From southern Indiana we drove to Kentucky and stated at the Fort Boonesborough State Park.  It was a very nice park.  It was a large campground and we stayed the furthest point from the entrance.  By time we left here we were traveling for a week.  

This campground was set up for Halloween big time.   There were decorations all over the place and lots of activities for the kids.   The kids here were having a blast with scavenger hunts, hot dog lunch (also available for kids of all ages) fishing, biking and hiking.   The site was a fort during the Revolutionary War and we hiked over to the ruins and enjoyed reading the plaques.   After we hiked around, I went back to knit and Jerry took off on his bike.   He came back sooner than I expected with a police escort.   Apparently, he ran over a large nail that punctured his tire and it was flat.    The police officer picked him and his bike up and drove him right to the campsite.  When I saw them, I thought Jerry must have gotten hurt but he was fine.   When I asked Jerry if he was okay the police officer said if he was not, he would have taken him to the hospital and called me on the phone.  I have filed that information away for next time.

Our space was on the river and when we had some shade it was nice sitting outside. 

From there we went to the Wilderness Campground that is part of the Columbia Gap National Park in Virginia (another state for the map).  We were in the trees and hiked around.  While driving there we made a food stop, laundry stop and tried to find a replacement inner tube for Jerry’s bike, no luck.  The leaves were starting to turn and while I sat outside each day, I watched spots in the trees that showed how the color was turning.   It takes very little to amuse me and I was happy, happy.

From there it was a short drive to the Blue Highway Festival in Big Stone Gap, VA.  It was a pretty ride and although we stopped to get a new chair, sad story about the old chair and look for the inner tube, no inner tube was to be found.  

So let me tell you about the chair because we always have something happen to us.   When we were leaving Brown County State Park, Jerry was putting things away and was locking the cabinet.   His key broke off in the lock and we could not get the piece out so could not lock the cabinet.  There is a second fastener on the cabinet, but it only turns and does not lock.   We drove about three miles to the gas station.  While driving, the bumps must have dislodged the fastener and the cabinet opened.   When we got to the gas station the cabinet was open and the chair was missing.  We got back in and retraced our steps and found the chair in the intersection and before we could claim it watched an 18-wheeler run it over.  This key also opens the cabinet where the water connections are.  I said let’s find a locksmith.  We did not and instead spend about 4 hours following every crazy lead Jerry thought of or was told by some ill-informed person.  Each stop I repeated, we need to find a locksmith.  After four hours I finally said I guess we will have to go home because we can’t manage without water for 5 weeks.  We finally found a locksmith and within 10 minutes he made a new key, I suggested getting 4 keys which we did, and our 2 hour trip was 6.

Back to the Blue Highway Festival.  We has so much fun.   The festival runs for 4 days at an outrageous price.   Since the best acts were on the last two days, we bought a 2-day ticket that was still pricey.  We arrived on Thursday to the campground to set up.  After we were, we took a shuttle bus to town. 

Big Stone Gap was a coal town until the late 70’s early 80’s when the mines were closed.  That was the major industry and the town decides to re-market themselves for tourism.   They already had the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and they added monthly and sometimes 3 times a month festival throughout the year.  October alone has 4 festivals, one before we came, the Bluegrass Music festival we came to, next week it is the home show where all the native crafts are available and the last one is a Halloween festival.   They give you a little booklet to show you what festival is happening each month.  All festivals have some kind of music.  The campground we stayed in is owned and run by the town.   There is no electric, which we did not need but they do have water and a dump station on site.  You can walk to the music stage or town from the campground but they also run shuttles from there.   There were other shuttle lines running to the hotel and locations of various B & B’s.   There were more than a dozen restaurants in downtown.   There is nothing you can ask for they will not provide.  They know their survival is dependent on tourism and they want you to be happy.  And everyone who lives in town works the festival.   The high school boys were setting up tables and chairs to eat.  Others were selling bottled water for a dollar.   All the restaurants from town had a booth to sell food.  There were craft booths and even a booth selling yarn made from the local alpacas. 

The music is very lively and you can’t sit still.  We could even hear the music at the campground so when I had to go back to do some work, I was still able to listen.    When we went into town and did not have tickets for the show, you can hear the music.  We found the 404 Café that also sold ice cream.  They were also at the fest and brought different flavors each day.  I could go on and on about how much fun we had.   The campground is on the river and that is how you walk to the stages and town.  They also had a large doggy park for Ernie.  I was able to borrow from my library an electronic copy of the book, made into a movie, Big Stone Gap.   I read it while we were there and it was so much fun to be at the places mentioned in the book.   On Sunday before we left, we went to Mass and there were 12 parishioners including 3 music members, the lector and the 80-year-old altar server.  We increased attendance by about 18 percent and everyone said hello to us.

You are now up to date.  We stayed last night and again tonight at a KOA in VA, mainly to do laundry and have some services.   Tomorrow, when this will post, we will be on our way to the Uwharrie National Forest in North Carolina.  We will be there for a week and I don’t know what the internet situation will be.  Yesterday, today and the next two days we were to be in Western North Carolina the campground we were to stay at completely washed away in Hurricane Helene.   The church we went to yesterday was very lucky, they had 4 huge and I mean HUGE trees come down all around the church but none of them hit it.   With 12 parishioners I can’t imagine how they will take care of them since the quote they received was $15,000.  They are in their parking lot and blocking the entrance.    We parked down the street at a closed business.

Here’s a little video I took of my favorite group of the whole festival. https://scythianmusic.com/