The Matt Mittan Show
MMO: 30 Days of Camping: Days 5-7, Price Lake near Boone, NC
Ever wondered how a simple card game could add a twist to a camping adventure? Join us as we navigate through Part 2 of our 30-day camping challenge, recounting our second trip. From an intense game of Uno that kept our competitive spirits high to Michele's unforgettable reaction to receiving a kayak surprise from Matt, this episode is packed with heartfelt moments and unexpected surprises. Relive the joy of a surprise Natalie Merchant concert that Matt planned, adding a layer of harmony to our journey.
Our adventure unfolds further as we set up camp in the secluded beauty of Julian Price Park, surrounded by majestic old-growth trees and the gentle presence of a curious doe. Discover the practical and safety measures we took, including using SATCOM in areas with limited to no signal. Our maiden kayaking trip was not just an activity but a testament to our preparation and Michele's newfound freedom in solo paddling. Amid the fun and challenges, including forgotten medical supplies to an unending round of Uno, we reflect on how these natural escapades have significantly contributed to our health recovery and well-being.
The tranquility of high-elevation camping at Julian Price Park, near Boone, NC, offers a stark contrast to our previous experiences. Imagine the serenity of an entire campground loop to ourselves, only to be momentarily interrupted by a sneaky animal raiding our food supply. These moments, along with a repeated yet heartwarming encounter with a deer, underscore the magic of our stay. Adapting to life on the road, we share our day-to-day challenges and triumphs, from drying clothes to the simple joy of cooking hot dogs over an open fire. As we prepare for our next adventure, let the soothing sounds of night frogs be your closing lullaby.
Visit Matt & Michele Odyssey for more!
Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.
Ever wondered how a simple card game could add a twist to a camping adventure? Join us as we navigate through Part 2 of our 30-day camping challenge, recounting our second trip. From an intense game of Uno that kept our competitive spirits high to Michele's unforgettable reaction to receiving a kayak surprise from Matt, this episode is packed with heartfelt moments and unexpected surprises. Relive the joy of a surprise Natalie Merchant concert that Matt planned, adding a layer of harmony to our journey.
Our adventure unfolds further as we set up camp in the secluded beauty of Julian Price Park, surrounded by majestic old-growth trees and the gentle presence of a curious doe. Discover the practical and safety measures we took, including using SATCOM in areas with limited to no signal. Our maiden kayaking trip was not just an activity but a testament to our preparation and Michele's newfound freedom in solo paddling. Amid the fun and challenges, including forgotten medical supplies to an unending round of Uno, we reflect on how these natural escapades have significantly contributed to our health recovery and well-being.
The tranquility of high-elevation camping at Julian Price Park, near Boone, NC, offers a stark contrast to our previous experiences. Imagine the serenity of an entire campground loop to ourselves, only to be momentarily interrupted by a sneaky animal raiding our food supply. These moments, along with a repeated yet heartwarming encounter with a deer, underscore the magic of our stay. Adapting to life on the road, we share our day-to-day challenges and triumphs, from drying clothes to the simple joy of cooking hot dogs over an open fire. As we prepare for our next adventure, let the soothing sounds of night frogs be your closing lullaby.
Visit Matt & Michele Odyssey for more!
Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of MMO. Matt and Michelle Odyssey. I'm Matt Mattan, I'm Michelle Sheave and we are shuffling a deck of Uno cards, because we are continuing our new series, our 30-day camping challenge.
Speaker 2:Or Uno game challenge.
Speaker 1:And we're playing Uno, because we are actually in a national forest right now and recapping our first three trips, which is actually as we get to where we are right now stranded where we have been stranded for a while without a vehicle, but we'll get to that later on. We are on the third one.
Speaker 2:Just to be clear, we're beyond the third one the third one is now on the fourth one, so if that's any any um hint yeah yeah, so so we are, uh, we are reshuffling the decks.
Speaker 1:If you are listening to the series, it's my turn when we come back are you sure?
