West Memphis, AR

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Sparky

It is fun being on the Mississippi, but the river is very low right now – the first sign we have seen of the midwest’s severe drought this summer.  The river would have to rise 20 t0 30 feet to overflow its banks and another 30 feet to get to the flood level experienced last spring (the office people showed Jett the high-water mark still etched on the barn).

We had a beautiful sunrise yesterday.  The dogs and I saw it while Jett slumbered on.

The sunset was almost as nice as the sunset. And Jett saw it, too.

Pre-dawn, looking toward Memphis

Pre-dawn, flood plain

Almost dawn

Sunrise

Dawn breaking

First light

This morning we were treated(?) to the opposite: a violent, windy thunderstorm before dawn. Gusts of over 40 mph rocked Patience and woke us at 5am. I had to scramble to close the windows (it was a warm night) against the horizontal rain that was pelting the RV. And during a short lull I had to go out and retrieve the extra sewer hose that I had left, unattached, under the RV – it had blown to the adjacent site.

Our site for this hop is one of the riverside pull-throughs at Tom Sawyer’s RV Park. Tom Sawyer’s turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us on this hop. We saw the Graceland RV Park yesterday and, while nice, did not come close to the ambiance of Tom Sawyer’s.

We simply love being on the Mississippi. It has been fun watching the river traffic. I thought that with the river being so low that barges might not be able to navigate the river. Our neighbor, who was here a couple of years ago, confirmed that traffic is much lighter now, but there are still large barges that chug by pretty regularly. I should note that we can see only half the river – the land that you see on the other side of the river in my photos is an island and another large channel lies on the opposite side. Our side of the island seems to attract mostly upstream traffic – we have seen just one barge go downstream.

I will note, however, that the throb of the tug’s powerful diesel engines is less charming at 3am than it is during the day.

Sunset dog walk

Sunset at Tom Sawyer’s

River traffic at dawn

Our main tourist event yesterday, of course, was Graceland. While neither Jett nor I are huge Elvis fans, we do appreciate his music and visiting Graceland was on both of our bucket lists. We didn’t know quite what to expect – I don’t recall having ever seen a photo of it – but we weren’t disappointed. It isn’t cheap – we paid $27 each for just the mansion tour (we skipped the extended tour that includes his airplanes, his automobile collection and a bunch of other optional attractions that a true devotee would not view as optional). The ticket office, the parking lot, the RV park, Heartbreak Hotel and all of the miscellaneous attractions are located on the west side of US 51, leaving the 13 acres of Graceland itself unencumbered on the east side of the road. Shuttle buses take tourists to/from the mansion, which probably significantly reduces the carnage that would result from people taking pictures while strolling across a busy highway.

The tour is self-guided, with digital headphones that explain each stop along the way.  Elvis’ private rooms upstairs are off limits, but the rest of the house is open, including the famous “Jungle Room.”  There is a long hall that contains his gold records and the racquetball court contains even more.  We were also unaware that Elvis is buried on the grounds so we were surprised when we happened upon his grave at the end of the tour.

We were admonished repeatedly before and during the tour that video recording and flash photography were prohibited.  I suspect that many people took video anyway (how can you tell, with today’s digital cameras?), but I didn’t.  I didn’t use the flash, either, but my camera takes nice photos without it.  Here are a few.  I have more, if you want them.

Graceland

Graceland’s front paddock

The sitting room

The dining room

The billiards room

The jungle room

Elvis’ practice piano

The hall of records

The racquetball court

One of Elvis’ outfits

The grave

We topped off the afternoon by visiting some random BBQ place so that I could taste some authentic Memphis ribs. I chose the “rib tips” with no clue what I was ordering (and the counter person was at a loss to describe the dish). What I got was small cubes of ribs that were too small to either hold or cut with knife and fork. I have no clue as to how one is supposed to eat them – maybe suck on them until they dissolve? In any case, if offered rib tips… DECLINE.

