Getting a bit behind without wifi and spotty phone service at best. For our stay in Black Mountain and our trip to Harrison Lake State Park in Modoc, South Carolina, we spend an additional $34.65 on gas and drove another 266 miles. About 45 of these miles were without the trailer, traveling to Mount Mitchell on the Blue Ridge Highway. MPG = 30.4. See sidebar for trip totals. (Total may include some driving that has not been posted about as the blog may be behind our actual travels.)

Nothing new with the trailer. We still haven’t used the bathroom facilities – we have been at parks with excellent hot water showers and flush toilets within a short walk. We use the fridge, microwave, stove and kitchen sink. We are using a portable electric heater, running at night on a low setting, so it turns on throughout the night and keeps the temp comfortable. The low temps have ranged from the upper 30’s to in the 40’s. We keep the vent open, with the fan running and the darkening shades open or closed depending on factors such as lights, neighbors and the views out the windows. We have slept with them all open allowing natural light to gently awaken us, or with them all closed in utter darkness. We have not had a problem with condensation. We have replaced the deficient CO detector that came with the trailer with a functioning unit from Home Depot. Our only response from the company on that issue was that we have the latest model and it ‘should’ work. 

While in the Asheville/Black Mountain area we hiked down into a gorge of the Green River area to watch the world famous Green River kayak race. Racers are timed as they navigate rapids and tall rocky waterfalls down the narrow gorge. Exciting to watch! We stopped at the Sierra Nevada Brewery after for an appreciated cold brew and a casual tour of the huge facility. 

After a great visit with my son and his beautiful wife, some stupendous mountain bike riding at Dupont and Bent Creek, some choices from Asheville’s abundant restaurants, a visit to the top of Mount Mitchell, and a tourist touring or two later, we bid the area good bye and set out for  our next adventure. 

From the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi

Biking at DuPont Forest trails