FANCY GAP, VA.  We arrived here safely on Saturday, Aug 2nd.  We began our trip on Wednesday, Sept 30th with our customary stop at Buc-ee's on International Golf Parkway to top off our diesel tank.  The engine was turned off as usual while we did this.  After fueling up, we went inside for some of their sandwiches for lunch.  After eating, we returned to the motorhome to continue our trip to Savannah.  

But the engine would not start no matter what we tried.  Turns out our two starter batteries had died.  We had to wait until after 7 pm to get someone to come to install new batteries, a rather stressful wait.  Rather than continue our drive to Savannah at that point, we elected to return home, perform the laborious process of unhitching the Jeep and backing the motorhome back into the storage port to await departure the following day, Sept 31.

Once again we embarked on our trip, but this time there was no need to stop at Buc-ee's.  Apart from the usual annoying drive up I-95 near the Jax airport, where highway destruction of some kind continues with no end in sight, we made our way to the Savannah South KOA, where the heat was as furnace-like as it had been in St Augustine.  

On Aug 1st we continued on toward our next stop in Kinards, SC.  This involved driving on the dreaded I-26 west toward Columbia and beyond.  At one point we drove bumper-to-bumper creeping along for half an hour.  When we reached near the point that was causing the slow-up, we could see from atop an overpass that what awaited us ahead were three two-lane roads creeping into a merged destination of only two lanes!  Note to self:  never drive on I-26 again.

On Aug 2nd we continued westward on I-26 to reach I-80 to I-77 all the way to Fancy Gap.  As we approached Spartanburg, SC the motorhome rear shook back and forth sharply.  I looked back at our towed Jeep to see the steering wheel jerking side to side quickly.  I pulled off to the right side of the road to check to see that all was well with the tires and tow bars.  I suspected that the problem stemmed from a bad battery in the Jeep.  This powers (along with its usual car duties) the mechanism that keeps the Jeep towing four-wheels-down in line with the motorhome as it is pulled. Using a battery jumper pack, I got as much charge into that battery as I could to enable towing until we reached a place in Spartanburg to get a new battery.  Batteries were trying to steal the show on this trip.  Once we had the new car battery in place, we were able to continue our trip to Fancy Gap along the Blueridge Parkway.  Driving the motorhome on the parkway seemed like a fish out of water.  The lanes are narrow, and we were glad no one approached us head-on as we drove to the campground.  

We still need to have the Jeep electrical system looked at because on the way home from church Sunday the display screen went dark.  I found a work-around to get the display to work temporarily, but we have an appointment with the Jeep place in Mt Airy in a few days.  Other Jeep places lacked the needed software to diagnose the problem. 

It is quite a view up here, and much cooler than down at lower altitude.  But starting last night, Aug 4th, it began raining, and it is forecast to rain a lot on and off for several days.  

View of Campground from Parkway Entrance

Several Cabins Face the Parkway

More Cabins Inside Inner Loop

Loop Swoops Down in Back to Motorhome Sites

To Right of Entrance is Local Ranger Cabin

I Set Up a Bird Feeder With Camera to View Local Birds