Almost Heaven, West Virginia

I moved on to Jonesborough, Tennessee. I stayed at the Kampers of America (KOA). I normally don't like KOAs. They are expensive, they pack you in like the proverbial sardine and they are very family orientated (lots of usually very loud children). That said, I seem to be spending a lot of time in KOAs on this trip.  This one wasn't too bad. It was located in the Cherokee National Forest and right on the Nolichucky River. Nolichucky is another one of those fun words to say. This river is rated 2-4 as far as rapids go. I don't know what that means but the river was roaring. I think my style is more babbling brook instead of raging river. I kept thinking I had left a fan on in the camper as the roar of the river was so loud even with all the windows shut.

I spent the night on the Nolichucky and then moved to Wytheville Virginia where I stayed at a National Forest campground called Stony Fork. It was a nice change to be surrounded by trees and not other camping people. Again, I had a hard time backing the camper into my site and again it was on the supposedly easier side to back in. That is twice now that I've had issues. It seems like things either go super easy or super hard with this camping deal.

There was a stocked trout steam running through the campground and there were many fisherpeople there, mostly older, retirement age southern boys. They were a lot of fun to talk to – I heard so many colloquialisms in almost every sentence they spoke. Interesting note: the guys with the big trout strings were all very happy. Then there were the guys who had come up empty handed and were very upset with how the trout stream was hardly stocked this year.

When you get into West Virginia, you almost have to start singing that John Denver song - Take Me Home, Country Roads - "Almost heaven, West Virginia"  I made it to Gauley River to be specific. I followed my so-called friend Ms. Google to get there. Such tiny little twisty mountain roads that when I told the campground owner which way I had come, she was very impressed that I made it to the campground. This campground was right on the New River which was a nice civilized river. I think that might have been because of the dam that was a little bit downstream from me.

There was a train track right across the river. 
 Everytime a train went by, it sounded like it was right on top of you. 
I suppose it was because of the hills sending the sound rolling around

I had to come here for the New River Gorge National Scenic River where I earned another Junior Ranger badge. The Gorge was deep with the New River running through it, but the big draw was the New River Gorge Bridge built in 1977. Before it was built, it was a 45 minute journey to get across the gorge. Now you can get across it in under two minutes. It was the longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years; it has now lost the title and is the fifth longest bridge in the world. I was more impressed with the height of the thing. When it was built, it was the highest bridge in the world with a roadway on it. Alas, another title lost as it is now only the third highest in the world. They say that two Statue of Liberties and the Washington Monument could stand end to end under it. Another way to look at it is that it is 88 stories tall. Every year they have a Bridge Day during which hundreds of people (with appropriate equipment, of course) are permitted to climb on or jump from the bridge. Nosireebob – that is not going to be me.

More stairs

Of course there was a waterfall right on the way to the New River Gorge.  It is good to bag a waterfall in every state.

Cathedral Falls

On Top Of The World

 

Down in southwestern North Carolina is the little town of Franklin. It is nestled in the mountains, surrounded by some of the biggest waterfalls in the state. I found a lovely campsite on top of a mountain – Cardinal Ridge. There were only eight campsites and very secluded.

Imagine this in the Fall

I ran into town to see the Scottish Tartan Museum located in a Main Street storefront. The upstairs was sort of a history of the Scots – their kings, their battles. Downstairs were the tartans, walls and walls of tartans. I'm from the MacGregor clan so of course I made a beeline to “my” clan. I was surprised to learn that there are multiple tartans for each clan – ancient, modern, hunting. All of these tartans and each one of them is unique.

The top row, left four are MacGregor tartans

On the spur of the moment I decided to go to the Rufus Morgan Trail where the payoff is the Rufus Morgan Falls. To get to the trail, you have to drive up the mountain. It is another single lane road where if you meet somebody, it can get stressful – cliffs on one side, rock walls on the other. The nice thing about eastern roads like this as opposed to the western mountain roads is that in the east there are trees that would probably slow down your descent if you, by some chance, went off the edge. It gave me a bit of comfort.

The Rufus Morgan Trail is a one mile loop, or so they say. Remember, I decided to hit this trail rather spontaneously. As a consequence, I had on my good tennis shoes (not hiking shoes), no water and really no idea where the trail goes. I'm such a wilderness expert, aren't I? The trail was challenging because of all of the recent rains there were lots of little waterways that ran across the trail and you had to figure out how to cross them. With that and all the up and downs, it was a fun trail.  Being the trail boss that I am, I couldn't find the trail that actually led to the waterfall.

Not the actual Falls, but pretty

See that sliver of white in the distance? 
This is the closest I got to the actual Rufus Morgan Falls.
They say that Rufus has a drop of 60-70 feet.

