Saturday afternoon 8-24-2024
It’s Saturday afternoon as I write this. I left home Thursday morning and haven’t journaled since, so maybe it’s best if I make this one long entry for the entire trip, adding to it as I have the time and inspiration.
The drive was 300 miles, about five hours straight through but it took me 6.5 with various stops. I had one double strength coffee before leaving so I didn’t need a bathroom break until London, where I stopped at Starbucks. Not a good experience, very busy, I ordered my coffee and waited more than twenty minutes before asking about it — and the barista said she still hasn’t gotten to it, so the counter person went ahead and took a minute to get it for me. The good part was that they had the new Clover machines that custom brew a cup, six blends to choose from, was interested to see that in action. Didn’t take more than 30 seconds after she pressed the button, so much better than the old system of brewing a bunch and tossing most of it out after 30 minutes. I have no idea if the taste is comparable, my palate is not that sensitive and I add heavy cream which masks most of the qualities (but makes for a tasty drink anyway). It was fine and I was glad for the heavy cream and the caffeine, but at the price I may look harder for cheaper alternatives on my route.
The last hour or so to the campground was intensely curvy, many stretches that were best taken at 15mph. I always forget what the North Carolina mountains are like for driving, in many ways harder than Colorado twisty roads. But pleasant in its way, and I’m grateful for the cooler temperatures here at 5000ft.
The campground itself is very nice, sites nestled among thick growths of trees and large bushes — no direct sun at my site at any time, just patches of light through the leaves. But you have to choose your site carefully, many of them are jammed together, little space between the tent pads. Even today, at a prime spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway on a Saturday the weekend before Labor day there are many empty sites. I wonder if lack of privacy is the reason. Anyway, I got very lucky with my site, contemplating the campground layout map and the two photos on the website paid off, it’s one of the more isolated sites, close to the bathroom but not too close. I can hear the bathroom doors slamming and footsteps crunching on the gravel path, but that is all infrequent. The whole campground is a little too close to the parkway, but far enough that the noise of cars isn’t unpleasant, and drops to almost nothing after dark.
The replacement tent is fine. And it’s nice to no longer have the minor flaws that the Texas windstorm produced, e.g. the loose clips along one pole, the small hole in the side, the frayed stake line. I do love the Nemo Aurora Highrise!
I forgot to bring a surprising number of things: my four hamburgers (!), the jar of olives, the body wipes. Yesterday I drove to Brevard, used Wi-Fi at the library, then picked up olives at the Walmart. When I got back I planned to have a burger for supper but discovered there weren’t any, so I cooked an omelet instead. I melted butter, chopped up some ham and fried it, set aside two slices of cheese, took the ham out of the pan and melted more butter — then set the pan down wrong on the burner and spilled much of the butter down my pants. Glad I brought a second pair! I thought about washing them quickly, then decided to just wait until I get home and see how they come out — if they don’t I still have a third pair. The omelet was good, though.
Spilling the butter was one of those many ongoing annoyances I’ve used over the past ten years to practice not being annoyed at such things. The initial reaction was there, of course, but I almost immediately realized that the event itself was done and gone, no fixing it, no point in dwelling on it … and so I didn’t. That is nearly automatic at this point.
It occurred to me that this outdoorsy region might be REI country, so I checked and found several in the area, one in Asheville, so I planned to go this morning to pick up another pack of wipes, since I do want to test them out as an alternative to showering. There are showers here at the campground but not as private as I would like. Being here eight nights, I’m thinking of one shower (for a shampoo) on the fifth morning (Monday) since the campground will be nearly empty by then. Then use bath wipes every second day otherwise. I drove into Asheville, which was almost totally on the BRP and much less twisty and steep than either the drive here or the one into Brevard.
This morning I first I went to Walmart again, to get four 1/3 pound burgers (maybe half again as costly as the Sam’s burgers, but no big deal). I also picked up a cheap bottle of glass cleaner, because the inside of the car windshield was coated enough that low sun was making it difficult to see through. Cleaned the windshield with cleaner and squeegee there in the parking lot, much better now, I need to do the rear window as well when I get inspired. Then on to a nearby library to use their Wi-Fi for 30 minutes or so. Then on to REI. I started to browse but soon realized there wasn’t much point, I knew what they had and didn’t really need any of it, so I located the wipes and checked out. Still one of my favorite places to shop, both online and in person, a little sad that I now own all the camping gear I need, wondering how much longer they’ll manage to stay a pleasant place to shop. Coming back traffic in Asheville was pretty bad, I drove under a main road that was severely backed up, then crawled down a back road Google had found for me till I got to a BRP entrance. Still it was only an extra fifteen minutes or so. I listened to part of another This American Life episode, this one about what a second Trump term would be like. Focused on retribution, apparently, he has emphasized that if he returns to office he will make a point of taking revenge on his enemies. Unlike a lot of NPR (and leftish in general) journalism I found the reporting refreshing, clearly not for Trump but letting the facts speak for themselves.
