Day 4 - Tuesday October 4th

Today we decide to sleep in past sunrise! We pack up and head out around 9am. Today's agenda includes about 15 hours worth of stuff packed into an 8 hour day. We decide to start in highlands NC and work our way back to the resort, and play it by ear rather than the planned list.

After about 2 hours of driving we find ourselves in Highlands NC, Waterfall directions fail to mention what direction we are supposed to take so we decide to follow the Tom Tom... after about 20 minutes on curving winding roads we pass a "Welcome to Georgia" sign... Needless to say we were going the wrong way...Awesome Job Tom Tom!

Finally headed in the Right Direction we reach Bridal Veil Falls. Located along Scenic Highway 64 about 2.5 miles past Highlands. Located right along the side of the road with a turn out, on a normal day you can drive behind the waterfall. However today some dipshit decided to park and take up the entire road to drive underneath! Thanks for ruining my photo-op!!! The drop is about 60 feet, and unless you go after a decent rain the water flow is pretty minimal.



A shot of me behind Bridal Veil Falls



Back on Scenic Highway 64 to Dry Falls, Only about 1.5 miles down the road you reach the large developed parking area for Dry Falls. The sound of rushing water and the smell of overflowing pit toilets greet us! However the smell does not outweigh the beauty of the area!

Dry Falls is a 75-foot waterfall that flows over an overhanging cliff, allowing people to walk behind the falls and stay dry (hence the name). However the day we visited the spray from the fall was pretty heavy and we did not manage to stay dry. Still worthwhile though! Honestly the most beautiful waterfall I have been to.

If you look close, to the left said of the falls you will see me!

A view from behind the waterfall

Back on scenic highway 64 in search of Cullasaja Falls, this is a waterfall viewable from the road. The downside the road that allows you to view the falls is built cliff side, leaving solid rock wall on one side and cliff drop off with a flimsy guard rail on the other. The pull off has enough room barely for us to park. There is a trail behind the guard rail that will lead you down the 250' to view the base of the falls. However all online posts indicate you must be part mountain goat to manage the trail and one slip will ensure certain death! We decide not to channel our inner mountain goat and settle for a roadside photo. Its hard to capture all of it through the trees but It is still pretty awe inspiring! Not shown in the photo is the 200 feet it continues to cascade down below the trees into the Cullasaja Gorge!

Last of the highland area waterfalls is Glenn Falls. Online this waterfall is said to be the "Best Waterfall" in the area. Well Chrissy and I beg to differ! By far the worst hike ever! The supposed 3/4 mile trail was really like 1.5 mile, and does back and forth switchbacks down the side of the mountain. Granted Switchbacks are more enjoyable than straight downhill but this trail still sucked! Keep in mind in the world of hiking the law is "What goes down must come back up"

The hike to the first section was a breeze, gently sloping trails with a nice mix of sand and gravel. 

The first section of Glen Falls, 70 foot cascade

The next section cant be that bad since this first part was a breeze... We continue on to the middle section of Glen Falls. This portion of the trail looses the nice gravel/sand mixture and is slowly replaced with small tree roots and rock stairs

Middle Portion of Glen Falls, 60 foot cascade

After the last stretch we are fairly confident the trail can't get much worse...and we came all this way so we have to go to the bottom portion right? After the first switchback I realize how wrong I am, the tree roots become increasingly larger and start to grow out of the trail leaving that perfect little hole for you get your foot stuck in and face plant... or roll your ankle over top! Lucky for me I had my trusty hiking pole so I managed not to face plant on this one. The switchbacks continue to get steeper, the trail starts filling with more rocks and roots and the end seems to be nowhere near. Finally the bottom portion is in sight. What a waste of time. A tiny 15 foot fall filled with log debris from past storms!

At this point I'm really wishing I had brought along some water, the only thing worse than the hike down is the thought of the hike back to the car...over all them damn roots and rocks! I had narrowly escaped face planting on the way down I hope to be as lucky on the way back. Switchback after switchback after switchback (you get the idea) we finally start joking that we can see the car! At this point I'm not sure who has less motivation Myself or Chrissy? Finally the switchbacks start to slope less and the trail is becoming better maintained telling us we are close! I've never been so happy to see my car before! Never...I repeat Never hike to Glenn Falls! Or if you do don't hike past the middle portion!

Last waterfall of the day before heading back to the resort is whitewater falls. This waterfall is right near the North/South Carolina Border near the town of Transylvania NC. Upper Whitewater Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, falling 411 feet. The trail is a slightly inclined 1/4 mile hike and is paved. The trail is full of "popper" weeds and we take plenty of time to stop and enjoy! You can view a good portion of the falls from here, but for a full view you must go down 154 steps to the outlook below.

Time to call it a day and head back to the resort, the "plan" for the day has about 5 miles more of hiking trails on it but none of us are in any mood to do any more hiking after Glen Falls!

