More Water!

On Friday, we took the hour or so drive south to DuPont State Forest to see some of the waterfalls Transylvania County is famous for.

We parked near the Hooker Falls and walked just under half a mile to this sight.  There is an 11 foot drop off the ledge.

DuPont has not been a state forest very long, and some parts of the park were going to be developed until the state purchased them.  Some of the trails were intended to be development roads, and everywhere we went they were easy to walk, being wide and gravel-covered.   Here Norris walks along to the newly constructed pedestrian bridge over the Little River.

It was a good day to walk, not too hot. Most of the rhododendron are done for this year, but there were occasional blooms to spot along the way.

Our next stop was Triple Falls -  the three cascades total about a 120 foot drop.

 You can descend 98 steps to a flat spot just below the middle falls. A sweet couple who wanted their photo offered to take ours.

Our last stop was at High Falls.  Here the water slides 150' down an inclined plane of granite. We had to cross some wet rock to get to this vantage point, but we were equipped with the right boots and it was worth it.

Power of Water

This time we're not looking at our own backyard.  After our hike at the Kilmer Forest, we checked into the historic Tapoco Lodge - right at the border with Tennessee and at one end of the Tail of the Dragon (famous among sport car and motorcycle enthusiasts for its 318 curves in 11 miles).  The lodge was part of a complex built by Alcoa in 1930 to house dam workers. The lodge is built next to  Bear Creek. The rushing water was almost loud enough to completely drown out the motorcycle noises and they did not bother us during the night.

 

There's a hiking trail along the creek on the lodge property that we started out on after we checked in, but we were hot and tired and turned back after a quarter mile or so. You can see more photos of the lodge at their website, but we'll share this one of a tiny Cheryl having coffee before breakfast on the back patio, facing the creek. The current owners have done a marvelous job restoring the lodge to its glory days of the 1930's, and the service was excellent.

 

We went back to hike the trail after breakfast. The owner has placed a couple of barrels near a cave opening (not visible in this photo to the right of the barrels) to mark an old moonshine still site.

The trail starts very level and wide, following an old railroad bed, but once beyond the remains of the railroad bridge trestles, it reverts to the old Native American/deer trail, very narrow.  Beavers have been active trying to build their own dams on the creek, as evidenced on this tree.

A little less than 3/4 of a mile from the lodge is the main attraction, the falls -

The undergrowth obscured the view of the falls but Norris took the camera down for a closer look.

The trail makes a loop over the mountain and back to the lodge but the undergrowth was very thick  as we went up so we turned back.

After all that exercise, we took a leisurely drive back home, stopping at the Fontana Dam on the way.

 

At 480 feet, Fontana is the tallest of the TVA dams.

 

 Just a few more miles took us up to the Visitor Center where we had this view of the spot where Norris is standing in the photo above.

The lake on the other side of the dam was very still.

We took a lot of photos of the dam - here's one showing a little of  the enormous spillway and Visitor Center.  The tiny human is Norris.

We drove across the dam and took this picture showing the power lines and a view across to the Visitor Center. The Appalachian Trail also goes over this dam.

It was a hot but beautiful day to explore the western most tip of the state.

Trees Lovlier than Poetry

For Cheryl's birthday (which was last month) we took a trip to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in Graham County.  It is only a couple of hours drive west of us but we hadn't been.  The Kilmer Forest is one of our National Forests - this is the description from their National Forestry's website:

This forest is one of the Nation’s most impressive remnants of old-growth forest. The forest contains magnificent examples of more than 100 tree species, many over 400-years-old, and some more than 20 feet in circumference and 100 feet tall. This 3,800-acre forest was set aside in 1936 as a memorial to the author of the poem “Trees,” Joyce Kilmer, who was killed in action in France during World War I. This forest, part of the Joyce Kilmer-Slick Rock Wilderness, is maintained in its primitive state. The only way to see this forest is on foot.

It was a hot, damp and partly sunny early afternoon when we started on the walk. In this first picture is a bridge you cross near the parking area that does not show the big trees but perhaps does illustrate the feeling we were in a tropical rainforest.

 As does this image of the stream.

One of the reasons we had not gone in recent years was the closure of the forest while the Forest Service decided what to do with the giant hemlocks that had been killed by the wooly adelgid.

This photo shows two that have been left standing - presumably they are not in danger of falling on the trail.

