S.S. Boston (CAG-I) (A heavy cruiser converted to a Terrier missile cruiser, much like Buffalo’s USS Little Rock (CLG – 4) which is a light cruiser with a Talos missile system.)

When we get our pictures downloaded, I’ll add a couple, but I did find this bit of video  which doesn’t do the model justice, and Gerald HAS the Terrier launchers in place, and they not only rotate, but can elevate the missiles as well.  The thing is a work of art and hard work, and Gerald spent the better part of 40 minutes giving us a ‘tour’, explaining life on the ship, and answering kid’s (and our) questions on both the real ship and the model.

 

More on the trip in Part II.