Summer 2015
We did have fun this summer, it wasn’t all work. My sister Tiffany, her husband Mike and their kids Lauren, Lindsay and Emma came down for a visit. We had only been here for a couple weeks at that point, so I was not too sure about where to go exploring, so we decided to go with the biggies: Pisgah National Forest and Sliding Rock, The Blue Ridge Parkway and last but certainly not least, The Outer Banks.
The Pisgah National Forest is in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains, in western North Carolina. It is divided into three districts: Pisgah District, Appalachian District and Grandfather District. In total, it encompasses more than 500,000 acres. We chose the Pisgah District because the kids wanted to experience some waterfalls and it’s the home of the famous Sliding Rock.
One, very hot July morning, we headed west on Interstate 40 and then south to The Pisgah National Forest. We ate lunch on the way and arrived ready to explore. (It was still hot!)
We started at the ever popular Looking Glass Falls. It is said to be the most photographed waterfall in North Carolina and possibly on the east coast. The reason, it’s right beside the road and it’s magnificent.The water begins its descent 60′ above the gloriously clear pool below. It pours over the rocks, creating a continuous and soothing rush of water, that eventually settles into a safe area for wading.
As we approached the stairs, that descend to the base of the waterfall, we got our first glimpse. We could finally see what we had been hearing. It was breathtaking. It was also really crowded.
We took our turn on the stairs, so we could get a closer look, as well as some pictures. At the viewing area, we got a short respite from the heat, as the breeze carried the fine mist that the falls created, over to us. The kids wanted to wade in the water (they were hot too), but after some discussion we decided to wait until we got to Sliding Rock. Onward!
What is Sliding Rock, you ask? It is a mountain waterfall and 60′ natural rock slide, all in one. The waterfall sends 11 thousand gallons of water/minute plunging down the mountain, over a sloping dome of granite, smoothing the surface and creating a natural thrill ride. The force of the waterfall pushes you down the rock and sends you plunging into an 8 foot deep pool of very chilly water (50-60 degrees). You swim a short ways to a platform, climb out and do it all over again.
A few minutes up the road brought us to the parking area for Sliding Rock. Now I had read enough to know that this is a huge attraction on a hot summer afternoon, so I expected it to be busy, but it was nuts. After paying the entrance fee, $2 a person, I was told the parking lot was full. They asked me to pull over to the side and wait until the parking attendant motioned me to the next available spot. It only took a couple minutes and we hustled out of the car to go see this rock slide.
It was worth the drive, the wait for a parking spot, the horrendous heat, the multitude of visitors and the disgusting muck we had to walk through to get to the viewing platform and the rock slide. I have never seen anything like it. Here we were, in the middle of the forest, watching our kids slide down a rock propelled by a waterfall. It’s kind of like a natural slip-n-slide. They had a blast. They even enjoyed slinging some of the muck at each other, much to our dismay. Safety wise, there was a life guard at the top of the slide and at the pool below. I did not see anyone get hurt on the slide, but a lot of people slipped/fell on the rocks around the slide. My sister and I waded in the water to keep cool, we were not brave enough to try the slide.
As we headed out of the Pisgah National Forest, we ventured onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway is a 469-mile scenic byway, that connects the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It is meant to be a slow-moving and relaxing drive offering amazing long range views as well as close up mountain views. There are 26 tunnels through the mountains of various lengths, 25 of which are in North Carolina. What’s really helpful is the milepost system they use. You can plan to visit and easily find, points of interest along the drive. We were no that well prepared, much to the dismay of our kids, so we stopped at most of the pull-off/parking areas to take in the views.
It absolutely took my breath away, the first time I got out of the car and walked to the edge of the grass and looked out. There aren’t words to describe, nor pictures to capture, the incredible wonder of God’s doing that we got to see. The bright sunshine, at just the right angle, made the forest come alive. It seemed like we could reach out and touch the leaves. At one stop, some scattered clouds blocked the sun’s rays and what an amazing contrast it created. Part of the forest was still glowing green from the bright sun, while other parts appeared blackened or dead, from the shadows the clouds created.
