5-31-08 (Saturday): I've heard from some of my readers who think I don't post often enough. Sorry 'bout that. I'm having so much fun that it's hard to make time to chronicle it! Part of the reason for the delay is that I just discovered that my camera was set wrong while Donna and Davae were here, and I think these pictures are going to appear really large on your screen. I'll try to get the camera set up properly before I take more pictures. Enjoy!

One of our adventures while Donna and Dave were here was a visit to Roan Mountain. Roan
Mountain (it's actually several mountains) is famous for its rhododendron. They also have one of
the last remaining stands of spruce and fir trees in the Appalachians and some balds (alpine-type meadows on the tops of the mountains) that are unique in that they're located so far south. It was kind of a drizzly day, but we walked the Peg Leg Mine trail, where iron ore was mined over 100 years ago by the Crab Orchard Mining Company.

There were lots of wild flowers in bloom on the trail. This is mountain laurel.

I think this is a wild geranium.
This is the creek that powered the mill on Roan Mountain.
Wiley is standing in front of the Peg Leg Mine on Roan Mountain.
This is some sort of terrestrial orchid. I think it's a showy orchis.
This is the mill wheel on Roan Mountain.

We had a fire almost every evening while Donna and Dave were with us. It was quite chilly. But at least there was no snow! Donna and Dave ran into a blizzard in Colorado the week before they visited us (in April)! At least I didn't need Dave's snow shovel while they were here.

Dave snapped this critter while he and Wiley were fishing. He thinks it ate the fish on his stringer! He thinks it's an otter. I think it looks like a mink. It's pretty cute anyhow!
After Donna and Dave left, Wiley and I went to Blowing Rock. It's a high cliff at the end of a canyon. The wind blows so hard that a handkerchief thrown over the edge is supposed to blow back to you. Naturally, we didn't try that. Legend has it that an Indian maiden's brave jumped off the edge and was blown back to her. We enjoyed the wildflowers along the trail a lot.

This is columbine.


This is flame azalea. This one was cultivated, but there are wild ones along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some are orange and some are yellow--really unusual looking.
These mallards were enjoying a spot of sun. That water is still COLD!

This is a little piece of the New River that's not far from here (near the town of Todd). Wiley enjoyed a little fishing here one evening.

This barn is also close to Todd. The cattle were hightailing it toward the barn--must have been dinner time!

We're headed out for dinner now, so I'm going to close. Hope you enjoyed sharing this beautiful area with us.

5-24-08 (Saturday): I don't even know where to start, we've had so many mini-adventures since the last blog!

We had a cool, drizzly day last week and decided to take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a really lovely drive, even on a wet day when you're driving through the clouds that cling to the peaks of the nearby mountains. The mountains are about 5,000-6,000 feet and the overlooks give a birds-eye view of verdant valleys with farms and small villages.
We passed this tiny cabin with a few outbuildings. The sign says that it was a Sunday gathering spot for many local families for years. They'd have a religious service and then some good food and good music and good friends. As good a way to spend a day as any, in my opinion!
There's a whole new batch of wildflowers in bloom. This Jack-in-the-Pulpit is quite showy. They're not plentiful, but well worth looking for.

A short hike off the parkway is Cascades Falls. It goes all the way down the side of the mountain at about a 45 degree angle. The rocks are worn smooth, and it looks almost like something you'd see at a water park. I have a feeling more than a few adventurous kids have tried to slide down part or all of it!

On another of our days off we went to nearby Elizabethton, TN, where we spent a couple of happy hours looking at this covered bridge over the Doe River and admiring some of the old houses in town. Elizabethton sits between Lynn Mountain on the East and the Watauga River to the North and the Doe River to the South. The bridge was built in 1882, and survived several floods that destroyed all the other bridges in the area!

We had a great (cheap!) lunch in the local cafe and drove home via a different scenic route. We stopped at a couple of country stores along the way and at a feed store where Wiley bought some seeds for his garden (which keeps getting bigger and bigger). I kept hearing this peeping sound, and I thought they must have a bird feeder. It turned out to be these baby chicks for sale! (Come on now--let's hear a collective "aw-w-w-w-w"!)

