The Ranch 🐴

Dave & Lisa’s own private Idaho nestled deep in the mountains of North Carolina.

It’s big fun this October as two monster hurricanes rip Florida up. I had planned to visit Brother Dave in mid-October. The timing couldn’t have been better!

Hurricane Season

Florida hosted two terrifying hurricanes in the past couple of weeks. Helene stomped North Carolina just short of Scaly Mountian.

4 1/2 mile eyewall – 185 mph winds

Milton came out of nowhere – and became a terrifying Cat 5 that churned up the Gulf for a couple of days before scaring the death out of everybody in central Florida. Just to keep things saucy, some killer tornados were spawned. One took the roof off the bank a mere mile north of here. Big fun!

Wells Fargo Bank on A1A

I rode out the storm at Brother Ricks on the mainland and checked things out the next day.

My power pole in the condominium parking lot is due east of me. You can see my yellow shed to the left. The fence came down, too. I had been held up mainly by the bamboo for quite a while now.

The rotten power pole, the object of my scorn for eight years, finally bit the fucking dust and blew over. Good riddance. A new one was installed the day I left for The Ranch.

Scaly Mountain Redux

Lisa and Dave bought their first mountain home about 15 years ago in Scaly Mountian, North Carolina. They have spent much time there recently and were looking for something bigger. They found a lovely, modern house with a spectacular view!

Dave & Lisa’s Ranch on Scaly Mountian

It was initially a horse ranch with a stable and holding pens. Compared to their old place, it is way off the beaten path. It is simply stunning, with a killer west view for sunsets!

Burning palettes on the Ranch! It’s time for rural fun as we channel our inner pyromaniacs and hang with the pups.

The temperature dropped into the 30s. 🥶 We spent a day burning pallets in a fire pit and reminisced about our younger years as pyromaniacs!

I retold the story of the burning can of acetone and discovered Brother Rick had done nearly the same thing!

Hunters Moon in the pasture near the Ranch.

The full moon for October, the Hunters Moon, was stunning from the pasture near their house.

Comet C/2023 A3 on its way to a fiery end in the Sun

We were greeted by their neighbors, who invited us into their home with a breathtaking westward view. They had been stargazing and found the recently discovered comet C/2023 A3. What a fantastic sight!

The Beast 🧌

Dave bought the previous owner’s riding lawn mower. It was quite a beast! I took it for a quick spin—it was enormous fun!

Two Dudes at rest

It was a relaxing week. Dave and I built a shoe bench for the garage. Jake and I took some easy walks through the woods.

Smokey Mountain Color

We went on some drives to check out the Fall color. It was just starting to get good! We drove one day into Smokey Mountain National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina.

We also drove into Highlands. The main road between Highlands and Scaly Mountian was severely damaged and closed the day I left. A couple of fallen trees were also in the woods around their house.


We headed home a week later to our new power home. Praying to the almighty Spaghetti Monster for no more fucking hurricanes this year. Ramen!

Bonus!

Starship launch in Texas with spectacular catch of the first stage by giant chopsticks!

Brought to us by brother Dave’s Starlink connection. Lasers in the jungle, indeed!


North Carolina

Despite the heavy rain, we left Memphis and headed for Nashville. An overnight there, and we were on our way to North Carolina.

Smokey Mountains near Waynesville and the Blue Ridge Parkway

The drive from Knoxville to Scaly Mountains through the Smokey Mountains was very scenic. We probably stopped at the trip’s most excellent rest stop, near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Scaly Mountian

Picken’s Nose

We enjoyed three nights with Dave, Lisa, and the Girls. We got a couple of great hikes in and enjoyed Lisa’s most excellent culinary delights! Jake got to say hi to his cousins Elly and Bonnie. And I finally made it up late enough to see the sunset!

Sunset from Easy Breezy – Dave and Lisa’s magnificent home in the mountains

We had a torrential downpour on the first afternoon! Lightning cracking all around! Poor Elly Mae was not a happy pupper!


The only thing left to do now is make it home. Wow. It’s hard to believe our nearly three months on the road are at an end. What a fantastic time it has been.