Dry Falls,  also known as Upper Cullasaja Falls, drops about 65 feet.  There isn't much of a hike to get to it, it is pretty much right next to the road.  Go down some steps and there you are.  The cool thing about these falls is that you can walk behind them legally.  There are no signs telling you to keep out.

Tiny tiny people, big big falls

Behind the curtain

The Glen Falls trail is 2.4 miles roundtrip down the side of a mountain.  There are lots of switchbacks so it isn't all that difficult.  The falls is a triple drop and the trail winds down next to and away from the falls.  The top and the middle falls are the more spectacular falls.

The upper section drops about 70 feet

The middle section has a 60 foot drop

The last section only drops about 15 feet into a quiet pool. 
 I think in the summer it would be a lovely place to cool your feet off. 

Water, Water, Water

 

Down by Brevard, North Carolina is the Dupont National Forest. Four waterfalls are on today's agenda. Are you tired of waterfalls yet? Hope not, because I have only just begun.

Don't know the name of this one

Hooker Falls – a measly little 12 foot drop of a waterfall, but a waterfall that I found rather moving, spiritually, if not waterwise. I was able to get up very close to the base of the falls and I was able to sit there for quite a while, just being there.

Hooker Falls

From Hooker Falls, it was a short hike over to Triple Falls. Maybe I should mention that a lot of this hike was all uphill. Triple Falls is three cascades descending over 120 feet. The falls were like something out of National Geographic special.

Triple Falls

I did try to go to High Falls and Looking Glass Falls but there was no place to park. Way too many people were out and about. It's Tuesday, y'all are supposed to be at work or school.

I did get to hike to see Moore Creek Falls. Again, there were signs up – don't go pass this point – death has occurred. Maybe people just don't know how to read anymore, rather than a sense of entitlement, a feeling that rules don't mean them. Maybe that is it. It was rather enticing though – if you crossed over the fence line, you could walk behind the waterfall.

Moore Creek Falls

With my fancy new camper, there is an Auto Level feature.  You push a button, it does a whole auto level process.  When it is time to hook the truck up to the camper again, I push another button and it returns the camper to the original position so I can get hitched up.  I pushed that latter button, got into my truck and backed up to the camper.  Evidently, I did something wrong or the Return button did not work the way it was supposed to.  I highly suspect the former was the issue.  Anyway, the end result is that I backed the truck into the front of the camper and bashed in the front compartment door with the truck tailgate.  It was not pretty.  It got even a little bit more tacky when I added duct tape to the compartment door to make sure it stayed closed.   I guess it is just something else I will need to get fixed whenever I am back in Minnesota.

Steps, Steps, Steps

 

I'm in Asheville North Carolina, lots of mountains, waterfalls and art. What's not to like?

I met a new acquaintance at the Southern Highlands Folk Art Center: many baskets, weavings, woodwork and glass work. It's nice doing something with somebody every so often. Most the time, I am a solo traveler.

We parted company and I ran over to the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center where I could get my Blue Ridge Parkway Junior Ranger badge. I can't travel too much farther south on the Parkway when I am hauling my camper because there are too many low bridges. I sort of like the roof on my camper.

I decided to drive over to Chimney Rock State Park, about 21 miles and an hour drive. Again, little curvy mountain roads, but at least all I was driving was the truck, no camper. Chimney Rock is one of those iconic sites that just says “North Carolina”. The rock is 315 foot tall where from the top you can see about 75 miles in all directions. There is an elevator that will take you to the top, but the day I was there, it was closed for maintenance. That means that I will have to climb the steps. But, before I do that, there is the Hickory Nut waterfall that must be seen. This waterfall has a drop of 404 feet, it should be impressive. I am walking the Hickory Nut Trail, you have to climb down 170 steps to get to the trail head (that would be 170 steps back up when you leave, of course). The sky is getting darker and darker. A major storm is coming in. At one point, I meet a ranger who tells me to go back – heavy rain, large hail is expected. I was so close to the falls, that I wanted to press on. He let me go on down the trail. I am flying down the trail – I met nobody else. By the time I get to the falls, I'm a little freaked out because it is getting so dark. Quick photo op and I go flying back to those steps. I did get totally wet because I left my rain gear in the truck and of course there is no way I would need it.

Chimney Rock

The start of Hickory Nut Falls 
Once I got down the mountain, I looked over and off in the distance saw the falls. 
 It was much more impressive when you could see the whole 404 foot drop

By the time I got back up the steps and to the visitor center, I found out that the top of Chimney Rock was closed because of lightning. I could not climb those 500 some steps up there and look at that view. Bummer......not! I was ready to be done climbing steps Note: 10 steps is considered a flight of stairs.

Of course on my way back down the mountain I found the Great Woodland Adventure Trail, a half mile loop that was made for the kids. I was already wet, what difference did a more rain make? At various points along the trail, the Chimney Rock people had put North Carolina native animal sculptures with signs telling the kids about the habits of these animals. It was cute.