Day 3 - Monday 10/3/2011

 We head towards Little Switzerland NC from our Resort in Lake Lure, The drive is about 90 on winding roads, Today's adventure brings us back to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina for our first stop, Crabtree Falls is a 70ft fall located in the Crabtree Meadows Campground at Mile Marker # 339.  This is another one of those trails were you hike all downhill at the beginning making the trip back horrible! This trail was about 2 miles round trip.

Here is a shot of myself at Crabtree Falls, notice Daniel in the left hand corner crawling around on the rocks by the base of the falls, this really gives perspective on the size of the falls...

After we finish viewing the falls we decide to take different trails back to the parking lot. Daniel & Chrissy take the longer loop back which was 1.6 mile, and I take the same trail back that we took in, just under 1 mile. We wanted to see who would be quicker since they hike much faster than I do. I made it back only about 10 minutes before them.

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 After leaving Crabtree we travel further down the Blue Ridge until we reach the turn off for Mount Mitchell State Park at Mile Marker # 355. We decide to stop for lunch before heading to the Peak. There is an adorable restaurant a few miles into the state park with mountain views from your seat. The food was great and so was the service. A must stop if heading into Mount Mitchell!

The best thing about this park is that you can drive to the top and then hike the last few hundred feet to the peak! Elevation at the Parking Area is 6,578ft and the elevation at the peak after the 1/4mile hike 6,684ft. They provide a nice uphill paved hiking trail to an observation tower with 360 views! Here are 2 panoramic shots we took, the large peak in the first picture is Mt Craig, the second highest peak east of the Mississippi and the second shot shows the mountain ridges continuing for as far as the eye can see...

Views of myself at the highest peak east of the Mississippi!!!!  The temp was pretty chilly up there mid 20's with gusty winds, it was almost like being back in Wisconsin, except with much better scenery!

Buried on top of the mountain is Rev Elisha Mitchell DD, this is how the mountain got its name, he died from a 40ft fall off a cliff exploring the mountain in 1857! The below picture shows the elevation sign at the peak, and in the background you can see his Grave/Monument

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Up next along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a stop at the Craggy Pinnacle Hiking Trail at Mile Marker #364. For a change of pace this hiking trail takes you uphill first to 360 degree views from the top of the Craggy Pinnacle. The trail is about 1.5 miles round trip, and compared to the other trails we have hiked this one is a cake walk! For most of the trail you hike through these gorgeous trees that form a canopy over you.

The top of pinnacle has three different viewing areas and allows for unobstructed 360 views! Elevation at the top is 5,892ft. Here is a picture of myself at the overlook.

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The original plan was to drive up to Pisgah Park after leaving Craggy Gardens, however we decided to call it a day on hiking and go explore asheville. We found a cute little ice cream shop called Ultimate Ice Cream in downtown asheville. They served fabulous local made ice cream in delicious giant hand made waffle cones. By far the best ice cream I've ever had!

After finishing our Ice Cream we decide to hop back on the interstate and check out the Biltmore Estates. I'm sure the tour would be cool, however the price in my opinion is insane! We leave the biltmore and head back to the resort in lake lure. The tom tom tells us to take the "BatCave" exit off the interstate and we don't object. This was a "shortcut" to the resort, which of course was a lie since the Tom Tom did not consider the 800 corners! However it was worth it in the end since we did get to drive through the Bat Cave!

Day 2 - Sunday 10/2/2011 - An Ear Popping Good Time

6:30am we depart our motel in Knoxville TN heading for the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway just outside Balsam NC, We run I-40 up and through pieces of the Smoky Mountains, Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah Forest, The views were breathtaking, and I got to drive through my first tunnel! I found it hilarious they had a sign posted outside the tunnel asking you to "remove sunglasses" So glad I was not behind the wheel so I could enjoy the scenery!

We make a pit stop at the North Carolina Welcome Center along I-40 and snap a quick shot at the overlook

9:30am - After 2 hours and 120 miles we reach the on ramp for the blue ridge parkway, we drive up about 4,000 ft elevation in a little under 15 miles, and Literally drove into the clouds!

The trees were covered in frost/ice once we hit about 4,500ft elevation

Daniel and I at the Overlook at Mile Marker #439

Finally we make it to our first official stop, the Richland Balsam Overlook at Mile Marker 431. Official Elevation of 6,053ft and a balmy 30 degrees with 40-50mph wind gusts. I realize that may not seem very cold when compared to winter in Wisconsin but it was FREEZING up there! The original plan was to take the 1/4 mile Richland Balsam hike but we decide to pass since we are all freezing! Here are a few shots...

We met this crazy couple at the top of the mountain who park 1 mile below and jog up to the overlook, a  2,000ft elevation climb! They were nice enough to snap this shot of the 3 of us!