The bits that I managed to eat were tasty, but a big pile of them went into the trash. A culinary mistake on my part.

On the way back to Tom Sawyer’s we stopped at a grocery store to get some items we needed. I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised as West Memphis is not only on the wrong side of the river, it is on the wrong side of the tracks, as they say. We have never seen so many off brands in our lives. They stocked exactly one brand of spaghetti sauce – Mantia’s. We took it. The big success was the 56-cent can of dog food that ChaCha and Grace finished off in about 9 seconds. I don’t know what was in it, but the dogs liked it.

We didn’t buy any “bologna snacks.” Don’t know what they are. Didn’t want to find out.

Today we head to Hot Springs, AR. If we can hitch up in the driving rain.

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GTW Hop 12: Hermitage, TN, to West Memphis, AR

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Sparky

236 miles via I-40 and I-440.  Cumulative distance: 1,786 miles.

GTW Hop 12: Hermitage TN to West Memphis AR

A few days ago it seemed unlikely that we were going to get so far as the Mississippi, much less California. But yesterday we crossed the Mississippi, so maybe California is possible as well.

Crossing the Mississippi

You may have noticed that the weather continues to be dark and damp. I don’t know where the sun has gone, but we haven’t seen more than a couple of hours of sunshine in the past week. Yesterday the forecast in Nashville was for clearing by noon and sunny in the afternoon, but we traveled 200 miles west of Nashville and didn’t see a single sunny break. Depressing.

It is too bad, too, because there is actually some color on the leaves down here which would be much more spectacular in the sunshine. I thought that the fall colors arrived much later in Tennessee but clearly I was mistaken.

I-40 is a major trucking route. It was wall-to-wall 18-wheelers the entire way. We couldn’t shake one particular truck that went slower than us uphill and faster than us downhill. He also seemed to like cutting in front of people. Jett finally got annoyed enough to give him a dirty look as we passed. If you know Jett, you know that a dirty look from her is as good as a finger.

Our intention was to stay two nights at the Graceland RV Park, adjacent to Graceland and behind the Heartbreak Hotel (really). But with all the activity yesterday morning getting the truck started, the battery switched out and the tire pressures adjusted, I forgot to call ahead. When we stopped for lunch I called and was informed that they had no vacancies. So we had to find another. Fortunately, we got a spot at Tom Sawyer’s RV Park. We now sit about 30 feet from the edge of the Mississippi River. If the sun comes out we will get some nice river shots.

The guy in the office mentioned that they got flooded out last spring. Jett was fearful that we would be swept away in a flash flood if we got another nasty thunderstorm like we got Thursday night (vivid lightning and buckets of rain). I assured her that the Mississippi River was not one to flood without warning.  However, it is a bit unnerving to realize that we are sleeping on the wet side of the levee.

Today: Graceland.  Grace would be thrilled, but we can’t take her.

Just to be fair, I suppose we will have to find a ChaChaLand somewhere along the way.

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Hermitage, TN

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Sparky

No, we didn’t see The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home, even though it was just a few miles away.  And, no, we didn’t go out to a Nashville nightclub because we were lucky(?) enough to be in Nashville for the one and only Thursday Night NFL game of the year hosted by the Titans.  We knew that it would be a zoo downtown as the stadium is just a short walk from The District, the downtown club area.  So last night we went to the Opry Mills Mall (huge – not as big as the Mall of America, but large enough to have a carousel in the food court), saw the (new) Grand Ole Opry (a disappointment as I didn’t know that it had moved to a *mall*) and dined at Johnny Rocket’s.

Opry Mills Entrance 3

The Opry Mills food court carousel

 

All of that was fun.  And we did go into Nashville for 2 hours in the afternoon, to have a pulled pork sandwich and a beer at Rippy’s with all the obnoxious Steelers fans in town for the game.  The sandwich was excellent.  The Steelers fans got what they deserved when their team lost.

