2016 Big Truck across the SE, Day 3

Day 3 is a bit of a hybrid, mostly a travel day with hopefully some relaxation once we reach the next campground. The destination is Frisco, NC - close to one of our previous stops in the Outer Banks, this time just a bit further south.

The drive out of Shenandoah is incredible, almost hypnotizing with all of the curves, scenic turnouts, and roller coaster feel. I had ridden a small section of Skyline drive years ago on a motorcycle trip, and I can assure you this rig handles slightly different. Here's a sampling of Skyline on our way up to US33.

Also, as a brief aside - I'd like to apologize to anyone and everyone that got stuck behind us on this drive. In my mind I am carving perfect lines through these corners on this, when in reality we are lumbering around with this.

At least you have something interesting to look at as you are cursing us for going the speed limit on these amazing roads. I assure you, if this rig could handle 1mph more, I would do it. As it is the Jeep not so subtly reminds you it is there every time the steering wheel is 1 degree off of center. So, while you are bitching about the slow old guy in the motorhome in front of you, realize that it might be you in 10-20 years bruh.

As we worked our way along Skyline, we came up on this scene.

I've seen this enough back in my riding days, so I immediately assumed the worst. As it turned out, it was just a tree down across the road and a crew was working to clear the path. I know I've used this clip before, but I just can't resist. Every time I see something like this on a curvy road this pops into my head. NOTE - GROWN FOLK LANGUAGE WARNING

Once the excitement was over, it was fairly smooth sailing through Virginia and on to North Carolina. I say sailing because in a stroke of genius, SiriusXM has been running a limited time only channel called Yacht Rock, only available through Labor Day.

I am not interested in your opinion nor your judgement, I can only explain that there is nothing like the dulcet tones of Michael McDonald to make the miles fade away. He also happens to look just like the barber I had growing up (probably just like yours too).  Go ahead, stare deeply into those eyes - I'm not responsible for what happens next.

A few years ago we had stopped at the Wright Brothers Memorial - it was fascinating, but I'm not quite self indulgent enough to link to our own blog about it. If you'd like to read about it, you can find it somewhere on here. This time around, we bypassed it but stopped at a wind-powered brewery called OBX Brewing Station. Seemed like an interesting idea, especially given the locale & history. The food was great, and they had their own beers brewed on site. They tasted like beer.

The real kicker to this place was the backyard. It had a playground, lots of outdoor seating, a huge lawn, yard games, etc. Seemed like it would be a fun place to hang out. It also had the feel of a concert bar, especially the bathroom. Reminded me of the Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI or Joe's on Weed St in Chicago. Neither of those are favorable comparisons.

Next up - US 12 and one of my favorite scenic byway drives. You be the judge.

It reminds us a bit of the stretch coming into Ludington State Park back home, although this is on a bit larger scale.

Finally - we saw the Frisco Woods sign and drove straight along the waterfront to our site. Hard to explain, so I won't try. This was about 10 minutes after we arrived.

I now have a blogging office that is tough to beat. We are on the sound side of the island, so it is quite peaceful, but still windy enough for kite surfers (want to try it, both shoulders would immediately projectile dislocate).

After setting up shop, exploring the campground (playground search commences moments after the ignition shuts off), and getting the site situated, I headed off to the camp showers. This little dude was stealing glances. Sorry buddy.

Tomorrow - driving the Jeep to the ocean and playing in the waves all day. Can't wait. 4 different types of sunscreen, a mini-tent, etc. Daywalkers unite.

2016 Big Truck across the SE, Day 2

Day 2 started off with some hammock shenanigans, as Jordan's favorite game is to turn it into a porch swing. Exhibit A:

After a few minutes of this, it was on to a bit of exploring. I knew our site was fairly close to the Appalachian Trail (I could already smell the weed & pachouli oil), but after a few hundred feet of hiking, I came to this.

There was something strange about hiking where thousands and thousands have been hiking for decades. I started wondering how many people actually followed through with whatever plan brought them to the trail. I have nothing but respect for those who have hiked the entire trail, it would seem as much a mental as a physical accomplishment. Or they just got really, really high.

We got on the road shortly after the exploratory hike, and came to the first of over 70 overlooks along Skyline Drive. It was pretty evident that we were in for a good day of hiking.

We were armed with a hot tip from Quiet Bill (we found out his nickname after we returned and thanked him for the advice), who worked the counter at the local camp store at our campground. He had told us about a trail called Bearfence Mountain Trail, and as he explained that there was a lot of boulder scrambling, Jordan's eyes lit up. Outside of intentionally messing with me every chance she gets, her favorite thing in life is to climb on rocks. This was going to be a good day. Once we got there, we realized how right he was.