Yesterday on the way back from Brevard I made a point of taking in a couple of points of interest. First was Looking Glass Falls, which was possibly a magnificent falls, but falls don’t really interest me for their own sake. It was popular so there was a large stretch for roadside parking. I parked at the far end and walked to the other where there was an overlook. Then I walked the steps down to the base level. Beyond that was a rocky shore, which I started to walk out onto but decided against, my footing was uncertain and I am resolved these days not to take unnecessary risks of falling, particularly on hard uneven surfaces like rocky shores. So I went back to the base of the steps, admired the falls for a few minutes, then made my way back up. Even though unique natural features like falls don’t always grab my attention, nature in general does and I enjoyed taking in the setting. People always grab my attention as well, and I may have found even more enjoyable seeing and watching the other folks who had stopped there.
I drove on a few miles and stopped at the Cradle of Forestry center, a monument to the work done by George Vanderbilt restoring the Pisgah forest. Probably the story I heard there was sanitized, I’ll look into it further. But hey, it’s 19th century American history and so I wanted to see and hear it. There are three walking trails, each a mile or so long. I took the one past the Biltmore Forestry School buildings, always glad to see more of how people lived in times gone by. I would have done a second trail but I had already walked Brevard and it was getting on in the day. It’s an option to go back again before I leave, only $4 with my senior pass discount and maybe fifteen minutes from here.
Today I was done with my errands early, back for lunch at noon, could have done a bit of hiking but decided to rest a bit, read a bit, then do this. It’s nearly 4pm, I could probably go for a short walk but will likely put it off until tomorrow, I think I’m being active enough and as always don’t want to become a slave to any imagined goal, however worthy.
I wrote about centering (at least some of) my writing on the idea of shalom, and my search for it. Another related take that occurred to me while reading Wendell Berry was to center it on the search for health. I think health may resonate better with modern readers, point more accurately at what I’m looking for. Striving for health sounds more active and positive than striving for peace, although in my thinking about peace as being in harmony with creation the two are virtually the same thing. But it is possible to view the search for peace as a passive thing, looking for a pre-existing place and settling down there, rather than making the peaceful place by aligning yourself with God’s economy. There is also a hint with health that you can be content with the health you have while still seeking to improve it.
Not sure I’ll get around to writing a long piece on this trip, but I had an idea for one: my history with smoking.
Sunday afternoon, 8-25-2025
70 degrees in the shade, no breeze to speak of, but still cool enough that I popped back into the tent and grabbed my hoodie. I just tried out one of the body wipes, like a Huggies wipe but thicker and larger. Worked fine, liked it, for now I’ll use them in between showers, decide at some point whether they’re any better than just using a few Huggies wipes.
I’ll shower tomorrow, now that the campground is nearly empty, that will hold me till Friday at home. Walked the C&D tent loops counting the ones still occupied. Of 66 sites, twelve are in use, with eight leaving tomorrow morning. Didn’t count earlier, but I think the sites were mostly occupied Friday and Saturday nights. But not totally. Is camping less popular here on the east coast? Or is the season basically over — schools are mostly in session at this time? I’ll check before I leave Friday to see how full the place will be for Labor Day weekend. The campground has its flaws, but on the whole it is really nice, for car camping anyway. I did notice some even more secluded sites on my walk, mostly up some stairs. I’ll probably be back, and will spend more time choosing a site next time around. Although this one is excellent, the only drawback being a site directly across the road, and that is a drawback only because of my neighbors who brought a large dog which doesn’t know yet not to bark and whine when other dogs go by, of which there are many (why do campers, both tent and RV, so often bring dogs along?).
Pleased with myself for getting out for a decent (for me) hike this morning, even after sleeping in until 7am. I left at 9:30am and walked a two mile loop, down one side of the parkway to the Mt Pisgah parking area (the trail was not a long the road, maybe 100ft away), then across the road and back along another trail to the Mt Pisgah Inn. I’ll do it again at least once, though in the opposite direction, the return had far more up-and-down to it, would prefer that it had been the first half. Took me two hours, unimpressive to anyone but me, who was only impressed that I got out and did it. Not exhausting, but I had no urge to continue when I was done. As usual I enjoyed the close observation, where I was and where to step, smells and sounds, all at a leisurely pace. As while hiking around Terlingua I am fascinated by the kind of thinking that goes into something as straightforward as walking over uneven ground, most of which thinking happens automatically and unnoticed when my mind is occupied with something elsewhere. Glad I’ve learned to bring my mind back to the present situation, at least partially and occasionally.