Speaker 1:I drew, but I didn't have a playable card so I have to continue on okay our first hand of this uno game lasted the entire first episode of the camping series, you know, and for those that missed it go to our website and check out the podcast in episode one of the 30-day camping challenge, and that was at Kerr-Scott Reservoir, bandit's Roost. It's a US Army Corps of Engineers campground near. Wilkesboro, north Carolina, and we're on to continuing. We have reshuffled the deck for the.
Speaker 1:Emo game and we're continuing on our first hand for our second episode of this series and our second destination. We were so excited for one because we were going to pack a whole lot less gear than our first trip, which stuffed the car out the windows.
Speaker 2:We couldn't fit another well, there were a few reasons about this particular trip, and I would like to just say that one of the reasons was that that my darling, my darling husband here had contacted me from work one day and was like surprise.
Speaker 1:I'm interested in which surprise you say right now, because there were two surprises on different days.
Speaker 2:Oh well, I was going to say the concert.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's the second one.
Speaker 2:Because that was the first one. Well, that was the first one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the second one also trip.
Speaker 2:We talked about in the last episode was that Matt contacted me from work one day. It was like On the way home from work, which is an hour away.
Speaker 1:I'm going to go pick up your works not an hour away, but the kayak that I bought you was an hour away, yeah yeah, yeah, and you brought home my kayak, who I call Luna.
Speaker 2:Her name is from the loon of the Old Town family and she's beautiful. She looks like a sunburst.
Speaker 1:She matches you. The colors complement your red, blonde hair and everything else, and I love how you have accessorized your clothing and your dry bags to match. Well, actually, I bought you the dry bag.
Speaker 2:You bought me the dry bag and the holder for the drink for the cup holders red and orange yeah, so it. But I did get my water shoes and um, and I already, you know, I'm already kind of a purple girl so.
Speaker 1:So the second surprise was You've got to set this up because Okay so a while back, Matt and I, on these trips, we hang out. I'll continue playing the Uno match here. Okay, yeah, it's your turn. Go ahead A while back. Draw four. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:And then how come you get a card like that? And then I get four crap cards.
Speaker 1:Because we're playing Uno and it goes back and forth.
Speaker 2:And this is the longest hand of Uno ever recorded. I guarantee you no, it's not. Trust me. We've got to contact Guinness.
Speaker 1:All right, I'm going to call it red. Oh my God, All right. So a while back we were talking. She does not look happy right now. Everybody.
Speaker 2:I am not happy right now, everybody, and I can't even talk. You're going to have to talk. I'm going to have to go green because you said red.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm going to have to put it back to red.
Speaker 2:Oh d***.
Speaker 1:Can you say that?
Speaker 2:on the radio Can.
Speaker 1:I Can.
Speaker 2:I say it Okay, so he contacted me from All right.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to try to make it as hard as possible for you to get the story out.
Speaker 2:Oh, she put a while down.
Speaker 1:You get to call the color and I have a single card. What color are you going to call?
Speaker 2:I'm going to call green.
Speaker 1:Oh, dang, it All right your story. A while back we were talking green.
Speaker 2:Dang it. Alright, your story. A while back we were talking and we were just doing like kind of car traveling type, trip stuff, like you know.
Speaker 1:And I just drew a whole handful of cards.
Speaker 2:Yay, you don't even understand. It's not even close to the amount I have in my hand.
Speaker 1:So we were driving.
Speaker 2:We were driving and yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 1:You can play that if you want. I'm going to play that Okay, I'm going to change it to yellow.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So we were driving.
Speaker 2:We were driving and you asked me.
Speaker 1:Draw two.
Speaker 2:Oh Jesus mother.
Speaker 1:Hey, now that one I know you can't say on the radio so we were driving.
Speaker 2:We were driving and you asked you know just casually, you know who is one of your favorite artists that you've never seen in? Concert in concert and you know, and I was just casual like okay, uh, and I thought about it because I've seen a lot of artists, because of growing up in new orleans with jazz fest. I've seen Everyone Under the Sun but I'd never seen my favorite artist, natalie Merchant from the 90s, you know.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:And okay, this is where he's getting.
Speaker 1:Blue.
Speaker 2:Blue.
Speaker 1:So you've never seen Natalie Merchant?
