Category Archives: Travel

Blue Ridge Parkway

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Blue Ridge Parkway

I’m batting  .500. Got to 1 waterfall and skipped the 2nd and it’s not even noon yet. I decided to use the afternoon to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had passed a sign for the Parkway so I was probably pretty close, right? On vacation. What else do I have to do except explore? With that thought in mind I headed down the mountain to find the turn off to the Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

The Blue Ridge Parkway was the first national rural parkway to be conceived, designed, and constructed for a leisure-type driving experience. The Parkway is the highest and longest continuous route in the Appalachian area. It has a total length of 469 miles! Lots of room to explore

Blue Ridge Parkway

Scenic Drives

I spotted the sign for the Blue Ridge Parkway at the bottom of a long grade. There was a gas station and souvenir shop on the corner. The left turn quickly became a winding, two lane road with deep ditches along the sides. A good sized stream  ran along next to the road. The stream tumbled over rocks and created rapids. I would get a glimpse here and there as the road wound though a series of tight curves and switch backs. It was beautifully scenic but there was no shoulder so no place to pull over for pictures. As I rounded another corner I spotted a pickup truck off the road. The right side was in the ditch, the undercarriage of the truck was on the side of the road and the left side of the truck was on the pavement. It was clear that truck was going no where without a tow!

Blue Ridge Parkway

Clouds and Haze

Blue Ridge Parkway

The drive to the Parkway was much longer than it appeared on the map. Of course if we went “as the crow flies” we could cut the distance in half. By the time I reached the turn off for the Blue Ridge Parkway the sun was hidden behind a layer of clouds. My sunny day had disappeared. Still this is beautiful country. The mountain range seems to go on forever. I grew up in the Adirondacks but there you see a mountain, here you see row after row of mountains. It’s a different perspective and it’s gorgeous even with clouds and rain moving in.  

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Silver Run Falls

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Storm Damage

Storm Damage

It was quite a week here in SE Massachusetts. We had a Nor’easter blow through leaving thousands without power. Some places had winds over 100 miles per hour. And it’s still raining off and on so it’s slowed the clean up.  

Silver Run Falls

Silver Run FallsSilver Run Falls Trail

But Back to my North Carolina stories. I was not going to be discouraged.  The next morning I limped back to the car to search for the 2nd waterfall on my list- Silver Run Falls. Whitewater Falls was supposed to be in the same area. Maybe I could get a twofer.

I located the trail head to Silver Run Falls. There wasn’t much room to park, just a gravel shoulder at the side of the road. The trail was well marked but it started off down a hill. I knew this was going to hurt. It would hurt my knees going down and then it would be an uphill trek coming back out. I took a deep breath and took the plunge.

It wasn’t long until I could hear the falls but I couldn’t see it through all the foliage. Note to self- make the next trip later in the year after the leaves are off the trees.  
Just about when I was wondering how much longer my knees would hold up I saw a well made bridge ahead.  According to my directions I was getting close.

 

 

Silver Run Falls

The bridge was a brief respite  but then I was climbing the stairs at the end, The trail made a sharp turn to the right and then there were ROCKS! I wanted to cry. I could hear the roar of the falls but I couldn’t see it. There was a mine field of rocks to get over before I would reach a beach/sandy river bank. I’d come this far. I carefully placed my trekking poles and climbed over a couple of rocks. Just enough so I could see the falls. 

About that time a mother and her 4-5 year old came around the corner. The kid didn’t look twice at the rocks and just bounced over them to the sand bank. The young mother gave me a friendly hello as she easily followed her son to the water’s edge. 

I may have just been shown up by a 5 year old but at least I got a glimpse of the falls. 

Silver Run Falls

 

Cashiers

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Cashier'sIngles at Cashier’s

Now that I was checked in it was time to think about food. I’d skipped lunch since I wanted to locate the resort. Now it was dinner time and my stomach made it known that it was time to eat. I hadn’t seen any fast food restaurants since Bevard. I had a list of local restaurants that I was given at check in but I was warned that it was hard to get seating. Most were still only open with limited seating due to COVID and getting help was also an issue. So I decided to check out Ingles, the local supermarket. 

That turned out to be a good choice. The local Ingles was better stocked than my Hannaford in Taunton! I ws able to pick up everything I needed for my dinner and breakfast and some snacks and soft drinks. They had a great salad bar that included cheese stuffed meatballs in sauce. 

Cashier's

Cashier'sLand of 100 Waterfalls

I’m in an area known as the land of 100 waterfalls. I knew what I was going to do this vacation. With  my camera batteries  fully charged I headed out to locate some of these waterfalls. Right away I knew I was going to have a problem. My left knee was pretty swollen and I was limping badly. It must have been because of all the walking in the airports yesterday. I made sure I had my trekking poles and decided to give it my best shot. I had a list of falls they gave me at check in. Each of the falls had directions and a description. 

Cashiers Sliding Rock

My first waterfall was Sliding Rock. The notes describe the falls as having swimming holes above and below the falls. Parking is on the gravel shoulder. I hoped to wade into the lower swimming hole and shoot the falls from  the bottom. The whole walk to the falls was only supposed to be 150 yards. 

The trail was clear but it was rough. I had to step over logs and downed branches. When I got to the falls the stairs down were cement blocks but they had been undercut and didn’t look too stable. From the prints it looked like most visitors went down the muddy bank rather than use the stairs. Unfortunately with my knees that didn’t seem like a good idea. I took my shot from the top of the bank. No matter how I tried the foliage blocked most of the falls.