Need to think more about cell phone service. For probably not a lot more money I could have much more or even unlimited data. And the 1gb per month I get on the lite plan is more than I need while at home but not quite enough when I’m traveling — which seems to use around 200mb per day, for Google Maps and email notifications and such. I can manage by turning the phone off or not using Google Maps or sometimes buying extra data for a few bucks, but it’s not convenient and I’m not sure the overall savings are worth it. The new lite plan costs a little more ($9/mo vs $7/mo) and gives 2gb per month rather than one — would that be enough to make it overall convenient?
Last night’s burger was delicious. A little thicker than the Sam’s patties, cooked it with two slices of muenster cheese, mixture of mayo and mustard on the side. Also bought two tomatoes yesterday, sliced half of one to eat with it. Cleanup was simple enough, one half-towel plus one wipe did the job. I can eat more simply and less flavorfully and still be happy, but the extra flavors were quite welcome — though also enough, I think, I can’t think of anything I’d want to add. Breakfast is a bit more of a challenge, I don’t really want to bring cheese sticks back into it but just coffee with cream is not 100% satisfying — but it certainly covers hunger until lunch, even a late lunch, so maybe it’s just a matter of getting more used to the new routine. Lunches have a bit more variety, and I like it as well. I’m alternating between cottage cheese (6oz rather than the former 8oz, giving me four servings in a 24oz container) with pickle and olives (and kimchi when I’m home), and tuna with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and some olives and a pickle. While camping I’ve been finishing up with an ounce of roasted and salted almonds, not sure I’ll continue that at home. Other suppers on the menu are omelets (chopped ham, 2 slices muenster) and bratwurst (haven’t had these yet but I brought five, expect to slice half of those in half, fry and serve with mustard).
Started reading The Unsettling of America for the first time. Wendell Berry is comfort reading for me, much of what he says here I have heard from him many times in other writings, but I can never hear it too often. This one would be a good introduction to his thinking, he covers many of the important themes. Also started My Struggle: Book 1. Addictive, I always want to read a little bit more of it. At some point I should take some of Knausgaard’s passages and break them apart, look closely, to see what makes them compelling. Certainly part of it is his eye for detail, along with being not at all reluctant to write them all down, e.g. his lists are longer than usual, his impressionistic anecdotes go on longer than usual. I wouldn’t want to model my writing after his, but I think he can teach me some things. And I’m reading Galactic Pot-Healer, and wondering why it’s been so long since I last read through PKD’s stuff. Being much older I have a way higher sensitivity to his characterizations, which are way different than the norm. I wouldn’t call them realistic — but then again my definition of realistic here is way too informed by the conventional wisdom and all the usually written stuff, perhaps he is realistically describing types that just don’t get attention from other writes. Or perhaps the descriptions are more reflective of his less-than-realistic view of the world, idiosyncratic and a bit twisted. Another nice/unusual thing — his books are quick reads! I’ve read several while camping, Man in the High Castle and something else and now this, and they are a great way to spend the last thirty or so reading minutes every night for a few nights.
I have to admit I’m pleased my neighbors are moving on tomorrow. The campground has emptied out so hardly any dogs are going by, so no barking. But the mom of the family has a voice that carries in a big way — not brash or anything, but when the others speak it sounds quiet and muffled, but she is clear as a bell. I’m resigned to it, but I’ll also be happy when it’s done.
Wanted to order coffee from Sam’s so it would be there on Friday, since I’m running low and might actually run out before that. Shouldn’t have put it off! I hadn’t used the app yet with Chris’s account, so I had to get a security code they emailed him, so I had to be chatting with him to do it. Took a little while, but done. I ordered two bags as usual, then saw that there was an $8 shipping charge! Apparently the days of free shipping on all orders are gone, now there’s a $50 minimum. Make more sense, sad to say. And I made the minimum (barely) by adding a third bag.
Since this week is supposed to be hot at lower elevations I want to make my excursions early in the day. Tomorrow I was thinking NC Arboretum, about 30 minutes away, opens at 8am. I also want to take a shower, but I guess I can put that off until after I get back, when the campground will be very empty. Before I go I also want to visit downtown Asheville, and maybe Little Switzerland (another 30 minutes up the parkway).
