Road Trip to Asheville, NC

Rangeley playing in a stream along the Appalachian Trail

Roaming Rangeley Summer 2022

Phoenix to Moriarty, NM

August 4, 2022

After a wonderful breakfast at our friends (Craig and Sherry) Rangeley and I headed east about 8AM. We have had some cool wet weather (remember we live in Phoenix, so relative) and this morning continued that trend. The temperatures were in the 70s and a light rain was falling for the first hour of our trip. Our route took us through Payson and then up on the Mogillon Rim. This area has had lots of rain so everything was nice and green. We stopped for a short break so Rangeley could run around a bit.

We continued up to Holbrook and took I40 east, driving through a couple heavy rain showers. Fortunately it was dry as we passed through the afternoon traffic and construction in Albuquerque. Forty miles later we were done driving for the day, in Moriarty, New Mexico. Moriarty one of the many Route 66 towns that have seen better times.

Moriarty to Clinton, OK

Traveling alone with a dog in the summer is tough. This spring I could leave Rangeley in the car for a few minutes while I ran inside a store or restaurant to grab something. I also tend to keep driving as it is too hot for side trips. Yesterday in Oklahoma I was pulling into a rest area but it was 102 and very sunny. Rangeley was comfortably sleeping in the air conditioned car, so we just kept going.

Clinton to Little Rock

Day 3 was driving through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The rolling hills, trees and overall green landscape was a nice change. Oklahoma does a great job mowing a big area along the roads. The eastern rest areas are also great. We stopped in Arkansas with a huge area mowed and tons of wonderful shade trees and the temperature was “only” 92. Rangeley had a blast chasing his tennis ball. There was even a hose spigot, so he didn’t even need a water bowl. For some reason he prefers drinking moving water. He has always loved the hose at home.

We walked to a BBQ joint near our hotel that has a dog friendly patio. The trouble is you order inside. I called from the patio and the young lady asked “does your dog bite?” No. “Then bring him in.” Rangeley was extremely well behaved and several staff and customers complimented him. It was 6PM and a Saturday night, so it was quite busy inside. We had the patio to ourselves because it was still in the 90s outside.

Little Rock to Cookeville, TN

Kind of an uneventful day on the road. We did cross over the Mississippi River. It was sunny and hot all day. The rest areas get nicer as you move east. Many have big mowed grass areas and lots of shade trees. I like when there is space, so I can let Rangeley loose and he gets to run around. If there are no sticks handy, I pull out a tennis ball.

It poured as we went through Nashville. Glad it was a Sunday, so no commuter traffic.

Cookeville to Asheville, NC

Today was a shorter drive (250 miles) and our last time zone change as we entered the eastern time zone late morning. I had scoped out Chipotles along the way since we would be driving through Knoxville. Sure enough, there were several to choose from. I looked at satellite views on Google maps before we left and found one just off the highway that has lots of big trees around. Worked out great. I parked in the corner of a nearly empty hotel parking lot under the shade of a big tree and tied Rangeley to the back of my car and enjoyed a nice lunch.

From there we had about an hour to where the Appalachian Trail crosses Interstate 40. It rained during that stretch which cooled things down from the upper 80s to the mid 70s. We got off the exit, which was familiar as I have walked through this location twice. (The trail follows the road to get across I40.) We parked by a stream and headed south on the AT. Rangeley was one happy dog. He loves the water and endless supply of sticks. He is super good on the trail. I put a bell on him so I can always hear where he is so I can pay attention to the rough ground under my feet.

We walked 1.6 miles south till we hit the border of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The only marker that it was the park boundary was a no dogs allowed sign. This is one of two places on the AT where dogs are not allowed, the other being on Mt Katahdin in Maine. We didn’t see another person the entire hike. There was thunder rumbling in the distance the entire time we were hiking, but no rain fell on us.

Rangeley happily played in all 3 stream crossings again on the way back to the car. I picked this hike partly because I knew there was lots of water in a short hike. (I still have an app on my phone of the entire AT)

From here it was less than an hour to the Holiday Inn in Asheville, our home for the next 5 nights.

Elizabeth arrived safely yesterday into Asheville for her conference. The thunderstorms did affect her travels, but all ended up fine. Rangely and I will pick her up on Wednesday.

Asheville

Today Rangeley and I set out to explore the local area. We started out heading into downtown Asheville to a local bakery. From there we just headed north. I had set the GPS to go to an AT trailhead about 45 minutes north. It kept trying to put us on a main road, but we just kept on the surface streets heading north and west until we basically had to go on the main route. At the trailhead was a couple about my age. The wife is training for a 4 night section hike with some friends. She is very concerned about bears. I told her I have seen over 20 during my various hikes and never had troubles myself and the only troubles I have heard about were self inflicted problems. Basically, keep your food in a safe place and give them their space and you should be fine.

They headed south and Rangeley and I headed north. There was water north and a fire tower south, so we each had a reason for our chosen direction. The morning was sunny and temps were in the mid 70s, a beautiful morning to hike. The forecast is for big storms this afternoon. Originally I had planned to hike up Mount Mitchell but decided I would stay closer to my car in case storms came through.

We then drove about 3 miles into the town of Hot Springs. This is a fun AT town that brought back trail memories from 2014 and 2018. From here we drove to a remote property that Cooper had seen for sale online. It was fun just cruising all the back roads north of Asheville.

We then headed to Sam’s Gap. I was here on May 3, 2014. I remember because a local geocaching club did trail magic as we hiked through and May 3^rd is our wedding anniversary. When Cooper and I came through in 2018 we got caught in the rain here. It was probably the hardest I have ever seen it rain. We talked how it felt like someone was dropping a 5 gallon bucket of water on us. Rangeley had another fun hike heading north from here. No good streams, but still fun. The trail follows the Tennessee North Carolina border. There are surveying markers in the trail. (See pictures)

We looked at another piece of land for sale then headed to the local ski area and continued just driving the back roads as we made our way slowly back to Asheville. The sky was getting darker and sure enough the afternoon storms rolled in just as expected. Another fun adventure. Rangeley sure is a great travelling companion.

Tomorrow we pick up Elizabeth and the next phase of the journey will begin.

Thanks for reading along.