Friday, May 18
Left Charlotte around 1:30pm. I still wasn’t sure where I was going to go. I headed down S I-85 and called Young RV to see if my vent cover was in. I then decided to go to Mount Pisgah Campground. I stopped at Young RV and Damien met me out front. We checked to make sure the vent would fit and then he told me that they could put it on now. I backed into the shop and they installed it. While they were installing the vent cover I had a nice chat with Damien. If you are ever in the market for a RV don’t buy anywhere until you talk with Damien at Young RV. They are located in Kings Mountain. They are the nicest folks you would ever want to meet. I left Young RV and headed to Mount Pisgah. I hate driving through Shelby. From now on I will drive the extra 20 minutes and take I-85 to Hwy 321 to I-40 through Asheville and get on the Parkway to get to Mount Pisgah. When I arrived at the campground the US Park Service employee was packing things up to close for the day. He said that since the guy was killed mowing grass last week the Park Service has been on a safety kick and they shut down a lot of camp sites. The one that I wanted was taken but my second choice was open. He asked if they had a tent pad that he would prefer that I not take it. The one I liked did not. They closed a lot of the tent sites due to unsafe trees. I set up camp and then treated myself to a great hamburger at Pisgah Inn. While at Pisgah Inn I checked the weather channel on my phone to see what the night was going to be like. Low and behold we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. The warning consisted of 30-40 mph winds, torrential rain and pea size hail. Well, I figured my awning would be gone, no need to worry about it...so I enjoyed my hamburger. Then the bottom fell out. It rained so hard that the beautiful view that I had of the mountains through the dinning room window was gone. Didn’t see much lightening but the thunder was loud. By the time I finished my dinner the storm was gone. I took some pictures of the beautiful sky and then went to check on my camper. Everything was fine. It rained real hard and people said that there was pea size hail. I road my bike all through the campground, took a shower and then turned in for the evening.
The plan was to get up early and hit Cascade Lake. Well, that didn’t happen. I slept so good I did not wake up until 9:00am. I got dressed and headed down the mountain to Cascade Lake Campground. I got a “day pass” to use the lake. I kayaked to Hooker Falls and then the rest of the lake. I left there and went to Dupont State Forest to do some mountain biking. I hit all the waterfalls in Dupont State Forest. I think I rode over 10 miles up and down hills and around all the people. The falls were beautiful due to all the rain that WNC has had over the last week. I even went under a waterfall. I admit that I didn’t use my best judgement but it was worth it. Then a little bird said “John, Allison (before she left work) said don’t do anything stupid while your alone in the mountains”. First of all she should know better then to ask me not to do anything stupid. What fun would that be. I didn’t listen. Yeah, the rocks to the top of the falls were slippery but I was careful until I slipped and got my leg wet. I had a vision of Allison pointing her finger at me. Like I said it was worth it. Look at the picture. By the time I was done with all that it was to late to go to mass so I decided to hike Mount Pisgah. I left and the sun was out. When I got about half way up...the thunder started. The little Allison bird said “John turn around”. Well, I didn’t. I made it to the top and boy was the view worth the long climb up. On one side of the mountain there was blue skies and on the other were black clouds and the thunder was getting louder. I thought, not a good place to be. WLOS-TV antenna is huge and I bet it attracts lightening like no one’s business. And again, Allison’s voice was in my head and I could see her pointing her finger at me. Did I leave...no, I took some pictures, climbed under the tower and took more pictures. Called my friend to let him know where I was (just in case), called my mom and then started to head down. Got about a quarter of the way down and it started raining. Not too bad but just enough to get a little wet. The trees protected me from most of the rain. I then went back to the campsite and made some noodles. It was the first time that I used the built in gas burners in the camper. I went for another bike ride through the campground, took a shower and then it was off to bed again. A very busy and productive day came to an end. It was the first “triple” (kayak, mountain bike and hike) in a while.
Sunday, May 20
Went to Mass in Brevard and then came back to the campsite and did something that I haven't done in a long time. I relaxed. I sat next to the camper and just took in the sights and sounds of a beautiful day in the NC mountains for about an hour and a half. I then broke camp and left to go and see great friends in Black Mountain.
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