Speaker 2:I've never seen Natalie Merchant and I I told you that.
Speaker 1:Reverse Uno, uno, and so you told me that. Oh, you changed the color again.
Speaker 2:Every time I get down to Uno, you change the color.
Speaker 1:This is the longest hand ever. This has now lasted over four camping days, at least from the episode standpoint. So you had never seen Natalie Merchant, and this was months ago that I asked you this.
Speaker 2:Yes, months and months ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it was on our beach trip, wasn't it? Was it on our ride back from our Gulf Coast episodes that we did? It might have been, I'm not sure, you know. Oh, she just played a wild and she didn't say uno uno, you didn't call me out, I no. You did not say Uno, what is?
Speaker 2:this Jeopardy Uno.
Speaker 1:Alright, but you have to call a color and I have one card in my hand. What color are you going to call and what?
Speaker 2:color is it? Wait, wait. She's looking back through the pile. Wait, I couldn't play that. Yeah, you can. It's a wild, was that? Oh, you can play it any time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wild, you can play it. Wait, wait, she's looking back through the pile. Wait, I couldn't play that. Yeah, you can.
Speaker 2:It's a wild you don't have, was that? Oh, you can play it anytime, yeah wild.
Speaker 1:You can play it anytime. It's the draw four. You can only play if you don't have any cards of that color.
Speaker 2:So now you get to call the color Blue, oh jeez.
Speaker 1:You called uno. I did say uno after you pointed it out, but did not call me on it. You were talking. You were referring to all the listeners at home. Yeah, I just drew draw four, mother, and I'm gonna call red uno. It's a good thing it's not raining anymore like earlier today. You'd be drowning with that bottom lip out that far. You changed the color again. Dang it all right.
Speaker 2:So natalie merchant so natalie merchant and um I months go by months go by. Life moves on and then you contact me from work. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I'm drawing so many cards right now, so many cards right now, dude, this isn't no, no, this really kind of dulls the warm memories, doesn't it yeah?
Speaker 1:Draw four I was getting too braggadocious you were too braggadocious, the universe smacked me back down. Another draw four Jeez, all right. So months go by, I call you from work. This is the most ADD episode of MMO we've ever recorded.
Speaker 2:Okay, so let's go by. I'm sure you're going to edit it beautifully. No, I'm not editing anything. This is like a live stream, right?
Speaker 1:Except we have no signal. Where we're at out here in the National Forest, we'll see we are hooked up to our solar battery, we'll do something and we are recording, really, okay, all right, so at this point we should probably move the storyline forward.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, why don't you say something?
Speaker 1:So I call you from work and I tell you.
Speaker 2:You tell me that you got me tickets to. You got us tickets to Natalie Merchant. Where we're up at Julian Price Campground camping, we can go to the concert in Boone.
Speaker 1:And it wasn't just a regular concert by Natalie Merchant.
Speaker 2:It was backed by an orchestra.
Speaker 1:Full symphony orchestra backing Full symphony orchestra backing and so we have the maiden voyage of our kayaks.
Speaker 1:Yes, we have the Natalie Merchant bucket list concert and we packed a lot less gear. So Julian Price Park is off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just outside of Boone Blowing Rock for those that aren't familiar A little bit cooler temperatures up at the higher level, which is nice for a summer camping trip and because it's such a popular destination in the summer, it's hard to get campsites that are over by the lake right, and so we camped in a back, more remote part and as we're pulling in to the campground oh, by the way, I should do a call back first yes going back to a previous episode, I'm sure we mentioned the tornado at some point.
Speaker 2:That was the first thing that was in my head is is saying that's where we were going camping.
Speaker 1:We almost got hit by a tornado.
Speaker 2:So so this campsite, gorgeous, gorgeous area.
Speaker 1:But be warned, it's not unusual for tornadoes to well, I think it is unusual for tornadoes strong thunderstorm strong thunderstorm cells definitely pop up in that area, you know, and but we had been going through it probably sometime in the last year or so, and I can hear a boat out on the lake racing by. You hear that.