But we were there to see the big trees, which you don't come to until you've walked the first half mile. This photo shows that not all the trees are big and old - the one in the foreground is a giant specimen.

 This is a photo looking up from its base.

As you climbed higher along the trail, the proportion of old to younger trees gradually shifted in favor of the big ones.

We took several photos with humans posing by the trees for scale which you would otherwise not have. Our largest trees are probably not quite the diameter of the tree to the left.

Another of those photos for scale.

 Not everything in the forest is brown and green.  The Kilmer Forest is known for spring wildflowers - we were too late for that show, but this fungus provided some unusual color.

 The forest is managed without removing dead trees, so everywhere you look there are decaying fallen logs.

One of the noticeable contrasts between this forest what we have on our own property, which probably was logged in the 1980's, is how very homogenous the undergrown seems in comparison to  on our slope. Here you see Norris walking along with all the growth between knee and waist high, and the same density everywhere under the canopy formed by the big trees.

 It was not a difficult trail, except for the heat.  Although they don't show up in our photos, there were many other people taking the walk in the woods with us.

130th Consecutive Parade

The Beech Parade took place on about the nicest July 4th we can remember - it's breezy and just slightly cool for a change.

I got this photo of our neighbors' four grandchildren while we were waiting for the parade to begin. I was told it is difficult to get them together in a group like this so I took several shots hoping one of them would get everyone's eyes open - I thought this one came out particularly well.

It wasn't long after that that the parade started as usual with the banner marking the longevity of the tradition.

Visible in the background of that banner shot, the tradition we thought we knew changed this year and the RCFD did not bring up the rear of the procession.  But that's getting ahead of the story - first we have the now traditional Veterans' Float - they really made a festive sight with all the flags!

 

The old Engine came next.,,,

 

... followed by the Parade Marshall and guest speaker at the program, Jay Raybuck with his wife Susie. They are neighbors in our development and Jay has been serving as interim minister of the Reems Creek Beech Presbyterian Church for some time. 

 

Norris came by with the larger contingent from the RCFD, driving the big tanker.

 

In a surprise twist, he whipped out his phone for a photo of your photographer who is always behind the camera.

There are always elements in the parade we haven't seen before - I think this year's biggest new float was a boat.

 

Then we have a well-decked-out golf cart.

Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam - we'll catch up with them later.

It looked like the youth in their ATVs have been drilling to move in formation.

Then we have the usual decorated bicycles - this young man has creative face paint as well.

We missed the equestrian contingent - but I didn't realize until I was looking at my photos that there was a baby goat in the parade.  I suspect it was either not cooperating with the idea of marching, or it was just tired out by the time it had come at least a half mile from the staging area on Roberts Cove all the way to the church on Sugar Cove Road.

We marveled at the skill of this young man with his two-wheeled skateboard.

I just looked it up - they are called "waveboards."

I think the youngest human in the parade was in this vehicle.

But these next two were pretty young and self-propelled.

I liked this group of bicycles -

They were all outfitted with these tin cans that add a festive note to the procession.

Another group of participants that we have not seen in the parade since we've been going were these beautiful tractors. This tractor has a sign telling us it is a Ford and dates to 1953.

it pulled this little trailer equipped with an ice cream making device from 1927. Some in the crowd liked the noise it made when the farmer fired it up after the parade - they said it reminded them of the moonshine stills. 

Next we have a 1947 Ford and a 1936 John Deere.

And finally, a 1950 Farmall Cub.

MAMA made its usual grand entrance on the ballfield at the community center after the parade was finished. It was different for me this time - I came with Gary and Judi. We're looking at the backs of their heads in this photo.

It was fun to see the dramatic arrival of MAMA through their eyes.

Here are the beautiful Lady Liberty and fine Uncle Sam where we can really admire their garb.

Our neighbor's grandson got a turn at driving this tractor.

Not really - his feet might have been able to reach the pedals, but the engine wasn't running.  

His big sister meanwhile was trying to walk on stilts. Even with assistance it was a struggle to get her balance, but I got her when she was looking up and actually moving.

This final look at the fire vehicles as the program was starting in the community center about wraps up the 130th Beech Parade ...

... except that since Judi and Gary decided to stay for the music, Norris gave me a ride back to the entrance to our development in the tanker - my first time on the inside of a fire truck!

It was not a comfortable ride - I was just as happy to walk the last part of my trip home.