Camping in the Smokies

I guess I'm guilty of taking an extended blog break. We recently enjoyed a few days camping and riding in the Smoky Mountains and now I'm having trouble getting motivated to update anything here.  We stayed at Moonshine Creek Campground which is halfway between Waynesville and Sylva, North Carolina.  The weather was nice our entire stay, but unsually hot in the afternoons for September in the mountains.  The campground is a little out of the way for   some activities, but nice and quiet since it was in between busy seasons.  I'd probably give this one a OTRWJ rating of 8.   We didn't really spend a lot of time at the RV since we rode the motorcycle all day every day and returned at supper time.  But we enjoyed our stay here. 



On one of our excursions we sought out some of the waterfalls in the area.  This is Dry Falls, near the town of Highland, NC.  It is easy to get to with a nice trail down to and behind the falls.  Very nice on a warm day! 

 Nothing rounds out a motorcycle trip more than a stop at a quilt shop!   Maggie Valley might be known for motorcycle rallies, but it is also home to Quilter's Quarters.  The photo of the pine tree quilt doesn't do it justice.  The quilting and stitched in crystals made for an impressive piece. I believe they had taught a class on this - and might have had some kits. 

There were lots of kits and samples, and of course I had to add to bring one home to add to my collection!

One more quilt I found on the trip was at the Folk Art Center's Heritage Weekend exhibition.  It's a wonderful representation of our favorite ride, the Blue Ridge Parkway!

I hope to find my blogging "mojo" and be back again soon!  Have a great weekend!

(And  a special wish to my sister  for a Happy Birthday today! )

Barn Quilts and Back Roads

If you've visited here before, you know we're often cruising some of the back roads (and sometimes not so back roads) of the areas we visit.  And you also know that I love quilts.  So when I spy a Barn Quilt, I try to quickly catch a photo as we drive by.  Sometimes I'm not successful and the picture is blurry or crooked or I miss my subject completely and end up with a photo of a telephone pole or road side weeds.  If you really want to see some great photos and stories of Barn Quilts, check out Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail. 

I really need to document a little better where my barn quilt photos are taken.  This one is somewhere in Western Kentucky in May of this year.

This one is at the Stream Cliff Farm just a few miles north of us. And I actually was able to get off the bike to take this photo!

I'm not sure where this one was taken, but it was somewhere near here, either in northern Kentucky or Southern Indiana on DH's birthday when we rode with friends in these areas.

This barn quilt was found in Michigan on our vacation there in July.  I believe it was in Peninsula Township north of Traverse City.  I'd hope to add to my collection of Barn Quilt photos because I know there are several on the roads we hope to travel next week.  But right now, with one motorcycle in the Harley hospital and the "back up" Yamaha ( the one that DH is supposed to sell but I guess maybe it's a good thing he hasn't) needing a new tire, my photos might be taken from the passenger seat of the RV !  

Hope everyone is having a great September!