Machu Picchu is one of those places I’ve always wanted to visit. While in the Army, Leon, and I went to the Boston Library and started researching a possible journey we could take when our enlistments were up. We were researching the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Of course we soon discovered that there was a train that went along the Inca Trail or to Machu Picchu. This took some of the adventure out of the idea. I think we thought the Inca treasure might still be out there.
Reading Mark Adams book Turn Right at Machu Picchu, all these years later has brought back not only the sense of adventure but also, after reading the book, a feeling that I’ve been there. Documentaries (nonfiction stories) come in all forms. Adams takes you step-by-step through his own experience and the history of Peru as it relates to the Inca civilization, the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and other ruins in the area. The Inca civilization itself didn’t last that long, especially after the Spanish arrived in 1532. But the indigenous people of the Peruvian Andes, who speak Quechua, still live in the area around Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
Hiram Bingham III
A major part of the story evolves around Hiram Bingham III, who in 1911 basically brought Machu Picchu into the limelight along with the notion that it was the Lost City to which some of the Inca’s, with their Gold and Silver treasures, retreated from the Spaniards. In 1913 National Geographic featured Bingham’s travels in one edition that brought Machu Picchu, Bingham and National Geographic into prominence. Bingham was a controversial character and went on later expeditions to Peru. According to Adams he may have been the inspiration for Indiana Jones character in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Adams layers the historical facts with his travel progress so that the book has a narrative cinematic quality. There are some well-drawn maps and black and white photographs included in the book. There is also a glossary that helps with pronunciation of some of the Quechua (Ketch-wah) names.
Mark Adams and John Leivers
Adams writes he “wanted to retrace Bingham’s route through the Andes on the way to discovering Machu Picchu” along with looking at other important locations. Turn Right at Machu Picchu is more than one man’s journey of exploration and discovery. It leaves you with a feeling that you’ve gone along on this adventure, done the research, heard the many stories, met the intrepid guide, John Leivers, who’s experience makes the journey possible, hiked the mountains, hiked the Inca roads and seen the awesome Apu (mountain) views. There’s also a supporting cast of characters including local Peruvian mule handlers, cooks and others.
Turn Right at Machu Picchu offers new appreciation and insights into Inca architectural and astronomical accomplishments. The Inca employed a method of building with stone and granite that, without the use mortar, brought the blocks together as flush as any modern building. The built hundreds of miles of small stone paved roads up and down mountains that connected various parts of their dominion. They aligned their cities by the stars and had buildings with windows that would capture the solstices on the appropriate days.
Inca Trail
If you are planning a trip to Peru, Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, Turn Right At Machu Picchu is a must read and might be something to stuff into your back pack. You can also be an armchair adventurer, this book will make you feel like you are there. No need for a TV, the words create the pictures.
Review by James R Martin – Author Create Documentary Films, Videos and Multimedia
Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time
Create Documentary Films, Videos and Multimedia: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Documentary Storytelling Techniques for Film, Video, the Internet and Digital Media Projects.
After it’s all over, when you measure things, this year’s camping trip took far less time and covered less distance than last year, close to a third of the distance and a third of the time at 4080 miles and one month on the road. Yet every trip has its own character, spirit and goals that the end leads you feeling successful for totally different reasons.
Our plan was visit with family around Philadelphia and also visit my wife Tracy’s family in VA beach. In addition we had the goal of driving the length of the Skyline Driveand the Blue Ridge Parkway. On my bucket list for the journey starting from Florida was a week visiting with daughter and family near Boston while they prepared to move to Seattle. Also on my list was to explore the area from Johnson City, TN to Binghamton, NY on either side of I-81. That’s basically the valley between the Allegheny and the Appalachian mountains. Generally we did all that and much more, while having a lot of fun along the way, plus we got to see a few family members and friends.
Driving North solo I camped my first night at High Falls State Park (SP) in Georgiafollowed by a stop at friends who live near Asheville NC. By luck I was able to attend a birthday party for one of their neighbors and got to meet many people.
Douthat SP Bridge Virginia
High Falls SP, North Carolina with Newton
I left North Carolina looking for a Shenandoah Valley experience and soon found it at Douthat State Park (SP) in Virginia. Up in the mountains west of I-81 and hard to get to, yet one of the oldest CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)built parks in the country. No Cell, no Radio, no TV, or for me because of the thick tree cover, no XM sat radio either. If you wanted a newspaper they might have one in a town some 8 miles away. Talk about disconnecting from the grid this is what I needed to get in sync with the other part of me, the one that can take off his wrist watch and “chill out” with nature in the mountains or at sea. I got the camper set up outside and was putting things in order inside when I glanced out the back door to see a deer feeding some 25 feet or so away, a good sign.
