Tiffin Motorhomes

Mike and I have spent this week in October in Red Bay, AL. Red Bay is home to the Tiffin Motorhome plant. We were here to get some warranty work done. During our stay, there were at least 100 motorhomes here every day. The campground was full! I can honestly say that we received great service and everyone we came into contact with at Tiffin was nice and helpful. I feel like we accomplished alot during this week. We had three blinds with broken strings and they were restrung (for free). We had the RV washed and waxed while we gave the inside a good cleaning. Five windows were replaced due to broken thermopane seals. A faulty wire connection in the lighted door handle was fixed. A screw that was starting to poke up through the carpet was removed. The relay switch that moved the main slide out in and out quit working while we were there and so we were able to get a new one. (Good timing). Last, but certainly not least, the windshield was fixed. Mike and I had seen a small leak on the inside of the windshield during heavy rain. The guys in the windshield shop said that it would be an easy 5 minute fix. Once we got the RV in the shop, it turned out we had a much bigger problem that we didn't even know about. The windshield was not sealed well at all. The guys were surprised we hadn't had bigger problems with leaking. They took care of it without a problem. We arrived in Red Bay on Monday morning and were done with all the repairs by Friday afternoon. I think it helped that we pre-ordered the windows we knew would need to be replaced. I was dreding this week but it turned out to be an OK experience. Thanks Tiffin.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

We have been in Maggie Valley, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the better part of the last week. If you have never been here, it’s beautiful. Not only is there the National Park, there is also Nantahala National Forest and Pisgah National Forest. There were a few nice days and a few days of rain when the tops of the mountains were obscured by clouds. We came in search of some “fall color” when the leaves are changing. There were a few vibrant trees but for the most part, I think we were probably a week too early. While we were here, we drove on another section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We went to the Cataloochee section of the national park. The park service has preserved many historic structures here. You can tour a school, churches, a barn, and several homes in the valley.


Five historic buildings are located along the road in the valley. An additional 4 buildings can be reached if you're willing to walk a couple miles down the nearby Little Cataloochee Trail. This area is also where you are likely to see the elk herd. It’s mating season and we heard a few of the males bugling.

One day we visited the Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. It was very cool.


We also stopped by Clingman’s Dome, one of the highest points in the park. It was a Saturday in October (read: very busy) and the parking lots was overflowing. By the time we made it to the top, a fog had rolled in and the area was packed with people so we moved along and found a less crowded trail.

Mellow Mushroom

Mike drove us from Williamsburg, VA to Asheville, NC today. Tomorrow will be a very short drive, about 40 minutes. We could have made it today, I guess, but we decided to overnight in Asheville. We went out to east at our favorite pizza place, the Mellow Mushroom. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a chain in the Southeast. The pizza is very good and the crust is awesome!