Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 3

Happy birthday to Christopher! 

We left the hotel around 10 am to begin a day of exploring. We planned to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Asheville, but wanted to make a quick stop at the Mingus Mill just past the visitor center into the National Park. 

We noticed a number of elk in the field next to the visitor center today. Mingus Mill did not feature a water wheel but worked on water power to grind corn into meal.

Chris backtracked a little to get to the exit for the Blue Ridge Parkway and we were off for a day of sight seeing and leaf peeping with a hike or two along the way. 

Chris was so good to pull off at the Overlook Pullouts, the side of the road, by a tunnel...anywhere that was safe. 

As I was taking pictures at one of the overlooks, an older gentleman stopped and gave some suggestions for great places to go for some good Fall color in the area. Since we were just driving and enjoying the view today, we followed his advice and headed over to the Cataloochee Ski Resort above Maggie’s Village. 

We followed a steep road up the side of the mountain until we topped off at the resort. Kristen had lots of homework to keep her busy, and dutifully worked on it throughout the day. I got a few shots at the ski resort and the lodge a short way down the hill.

We had hoped for a warmer day, but similar to yesterday, the clouds descended around us and obscured our view. We stopped for a chilly lunch at Waterrock Knob and then took off on a hike on the Waterrock Knob Trail. Kristen opted out and stayed in the car to keep working on homework. 

The hike took off immediately up and up and up. It was a workout. Chris and I hiked first to a lookout, though there wasn’t much to see as we were in the clouds. 

From there, he wanted to go “off the beaten path” and find a plane crash he had read about online. I wasn’t thrilled about the muddy conditions nor the slippery roots we had to carefully climb over and around. After about a half an hour of descending into the forest, AND when people said it was just going to get muddier, I told Chris he could go on without me. He kept on going to the crash site and got some cool pictures. 

I hiked back to the lookout and was rewarded with the clouds receding and some pretty awesome photographs. This is what puts the “Smoky” in Great Smoky Mountains! 

I waited for Chris for a half an hour or so. We hiked back down to the parking lot to find Kristen happy to see us. She would NOT have enjoyed that hike. 

We continued on along the parkway until we arrived at Swannanoa, a small suburb outside of Asheville, North Carolina, where we would be staying. Chris had found a cute townhome in a cluster of four—Martin Valley Townhomes. Each unit was characterized by a color—red, blue, orange, and green. Ours was red and so tastefully decorated inside with black, white, and red colors. We settled in for a two-night stay and then headed out to explore and find dinner. 

Since it was Chris’ birthday, we gave him the option of choosing where to eat. We tried a couple of chain steak houses only to find that the wait was an hour and half long. Yikes! Too long. We drove around until we found a little Mexican place in a strip mall that looked good. We were hungry by then and ready to be done looking as well. Ay Caramba was the name. 

We were seated next to a large group also celebrating a birthday. They were the twangiest bunch of people. We had fun listening to them. Chris opted not to tell the waiter it was his birthday after he watched them sing to a lady and then push the cake in her face. Instead, we stopped at Ingles grocery chain and found him a piece of German chocolate cake. We needed groceries for the next couple of days as well. We FaceTimed with Misha for a short time. Both she and Amy were at home being adults and working.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Day 2

 Chris, Kristen, and I left the hotel around 10 am. 

In the light of day, we got a better look at Cherokee. The side of the town around the mountain and closest to the national park was probably a little more interesting had we known it was there. Still, I would not really recommend it as a destination spot.

Our first stop of the day was at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Perhaps the lack of an entrance fee is why Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the United States.

We visited the Mountain Farm Museum at the visitor center and were amazed to see two elk sparring in the trees by the river. They were carefully watched over by two park rangers while tourists snapped pictures.

I had to snap a picture of the "Bob Was Here" sign. Pretty clever. 

In his research, Chris found an app called GyPSy Guide. It was an excellent guided tour throughout the park. Using the wonders of  GPS and satellite, the commentary played automatically as we passed a GPS point, sharing behind-the-scene stories, tips, side trips, and driving directions. The guide was excellent; we highly recommend it. 

