6th trip of 2026
Lake Powhatan
Federal Forest Campground Ashville, NC
July 26 - 30
(Bledsoe Creek State Park Galitan, TN
(Yarberry TVA Campground, Lenoir TN)
It has been several years in the planning but we finally made it to Asheville NC and met up
with Jim, Diane & "Gus". Due to Hurrican Helene, it was not possible to get to Asheville from the Nashville
due the massive flood damage of US 40.
We navigated the narrow 1 lane road for over 9 miles and did make to the campground without any other issues.
Jim and Diane had further to travel and arrived a few hours later. Cold drinks were waiting for them.
Once camp was set we enjoyed relaxing and exploring the park on Monday.
Tuesday was a special treat by touring the Biltmore Mansion.
It is hard to put into words the money and engineering went into this estate.
We did the main house tour, had a short ice cream break, and then went to the back of the house tour.
This included the areas where the servants and associated estate staff cooked, cleaned, and of course cook.
Wednesday was the southern section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the views were spectacular.
Thursday we ventured to the northern leg of the BRP, however, we could not go any further than Mount Mitchell.
Again the views and the weather were exceptional
We met Robert Pressley (formal NASCAR Driver) and Owner of Celebrity Hot Dogs which is just outside of the campground.
We all got hot dogs and enjoyed them back at camp.
Friday was slated to be an R&R day and we toured the local arboretum, purchased some local goodies at the farmers market,
and completed the daytasting some beers and appetizers from Appalachian Brew House.
Unfortunately our time came to an end and we made the trek back to Murfreesboro. We did have to make the obligatory stop at
Buccees and to top off on fuel and get a Brisket sandwich for lunch.
The truck ran great up and down the mountains and the Brinkley towed great and had no issues.
The photos are broken into 4 sections
1. camping specific
2. Biltmore estate
3. Blue Ridge Parkway
4. NC Arboritum
Click on Button to see photos