 

 

Rippy’s

Steelers fans before their loss

Our home for the last two nights was the RV park at Nashville Shores, a water park that is closed for the season. The setting was beautiful but the site was tight and too short to hold both Patience and the truck. But it was nearly empty, so I simply parked the truck in the adjacent site. Like everyone else.

Good things about Nashville Shores? First and foremost, the lake. When I took the dogs for a walk Thursday morning the sun was shining brightly (for the first time in a week), the air was cool and steam was rising from the lake. Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the camera. You will have to trust me that it was a beautiful scene.  I have included a couple of shots from this morning when it was drab and gray.  Imagine the same scene with the sun shining.

The lake at Nashville Shores

Another view of the lake

Another good thing: the pooch park.  They had a huge fenced-in dog run – probably as large as the one at Luray.  The dogs loved it, of course.

Dog run at Nashville Shores

The other good thing: the staff was very helpful when the truck would not start (again!) this morning and was understanding when we were an hour late departing because I took the truck to NTB to have one of the batteries replaced.  I noticed, when the truck wouldn’t start, that one of the batteries was warm and one was cold.  The warm one was also making a slight buzzing sound.  When I disconnected the battery it continued to buzz and stayed warm.  Conclusion: the battery was draining itself.

Anyway, that’s my theory.  NTB confirmed that the battery failed its test 2 out of 3 times (which might explain why it passed at Sears last Sunday – they tested it just once).  The true test will come tomorrow morning when we see if the truck starts.

On to Memphis.  The GTW is now more than 25% complete.

And two whole hops without a blowout!

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GTW Hop 11: Pigeon Forge, TN, to Hermitage, TN

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Sparky

202 miles via US 441 and I-40. Cumulative distance: 1,552 miles.

GTW Hop 11: Pigeon Forge TN to Hermitage TN

Two incidents today, but thankfully no permanent dings.

Incident #1: The truck would not start again. We were all prepared to leave the campsite and I tried to start the truck to hitch up. Barely turned over. This time I asked the campground for assistance and they sent a guy over. We got the truck started in a few minutes. But something is draining the battery. Not every day, but once in a while. I need to figure this out.

Incident #2: While traveling down I-40 about halfway between Knoxville and Memphis, we came upon a tractor in the breakdown lane, mowing grass. An 18-wheeler was to my left and another vehicle was behind me, so I just had to thread my way through. There was enough room, so there was no problem there. The problem was that the tractor kicked something up as we approached. It was large – maybe a couple of inches. I didn’t have time to react and I couldn’t have done much anyway. The thing banged against the top of the windshield and it flashed into my head that the windshield was going to shatter. It banged off of the truck very loudly, like a gunshot. But no broken windshield. Not a crack. Not even a pit. We drove on to the next rest area and got out to look. I figured it must have hit above the windshield, which saved the glass, but I expected to see a ding somewhere. Nothing.

Lucky.

I-40 is very hilly, but the slopes are more gentle than the ones we had in VA, PA or NY.  The traffic was not heavy, so mostly I ran on cruise control.  There are long stretches through dense forest and a couple of places that are elevated, with scenic views to the south.  Except for the near-disaster, I enjoyed driving this hop.

Our destination was the Nashville Shores RV Park in Hermitage, TN, just east of Nashville.  It is an interesting park in that it is on a lake (we could have had a lakeside site, but we opted for a pull-through) and is adjacent to a (closed for the season) amusement park.  It is scenic, quiet and almost empty.

And very cold.  The low temperature last night was just above freezing – around 35 degrees.  I am surprised at how chilly it gets in Tennessee in October.  The Knoxville weather report yesterday commented on the possibility of frost and said that it was just a little early – the normal date of first frost in the Knoxville area was mid-October.  I know around Boston it is late October.  Must be the elevation and lack of an ocean.

We were thinking of going to the Grand Ole Opry, but discovered that live shows are limited to weekends.  That is not an option.  But we will do something in Nashville tonight.  We can’t come to Music City without hearing some music.

