Day 2 - Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherokee, Chattanooga

e

Today we got an early start.  We had breakfast at a little cafe in Asheville and then drove along th Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to the parkway's end  in Cherokee.

The morning started out cloudy and within a couple of hours it was raining.  Even with the cloud cover giving the mountains that smokey look, the drive was still beautiful and I drove while Randy mastered the video feature with his iPad.  He was able to capture the curvy roads and the dark, spooky tunnels.

As we got nearer Cherokee the stress of the curvy road and the rain got the best of me and I pulled over and let Randy take over driving.  We arrived in Cherokee around lunchtime and had lunch at a local restaurant.  It was where the locals eat and they had an all you can eat buffet.   After lunch we stopped in at the Qualla Arts and Craft Center.  All of their merchandise is made by Native Americans and it was beautiful!  They had nationally known Native American brands (Minnetonka moccasins  and Pendleton blankets) as well but the majority of their items were hand made.  We then drove by Harrah's Casino because neither of us had seen it before, then headed on to Chattanooga.

The trip was very scenic because the road followed  the Oconoluftee and the Tuckasegee Rivers.  There were beautiful lakes but the drive was so curvy and traffic was so thick that it was not easy to enjoy the scenery.  By the time we arrived in Chattanooga we were exhausted and just went to bed without even having dinner.

October 2013 part 4 - Pilot Mtn.

We had been discussing going to Pilot Mountain State Park (not to be confused with Mt. Pilot made famous by Andy Griffith) to go hiking.  National Parks are closed due to the lunacy of our government representatives but State Parks are still open!  

The mountain itself was known by the Native Americans as Jomeokee or "the great guide" and is visible from the Blue Ridge Mountains where it rises alone from the seemingly flat earth. The view from Winston-Salem gives the appearance of a halfway mark between the city and the Blue Ridge.  The park itself covers over 3,703 acres that include hiking trails, horseback riding trails and campsites.  Click on this link for a Park Map.

Civil War era photo

Forsyth County Public Library Collection

Wednesday afternoon we finally decided to go.  The park is about 25 miles north of Winston-Salem... a nice short drive and is even more beautiful when the leaves begin to change. We got there and it was about 63 degrees, breezy and sunny. There were several other people there and many were from out of state.  If you'll notice the above photo, there are two summits, the smaller one to the left and the large on on the right.   There is an overlook built at the end of the parking lot with this view:

You can take a short hike to the small summit on the left and get the following view:

We then followed the Jomeokee Trail that leads to the large summit.  The hiking trails are rated easy, moderate and strenuous.  Don't overestimate your abilities.  You are on a mountain and you will be hiking up and down hills.  If the trail is only 1.5 miles and is strenuous, remember that you have to get there and back (3 miles total).  The Jomeokee, rated moderate, is a loop that encircles the "knob" or main summit of the mountain.  It is simply beautiful!  There are large stones, cave-like overhangs, wild flowers and beautiful vistas for viewing the surrounding countryside.  I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to take shelter under one of the outcroppings during a rain storm. Just last fall there was a controlled burn at the mountain that got out of control. Much of the mountain burned but there were only traces of fire damage.  It was as if the ash from the fire provided needed nutrients for the plants to come back to life (as a horticulturist I know that this is indeed true).

We decided to try one more hike before calling it a day.  We checked out the trail map and decided on the Sassafras Trail, a short little .5 mile moderate trail.  It was a quarter mile downhill then a quarter mile uphill trail.  Honey, my knees were whining and my lungs were collapsing by the time we got back up to the summit.  This old girl is out of shape but I felt rejuvenated, like my brain was getting some REAL oxygen!

My knees felt so wobbly that I didn't know for certain that I could work the brake on the car when we started down the mountain but I put the car in a lower gear and things worked fine until the car ahead came to a dead stop.  There on the side of the road was this pretty girl....

You could tell by her calmness that she was untroubled by the traffic on the mountain road.  She seemed almost as curious about us as we were about her.  It was as if she had come out on purpose for a scheduled photo op.

We had such a wonderful day out in the fresh air enjoying the outdoors.  I know that as the winter approaches and colder weather keeps us indoors, we will remember the autumn and all the time we were able to spend enjoying nature.