Thursday, July 17, 2008-Julian Price Memorial Park, NC

Early this morning, around 4:30 AM, I noticed the refrigerator control lights blinking. I got up to investigate and I heard a pulsating noise, also from the refrigerator. I went outside to check the propane gas and both tanks were full or nearly full. When  I came back inside, I checked the battery power and the control  light showed the battery was discharged. I didn't think the refrigerator needed electric power when it was using propane gas. I went back outside and connected the power cord from the truck to the camper and the refrigerator work properly using the truck battery. I realized that the fridge used electronic ignition, rather than a manual pilot light. Also, it must cycle on and off, rather than keep a pilot light burning. Last night, we did not run the generator to charge the camper battery, since the other campers at Doughton were having a hoot-nanny. Normally, I run the generator each day to keep the power level high. I did not want to deplete the truck battery, so I disconnected the truck power cable and turned the refrigerator off. We decided to leave early, and the truck alternator would charge the camper battery while we were driving. We left about 6:30 AM, and the fridge was off for only two hours. Since we did not open the fridge door, non of the food was lost.

While driving to Julian Price Campground, we had to make a detour through Boone, North Carolina due to roadway construction. While in Boone, we saw a Chick-fil-a and decided to stop for breakfast. We returned to the parkway and arrived at the campground around 8:30. We found a good site and set up the camper. While checking into our site, we learned about a major detour to the south from the ranger . We will have to exit the parkway at the Museum of North Carolina Minerals Visitor Center, and re-enter the parkway at Ashville. Some roadways were washed out. It only a small section, but there are no other roads to use for the detour. We will bypass the parkway from milepost 330 and return at milepost 380. Approximately half of the detour is on Interstate 40.

We then drove to the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park Visitor Center. This was once a mansion and summer home for the Cone family and the family later donated it to the national parkway. Now, it houses the Parkway Arts Center. There are artifacts made by local artisans for sale there. There are many beautiful and creative works of art there. It has a scenic view of the lake and valley below.

We returned to the camper for lunch and updated our journal.