Lots of winding roads and lots of trees !
We took the mile hike round trip to the observation tower at Clingman's Dome. The hike up is a paved trail but VERY steep! I wasn't sure it would be worth it, but the views were amazing.
You can see the road cut along through the trees in the picture below.
The path to the tower crosses the Appalacian Trail so we went between Tennessee and North Carolina and back.
The path to the tower crosses the Appalacian Trail so we went between Tennessee and North Carolina and back.
These are other views of the park.
We stopped at one of the lookout points and I zoomed in on Clingman's Tower - the tiny bump on the right side of the far hill!
Leaving the park our road turned and we had a stretch of drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we passed through several tunnels.
We finally arrived in Fletcher around 3pm and spent the next couple days with our friends. We headed out for a drive and stopped at a local brewery for drinks and listened to some music before going to the Biltmore Estate and Museum. It is the largest privately owned home built in America and sits on an 8000 acre plot of land! There was a wedding on the main lawn so we couldn't get too close but it was beautiful. We walked through part of the gardens. There are hiking trails all through the property and Daniel and Susan have annual passes to visit. Their dogs loved being there, too!
Sunday was a rainy day, but we went into Asheville and walked around checking out many of the little shops between showers. One of the shops was an artists' gallery and there was a beautiful wood-carved Harley - complete with motor I didn't look at the price tag, but I can imagine it wasn't cheap. It took a long time because everyone we saw wanted to pet their dogs!
We had lunch at a different brewery and drove up the mountain to see the property where they will be building their new home. Unfortunately, it was so foggy we couldn't see the view! I guess that means we will need to come back when it is finsihed! Yeah!!
On Monday we went to Chimney Rock State Park. The monolith is 535 million years old! Tobey and Daniel took the dogs up the 500 steps to get to the lookout while Susan and I rode the elevator to the top of the 315 foot rock formation. The elevator was built in 1949 to transport visitors to the top of Chimney Rock. It took 18 months and eight TONS of dynamite to complete! The construction involved blasting a 198 foot tunnel through solid granite and building a 258 foot elevator shaft. With that history, of course we had to ride it!
We stopped at one of the lookout points and I zoomed in on Clingman's Tower - the tiny bump on the right side of the far hill!
Leaving the park our road turned and we had a stretch of drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we passed through several tunnels.
We finally arrived in Fletcher around 3pm and spent the next couple days with our friends. We headed out for a drive and stopped at a local brewery for drinks and listened to some music before going to the Biltmore Estate and Museum. It is the largest privately owned home built in America and sits on an 8000 acre plot of land! There was a wedding on the main lawn so we couldn't get too close but it was beautiful. We walked through part of the gardens. There are hiking trails all through the property and Daniel and Susan have annual passes to visit. Their dogs loved being there, too!
Sunday was a rainy day, but we went into Asheville and walked around checking out many of the little shops between showers. One of the shops was an artists' gallery and there was a beautiful wood-carved Harley - complete with motor I didn't look at the price tag, but I can imagine it wasn't cheap. It took a long time because everyone we saw wanted to pet their dogs!
We had lunch at a different brewery and drove up the mountain to see the property where they will be building their new home. Unfortunately, it was so foggy we couldn't see the view! I guess that means we will need to come back when it is finsihed! Yeah!!
On Monday we went to Chimney Rock State Park. The monolith is 535 million years old! Tobey and Daniel took the dogs up the 500 steps to get to the lookout while Susan and I rode the elevator to the top of the 315 foot rock formation. The elevator was built in 1949 to transport visitors to the top of Chimney Rock. It took 18 months and eight TONS of dynamite to complete! The construction involved blasting a 198 foot tunnel through solid granite and building a 258 foot elevator shaft. With that history, of course we had to ride it!
We had amazing views - they say 75 mile panaoramic - from the top. It sits at an elevation of 2280 feet. You can see Tobey and Daniel as they make the final assent to the top!
This is a view of the lookout area!
This is a view of the lookout area!
Daniel and Susan with Cassidy and Crystal, their Australian shepherds.
Tobey and I with a view of Lake Lure in the background.
Daniel, Tobey, and I then took the Hickory Nut Falls trail hike with the dogs. It was about 1-1/2 miles round trip and the view was beautiful.
The pups were disappointed because there was no way to get to the water for a swim after the hike!
On the hike out we met a family and they pointed out a bug they spotted in the leaves. When they showed us it had crawled up a post. We wondered how in the world they even saw it. It looked like an alien!
We stopped at a dog-friendly restaurant in the village of Chimney Rock before the rain started - and it poured! Fortunately, it stopped by the time we were ready to leave and head back to their place. We enjoyed the eventing visiting and sharing stories and laughed that we sounded ike old people comparing ailments and doctor stories!
Daniel, Tobey, and I then took the Hickory Nut Falls trail hike with the dogs. It was about 1-1/2 miles round trip and the view was beautiful.
The pups were disappointed because there was no way to get to the water for a swim after the hike!
On the hike out we met a family and they pointed out a bug they spotted in the leaves. When they showed us it had crawled up a post. We wondered how in the world they even saw it. It looked like an alien!
We stopped at a dog-friendly restaurant in the village of Chimney Rock before the rain started - and it poured! Fortunately, it stopped by the time we were ready to leave and head back to their place. We enjoyed the eventing visiting and sharing stories and laughed that we sounded ike old people comparing ailments and doctor stories!
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