Catch up for days 5 - 7 the Next Grand Adventure

Haven't updated the blog in a couple of days. I was having technical troubles, or maybe it was the technician. Any way, we are having a great time here in Virginia.

As I posted earlier, we drove the Skyline Drive on Sunday. It was a beautiful ride and the weather was really nice.

Monday started out really overcast and we did have a quick rain before we were ready to head out but  cleared up pretty much by 9:30 so off we when. We were headed to Fincastle, Va.  To a quilt shop that I had found in my Quilters Travel  companion. We decided to take the back roads and it was really a back road. Narrow country road without even a center strip. Nice and curvy so John had fun driving them. We found the quilt store and while I shopped John sat on their front porch with a cup of coffee (  courtesy of the lovely lady from the store ) and enjoyed the view. I did find a couple of things I wanted an thankfully they shipped.

After the quilt store we headed for the old downtown area to see some of the old building and visit their local historical museum. It was very interesting to see all their exhibits. After the museum we decided to try a local place for lunch. We ended up at The Tea Tavern. Had a really nice lunch with fresh baked bread. Yummy.

From there we headed to Wythesville for another quilt store. It was a little farther than we thought but we made it. And again the ladies from the store gave John a cup of coffee to drink and a front porch to sit on. Another wonderful shop that also ships. I will have two presents to myself waiting when I get home.

After stopping for dinner we arrived back at camp about 7:30. All in all I would say it was a great day. I have the best husband in the world that would take a whole day of vacation to take me quilt store shopping and was happy to do it for me.

I don't know if I mentioned that the nights have been really cool here or should I say cold to these thin blooded Texans. We actually had to borrow a heater from the nice folk here at the KOA.  It was definitely appreciated Monday night because it was in the low 40's. and that is really cold when you are in a tent. But we are hackers so we just snuggled closer.

Tuesday we decided to get something to eat on our way to Waynesboro, so we stopped at this neat place near the campground called the Pink Cadillac Grill. Now if you are an Elvis fan this is the place for you, it was done up with all these pictures and memorabilia of Elvis including a motorcycle he rode in one of his movies. It was fun and the food and service were great.

After breakfast we headed up to Waynesboro to the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. But first we had to stop at the Honda dealer to replace the headset in my helmet. Apparently a wire was broke and all though I could hear John he could hear me. And I know most of you guys would say so what's the problem but we actually like to talk to each other while we ride.

 We then drove over to the Parkway and headed down. We only travel about 50 miles but we stopped at a lot of overlooks. We had lunch at the Royal Oaks Resort in Love, Virginia. It was really cool. We had sandwiches on the patio. We had a great day and even thought the clouds came and went we never saw the rain. Sunshine most of the way. We stopped in Lexington on the way back and bought a couple of steaks, borrowed a grill from the KOA folks and had a wonderful dinner with home fried potatoes and a salad.

Today we took our time having breakfast. Sausage and biscuits cooked in our camp oven. After cleaning up we headed to The Natural Bridge. We had been there years ago with the girls but a lot has changed. The bridge is still a marvel to look at but it is now a private enterprise so you paid to get  in and they had mor tourist things to do. We hiked all the way to the falls beyond the bridge and back.
Took lots of pictures and had a good time. Back at the bike we had peanut butter and blueberry jam sandwiches for lunch. Thank you Kathy Morgan for the wonderful jam.

Then we went over to The Caverns at the Natural Bridge. Took the tour. It is amazing what wonders nature creates over the course of time. Of course there were a lot of stairs involved and since we had already hiked two miles at the bridge this just about did us both in, so we headed back to camp and had a cup of coffee with our feet up.

Since we are headed down to Cherokee, North Carolina in the morning we started trying to reorganize all our stuff to fit back in the camper. Now we have had dinner and are enjoying a quite evening. Be sure to check out our pictures on Facebook. Until next time. Goodnight.

Day Four....Skyline Drive

Well,to say it was chilly last night would be an understatement. It was down right cold. Good thing I brought along a quilt and a couple of blankets  and that we like to cuddle. We did sleep well and woke up early to another beautiful day. We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Nothing like the smell of bacon cooking in the morning.
After breakfast we made ready and mounted up to head for Skyline drive. A two hour ride up I 81 brought us to Front Royal where we had a wonderful lunch at The Mill Store. Then down the Skyline Drive we headed.  If you have never made this drive it is well worth the time. You have to plan plenty of time because the speed limit is 35 most of the way and even drops to 25 a couple of times. And you want to have time for the many overlooks ( there are 75 alone the 105 mile trip ). We didn't stop at them all but we stopped at several, including the one at Mary's Tunnel and of course the Skyline overlook where the have the chocolatist chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. It was almost too rich to eat but we forced ourselves.
Along the drive we saw several deer and even a couple of wild turkey. All in all I think it was a very good day capped off with dinner at Red Lobster. Now for a shower and some down time before bed..
I still haven't figured out how to post pictures from the iPad to this blog so check them out on Facebook.
Tomorrow more adventures await the Grand We Two so check back in then.
Good night for now.

Day three of the next grand adventure

Well we made it to the KOA Campground at the Natural Bridge in Virginia. It was an awesome day riding with the temperature starting out this morning at 53 and reaching a high of  82. Sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. We put 500 miles on the bike and enjoyed every mile of it even though we were on a major highway all the way.
Had a good nights rest last night near Nashvile and a quick breakfast this morning and were on the road by 8 am. Took off on I 40 headed east and picked up I 81 just east of  Knoxville. Lunched at a neat place called Davy Crockett Travel Center. Really just a truck stop with a resturant attached but the food was good and the service was friendly.
Arrive at the campsite about 6:15.  Got the tent set up (which we are getting better at) checked out the camp store, had a sandwich for dinner and now we are updating you  on the grand adventure.
Planning to ride the Skyline Drive tomorrow and hopefully I can figure out how to get pictures on this blog instead of posting them all on Facebook.
Think I will read awhile and then turn. You all have a good night and I will hopefully post again tomorrow evening.

Day one next Grand Adventure

September 12,2013 Nana's birthday and the start of our next Grand adventure.
We had most of the camper packed last night so this morning was spent rearranging and packing the cooler. It still surprises me how much stuff we got in.

Finally about noon we pulled out of the driveway and with Brendan taking a picture and a few last minute instructions to him we were on our way.


Today was our get out of town and on the way day so we headed straight for US 59 and made a beeline for Texarkana. We stopped for gas three time and for just getting off the bike a couple.
We were very please with how well the camper pulled. Of course the Gold Wing is an amazing machine and had no problem pulling the extra weight.

We arrive at the KOA in Texarkana around 6:30, got everything set up, had dinner, showers and now just enjoying the evening. It is rather warm here but once we make it to Tennessee tomorrow it should be cooler.

All in all I say it has been a really nice birthday. Sleep well and we will post again tomorrow.

The Next Grand Adventures September 2013

Well the next great adventure for Nana and Dandy is about to start. We have the camper and the bike all packed and are ready to head out as soon as we eat lunch. First stop Texarkana. Will post tonight and maybe have some pictures to share. Join us for this Grand time with the Grand We Two.

We Did It!!

    On Thursday we left Wellington, Co. and made our way to Colorado Springs and on over to Green Mountian Falls to the Lone Duck Campground. Got all set up decided to stay put even though it was only 3:30. Had a good evening, even met another biking couple across from our site.

  

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Our site at Lone Duck Campground

    This morning after a quick breakfast we mounted up and head for the quest. The mighty Pike's Peak lay ahead of us. It was quite a ride and a lot of switchbacks but it was great and we made it all the way to the top. 14,110 feet above sea level. What a view!  After a look around and a cup of coffee and a donut we headed back down. So We Did It, We really, really dit it! And once is quite enough but I'm glad that we were able to do it. And no Bob there was no snow.

The Quest

Victory

    After a quick lunch of barbque we decided to see the Garden of the Gods. This was interesting but it was starting to get hot so we just did a quick drive through with a stop at the Trading Post and the Visitor center.

