Although it was a short day from Camp Wood in terms of mileage, the day did not start well for me.  The road was “chip seal” (aka shake and bake) the wind was in my face and I just could not find a place to sit that felt comfortable.   At about mile 5, I was about ready to catch the SAG to our next stop.  And, I knew that we had very tough hills ahead.  But, I decided to press on until I saw the SAG, as I began to climb the first serious hill.  Folks have said that if you look down instead of ahead, the road is always level.  That was my strategy in climbing this hill.  Finally, there was the top of the hill.  It was a tough ride, but I was not winded when I reached the top, nor did I have to get off and walk.  Then there was the ride down, quite scary for me.  I always worry about crashing.

This picture tells the story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there was the second hill, much like the first.  At the top, our reward was a beautiful vista

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came another downhill.  The cuts in the mountains are amazing.  This is just before we made our final descent into Vanderpool. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a short stop at a country store for ice cream, we arrived at our home for the night.  The Foxfire Cabins remind me of some place in the North Georgia mountains. Of course there was no cell signal and no internet.   I shared a cabin with Linda and Carol. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as I had showered, I fell asleep for a while on the bed.  Then, it was laundry time (a necessary evil) At one point later in the day, we were sitting on a deck of another cabin and spotted this beautiful moth.  Linda Lamb, can you identify it?  I was told it was gone the next morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There seems to be some sort of intestinal virus going around.  It has attacked some folks worse than others.  So far, I have been spared that malady.

In bed by 8:30 PM, I had no trouble falling asleep after a short but really tough ride today.