July 3rd - Cumberland Gap to Corbin, KY

​We hung out at a coffee shop in Ashville, where the dogs were treated by the staff to small cups of whipped cream. Their parents took the opportunity to catch up on updates to the blog. 

A pleasant drive along the old Wilderness Road brought us through Eastern Kentucky to the home of Hank's niece Cathy Stokes and her husband, Todd.  Cathy and Todd met us for lunch at DuPont Lodge (yes, those DuPonts) at Cumberland Falls. After a buffet lunch we took a short drive to the falls and walked along a trail to the bottom of the falls, where we got some great pictures.

We stopped at a hardware store to pick up some clear caulk to repair the leak in our front window. Unfortunately, Hank bought the tube that is intended to be used with a caulking gun, which we don't have. So he had to push on the plunger with his thumb to get the caulk out. That was kind of tricky, given that he was standing on top of the propane tank on the hitch in order to reach the top of the window. He called for Angie's help to spot him. The best she could do was to sort of prop up his butt while he worked. That provided at least an illusion of security. We completed the job, which ended up looking pretty sloppy. But at least no one can see it from street-level. Fingers crossed that it stops the leak!

Then we headed back to our campsite to feed and exercise the dogs. We drove to a marina on Laurel Lake, where the dogs got to swim in a little cove. We learned from the camp host that a fireworks show was planned that evening at the Marina, so we took the dogs home and played our audio book "Follow the River" loudly. Between the book and the air conditioner noise, we didn't even hear the fireworks. We stayed up until 1:30 a.m., entranced by the rugged journey of Mary Ingalls through the New River Valley as she walked through the wilderness to return to her family near Radford.