To Savannah and Back. Or So We Thought..

To Savannah and back was the plan. It was going to be a six day road trip through the southeast. A part of the country that I had not seen before. We were packed and ready to hit the road the morning after Christmas. We piled into to the van and wouldn't you know it, it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Caleb did quick work getting us jumped and off we went! The interstate is about 5 minutes from our house and was the next stop (literally). We made one turn and basically everything in the van shifted to the other side. We made a quick stop on the side of the interstate to secure everything and away we went!

If you have ever traveled with me, you know that I have bad travel luck. I have delayed flights. I have canceled flights. I hit ridiculous traffic jams. I have terrible hotel rooms. It never fails. Things just go wrong. The way the morning started should have been the warning for the rest of the trip. While nothing terrible happened, nothing went as planned. Let's just say we did not make it to Savannah.

We had clear roads until we hit Cincinnati. It took at least an hour and a half to get through, due to the traffic. The silver lining here is that I really love the houses in Cincy. They are skinny and tall and amazing. Plus Kentucky is just across the way and that means Bluegrass territory! Horses, rolling land, miles of white fence. Love! We boogied through Lexington and decided to stop for the night in Knoxville. We visited Knoxville a couple of years ago for an Xterra triathlon and really liked it. Back then we sat in a bar and watched American Pharaoh win the Triple Crown. This time we got the sketchiest Uber ever and ended up in a Gay Street bar next to a bunch of kids. Here is your tip for the day: Do not tell the hostess to seat you away from the screaming children. She will most certainly seat you next to not one, but seven of them.

After dinner we got back to camp in a slightly less sketchy Uber. A good night's rest was calling and we had a big day of hiking and biking ahead of us. Our first night sleeping in the van was okay. Caleb got really cold. I got really hot. We quickly loaded up the next morning and hit the road. The plan for the day was to hit The Blue Ridge Parkway through the Smokey's. We would be able to find an Appalachian Trail crossing that we could hop on a hike for a bit. I was going to see the most beautiful country. Did I mention that it was our 11th Anniversary? 

Happy Anniversary to us!

But of course, things never go as planned.  The traffic through Gatlinburg was insane and the weather was not really cooperating. The wind gusts were so bad that the rangers had to close the Parkway for safety. No Appalachian Trail. No hiking. Nothing. We had to turn around (yes, back through Gatlinburg) and find a different way to Asheville. That's the thing about Mother Nature though. Just when you think she is being a pain, she gives you something amazing. In our little detour, we found a little offshoot of the National Park, hidden on a little road back in the middle of nowhere. We stopped for a quick lunch break and tried to find a new route to Asheville. I will point out now that at this moment, the skies started to cloud up. The wind was already blowing.

Lunch ended and we again hit the pavement. A fork in the road would decide the rest of our day. Left would take us to the interstate. We could be in Asheville in no time. Right would take us the long way around. A flashing sign clearly stated no semi's allowed. Local traffic only. We came for adventure. We went right. And adventure did we find!!

Not even half a mile into this road, I started to think that maybe it was a bad idea. However, there was no way to get the van turned around. The road was barely big enough for two cars, let alone our van. The turns and twists were enough to give me a little motion sickness (rare for this Sailor). And I forgot to mention my paralyzing fear of cliffs. (Maybe its a fear of heights? But I love roller coasters. And tall buildings do not bother me. I freeze though, when it comes to bridges and cliffs.) I was settling into the uncomfortable fear when the road suddenly went to gravel and narrowed drastically. And then out of no where, a sign for the Appalachian Trail popped up. The trail was crossing this gravel road! Of course we had to stop and actually step foot on the trail and get a photo with the sign. My day was made! This is what I came to Tennessee and North Carolina for!

So happy to have crossed the AT on our adventure!

After the trail crossing, the road got seriously scary. 180 degree turns on gravel, through the hills, on basically a one lane road, in our van. Caleb admitted later that he was nervous too! We eventually made our way back to the interstate and were on our way to Asheville. We decided though that we both wanted to see the Oskar Blues brewery and The Hub. Both of those places are in Brevard, so we continued on past Asheville. Let me now mention that it had started to rain. We stopped at The Hub and had a drink while asking the locals where we should ride. Once we had a plan and a map, we headed to the Oskar Blues brewery. This place is really cool! We chatted with the locals and had a nice little evening. We found a campsite in the Pisgah National Forest and settled in for the night. Mind you, the rain was coming down hard.

Ole Chubb Scottish Ale

What else is there to do when it's down pouring outside?

I woke up at some point in the morning to Caleb talking to someone. Turns out, the rain was causing flooding in the area and we had to go! The river, which you have to cross to get out of the campground, was dangerously close to the bridge. They are required to evacuate when it gets 18 inches from the bridge. It was at 10 inches. No joke, we had to go! 

This is the river that was causing the evacuation.

The problem now is that the entire south eastern coast was going to be in the storm system for the next two days. Savannah was going to be just as rainy as Brevard. So where do we go that we can get some riding and hiking in?

The answer was north. After a quick breakfast, we headed back to Knoxville. We knew from the Xterra race that there was hiking and biking in the area. And instead of camping outside of the city, we splurged on a hotel room downtown. We did some great hiking before cleaning up and heading to dinner. And we randomly bumped into a hockey game! 

We hiked a quarry. This is the top. Can you find Big Red?

Because we never know where we are going...

We had to find somewhere to go next. A little research about hiking and biking somewhere between Knoxville and Nashville ended us up at Fall Creek Falls State Park. The drive to this state park had us believing that we made a critical error in going there. The landscape was not much different than Southern Indiana. Rolling hills and farmland. We had no idea what we were about to drive into!

THE MOST AMAZING STATE PARK!! 

I honestly don't know how to describe this place. Waterfall after waterfall. Challenging terrain. Cliffs. Hiking and biking. I could stay at this state park for a week and still find new stuff. We started out with a bike ride through the park. The hills were challenging but doable. We rode out to the Piney Creek water fall. 

Again with the navigation.. I see a theme here. 

Don't let my power pose fool you. My legs were trembling. 

We headed back to the van and changed into hiking gear. First stop: Fall Creek Falls waterfall. This is one of the largest waterfalls in the East measuring 250 something feet tall. We hiked down to the base of the fall on a pretty challenging trail. Half mile down, half mile up, but the majority of the trail is rock scrambling in the mud and wet conditions. 

So powerful!

Pictures do it no justice.

Once I caught my breath from the hike back up, we headed on to more trail, which included I think three more falls. Caleb braved a trail that required the use of a chain. I sat back and took pictures from a safe spot. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend this park. Sheer beauty! 

He had to climb down the rocks, then back up to get to the other side.

So amazing!

Our next stop was the last one of the trip. Nashville. I had never been and I thought it would be a great way to end the trip. We had a hotel room reserved so that we could properly clean up and relax. We ate at the Wildhorse Saloon which was delicious! Then we moved on to bar hopping. Let's just say that we ended our night with delivery pizza at 2am. I think we did Nashville right. 

Our last stop of the night: Layla's. 

Homeward bound was the phrase of the next day. Our five night, six day journey was coming to an end. We learned so much about van camping and what we want (and need) to do with the van build. The future is looking adventurous for The Big Red Van! 

Most Memorable Parts of the Trip:

-Obviously, the gravel road in North Carolina was the best part. 

-That big ass stuffed baked potato at the Wildhorse Saloon! 

-Evacuation!

-The bluegrass band at Layla's.

-The pizza at 2am.

-Those waterfalls!

-Me about killing myself of wet, slick boards while hiking.

-Constantly trying to be incognito while tinkling outside.