Smoking Pork – Asheville North Carolina

Smoking Pork – Asheville North Carolina               July 19 -21, 2016

After arriving in Atlanta on the way to my sister’s house early in the morning I drove off the exit leading to her house and lo and behold there was that famous icon and beacon of the South, Waffle House, next to the highway.  It was just after six in the morning so I decided to stop for a much needed cup of coffee, a waffle and bacon of course.  The staff inside was typical, friendly full of helpful suggestions about the menu and also making sure my coffee cup was full of hot coffee.
I ordered and eating my food when one of the waitresses noticed my Alaska license plate on my rig and in the friendly southern fashion asked if I had drove from Alaska to Atlanta and then proceed to ask questions about living in igloos, fishing, the Aurora and its beauty. Several cups of coffee later everyone’s questions were answered and I was on my way.

I arrived at my sister’s house spending time with her before she left to do some personal business while also spending the rest of the morning with other family members.  Once she returned it was a quick trip to the AT&T store for them to swap some phones on the business account and if gave me an opportunity to pay my bill without having to access the internet to do it. It was convenient for everyone so lunch was gotten and taken back to the house so we could visit a bit before I left for Asheville, North Carolina.

The schedule I was on to arrive at my friend Mike’s house around seven thirty that evening had me leaving my family during the mid-afternoon. The family gathered outside and took several photos before I drove north.  It was great seeing everyone and I will return shortly after several family members return to California the following week.  The family is still pretty devastated after my brother-in law’s death the fourth of July.  My sister and I sent time together going over several things before I left and would continue when I returned the next week.

I wanted to head north before the afternoon traffic started to build so I left around three in the afternoon on a leisurely pace to the Carolina’s. I stopped at a rest area just crossing into South Carolina at Lake Hartwell to stretch and enjoy the flowers in the rest stop.  It was quite crowded with people going to places unknown.  Tractor trailer trucks filled their parking area while cars, campers, and other vehicles had the parking spaces filled almost to capacity.  The State had pretty landscaping and flowers around the different buildings.  It was clean and had a nice comfortable feel while stopping to use the rest rooms or inquire from the staff on any tourist information needed.  I left and headed north once again shortly turning onto highway 25 towards Asheville.  I drove for another hour before stopping at a DQ for a milkshake to cool off the almost one hundred degree temperatures outside.  I also put more ice in the cooler to keep my items cold.

I proceeded past the North Carolina line just before seven and arrived at my friend’s house about 7:45 PM.  He had not arrived from his weekly BBQ duties at the lodge.  His roommate met and welcomed me into the house where we talked for about an hour before Mike’s return. Once he returned we fixed some dinner and talked how things were going in our lives over a beer and discussed the plans for smoking the pork we were taking to our convention in Kentucky the following day. The three of us talked until one thirty in the morning before heading off to sleep.

The next morning after a quick breakfast it was time to go shopping to get the pork and other items that we would be preparing for ABCon our gaming convention. We stopped at several places before returning home and starting the grill.  Mike uses a “big green egg” grill for his smoking activities and a Weber grill for grillin’ things.  Once the coals were ready we put in the wood chips a combination of hickory and apple wood and gave those about ten to fifteen minutes to start producing the required smoke.  We placed the two large pork butts in the smoker and adjusted everything and left it to slow cook over the next several hours.


We decided to take a drive to two nearby places I had not been to since the mid-seventies, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.  Both were hang outs when I traveled to North Carolina during my hang gliding period with tournaments at Grandfather Mountain.  I had several friends in the area so anytime I was close I would usually stop in and see how they were doing.
Lake Lure was still a small quaint little community surrounding the Lake. 
Tourist season was in full swing with many people in the different shops or at the beach area.  Most of the houses surrounding the lake had people outside on the decks, along the banks, or on the docks. There were still several familiar places open all these years and a few newer places (shops) that I did not remember. It was not crowded which is one of the big draws for the area but there were plenty of people milling about. We drove to the dam, parked and got out to take photos.  It was pretty with the rocks below and the spillway leading down a long valley.  The lake side had several boats fishing just outside the marked boundary area.
Chimney Rock was equally crowded with several old familiar stores.  One in particular was the ice cream shop where I always stopped for a homemade chocolate cone.  It was always a great treat to cool off with a good cone or milkshake there.  We did not drive up the mountain to the rock but took photos from below of the familiar rock and flag flying in the breeze on the mountain.

We drove up a mountain road to get to an overlook but in the years since Mike had been up there it all had turned into private property so we turned around and headed back down the mountain. We drove back to the house and it was time to add just a bit more wood for smoking and turned the pork over to evenly cook and get the right char on it.  We would cook it for several more hours before pulling it off, resting it for a bit then turning it into “pulled pork” ready to take to ABCon.  Mike also made his own BBQ sauce to take with us.
By the time we finished up that evening it was after one in the morning.  We were to awake about three to leave for Kentucky in time to pick up my friend Russ who was flying in from British Columbia. Mike and I awoke and left just before four in the morning driving out to I-40 west toward Knoxville through the mountains of western North Carolina.  We left in two vehicles with Mike leading the way until we arrived on the interstate.  The road was winding back and forth with elevation changes going up one mountain then down the other side.  It was slow going with many trucks out during the dark hours making driving a cautious affair during this night.

Once we made the turn north onto I-75 it was still the rolling hills but the road had become more straight and easier to drive before the sun came up.  We stopped at a McDonald's for a bathroom stop and a cup of coffee at first light.  One we drove back north on the highway again you could see the makings of a beautiful sunrise.  Off to the right of the highway were the clouds starting to change colors between the dark purples of night to the orange hues while making the change to the red hues as the sun broke the horizon.  At one point the road turned and right in front was the sun rising in the distance about an inch above the trees.  It was almost blinding but the road turned again where it was not directly in one’s eyes.

The GPS lead us off the interstate and down a few miles of single lane road.  We were almost to the farm to drop my vehicle before heading to the airport in Cincinnati to pick up Russ when the voice on the GPS told us to turn right and immediately told us we had arrived with the destination on the left.  What struck me was there was a high school on the far left corner of the intersection, a subdivision across from the school and a church on the other corner.  Looking up the hill as I turned right was a pretty white house sitting on the hill.  It did not really look like a farm only a house on the hill.  We turned around and turned up the street between the school and the house and after driving about a quarter of a mile arrived at the mailbox to the address we were seeking.  We turned in and as we drove along the driveway the “farm” opened up to us. There were rolling hills in the distance, cows in the fields, corn, pumpkins, a barn, an old house and several out buildings.  We arrived at the white house and saw our friends and hosts for the weekend sitting on the back porch in the shade.

We parked and said our hellos since we had not seen them in over a year and told them our plans to go to the airport to pick up Russ.  We were the first to arrive and several more were expected within the next hour.  They gave us directions to quickly and easily get back to the freeway and would see them again shortly.

It only took about fifteen to twenty minutes to arrive at the Cincinnati airport just over the state line into Ohio.  Russ was through customs and waiting for us as we drove up to pick him up.  We returned to the farm after a stop at the local store for some supplies, several varieties of beer and snacks for the rest of the day.

We were ready for the start of the 16th Annual ABCon, an online gaming community gathering where friends play with friends on various games on the internet.  At the height of our membership there were over twelve thousand people.  At our gatherings there have been ranges in attendance from several people to over a hundred twenty in 2005 in Las Vegas.  The con is rotated to different cities or locations each year around the country.

Let 2016 ABCon begin, welcome everyone!

Ice

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Morrison Springs - Ponce de Leon, Florida

Are Showing Your Nipples Appropriate Work Attire?

Biscuits and Whores