OK, So it's Kinda Like Camping...

Before Jeff and I embarked on this adventure, we traveled by car and cheap hotel for a couple months.  One of our trips was through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.  It was absolutely amazing; up and down the mountains, back and forth through the switchbacks.  At that time, Jeff said he wouldn't want to drive a big RV through that route, the switchbacks were so tight he would worry about it fitting.

Well, we came pretty darn close to that with our trip to Big South Fork in Tennessee.  There weren't quite so many switchbacks, but there were enough to make Jeff pay attention.  Once we arrived at Big South Fork, he could breath easy because we were going to stay for a full week; he didn't have to think about leaving for a few days.

The area was beautiful!!!  Completely amazing and the campground was at the top of the mountain.  A few TV channels and great internet signal.  This was all good, because I really couldn't leave the campground.  There was no way I could navigate those roads in the PT Cruiser, so even though Jeff could ride right out of the campground, I couldn't go anywhere.  Also, the nearest town was 15 miles in either direction down the mountain...and they were verrrrryyyyy small towns.

The campground did not have sewers, so we had to be especially conservative in our water use to avoid filling our tanks too quickly.

The campground showers were OK, not great (remember, I am a citified, spoiled brat).  They were clean but the walk back to the RV got a bit chilly.

There were signs warning us about bears everywhere, but we actually saw far less wildlife here than anywhere else we had been.  I did, however, have a close encounter with a bat. lol.

On the days Jeff didn't ride, he took me to town to do laundry, have a nice meal and a date.  What do you do in a teeny, tiny town for a date?  You go bowling!!!!  It was a lot of fun, just a long drive.  He also drove me to the parking lot for an amazing overlook.

One of the last nights we were there, we decided to go to dinner at a restaurant we had passed on our way to one of the small towns.  The place was named "Baraca's" and is a true jewel in the middle of nowhere.  They do no advertising and are tucked back out of the way.  The building is pretty unassuming and they have no liquor license, but are happy to pour your wine or beer for you.  This is probably the best meal I have had in years as well as a great value.  The chef should be on the Food Network.  There is soup, salad and rolls served with every entree and everything is freshly made.  Salad dressings and bread made daily.  The butter was blended with orange zest for a great citrus complement.  The soup was a cheesy potato that was so light with citrussy overtones, to complement the butter.  I had no idea potato soup could be light!!!  Jeff had cedar planked salmon with fresh Parmesan and I had the wienershnitzel with homemade spaetzle.   We were stuffed, and it was so awesome!!!!

I was kind of isolated in Tennessee, but I loved it.  It was so beautiful. I could spend the afternoons sitting outside reading, we cooked on the open fire and I got some work done.  I also spent some time playing the psaltery that I picked up in Alabama.

It was almost like camping...I might eventually be able to camp...nah, not me!