Jenny and Mingo

 

The vaccine rollout has had a slow start and many states have been slow to ramp up. I have tried to get signed up in every state that I have been in and most states have been vaccinating their residents first (and rightly so). Finally, I have been scheduled and Asheville, North Carolina was my most generous benefactor. I was almost giddy with excitement when I went in. One dose done, one to go.

Since I was already in town, I did go to the Asheville art museum, which was just ok. I did find though, tucked away in a little corner of Asheville, a Jenny Lind anmitron. Regretfully, she was not animitroning.

Jenny Lind, an opera singer also known as the Swedish Nightingale

It was a lovely drive over to Cherokee NC, which is just on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I wanted to see the Museum of the Cherokee. It was a nice museum but I wish they had focused more on the little things – such as how the people lived, their tribal structure, more about their culture. The museum was more concerned with the big picture – Paleo/Woodland/Mississippi eras, Trail of Tears, Civil War.

I like masks

A bonus was that Cherokee is also the home to Mingo Falls. Massive and impressive falls. They had a bridge right over the stream below the falls so you could get up close and personal.

Mingo Falls

A babbling brook?

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Since I was in Mt. Airy which is on the northern side of North Carolina, I decided that I was going to take the Blue Ridge Parkway south as far as I could. I had heard that it was a beauteous road, many many stunning views and “they” were possibly very right. The Blue Ridge Parkway weaves and wanders through some incredible places and with a speed limit of 45, there is a chance to see it all. That is, of course, if you are not pulling a 36 foot fifth wheel. Hands on the wheel, eyes not daring to look either left or right, trying to stay on my side of the road. I did get to see some of the vistas because I did pull over at the occasional overlook to do a look-see. Actually, I pulled over because I usually had developed quite a long line of cars behind me, all chomping at the bit to get past me. Part of the Parkway was closed so I had to detour off of the Parkway and travel through some little mountain towns. I found this a little more enjoyable than the stressful Parkway.

Rhododendrons were still all droopy and hadn't gotten their spring clothes on yet.

I checked into a lovely campground – the Bear Den Campground. You can only check in after 3:00 pm. The reason is that the road into the campground is only one lane with trees tight on each side. It would have been disastrous meeting another camper who was leaving and coming down the road, there was no place to turn around and backing up was not an option. Campers who were leaving for the day had to be gone by 1:00 to avoid that issue. Bear Den was a nice campgound – in the woods. I had a flock of turkeys come by every evening. They were fun to watch, there were two big toms, who were always trying to impress the ladies with their tail feathers all puffed out but the ladies were steadfastly ignoring them.

The swimming hole at the campground

North Carolina is a land of waterfalls. As I am a big-time waterfall aficionado, this is my land, my place to be. I'm moving into the mountains of North Carolina and waterfalls are everywhere. I'm not talking those little pretty babbling brook type of waterfalls, I'm talking rip-roaring knock-your-socks off type of waterfalls. Word of warning, if you don't particularly care for waterfalls, then perhaps you might want to not even bother reading the next few blogs, cause I have immersed myself in da falls.

Linville Falls was a great starter falls right on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a three-tiered waterfall that runs into the Linville Gorge (the “Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians). There were three trails, each one a further distance from the falls, giving you a view of the falls with a different perspective. At the closest viewpoint there was a sign and a fence telling people not to go any further. Lots of people disregarded the sign. I got really angry, almost to the point of saying something to these people. Urg – angry was I. People like that are why we can't have nice things. There was one errant family who basically followed me to every viewpoint. The teenagers were going out on the edge of cliffs – freaked me right out. Total disregard for propriety, not alone safety. Yup, that's me – turning into a grumpy old lady.

Linville Falls:

Starts out as two falls

Winds around some rocks

Drops into a pool

You can just barely see the first falls up at the top center

Hiking further up the trail, the waterfall is getting smaller

Did I mention that when you drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, you are up on a ridge? As in the top of a mountain ridge? When I left the Bear Den Campground, there was a heavy cloud cover. This means that you are driving in the clouds, you are that high up. I could barely see beyond the front of my truck. It was scary. Then on top of that, I had to drive down the mountain to get to my next stop. Getting out of the clouds was wonderful, going down several miles of a 10% grade was not. At one point, I had to pull over because my brakes were beginning to smell. I certainly didn't want to be losing my brakes on that steep of an incline. We all made it down safely which I am grateful for. Note: Since this downward journey, I have since learned how to go downhill using my engine braking as a helpmate.  So, all is good.

