SOMEthing to talk about -- Tallulah Gorge State Park

So, that’s what happens when I open Live Writer to start a blog post and walk out of the room . . . I come back to “I posted a blog!”

Contrary to his opinion, we had quite an adventurous day on Wednesday.  Directly north of us on St. Rt. 15 about 35 miles was Tallulah Gorge State Park.  We packed a lunch and waited for the fog to clear in the morning, and set out around 11:00, arriving shortly before noon.

From the Georgia State Park website:

“One of the most spectacular canyons in the eastern U.S., Tallulah Gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. Visitors can hike rim trails to several overlooks, or they can obtain a permit to hike to the gorge floor (100 per day, not available during water releases). A suspension bridge sways 80 feet above the rocky bottom, providing spectacular views of the river and waterfalls.  Tightrope walkers have twice crossed the gorge, and visitors can still see towers used by Karl Wallenda.”

We stopped in the Interpretive Center first,

looked at the displays,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Bryce & I talked to the volunteer about the hikes while Tom finished up a conversation with the diesel mechanic who’s rebuilding our engine (all parts are in and he’s getting ready to start re-assembling it!).

Permits are required to hike to the gorge floor, and they were all given out for the day already (darn! ), but we still had two options for the day – we could take the North Rim Trail from the Interpretive Center (stopping at Overlooks 2,3,4, and 5), cross the dam and pick up the South Rim Trail to overlooks 6,7,8,9, and 10.  From the end of the South Rim Trail, option 1 would be to turn around and go back the same way, or option 2 would be to hike down 347 steps to the Swinging Bridge, and then up 310 steps to the North Rim Trail at overlook 2.

I was leaning toward option 1, but we’d see how it went . . .

 

We met Tom at the car, transferred our lunch and water bottles to the backpack, and set out for the North Rim Trail.

This first part of the trail is really comfortable to walk on – it’s made from recycled rubber mulch!    

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at Overlook 3 first, where we had a pretty good view of L’Eau d’Or Falls and Hawthorne Pool below the falls.

 

 

 

 

 

We back-tracked a little to Overlook 2, where we had a better view of the falls – L’Eau d”Or and Tempesta Falls.

 

Across the Gorge, we could see a picnic shelter on the South Rim Trail – that looks like it’ll make a nice lunch stop.

From Overlook 2, lots of people head down the stairs to the suspension bridge over the river – but we weren’t sure if we were doing that yet!

We continued along the North Rim Trail,

past Overlook 4 (where we couldn’t see much of anything) and some really fragrant flowers,

 

to Overlook 5 – Tallulah Falls Dam.

 

There were lots of warning signs along the trail,

but maybe they need one stating that motorcycles aren’t allowed on the trail!  This guy came down the trail that connects the campground to the North Rim Trail!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, we had reached the end of the North Rim Trail, and had to walk over the dam to the South Rim Trail.  From the top of the dam, we could see into the Gorge,

 

but we had to be careful not to get dirt in our eyes when trucks passed by on the highway!

Our first stop on the South Rim Trail was the picnic shelter where we enjoyed our lunch while admiring the view of the gorge.  You can see the suspension bridge over the river in this view.

The South Rim Trail seems to be a little more developed, with structures,

artwork,

and benches.

Moving along, we reached Overlook 7,

where we could see Hawthorne Pool flowing into Tempesta Falls.

Overlooks 8, 9, and 10 are at the end of the trail, behind a stone wall at the edge of the gorge.

From here, we could see the Interpretive Center,

Hurricane Falls,

 

 

 

and Overlook 1 on the North Rim Trail.

Another view of Hurricane Falls.

So, we had reached the end of the South Rim Trail – I thought we would turn around and go back the same way, but Tom didn’t want to.  We talked to several people who had just made the climb up the 347 steps on this side, and they survived . . .

So we decided to continue on!  More warning signs!

These steps were pretty steep!

We made it, and we could see where the water flowed over Hurricane Falls,

and continued on after the falls.

There was an additional 221 steps down to a platform at the bottom of Hurricane Falls, and Bryce did that one by himself!  221 down, and 221 back up – less than 10 minutes!!

Tom and I waited at the Suspension Bridge for him to return,

 

then we all went across the bridge . . . there was quite a bit of sway and flex in that bridge!

Especially with Bryce jumping!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side, we rested some more before our big climb up 310 stairs . . . steep stairs!

 

I must say, it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be!  We took about 10 minutes to get down the 347 steps, and just under 30 minutes to climb the 310 steps!

It helped that each landing was numbered, so we could see our progress as we climbed!  Back at the top, we made our way back along the trail to the parking lot and headed back to Commerce.

