May 19

We were able to get up late this morning since we didn’t have to be over at Smokemont Stables until 11:40am—a bit of a luxury compared to most mornings of our trip with our tight itinerary. The stables were just 3 miles into the park. We had the perfect weather for riding, the expected high to be 73 and sunny.

We got to the stables just fine and had our pre-ride instructions (i.e., no swatting the horse in the butt--they don’t like it, keep them 10 feet apart, don’t let them graze). Another couple from Greenville, SC was also there. Our guide’s name was Justin. Each of us got a horse specially selected for us, the logic of which we haven’t yet figured out. Michele got “Alex” and Rob got “Reuger”.

We made our way leisurely up along the heavily wooded ridge over some rocky paths, smoother gravel paths, and through smaller dirt paths along the river. The views were spectacular. We soon found it was difficult to keep the horses 10 feet apart. Both Alex and Reuger wanted to walk nose to tail. The man in front of Michele had an old lazy horse named Felix. He went his own slow pace oblivious to everyone else. Alex and Reuger got a bit impatient on the hills and wanted to pass him. Alex turned out to be a bit of a handful with a stubborn nature, not listening well to Michele telling him to “Whoa”.

Eventually we reached the waterfall which did not disappoint. It gave us a chance to get off the horses for a stretch, as we all felt a bit bowlegged.

Back on the horses, we made our way back, this time at a slightly faster pace. Alex felt compelled to take his own path, meandering left to right. He was hesitant to step over logs, walk downhill or through mud. He also became a bit naughty, getting close enough to old Felix to nip him in the butt twice! Michele suspects he wanted Felix to move faster so they could get back to their grain snacks sooner. It appeared that everyone else’s horse was behaving well and was calm. Alex took Michele for a stroll into the trees, which she didn’t appreciate! She is convinced he did it on purpose.

We made it back without significant incident at 2:30pm, dismounted, and were happy to feel the cushy seat of the Wing under our bums.

Heading over to Asheville would only take an hour, so we took the scenic route from the beginning (or end depending on which direction your heading) of the Blue Ride Parkway.

It was twistier than the Virginia sections we’ve been on before and really enjoyed it.

We got to our friends, Robert and Shannon’s place, right at 5pm. It was great seeing their girls again after more than a year and a half. They were cute bundles of energy, and their new pups were even moreso! We relaxed with them over spaghetti dinner, which was great to have a homecooked meal after being on the road for a week, and chilled out to watch a few of our favorite TV shows together before heading to bed.

Tomorrow we'll head back into our home state and begin accumulating our stamps for the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia.