RV road trip through Smokey Mountains
Hi, we are a couple from Australia planning our first trip to the US in September/October 2013. For part of our time in the States we'd like to hire an RV in Atlanta and drive North, finally arriving in NYC about two weeks later. At this stage we're planning to collect the RV in Atlanta on 5th October. The vehicle we're considering is a 19 ft F250 which we consider compact enough to be able to manouvre yet large enough to live in for 2 weeks (at a pinch!). Yesterday I was speaking with a friend who has toured the States quite a bit. He has warned us off the RV idea stating that we will be very limited with where we can take it. For example we'd like to see some of the Smokey Mountains and Appalachian Trail, but now not sure if a vehicle of this size is going to limit us too much as to what roads we'll be able to take. Any advice on what we should do, and also what route we should be taking to see and experience the most, would be greatly appreciated. My interests lie in American history, Southern culture (we'll be spending 4 nights in NOLA before catching the Amtrac to Atlanta), and of course lovely scenery and friendly people. Based on holidays we've done in Australia utilising caravan parks, we find them to be very friendly places which enable plenty of interaction with other people which we enjoy.
Of Class B motorhomes, the Smokies, the AT, and the BRP
Hello Kate,
You're planning what promises to be a very enjoyable trip.
I imagine you're booking a small motorhome built upon a Ford E-350 chassis, a van body much like Lifemagician's chariot, where the F-350 chassis is a pickup truck body, or else you're getting an F350 with a truck camper attached. Either way, no worries about driving it most anywhere you'd care to go.
You'll arrive in the Southern Appalachians at the beginning of the autumn "leaf season", when seemingly half of the population heads for the Smokies and the Blue Ridge to see the Fall colors. Just be aware of that and the wisdom of booking ahead when and where you can. More on that later.
Given your ultimate destination of NYC, and the two week time frame, you'll have the opportunity to see the whole of the Blue Ridge Mountains, from their beginning point in northwest Georgia all the way into Pennsylvania. From the eastern gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) follows the mountains of western NC and Virginia for 469 miles to Shenandoah National Park (SNP). Given the very slow pace of travel during leaf season, driving the entire BRP might end up being "too much of a good thing" but with I-81 on the west and various highways, including US 29, on the east, it's generally easy to drop off of the BRP to see other sights and make better time.
As for the Appalachian Trail (AT) there are essentially unlimited opportunities to access and use it: The AT has over 400 road crossings from Georgia to Maine. The beginning point is Springer Mtn, Georgia, within a couple of hours of Atlanta, with Amicalola Falls State Park and a "connector" trail leading to the official beginning point of the AT. This might be an ideal place to see and walk part of the AT at a most significant point. Further north, the AT passes through Wesser, NC, at the headquarters of the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), a rafting and kayaking outfitter. It passes into the GSMNP at Fontana Dam. Much farther north, the AT parallels and cris-crosses the BRP north of Roanoke, VA essentially all the way to the SNP. Through virtually all of the SNP, the AT parallels the Skyline Drive (SD), the only throughfare within the SNP. There are particularly scenic and easily-accessed segments north of Peaks of Otter, VA, near Apple Orchard Mountain and Thunder Ridge.
Now, back to reservations during leaf season: The GA state parks, as well as NC and VA, offer online booking. Federal facilities, including GSMNP, the BRP (actually a "linear" unit of the National Park Service), and SNP all offer online booking up to 6 months in advance. If much of your trip north involves staying close to or within the mountains, booking at least some of your stay ahead of time seems wise.
As to sampling some Southern culture, you'll have seen and experienced something unique in NOLA. Entering the Southern and Central Appalachians in GA, TN, NC, and VA, you'll be in the heart of Scots-Irish country. "Our Southern Highlanders" by Horace Kephart would be a good introduction into Southern Appalachian culture notwithstanding it initial publication 100 years ago. Be aware of a big NASCAR race in Charlotte, NC in mid-October, the NC State Fair in Raleigh in the 3rd week of October, and of numerous opportunities to take in a small (or large) college football game. College football on Saturday afternoon or night is very much a traditional pastime and can be found within a 50 mile radius of most any part of the South. Perhaps the largest spectacles involving college football would be found in Knoxville, TN (University of TN) and Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech). Washington & Lee University, Bridgewater College, and James Madison University offer football in Lexington, Bridgewater, and Harrisonburg, VA, near or within the scenic Shenandoah Valley.
Have fun planning and taking your RoadTrip!
Foy
NASCAR 2013 schedule is available
My pleasure to provide some information, Kate.
The 2013 NASCAR schedule is out, Kate, and it shows Saturday night, 12 October as the Bank of America 500 date. Be aware of the numerous Sprint Cup (the top series) and Nationwide Cup (the second-tier series) practices and qualifying sessions during the days on the Thursday and Friday before the Saturday Sprint Cup race. Also be advised of the many opportunities to visit the race team shops, virtually all of which are within a 15 mile radius of the speedway at Charlotte. The race team facilities are designed with fans in mind, as all have elevated walkways where one can see the cars in various stages of construction or repair, and eye-level viewing of the engine-building rooms. For the true-blue fan or the disinterested, it's a pretty cool look at how it all comes together. Few, if any, of the team facilities charge admission for tours of their shops.
For interests in gospel and other traditional music, particularly country and bluegrass, look up "The Crooked Road" (TCR). TCR is an organization named for US 58 and its traverse of southwestern Virginia from Cumberland Gap to the Piedmont. Along TCR are many venues for live scheduled performances of traditional country music (think the Carter Family), bluegrass (think Bill Monroe), and gospel. I have a client who is in the habit of just stopping in at tiny mountain community churches on Sunday mornings to take in a worship service and do some singing of hymns with the congregation. He reports always being welcomed. Leaving a nice contribution probably helps. I have the general belief that TCR venues and performances are concentrated in the warmer summer months but with all of the tourism involved in the mountains in October, it seems likely one could find performances at least on weekends during the Fall.
One can hear gospel music over the airwaves by tuning in to AM and FM radio stations broadcasting from small towns in NC, TN, KY, and VA. In particular one can tune in to old-style gospel "fire and brimstone" preaching pretty much all day on Sundays.
Hotspots for small college football in and close to the mountains in NC, TN, and VA would include: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC (my alma mater). ASU won a small college division national championship during 2005, 2006, and 2007 and hosts Southern Conference rivals in a very nice stadium set in a "hollow" in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Furman University, Greenville, SC is a Southern conference school. Smaller college divisions involve play by East Tennessee State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Tusculum College, Bluefield State, Emory and Henry, Washington and Lee, Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney, Roanoke College, and James Madison University, to name but a few.
Foy
