So this was the land of waterfalls. There are 250 waterfalls in Transylvania County, more than any other county in the United States, in fact more than most States in the United States. We set out first to see the easy one, Looking Glass Falls, the most photographed waterfall in the US other than Niagra. It is literally on the side of the highway and can be easily viewed from the side of the road. Of course DH and I insisted on going down to the viewing platform at the base of the falls which involved stairs, lots of them, and as we got closer to the bottom, water. From Looking Glass falls we headed to Moore Cove falls. This was not a simple park-the-car-on-the-side-of-the-road-and-look-at-the-falls deal, this was a hike, up hill down dale, over moss covered logs crossing creeks, along forest paths, up forest paths but to be honest it was worth it because Moore's Cove Falls are unique in that you can stand behind the waterfall and look through it,also the rainbows looking at it were wonderful. From there we went to Cove Creek falls which were really disappointing seeing as the hike to the falls had far more interesting falls than the falls themselves. Next up, Whitewater falls, the largest falls on the East Coast, which lived up to their name. The only problem with this is that the hike up the hill to the viewing place is really quite mild but the stairs to the viewing platform are brutal, I believe that DH counted the stairs and it was in excess of 70, in any event it was "ouch, my legs are done in from the last several days and you are going to do this to them?" type of thing. From there we went to Dugans (of course) for a beer and then to the motel to get ready for dinner. Damn I love vacation.

The day after christmas we rose as usual (late) and headed out to Grandfather Mountain when we arrived at the base of the mountain it was already beginning to snow (much to DH's delight) but as a result of the snow the top of the mountain was closed so our trip was restricted to the museum and wildlife center. The Wildlife center as you can imagine was a little bit of a disappointment, to begin with the bears were hibernating, the Eagles were hiding in their shelters, and the deer were snuggling together near the trees. As it turned out the otter were out playing, in fact playing with gusto, and wrestling fit to bust. After the wrestling session one decided to pose for me, and a beautiful pose it was.



From there we moved to the Cougar exhibit and a very exciting thing was happening, one of the Cougars was obviously plotting his escape, he was up in a tree, on a long branch, and from the look in his eyes he was trying to figure out if he could safely make the leap to the edge of the wall, where all of the chewy, soft humans were watching him, I swear, another inch and he would have been upon us and there would have been a great deal of gnashing of teeth and it wouldn't have been mine.



From Grandfather Mountain (cold, cold, cold, cold) we headed south towards Brevard and the "land of the waterfalls" we arrived in Brevard early evening and found ourselves a nice motel on the main road which was central enough for all our travels. We located the Irish Pub in the area (Dugans) which is our requirement for every town we visit and downed a couple of Harp lagers. Then again to bed and to dream of the days to come.

Christmas day arrived and DH and I awoke early, sleepily kissed each other, said merry christmas and promptly fell back to sleep. We rose late and set out to find a restaurant for breakfast. As luck would have it there was a Huddle House open and we munched on a delightful breakfast brought by surprisingly cheery staff considering it was christmas day. As you can imagine we left a VERY large tip. From there we decided to take a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In previous years of going to the mountains we have encountered numerous closed roads but as the weather was relatively mild all the roads were open. Initially when we got onto the parkway my DH said "which way do you want to go North or South?" I looked, "hmmmmm South" I said at which point DH promptly turned North.... I looked at him, you know the way a wife looks at a husband when he has done the precise opposite of what she asked him to do and he said "what?" "I said go South" he looked at me "I went South" "No you did not, go back to the turn and you will see that you went North" "No I did not" repeat for about a mile until I convinced him to go back to the turn off whereupon he said "Oh" that was it, "oh" not "yes I know you said go South and I went North and yes I made a mistake and I was wrong" nope he just said "oh." In any event we drove down the parkway (as opposed to up the parkway) and we stopped at various spots to enable me to take photographs. While we stopped we came across other strange people such as us, out hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Christmas day, I commented to one group "nice to see we are not the only crazy people" whereupon one woman commented "well I sure as hell am not going to cook today so we have to do something" We stopped at this small waterfall, which was very active due to the rain



And stopped at several other spots on the way because in my opinion the colors were just spectacular. From what I could fathom the beech trees had not yet dropped their orange leaves and created a swathe of gold in the undergrowth forest... I particularly liked this shot, a small creek surrounded by beech trees.



After a while we decided to head to Linville Gorge and Falls, hey it was Christmas day there was nothing else to do. We parked in the State paved parking lot, and was surprised to discover that the hike to the falls was a short trip, the previous time we had been to Linville Falls it was a serious hike from a dirt parking lot, which was basically straight DOWN which of course meant a serious hike straight back UP after we had seen the falls. As it was the hike from the paved parking lot was almost a gentle meander (as opposed to "OH MY GOD MY LEGS ARE ABOUT TO GIVE OUT STOP NOW" type of thing) As it was as a result of all the recent rain the falls were quite spectacular and we got to areas that we were unable to get to on prior visits.



After the trip to Linville Falls we took another short hike to another small falls, okay in actual fact we took a short hike got lost and ended up nowhere near where we were supposed to be THEN took another short hike and actually found the falls that we were supposed to find... what can I say? I liked this shot, because it is the first one where I have actually managed to get a "silky" look to the water, which of course began a whole discussion with me and DH... me "I have to set my ISO to get the water to look silky" DH "why do you want water to look silky, why can't water look like water" me "hmmmmm its just a thing" DH "oh its one of those artistic things that I don't understand" me "yup" DH "okay" so in any event here are the silky falls...



After this trip is was back to the motel and a good old soak in the jacuzzi. As a side trip we went to K-Mart and bought hiking boots and thermal underwear, this hiking thing was getting serious.