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Pigeon Forge, TN

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Sparky

First, let me admit that I am a wuss when it comes to roller coasters.  That wasn’t always the case; when I was young I loved them.  Not that I had many opportunities to ride, as Wisconsin is not exactly Roller Coaster Heaven.  But I fondly recall some trips in which a roller coaster remains as a vivid memory.  And I rode the wooden roller coaster (top speed: 35 mph) at Canobie Lake whenever I could.

But I didn’t ride any of the 5 roller coasters offered at Dollywood.  I almost went on the Mystery Mine coaster – until a helpful patron told me that the ride begins with an 80-foot vertical climb in the dark.  I wasn’t sure I could do that without some fresh Depends on hand, so I moved on.  The wooden roller coaster was the finest I have ever seen and I think I could have managed that, but I saw that first when I was still window-shopping.  The new Wild Eagle ride – a coaster in which you ride on the wings, dangling over space – looked to be pretty gentle in terms of G’s, but the 6 loops scared me off.  The fourth one was another that started in the dark, so I passed.  The fifth one was entirely in the dark.  That one intrigued me as I suspect it would have been like Space Mountain at Disneyworld, which I enjoyed, but it was getting late by that time so I passed on that one, too.

The Wild Eagle coaster

The Mystery Mine tower and Wild Eagle loop

The wooden coaster

I sure that I will regret not having gone on any of them – and I could have done ALL of them as there were no lines anywhere all day –  but I am pretty sure that we will return as we really enjoyed the park.  The most daring thing I did was Adventure Mountain which is basically a ropes walk/climb.  It was more challenging than I expected – especially the section where I had to balance on a 6-inch beam and hug a rock wall – but was a lot of fun.  I just had to ignore the 10-year-olds who went three times faster than me.  The downside of being there on a cold day – besides shivering on the train ride up into the forest – was that a number of attractions were closed.  Adventure Mountain is actually 3 ropes courses but only one was open.

Navigating Adventure Mountain

The rock wall and balance beam

I mentioned the train.  I was impressed.  This is no little miniature; this is the real deal – a 2-8-2 steam locomotive that originally worked on the Alaska Railway.  It billowed smoke (and covered us with minute specks of coal cinder) and belched prodigious amounts of steam, but gave me a real sense of what travel in the era of steam locomotives would have been like.

The belching locomotive

We dined at Miss Lillian’s Chicken House, an all-you-can-eat buffet of fried chicken an chicken-fried steak.  Jett and I agreed that it was the best fried chicken dinner we have ever had.  Crispy skin, juicy meat, tasty sides.  I went back for seconds.

We also saw Dolly’s bus.  It was nice, but old (built in 1996) with NO SLIDES.  Simply barbaric.  But we got to see where she slept while on the road and her dressing table with one of her wigs.

Dolly’s bedroom

Dolly’s bus

Dolly’s wig

While we were enjoying Dollywood, the dogs were enjoying(?) Doggywood, Dollywood’s kennel.  They kept both of our mutts in a nice clean cage all day for $25.  Very reasonable.  We stopped by after lunch to take them for a walk, then returned to the park.  We appreciated how thoughtful Dollywood was in providing that facility for dog lovers.

Incarcerated

In general, we felt that Dollywood was exceptionally clean, friendly and very thoughtfully laid out.  Adjacent to most of the major rides was a kiddie park, for the enjoyment of those too small for the big rides.  A family with children in a range of ages could let the teenagers ride the coaster while mom or dad hung out in the kiddie area.  And very nice kiddie areas, too.

Dollywood wasn’t cheap – the senior all-day pass was $51.  But a full day at Canobie Lake is $30 and you get a lot more at Dollywood.  We thought it was worth the price.  It would have definitely been worth the price if I hadn’t been a wuss and had experienced those superb coasters.