Speaker 2:It's dark out right now, while we're doing this.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:Did I put down a blue or a green?
Speaker 1:That's a green. Okay, draw two. No, yes, god dang it Just when you got the cards down into one hand. So yeah, we had a very scary situation.
Speaker 2:Is that a green or a blue? It's a green.
Speaker 1:I should probably put the other lantern on the track. Lights aren't very bright.
Speaker 2:It gets hard to see blue and green.
Speaker 1:Okay lantern on the track lights aren't very bright, it gets hard to see, I think. Okay, okay, um, but previously we had been caught up on the high country area on, I don't think we're on the blue ridge parkway. We were on that highway that cuts through little switzerland right and everything and a supercell came up and we had to get off the road. You couldn't move. Wind was going every direction, rain was going up, sideways, down every, and the car was rocking when we parked off the side because it couldn't drive.
Speaker 1:And then later found out that a tornado had gone through. Because we were even saying this is like a tornado.
Speaker 2:It was really scary Anyway that's the area we were going camping, so we get up there. Well, keep that in mind.
Speaker 1:Keep that in mind, because we first get there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it will come into play it will come into play For this recap of the trip, but we pull into the campground. And the first.
Speaker 1:Thing we see. First thing we see at the campsite next to ours, like two sites next to ours or something like that.
Speaker 2:It was on the way in, yeah, and there was this doe standing there looking at us. And it looked like a fake deer that my grandparents used to have in their front lawn in New Jersey. Like it looked like a fake. It did not look real. She was absolutely, perfectly still medium size, light brown, beautiful brown eyes staring directly at us as if welcoming, only feet away from us as if welcoming us yeah, and your turn, and then maybe I played.
Speaker 1:I played that I think okay, yeah, and so we were greeted, you know, knowing, oh, I should mention, because of things that have happened and things we were worried about before going on the trip up to Julian Price, which there is no signal of anything, no signal. There's nothing. I mean here where we're at.
Speaker 1:It's spotty, but you can get a text through Every once in a while you can get a text through, but I bought a SATCOM before we went because there's a lot of trips we have coming up this year that were remote. And even here we've used it here to get updates to the family. And so we had a SATCOM and we get in there and we set up the campsite. Beautiful old growth. Oh, my turn Draw two Uno.
Speaker 2:So he just won? No, you can draw the cards. I know, don't give up so easy.
Speaker 1:No, darling, it's not over. Pick your cards back up.
Speaker 2:How come it's not over I?
Speaker 1:still have a card in my hands and you have to draw two.
Speaker 2:So you have to draw a card?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you have to draw a card.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't have another yellow so I've got to draw another Uno. Well, now you've seen all my cards.
Speaker 1:So we set up our camp and the forecast, we're there, there's a bunch of people at the campground, it's beautiful, old-growth, big, tall trees I mean majestic. We get back in there and the smells of the forest, so really beautiful. The mountain laurels mixed with the trees that are in there Majestic, absolutely majestic. And so we're having a great time and we get to finally get in our kayaks for the first time.
Speaker 1:And we get a great parking spot at the boat ramp and we should say, at Julian Price Park, at Price Lake, which is part of the park. Right, they have a little store and they have boat rentals for paddle boards and kayaks. You can bring your own boat there's a little boat ramp, but there's no power boats allowed.
Speaker 1:You could have a trolling motor, but it's it's very much focused. It's very much focused, you know, on paddlers. You know paddlers. So there's a lot of kayaks, canoes, a lot of people around. That was a safe place to have our maiden joy, our maiden journey and, and I have to say, seeing michelle get in her kayak for the first time, because you, you got in first and I was, you know, I was standing in the water and everything, and just, and I just and you were excited nervous.
Speaker 2:I was excited leading up to it, yes, but I had been practicing. So I have a standing treadmill at home under my desk and it's an under desk. I barely remember home anymore yeah, I know we haven't been there in a while. We haven't been there in a while and I had been practicing paddling motions because I needed upper body strength.
Speaker 1:Skip uno, skip uno, uno. So you've been practicing, yeah, and using weights and doing like the paddle motions. We had been watching safety videos on kayaking.