We continue to meander along the blue ridge for a few more miles and the views are more amazing at every turn! I wish it had been possible to capture the beauty with my camera! Here is a panoramic shot from another overlook we drove by on the way to our next stop

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14 miles North on the Blue Ridge Parkway is our next stop Grave Yard Fields located at Mile Marker 417, The area got it's name years ago from the tree stumps and surrounding trees that looked like grave stones in a graveyard setting. Then in 1925, an intense fire burned the recently logged area, and the forest has been slow in recovering since. The original plan was to take the full 4 mile hike but with the temperature still at freezing we decided for just a short hike. We took the Trail to "Second Falls" about 1 mile round trip.

Views from our hike...

More Stairs, Awesome!

Soooo Cold...

Tree Canopy for the first half of the trail

The first teaser waterfall about halfway along the trail, at first we thought maybe this was the waterfall but decided it couldn't be since it was so small. We decided to continue on the trail...

Finally we reach "Second Falls" which is about a 60ft cascade

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Back onto the Blue Ridge for our next stop of the day, Also along Mile Marker #417 is the Looking Glass Rock Overlook. Below is a view of Looking Glass Mountain - Named for the way its granite face reflects

the sunshine,  it rises from the valley floor to an elevation of almost 4000 ft.

Just across the road at the overlook is the trail to Skinny Dip Falls, The area has many shallow clear pools for swimming and sliding down the falls. It was named Skinny Dip Falls because locals used to come here to skinny dip before it was a known tourist attraction. The trail was about 1/2 mile, and in case you are wondering, we did not go for a dip ourselves! Below is a view of the bottom portion of the falls.

A view of the Rock Stairs the trail was littered with...

 Keep in mind hiking 1/2 mile on this is NOT the same as a 1/2 mile hike on your treadmill

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Up Next is Looking Glass Falls, Located along hwy 276 its about 9 miles off the blue ridge parkway.  This waterfall is a roadside attraction and is very busy during tourist season! There is a viewing platform from above and you get a pretty decent view. You also have the option of taking the 300 steps to reach the base of the falls, I opted not to take the stairs (I already had enough stairs today!!!) Daniel and Chrissy did hike to the bottom and the second picture below shows the view from the base.

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Time now for our last stop of the day, off to Caesar Head State Park. We leave looking glass falls heading into Cleveland South Carolina. We meet up with Laurie from work at the Mountain House Restaurant for a quick lunch before heading into the park. After our lunch we venture up the road to the State Park. We take in the views from the overlook and take a walk through Devils Kitchen

Pictures at the Overlook

Laurie & I

Daniel, Chrissy & I

Inside the "Devils Kitchen"

The original plan was to take the hike to Raven Cliff Falls at Caesar Head, However it was getting pretty late and we were still 2  hours from the Resort! Plus we wanted to catch the packer game. We leave South Carolina and head towards the resort. We stayed in a cute little townhouse built into the woods with distant views of the mountains just outside Lake Lure North Carolina.

Day 1 Appleton -> Richfield -> Indianapolis -> Knoxville!!!!

After a 13 hour / 800 mile drive of misery we finally arrived in Knoxville!!!

 

Gorgeous Sunset just after Oshkosh

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2 hour pitstop @ Cabella's in Richfield...Chrissy and I got a little friendly with the stuffed bear!

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Leaving Richfield at 9pm making our way to Indianapolis, 300 miles and 5 hours to go.... and for the record the drive through the Chicago Bypass was miserable! Damn toll road every 30 minutes for Literally the entire state of Illinois...Mixed with on again/off again rain storms and intermittent road construction slow downs....Could not wait to get out of that damn state!

One of the many lovely toll roads....

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3:00am...Finally reached Indianapolis, half way point to Knoxville...

 Time to refuel with 5 hour energy and Krispy Kreme's!

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400 miles to Knoxville...Daniel and Chrissy both passed out cold, Me jamming out to CCR doing my best to stay awake...been driving almost 10 hours at this point...

6am - Finally time to hand over the wheel before I pass out myself! Goodnight from Seymour Indiana! 7am - a 1 hour nap is better than nothing, Good morning from Lexington KY! Now we are on a mission to find a Denny's, however we quickly learn every stop in Kentucky only has a Cracker Barrel or a Waffle House!

9:45am Finally we make it into Tennessee!

Cannot believe how gorgeous the scenery is, Wish we could have captured the roadside views, tends to be a bit hard when going 75 though! However I did manage this shot, I find it fascinating to know we are driving through a spot where a mountain once was....

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10:30am Knoxville Zoo is insight! Elephants, Gorilla's and Rhino's Oh My!

Kisses for Leroy the Gator

Knoxville Zoo is very proud of their "Fresh Wisconsin Cheese" Cheese Curds! (Even though nowhere in Indiana, Kentucky or Tennessee has "Cheese on a String")

More Shenanigans at the Zoo...

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2:00pm - Goodbye Zoo, Hello Super 8, oh and what fine quality motel this is! (Please note the sarcasm) Dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and a run to Walmart for some gushers! Time to call it a day and catch some zzz...