Our campsite for the Pigeon Forge hop was the Creekside RV Park.  It was not our favorite place.  We were lucky enough to get a pull-through site, but it was barely large enough for the rig.  In general the sites were small.  It was also very soggy due to the four days of rain that preceded our arrival – not the park’s fault, but it didn’t help improve our impression.

Today we move on to Nashville.

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GTW Hop 10: Knoxville, TN, to Pigeon Forge, TN

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Sparky

25 miles via I-40 and TN 66.  Cumulative distance: 1,350 miles.

GTW Hop 10: Knoxville TN to Pigeon Forge TN

As economy rooms go, the one we had at the EconoLodge in Knoxville, next to the RV repair shop, wasn’t bad. It was spacious with fairly comfortable beds and a decent shower. It was quiet and offered both free breakfast and (this is unique in my experience) free dinner. True, the dinner was inedible, but at least it was offered. And, considering that the hotel had a large number of canine guests, it was surprisingly quiet.

But if I had to spend another day there and watch more ID crime shows or play more hearts on the computer, I think I would have slit my wrists.  Fortunately I did not have to make that decision as the repair shop released Patience at noon.   The body work was not done (they said I would have to leave it for at least five days to get the body work done – not bloody likely), but the slides are all working again and the spare is back where it belongs.

Total cost: $275.

So we hitched up and took the short jaunt down to Pigeon Forge.  Jett held her breath the whole way, expecting one of the new tires to blow.  I think we are both a little shell-shocked, but Jett more so than me.  In any case, nothing bad happened: a ding-free day!  And no trouble leveling when we unhitched either.  All the slides deployed without a problem.

Life is good again.

Except for the weather.  The high temperature today: 52.  Cold and wet.  And very soggy.  The campground site was essentially under water, but only an inch or so.  Ducks came to play in our puddles while we were setting up.  I’m not kidding.

Welcoming ducks

The sun will come out tomorrow.  And we will do Dollywood.

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Knoxville, TN

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Sparky

First, let me tell you that the truck started yesterday.  Started right up.  No hesitation, no evidence of a dead battery.  Nevertheless I took it to the nearest Sears Auto Center to have the batteries tested.  Both were fine, according to them.

So we are left with a mystery: why the drained battery on Saturday morning? What was draining the electricity? I refuse to believe that it was the GPS (and the guy at Sears scoffed at that idea as well).  So what was it?  We have no idea.  So now, in addition to the stress of our RV problems we will have the daily stress – at least for a while, until our confidence is restored – of wondering whether the truck will start each morning.

Today we will check the status of Patience.  Hopefully she will be well enough to leave the sick bay today.  If so, we will travel to Pigeon Forge tonight and will do Dollywood tomorrow.  We had tentatively planned to do it today, before picking up Patience, but the weather is horrible (rainy and cold again) and should be better tomorrow.  Dollywood has a kennel and we will try to get space for the dogs.  If not, we have the option of leaving them in the RV.

So what did we do while we were in Knoxville?  Other than eating out (we had a very good lunch of fried chicken and pot roast at the local Cracker Barrel yesterday) and watching LOTS of TV (Jett caught up on all the crime of the last 20 years by watching ID all weekend), not much.  The attractions that interested me the most were outdoor ones (Knoxville has some interesting parks and a nice restaurant area with sidewalk cafes) and the weather was not conducive.

I do want to provide a few details of our road trip to Gatlinburg on Saturday. Gatlinburg is a few miles south of Pigeon Forge, which I will describe after we have been to Dollywood, but we figured that since we were so close – about 5 miles away – we would take a quick trip there to see what the buzz is about.  Well, I don’t think there is any such thing as a quick trip to Gatlinburg.  There is just one road – TN 441 – that enters Gatlinburg from the north and it was bumper-to-bumper from Pigeon Forge. Yes, it was a holiday weekend, but the weather was terrible, which should have cut down on the traffic.  Was it worth the trip?  In a word, no.

