Rolling with the flow

After spending a peaceful rest day with Maura yesterday, today was time to bid her a fond farewell. I regret not having pictures of her and her sweet pitbull Tika at home as she is quite lovely and Tika is quite the looker too. My time with Maura was quite special and I was sad to leave. My plan was to head towards Asheville and camp on top of Mount Pisgah south of there at a campground across from Mount Pisgah Inn. The day was beautiful and I headed out over some of the same roads that I traversed by bicycle two days ago. There were 10 times as many cars and lots of bicycles on the road. I tried to get a few shots of some but once again my camera skills are lacking. 

My friend Dan seems to have fairly deep resources when it comes to family around here and as a result I discovered that the campground I wanted to stay at doesn't open until May 24. Not to worry as this trip seems to be all about flexibility. I've got to see the great Smoky Mountains someday so why not today. I came in through the south entrance which is a Cherokee Indian reservation. There was all kinds of stuff to s there. There were native Americans dancing in the streets in full regalia. I think I'll ride my bike down there in a few days and take some pictures of all the goings-on. I decided to camp on the north side of the park not realizing just how big this park is.

It took well over an hour of scenic beauty to get to my campsite. On the way there I met a cyclist on top of the mountain. Whenever you meet a cyclist on top of the mountain that means he's serious. We spoke for a little while and he told me where he was staying. He was at a different campground but still on the northside of the park so later I thought I would go see him. His campsite is 30 miles from my campsite. Damn, this place is big. While I was setting up my campsite I got a huge wave of sadness. I wasn't homesick. I just missed Kimberly desperately.

After I finished setting up camp Hydro the short distance into Gatlinburg Tennessee and called her. Just hearing her voice changed everything. The joy that she has in her helps to make me who I am.

That's all for now except to wish all you mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day.
 Oh and one other thing, there won't be any live tracking while I'm in the national Park. No service.