North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

For anyone driving from the west, I talked to Ann Peck, rose fancier 
extraordinare who lives near Knoxville and travels a lot.  She says that the 
interstates over the mountains are jammed with traffic, and that bridge 
inspections were making things worse.  However, she says that all other 
routes are worse.  I asked her about two routes I was looking at.  She says 
that 25 down from I-40 into Greenville is an excellent road.  She also said 
Maggie Valley was nice, but it looks like you can only get there by going 
through the dreaded Sevierville or Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg routes.  I 
asked about going Waynesville to Brevard to Pickens Sc via the Blue Ridge 
parkway.  She said the speed limit is 45 on it, but it is crowded with 
octogenarians driving VERY slowly.  She says that Junaluska has a nice old 
resort, very historical.  The only way I can convince my husband to go to 
the meeting is to do some camping on the way to or from, so we will have to 
take some of these slower, more scenic routes at some point.  I'll want to 
get a good look at the country side, the plants will be so different.
   One year we went over the mountains and through the Shenandoah Valley. 
I was struck by how big and healthy and lush everything was.  Apple trees 
were not only bigger than here, but they had a lot more blooms.  And the 
lilacs in bloom, beautiful!  They usually freeze out here.  You know, if 
there was a condo selected for frustrated NAFEXers, I guess it would be in 
CA or Michigan for the whole harvest season.  We could select which crop we 
wanted to be there for, bring coolers and a food dryer, and go pick or buy 
and process.  It would make me simultaneously gloriously happy and intensely 
miserable to be in Michigan for the cherry or apple harvest.
 Donna