From the raptor center we drove to Boone and checked into a motel there. As is my want when I go on vacation to the mountains we got a Jacuzzi suite, while this may seem like a luxury to some folks when you spend most of your days in the mountains hiking up (and down) mountains it is really quite sensible. There is nothing better to soothe aching muscles than a soak in a jacuzzi. We wandered around Boone for a while then drove to Blowing Rock to go to the sixpence pub, a wonderful establishment which has Harp beer on draft and wonderful English dishes on the menu. It was our afternoon "munchie" time so my DH had cheesy fries and I had Welsh Rarebit (a blend of cheeses and beer poured over warm toast = heaven). We checked with the staff that they would be open for dinner later on and then headed back to the motel. After soaking in the jacuzzi and changing we went back to the sixpence pub whereupon we were told that the kitchen was closed as it was very quiet and the owner had sent the staff home. Still it wasn't that big of a problem seeing as me with a belly full of Welsh Rarebit and DH with a belly full of cheese fries we weren't all that hungry to begin with. So for dinner that night I had microwave kettle corn popcorn and DH had ice cream We headed for Beech Mountain the following day, and had a wonderful time checking out the ski area and then taking in the numerous trails that are available on the mountain. At one point we went to Lake Coffey which is a very small lake nestled right in the mountain. What is spectacular about this lake is the reflection on the water, it is almost a mirror image of the scene above. (check out the bridge). As the weather was so clear it made for a wonderful shot.



From Lake Coffey we decided that taking the "Lower Pond Creek Trail" would be cool seeing as it was considered "moderately strenuous" and just one mile. HA, What they didn't mention is that it is one mile STRAIGHT DOWN THE MOUNTAIN on a very difficult "path" which was mainly just a clearing covered in tree roots, dirt and rocks. While I admit that the scenery was spectacular as the trail followed Pond Creek down the mountain and at every turn there was yet another photo op of the creek crashing over rocks



by the time I got to the bottom my legs were screaming at me "STOP IT". Of course the problem with a one way trail is once you have got to the bottom of the mountain you have to get back to the top where the car is parked, can we say a one mile hike up the mountain? I was in agony, but then again not so much that I wanted to miss the trip to Buckeye Lake and more importantly the Genesis Wildlife Center which is a rescue mission for injured wildlife. While it was wonderful to see the rescued critters what was more amazing was the amount of critters that just swarmed the place as a safe haven. This squirrel was busily munching on something (not sure what it was) which was in a dish on the ground for the taking, and the funny thing was that despite a large dish of squirrel treats on the ground (consisting of corn, nuts and other things) the squirrels were STILL stealing sunflower seeds out of the bird feeders much to the disgust of the chickadees.



After that it was time to head back to the motel and a serious soak in the Jacuzzi and then an even greater adventure, trying to find a restaurant that was open on Christmas Eve in Boone. Thank heaven for Sagebrush Steakhouse

The Carolina Raptor Center is a wonderful place which apart from being fascinating will make a person like me (or even a normal, rational human being) mad as hell. While several of the birds that are permanent residents (because their injuries are such that they cannot be released into the wild) are there because they have done things such as flown into power lines and cars (in the case of Owls cars are their number one enemy, do you know that the worst thing in the world you can do is throw left over fast food or even fruit out of the window of your car? It attracts rodents to feed on it which of course attracts Owls to feed on the rodents, they swoop down to grab the rodent and bam - hit by a car) where was I? Oh yes, many of the resident raptors in the center are there because some idiot, no doubt with the IQ of a potted plant, no wait a minute, that is too generous, I have known some very intelligent potted plants, an idiot with the IQ of pond life, wait ok with the IQ of a microbe and even more scary with the IQ of a microbe and in possession of a gun thought to themselves upon seeing such a beautiful creature (such as Honeysuckle in the previous post) "hmmmmmm that looks cool I think I'll shoot it." You would be amazed at the amount of Golden and Bald Eagles that are hopping around in rescue centers with only one wing cause some sorry excuse for a human being and waste of good breathable air decided to shoot them. I mean really, what is more majestic than a Golden or Bald Eagle, I mean come on folks, it is the symbol of your country for heaven's sake, it is patriotic, it is the epitome of the strength and beauty of your great nation and you are going to shoot it? When you are done why not get a chain saw (sure you have one of those) and go and have at it with the Iwo Jima memorial? I can't even remember what I was talking about before I went on that rant, oh yes, the Raptor Center. They had some wonderful birds, but I have to admit that my favorites (if I am allowed to have favorites) were the Owls. I love Owls, they are the coolest birds on the planet. To begin with the Barn Owls have such adorable heart shaped faces that you wonder if Mother Nature was pulling a huge joke on us when she created them. Then there are the Eastern Screech Owls which are teeny, tiny little creatures which look for all the world like they belong in a muppet movie. There were a group of three barred Owls which began a conversation with my husband, one of them began his "click click click" call so my husband responded, to his delight the Owl answered back, I swear if I had not insisted that we move on he would still be stood there talking to those Owls. Finally there was a lovely display where the handlers brought some birds from their aviaries and allowed us to get a closer look. One was this Golden Eagle (to my shame I cannot remember his name) he only has one wing (as a result of gunshot - don't get me started on that again) he was an eagle with a tude, while on his perch he spent the entire time trying to get the tether off his feet, you could almost hear him muttering to himself "get me off this bloody perch, I know I have only got one wing, but you give me a chance and I can fly round in circles and hunt for stuff, just let me off this perch." He had also just given himself a bath before he was brought into the enclosure so he was still wet, and preening. He was not impressed to be interrupted during his "escape and preening" routine, but he was kind enough to post majestically for me. I wonder of they can introduce legislation that says if you shoot an eagle it is punishable by being strung up by your toes over an eagles nest where there are hungry chicks? Nah, but its nice to think about.