Asheville, NC...leaf colors are changing

Here we are Saturday evening at the Solar Decathlon along the Mall.

Arrived in Asheville, NC this afternoon after spending night along and in shadow of I-81...a rather noisy experience, along the New River near Radner, VA. Good day for travel with overcast skies and moderate temps. Same today and a bit of disappointment as there were some pretty trees along the route, especially as we began to climb into the mountains of western North Carolina along I-26. We decided at last minute to change the route and travel another we never had been on. Glad we did. Arrived mid afternoon with enough time to cruise the town and a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs through and terminates near here. We had traveled the first part of this years ago in our VW bus en route to Mexico, but this time we're a little more time conscious and we've found that winding and weaving, narrow roads are fun in the VW bus, but in a 39+motorhome and towed it's a lot more work and white knuckles. We didn't have time this visit for more touristing. A big attraction for the area is the Biltmore Estate, mountain home of the Vanderbilts of the Gilded Age. Nancy came here years ago in her prior life in the Arabian show and training circuit and actually dined at the Biltmore with her employer who was friends of the owners. There's an annual 100 mile endurance trail ride with Arabian horses held in the fall and her then husband was a trainer for a famous Maryland Arabian farm. My interest is minimal now since it costs quite a bit to tour, and after Versailles and other European chateaus, I'm tired of gawking at rich people's houses and lifestyles. Not to say I'm not interested in the woodworking and the techniques and technology applied, but that's not usually the focus of these tours. I do wonder, though, what Bill Gates' house will be like to view in 100 years and to view the state of art technology as history.

We're leaving out in the morning southbound along I-26 and hope to make it into Georgia or beyond. Weather says 100% rain, so need to tighten up everything tonight. So...happy trails for now...