Western North Carolina (WNC)
There are summer activities I enjoy though, like laying on the stone front walkway of our house and watching my dad work in the wildflower garden. I also like drives along the mountain roads, swimming in the creeks, and hikes along shady mountain trails. Of course, I love all the beautiful flowers!
Richland Creek - Waynesville
Waterrock Knob - Blue Ridge Parkway
One day we went it was a sunny cool morning (for summer) when we left our house for the drive. It only took us about 15 minutes to get there. When we got to the spot the entire top of the mountain was covered in fog. I felt like we were flying in clouds as we drove to the top. Of course, as soon as I saw the flat grassy field, I began chasing my tennis ball and rolling in the grass. You probably know that I do this every season of the year - in sunshine, rain, fog, or snow. Nothing stops me!
The next time we went there was no fog at all. I played and played like I do every time we go there.
Rhododendron
Woodfin Cascades Overlook - Blue Ridge Parkway
Memories
Early Spring
The flower blossoms are not quite open at our house yet. That's because we live at a higher elevation than Asheville and springtime flowers take a little longer to sprout here. My mom takes photographs of the sprouts every day. It is amazing to see how little green tips peek out of the mulch one morning then push up and out of the ground much more the very next day. Colorful flowers - Where are you?
below - early blossom and sprouts at our house in Waynesville
The Waterfalls at DuPont State Forest
I went wading in the cold Little River ponds and my mom went into the river with me. We had lots of fun. My mom held onto my pink leash to make sure I wouldn't get carried away by the river water.
We Have a Red Fox
Wild Turkey
Hiking on the Blue Ridge
The Richland Balsam Trail is a moderate 1.4 mile hike in a spruce-fir forest. This trail is nice for a dog like me because the ground is soft because of the buildup of forest leaves. It is shady in many sections which is good too because, on a sunny day, it can get real hot on this trail. There is a fork in the trail that leads you to the summit. We made it all the way to the top - 6,410 feet! There are no creeks or springs along the way but it is still nice.
We had to climb under a tree that must have fallen just a few days ago because the rest of the trail had been cleared after our heavy winter snow. In the two photos below, you can see me going under the tree. It took a little convincing to get me to do this but I finally bent down and did it!
There was also some winter ice along the trail and a little snow bed. That was fun to find!
Family Bench Photo
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Scroll down and enjoy my scrapbook section.
It is amazing that a look on someone's face in a simple photograph can be so telling. My grandpa is a wise man.
The North Carolina Arboretum
Sequoia's Mountains
After walking around the Arboretum and Asheville, and driving along the highway, we came to the conclusion that the best view of autumn leaves is behind our house. Now just imagine you are sitting on the deck. You overlook two valleys - Maggie Valley to the left and Jonathan Creek Valley just straight ahead. Looking left to right you see the following mountain peaks (x16):
Little Mtn. (4080), Eaglenest Mtn. (4910), North Eaglenest Mtn. (5040), Fowler Balsam (5420), Plott Balsam (6088), Waterrock Knob (6292), Campbell Lick (5576), Setzer Mtn - so far out, straight behind us, but you can hardly see it (5440), Henry Knob - our closed peak - right in front of us up close (3480), Killian Knob (3980), Walker Bald (5370), Leatherwood Top (4960) , Middle Top - just being Leatherwood (5170), Trit Knob (3570), Purchase Knob (5080) and High Top (4390). On our side of the valley, we sit on Ad Tate Knob (3630). Most of these peaks sit just to the east of the Cataloochee Divide (straight ahead). The peaks to the left of us are part of the Plott Balsams. Our section of the Smoky Mountains is called the Utah Mountains.
photo above - Straight ahead is Henry Knob. It sits right above Jonathan Creek Valley and is our closed mountain peak. To the right is Killian Knob. Setzer Mtn. is to the far left.
photo below - In the far back, towards the left, you see Plott Balsam. In the way far back there is a tiny peak in the middle of the photo. Do you see it? This is Waterrock Knob, the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway near our house. It is not easy to see in this photo because it blends in too much with the sky.
Waterrock Knob (6292) is just a taller than Fie Top (5020). Fie Top is the mountain peak where people go to snow ski in the Smoky Mountains. You reach the top by driving up Fie Top Road. There is a horse ranch at the top with large open fields for the horses to walk, run, and play.