Gatlinburg reminded us of several places we have been.  It was pretty, in a touristy way, but not as pretty as Rockport.  It had a large number of honky-tonk attractions (arcades, wax museums), but was not as honky-tonk as Hampton Beach.  It was, in places, garish and tacky, but not as tacky as Niagara Falls.

I think part of the attraction is its proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and it is probably more beautiful when the sun is out (we couldn’t even see the mountain tops when we were there).  It seems to cater to vacationers who would stay for a week or longer as there are a large number of lodges and cabins lining the stream that runs through the town.  There is an establishment that offers “high end cabins” – a curious combination that has me thinking of hot tubs constructed of logs. There is also an aquarium that bills itself as the “world’s best” which might annoy the people at Sea World or the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  And a mini-golf course that is reached via inclined railway.  That one intrigued me, but Jett abhors mini-golf.  Besides, we didn’t want to shut off the engine or deal with trying to find a place to park.

All-in-all, I see no reason to return to Gatlinburg.

Or Knoxville.

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GTW Hop 9: Heiskell, TN, to Knoxville, TN

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Sparky

22 miles via I-75 and I-40.  Cumulative distance: 1,325 miles.

GTW Hop 9: Heiskell TN to Knoxville TN

This was more of a “limp” than a “hop.”  The original plan, before the devastating Thursday blowout, was to put the RV in the shop for one day to fix the assortment of minor problems that we had accumulated to date.  The idea was that the RV repair would be a day activity, with us continuing on to Pigeon Forge – just 25 miles away – when the work was done.  But after the service manager took a look at the damage, he shook his head – never a good sign – and said that we would have to leave Patience (now renamed “Patient”) in his caring hands until Monday.

Which meant we had an unplanned Columbus Day weekend stay to arrange in a Knoxville hotel.  A hotel that took dogs.  Knowing how hard it is to find a hotel that takes dogs in Massachusetts, I thought we would have to search for hours to find one.  But, as it turns out, Tennessee hotels are very dog-friendly.  It seems that the majority take dogs.  We were directed to the Econo Lodge next door and they happily took my money for 3 nights – with $10 per night tacked on for the pups.

Jett had collected clothes and toiletries in about 5 minutes.  She did a good job, but couldn’t get at some items in the kitchen with the slide in.  I had to go back later, after they had brought Patience into a service bay and hooked her up to electricity, to get those things, plus a few others that we had forgotten.  But I still couldn’t get into the bunkhouse to retrieve our hotspot or the power cord for my laptop, so I am writing this on Jett’s laptop, using the (not-so-great) hotel WiFi.

I had to go back to the dealer anyway to deliver the new tire.  Yes, I bought a fourth trailer tire and had it mounted in place of the malformed not-quite-exploded tire.  So we now have four new trailer tires and a good spare. With any luck (yeah…) that will be the end of the tire problems.

I asked the service manager what he recommends for cold pressure in an Open Range tire.  His answer? 60 psi.  Not 80, as almost everyone else told me.  Not 70 as one of the tire repair guys had recommended (and my personal favorite).  Nope.  60.  So I now had 3 pressures to choose from, all from self-proclaimed experts.  Throw in the confusion over gauge accuracy and you have a perfect storm of inflation confusion.

Speaking of gauges, I decided to test my new pressure gauge on the tires on the truck, which, I recalled, had been inflated to 80 psi, just like the trailer tires.  The readings on the four tires I could reach?  3 62’s and one 65.  None even close to 80.

I don’t get it.  How can these pressures be all over the place?  Is there some tire poltergeist visiting my rig in the middle of the night and changing my tire pressure on me?  Will I ever find a gauge I can trust?  Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of “As the Tire Turns.”

But enough about the tires.  Let me mention yesterday’s new problem: the truck.  Jett and I went out briefly Friday night, to meander through Knoxville and to pick up some beer and snacks.  Somewhere along the way I was reflecting on all the problems we had been having with the RV and thinking “Well, at least the truck has been reliable.”

