Blue Ridge Parkway

Posted on November 13, 2021November 12, 2021 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

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

Whitewater Falls

Posted on November 7, 2021November 7, 2021 by Dusty Roads

Whitewater Falls

Next on my water fall list was Whitewater Falls. So once I’d managed to make my way up the hill from Silver Run Falls I collapsed in my car to catch my breath and review the directions. Even though my knees were hurting I really wanted to double up. I hate wasting precious time. I drove back and forth in the area the falls were supposed to be without success until I tried a large park turn off. It didn’t have any sign for the falls on the road which is why I kept missing it. I finally tried the turn off just to see where it would take me. I expected a camp ground or something like that. Instead it was the parking area for the falls.

Whitewater Falls

There was nothing “wild” about the parking area. It was a large manicured area with paved parking and paved paths. They even have restrooms and picnic tables. There were dispensers for parking passes. Fees are reasonable, $3 for vehicles with seven passengers or less; $1 per person for more than seven people traveling together in a vehicle.

I started across the large lawn but every step was like a knife up my leg. This was not going to work.

Disappointment

As I realized that my old body was letting me down once again I felt the disappointment and frustration wash over me. I promised myself that I would come back again and make this my 1st stop of the day next time. I really wanted to see this falls. This falls was just featured in an episode of Expedition X where Phil Torres ( A Main Character) climbed the falls. They talked about the stairs to the bottom of the falls where his co star waited and watched. The falls were beautiful in that program.

Whitewater Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies. The falls plunge an amazing 411 feet. For an excellent view of Whitewater Falls, follow the paved walkway to the upper overlook. The walkway begins at the end of the parking lot and is accessible to wheelchairs. Unfortunately I didn’t have a wheelchair, just my gimpy knees. A lower overlook is located at the bottom of 154 wooden steps

Whitewater Falls

Silver Run Falls

Posted on October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

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 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

Posted on October 23, 2021October 23, 2021 by Dusty Roads

Ingles 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

Land 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

Posted on October 16, 2021October 16, 2021 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

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.

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

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!