Speaker 2:Is that Uno?
Speaker 1:Is this it? No, I've got to draw again. Still drawing, still drawing, filling my hand back up with cards.
Speaker 2:So there's this plane. You hear in the background, but it's.
Speaker 1:That wasn't the same plane.
Speaker 2:Wait, so you drew. Wait, you did something you shouldn't have done.
Speaker 1:Well, no, I drew and I didn't realize I drew the right color, so I drew again, but it didn't matter because it was skip and then I can play it.
Speaker 2:Okay, then, the last thing that we were.
Speaker 1:I was distracted by the C-130 that just flew over us. I recognized the sound of it. Yeah, anyway, we've got to save the other plane story for when we get caught up.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's right, we're not caught up. So you've been doing all this exercise and getting and getting my upper body strength Because, as anyone who's been listening to us know, I have health issues. This whole thing started because of my health issues and you getting me out on the canoe and kind of getting me back into nature.
Speaker 1:And so on the canoe and kind of getting me back into nature and yeah, um and so, and you know, almost dying along the way. Actually you did die once it's going way back to old episodes, so you have to go back near the very beginning yeah I think it's still on there, but um, but we brought you back.
Speaker 1:That's that's that's an old episode people have to check out. But um, yeah, so you had been preparing and, but until you do it you don't know how it's gonna go, and you know. So we get out there and you get in the kayak and as soon as you change the color again, draw two um to see the transition of, like the nervous excitement and figuring out the balance and everything else it took like it's it's blue are they both? Yeah, they're both blue, okay, and then you know wait, I didn't go yet you don't get to go.
Speaker 1:Yet I played a draw two I play again okay, we're still on the first hand all.
Speaker 2:All right, is it my turn now? This has been a 40-minute first hand Draw two.
Speaker 1:Ah jeez, I thought I was finally going to go out, and then don't go Skip, and then and a four, okay, and I got to draw. I don't have any of that color. Oh, I'm still drawing, still drawing, filling up my hand again. This is ridiculous. Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? I just, I just picked up like 12 cards. Oh my god.
Speaker 2:Draw two oh no.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know if they're playing the uno while we're doing our story.
Speaker 2:I like it, you like it yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, you all tell us in the comments if you like it or not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely tell us in the comments.
Speaker 1:And I got a draw. I don't have anything to play on my draw two.
Speaker 2:Oh, except for another, draw two oh my god.
Speaker 1:Um and reverse, and your turn. She's got two hands full of cards again. Um, but it only took maybe two minutes for you to like get your bearings yeah and before I could even put my kayak in the water, you were already like I'm like Michelle, and you had started to go around the corner, and I'm like, hey, wait, let's launch together. And I got a couple of pictures of you. And so we got out, and for a second I didn't fully understand how to do the balance right with the foot pegs and with my knees.
Speaker 2:Well, you had a different setup than me. I have a totally different setup, so we have two different kind of kayaks I have an angler. So yours is specifically for fishing right and um, mine is I would say grace and beauty and balance. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't see it.
Speaker 2:She dropped the card, but I didn't see it. I dropped the card, quit looking at me.
Speaker 1:And so we got out on the lake, we start paddling around, we're staying close together and everything and made a couple of adjustments in the way we were sitting and stuff like that. And then Michelle was gone and made a couple of adjustments in the way we were sitting and stuff like that. And then, um, and then michelle was gone, I mean literally she was gone, she disappeared and was across half the lake before before I could even you know realize and everything, because I was fishing and yeah and I caught.
Speaker 1:I I was getting hits and everything, and it's a trout lake, by the way, and they had just stalked it the week before we got there, which was nice, um, but you just took off and the joy and the I want to say like the confidence, or so I'll let you speak to it, but as someone who loves you and seeing you, I just take off around.
Speaker 2:What was very real was Somehow being because I haven't.
