Eastern Tennessee just has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve been in the last few years. Small towns, not a lot of cell signal on the back roads, but the people are friendly and the places are quiet and peaceful this time of year. Autumn is starting to show, temperatures dropping, leaves too. The colors haven’t shown up much yet, but I’m still hopeful they will.
Last Friday, I did my first ever hike along the Appalachian Trail. I should have grabbed my hiking poles. Lots of ups and downs and rocks, and the trail was pretty wet in places thanks to the soaking rains of the week. I scrambled a few times, but mostly managed to stay upright. From Carver’s Gap to Jane’s Bald to Grassy Ridge and back, it was about 3 hours and, if you believe FitBit, 152 floors 🙂
It was definitely worth it for the view, south to the Smokies.
Sunday, I headed just slightly north, back to one of my happy place campgrounds, Watauga Dam. Right on a lake between two dams, with high cliffs, blue herons, bald eagles, and light that changes every hour, a photographer’s dream.
Here’s the view one morning out my front door. Just look at that light.
And, yes, it’s also a happy place for kayaking. The wind is colder now than in August, but the views are still amazing and the sky is just blue as blue can be. Two blue herons, mating or fighting, I couldn’t tell, swooped down to the water not 10 feet from me.
I’m still fighting the tech wars, albeit less than before. My new phone didn’t have wifi calling (which is how I usually get calls and voicemail, ATT wifi calling onto my Verizon hotspot because Verizon beats ATT most of the places in the US), so I headed into town to get enough ATT reception to call support. Who promptly bricked my phone (turned it into something slightly less useful than a brick). And then I got to drive 10 miles to an ATT store where a nice woman fixed it by issuing me a new SIM card. Turns out every time you get a new phone, you should not swap the SIM card from your old phone. Who knew? Now I do, and you do too.
Thank you. Great idea! I’ll do the same. I’m gonna splurge for a lithium battery, too.
Thank you, Robin and Kelly, for letting me know I passed along the Alto love to you, that made my day! It’s really a wonderful trailer and the owners are a good crowd of people, too. Mid-July will give you a lot of good camping time next year, and I’m sure you’re already planning that out 🙂 And thanks for reading my website posts, I appreciate it!
Hi, Walt. I have two viking brand tanks and they make a nice little tray for them. I used a combination of industrial strength sticky-backed velcro and velcro strapping to attach it to the Alto without drilling into the frame. Two+ years and it hasn’t moved a fraction of an inch.
As usual, real purdy photos!
An unrelated question:
How did you arrange for two propane tanks on the front of your 1743?
walt
Hi Annie,
I have been following your posts and viewing your photographs for awhile now (via your Web site), and I decided it was time to let you know how much enjoyment I’ve had reading both your travel writing and viewing your photography. We are especially grateful, since you are the person who inspired us to order our own Alto (the 2114) which, we pick up in Quebec in mid-July 2019.
You have been a great source of information, as well as an adventure guide, and I want you to know how much of an influence you’ve been in our lives.
Thank you!
Robin & Kevin