10 October 2023 – Tuesday
0845 62,364 58° Leave Milan City Park
0917 62,384 59° Junction 104 and 40. Route 104 was very curvy. I wouldn’t recommend it for a large RV.
1154 62,553 71° Rest area near the Cany River 1253′ elevation
1400 62,591 76° Sparta,
Tennessee
The owners were friendly and very accommodating, despite not responding to yesterday’s on-line request through the Harvest Host Interface. We called around lunch time and they said come on in.
We parked up on the hill after weaving around their temporary tents.
They stock lots of products with the name of our home town on them. 😉
A variety of local honeys greeted shoppers. We bought hard red wheat berries, pastries, and pasta.
They were setting up for a Halloween part. When I asked if they stocked any local beer, the owner dug a keg out of the hay and poured me a glass of ale. That’s customer service!
After the store closed at six, we had the area to ourselves and enjoyed a peaceful evening.
Tuesday’s Route
Milan to Sparta, Tennessee
227 Miles
Our overnite site at the Farmer’s Storehouse was quiet until about 0600. That’s when the Heating & Air Conditioning crews next door arrived in their cars and yelled greetings before driving out in their business trucks.
Being awake, we made breakfast and set-out for home.
0801 62,599 54° 1,770 ft.
Shortly after leaving Sparta, we stopped at a scenic overlook.
We were glad we pulled in as there was a lovely view of the valley.
1218 62,769 60° 1,770 ft elevation
Stopped and made lunch at the NC Welcome Center. Trees were just starting to show a little bit of color.
Despite the overcast skies, we enjoyed the mountain views along the route home.
1824 63,035 63° Home in Durham, North Carolina
We pulled in and the first thing Beth noticed said was “Norman must have bloomed last night.” As they used to say on Get Smart, “missed it by that much.” Norman is a Night Blooming Cereus was a gift from a friend over thirty years ago.
Sparta, TN to Durham, NC
444 miles
(click on any image to enlarge)