Blam! I might as well have shot it in the head.  Thinking good thoughts is the death knell on this trip.  Sure enough, Saturday morning as we were about to leave on a road trip to Pigeon Forge, the truck refused to start.  It would barely turn over.  Dead battery.  After banging my head on the steering wheel for a few minutes, I called Paragon, who must be getting tired of hearing my voice.  They sent a guy out and we got it jump-started, no big deal, though I think I am going to have to add a category to my budget for “roadside assistance tips.”

But why was the battery drained? Sure, we had left the GPS plugged in, but that is like taking a bucket of water out of Lake Mead. There is just no way that the GPS could have drained the battery (actually *2* batteries) on the GMC.

So we got the truck started, took our trip down to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, fought horrible holiday traffic on the way back, got some KFC for supper and returned to the hotel – all without stopping or turning the engine off.  We were not about to risk having to make another roadside assistance call.  We have had it with emergencies.

On top of it all, the weather sucks.  I imagine that, most years, Columbus Day is wonderful in Knoxville.  Not this year.  The forecast for the weekend – all three days – is rainy and cold.  The forecast high today is 58.  Just to twist the knife, I took a look at the Boston forecast yesterday.  Sunny with a high of 82.

We went south for THIS?

In a couple of hours I will try to start the truck.  In the meantime I will search for battery places because I believe that is the “fun” that is in store for me today.

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Slow-cooked fatback beans

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Sparky

The life of a long-distance trucker is richer than I thought. I am not talking about money; I am talking about the things that he (or she) can surround himself with while driving. We have seen many truckers who have dogs as companions. That makes sense. What I learned yesterday and found surprising is that they can cook while driving. Alongside the pretzels, peanuts and drinks at the truck stop we found a section of 12.5V accessories that included a surprising number of cooking appliances. Yes, you can fry an egg while driving, though I suspect that most drivers would use a skillet only when parked. There were space heaters, refrigerators, hair dryers and a number of other things that make the cab a home.

But the one I found most amazing was the slow cooker. THAT one would definitely be used while driving. I had visions of a big-bellied trucker movin’ down the road while getting high on the aroma of his beef stew. Now that’s living.

Or, better than beef stew, how about beans with some nice fatback? Yes, pork fat, sold in the local Kroger. You can get it in whole slabs, sliced or diced. Take your pick. We had to wait in line for an opportunity to see the full selection because it seems that fatback is quite popular in Knoxville.

We were in Kroger to get emergency supplies for our forced hotel stay: beer, popcorn, peanuts and pretzels. When we got to the checkout we asked the nice man at the register what one would use fatback for. He launched into an eloquent exposition on the variety of uses of fatback, but admitted that his favorite was fatback-flavored beans.

So if Jett and I trade in our RV for an 18-wheeler (which, at this moment, doesn’t sound like a bad idea), we can cruise down the road while breathing the vapors of slow-cooked fatback beans.

Ahhh… heaven!

 

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GTW Hop 8: Hillsville, VA, to Heiskell, TN

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Sparky

225 miles via VA 100, I-81, I-40 and I-75. Cumulative distance: 1,303 miles.

GTW Hop 8: Hillsville VA to Heiskell TN

It just keeps getting worse.

Another day, another blowout.  This one occurred at 60 mph in the middle lane of a very busy I-81 on a downhill curve near Wytheville, VA, less than 30 miles into our 225-mile journey.  It was the scariest and most destructive blowout yet.  I managed to get to the breakdown lane without losing control or running anyone off the road, but that was the end of the good news.  A quick inspection revealed the extent of the damage: a torn wheelwell cover, a dented sheet metal panel on the big #2 slide and dangling wires resulting from the total destruction of the straps that held them in place.  Further investigation revealed that support brackets for the sheet metal had been shattered, leaving the sheet metal flopping around.  And one of the heavy-duty support brackets for the slide had been bent and torn.  Major damage.