Speaker 2:I haven't driven and I've just gotten cleared by my doctor to go back and get my driver's many years again it's been years in years and it's been half a decade actually, and so it's been that long and I to be in a vehicle where I could take off by myself and realizing that I had been working on my arm strength and I absolutely I had been doing the exact right paddle exercises because it felt very easy to do and it made me feel very confident and I just really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:I really, really loved it, really loved it, you know and this is where the interviewer in me comes out I'll put the cards down for a second.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:But going back to when we started MMO, yeah. And thinking back to the challenges at that time and like helping you into the canoe, into a rigged seat.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:You know, down in the bottom of the canoe. Yeah, you know we used to call it. What do we call it?
Speaker 2:Cleopatra's yeah, cleopatra's chair, or something like that.
Speaker 1:You know, but you would talk at the time about the mobility challenges and the ambulatory challenges you had. Right and encouraged people to still find ways to get out.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And everything, and I know you got feedback from people that that had an impact on them.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:You continuing through the health challenges to get out there. And so now to have that, you know that realization that these years have gone by and here you are. You know just paddling miles, you know you're just going all over the place and and that freedom and that strength and everything. And I'm happy to say the kayak was a good fit. It glides really nice.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's really really.
Speaker 1:It's a very smooth and steady kayak Very smooth and steady.
Speaker 2:I felt very confident in it.
Speaker 1:I looked great in it too, though. Thank you.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I definitely had not seen me being able to get back to this point at one point. And, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1:You were saying yes, sorry. Speaking of health issues. Yeah, he's reattaching my Well, let's tell people what's happening right now, because you know, you've always been very open, you've always been very open and shared with people, and the reason it's quiet for a second is because I'm reattaching an insulin pump to your which had been charging, and you know, and that's one of the things about camping and having a lot of medical gear I have to bring with me.
Speaker 1:Did I do that? Oh, I've got to clip it. Yeah, clip it. So I'm helping attach it back there, because it's been charging off the solar thing.
Speaker 2:And that's the thing. Having the solar to be able to charge my equipment is a very important part of our adventures.
Speaker 1:Keeps you alive, being able to do it.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it's just been. It was really so, that was wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The kayaking experience.
Speaker 1:And we went into Boone and there's an old seafood restaurant in Boone. Been there for years, my history, actually my North Carolina history, which is our home state where we live.
Speaker 1:Yeah goes way back further than living in Asheville and and things like that. I first Visited Boone when I was still in the Air Force and I was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Eastern North Carolina for a while and that would have been 1991, 1991. And I drove out to Boone and I loved it and that seafood restaurant has been there since before then. And so you know I had a chapter in my life where, going up there when I was in the military.
Speaker 1:And then later on, you know, when you know doing the day-to-day broadcasting stuff, the daily broadcasting, not like now, but when I was doing daily radio. I also was an adjunct teacher at App State University for the Keller Broadcast Institute.
Speaker 2:And someone at that restaurant recognized me from those days, from when I was an adjunct at App State Back in the what that was, the late 2000s.
Speaker 1:That was like around 2008 maybe 2007, 2008. And so that was my second chapter with Boone. My third chapter with Boone was when my oldest son, Aaron, who now runs Biz Radio US station, he lived in Boone was when my oldest son, aaron, who now runs biz radio US station, he lived in Boone right up there. So that was a third chapter with Boone. So every chapter I've always gone to the same restaurant.
Speaker 2:It's actually moved from where it used to be but we went oh my goodness oh my god, and oh my god, we put it we'll put in the description of the podcast.
Speaker 1:If you're listening on the radio, you'll have to go to our website and pull up the podcast, and if you're listening on podcast, we'll we'll put the information in there. But we had an unbelievably incredible seafood dinner, as we have had other times when we've gone there, and then we went to the Natalie Merchant concert.
Speaker 2:It was so good, talk about the seats that I got. You got the seats Because I worked hard to get those seats. He got seats right in front of where the sound booth was, so it was absolutely perfect. They were center of the whole place.
Speaker 1:And the view was absolutely perfect. And the concert was absolutely perfect. Um, and the concert was perfect. She hasn't lost a single.
Speaker 2:Her voice sounded in her power of identical to her voice her voice is her voice.
Speaker 1:She went through her own medical challenges right.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think about a year ago she completely lost her voice and it was like medically she had to kind of fight her way back to getting her voice back and um.