I think both of us had a parental moment right around the same time. I have been encouraging Jordan to be brave, to try things that push her comfort zone as long as she is aware of & manages the risk (something I am nearly incapable of doing). Well, those things exploded on the trail today. The pic above is just before she crested that hill and found that the scramble route was right along the edge of a sheer dropoff. I didn't want to make her nervous, but internally I was both proud and completely freaking out. All I could hear was "Here you go jackass, you wanted her to be bold and brave, well now you get to watch her on the edge of a cliff". I assume it was in my own voice, but either way I realized how old I now am and for the first time I started paying attention to how many times I would say "careful", only to be met with a "Dad, I'm fine. You said that already."  I am screwed.

I'm going to take a moment to embarrass the female contingent of this family by doing something they aren't very accustomed to. Complimenting them. We sit in the Big Truck for hours on end, cavorting across the continent to go see cool stuff and experience adventures together, and I now realize how spoiled I am to have people that are able to road trip like this. Sometimes when we describe our vacations to people, their eyes tend to glaze over and we get the polite nod. You know the one  - the "yeah, that sounds really great - or it sounds like my own personal hell, but I'm sure it's great for you guys".  Well, we love it and I couldn't be more fortunate to have a family that is similarly afflicted. Hopefully they remember this brief interlude of praise the next time I'm explaining the 6 activities I have planned before lunch.

After lamenting the fact that the return hike was merely a trail and not a continuous boulder scramble, Jordan led us back to the Jeep and it was on to the highest point of Skyline Drive, appropriately named Skyland. 

Just before we got to Skyland, we stopped at Big Meadows Visitors Center to take a look around. We always try to learn a bit about the particular park we are visiting, and in this case it actually made us feel bad about visiting. Spare me your politics, but this is the nutshell version of Shenandoah. A fat president needed a nice place to vacation, free from the heat and humidity of Washington DC. A bunch of working stiffs owned property all along the mountain ridge where said president, a governor, and others wanted to vacation. They bought up the property (based on values they assigned) and evicted those that refused to sell. Now it is a beautiful park, enjoyed by many unless your family had established a homestead there and got Uncle Sam's boot. Ok, back to the amazing scenery.

While we were learning about the park's origins, Jordan was getting pretty into it. I always get a kick out of what piques her interest & what she might remember. Here she is deeply concentrating on whatever is coming out of that old timey phone thing.

Outside, there was a statue commemorating the work of the CCC 'boys' from the 1930s that built much of the infrastructure of the park. 

It is my contention that those pearly whites are showing because that dude is shirtless, clearly quite dreamy, and does not have a beautifully blossoming red afro like their travel companion.

Next up - Skyland. Here we found what we were looking for. Lunch - and a tap room, with this view.

After a gigantic lunch, we headed out to Dark Hollow Falls, something we all kind of knew was a terrible idea but we still wanted to do.  Uuuuuntil we did it. 500ft drop in 8/10 of a mile, all the while knowing that you have to climb back out.

Here are some pics that show the destination, and also what Kim alleges look like the fake backdrops used in elementary school photos.

Ok - full disclosure, I am back to Sam Kinison mode, there is a 1byte internet connection here, and to attempt to write this blog is an exercise in futility. This is me currently trying to hold it together.

On the way back to the campsite, I wanted to stop for a quick photo op. After my first idea was soundly defeated by the female contingent (I am always outnumbered - makes it all the more impressive that any of my ideas ever make it to light), this was the conciliatory pose.

Upon returning to the campground, we were all pretty tired, but I was determined to find a sunset vista for us. I did a quick exploratory walk around, and sure enough.  A few hundred yards from the campsite, we found this.

Directly off the Appalachian Trail, with some other campers and their dogs (which nearly knocked Jordan off the boulders, but that's for another day), and it set us up for this selfie with my giant dome and Kim's hair which she believes looks like a tumor (It's not a tumor!)

Yes - I realize the size of my dome, and I know I've already used the 'So I Married An Axe Murderer' scenes about the giant heeeed. I'll just blame the camera angle for how full and luscious the ging beard looks in this photo.

Day 3 - wheels up to OBX, 4 days of unbridled sunburn ahead.