After an early dinner at Five Guys (Bryce’s choice), we relaxed in the pool back at the RV Park – a great way to end the day!

Moving to the RV Park and more sightseeing on the Blue Ridge Parkway

On Monday morning, the porters came and moved our RV over to the regular RV Park where we would stay for another week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were still a few of us RV Dreamers around, so we spent time visiting, and enjoying happy hour outside the RVs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few sights on the Blue Ridge that we didn’t get to during the rally, so we took a few afternoon drives this week.

Tuesday – Linville Falls

Tuesday started out warm and sunny, so after lunch we headed up Hwy 221 towards Linville Falls.  Getting there is a little confusing – just before reaching the Parkway, you come to a sign for Linville Falls which takes you into a tiny gravel parking lot, with a log cabin information center, which was closed when we got there.

One of the other Dreamers had told us to continue along the gravel road to Weisman View – we would be rewarded with a magnificent view of the mountains.    

 

We weren’t sure how far it was, and the road kept getting worse and worse . . .

but we kept moving for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one point we could stop the car and get a glimpse of the view on either side of the road,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but we never did find the overlook for Weisman’s View.  We eventually turned around and went back to the parking lot.  (I found out later that the road did end at a parking lot for the overlook, about 4 miles from the information cabin . . . we must have been close!)

 

I was a little unsure of this trail, because it didn’t seem like what everybody had described to me . . . and then there was the thunder rolling above our heads . . . that made me a little uncomfortable, too!

 

 

We decided to get up on the parkway and find the Linville Falls Visitor Center, and take the trail from there.  I was hoping that the storm would pass in the meantime!

We found the Visitor Center, and despite the thunder continuing to threaten, we crossed the river and followed the trail.

This trail was a little wider, and a little more developed,

but it ended up intersecting with the other one!

We reached the falls, and were faced with a choice between three different paths – we had heard that the view was best from the Upper Falls Overlook, so we took that one.

The rain was just getting started, but luckily the trail was pretty well sheltered by trees.

We reached the overlook, and had to be really careful – the rocky surface was really slippery in the rain,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and I had no desire to take a ride on THIS waterslide!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the rain poured down, we made our way back up the slippery trail – very carefully – and back to the Visitor Center.

 

 

On a drier day, we would have explored the other trails at the falls, too, but not in this weather . . . that was it for us!

 

Thursday – Mt. Mitchell

We decided to try again on Thursday afternoon, and made our way up Hwy 80 to the Blue Ridge Parkway, towards Mt. Mitchell State Park.  Down in Marion, the sky was clear, but as we climbed the mountain, we got closer and closer to the clouds!

We stopped at a few overlooks, but couldn’t see much.

We finally reached the turnoff for Mt. Mitchell State Park,

and started making the climb toward the summit – we were really in the clouds now!

We reached the parking lot at the summit, and the clouds were passing through.  One minute you could see around you, and the next minute you would be totally blinded by clouds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a concession stand at the overlook, as well as a small gift shop and the Mt. Mitchell Museum.  We walked through the gift shop and checked out the displays in the museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a short, but STEEP, trail to the summit, so we headed up while it was still clear.

That didn’t last long!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the short walk we reached the summit of Mt. Mitchell – the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

 

There was a group of people on the Observation Tower, doing some type of indian ceremony with flowers, and wine . . .

 

A Park Ranger arrived right after us, and he was talking to them about the fact that alcohol is not allowed in the park, whether they were consuming it or not.  He was also taking issue with the fact that they had poured some of the red wine on the granite benches, and he was concerned that it would stain.

 

 

Tom was quick to point out to the Ranger, “We’re not with them!”

OK, we’re not with them, but we will pose for a picture . . .

While they cleaned up their mess, we checked out the view . . .

or lack of a view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what we were supposed to be able to see.

As we were leaving the Observation Tower, the clouds moved a little bit!

 

We made our way back down to the parking lot – amazing how much faster it was going DOWN the trail!!

 

Leaving the state park, we decided to take the parkway back to I-40 near Ashville, rather than going back to Hwy 80.  Tom didn’t feel like driving down that twisty-turny road again!

 

 

 

 

As we approached the Craggy Garden Visitor Center, we saw this car off the side of the road.

There was nobody in the car, and nobody walking nearby, but we stopped to report it to a Ranger up at the Craggy Dome parking area.  He had seen it already, and called for help, so I guess everything was under control – he still didn’t know where the people were, though.

On our way down the parkway, we stopped at an overlook,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and were standing there when a fire chief, park ranger, two rescue squads, and a tow truck all went flying past us with their lights and sirens going.

I guess we know where they were headed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was an interesting day on the parkway!!