ST AUGUSTINE, FL.  We gratefully are back home after an arduous RV trip over the summer.  As we noted as we packed to leave on this trip, we were undergoing strange difficulties never experienced before and wondered if God was telling us that our RVing days were coming to a close.  The following events, as outlined already here, and more events that I shall detail as follows, pretty much confirm my suspicions at that time.

Our last post below was for our July 24th visit to the Highlands Games in the rain.  Yes, in the rain, as the whole summer was an experience in the pouring down rain, unless the sum peaked out with temperatures in the 90s!  This is not the North Carolina mountain experience that we were used to.

There were occasional days in Pineola when the sun came out to present a nice picture.

The View from Our Camp Site in Pineola

And there was a spot off to the trees with a nice park bench that I could enjoy at such times.

View from Park Bench

Peaceful Moment at Park Bench

When it came time to move on to Mt Airy, we found that we could not attach the Jeep to pull behind the motorhome due to a failed Power Transfer Unit (PTU), which we found out later was a worldwide failing of Jeep.  The item is on nationwide backorder, so we could not pull the Jeep to Mt Airy.  We actually found out all this information when we got to the Jeep dealer in Mt Airy, since there is not dealer in Pineola.  Thus Betty drove the Jeep, following behind me for the two-hour trip to Mt Airy.  This also meant that we would have to rent a trailer from U-Haul to tow the Jeep behind us back home.

As we entered the RV park in Mt Airy, we passed through what we jokingly called Kudzu Towers.  Kudzu has taken over the road leading into the park.

Kudzu Towers

  Once in Mt Airy, my computer started acting up (what next?!).  So we drove to the nearest Geek Squad in Winston Salem.  But just a mile before we could turn into the Best Buy, the left front tire went out on the Jeep.

Left Front Tire

I had been noticing that Betty's tires had been getting pretty worn and would need replacing once we returned home.  No such luck!

We waited over an hour for a AAA truck to arrive to put the spare tire on, then led us to where we could get four new tires at a good price.  By then, it was getting pretty late.  The Geeks could not determine the issue, so I simply quit using my computer until I got home and could consult a better Geek Squad there.  Hence I am late getting this blog updated.

While in Mt Airy I found that a new owner had taken over Floyd's Barber Shop, so I stopped in for another haircut.

Sunset View Behind Our Camp Site in Mt Airy

While in Mt Airy (home town of Andy Griffith), we drove by the Museum dedicated to him and noticed that they were doing construction work that was encroaching dangerously on the wonderful statue of him and Opie that we have featured in this blog in the past.  Notice area circled in red below. 

Construction at Andy Griffith Museum

Below is a photo of when Andy once visited the museum and stood with the statues.

When time came for us to leave Mt Airy for home, Betty followed me over to the U-Haul place to get the trailer, which (of course) was not nearly a simple a chore as it should have been.  Once loaded up, we headed off to Lumberton, NC for our first stop.

Awkward but Doing OK

What should have been our final stop at the Savannah KOA also went well enough.  It was on our way home from there that yet one more crisis occurred.  We were just outside of Brunswick, GA when the motorhome engine began to shut down due to over heating.

Off the Road with Over Heating Engine

Even though paying dearly for offroad towing, the towing company could get us no one due to being Friday afternoon, and all the towing people wanted to go home early.  Betty located by phone a towing company man, but his trucks could not handle a motorhome.  But he did work with us as we waited for the engine to cool enough to exit up ahead and work our way slowly to a diesel repair company.  Since no work would be done over the weekend, we parked our rig outside the repair shop and took what we could in bags to walk in the rain to the nearest hotel, a Super8 dump, where we stayed two nights.  We walked to a nearby Waffle House for something to eat.  We could not stay in the motorhome since we had no electricity and it was too hot without air conditioning.

On Monday the repair was done fairly quickly, and the culprit was a bad water pump.  This kept the coolant from circulating through the engine and for it to over heat. 

Probably the Original 10 Year Old Water Pump

The photo above makes it look far larger than it was, since it nearly fit into the palm of the mechanic's hand.  Looking at it in the image, you would thinks there would be more life in it.

Thank heavens our drive the rest of the way home was uneventful.  We stopped at the U-Haul place near home on Rt 16A to return the trailer.  Then Betty followed me home.  A few days later Betty followed me in my Honda to the Jeep place in Jacksonville to drop it off to have the PTU replaced.  We had called to order a replacement while we were in NC so that it would be ready soon after we arrived home.

