Say Hello To My Little Friend: Day 4: It's really just another road

I woke up at 5:30 to a scraping sound. Not loud enough to be a bear or a racoon, so I figure there was a bug scratching on my tent, maybe a mouse. I kept swatting at the top of the tent to scare it away, but no good. Really?? I got out of the tent and found nothing (fine with me). As I was packing my gear, I discovered the culprit. it was my air matress. I took the lightest one I had, which was plastic, laminated over the foam core. The plastic was coming delaminated and had created an expanding bubble/blister about the size of a basketball. As it expanded, it would creak and make the scratching sound. This could be a problem.

The ride for the day was light rolling hills (65 miles of them) through farms and residential areas. I knew I was still over 3200 feet up, but you'd never know it. No overlooks for most of the day, no vistas, no mountain scenes....just a road going up and down and up and down.

In keeping with the pattern of not finding stuff that was supposed to be there, I could not find the Inn of the Red Thread, Bits and Pieces Grocery had closed, Felt's Bros. Market was 5 MILES off the parkway...etc. etc. etc. I did pass a campground with a camp store near Fancy Gap, but didn't stop. That turned out to be a mistake that I would regret.

Mid day, I passed my first cycle trourists of the trip :) Matthew was from France and had come over to ride the BRP from end to end, north to south, with Vanessa, from Quebec. They came loaded for anything. They had front and rear panniers on their bikes and told me that they were each carrying 4 liters of water. Mathew had broken down somewhere along the line and was even carrying his original rear wheel on his rear rack! They were stealth camping and asked for a place to stay near the Northwest Trading Post, their goal for the day. I told them that there was supposed to be a place called Raccoon Holler, but dont' hold your breath. They warned me that the first 60 miles of the BRP were a desert, with only one place to get water, thus the reason they carried so much with them. it was great to finally get to talk shop with someone and they impressed me with all that they carried. Easily 50 pound each.

After about 50 miles of solid, non-stop riding, I had pushed myself too far. I ran out of gas and had to pull over. I had bonked for the first time on this ride. I had figured that it would be an easy day, just rolling hills, no real mountains to climb today, but I got snookered into pushing myself too hard. I still had 10 more miles to go and was getting worried. I dug into my snacks and sat on the roadside for about 30 minutes.

According to my cheatsheet, the Mayberry Trading Post was just up ahead. I had seen pictures of it, and was optimistic that it would actually BE THERE. I got lucky...sort of. It was there, but similar to the Northwest Trading Post, more of a nick-nack place. Once again, my snack was pork rinds and a soda. I figured a Dr. Pepper might have enough caffine to give me a boost to make it to The Meadows of Dan, my final destination.

I made it by about 4:00, the latest arrival so far. The Meadows of Dan is a private campground and is...interesting. The "office" is the kitchen table of the owners/managers house, on the road before the campground. I knew this in advance, because I had read about it from other people's reviews. If I hadn't known, I would have just wandered around looking forever. I ws told to pick any tent site i wanted, because I was the only one. the good thing was, each campsite had an electrical outlet, so I could charge my phone and use it without killing the battery. The comfort station (bathroom) had showers, unlike the park campsites, and soda machines. The bad news, I was going to be alone in a pretty shabby looking site. If it rained, I was guaranteed to be covered in mud the next morning.

As I had come in, I passed cabins, which I knew were there. Executive decision time. I called the "office" and made an upgrade. One of my smarter moments. After today's ride, I deserved a nice bed and some A/C.

Around 7:00 am. you can see the clouds spilling over the mountains as I left my campsite.

Crossing over the state line from NC to VA....literally a LINE.

Matthew, from France, and Vanessa, from Quebec. I didn't bother asking why he made the trip. DUH!

I am still up in the mountains, but I never saw them.

One reason I didnt' stop to rest today is that there was so little to stop for. One of the few places along the way. Another frontier homestead.

No, my camera isn't crooked. The building was built on a hill and had shifted over time. Inside were signs saying "we love Andy Griffith" and pictures of him and Don Knotts.