Living in an RV does have its challlenges and RVs are not made for extreme temperatures at all!  Unless you are in the Southern part of the country you are dealing with cold.  We are enjoying our share of below normal temps, bundling up to take the dog for a walk, enjoying the sites from indoors, etc.   But this morning I woke up before 6 am to a very cold home!  We have two electric heaters but chose to use the furnace so that the whole home, including the pipes underneath would not freeze.  But the furnace quit sometime during the night.  Paul got up to check things and wouldn’t tell me what the temp was!  We were cozy in bed with a nice down comforter but getting up was brutal.  We had plenty of propane but we had it checked anyway.  We packed the RV up, drove up the hill to the propane tank and had it checked.  Whala, the heat works!  They topped off our propane and determined the regulator had frozen up!  Are you kiddin?! We need to get south and stay there!!!

The Blueridge Parkway was closed again today as they had some snow overnight.  Beautiful country, very cold.  Finding our way around we made it to Linville Falls thinking we would do a little hiking.  We only made it the 1/2 mile to the falls.  The temps in the shade were crazy cold and Paul didn’t bring a jacket!!!

Not large, but very pretty

The gorge beyond the falls

The area is beautiful and I wish we could get out more but we will do what we can while we are here.

Howard and Linda from RV-Dreams whose blog I have been following since before we went off on this adventure, are staying in the same campground as us.  We had met them the first time in Yellowstone and this week we had dinner, played some cards and took the Ultimate Food Tours in Black Mountain with them on Saturday.  Black Mountain is a cute walking village just east of Asheville, NC and very quaint.  The food tour was amazing.  We visited 5 different food establishments and enjoyed everything from  gourmet appetizers to amazing chicken pot pie from a bakery to pub food and perfect dessert along with champagne, wine, beer, all for $40 per person.  My favorite spot was Louise’s Kitchen where they served us Grit Cakes!  I had to ask what he was serving and of course everyone knew I wasn’t from these parts!  I do know what grits are, Paul loves them and once I ordered them with Shrimp which was very good.  These grit cakes were black bean corn grits topped with Siracho sauce & pico de gallo.  They were so spicy good I wanted more!

Ever wonder what it would be like to have endless amounts of money?  I don’t even think about it because, Why?   Apparently if you have unlimited funds you build to your hearts content without any boundaries.  George Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his billions in shipping and railroads built himself a summer home in Asheville, NC in the late 1800’s.  George was the youngest son of  William Vanderbilt and his older brothers inherited the family business and George got a stippend of several million dollars and a trust fund so he never had to work, spending his time on intellectual pursuits.  He built the Biltmore house in 6 years, 1889-1895. At the time of completion, it was the largest privately owned  home in the US.  It is still owned by his grandson and his children run the Estate.  The family stopped living in the home in 1956.

Biltmore Estate

The house was built above this pond and facing west so that the house would reflect in the pond in the early evening.  We arrived only a few minutes late but I could still see some outline of the house on the water.  The whole estate was once much larger as much of the property was sold to the US government and only 8,000 acres remain now as a big tourist draw in Asheville NC.  We spent the day there and easily could have spent several days although you pay by the day!  For $59.00 per person you get admission to the property which includes all 8000 acres, the 250 room estate, and free wine tasting in the large tasting room.  We paid slightly more per person to be able to take the evening Christmas Candlelight tour.  The rooms that are on the tour were all decorated for Christmas with huge trees and many fireplaces burning.  It was beautiful but I still am asking myself,  these are rich people,  why are we paying them huge amounts of money to look at their home?

Dusk at the Estate

“Free wine tasting!”

They had a couple of good wines and the prices were definitely not Napa Valley prices!  I bought a really nice house red that was very much like a Zinfandel for $15.99.

In the plaza of lots of shops and bronze statue of Cornelia Vanderbilt and her dog Cedric playing fetch!

On the property there are lots of places to spend more money!  Very nice gift shops, fancy eateries and a little bit of public art.

Tranquil pond on the property. I love the reflexions.

The Estate has lots of opportunities to get out and get some exercise, or you can rent a Segway!  We had a very nice lunch at the Estate,  walked on the grounds some, enjoyed the shops, history and took the tour in the evening.

Just before dark, the Christmas trees are aglow and they have paper lanterns all along the lawn.

The architecture of the home is amazing and very industrial looking however the furnishings are amazing.  Still it amazes me that this home was built in the late 1800’s,  and it was only their summer home!  George died in 1914 so he and his wife only spent a few months per year at the estate and he only lived 16 years after it was complete.  The good news is the staff had an amazing place to call home year round!

Camera, and boy is it fun.

Cherokee, a stream runs through it

The stream is pretty but this is of the leaves! Two stragglers that keep hanging on

Even at close range it is pretty cool!

View of Smokie Mountain NP, from near Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome gives spectacular views of the Smokie Mountain Landscape

The tower at Clingmans Dome

My first Selfie with the new camera!

Paul waited for me to climb the tower. He had a nice informative talk with the volunteer

It was only .5 miles from the parking area up to the tower but it was straight up!  It took way longer to walk up than the trip down!

The side of the mountain as we left Clingmans Dome to return to Newfound Gap.

Up close of the wall!

More nice shots in Smokie Mountains NP

Mingus Mill is a nice walk in the woods.

I love this photo! May have to print it!

The flume that feeds the water to run the turbin.

Love the colors! Love the new camera!

We are now on the North Carolina side of the Smokies.  Staying at very nice park in Maggie Valley which is very near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Smokies and Asheville, NC.  The beauty is everywhere.

Our view! The stream is very relaxing

The view from the Parkway.

Most of the Blue Ridge is already closed in a lot of areas but the ones that are open are very nice.

One of the many tunnels along the parkway. We found this one on a short 1 mile hike.

There are lots of farm houses along The Blue Ridge parkway.

Lots of Elk in the area

They are locked

This was lots of fun to watch. They were in a construction field right in town.

Beautiful Mammals.