The Summer 6

 September 26, 2020 It was time to see a new waterfall! We headed up I-77 for about an hour and 20 minutes to Elkin, NC. In order to make it more of a hike, we parked at Grassy Creek Vineyard. There is parking behind the tasting room and you have to follow a couple of orange flags through a bit of grass to get to the trail. You actually pick up the Mountains to Sea Trail here which seems like it has recently been added in this area because everything is very well marked.  First, we walked through several pine forest areas which were really pretty and even had a few enchanted forest features like fairy houses, birdhouses, painted rocks, and some realistic raccoon statues. There is a place where you have to cross a road, and here we saw a tobacco field. After another road crossing we were at Byrd's Branch Campground which was charming. From here we took the path to the lower falls first then looped around to the bigger upper falls, which are called Carter Falls. This used to be ...

 September 19, 2020 Another weekend, another new park! We had temperatures in the 60s today and it felt so good to get outside. I had Boone's Cave Park on my radar so we headed up I-85 past Salisbury and after about an hour we were at the park. This one is interesting because the cave featured is rumored to have been where Daniel Boone and his parents and siblings lived until they built a home on the property in 1751. They were Quakers in Pennsylvania before moving to North Carolina, but once here they had ongoing feuds with Native Americans. Eventually Daniel Boone moved farther west and was instrumental in settling colonists in what would become Kentucky. This park was established in 1909. It's not very big which makes the trails very manageable. We went on what seemed like most of the park's trails for a total of 2.7 miles. First we descended a lot of stairs to see the cave which was also close to the bank of the Yadkin River. Then we circled around to the Wetlands and W...

 June 7, 2020 We decided to head to the Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area on the last day of our mountain getaway. We drove through Lake Lure and saw a public beach area that was open, but we didn't stop and try to swim. We had tried to go to the Lake James State Park swimming area on Saturday but it was all closed due to Covid. We got to Chimney Rock before it was too crowded and paid the hefty admission price.  This park was privately owned for a long time and only recently became part of the state park system, so I think in order to maintain their elevator, and maybe because they have always charged, it costs $17 per adult and $8 per child. Once we paid they let us know that we would be parking in the bottom lot and would be offered a shuttle ride to the elevator area. We were nervous about Elliott not wearing a mask so decided to take the Four Seasons Trail from the lower parking lot to Hickory Nut Falls. This is 0.6 miles but you climb 400 feet so it was really hard with tons o...

 June 6, 2020 The next day we set out for Mount Mitchell State Park. It was a nice drive with many great views on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We didn't anticipate having to pass so many cyclists on the way but I suppose it's a great workout for them to ride up the mountain. We didn't want to wait too late in the day to get to this park either and have it be too crowded but we ended up getting to the top while it was still foggy. We still enjoyed seeing the summit (via the paved 0.3 mile path) and the temperatures were in the 60s, probably 20 degrees lower than the rest of the area. It's interesting that the weather is so different on Mount Mitchell that there is a different ecosystem than the rest of NC. Many trees at this elevation are spruce fir. After viewing the summit, we went on the Balsam Nature Trail. This was a nice, level hike that gave us a good view of the plants and trees, and even the start of a spring that was used by the first explorers in the area. A view f...

 June 5, 2020 Our next stop on Waterfall Tour 2020 was Tom's Creek Falls, near Marion, NC. This was about an hour away from South Mountains and also not very far from where we were staying for the night. This is a 0.7 mile trail total and was much easier than the hike to High Shoals Falls that we had done earlier. It wasn't overly crowded and there was plenty of room for the kids to get their feet wet. This is a pretty big waterfall, around 80 feet, and seemed sort of surprising to be so easily accessible. So this got an A+ rating all around, although I'm not sure it would even count as a hike for serious hikers. Once we finished here, we drove to the rental house. It was also near Marion but was a little farther south. I don't think this area is technically the mountains, so maybe more like the foothills. It's a nice area and we had a pretty view from the deck. We had planned to cook dinner in the fire ring, but a downpour stopped that, so then we were going to use...

 June 5, 2020 We were going stir-crazy from quarantine and wanted to get out of town so we decided to take a weekend trip to see some mountains and waterfalls. Once we settled on Mt. Mitchell as our main attraction, we decided to find an airbnb near Marion to stay for two nights. This was very Covid safe and also was a little like camping without the actual camping! Our agenda included South Mountains State Park and Tom's Creek waterfall on Friday, Mount Mitchell summit and nature trail followed by Roaring Fork Falls and Setrock Creek Falls on Saturday, and Chimney Rock Park on Sunday. We loved where we stayed and we had a fun yet tiring trip! Although it was Friday and not the weekend yet, we wanted to get to South Mountains as early as we could so we could make sure to get a parking spot. State parks in NC had been getting record high attendance during quarantine because well, there's not much else to do! I think we got there by 10am and had no trouble parking. It's south...

 July 4, 2020 Our friends have access to a house on the New River in Galax, VA and we have visited many times.  Often we go to the New River Trail. This is a 57 mile trail that follows an abandoned railroad track so it is wide and flat.  We haven't brought bikes but it would be great to ride on as well.  There are several bridges over the river or you can stop and wade a bit too. The farthest we have ever made it is Cliffview, which were were disappointed to find out did not have a view of a cliff! It did have a general store so treats made up for the misleading name. On our most recent visit we used the All Trails app to find a new hike in the area.  While it was a bit challenging to actually find, it was fun to have a new location. This was Matthews State Forest Trail, a 2.6 mile loop with 300 feet of elevation gain. It doesn't sound like much but that is a lot of incline for little legs. I was hoping for a good view but it was more forest than vista. A nice t...

 June 28, 2020 Another weekend, another new park!  This is about an hour south of us in Catawba, SC. The trail runs along the Catawba River and passes an area of water lilies. We were too late in the year to see them bloom but it was a nice surprise! Another interesting feature of this park is the remains of a canal system that was in use from 1820 to 1835. It was a flat, shady trail and there was a bit of a breeze so even though we were in South Carolina it was bearable. I think it can get muddy after rain and there are bugs but we weren't bothered by either of these issues.  The trail is about 1.5 miles one way so after 3 miles of walking, we were tired and didn't venture up to the bald eagle nesting site. According to the website, their nesting season is from December to May so the chances of seeing them are much greater in those months.   Another interesting feature of this park is a 1790 log cabin that was moved from another location to the park. Also, you ...

With the kids away at Camp Grandma for a few days, we decided to take a day trip to Dupont State Forest  to see a few water falls.  We set out early in the morning to try and beat the crowds, no kids in tow.  Our first stop was at the parking lot for Hooker, Triple, and High Falls.   The parking lot was not well marked and is on the right side of the road if heading in from Hendersonville.  We drove past it once and had to turn around. Once on the trail, we hike towards Triple Falls, which was very pretty.  There were access points to the lower parts of the falls, but they were not easily accessible and we missed them on our way up the trail.  So, we decided not to back track and to continue up the moderate trail towards High Falls. High Falls was a lot of fun.  The fall was huge and there was a place on the left side where you could slide in and swim.  There was also a lot of areas to climb over rocks.  It would be a good spot to b...