Deer Feeding at back door
Douthat SP has lots of hiking trails that I got to try until my old hiking boots decided to come apart. Campground neighbors invited me to their grill out one night of my two there, southern hospitality has not diminished in this neck of the woods. Leaving Douthat and returning to cell phone range I found out I really didn’t miss anything in the world save for some distressed calls from Tracy concerned about my welfare. Oops! Just never know when that link to the world will be lost, sorry honey!
My plan was to stop further north in the Shenandoah Valley and look up an old sailing friend who bought a farm and opened a cabinet making shop. Either he had moved on or was flying below the radar because I found no sign of him. Even other cabinet makers in the area had never heard of him. I wonder what happen to him and his dream.
I made my way north on I-81 with a stop overnight in Pennsylvania and one near Woodstock NY in the Catskill Mountains. Woodstock was like a time machine in that folks there age but stay the same. There were hippies in the road, they were out in the pasture, might even have been dancing and one geezer who looked like Santa Claus in jeans was trying to climb a tree via his bicycle. I wondered if the whole town was stoned!
Onward to my daughter in North Reading just north of Boston. They were in the throes of moving to Seattle and I soon found myself helping load pods and keeping the grand kids out of the way. For the next week they loaded and prepped for their journey since they planned to rent an RV and drive across the country in two weeks. Cars and belongs packed while the cats were flown out earlier in the month.
MYSTIC SEAPORT WOODEN BOAT SHOW
After Boston I drove south to Mystic, CT to see the Mystic Seaport Wooden Boat Show. Aside from my love for wooden boats as a surveyor it doesn’t hurt to keep up with the latest in composite boat building. Wooden boats are seldom planked any more. Laminates and epoxies have taken over. I enjoyed myself at the show and on Saturday drove down to North Wales, PA to my brother’s house where my wife Tracy would join me on Sunday.
The second half of the trip began with a visit with family in Pennsylvania and a stop to visit my Mother who lives in a nursing home in Montgomery County, Pa. After a great couple of days we drove down to Tracy’s sister’s home in Virginia Beach to help her celebrate the 4th of July. Not that she needed any help; there were 53 people at her July 4th party which she and friends handled pretty well. We had a nice couple of days there and by Friday we were driving up to Front Royal, Virginiaand the Skyline Drive. A weather note, since arriving in Pennsylvania the East coast began baking in a record-breaking heat wave of 100 degrees plus! Maybe you’ve seen people walking on hot coals, that what it felt like walking on the beach. I thought I would be damaged for life! A little ice and I was okay. We were hoping the mountains of Virginia would offer some relief.
One thing we like to do is stop in visitor centers, be they state or in this case the Skyway Drive. We find lots of great information and maps in these stops. We arrived at a Skyway Drive Visitor Center around lunchtime so it was a dual-purpose stop for us. I took care of our dog Newton letting him stretch is legs and use the potty while Tracy headed to the camper to make us lunch. It wasn’t long before Tracy informs me the deadlock on the camper is broken. We have two locks on the camper and try to lock both never wanting to have the door pop open while driving. We are locked out and no matter how many times I spin the tumbler the tail is not catching the deadbolt. We have snacks in the truck so we won’t go hungry, but I need to figure out how to get in to the camper without breaking the door or some other part. I finished walking Newton while Tracy checked out the visitor center. All I can think about is the deadbolt. We didn’t have far to go to our campground at Mathews Armso we proceed and once at the site I take up the task of getting into the camper. I know I can take a big screw driver and bust the lock but rack my brain for an alternative. Unfortunately no alternative presented itself so I ended up busting the lock to open the door. Now I know why we really had two locks on that door! Crisis over we resume life.
You might wonder, what you do when driving the Skyway or Blue Ridge Parkway? One thing to do is stop at the many overlooks for the view, also critter watch mostly to avoid hitting them and then visit some of the attractions along the way. The views are incredible and they show up on either east or west side since you are up on the ridge. We spot deer and wild turkeys along the way.
Only one of us was able to sleep our first night up on the Skyway, to me the 70s are comfortable, need I say more. We planned to go to Luray Caverns our second day and camp at a place with electricity and showers both perfect defenses for heat waves. The caverns were a cool 57 degrees and the camp had a pool. This being my first visit to caverns I’m in awe, we walked about a mile and a half underground. Amazing! We met another couple at the pool who went to high school with one of my brother in laws. It’s a small world.
