The wilder side

When our week was up at the cabin near Saluda, we had a down day, not knowing what to do or where to go next.  We have time to spend before the transmission comes in and is installed in the boat.  And its getting expensive, living in motels and cabins.

 

But Tom found a "loft" for $40 set in far western North Carolina, we booked it and immediately were happy again.   We took five hours for what should have been a three hour trip by driving on back roads through drizzly rain, having a very good time.   Somehow we both like setting out to parts unknown.

 

And, while shopping for groceries near the "loft," we got a call from the owner saying she was going to upgrade us to a cabin,  'cause she'd had a call for the loft from Appalachian Trail hikers and she liked to have it available for them.    So now we're in a cabin for three days and as long as we want after for $40/night.    And, it's cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the cabin comes with a cat!  Really!   The owner had saved the cat from a dump but her cats were rejecting it.  She wants us to take it and we might.  We need a cat and dog eventually for our new home somewhere, and this cat is fun, friendly and loves to ride in cars (boats?)  But if it doesn't show up down here in the next day or two so we can continue our acquaintance, it will be left behind and we'll find a cat at a more convenient time.

 

 

Oh, I see I have downloaded pictures from when we hiked in Dupont State Forest near the first cabin.   There there were three waterfalls along one trail.   Wonderful hiking trails all through the area. 

 

 

Love the lacy pattern, a middle section of the falls made.

 

 

As we drove here, we came upon another very popular natural water feature, Sliding Rock, in the Mt. Pisgah National Forest.  Here, during the season, the Forest Service actually charges a fee and provides a lifeguard to let people come get in the water and slide down the rock to a deep pool below.   We've seen pictures of an 80-year-old man and grandchild sliding down and think it's something we'd like to do if we're ever here again. 

 

Yesterday we drove over to a most  beautiful clear, forest-to-the -edge lake and also stopped at the Joyce Kilmier National Memorial Forest, where they have preserved 9000+miles of forest as a wilderness.   The trees  at the memorial site have never been logged.  The few remaining very big  ones are VERY big.

 

 

Joyce Kilmier, was the man (!) who wrote the poem beginning, "I think I shall never see a thing as lovely as a tree."   He died in France fighting in the first World War.

 

While on that adventure loop yesterday, Tom drove us up the Cherahalla Skyway, a road that goes from  here to Tennessee and where it  gets higher than a mile.  The road was still going up when we stopped at  the sign below.

 

I'm missing the access to wonderful Danishes and great breads and fantastic restaurants that we had closer to Hendersonville.  But I don't miss the traffic rushing all around us.  Here it's sparsely populated and mostly national forest for miles and miles and  miles.