Every time we stopped there was something amazing to behold. What an amazing gift we had that day and I was so happy to share it with my kids, my sister and her family. I am sorry Steve missed it, but we will add it to our list of things to do.
After 20 or so stops (yes for real), the kids got a little grumpy and stopped getting out. They wanted food and to go home. So we obliged. We did get to experience several of the tunnels and got a distant view of Mount Mitchell. Mount Mitchell is the tallest Peak in the Appalachian Mountains and the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. (Just a little trivia.)
Just a pinch more history! Work on the Parkway began September 11, 1935 but it did not officially open until September 11, 1987. What was the holdup? The owner of Grandfather Mountain resisted attempts by the National Park Service to put a road through his mountain. He was concerned with the environmental damage a traditional cut and fill roadway would create. The dilemma: how to build a road, at an elevation of 4100 feet, without damaging one of the worlds oldest mountains? The solution: the most complicated bridge ever built. The 1243 foot long, Linn Cove Viaduct, is recognized internationally as an engineering marvel. Construction took 4 years at the cost of $10 million. It was completed in 1983. The other portions of the parkway were completed, north and south of the viaduct, and finally on September 11, 1987 the Blue Ridge Parkway officially opened. (We have not been on that part of the Parkway yet but it is high on our list of things to do.)
So once everyone recovered from our adventures to the Pisgah National Forest, we decided to hit the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks are a huge tourist destination for both it’s great weather and wide sandy beaches. It is a 200 mile strip of narrow peninsulas and barrier islands separating the Atlantic Ocean from the mainland, North Carlina. It is dubbed, the OBX. Another interesting fact (trying not to call it history!): the Wright brothers first flight took place on the Outer Banks, December 17, 1903 at Kill Devil Hills, near the coastal town of Kitty Hawk. Kill Devil Hills was our destination. Luckily, at the last minute, we had found a hotel that could accommodate our two families and two dogs. (We don’t know anyone in North Carolina to trust the dogs to and I refuse to board them, so yeah they went with us.)
It’s about a 6 hour drive to the Outer Banks. We hit rush hour going through Durham, which was nuts trying to be sure my brother-in-law was still following us. Vinney got sick shortly after we left, but it wasn’t too bad as we were prepared. He did great the rest of the trip. We got into Kill Devil Hills around 9pm so we couldn’t see much of anything. After checking in and getting our things settled (including the dogs) we headed to the ocean. My nieces had never seen the ocean. There wasn’t much to see in the water, but the rolling surf was loud and they had fun chasing the water back out. There were a ton of tiny crabs racing over the sand, which didn’t sit well with everyone. We headed to bed looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
The weather was great on Saturday. We had a great breakfast, seaside, at our hotel. We staked out our claim of beach early and spent the entire day enjoying the sun, sand and surf. The kids had a great time and so did the adults. We found a restaurant that had a variety of options, as some of us do not care for seafood. We enjoyed our meal listening to the live music. What an amazing day. The kids said they could live here. Not me, a great place to visit, but I think it would get old quick.
After another great breakfast and some beach walking we packed up and headed home. Oh yeah, the dogs did great. They never minded when we left the room. We took them out to run/potty every 2 hours. They were never barking when we checked on them. We did take them on the beach Saturday morning and they loved running in the sand.
It wasn’t long after our return home that our visitors had to pack it up and head home themselves. We had an amazing visit. It was sad to see them go, but hopefully they will visit often and maybe the North Carolina beauty, warmth and charm will lure them down here for good.
We all had such a wonderful time in North Carolina and cannot wait to come back this summer! I don’t know what my favorite part of the trip would be if I had to choose. The scenery is beyond beautiful, the hiking, the mountains, the waterfalls, it was all unlike anything we have ever seen before. Then there was the ocean! The girls were in awe having never seen it before. It was so nice just to sit on the beach and relax after all our driving. I miss you all so much and am so excited to see you again this summer!! Love you all! Tiffany