Didn’t mention that I am also chipping away at my re-read of The Transcendentalists and their World. Another great book, immersing me a bit further into 19th century America. Haven’t gotten tired of that subject yet. I need to spend some quality time thinking about how to schedule a New England tour next year.
Monday afternoon, 8-26-2024
The campground is indeed nearly empty, only three other sites occupied on the two tent-only loops. Perhaps I’ll drive the other two loops when I go to get ice today. Of course other sites could fill on a FF basis, but not too likely.
Took my shower this afternoon. After four days my scalp was feeling pretty cruddy, and the shower felt good overall so I will probably take another on Wednesday. Even with an empty campground someone did come in to use the toilet, no problem, and I was in there close to thirty minutes after all. Had all the equipment I needed (plus a bunch of other stuff) in my dopp kit, that made me happy, finally getting my supply list in shape … Now if I can just remember to pack it all!
Block ice is now done, after three-plus days. Cooler is still cold, though. I’ll leave the water in while adding an 8lb bag from the camp store — $4, could get it for half the price or less in town but no big deal, want to keep the perishables cold.
Got up at 6am today because I wanted to get out early. Still dark! Needed to use the headlamp, once again appreciated the just-rightness of the red beam. First cup of coffee ready at 6:25, second at maybe 6:50, was aiming to leave by 7:30 but with brushing teeth and squaring away camp I didn’t leave until 8am. Thirty minutes drive to the Arboretum, maybe one or two other cars there when I paid my $20 parking fee. Fantastic place! I started with the bonsai garden, taking my sweet time looking at each plant and label. Then I walked over to the quilt garden, enjoyed that. All the walking was very slow because the place is packed with labelled plants and I tried to give each one a long look. I went into the visitor center, now open, saw that I could use today’s parking fee (admission is free aside from that) towards the $60 annual membership fee, so I signed up. Now I can stop in for free, which I may do a couple more times on this trip since I’ll be going past, and it will encourage me to come back here once or twice in the next twelve months, which I think could be a good practice. I also enjoyed spending some time in the Plants of Promise garden, where they collect and grow plants that are especially good for landscaping in this climate. And I made use of their free Wi-Fi, which saved me a separate trip to a library. I stayed more than three hours, pretty good for me. I was very impressed, some publication called it the best Arboretum in the country and I believe it, the entire presentation was top notch. It seems to be non-governmental as well, which also impressed me, though I’m sure public money plays some role.
While strolling I was bemused when I passed a thirty-ish woman in T-shirt and shorts, walking three small dogs with leashes attached to her belt, chattering away over the phone using a hands-free device. But it’s true that the Arboretum is among other things a place to walk in beautiful outdoor surroundings, and there’s no telling how many times she visits for what different purposes. Twenty minutes later I passed her again, still walking her dogs, still chattering on what appeared to be the same phone call. As usual my final assessment is: live your life, no judgment from me. But it also reminded me how easy (and common, I suppose) it is to be present in a wonderful place without being there at all, actually being somewhere else mentally.
A similar experience last night, when my loud chatty neighbor called her daughter (?) on the phone and talked with her basically about nothing — when a new season of a Netflix show would begin, and so on. My initial reaction was: WHY? Followed quickly by: live your life, it’s not harming me and really none of my business, it was only twenty minutes of her life gone. But on the way back from the Arboretum I thought about both phone calls, and realized: maybe part of this is my old-fashioned attitude towards phone calls. They are to transact important business, whether economic or family or whatever. Keep them short and on point. I don’t like getting them, I hate making them, I’m very glad that other ways of communicating have made them rare, almost obsolete. But for both those phone calls I mention, perhaps they were just an alternative means of people visiting people? The daughter is able to drop by and visit with her family even though they are in the mountains camping. The lady with the dogs is able to visit with her friend while on her morning walk through the Arboretum — not as good maybe as a face-to-face chat over coffee, but far better than no visit at all? There are so many ways to abuse good things, to turn something good into something that damages you, and I need to constantly remind myself not to look down on people who run that risk, particularly when the activity isn’t something I’m tempted by. In both cases I mention the activity could have been perfectly harmless, even beneficial in context — and I’ll never know their stories in enough detail to judge. But I think it’s OK, even good, for me to imagine myself in the situations I see, to look for the dangers those sorts of activities would pose for me, to take a lesson from that rather than taking the attitude “Lord I thank thee that I am not like that Pharisee.”