It will be a good long while before we take another RV trip.

PINOLA, NC.  On Friday, July 24th, we went to Boone to see the "Horn in the West" Museum.  "Horn in the West" is used to refer to both the museum and the drama.  It is a "symbolic expression of the pioneer spirit hearing a 'Horn of Freedom' calling settlers toward the golden western frontier" to escape British tyranny.  At that time, no one lived in present day Boone.  It was part of the west to which they were fleeing.  Even Daniel Boone lived elsewhere, but went there to hunt. He helped lead settlers there, who later named the town after him.  None of these productions are the work of professionals, but rather local ancestors who pride themselves in presenting these works each summer to commemorate their history. 

The "Horn in the West" Museum is an outdoor walking tour of old cabins that have been relocated to this place in Boone as a sort of colonial town even though these cabins came from locations where they resided alone in remote settings.  Pioneer families needed to be large to help defend themselves against wildlife and Indians in those isolated places.  That is also why cabins did not have large windows; that sort of thing was added later.  Ancestors of the settlers resided in these cabins until recently. 

Entry to the Museum

Betty Approaches the Museum Office

Betty Reviews the Merchandise

Closeup of Merchandise

Photos of Early Founders

Betty Purchases Tickets from Tour Leader

A Small Group on Our Tour

The first cabin on our tour was the WPA cabin.  This was a settlers cabin repurposed during the depression in the 1930s for the use of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  

WPA Cabin

Mattress Would Be Filled with Moss or Grass

Lock Down Window to Keep Out Wildlife and Indians

View from Opposite Side

Note the hole in the wall added later to accommodate a wood stove exhaust pipe.

Betty Points Out Hole in Wall

Loft for Supplies

Loft from Opposite View

The Tatum cabin has been recently moved from its original location where ancestors of the settlers lived until recently.  It is under renovation from the move, so we could not enter it.  You will see one of the Tatum ancestors in the drama later on.

Tatum Cabin

The Tavern was a multi-purpose building in that day.  It served as post office, restaurant, doctor's office, pharmacy, church, bar, etc.  

The Tavern

Bills Posted on Front of Tavern

Inside the Tavern

Table and Bench for Restaurant

Food Preparation Area, Pulpit, and Bar

Hearth for Warmth and Cooking

Stream Shed to Cover Water Source

The next building is the Blacksmith Shop.  In its day it would have been better arranged than it is now.

Blacksmith Shop

Messy View Inside Blacksmith Shop

Our final building is the Frazier cabin.  

Frazier Cabin

Tour Guide Explains the Usage of the Weaving Loom

Yet Another Loom

Spinning Wheels, etc.

Thus ended the Museum tour.  The main feeling as we walked away was one of great thanksgiving that we did not have to live under these conditions.  The tedious preparations for everything.  The exhaustion of daily duties.  The lack of modern food and utensils.  I suppose there is a sort of romance about pioneer living, but at this point in my life, it is lost on me.

On Thursday, July 30th, we drove to Boone to see the "Horn in the West" Drama.  It is the nation's oldest Revolutionary War outdoor drama, performed in Boone each summer by local residents, many of whom have ancestors who participated in these events, the story of Daniel Boone and early settlers in the Blue Ridge Mountains.    

The Outdoor Stage

Play Opens with Entire Cast Singing Shenandoah

Scenes of Dr Stuart's Home in the East

Scenes of Dr Stuart's Home in the West

The story line follows the migration of Dr Stuart and family from their fine home in the east of North Carolina, where he was researching a cure for smallpox, to the west of present day Boone, as he follows his son's rebellion against the British and eventually is convinced of the pioneers' cause.  As it got dark, it became difficult to photograph scenes, but a few follow.

Daniel Boone at Table with Rev Sims and Stuart Family

Some Local Actors Are a Bit Fat to Be Pioneers

A Little Rotund to Play the Fair Lady

The Wedding Scene

Several Dancing and Musical Scenes

The best adult actor was Carlton Tatum, who portrayed Dr. Stuart, and is also a descendant of Captain James Tatum of Revolutionary War fame.  

Dr Stuart Presents One of Many Speeches

Dr Stuart Presents Another Convincing Speech

Rev Sims Led Baptists to Boone Area

Three Forks Baptist Church in Boone was founded by these Baptists of the 18th century.

Final Scene of Cast Singing in Present Costumes

More about this play can be found at:

 

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