We only took one road trip in September 2021 and it was of short duration. I was in the middle of a project at home which I did not write in my journal and now for the life of me I can't remember what it was. I could probably reference my Amazon and Lowes purchases and use deductive reasoning to solve this mystery but it's not that important.
Millie's sister lives where we would all like to be in these turbulent times. She has a home on twenty acres in probably one of the most isolated areas of Virginia. Unfortunately, her husband Paul is suffering from Alzheimer's and Betty is tasked with everything. One of her fears is a prolonged power outage, and these happen frequently in the long winter months.
As an electrician this is something I could help with, so we put a plan into action. We acquired all the components we needed and loaded up the truck with tools, common electrical parts, the specialized generator transfer circuit panel and my big 8000 watt 120/240 volt generator.
Monday October 11 2021. There are a couple different routes you can take to get to Konnorock Virginia, this trip we took one of the more direct ones. All the trips to the area of Virginia Millie is from start out the same, route 544 from Myrtle Beach to Conway, then Route 501 to just past Marion. We take route 38 to Rockingham or some variation of 38 to Rockingham, the goal being picking up I-73/74 and going north. On this trip we exited the combined 73/74 north of Ashboro staying on I-74 and heading west toward Winston-Salem. We left the interstate system for Route 421 and continued west, ultimately ending up on local road 21 to Sparta, the last town we would see in North Carolina. Continuing on 21 we intersect Virginia route 58 in the town of Independence. West on 58 and we're only about an hour from Konnorock. The route may sound complicated; but I don't even need a map anymore, and Millie of course could run it blindfolded.
The trip is +/- 320 miles, we arrived in the afternoon after about a 7 hour run.
Our campground of choice when we go to Betty's is Grindstone in the Jefferson National Forest. Unfortunately, it is closed indefinitely. A failure of the sewage treatment system is what I heard. Because we don't plan on being here that long we parked the RV on Betty's property. Typical mountain land, finding a level spot to park on was a challenge. It was down the hill from the house so we just boondocked, using our smaller generator for power. Yes, I brought two generators with me.
 |
| Camp Pedigo |
After spending a pleasant night in our mountain camp we hit the bricks a running on Tuesday morning. The utility company to generator transfer switch and generator circuit panel install didn't take as long as I thought it would and it was complete by midafternoon.
My original intent was for Betty to pay for the installed parts and I would leave the generator there for as long as she needed it. I gave Betty a tutorial on starting the generator and using the transfer switch panel, which she had no problem learning. She must have been pleased with the setup because she told me she wanted to buy my generator. A satisfactory ending for both parties.
With an impending cold front approaching and my project waiting for me at home we decided that we needed stay no longer and on Wednesday morning we drove home. we used pretty much the same route south and arrived in the afternoon.
I still don't remember what it was that was so important that was waiting for me at home?