Blue Ridge Parkway

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. 

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

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.

Tom even decided to try it!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

to enjoy the view of the mountains,

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

and started up the trail.

 

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

and to get some rest!

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

 

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.

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!

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!