Sunday, October 28, 2012

Blue Ridge Parkway

DSC_0260

Saturday started out as a pretty nice day, although we did have a few clouds moving in over the mountains.  After a hearty breakfast of bacon and waffles, we decided to take a short drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and check out some of the sites that were recommended to us.

Just west of Maggie Valley is a small, but very beautiful waterfall – Soco Falls.  There is just a small parking area on the side of the road, and a really small sign, but we managed to find it. 

DSC_0196

The trail is short (only about 200 yards), but pretty steep,

DSC_0199

and narrow . . . with no guardrail!  The trail ends at an observation platform, but there is a ropeline that will allow you to get all the way down to the bottom of the falls.

DSC_0203

Tom even decided to try it!

DSC_0206

I considered continuing, but Nicolas said it was pretty muddy and slippery, so I decided to stay and take pictures from above. 

DSC_0215

DSC_0216

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys reached the bottom and posed for a picture for me.

DSC_0222

The three of them made their way back up the ropeline,

DSC_0219DSC_0227

and we got back in the car to continue our drive through the Smoky Mountains.  We stopped at a couple of overlooks,

DSC_0234

to enjoy the view of the mountains,

DSC_0229

and then continued up.  We reached the Waterrock Know Overlook,

DSC_0263

and started up the trail.

  DSC_0241

The path is paved, but very steep, and it was slow going . . . we stopped to look back on the road we had driven up,

DSC_0256

and to get some rest!

DSC_0248

After our short break, it was time to continue our trek to the Pedestrian Overlook.

DSC_0247

 

DSC_0253

After this point, the trail changes from a paved surface to a more natural gravel and stone surface.  It wasn’t quite as steep, though, and actually a little easier on the knees.

DSC_0254

I let the three of them go up ahead of me, and I followed at a slower pace, meeting up with them when they were on the way back down.

They found somebody at the top to take a picture of them – Bryce said it was pretty chilly up there, and they were really close to the clouds!

photo1

We decided to call it a day after that, and headed back into Maggie Valley.  Tom wanted to stop at “Crazy Bob’s” Biker Shop on the way back to the RV Park – where he picked up some stickers for his helmet, and we all got ice cream cones (not too cold for ice cream yet!!)

By the time we got home, the temperatures were dropping and we spent the afternoon and evening inside.  Bryce got to watch the MI State Spartans win, and I worked on their schedules and made lasagna for dinner.  Not a bad way to spend the day!

3 comments:

  1. Sure is a fun place to be. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so excited to have found your blog! My husband and I are full-time travelers. We are expecting our first little one and have been trying so hard to figure out how to continue traveling without buying an expensive new trailer with a bunkhouse. Your toy hauler idea is perfect! We also plan to homeschool (and use travel to supplement a lot of our geography and history lessons) so I'm so thrilled to be able to start at the beginning and learn from your journey!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to enjoy the Smoky Mountains vicariously through your pictures. When we were there several years ago, the entire area was so foggy and misty ("smoky") that we were completely unable to see much of anything at all. It was a disappointment, for it was like that the entire time we were there. Thanks for the good pictures.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! We'd love to hear your comments!