We continued to climb through southern Virginia and passed through North Carolina for a couple of days before we made it into Tennessee. We had planned on being on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a day longer than we were because of a detour that set us eight miles off course. Of course, these kinds of detours in a car are just not a big deal, but for us, it actually changed our entire route through North Carolina and into Tennessee. Eight miles is a long way in the mountains!

Coming into NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Over the past week, we have really come to appreciate the kindness of local firemen. We have stopped at two fire houses to get free showers, and in Elizabethton, Tenn., they also offered us free leftover hamburgers, let us do laundry, and gave us a place to pitch our tent in the back! How great is that? We’re so grateful for these and other firemen who are willing to put their lives in the line of danger for others… and so willing to show hospitality to strangers passing through on bikes! Also, in Boone, N.C., we happened to come into town on a Friday night before an App State home football game. This is NOT ideal for the stealth camping situation. But the local firemen were on our side and helped us find a stealthy (free) spot where we would be in the clear from traffic, college students, and police. What a blessing!

Here we are at Fire Station 2 in Elizabethton, TN! These guys were great!

This was a restaurant where we stopped on the Parkway. This is the first time we ordered three entrees to split. The waitress tried to stop us, but we assured her that we would not have a problem eating it all... and we didn't!