What Am I Doing Here?

This is the last installment of Sitka's and my mountain sojourn of 2018. Summer travel was always been about keeping him cool from the hot, humid summers of SoFlo. Higher elevations gives us the temperatures we need for his comfort. I type these words almost a year later knowing this was the last trip and our last journey together. The good news is Sitka never had cancer, but it was a horrendous bone infection. The other ailments of old age have left him unable to even go for daily walks and he pretty much lays around all day, howling at sirens here and there and occasionally wanting a nice long belly rub. However, he shows us daily that he isn't ready to leave us yet. He has been the best travel companion ever.

July 12, 2018

What am I doing here? I am worried about this dog. Leaving the Allegheny Mountains and crossing over into the Blue Ridge Mountains is only a few hour drive. I am feeling blessed to reconnect with Connie and Kenny at their mountain home. I ordered more CBD oil for Sitka that will be delivered here. This respite will give me some time to evaluate what is going on with Sitka's leg. I keep his infection site clean, there's no heat or discharge. There is good granulation tissue, but he is walking really funny. The leg has turned abnormally inward. Sitka never even whimpers so it is so hard to know if it is even a real bother. If his leg gives out, I will be in quite the predicament trying to carry a 100 pound dog. I need to see a vet.

I arrive at Connie's ahead of them and set up in their drive. I am so fortunate to have met them back in 2016. She says she will check in with local vets and hopefully, I can get an x-ray of Sitka's leg. I don't feel much like cooking and I decide to treat myself to a bison burger and a wine tasting across the street at Chateau Morrisette. It is a beautiful and picturesque estate along the Blue Ridge Parkway. They offer tastings and pour a half ounce each of 10 wines - about one glass. My favorite will always be the Black Dog, a red blend. Their menu talks about each wine and the foods that pair with them. Dogs on a leash are a welcome addition to the winery estate. Sitka accompanies me for lunch and wine tasting. Lucky for him, I can't finish a half pound burger and he will be the recipient of left overs.

No more chasing waterfalls. I think it's best to just walk around my host's property and let Sitka just hang out. We explored a lot of the Blue Ridge area when we were here in 2016. The Parkway runs from Virginia all the way to Cherokee, South Carolina. Winding and turning mostly at the top of the mountain range. I can't help but pull over and get a few photos of some of the amazing overlooks and vistas.

It's the weekend, so we will stay here at the mountain cabin and head down to Connie's home in Mt Airy and get this vet appointment taken care of. Watching Sitka, I suspect this is it and we will be making our way home. I am not sure what I had hoped for. I think I had wanted to get back into northern Georgia and explore some the towns and waterfalls that we missed on our way up. I struggle the most with the thought of leaving Sitka behind on future adventures.

As I think about the extraordinary places we have been, I am particularly grateful for the generous souls we have met along the way.

After a trip back down the mountain, we settle in to the Mount Airy home for the evening and we will be off to see the vet in the morning.

Good news! It's not cancer! If it had been cancer the vet said, Sitka wouldn't be with me right now. The vet said bone cancer is really aggressive and we would have lost Sitka months ago. But the bone infection definitely ravaged the bone. He is unsure why Sitka's leg has turned, but is putting hm on another antibiotic for safety sake. He believes I am making the right decision to head home and alleviate the stress and strains of travel. Sitka has never been happy riding on the floor of the van. He has always been co-pilot and still insists on climbing up on to the seat.

Without spending long hours on the road. We will head back over the next 3 days. I have found an outstanding Boondockers Welcome site in South Carolina, a lake campground in Northern Georgia and just over the border in Florida a friend of a friend has a little campground perfect for a night's stay.

I rarely ever get on the interstate, but Google Maps insists it's best to do 40 miles of the days drive on I-40. As we are climbing up towards Asheville, we witness, in fact, we are the only witness to this travel trailer flip. Get me off this highway! No one, luckily was injured. After talking with the state troopers, I head back up the interstate to the next exit. I realize we are climbing up the mountain and the travel trailer had made it all the way down the mountain before meeting its demise. I feel so fortunate that I am no longer pulling a trailer.

Our next overnight stay is in Sunset, South Carolina and a more perfect setting can't be imagined. It's a scenic 22 acres in rural northwest South Carolina 25 miles west of Greenville. What a wonderful cacophony of bullfrogs, cicadas and crickets to put me to sleep. I received a pretty bouquet of roses🌹 and carnations to make my campsite more glamorous if that can be even possible. My hosts send me off to find Twin Falls... More spectacular than they described. There's so much to explore in this area. I always have to leave the state of Florida and this setting is a site to be repeated on my journeys north. Yes, that is the ZiOsmobile tucked into the pines across the mountain pond.

My hosts assured me if we took the roads through the mountains to see Twin Falls, the easy trail follows along the Reedy Cove Creek the whole way with virtually no climbing or descending. Sitka could handle it. There are several small side trails leading down to the creek where you can view some nice cascades, and get your feet wet on a hot summer day. After about a quarter mile the trail ends at an overlook shelter where you are treated to an excellent view of the Falls.These Falls are not identical twins as the one on the left drops straight down from its 75-ft perch, while the one on the right slides down the rocks at about a 45-degree slope. It could actually be called triple falls, because there is a third smaller waterfall that can be seen through the trees to the far right.

The next two days are all about the travel. Temperatures are rising as we descend in altitude. Nice to just watch the scenery go by in the air-conditioned cab. I wonder if Sitka knows we are headed home. We stay off the interstate taking roads less traveled watching tractors and cattle; small town centers and peach groves, folks just living their lives day to day. Keeping my pulse on America is my passion and privilege.