Day 5

Well, that didn't work.  Oh, the GPS worked fine after the overhaul, but our route plan didn't.  My goal was Salt Fork Creek near Wytheville, Va.  However, along the way, we were looking for a place to stop for lunch and a rest when we spotted a sign for Kingdom Come State Park and since we'd always heard of Kingdom Come, but never been there, we decided to stop.  Of course, it was a lot further off our route than we planned, but it was worth it.  Now we can say we've been there.

There was one small problem.  After leaving Kingdom Come my will was not done, but maybe His was.  We got lost.  Here we were in the middle of Kentucky coal country - where many mines have closed and left a lot of folks in dire straits.  Folks who some reminded us a little of Deliverance, although we saw no banjo players.  The GPS did not break down on me.  It just plain ol' lied.  We were tooling along up a narrow valley.  It was beautiful but kept getting narrower with steeper sides.  Finally, the GPS gave up.  It didn't crap out, it just didn't know where it was.  The road finally came to an end at a played out coal mine loading conveyor.  So, we turned around and headed back out.  Gypsy finally got her bearings and led us out.  We made it out to civilization but had lost too much time to make it to Salt Fork as planned.  So, we're at a private campground in Big Stone Gap just past Appalachia, Virginia.  What a day.  I'm bushed.  Oh, yes.  For anyone keeping score, it’s Jessie Lea RV Park.  Nice park.