And, of course, we had no spare because our plan was to replace the previous blowout when we got to the next big city – Knoxville.  So the highway emergency patrol that stopped to assist could not change the tire.  A call to our new roadside assistance provider (Paragon) yielded nothing more than “get a spare and we will come replace it.”  So we had no choice but to leave a badly-damaged Patience at the side of a very busy I-81 and head into Wytheville in search of trailer tires.

A shred of good news was that we found a dealer quickly, less than 3 miles from the breakdown.  They had two tires and I bought both.  One was mounted on the slightly damaged rim from yesterday’s blowout (another shred of good news – we didn’t have to replace the rim) and the other I threw in the truck to be mounted once the other rim was off the RV.  When we got back to Patience (round trip: 12 miles) I called Paragon again and they sent out a repair guy.  He got the tire changed quickly and we could have, if we had so chosen, headed on to Knoxville.  But Jett suggested that it would be wise to get the other new tire mounted on the rim NOW.  After all, one of the original tires remained and the smart money was on it lasting less than 24 hours.  I had to agree that this was a very good idea.

So back into Wytheville.  The place where I had bought the tires had gotten busy and told us it would be a 2-hour wait.  We pushed on to the service station that had sent the tow truck.  They were more accommodating.  They had the tire mounted and (again, at Jett’s suggestion) on the RV in about 30 minutes (total cost: $10).  It was good that we had removed the last of the original tires because, once off the RV, it was clear that it, too, was on the verge of exploding.  It was misshapen in a way that, according to the repair guy, indicated that the steel mesh had torn.  We would have had a fourth blowout before we got to Knoxville.

Why all the tire problems?  I may never know the true cause as it could be a combination of factors, but my mind wandered back to that first blowout up in Maryland.  The roadside assistance guy had filled all the tires to 80 psi according to his gauge, but mine read 90 psi.  I thought my gauge was faulty, but I had not determined if that was true.  So I had the repair guy in Wytheville measure the pressure in the remaining original tire.  87 psi by his gauge – well over the 80 psi limit.  So I now believe that the assistance provided in Maryland, which seemed so fortuitous at the time, contributed to this blowout and the destruction of the final tire.  I still have to take the blame for the second blowout.

So, with Patience now shod with four new tires, we could continue on to Knoxville, right?  Wrong.  While checking the pressure in the passenger side tires the repair guy noticed that we were missing the dust cap on the hub of one of our axles.  It must have popped off in the confrontation with the curb yesterday. This was serious because, he explained, the hub grease could be thrown out, leaving the axle bearings dry.  He said we could freeze the bearings (BIG trouble) before we got to Knoxville.

So, off we went in search of a dust cap.  Auto Zone?  Nope.  Napa Auto Parts?  Nope.  Tractor Supply?  Yes!  It wasn’t exactly the same, but it fit.

At 4:45pm we were finally able to leave Wytheville.  Total delay: 5 hours.  The floppy sheet metal was strapped to the chassis with a couple of bungees and the torn wheelwell cover had been removed and placed in the basement.  So, looking more and more like a crushed tin can, we rode off into the sunset, arriving at the RV park in Knoxville at 9pm, in total darkness.  We navigated a very narrow path to our site, attached water and electric, deployed the bedroom and kitchen slides, had a quick bite, then crashed.  We were exhausted.

Jett is talking about giving up.  If it were easy to do so I might be convinced.  This trip has been nothing but a continuous series of disasters so far.  We spend our days driving and fixing problems.  It has not been fun. And our budget has exploded like one of our tires.

We are now in a hotel in Knoxville because the RV repair place told us they needed to keep it until Monday.  We are trying to figure out if our planned trip to Dollywood will need to be canceled.  We hope not because we are desperately in need of some fun.

The dogs like the hotel – they can sleep on the bed.  Their spirits are sky high.

I wish we could say the same.

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