 

We made our second stop of the day for a short hike on a “Quiet Walkway”. Yep, that's what the sign called it. The path was covered with fallen leaves making the trail hard to see. Beautiful though. 

We continued on toward Clingmans Dome passing some pretty great scenery along the way. 

The line of traffic getting to the parking lot below the dome was backed up for at least a mile. As we inched toward the parking lot, the clouds descended and covered the dome and the entire mountain. Though we still hiked toward the observation deck, the sky was blanketed in dense clouds. We didn’t get to see too much. 

Just a piece of advice: if there is a site you really want to see in the park, go early in the day. Around noon, the tourist traffic really multiplies. Everyone is there for the Fall foliage at this time of the year. 

The clouds lifted after an hour or so but after we had left Clingmans Dome.

We made the choice to visit Cade’s Cove as suggested by our GyPSy Guide. As we took the turnoff, toward the Cove, we were dismayed to see that the traffic on the main road out of Cade’s Cove was miles long (that is miles with an s)! And...we were committed.

 

The Cove is a lush valley surrounded by mountains. As you enter the Cove, you follow a one-way road for eleven miles through the Cove, stopping to visit old homesteads along the way, view wildlife, and see a number of churches. 

I told Kristen that if she was the first to see a bear on this trip, I would buy her a new sweatshirt. She perked up and started watching intently out the window. 

We made a stop at a Baptist Church with a cemetery in the back. The church was very simple in style. As we walked through the cemetery behind the church, Chris commented to Kristen that this might be a good place for a bear sighting. Referencing the cemetery, she quickly responded, “Nah, this is all expired food.” Have to say this was the best joke of the year! 

We spent a couple of hours driving through Cove, getting out and exploring, and taking pictures. 

Our exit from the Cove took forever. And we weren't even on the main road yet! 

Not sure the reason for the slowness, but we drove 2 to 3 mph for miles. Finally, we turned on to the main road! The good news? The huge miles-long back up was gone.

It was getting late in the evening. Instead of returning to Cherokee in hopes of finding something for dinner, Chris proposed going to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, Tennessee to find a place to eat. We had no idea that either city was a teeming metropolis of tourists, neon lights, roller coasters. Pigeon Forge was so busy. So many people. And zero social distancing. We drove through Pigeon Forge and toward Gatlinburg hoping for a quieter town. It wasn’t that. Gatlinburg was maybe less busy than Pigeon Forge, but still abounding with tourists. We settled on a little out of the way restaurant—Luigi’s—with pizza and salad. 

It was okay. We drove back through the national park to Cherokee; the road was amazingly empty. We were happy to fall into bed at the hotel.

North Carolina Day 1

Kristen and I attended our respective seminary classes on Wednesday morning and then packed everything up so that we could leave shortly after class at 7:45 am. Misha woke up early so that she could come with us to the airport and then drive the Pilot home. 

Kristen's Fall Break gave her Friday and Monday off, but we signed her out for a couple of extra days. Unfortunately, she would have lots of homework to work on while we were away. Good thing we would have lots of driving time. 

Chris and I and Kristen left for Charlotte, North Carolina on a 9:45 am flight out of Denver. The flight was 3 1/2 hours long on one of the smaller United planes. 

We arrived in Charlotte mid afternoon and were impressed with the new and fairly un-busy airport. White rocking chairs dotted the hallways. 

After gathering our luggage, we picked up a rental car from the line of cars at National. The selection wasn’t great but with just three of us, we were able to fit easily enough. We grabbed a quick lunch at Chick-fil-A and were then on our way to Cherokee, North Carolina. The big draw for many in Cherokee (on an Indian reservation) was a huge casino. That, and it was close to the entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Interesting fact: the National Park does not charge an entrance fee. 

Once we exited the main freeway and drove on the secondary roads toward Cherokee, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, changing Fall colors, and the Blue Ridge mountains. 

