Ashville, North Carolina

I spent most of the day in the River Arts District, near Ashville. The drive from Greenville took me through some small mountains. It was pretty overcast, so views were limited, but it was lovely hilly terrain. The river arts district is a series of warehouses converted into working studio space and retail shops. There were painters, fiber artists, photographers and jewelers. But by far, I think the most represented, was clay!!! I found my medium, and had a blast looking over many different types of works. Of course the vast majority was functional wheel thrown pottery. There was also hand built sculptural works. It was a Sunday, and surprisingly, a handful were closed. Many artists were working on pieces, so anyone could watch. Their finished works were on display for sale. And everyone had a small cubical-like space, along with open space for sharing equipment. So this was much like an art show, but better, so you could see everything. People were really very friendly, and welcoming. Yes, I bought a pot for my collection. You just can't help but do that. Jo Jo was riding comfortably in the front carry pack. So he always gets a birds eye view.....or a dogs eye view. I wanted to go to a forested area for an over night stay. But the signs indicated a dirt road ahead. Along with seeing that cell service was not available, and on going rains, I decided to reroute to Wally world. It is my last choice for boondocking (dry camping), and rightfully so. I was awoken several times by cars, boom boxes, and a leaf blower who decided that midnight was a good time to clean up the parking lot. Yeah....no, it's not... that didn't work for my sleep. But this morning it is peaceful.