2016 Big Truck across the SE, Day 1

Ok, it's been a while and my bloggery is a bit rusty, but we're back at it. Last year's trip ended pretty suddenly under the most unfortunate of circumstances. Someday we will get back up to Copper Harbor to finish the trip and pay tribute to Marv.  Until then, we've decided to take a delayed, abbreviated, but still amazing version of our annual meander across North America.

Our trip this year is an 8 day opus consisting of Shenandoah National Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and somewhere near Cuyahoga Valley (even though it is in Ohio - more on that later). Should be close to 2000 miles, 7-8 states, and a few national parks, as well as the longest consecutive stay in any one place in our history (4 days).

Lets start with Day 1, basically a full travel day to get to Shenandoah. We had planned to be on the road by 8am-ish, but both of us have been working some pretty crazy hours and hadn't exactly had much time to do the normal planning/packing/prepping for this trip. By around 8:30, we were off, but needed to make an immediate stop for gas & a few last minute items. Once on the highway, we fell back into the routine pretty quickly. Luckily we had a decent day for driving, especially considering the tornado that had passed through the day before.

Also, I am writing this edition of the blog on a new laptop rig, one that I am not used to. It is extremely fortunate for you that this session is not mic'd up, because I sound like this every time I try to do something that was simple on my old rig and is now impossible due to e-nanny technology that is supposed to make this simpler.

2015 Big Truck around Lake Superior, Days 6, 7 & 8

Yes, the title is unusual in that we rarely combine days. The last 2 days in the Apostle Islands were amazing, and coupled with last night at Copper Harbor this has been one of the best vacations we've had.

Here are a few shots from the Apostle Islands days.  I'll explain in a bit why I don't quite have the heart to give each day its full due, even though I had a fantastic tribute to Rowdy Roddy Piper planned and everything.

After 2 fantastic days exploring the Apostle Island area, we moved on to the Keweenaw Peninsula and Copper Harbor. Our site in the Ft Wilkins State Park served as the perfect spot to go explore the point in our first real Jeep side trip in a long time.

We got back to the site around 7pm, so I did a quick recon ride to check out the trailhead and squeeze in a few miles on the famed Copper Harbor mountain bike trails.

Back at camp, I prepped my riding gear for Sunday, planning a full day on the trails.

OK, if you read this blog for the travel sights & pictures, you can probably stop here. I've always written this blog about and for our family, and today something happened that changed our trip and our lives, especially mine. I'm going to take this space to put virtual pen to paper while the emotions of the past 12hrs are raw and exposed.  Call it cathartic, selfish, therapeutic, whatever you want.

Today the world lost a great man in Marvin Jay Beute, my father.  I was set to go ride the trails, and since we had no cell service or internet, it was to be an uninterrupted day. During the night, a rainstorm came that delayed my riding plans, so on a whim I took the Jeep into town to see if I could find a wireless signal. I did, and a series of more than 20 texts came pouring in, mostly group texts about general nonsense. One caught my eye, from my brother, that I will never forget.

During a brief few moments, my heart sank as I watched the 3 little bubbles on my phone, waiting for the confirmation I knew was coming. My father had succumbed to a years long battle with Parkinson's disease just an hour earlier, and I was just now getting the news.

In the frantic next 30 minutes, I broke the news to my family, packed up the site in a daze, and while waiting in line for the RV dump station ahead of the 12hr drive home, had the following exchange with my 7 year old daughter Jordan.

J - "Dad, I know you miss Papa B (tears are streaming down my face as I try to keep it together), but aren't you glad you'll still get to do your most favorite thing ever that he taught you?"

Me - "What's my most favorite thing?" (this exchange is not helping to slow the tears)

J - "You know, to fix stuff.  And, aren't you glad he'll get to see Grandma B? (who she's never met due to cancer taking her 16 years ago)  I wish I'd met her. You said she loved kids." (still not helping with the tears).

Then she just reached out, gave me a quick hug and said "I miss him too.  I'll write you a note so when you miss him you can just read it and it will help you."

I could tell my wife Kimberly had talked with her, but not until later did I find out that the 'fixing stuff' and the note were all her ideas.

At this point I realized they were helping to fix me.  I know the Lord works in mysterious ways, and although I don't understand this one, I can accept it.

I owe a lot of things to my father, so while it's fresh I'm going to say a few words about the most honest, hard working, selfless, intelligent man I've ever known.

Thank you for teaching me that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. That even though it's almost always a little bit harder, it is possible to accomplish difficult tasks AND care for people. Thank you for teaching the value of a hard day's work, and that no matter how hopeless or broken, anything can be fixed.

