8/24/08 (Sunday): Greetings from cool, dry Boone! We hope all our FL friends are recovering from their extended visit with Faye! I understand that my in-laws now have lakeside property! Fortunately, only a grassy area was flooded, not their homes. We haven't had any rain here in Boone for several weeks. The grass is crunchy and the gardens are wilting. We're hoping to get some of the remnants of Faye here later this week.
Just to bring you up to date on a couple of things that are happening with us:
I'm participating in a study to determine the fitness levels and recreation preferences of "mature" women (over 60!). I'm getting paid $80 to wear a wristwatch-type GPS (to track my location) and a pedometer device to track my activity level. I also have to keep a journal of active periods over 10 minutes long. I'm not supposed to do anything differently--just adhere to my normal daily routine. It's an easy and fun way to earn a little extra money.
Wiley and I spent two days last week at a friend's house, helping her build some shelves. She has a really charming mountain cabin and wanted to continue the rustic theme. We visited a sawmill and bought some barn board (dirt cheap!). We think they turned out really well and our friend was very pleased.
Here's a picture she took of the finished product--pretty nice, huh?!
In addition to fishing, Wiley has been enjoying the garden he planted when we first got here. The first crop was turnip and and mustard greens. Then we ate turnips. Next came zucchini, yellow squash, patty pan squash (pictured above, stuffed) potatoes and now tomatoes. We're looking forward to cantaloupe in another couple of weeks.
Here's what's for dinner tonight!
Last weekend was really busy--the BMW motorcycle club had reserved almost half of our campground. They were a really nice group--all my preconceived notions about motorcyclists went out the window. They were quiet and well behaved and very interesting to talk to. One of them came all the way from Idaho on his motorcycle!
Many of them pulled little tent trailers behind their motorcycles, but this guy had an ingenious idea--his tent folded up into the bed of his truck! There was a bed on each side, a dining table and some cabinets. He put his motorcycles in a little trailer behind the truck.
With the campground so busy, Wiley and I decided to head out one afternoon and find a little solitude. As usual, the scenery is just so gorgeous. We passed several barns with quilt patterns on them (I talked about this in an earlier blog).
I just think they're so interesting! Note that this barn (you can't see the bottom of it because it's downhill from the road) has two patterns on it!
We wound up in Trade, NC, where we happened on this old mill. It's still in use, although they weren't grinding anything the day we were there. We bought some popcorn flour--they grind the same kind of corn that you would use to pop into flour. It's supposed to be much lighter than regular corn meal.
The next afternoon was just too beautiful to "waste" hanging around camp, so we drove to Blowing Rock and hiked the Glen Burnie trail. It was quite lovely, although a little strenuous (very steep). We wound up at this great waterfall. I balanced the camera on a rock, set the timer, and dashed into the picture. Can you see how hard I'm breathing?!
On our days off last week, we drove to Damascus, Virginia, about 1-1/2 hours from Boone. We hiked a little way on the Virginia Creeper trail. It's mostly for bikers--outfitters take bikers up to the top of the mountain and they ride downhill back to town.
The trail at the bottom where we started parallels Beaver Dam Creek.
It wasn't a particularly good hiking trail (and it was pretty hot down off our mountain), so we stopped for an ice cream and then drove to Abingdon, Virginia. This little ice cream store/gift shop was one of several businesses that seemed to flourish right on the trail.
Abingdon is a very historic town. Check out this website:
Abingdon, VA. We enjoyed a walk through the historic part of town.
There we many gorgeous old homes.
We came home through a little corner of Tennessee. The highway went right under this high ridge of rock. We stopped just past it at a place where you could hike up to the top. It's called "Backbone Ridge." The trail was very steep with lots of steps, but the view was worth it.
Yesterday I took Wiley fishing after work. He caught a nice one! We weren't nearly as busy at the campground last week, although next weekend (Labor Day) promises to be very busy. I'm going to lead a scavenger hunt, bingo and children's crafts. (I have such a fun job!)
That's it for another busy week. Next time I'll blog about today's hike on the Boone Fork trail and show you some photos that I'm going to submit to a contest sponsored by the Charlotte newspaper. Tune in again soon!
The trees are just beginning to turn--I don't know if it's actually autumn or if it's drought damage. I'm leaving tomorrow for a short visit with Tom and Kristin and the girls.
The other morning when we got up, Elk Knob (which we see from our living room) had the most gorgeous cloud formations on and around it. I had a little trouble getting a picture of it because there were power lines and campground buildings in the way.
We'd never hiked up Elk Knob, despite the fact that it's our closest peak, so after work one day, we tackled it. This is some gorgeous land that was slated for development until the Nature Conservancy bought it and gave it to the state. It's a state park now. There's lots of trail building and other activity going on. The beginning of the trail has been completed by volunteers and it's one of the nicest trails I've ever hiked.
After the first third, though, it's just a rough fire break--very steep and rocky. I felt pretty proud of myself for making it to the summit!
We didn't see any wildlife--just some butterflies and a few wild flowers. This yellow moth caught my eye. 
