PINEOLA, NC.  Our departure on June 16, 2026 started off pretty much as all our prior departures have with last minute items being loaded into the motorhome, bringing in the slides and raising the leveling jacks to prepare the vehicle for driving.  But after pulling forward to attach the Jeep behind, everything changed.  

It seemed that things were not coming together in the usual way, partly due to our increasing age and flexibility, making me wonder how much longer we will be able to encounter such adventures large and small.  After beginning to make progress hooking up the Jeep behind the motorhome, it began to rain.  We continued as the rain turned into a downpour.  Betty said she had never been so soaking wet from rain.  That went for both of us.  We finally gave up an went into the house to wait for the heavy rain to stop.  We now would be leaving later than ever, but the first stop would be South Savannah KOA, so only a couple hours' drive.  

After drying off and changing clothes, we ventured out to complete hooking up the Jeep.  We finally left at around 3:30 or 4:00 pm, arriving safely in South Savannah around 6 pm.  Quite a day!

The following day, June 17th, we headed for A. H. Stephens State Park in north Georgia.  This was not our typical route, but this time we were going to visit some of my old friends from Jacksonville who live in Almond, NC, well west of our usual route.  While we were at it, we decided to visit Cherokee, also far from our usual route but a place both of us found interesting due to its history.  Along the way, I was including a stop at the Freightliner service center in Gaffney, SC, which I had been told one should do periodically if you own a motorhome built on one of their chassis.  

Huge Pull-Through Site at State Park

Viewing Tower Built at Park by Civilian Conservation Corps

It is a very good thing (and clearly Providential) that I had made an appointment with Freightliner, since along the way, after leaving that very nice state park, the motorhome began to exhibit things like never before which had us very concerned.  After stopping to fill the tank with diesel fuel, a few miles up the road the fuel gauge flipped to empty.  I wondered if there was a leak in the tank, so we stopped soon as we could to re-fuel.  The tank was full.  The problem was with the gauge.  Then all the other gauges began to flip back and forth.  Next the generator power was not reaching the cabin to power the AC.  All this was very alarming.  Then a loud annoying warning buzzer started sounding, making our ears ache.  Once again, things were not proceeding as they had in the past, making me wonder if the Lord was trying to tell us something.

Error Message on Dashboard Was Key to Problem

We made it safely to Big Bear's RV Park in Bryson City, NC and managed to fiddle with controls until the warning buzzer shut off.  That was a relief!  From Bryson City we could easily visit Cherokee on Friday and Saturday.  This was a bare bones campground, with no office or store.  The owner came up in a golf cart to say if we needed anything just call him on his cell phone.  The roads leading there from Bryson City were so narrow and winding that oncoming traffic nearly pulled off the road when they saw us coming.  Doubt we'll stay there again.  How did they get such good reviews?  Must be the view of surroundings.

Our Site at Big Bear's Campground

Behind Our Site Down a Steep Stairway

We visited the Cherokee museum and the re-created village.  This is a very interesting town, where the Cherokee heritage is clearly celebrated, with signs written boldly in Cherokee script with English underneath.  Ironically, given the history of the Trail of Tears, the county in which the town resides is named Andrew Jackson County.

Entry to Museum

Statue In Front of Museum

We took a huge number of photos inside the museum since it is quite large.  Below are hopefully a representative sample.

Betty looks at Cherokee Handiwork Samples

Masks of the Seven Tribal Clans

More Information on the Clans

Pottery Firing Exhibit

Tools Made from Stone

Tools and Weapons

Tribal Dwelling

Exhibits of Sports and Crafts

Exhibit of Village

Village Showing European Influence

Location of Cherokee Nation

Exhibit of Trade with Europeans

King George III Promised No More White Settlements
West of the Appalachian Mountains

After the Revolution, Americans Went West of the Mountains

George Washington Meant to Westernize Them

Battles Ensued

Tecumseh Pleads With Them to Join Him in Fight

Sequoyah Developed the Cherokee Written Language
by Observing English Writing

Press an English Language Character
and the Cherokee Equivalent Sounds

Jackson Originally Promises the Land Will Be Theirs Forever

Statue Showing Several Dissenting Views

Various Tribes in Area

Rebecca Neugin Home From Which She Was Driven Out
Last Survivor of Trail of Tears.  Died in 1932.

Museum Mural

Museum Mural Panorama

One Very Wide Museum Mural

Betty Photographs An Exhibit

Cherokees Demonstrate Their Contribution to Our Defense

Charles George Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

Chiefs of Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribe

Cherokee Towns in Mid-18th Century

Cherokee Towns 2014

List of Wars Survived by the Cherokee

I think this covers the ground most people would find of interest in this museum.  Many other photos were shot by Betty and me, but it only goes into more detail.

After lunch, we visited the Cherokee Village, a recreation of what life in a Cherokee village would have been like centuries ago.

Betty Observes Sash Making

Our Guide Holds Up A Sash

Guide Holds Up Sash From Another Work Station

Items Carved From Gourds

Pottery Kiln

Basket Weaving Station

Large Game Animals Were Trapped in Cages

Smaller Traps Were Used to Capture Small Game

Smoke House For Cooking Game

Betty Steps Out of Smoke House

Fireplace Inside Smoke House

Special Community Buildings Toward End of Tour

Closeup of Smaller Building

Inside Smaller Building

Inside Larger Building

Outdoor Gathering Theater

On Sunday we joined my old friends from Jacksonville at their church in Stecoah, NC.  Though I knew them both from our time in PCA churches in Jacksonville, they for some reason found themselves uncomfortable in PCA churches nearby in NC.  Thus they were members of a Baptist church.  And this was not like any church, Baptist or otherwise, that I had ever visited before.  Yet it was similar to what I had read about happening during the 19th century awakening revival meetings sponsored by Charles Finney.  This church was led by a very loud preacher who had to be heard above everyone and everything throughout the service.  The order of worship was like a large fellowship gathering with people sharing thoughts and experiences extemporaneously throughout.  There was no "anxious bench" but rather a sort of anxious altar down low around the elevated area near the pulpit.  After the regular service, a few people lay down there facing the pulpit while the preacher lay down beside them and prayed loudly for them.  I do not know how common this is in churches in this area of the country, but it was a sort of blast from the past.  Betty and I breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally over.

On Monday, June 22nd, we finally departed for the Gaffney, SC Freightliner service center.  There we hooked up to electric power for the night, and the motorhome was taken in for service at 7:30 am the next day.  That day we spent partly at the customer lounge and in the afternoon drove over to their manufacturing plant north of Gaffney.  It actually is an assembly plant, since all the major components are brought in from other manufacturers.  Even then, the long walk through the plant showed us how the parts are assembled into a chassis foundation, then axels and wheels, steering columns, wiring cable bundles of various sizes and colors are connected, etc.  All on moving platforms to ensure efficient productivity.  Very automated.  Not much serious lifting required; only directing the machinery to its appropriate target.  No photography was allowed, so I have no images to share.

By mid afternoon the motorhome was ready, but we had no place reserved to stay for that night, so we hooked up the electricity for one more night and left the following day.

Wednesday, June 24th, we arrived safely at Down By The River Campground here in Pineola, NC.