Life unhooked

Day 234-236
​Greenville SC- Asheville NC- Cosby TN

Day 234 starts off as another move day. This time we leave behind the amenities of being near a city and head into the vast wonder that is the Great Smoky Mountains. Between here and there lies North Carolina. It's the only sliver of the state that we will see, and it would be a shame to drive through it without stopping. Penny swings off the highway on the outskirts of Asheville and Shirley gets unhooked. Eli hops into the Jeep for a ride and we head to downtown to check things out.

My pictures don't do the place any justice. The downtown scene was vibrant and eclectic. Lots of trendy shops and hipsters all over the place. We were pressed for time and spent about 20 minutes walking Eli down the busy city sidewalks through the bustling throng of people. One random dude stopped and asked if he could pet Eli. He let out a chuckle "Thanks! That just made my day!", and down the sidewalk he went on his merry way.  Less than an hour later we were back in Penny and heading down the highway again. North Carolina came and went. Next in our sights was the great state of Tennessee. 

Mason's temple: A secret society for boys only who keep secrets

Getting to the campground was a welcome sigh of relief. The roads twist and turn with no shoulder and one heck of a drop off in a lot of places. A tight squeeze through the trees at Cosby Campground bagged us this amazing spot for the next three nights. Naturalistic beauty comes at a price. For the next three days we will have no electric, no water, no TV stations and no cell signal. This is a place for people to completely unplug.

We settle in and the animals do to. Time between hiking is spent finding things to do. We both read books now more than we ever have (for me it has been ten years). Katie likes autobiographies and I spent this time reading up on how solar systems for homes are designed and installed. 

The link below is a 5 minute video of our time in the Smokies for our first 3 nights. It's not any good. You should only watch it if you have nothing else to do.

Three nights pass and it is time to leave. Something happens to you after being unhooked from the world for a couple of days. You begin to notice the small things again. Things that make the world go round. Things that put your life in perspective.