We finally found our hotel in Cherokee and were wholly unimpressed. There were very few options for dining, and the guy at the hotel front desk cautioned, “Stay away from Burger King.” We even ventured into the casino to Brio Tuscan Grille, the only restaurant that we could eat at with Kristen as she didn’t have to walk by the casino floor to get to it. Unfortunately, Brio had an hour and a half wait. We opted for Wendy’s. 

Kristen and I shopped for a few groceries at Food Lion, lunch stuff as we were heading into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the morning; Chris had found that there were very limited food options within the park. We got the fixins for sandwiches, snacks, carrots, and a few treats.

Amy and Misha to Utah

Amy and Misha made a super quick trip to Utah to retrieve a lot of the stuff they left in storage at my brother Brad's house when they made their hurried departure home last March due to Covid. Misha doesn't plan to return to Utah, and Amy needed a lot of her winter stuff.

They left early Saturday morning in my Pilot, drove all day to Utah, packed things up with Shane and Brad, and returned home on Sunday. They were both pretty wiped out.

Exploring More of Colorado

Chris and I have been blessed this Summer and Fall to be able to explore different locations in Colorado where we have never traveled before. Our excursion today took us on the Old Fall River Road up to the Alpine Visitor Center. The Old Fall River Road used to be the only road up over the Continental Divide and Fall River Pass. Trail Ridge Road was built in the early 1920s and replaced the original road. Today, Old Fall River Road is a one-way dirt road between Endovalley in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Pass.

The road was pretty narrow and lacked a guard rail; I can't imagine having to pull over to let another car pass. The speed limit topped out at 15 mph, but it was a route that Chris has always wanted to take. Look at this crazy, winding road!

Kristen tagged along with us for the day. Mostly because I had just had a foot procedure and she knew we weren't planning any hikes!

It was a beautiful day for a drive and for Fall colors in the park.

We had purchased Subway sandwiches and stopped at the Endovalley picnic area before starting our drive.

I wasn't able to do much hiking, but we did make a stop at Chasm Falls. It was right off the road with a short walk to reach it.

"Trail Ridge Road travels through forests, above tree line, over the alpine tundra, reaches the high point, and crosses the Continental Divide before winding its way down to the town of Grand Lake." (https://estes-park.com/trail-ridge-road/)

That's the road that we followed with some stops along the way at a small lake and then the Holzwarth family Ranch.

We drove to Grand Lake, on to Granby, and then home via I-70. The weather and the colors were fabulous. It snowed the next day!

A New Hairstyle

 Kristen wanted a bit of a change. She had about 6-8" cut off her hair and is enjoying a different look.

New Sprinkler Head

For a couple of years now, the grass in our front lawn has been dying. We even had to re-sod one spot last summer. The bunnies around here love to sit there and eat the grass around them. 

Chris realized that he needed to add another sprinkler head in the center of the lawn, but was soooo not looking forward to all of the work to dig a trench.

He finally bit the bullet on a beautiful day in October and started the job. I was working to clean up my garden for the fall, and we were both listening to General Conference on loud speakers as we worked.

It has been almost a week, and the grass is starting to green up. Yay for knowing how to solve the problem!

Begonias

 

My begonias have grown fantastically this year. They even survived a frost a couple of weeks ago.

Hybrid Start of School

While Kristen has been in school officially for almost two months now, the school started a Hybrid Back to School Even on October 5. Half of the school goes Monday and Tuesday and the other half go on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, they all stay home to work on finishing up assignments for the week. It has been great for Kristen thus far.

Monster Mushroom

 Chris found this monster mushroom growing on our back hill. It was about the length of his hand.

Misha and the Scrubber

After a few days at her new school, Misha texted me a picture of her driving the "Scrubber". It cleans the concrete floors and makes cleaning a little more fun.

Misha also sent me a picture of the school hallways and the exercise equipment outside each classroom. Exercise equipment for kids who need to blow off a little steam. She said the equipment doesn't get used all that much.

She does love that her school is only two years old.