Waterrock Knob It is easy to reach because it is right on the Blue Ridge Parkway but this section of the Parkway is closed in late fall and through the winter because of rough winter weather and strong winds. In the summer we can walk up the trail to the top of the Knob. It is fun.
There are several mountain peaks between Waterrock Knob and Henry Knob but we can't confirm their names with the map we have. Maybe one day we will be able to make sure what peaks they are and their elevation.
View Deck at Waterrock
Dingo and Mickey - My Mountain Friends
Dingo and Mickey live across the street. Here's Dingo posing with me after chasing me up and down the hill. I was squinting because the sun was really bright.
Do you see Mickey? He is red like me.
Who's afraid of a little snow in April? Not me - nothing stops my dog walk. This is the street right in front of our house. My mom wore her funny little wollen hat on our dog walk. This was a surprise snowfall April 7, 2009. In a 24-hour period we had over 3" of snow.
Bill Messer - a talented, dependable, and honest friend
Bill passed away in the spring of 2009.
He used to do a lot of work around our mountain. He would cut our grass in the spring and summer and, when we had a problem (like a leaky well), Bill wass always quick to come over and help us.
He was over early in the morning December 31st when we discovered that our well pipe broke in the late afternoon on the 30th. Bill worked alongside the men from the Well Company to fix the problem. In this photo he stopped to pose with me after he worked on the well pipe. He had to take off his black glove because it was a little scary.
After fixing the leaking well pipe, Bill said he had to wait 24 hours for the well to pump the water. That was okay with us. We had plenty of bottled water and the only inconvenience was no showers for my mom and dad for one day.
Bill then came to our house at 5am the next morning, early January 1st, 2009, to turn on the water so our storage tank would fill. This filling process took about 2 hours. Isn't that nice? Yes, that is the kind of person Bill was - a wonderful, honest, dependable, and reliable friend.
PS - Bill passed away just less than six months ago. We planted a flowering white dogwood tree in our front garden in Bill's honor.
Dog Walk in My Mountains
In Miami we go on our early evening dog walk on city streets, walking by shops, storekeepers, pizza makers, and car parkers. I like it alot but it is alot of fun to go on our evening dog walk in Waynesville too.
Here we go for a walk on quiet mountain roads that go up and down and around our house. In this photo you can see our house in the background - middle right. Do you see it?
Below left is the dirt road at the top of the mountain. Below right you can see me running around like a crazy dog. I like to do this when we are close to home after walking up and down the roads. To be safe my dad will not let me bring a tennis ball outside here because the mountains are steep and rolling. My tennis ball never stands still enough for me to play and I can't fetch around here. No Way!
Walking on our mountain roads is very safe without my leash because we are the only ones living up here in this area of the mountain. There are no cars and, if it gets dark, we have good street lights. My dad thinks the street lights are too bright but they are good for my dog walks.
Reading the Newspaper
I love sitting on the sofa, especially when my dad joins me. There is plenty of room for both of us!
Reflection Time
Gardening is a lot of work for my dad but he enjoys it. Sometimes he doesn't know what to plant or where to plant for sure so he has to rest and reflect. He learned this from me. Sitting and thinking can be a good thing, especially itfyou have a comfortable place to kick back and relax. My dad loves lying on the two big stones in front of our house. They fit him just right!
Shopping in Waynesville
Our house is in the mountains Waynesville, North Carolina. Waynesville is just 25 minutes west of Asheville. I love to shop in Waynesville. Main Street is filled with lots of art galleries, bookstores, restaurants, and more. It even has a wine bar. On street parking is free and you don't have to lock the doors of your car because you just don't. The sidewalks on Main Street in Waynesville are nice and wide. There are also plenty of trees so it is shady. On Main Street I get to go inside some of the stores. Here are my favorite stores (in no particular order) - Blue Owl (where we buy artwork), Pheasant Hill Cafe and Gallery, and Mast General Store. At Mast they give me dog biscuits and everyone wants to pet me. Mast is filled with lots of stuff and there is not a lot of space between the racks of clothing and other things so people have to squeeze by me or try to step over me. I don't mind. They don't mind either because they usually want to stop, bend down, and pet me anyway before they move on to look at things in the store. I also like Smoky Mountain Cafe. We sit outside here and enjoy coffee in the morning. The nice girl who works there gives me chicken treats. Real chicken strips!