My cousin, Donna, and her hubby, Dave, visited for a couple of days last week. We really enjoyed catching up with them. They're full-time RVrs, too, and have traveled all over the place. We had a couple of great hikes (this one to a waterfall behind an old Episcopal mission). We stumbled on it almost by accident. We were driving through Valle Crucis and went to turn around in the mission's parking lot. We saw a sign for waterfall parking, hiked a little trail, and found this lovely spot.
The day we all decided to go to Grandfather Mountain was sunny and breezy in Boone. But when we got to the top of Grandfather, the winds were nearly 40 mph! The first picture above is a view from the top of the mountain. The other one is the rocky top with stunted growth and puddles on top of the mountain.

We kept those jackets on all day! This picture of the four hearty adventurers was taken by a kindly stranger in front of split rock.

Wiley, Dave and I all walked across the mile-high bridge (it crosses a canyon that's a mile deep.

Donna said she had to stay back to take this picture. Yeah. I believe that, Donna!

Wiley and Dave went off fishing a couple of mornings. Wiley has taken up fly fishing. We ate fish for dinner two nights while they were here!

A good time was had by all. We were sorry to see Donna and Dave head back to Delaware, but we're looking forward to visiting with them again next summer.

I have lots more adventures to chronicle, but no more time right now. Happy trails!

5/15/08 (Thursday): I haven't downloaded any new pictures yet, so I thought I'd post some from previous adventures that I haven't shown you yet. I take so many pictures everywhere we go that you probably haven't seen even half of them. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the gorgeous scenery that we've been seeing every day (it's impossible to take a bad picture here!).

The little town of Todd is only about 5 miles from here. One of our workers, Lynne, lives there. I fell in love with this town. It's got a gorgeous creek, lots of beautiful old houses and barns, and two unique stores.

Todd General Store and Todd Mercantile both have this shiny metal siding on them (I don't know if it's tin or aluminum or what, but it's really unusual).

There are a few new, upscale houses in Todd, but mostly it's a very real, down home kind of a place, and one of my favorite places around here.

Wiley tried (unsuccessfully) fishing from this one-lane bridge.

So, we drove on to Valle Crucis. It's a little bigger and has more tourist traffic, but still a neat place.

The Mast General store in Valle Crucis is the original one. There are a couple others, including one in Boone. They sell all kinds of neat things, ranging from shoes to penny candy. The bluegrass group that played at our campground last Saturday plays here regularly.

We're looking forward to a visit from my cousins, Donna and Dave, this weekend. Mag and Wiley are coming later this month, and if Julie can get her back in shape, she and John may visit this summer. We're having a blast and can't wait to show off our new home!

By the way, you'll note that I've put a link to my friend, Lynne's, website on my blog. If I do it right, it'll appear on all my blogs up there near the counter. When you get to the site, click on print room to see the landscapes of Boone. They're very special. Check it out--she's a wonderful photographer who captures the beauty of this area magnificently. Her work appears on calendars and other local publications. If you'd like to buy any of her photos, they're very reasonably priced and would make great gifts.

5/12/08 (Monday): Belated Mother's Day greetings to all the Moms I know! We had a cold, stormy Mother's Day here in Boone. It started with some pea-sized hail. Then we had lots of rain and high winds. There was no damage, but most of us here in the campground didn't sleep. The winds were 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. This morning there are lots of branches down and it's still cool (high of 61 today) and breezy. It feels more like autumn than spring!

We went to New River State Park earlier this week. The New River is badly mis-named, because it's believed to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. We took back roads to get to the park, and it was a gorgeous drive. The rugged hillsides are dotted with old farms and vivid green meadows dotted with wildflowers. The river is shallow and looks perfect for canoing when the weather warms up a little.


The mountain laurel on the trail down to the river was in bloom. There seem to be several shades of pink and orange. They look a lot like wild azaleas.