The Garden of the Gods Trading Post

    Tomorrow we plan to ride over to Cripple Creek and maybe to Royal Gorge. Hopefully it won't be so hot.

Sturgis, Rushmore, Crazy Horse and some Wild Roads.

   Since our last post we have seen quite alot. On Sunday August 22, we left Sherdian, Wy and headed across the plains toward South Dakato. Our first stop was the visitors center where we got all kinds of information on things to do from two very talkative rangers. While there we incountered another Wing rider with the coolest trailer.

Made from an old whiskey barrel and no it was not filled with any liquid refreshments.

   Next stop was in Sturgis where all the action was the weekend before. Kind of quite when we were there. We bought tee shirts, had lunch, took some pictures and headed out. Now we can say that we have been there, done that.

John's happy. He has his tee shirt and he has been fed.

Welcome to Sturgis 2010

   From Sturgis we headed south through Deadwood (without stopping) and on into Keystone to our camp site. After setting up camp we headed into town to have a look around then back to camp for a good night's sleep.

Downtown Keystone, South Dakota

   Monday broke bright and clear but alot cooler, thank you very much. (Sunday was the hottest day there in over three years. 100 degrees) We had a hardy breakfast and then headed out for Mount Rushmore. It is really impressive and we enjoyed walking around seeing it from all the different angles.

Mount Rushmore. Just like the postcard.

   Then we made our way over to the Crazy Horse Monument. It is big, I can say that much and I am sure it will be quite impressive when it is finished. I do admire the man who started it and the vision he and the Lakota Indinas have for it.

The Vision and the way it looks now.

    Next it was time for some fun roads. First we did the Needles Hwy. with all its twists and turns and six one lane tunnels. These are small and narrow and no way can a camper or mobile home go through them. We saw some beautiful country and even some wild life. Most of the roads were really narrow and if passing another vehicle on a curve a tad hairy.

The first and biggest of the one lane tunnels.

This was the tightest one. We had to wait for about six cars to come from the other way.

Then it we took the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park.The roads weren't quite a curvy but we did see a lot of open grasslands and more wildlife.

These Donkeys came right up to the cars.

   Next and the most fun of all was the Iron Mountian Hwy. More of the single lane tunnels but these lead to what they called pigtail bridges where you went across the bridge and the a tight loop back under it. There were at least 4 or maybe 5 of these and plenty of switchbacks. We even saw some fool in a mobile RV trying to go through one of these tunnels. Don't know if he made it or not. Some people think they know better than the people who put up the signs. 

One of the Pigtail bridges.

    We headed back to camp and a quick supper and then we went back up to Rushmore to see the lighting ceremony. This is really nice the way it is done and at the end they honor all the veterans and active duty and the fanilies of those who have lost some one in combat.

    Tuesday we finally found a quilt store for me to visit. Think I will be able to make if awhile now without going into complete withdrawal.

Quilt Corral at Mistletoe Ranch. Carolyn's happy.

    From there we head toward The Badlands National Park but first a stop at the "World's Oldest Drug Store" the famous Wall Drug Store. This is quite a place. You can find just about every kind of goofy thing there. We had lunch there and a quick look around before heading for the Badlands.

The famous Wall Drug Store. Free Ice Water and 5cent Coffee.

    It is hard to describe the Badlands. Maybe what one would image the moon to look like. Some one told us it was like an upside down volcano. Here are a couple of pictures but I think this is something you have to experience for yourself to appreciate.

The Badlands National Park

    We made our way back to Keystone and camp after that where we started trying to get things ready so we could leave this morning. Although I don't think a person should have to do laundry on vacation, we had to do laundry or wear dirty clothes the rest of the trip. Then a quite evening of just enjoying being together and listening to the night sounds of the mountians.

Packed up and ready to Go.

    That brings us to today. We left camp around nine and made our way south back into Wyoming and then into Colorado. We had planned to stop in Cheyennne Wy but there were no rooms available so we made it to Wellington, Co.  Tomorrow we head into Colorado Springs to tackle the mighty Pikes Peak. I will post from there. So until then, goodnight.