RV Tour Leg 11 - Asheville, NC

We had allowed enough time to pass since Hurricane Helene, there was a good chance that we could find open roads to get to Asheville and see our daughter, Michaela. We took two days to get there with two stops in Tennessee - it was beautiful country.

On the last stop we were only 2 hours away from Asheville, but it was very unclear if the roads were open on this route. Google had us going on a 5 hour odyssey to avoid a closed bridge. Fortunately, the proprietor of the last campground had just driven his motorcycle to Asheville and confirmed that the bridge was indeed open. It was a bit of a scary drive as Google kept telling us to turn around! Not an easy thing to do with a huge truck and 30 foot camper. We crossed the suspect bridge in Hot Springs and were on our way.

We had planned to stay in Asheville for 3 weeks, but the campground we booked was completely devastated by the hurricane. I felt extremely relieved we weren't there during the hurricane as people did not receive much warning. Had we been there, it is not clear if we would still have our truck, trailer or even our lives. So we needed to scramble and find another place to stay. Most of the campgrounds were closed. We found an open one 45 minutes east of Michaela and booked it for a few nights. Many of the sites had been washed away, but a few were open. There was no potable water. The deck you see in the picture, was near the campsite. It had washed off a home and landed on the roadway, like it was always meant to be there.

Later a campground in town opened up (Asheville Bear Creek RV Park) and we stayed there for 18 days. It was a rather silly campground, very close to town and nestled in among all the freeways. (See map).

It is difficult to convey the devastation we discovered in Asheville. Even a month after the hurricane, many roads were closed and there was no potable water. This is typically a big tourist season for the community, but the downtown was quite empty with several aid stations and homeless people. A few restaurants managed to open, but they had to cook with bottled water. I feel for the business owners struggling through this time just after the pandemic. The town had a sad and heavy, yet hopeful feeling.

People were living in tents and pop-up campers right outside their homes. Mud was everywhere and it was unclear how many toxins were in the mud.

Michaela was in the process of moving when the hurricane struck and caused her to lose numerous kitchen items that were stored in a flooded car. I had received a gift card from Bethel United Methodist Church, which I held onto with the intention of using it at the right moment. The perfect opportunity arose when I visited Target to replace the items Michaela had lost.

We had a lovely time with Michaela and were honored to meet many of her friends and get to know here wonderful boyfriend, Christian, much better. We did things typical for us (pickleball) and a-typical things (dance festival, Kava bar).

Judy went back to Minnesota for a few days to attend the funeral of a very dear friend, Shelby Penrod. The world lost an incredible human being. My heart goes out to his wife Karin (who I have know since kindergarten) and his family and community. While Judy was gone, David volunteered with a crew to help with the cleanup and also upgraded our solar system. He also used our monster truck to pull out a fence at Michaela's new home. He was feeling pretty smug about the strength of the truck. Michaela and Christian, proved to be a smart, capable helpers.

Michaela has established a wonderful life in a community abundant in natural beauty and delightful people. We consider ourselves lucky to witness the ongoing evolution of her life.

Christian in their new home.