It was a gorgeous day for a hike--cool and sunny. Looking up was like being in a cathedral with the rays of the sun filtering through the tall trees.

Our work "week" is Thursday through Sunday. This Saturday we had an ice cream social, scavenger hunt and blue grass music. I

I had fun making up the clues for the scavenger hunt and serving ice cream while listening to the live music. That's Joan (pronounced like Jo Ann) getting ready to have an ice cream cone.

We're having a visit from my cousin Donna and her husband Dave next week. I've got to get busy and plan some adventures with them! Then, in late June, I'm going to fly to Orlando and drive Mag and Wiley and Katelyn here for two weeks. We're looking forward to both visits and hope maybe some other friends will come to check out this beautful area. Y'all come!

5-6-08 (Tuesday): We didn't get our WiFi back up yesterday, as hoped, but it's back now, so here's the post I promised you. It's mostly pictures taken as we hiked some of the local roads. We were off yesterday and took a nice ride and a couple of hikes, too. So this blog is kind of a mish-mash of fun times.

There are lots of great hikes and rides on country roads right here where we live. The campground is located on a very old (100+ years) farm. The owner's family bought it in the 1940's, and the campground was built in the 1970's after a fire destroyed the hay barn. Their son, Bob, and his wife, Joan (pronounced like JoAnn), now run the campground and live right across the street in a pretty new home almost on the top of the mountain. This 100-year-old apple grove lives in their front yard and is visible from the campground. Can't wait for a taste of the heritage apples!
We have spent some time trying to find places for Wiley to fish. One of the campers told us about the little brook at the foot of our entrance road. We found a spot to park and Wiley fished. I hiked this great dirt road to the top of the mountain (almost a mile), admiring the wild flowers and the views. There were a few gorgeous homes perced precariously here and there. It sort of made me want a house again, but then I'd have to look at the same view all the time instead of having a new view whenever we feel like it!This old, abandoned house sat near a quiet place on the brook. It had some beautiful old outbuildings. Next time we go back here, I'm taking my sketch pad!

We're off work Mondays through Wednesdays. On our first day off, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway south for a few miles and stopped at Moses H. Cone Park. Cone was a very wealthy denim manufacturer.

His mansion is now an Appalachian craft center with some really beautiful musical instruments, quilts, rugs, jewelry and pottery. Can you believe that's a quilt?! It seemed to glow from within.

I just had to include this close-up so that my daughter-in-law, Heather, could see the stitching. She's done some beautiful quilts.

We browsed through the store and then walked about five miles on the carriage roads that Cone built for his guest's walking and riding pleasure. They have a very gentle grade and the walking was quite pleasant.

We enjoyed many of the same wildflowers that we've been seeing around here. These fiddlehead ferns made me think of fairy glens.

There were also lots more trilliums in bloom. We've now seen 3 varieties of trilliums--the red Wake Robin, a pure white one, and this one with the red center.

We only saw this one iris. I'm not sure if it was a wild iris, even though it was out in the woods.

Toward the end of our hike, the carriage road followed alongside a little brook with some small waterfalls. We even had to ford the brook at one point. What fun!

Our destination on this walk was the old apple barn. It was very well kept up, but you couldn't go in it.

We had a pleasant lunch in Blowing Rock, which is the town that Jan Karon modeled her fictional town of Mitford after. My sister, Jan, and mother-in-law, Mag, and I really enjoy Karon's novels.

We had been pretty footsore after hiking five miles, but we got our second winds over lunch and decided to drive a little further to Linville Falls. Rather than trying to type a lot of information about the falls, here's a link that will give you all the scoop: Linville Falls.

I guess my feet weren't in such bad shape after all, because I hiked all three trails mentioned at this site while Wiley fished. The mountain laurel were in bloom and the views of the falls and Linville Gorge were breathtaking.

Wiley caught a very large brown trout in the pool below the upper falls, so our day was complete!

I have lots more pictures (and great memories), but I've run out of time and energy. Besides, we want to go out and make some more memories today! So I'll bid you farewell and hope you have a great day. See you next time!