I looked over the US Mobile phone plans and decided that the one best for me would be pay-as-you-go for $10/mo, which gives you 2gb plus $2/gb top ups. AND you can set the top ups to happen automatically, $2 a pop, as you run low on data. It wouldn’t be much more than the $8/mo plus $5 a few times per year for 1.5gb top ups, and would allow me not to spend any mental space on managing things.
Not sure what my next outing will be. I think I will front load them, put off staying at the campsite towards the end just so I’l have an extra day or two if some new excursion occurs to me. Right now I have Little Switzerland and downtown Asheville on my list. And both of those will take me right past the Arboretum, so I’ll probably stop in at least for a short visit both times.
Thursday afternoon, 8-29-2024
Not in the mood to write the past couple of days, I guess.
Tuesday I stopped first at the Arboretum, for Wi-Fi and another stroll through the bonsai garden. Also looked a little closer at the quilt garden. Then I drove north on the Parkway, intending to check out Little Switzerland — which was a bust, no there there that I could locate, found the post office at the top of the hill and a few (three or four) businesses, then a very steep road down in both directions with residences tucked in the hillside — maybe there was an actual village center somewhere, but I didn’t want to drive to the bottom of the hill just to find out that there wasn’t. So I turned around, and four miles or so back stopped at Crabtree Falls campground, where the camp store and visitor center was permanently closed but still people parked there for the trailhead. Ate my cottage cheese lunch, then drove on. It was a long drive with stops only for bathroom breaks (well, I did briefly look around the BRP Visitor Center while there), but I’m glad I went even though Little Switzerland didn’t cooperate, the drive is remarkable — parts of it directly on a ridge, falling off to either side. Made me even more want to make BRP my east coast default for outdoorsy activity.
Yesterday I stayed at the campground, took the hike to Mt Pisgah picnic area but this time counterclockwise. Took a little less time, maybe 90 minutes walking rather than two hours. I did appreciate having the first half be the harder hike. After lunch I took my second shower, very pleasant, very welcome. Omelet for supper, where I dropped one of the three eggs, sad. But it was enough, said my stomach when I checked in a couple of hours later.
This morning I headed out for a last visit (on this trip) to the Arboretum. I drove past it a little bit to an Ingles supermarket, which had gas for $2.99. Went inside, nice upscale place, prices at Kroger levels or higher, but got 10lb ice for $2.19. Back to the Arboretum, where it was already getting warm in the sun. Checked the internet, took one more slow look at the bonsai garden, then went on to the Plants of Promise garden where I tried to learn something about landscape arrangement, ground cover, etc. I didn’t rush but also didn’t linger too long, I think I’m at the point now where I need to do some book research on the topic. And once I’ve done that I’m sure there are places close to home where I can go and see similar things in person.
Finishing up Olmsted’s book on slavery in the Seaboard States. Turns out I’ve read the whole thing through before — most of it seemed fresh to me but occasionally I’d read a passage that I half remembered — and then in the final chapters I found a few spots I had highlighted. No matter, even more enjoyable a second time through, and I’d like to get as much of the detail as possible into my bones. Olmsted is becoming a hero for me, with special affection for his ability to describe his experiences neutrally and evocatively. He is clearly against slavery, even in favor of racial equality in that he thinks blacks could be equals of whites in every way except for the circumstances which have severely degraded them. I don’t think he’d be an advocate of integration, but he’d probably accept it without complaint if society somehow ended up there. I wish I knew of more writers like him — though I should probably finish reading through Olmsted himself before worrying about that — he has given me a far better feel for what life in 1850s America was like than anything else I’ve read. I guess there’s Harriet Martineau’s travel journal, I should probably look for more good travel writings. Tocqueville is supposed to be that, so I should read him finally!
I keep coming back to the idea of landscaping in order to get rid of the lawn. Not exactly excited about it — probably a good thing, enthusiasms (like stargazing) often fizzle out for me — but I don’t dread anything about it either, and I think that the physical work could be mildly enjoyable, maybe even something that grows on me as I keep at it. It’s definitely a better hobby than most, producing something useful (vegetable gardening might be even better, except that I don’t eat enough vegetables!). And it could actually add value to the house, if I got ambitious enough to redo the whole backyard. Anyway, I’ll start with research (of course!) and then if I still want to proceed I think I’ll ask Chris to till the the backyard where the garden used to be, then see if I can make anything of that. If so, I can expand to that whole area, then think about larger sections past the trees. If not, we can put grass back in (if necessary) and the ground will finally be flat again at least.
Seven weeks until I leave for the next Texas trip! Unless I decide to tack a few days somewhere else on at the beginning. I don’t think I’ll want to extend the trip on the far end, two weeks at Perdido will probably have me ready to be back home.