North Carolina Trip 2014 Day 5

OK, first, good people, does anyone know if this was a butterfly or a moth?

I've been pondering it all day and am thinking it may have been a moth, but if anyone with a Biology degree (Elani or Ray) knows better, it would put my mind to rest.

Next Old Business, Linda gently informed me, by smacking me up side of the head, that I had run Days 3 & 4 together, so don't anyone count on what day the pics were from.  

That business taken care of, on to new business.

Wednesday, we packed up and left our lovely cottage and headed off on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is a great road, generally starting in N. Carolina, going through the Pisgah National Forest and ending up in Virginia.  Total of 469 miles, of which we took in about 50 miles.  As one old codger said, "It can get kinda boring."  Plus the turns get on your nerves, if you are driving, which Linda was.

Nice trip, with good views and lots of bikers, who apparently love all the twists, turns and sites.  There are a plethora of tunnels to get through the mountains of varying sizes and lengths.

As stated, there are great views of the forest.

Notice the dead trees?  There is a small bug from Europe, about the size of a pin head, which is getting under the bark of the pine trees, boring into the wood and keeping the trees from getting nutrients.  Over the past 40 years, 70% of the fir trees have been killed.  There is no known cure, but they are trying to stop the situation, so far with no success.  If no cure can be found, they will let the trees all die, then the bugs will have no food source and should perish.  They have been saving seeds, to one day re-forest.

We stopped at many Scenic Overlooks for pictures, including the Summit!  Now, we have figured out that "selfies" are not our strong suit.  It's one thing to look through the view finder and frame your shot.  However, we had to settle with trying our best:

This being the product of about 3 tries.

At one Scenic Overlook, a couple was walking away and said, "Let's go find our waterfall."  Linda said, "What?"  They pointed us to a small, barely marked trail, which indeed led through the woods, mostly up, to wonderful views and a water area of falls and pools!

 

 

Well, the hike seemed to be uphill both ways and by the time we got to the parking area, we were both winded and thirsty. Where generally, we make sure and take water on hikes, this time we thought, "Heck, they said it was just a short hike."  

We had planned to find a picnic spot for lunch on the Parkway, but the only one we found was Closed for some reason, so we ended up at a Burger King.

Next, on to the wine country and our next cabin just out of Elkin, NC.  Now, Jonesville is just before Elkin, so we got off to buy provisions for breakfast at the Jonesville Food Lion "super" market.  It had adequate supplies and when we asked the checker if Jonesville or Elkin was bigger, she immediately said, "Oh, Elkin.  We don't have nothin.  We just alcohol this month." (It was the 7th of May.)  She and her sacker were having a heated discussion of what color her Cobalt should be and she definitely didn't want red!

Finally, we were heading on to the Frog Hollerin' Cabins and settling in for the night.  We had left over Southern BBQ chicken from the the night before, so made Asian Southern-Style Lettuce Wraps, which were delicious.  The evening ended with good wine and 2 hours of American Idol (yes, BR and Brad, you know we couldn't miss it).

Tomorrow, off to the N Carolina wine country, so say tuned.

Love to all!   

Bill, Blogger
 & 
Linda, Editor In Chief

Driessleins, North Carolina 2014 Day 3 & 4

Hi all,

Up from a good nights sleep, well fed (eggs, bacon, local Nantahala sausage) we set out on Monday, May 5th for the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, just North of Bryson City, NC.  We expected the usual national park "check in at the Visitors Center...", but interestingly there was no true park entrance, other than the roadside side and NO FEE.  We just drove in like we owned the place.

First off was the Deep Creek area, as they had 3 waterfalls to see.  Now, we've seen the waterfalls of Oregon, Yellowstone and Yosemite which fall for 50 feet plus.  These are not those.  There were great hiking trails and though smaller, they were a welcome sight indeed.

The whole day was spent just investigating the park.

We came upon butterflies, a few at first, then in a cluster and they were everywhere.  They were also very cooperative with posing.

They were everywhere in this area.  As was the water.

Wanting to see more of the park, we went to the Clingman's Dome, the highest point.  They had build a spiral staircase on top of it, with a dome, giving spectacular views each direction.

Now, in our quest to see more of the park, we did the redneck thing and "turned off the paved road".  After too many miles, homes, etc... we turned around and drove until we found the sign that said, "Welcome to The Great Smokey Mountain National Park" and then found the paved roads again.

We got up to the top of the ridge, where Tennessee meets N. Carolina.  Of course, we did the standard pics:

 

The Tennessee Valley used to flood and its' inhabitants were mostly farmers and terribly poor.  So, to solve this, they flooded it.  That is, they built a dam, Fontana Dam, the largest dam East of the Rockies, and a series of smaller dams.  They kept the cities from flooding, kept recreational waterways constant and brought electricity to the Tennessee Valley.  "They built a damn fine dam."  OK, there I said it and so did the old geezer at the visitors center, so...

That's me with a turbine, used to spin water in to power.

Below is our little rental car.

