NC - Blowing Rock, Little Switzerland, then head to Charlotte

 Nov 6 - We headed south into NC.  We drove through Boone, but it just didn't look like a place I really wanted to visit.  It was super crowded, so we drove onto Valle Crucis.  There isn't much there, but it's a cute spot with a nice walking path near a stream and the old Mast store was super cool.  It is in operation and has a working Post office there.  I mailed some letters from there hoping that it would be stamped from there, but it looks like it was stamped in Greensboro.  That's no fun!  I loved all the old items still on the shelf and the sloping floors and windows and peeling ceilings too.  

From there we moved onto my planned destination of Blowing Rock, NC.  The road that Google Maps had me take was HORRIBLE!  It was so stressful.  It was incredibly windy, up, up, up, and super narrow.  I could not wait to get off that road!!!

I've heard so many good things about Blowing Rock, so I had to go.  We arrived around 4 pm and the Glen Burney Falls trailhead lot right in town was mostly empty, so we got a good spot to spend the night.  There was a sign saying No overnight commercial parking, so it seemed clear that Non commercial overnight parking was OK and it was!  Later the parking lot was full due to people using it for parking for restaurants as the downtown was super busy - on a Monday night!  It was pretty quiet though.  I went out for dinner and sat outside with Zoe, but she was just pulling to cleanup the floor and I realized it was too cold to ask her to lie down, so I took her back to the van and went back and ate alone.  I was going to go inside and sit at the bar, as there might be folks to chat with, but it was super hot and stuffy and I didn't get the vibe that I might end up chatting with anyone.  So, I ate outside on my own. 

Next morning we took a little walk in the park across the street, but then did the hike to the falls, which was about 3 miles.  This was down the whole way and Zoe did great, but on the way back up, she was pretty slow.  It was quite warm and I forget how warm it might get with most of the leaves gone from the trees.  I felt like we overdid it for the poor old girl, but she was just tired.  It's been really dry here so there wasn't a ton of water at the various falls, but still nice.

Broyhill park in Blowing Rock

Cascade falls - the first falls on the hike

Glen Burney Falls

Love this shot

I find selfies so hard to take - especially with Zoe!

Glen Marie Falls - the last falls on the hike 

As soon as we got back, this is what she did.  She wouldn't even get in the van - she just wanted to pass out in the sun

After Zoe got her rest, we went to Moses Cone Memorial Park as they had arts and crafts for sale in the building and then I would get to see the inside, but it was closed.  So, we left there and went down to Bass Lake for a short lap around the lake, then laid in the sun and napped.  I find it so hard to do nothing - still working no that...  

Bass Lake

And if that wasn't enough for the day, we went to see the Blowing Rock.  It is named that for the winds that come up there and the rock does look windblown!  I didn't realize that this was a paid gig, but that's OK.  They did put in a lot of work with making walkways there.  It's is definitely not the prettiest time to be here as it is past peak, so most of the trees are bare.  When I was in the NC mountains in April 2022, there was the spring green of the budding trees.  I would definitely like to come here in the Rhododendron season in late May/June.  I'm not sure when I could make that happen.

A lady modeling blowing rock

We stayed again at the trailhead lot in town and there were no cars there on a Tuesday night.  The town was very quiet - maybe people staying in town for a long weekend?  I went out to dinner again and this time left Zoe in the van to start.  She was super tired, so I didn't feel bad about that.  I ate at the bar at Six Pence Tavern.  At first I was sitting next to two men who were super crude, so I moved as far away as I could get - not sure if they noticed, but I didn't care.  I ended up chatting with Brian, (well, mostly he chatted...) who bought me a drink and then asked for my number.  LOL.  I explained that I was leaving town tomorrow.  I had pot roast for dinner - yum!

Nov 8 - left Blowing Rock and headed towards Little Switzerland.  It sounded like a cute town, but there really wasn't anything there.  I booked a Harvest Host here, which wasn't spectacular.  I was planning to take a shower in my van or maybe outside when I got there as it was really warm, but then I learned they had a shower.  I should have showered in my van as I had plenty of water and it would have been much more pleasant than the mildly warm, low flow shower I had.  Anyway, I was clean, so it's all good!  Since my first time using the shower, I haven't needed to shower in my van.  

Driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This was the most beautiful overlook that I saw.  I hung out here for a while enjoying the view and chatting with a couple from England.

The roads in the NC mountains are incredibly windy and steep.  The road to the HH was gravel and steep and bumpy.  I opened my back door and noticed that water had come out of the water inlet as it isn't sealed.  This design really sucks as the tank is probably only 1/2 full, but with lack of angle from the inlet to the tank and going up steep inclines, the water flows back out the inlet hose.  I'd hate to see what would happen if I had more water in it!!!  I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this...

Next morning, after our uneventful stay at the HH, I decided we needed to do another hike to Crabtree Falls since Zoe was doing so well.  😀  It was another down then back up loop, but other than a very steep incline after the falls, the rest was pretty much OK.  It was HOT and sunny without the leaves, so Zoe was pretty slow during the steep part.  

Pretty girl!

I had trimmed Zoe's nails and got the quick on her left front. 😓  I had noticed her limping, but the boot did the trick thankfully!  

After the hike, we left the Blue Ridge Highway, heading to Morganton, NC.  Wow, the drive down was CRAZY!!!  There were signs saying trucks and RVs should go 15 mph and use low gear and there were spots to stop to let the brakes cool.  My van is heavy, so I was pretty nervous about all this.  I haven't often down shifted as I hate the sound of the engine straining, but I did got down in 2nd or 3rd and stopped for a minute or so once.  Not fun.  I was so happy once it leveled off!  

Morganton is a quaint little town and we stopped for lunch and walked around.  It was 83 degrees, so found a spot outside in the shade and enjoyed a Gyro.  Zoe was tired, so she did great.  Yes, I'm eating out more than I should.  Still not cooking a lot, though I did make avocado toast one morning and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.

I hadn't known where I was going to stay, so while in Morganton, I requested a stay with a BW site.  He said he wasn't going to be home till 5:30 and his property is gated.  I figured I could kill time until then and went to a State park, but then he let me know that he wouldn't be home till more like 6:30 due to a long running Dr appt.  Ugh.  At the park, it looked like there was a campground, but I couldn't see where the campsites were and so I gave up.  I was tired and grumpy at this point and ended up parking at the gate and waited for him to show up.  This was the first time I struggled in any way with sleeping location.  When he showed up, he just put in a code to open the gate.  I wished he had just given me the code, but I suppose you can't always trust people...

The driveway is very steep, but puts you up on a hill with an expansive view and I woke to this.

Before leaving this lovely spot, Zoe and I took a little walk in the woods in the rain.  There is still some color in the trees here.

Today, I'm going to head to visit Marta and Annie in Charlotte, NC.  I'm psyched to see them and get all kinds of tips from them now that I've been on the road.  Oh, and from there I'll head to Beaufort, via Washington, NC to visit Kate.  In Beaufort I will be staying in the house I lived in last winter!  Missy and Merle have delayed their arrival, so the house will be empty, allowing me to stay there.  I can't believe how perfectly this worked out - I won't have to bother anyone to stay in their driveway and shower and do laundry!  Of course, I was really hoping to see Missy and Merle as I missed them this summer in VT/NY.

I definitely find the driving to be exhausting, especially in the NC mountains. I'm really glad I'm keeping my trips pretty short.  I'm debating on whether to drive straight to Washington, NC or make a stop along the way.  I mostly try to avoid highways, but if I drive straight, the highways will save me about 1.5 hours.  

I cannot believe how many Baptist churches I have driven by.  😲

I find trying to figure out what I'm going to do/where I'm going to go takes up a lot of my down time.  But that's OK as I mostly enjoy it.  Sometimes it's a bit tiresome when I really can't figure out what to do.  I'm actually enjoying hanging out at the BW site in the rain.  But it is time to head onto the next destination!