Cashier's

The Sapphire Valley

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Sapphire Valley

I was still climbing when I saw the sign “Entering Sapphire Valley- Registration 3 mile”. Is that my registration? I’m staying at Fairway Forest. Through the trees I began to see the groomed land of golf links. Ah, a lightbulb went off in my head. Fairway Forest- Fairway- golf! Turns out that golf is a big pastime on “The Mountain”. 

It’s customary for the concierge to contact you the week before your trip. They are trying to sign up up for your “Owner Update aka sales pitch” but they also have lots of information to share with you. This time they warned me to download the directions to check in from the website. Now as I weaved around another corner I slipped them out of my trip folder. 

Another twist and turn  and the road opened up and there was a sign for Fairway Forest Resort. It was on the wrong side of the road from my directions and nothing said registration but I made the turn anyway.

 

Fairway Forest Resort

At the top of a narrow road I made a right and looked down a one lane asphalt road. 4 Unit buildings split off to both the right and left giving each building a bit of privacy. I pulled into the first one and parked long enough to read the directions.  Apparently this was not the right place. I returned to the main road and continued toward Cahiers. Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

I spotted an Ingles Grocery Store but my instructions were to NOT buy food until I had checked in. When I reached Cashiers I figured I’d gone too far and turned around. I drove the road back and forth between the resort and Cashiers several times without spotting the registration/check in. I had no cell service so I couldn’t call for help.  On about my 3rd pass I decided to stop in at Sapphire Valley Resorts Registration. The lady on the desk laughed and not only gave me directions but walked me to my car so she could point out the plaza where Diamond Resorts had it’s registration building. It was on the opposite side of the road from my directions. Clearly who ever wrote them did not know their left from their right. 

But I’d found it and gotten there in one piece. Registration was fast and easy. I was in Building 1 Unit 1312. I’d accidentally pulled into my building when I first stopped at the resort. They admitted that the directions I had were old and made a note to update the web page.  I headed back to the resort with a map. The amenities, club house, pool etc  was at still another  location but all I wanted to do right then was to get settled and check out my home away from home.  

My Home Away from Home

It looked nice. It looked big. It wasn’t sparkly new. The carpet inside was a bit worn but it was well kept up, clean and huge. Two levels. The master bedroom was on the lower level along with giant soaking tub/jacuzzi. There was a private deck for the master bedroom. 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

On the main level was a bedroom with two twin beds, a full kitchen, combo living room dining room. I even had  a fireplace!  There was another bath off the bedroom And decks off both the living room and dining room. I loved the decks!

 

The washer and dryer was downstairs in the hall next to the master bedroom.

Thanks to my knees I settled into the main level bedroom. I’m used to twin beds .

 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

Time to go grocery shopping!

The Road to Sapphire

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The Road to SapphireAshville to Sapphire

Once I got headed in the right direction I left the road construction by the airport behind. RT 280 was a wide , well maintained highway. There was plenty of room for the crazy local drivers to pass. I could take my time and get acclimated to the drive. I felt pretty protected along this stretch because there was a church every mile or so.  Baptist, Methodist, 7 day Adventist, they were all there but not so many Catholic. All of the churches were large and well cared for. I knew I was in the “Bible Belt” but I had to wonder how a rural area like this could support so many churches so well. I guess the business of religion is very successful here. 

The Halfway Point- Brevard

My map said it was 45 miles from Ashville Airport to Sapphire but I felt like I had been driving a long time before I got to Brevard. Brevard was when the drive began to change to what I came to think of  as the half way point. Brevard is a little college town. It’s pretty and it’s loaded with fast food restaurants. There’s Wendy’s, Micky D’s, Bojangles and even a drive through BBQ place. Brevard is where I picked up RT 64. Rt 64 was to become my most traveled route while I was in North Carolina. It would take me to the waterfalls and the Blue Ridge parkway. It would also scare the pants off me until I got used to it. 

The Road to Sapphire

Rt 64 to Sapphire

I was relieved to see signs for Sapphire Valley as I was leaving Brevard. At least I was on the right track. I made a mental note to make a return trip to Brevard before my trip was over. I wanted to see a White Squirrel.

As I left Brevard, RT  64 began to narrow from a multi lane road to two lanes, no shoulders. That was ok but then I got to the mountain. I have no idea what the name of the mountain is but the locals just refer to “The Mountain”. They tell you that you’ll go down the mountain, around the mountain, over the mountain but they never name the mountain. 

Brevard to Sapphire Valley

The drive up the mountain to Sapphire Valley took about 45 minutes to an hour. Much of the road was made up of hairpin turns and switchbacks. The signs showed twisty turns with 15- 25 mile speed limits. There was no cutting corners either because there was always a car coming the other way. I began to wish I had a passenger who could take a video or at the least pictures. There was no place to pull over so I couldn’t do it. I had both hands glued to the wheel! 

The Road to Sapphire

This kind of driving is an adrenaline rush. It’s fun but I enjoy it only when I’m not being tailgated and that was going to be the bane of my trip. The locals, who are the nicest people face to face, are demanding, crazy drivers. They know the road and it’s twists and turns and they don’t pay any attention to the speed limit. I became quite adept at locating the narrowest of pull offs so they could go around me. When I’d get out of the way I’d get a friendly toot and a wave as they blew my doors off going by. 

The Road to Sapphire

This was almost as challenging as driving in the mountains of South Dakota! I was very happy to see signs saying “entering Sapphire Valley”. Now I just had to find the resort and check in.