Speaker 1:So there's a lot there and hearing you know such a such an unbelievable span of her career and everything else you know was was really great to hear revisits of some songs, but with the full symphony and a song that is just so powerful between us. I just recently started playing it on guitar yeah because it's for me. It's a very emotional song because I've nearly lost you in health challenges at times. Yes, and also it's just an emotional.
Speaker 2:It's a very powerful song called my beloved wife yeah, and she played that with the same thing, you never know what she's going to play from her repertoire, because so fast it's vast and and she usually doesn't go back to her hits and and this was just I mean, this was on tiger lily, yeah that and Ophelia were just monster albums which when I was back in my 20s.
Speaker 2:I was very sick back then, and one of the reasons I had moved from New Orleans to Asheville is that my parents had recently moved to Asheville and I needed medical care and I needed their help. As a young adult, yeah, um, and I don't know how long her album had been out, but I would go. I had trouble sleeping. I could not sleep because I had this full body pain I was dealing with, um, and so I would go to sleep every night listening to this album, and so yeah.
Speaker 1:So we had a great thing and we kind of I almost gave this away earlier. And so we have this unbelievable, beautiful majestic trip and everything, but at the very beginning of it we unpacked everything, we set up camp and realized we had forgotten some very important things yes so, um, well, you we were. We were more than two hours away from home. What did you forget? I forgot my insulin, which I've only recently got on insulin because I'm a type 2 diabetic.
Speaker 1:You're type 1 diabetic right but I've never been on insulin until just a few months ago, right and.
Speaker 2:I forgot it.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I forgot our stove and there's no yeah, you have to drive all the way to Boone if you're not able to cook and so with those two things we were like well, we can make do. And you know you were like I can. You know I can go one night and and it's not as serious as my, my kind of issues. And then I forgot my. I have so many health issues. I can't remember what exactly the thing was that we forgot, but I think it was my was it your medicine?
Speaker 2:I think it was my CGM. That's what it was. I got your continuous food, my monitor continuous glucose monitor, which, without my continuous glucose monitor, I don't know how much insulin to give myself without sticking my finger and putting it in the monitor and I had forgotten my manual checker. And you had forgotten your manual checker and I didn't have a manual checker because I have a pump and the CGM and so it was too much and we were like we've got to go back.
Speaker 2:It's a four-hour round trip, four-hour round trip, and it was already like, and we were like we've got to go back two hour four hour round trip. Four hour round trip, and it was already like nine o'clock at night.
Speaker 1:So after going to the mock matt's outdoor center, my storage shed was converted into my own little outdoor center and back to the house to get insulin and supplies and cgm and everything, everything else. It was about 1 in the morning when we got back to the campsite yeah and so it was okay.
Speaker 1:We had a great ride yeah, we were playing like interview game where we'd ask each other questions and a wonderful time, and so we get back to the campsite, beautiful night and and sleeping under the stars there's a beautiful stars through the tall old growth trees and everything, and we had a great time kayaking and we had a great time at the concert and all that stuff. And going back to the tornado experience, all of a sudden it's Saturday morning, okay, and the campground's full, as it always is in the summer. It's a beautiful, high-elevation campground, cooler temperatures, it's gorgeous.
Speaker 2:We go out is in the summer. It's a beautiful high elevation campground, cooler temperatures, it's gorgeous. We go out and hit the water.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're getting ready to go out and hit the water. Every single person in the entire loop of the campground that we were in started packing all their stuff up and everyone left Everyone left. Everyone we were, and we were, like you know, again remembering our experience before, where we almost got hit by a tornado.
Speaker 2:We're like what is happening and there were thunderstorms in the forecast.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden we're like holy cow. Do they know something we don't.
Speaker 2:Right, because there's no signal, there's no signal, there's no signal. So we didn't know.
Speaker 1:And so I'm like I'm going to go to the ranger station and I'm going to see, and I get there and they're like we were wondering the same thing.
Speaker 2:we were wondering if they knew something we didn't. It was just a weird fluke. We ended up having an entire loop of the campground to ourselves at julian. Nobody else was no one there.