He set an example of these teachings every day of his 72 years on this earth and through everyone he came across during that time. For that I am grateful. What he didn't teach me was how to fix the void he is leaving in this world. I will miss him immeasurably.

2015 Big Truck around Lake Superior, Day 5

Day 5 started with some slow meandering around the site since none of us really wanted to leave. The waking up process is something to behold. I do my best to hold back a frantic desire to get on to the next place if its a travel day. The females in my immediate family would suggest that I'm not very good with patience. A request for more time generally forces me into a stifled reaction similar to this.

Ultimately, we decided to go for a little drive down to the end of the peninsula to see what we could see. It was extremely windy, so there wasn't much activity in the little waterfront village.

The actual Provincial Park is pretty large, it covers a good chunk of the peninsula. We came across the southern boundary as we were exploring some of the cottages along Superior.

 We're going to need to come back when we have a bit more time (easy to say, hard to do), as there are so many cool hikes and incredible views.

We headed back to check out the visitors centre and have one last crack at the playground. This time Jordan mimicked a few boys she had seen earlier and starting climbing everything in sight, including the trees.

You probably can't see the panic on her face, but right about this time the park rangers were flying around in their pickups and UTVs, wearing construction-yellow vests and orange helmets. There had been multiple confirmed bear sightings, and they were chasing one toward their live traps. I envisioned it ending something like this.

On our way out of the park, I had remembered one little stream crossing that had a great view of Sleeping Giant on our way in. We ultimately found it and did a panic stop since there was no turnout that we could fit into.  This rushed, barefoot shot from the middle of the road captured the reason for the park's name quite well.

Now it was time to follow up on Bev's advice and swing by the Sleeping Giant Brewery. It was minutes off our route, so we stopped by to check it out.

The outside was fairly nondescript, as it is in a strip mall in an industrial complex.  Inside, it was small but clearly busy. The phone was ringing nonstop and at least 3 others stopped in to refill growlers or buy takeout since they didn't have a taproom yet. Oh, and any place with that little space that decides to dedicate some to an old BSA is alright by me.

We grabbed a growler of their Skull Rock stout and were on our way (yes that's a Mulletude shirt. Tripelroot travels wherever we do).

Off to Tettegouche.  This time our border experience was very smooth.  The agent just needed Jordan to climb out and show her smiling face, and we needed to list off all the fruits & veggies we had on board.  He didn't seem terribly impressed with my visegrips in place of a cotterpin on the towing setup, but other than that we were back in the states. 

The drive along 61 on the north shore of Superior is amazing.  Similar to US2 along the south edge of the UP, but today the wind was howling and we got to drive along crashing waves for a couple of hours. There are worse ways to pass the time. Then we saw the sign for Tettegouche, then the visitors center. Wow.

If you get anywhere near this area, do yourself a favor and stop here. It doubles as a rest area, and it is impressive. MDOT taxes must be incredibly lucrative, because they spared no expense. The back of the building overlooks Superior, and has an amphitheater, outdoor fireplace, trailhead, etc.

After getting our site info, we headed up to the campground. Our site was equipped with power (3 ft away, a bit different than our Canadian friends), but was more set up for tents. The curb allowed the Big Truck to only use the front 1/3 of the site, so we had a large grassy area to play tag. Jordan had been cooped up for a while, so we had a rousing game of family tag for a while. Few things are more amusing than watching a kid start to add rules to the game using the lay of the land. Deer trails became 'safe zones', etc.  Good times. Of course, tag usually escalates quickly because in my head this is what we are actually playing.

After our game of tag, Jordan wanted to do some hiking. There are a couple of trails that originate right out of the campground (very small, less than 30 sites), so we decided to go see some waterfalls.

The trails are quite well marked, and led this within a half a mile.

We played around on the rocks for a bit, gave up a peace offering of blood to the black flies, and headed for the next falls. Along the way we joined up with the Superior Hiking Trail, which would be an incredible nearly 300 mile through-hike. Bucket list.

At the top of these falls, the enginerd in me started freaking out. There was an old suspension bridge spanning the river, so I just stood there staring and trying to explain statics & dynamics to a 7 year old who was playing with a dead crayfish.  Not sure how much she retained.

As we hiked back, we started formulating a new plan for the next couple of days. Since we had just seen 3-4 'root beer falls' as these are described in our household, we discussed bypassing Copper Falls State Park in favor of the Apostle Islands. More to come tomorrow.