Luray Caverns -165 feet Underground
Back on the Skyway the weather is still hot but there is talk about a front rolling in that night that will cool things off.
The Skyline Drive is part of the Shenandoah National Park and 105 miles long it connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is 465 miles long. That night we camp to the Peaks of Ottercampground, which is on a mountainside along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I should note that before the heat wave hit there was a nasty storm, a “derecho” that did some major damage in Virginia. The area around the Peaks of Otter had just that afternoon gotten their power back on, some nine days after the storm. Our front moved in with much less violence and dropped the temperatures some 30 degrees creating some good sleeping weather. One of the noticeable things along the Blue Ridge is hundreds if not thousands of downed trees, caused by the storm. Many had been removed from the road. We got to see a few deer in our camp ground that morning as we left.
Mabry Mill Wheel
We stopped and toured Mabry Mill, VA and also got to see a hang glider jump off the Blue Ridge successfully. Our stop for the night was off the Blue Ridge at Fancy Gap where we would food shop and fuel up also, and another swim in a pool, hot showers, even laundry done in a delightful campground.
Fancy Gap, Virginia is just north of the Virginia border with North Carolina where we wanted to stop at the Blue Ridge Music Center. Even in the clouds and rain you hear the music when you open the doors of the truck at the music center. What a treat to hear it live and to tour the center’s history exhibit. We continue on in the clouds with a side trip checking out a campground along the Blue Ridge that takes us a mile down into the woods on a gravel road in the mud and rain. This campground turns out to be a very rustic spot. We drove back up the mountain unsure if it is right for us. Another stop in a clearer moment is at the Moses Cone Mansion which has been converted to an Arts Center with a commanding view of Blowing Rock NC. That night we camped at Julian Price CG in North Carolina, along the Parkway.
The next morning the rain and low clouds continued to make driving hazardous so we decided to seek lower elevations in the hopes to finding a little comfort. Tracy found a campground right under Chimney Rock called Hickory Nut Falls and we headed for it. It seems the campground has drifted towards trailer park with majority of residents living in their trailers permanently or seasonally. There is one section along the Broad River that they saved for campers that is very nice so we were comfortable that night. The roar of the rain-swollen river bouncing through the boulders does dominate but we had no problem sleeping that night.
We do a lot of “strategizing” about how to continue camping abet the rains and poor visibility on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We wanted to spend a night at the Pisgah Campground and have dinner at the Pisgah Inn at 4800 feet. Last night we walked down to the road and could see Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Falls briefly which encouraged us but this morning there was no visibility. We came up with a compromise of sorts; we picked a campground in Georgia that would take us pass a road leading to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Pisgah Inn and if it looked worth it we would drive up to the lodge. When we got to that intersection we decided to try seeing what the weather was at Pisgah Inn and at worst have lunch there. The 15 mile drive which took us past Davidson River CG and the Cradle of Forestry Center wasn’t bad but as we approached the Parkway the clouds moved in and once again we were driving in poor visibility. The Pisgah Lodge is 3 miles from the exit so we make the effort and did have lunch there. Lunch was excellent. Afterward we noticed several RVs in the Lodge parking lot. We wondered if they gave up driving and were staying at the Inn.
Our drive via route 64 and 106 to Dillard Ga. Was through some twisting, winding roadway but for a short section is out of the clouds. We have been to Black Rock Mountain State Park before, liked it and were hoping for a break from the rain and clouds yet as we climbed up to the 3600 foot high campground back in the clouds. We chose to spend just one night there and head to southern Georgia to try to dry out. Tracy found a state park not far from Adel Ga. So still dripping wet we departed Black Rock Mountain CG for southern Ga.
We decided to fuel up prior to driving the five miles to the campground. When I went into the camper to get some cash to pay I discovered that the Barbecue sauce had leaped out of the cabinet and exploded on the floor somewhere along I-75 after lunchtime. Quite a mess but it was cleanable. Reed Bingham State Park turned out to be very nice and we spent the night drying out. The next day was an easy drive to St Petersburg and home.
Machu Picchu is one of those places I’ve always wanted to visit. While in the Army, Leon, and I went to the Boston Library and started researching a possible journey we could take when our enlistments were up. We were researching the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Of course we soon discovered that there was a train that went along the Inca Trail or to Machu Picchu. This took some of the adventure out of the idea. I think we thought the Inca treasure might still be out there.