Speaker 1:No light pollution, no noise, absolutely no light coming from anywhere none, and we had rolling thunderstorms come through while we were in our tent and the rain and the thunder you could feel the ground shaking, but the rain wasn't ever like dangerous, scary it was tranquil, it was serene, it was beautiful, the flashing lights and then we hear a noise in the middle of the night and no one and I know what is around us.
Speaker 2:No one's there no one is around us and what did I say?
Speaker 1:I said something's getting in or now we have a latched food box latched, and I immediately jump up. And then, you know, there's a little bit of hesitation for a second. I grab my tactical flashlight, I look out. I don't see anything yeah, I don't see anything. Oh, but I'm like I know I heard something right. So I walk over to where the latched food box was. Yeah, and sure enough, it had been unlatched. Yes, and it had been raided and stuff had been just torn up and eaten like pop tarts right and all that kind of stuff and our breakfast muffins were gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had saved pistachio and lemon poppy seed muffins, especially you know, if you've been camping, you have something that you set aside that you know a couple of days in it's going to be fantastic, and it was gone. It was nothing but crumbs and rubble, you know. And so like, oh, whatever, you know, and and so did what we probably should have done in the first place put the food box in our vehicle right. I walked it over and locked it in the vehicle for the other stuff that had not been touched.
Speaker 2:And next morning we get up, and it's now sunday morning, we're packing up we're packing and I look over and I'm like those are our hot dog buns halfway into the woods yeah, so it had grabbed our, our bread and ran off. Speaking of, we need to cook some hot dogs yeah, I think we're going to go ahead. We haven't finished this hand yeah um of uno, it was my turn.
Speaker 1:So there you go um anyway. So julian price park.
Speaker 1:We have a thing where we're sticking stickers on the car now and we're only doing it in places that have special kind of impactful things for us on trips and memories, everything, and the natalie merchant concert, the um first ever kayak voyage for both of us and everything else, and having that beautiful all by ourselves in the, you know, in the national forest area up there to ourselves. It was just amazing and um, and so that completed days um. Let's see days five through seven of our 30 day challenge.
Speaker 2:And and just one last thing um, we said that that we saw this deer at the beginning of the trip oh, that's right um that looked directly at us. She was beautiful. I'm glad you remembered to bring this over the course of just those few days, we kept seeing this single deer tan, beautiful brown eyes looking directly at us. Looking directly at us when we were coming and going from the camp, when we were driving back from the Natalie Merchant.
Speaker 1:Do you remember how many times?
Speaker 2:Ten total times.
Speaker 1:In three days In three days. Yeah, it was beautiful, it was great, Anyway. So I just drew 15 cards and I cannot believe we're not doing this on purpose.
Speaker 2:It's going to go into a third episode into my hand, but we're going to catch you up on the next episode of where we are right now, but we'll tell you what happens, because, let me, we'll be quiet for a second.
Speaker 1:See if you can hear all the night frogs.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's late and we do have at least one set of neighbors in the campground, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:A little bit over. We should be the campground a little bit over, so we're probably going to quiet down.
Speaker 1:It's getting late and um we'll finish out our game and we're going to cook some hot dogs on the open fire. And um. And so our next, our next episode, continuing on our 30-day camping challenge.
Speaker 1:Um was intended as a four-day trip or five-day trip, four days intended as a four day trip, and it was to um, jack rabbit mountain right, which is part of, I believe, the chattelucci national forest. If I'm saying that incorrect, I apologize. So we don't have access to any data. Yeah, um, and it was intended as a four day trip. It's on lake chattoog, absolutely beautiful. It's where we are right now, but we have gone way past the four days and so we will cover that wave way past yeah, we're way past the four days, but we're washing our underwear and putting it on the line.
Speaker 1:I've made our clothes lines and yeah, but we are having a wonderful time. We're rolling with the punches yeah and um. So we'll get you caught up on the next four-day thing, on the third trip in the next episode. All right, and we'll close it out letting you hear the night frogs. We'll catch you on the next episode. Bye.