I only show you that, to mention that, 1) it was not crowded below the dam.  2) behind the car were two geese, just waiting to be photographed.  Now, Linda and I have a routine, where I get set up with the camera and she slams the car door to get them to fly.  Well, no go.  They were all, "Yeah, so?"

So, Linda went all Rambo on them and charged...

Well, it worked.

Continuing our travels, we found the Dragon.  On Highway 129 there is a stretch of 11 miles with 318 curves, called the Dragon.  It was very nerve-wracking for poor Linda, who was driving.  As usual, Bill is the head navigator.  They even have a Bikers' haven at the end of it, with biker parking (2' wide) and no car parking.  The whole intersection is devoted to bikers, called the Dragon's Tail.

 

 

We got to end of the 11 miles and 318 curves and I realized we were at the wrong end of dragon.  SOOOOooooo..., we turned around and went BACK over the same 11 miles and 318 curves and headed straight for the cabin.  

Sitting out on the deck, after a bit of wine, listening to the ripple of the creek...life was good.

Bill & Linda, North Carolina 2014 Day 2

Hi y’all.  NORTH CAROLINA 2014

Day 1

Well, day 1 of our North Carolina trip was 

1) Up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight.

2) Airports, baggage, rental car.

3) Highways, good lunch in Shelby, NC of BBQ, of course.

          Note, Shelby is where they filmed some of the Hunger Games.

4) Cheap motel in Ashville, NC.

Day 2

For this day, we only scheduled the Biltmore Estate, sometimes called the Biltmore Castle.  George Vanderbilt used granddad’s & daddy's money to make himself a 250 room mansion to show the world that he was American royalty, copying the styles of Europe and bringing many European furnishings and pieces of art to fill it.  For instance, he bought at auction the ceiling artwork from a castle in Italy, which he used in his two- story, 23,000 book library built to accommodate the ceiling art.

The Estate was originally 125,000 acres, acquired easily and cheaply, because it had been clear cut for lumber.  It did include numerous lakes, one of which is part of the beautiful gardens today.

George V. hired the Architect Richard Morris Hunt, who had created the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty and the main façade for Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Landscape Architect was Frederick Olmstead, who also created the grounds for Stanford University, Central Park in NYC and the U.S Capital grounds.  He considered the Biltmore Estate his final great creation and achievement.

Vanderbilt, Hunt and Olmstead became great friends and traveled throughout Europe studying the styles and securing art for the Estate.  After 6 years of construction, including 3 years of excavation and foundation work (29 feet down to support the structure) it was formally opened to family and friends on Christmas Eve 1895.

The off-kilter section left of the entrance are the four flights of stairs up to upper wings and entertaining areas, including George’s bedroom & private bath, his wife Edith’s bedroom & private bath, a large luncheon room, a Bachelors’ wing and numerous private suites.   While most homes of the era had no indoor plumbing, the Estate had 43 bathrooms with indoor baths and toilets, in the European style with overhead toilet tanks.

The guests were kept busy and everyone was expected to dress for each event of the day, requiring 6-7 clothing changes daily.  Such events might include breakfast, riding, hunting, lunch, exercise or swimming, high tea, chatting, music recitals, dinner and ending with brandy & cigars (men only, of course).

Dinner was often a formal affair in the Main Dining Hall on the first floor, with 7 story ceilings, a triple fireplace and a very long table.  Over one end of the Hall was a balcony with a massive pipe organ.

(Note, they caught me taking pics at this point, not allowed in the house, so the last pic is from their website.)

Below the main floor was a basement under the entire structure, including an exercise room, a large tiled swimming pool and private changing rooms for the women.  Men changed in a general shower area, much like athletic clubs today.

The kitchen and servants’ quarters were all in the basement toward the rear walls, with windows out to the grounds.  Then there was the massive kitchen with marble work stations, running water and sinks, copper pans hanging above a large island prep station, many pantries, servant’s dining area, and a separate room to smoke game. 

There was a Servants’ Dining Attendant, tasked with setting the help’s table, serving them and cleaning up after.  Each female servant had a private bedroom with bed, basin and pot, while the male servants slept in the stable area.  These accommodations were considered exceptional at the time and the Vanderbilts were known to treat and care for their 32 paid servants very well.

Olmstead created beautiful grounds, including an Italian terrace, a Walled Garden, Conservatory and Azalea Gardens.

During George Vanderbilt’s time, the intent was that the Estate should be completely self-sustaining.  Further, he re-forested the entire area.  In 1930, the Vanderbilts were convinced to open the Estate to the public to bring tourism to the area, which had been badly hit by the Depression.  Over the years, thousands of acres were sold, including to the US government for park lands.

The Estate today covers 8,000 acres and is still owned by the family members.  The Estate remains mostly self-sustaining with a dairy farm, gardens, farming and, of course, a winery.  It remains the largest employer of the area.

Day 2 ended with us driving to our cabin in the woods South of Bryson City.  

At the Biltmore Stable Cafe (formerly the horse barn), we had lunched on collard greens, amazing grits, pulled pork, ribs and grilled chicken.  It was so much, we had wonderful leftovers for dinner.  Then it was time to relax.

  

Bye for now!  More soon.  -  Bill, with Linda (editor in chief).