The Bestest Day Ever

 

This day was the bestest day ever. I ended up in Mayberry. Yes, that Mayberry, the town with Andy, Opie, Aunt Bea and my personal favorite, the deputy above all others – Barney Fife! I can not tell you how excited and happy I was to be here. The town is actually called Mt Airy, but it is where Andy Griffith was born and raised and what Mayberry was modeled on. In the town, there is Floyd's Barbershop and you can get a Barney Burger down at the local cafe. Mt. Airy is very proud of her native son, as well she should be. I stayed at the Mayberry Campground, where most of the streets were named after characters in the Andy Griffith show.

Maybe this is why I was so excited about being in Mayberry. 

When you go to the Andy Griffith Museum, you get a paper sheriff's badge that will allow you to enter. Nice little museum. Since it was a Saturday, it also got you admission into the Earle Theater. WPAQ Saturday morning Merry-Go-Round is a live radio broadcast set in a vintage movie theater. This show is the second longest currently running live radio program in the nation. They feature regional music and have hosted some of the greats: Carter Family, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe among others. I jumped at the chance to actually go see some live music. I can't tell you how nice it was to hear live music again. Live music can actually do your soul good.

Hubert Lawson and the Bluegrass Country Boys
A family band.  Mom, Dad and their two boys

Mayberry is not all that was happening or happened in the area. Eng and Chang Bunker ended up settling in the area around Mt. Airy after they made it big in the side show business. Eng and Chang were conjoined twins who were born in Siam (Thailand) in 1811, hence the name Siamese Twins. They were joined at the chest by a thin piece of skin. Their livers were connected through the band. Nowadays, it would have been a simple surgery to separate them but back then, it would have been a deadly procedure. They made a fortune in the curiosity business and came to Mt. Airy where they bought land and were very successful farmers and real estate investors. They each married and between them they had 21 children. Many of their descendants are still in the area. Mayberry Campground is located on what was their land and there is a house on the grounds, built by one of their sons.

Speaking of the campground, some of my neighbors decided to feed me. They grilled a whole thirteen pound turkey and I have to say that it was the moistest white meat I have ever tasted. I am not a fan of white meat, it is usually much too dry. There were sweet potatoes with walnuts, some long skinny green things and a to-die-for banana pudding. Evidently banana pudding is a standard southern dish. It was so good that it could make you consider moving down south.

Its All Capital

 

I'm heading north, up to Gainesville Florida to the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. One of the premier sights to see in Old Florida. I am staying at Kate's Fish Camp – it looks and feels like something out of the sixties. Very old school. I jump in the truck, all ready to head to the Gardens. I put the address into Google Maps, only to have Ms. Google tell me -'your destination is closed today'. What? It's Thursday – nobody closes on a Thursday. But, yes, Thursdays are the one day of the week that the Gardens are closed. Oh well, another sight-seeing opportunity missed. I could have stayed one more day and gone to the Gardens but it is time to leave Florida. Just too many old folks here (Please disregard the fact that I am one of those old folks- or so my granddaughter says). Onward and northward.

I spent a night in Townsend, GA and a night Florence SC. Yes, I am flying northward. I finally got to the Rolling View State Recreational Area – a park that is on the north side of Raleigh, NC. I loved this place – it was fairly close to Raleigh and I was back in the woods with lots of hiking trails. After a month in RV parks, this was a treat. North Carolina is developing a trail that they call Mountain to Sea Trail. It will go all the way across NC from the Appalachian Mountains to the Outer Banks. I guess everybody is getting into the cross country mega-mile type of trail. They have 700 miles of it done so far and part of it goes right through the park that I am at.

I am extremely proud of the fact that I backed into this site and got it on the first try. 
AND, it was on the more difficult off-side.  Yay Me!!!!

My faucet at my site had an issue and they had to replace the whole thing. 
 I think I had every single park maintenance guy working on it.

I'm going to get a little culture in Raleigh. I have not been to a Natural History Museum in decades. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has a lot of exhibits pertaining to NC flora and fauna. The cool thing is that they had all of these whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling. You could really get a feeling for how big and how diverse some of these species are. There were also dinosaur skeletons. They had an Acro skeleton which is extremely rare, it is the most complete Acro skeleton every found and it is the only “real” skeleton displayed in the whole world. Think of it as sort of a variation on good ol' T-Rex, just as vicious, but not as pretty.

I loved the North Carolina Museum of Art. They had taken Covid very seriously. You had to follow the footprints thru the museum and I really liked that. I like having direction. I enjoyed the art, it was more of a contemporary ilk and it just made me feel very happy.

You had to look at this painting through a piece of glass that would turn it right side up. 
The cool thing though was the material that was used to create this art.

Spools!!!

This mirrored box was in a room all by itself. 
There were holes where you could look inside.

Colored lights.  The colors would change all sort of different ways.  You can see me taking a picture through the hole.

Miko practicing camouflage