Connecting with the "Nany"

Western North Carolina is a Mecca of sorts for whitewater paddlers.  When we became interested in tandem whitewater canoeing around the late 90's, the Nantahala River (Nany for short) became the destination, thanks to the recommendation of friends.  The largest city was Asheville, about an hour farther east.  We attended a week long clinic, 4 years in a row.  The 3 other couples that joined us for these tandem lessons, came back year after year to what we described to our friends as summer camp for adults.  We honed  practiced our new skills on rivers like the Tuckasegee, Chatooga, Pigeon, and the Nantahala.  The movie, "The Fugitive," had a number of scenes filmed on the "Tuck."  All of our instructors over the years were top notch athletes (and individuals) including one that was an advisor in the movie "Deliverance" (filmed on the Chatooga), an olympic competitor, and The Wildwater World Championship winner in C2 (tandem canoes) along with her male partner in 1981.  The latter is Bunny Johns, who was President of The Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) at the time we began our whitewater adventures.  NOC was started in the early 70's by a couple of whitewater enthusiasts starting a rafting company that has evolved into a leader in the outdoor recreation industry, with trips being lead in 40+ countries around the world.  

Not to be a name dropper, but one of our first nights here, we attended a picnic dinner on a pontoon boat with 5 other couples, one of which is the co-founder of NOC, Payson Kennedy.  This is part of what draws us to this area.  The people we have met, like Bunny and Janet (the instructors that have worked the most with us), have this circle of friends that we have been able to peer into and who are just good people.


We spent today hanging out at the river.  They were celebrating Wayne Dickert, one of their own, who after 30 years involved with NOC in some fashion, is leaving to be a minister with his own congregation in Bryson City (near NOC).  He was the olympic athlete mentioned above that was one of our instructors.  He could make a canoe do things most people think only a kayak could do.


Here are a few photos from today...

This is the "end' of the river where the rafts take out where NOC began.
The store is the large building on the left where anything river related
can be bought.  The restaurant, "The River's End," is upper center.
There is a bridge crossing the river and on the other side (right)
is where the rafting stuff occurs.  This is also where races take place.

This is a very young racer (8-9 yrs old we think) in her pink kayak

Just so you don't think we have sold the dogs at a flea market (foreshadowing) or they are being mistreated in any way, here are a few photos...

Wading in the river behind the RV Park, behind our trailer.

AAAAAaaaaahhhhhhhh.....

"Don't worry, we are doing well."

Dog Day Afternoon...

Actually it should be Dog Day Morning, but that wasn't the title of the movie, but then the movie has nothing to do with today, but then I should maybe start over with a title more likely to fit the TV series, "I Shouldn't Be Alive" or "Vacations Gone Bad."  Or maybe I shouldn't worry so much about the title so much.  So lets start anew...


Pinnacle...
–noun

1.

a lofty peak.

2.

the highest or culminating point

Today we planed to take a hike with Bunny and left it up to her what hike we would do.  Tooga, one of our dogs, was recooping from a strain to one of his legs from the previous day and was going to sit this one out while Tuck, our other dog, would carry on without him while we hiked with Bunny and Max, Bunny's dog (her only dog).  Very doggy.  It was decided that we were to tackle "Pinnacle Rock."  The landscape around these parts leads one to believe there are not a lot of flat parts.  The following photos were taken during the hike today to give you a sense of what a culminating point might be like.  Like the golf cart paths at Sequoyah National Golf Club, we don't have golf cart paths or hiking trails like this in Missouri.

Here Bunny and Max are standing in front of a typical
Smoky Mountain creek waterfall, next to me and Tuck,
while we are still fresh on the trail.

The trail is 3.5 miles, one way (yes, 7  miles roundtrip!).
It is an old logging road that is being reclaimed by the mountain.
New growth is slowly encroaching and narrowing the path.

The higher we climbed, we started to see tree damage from the
previous nights storm that blew through the area, leaving our trail
at times blocked, but that would not stop us!  We cleared
what we could as we went.

Here, Tuck is modeling how the trail becomes more
narrow, the higher we go.

As we neared the Pinnacle, the trail narrowed even more
and you had to stoop over to move through the brush as
if through a tunnel.

Here are two photos "stitched" together to show the reward for reaching Pinnacle Rock.  
In the distance is the small town of Sylva, where the concert in the park took place.
To give you an idea of elevation gain for this hike, it would have been like starting out
at the center of this picture in the valley below the shadow and climbing to the highest peak.
Yeah, you should be impressed!

The obligatory summit group shot.

From trailhead to summit, there was much to take in, so here are a few highlights.

One of a few different kinds of mountain flowers still blooming.

Another photogenic stair stepping waterfall.

Yet another.

A spot of color that caught my eye off to the side
of the trail.  Gives you a clue as to what fall must look
like around here.

A drink and a quick splash to end the hike...
well deserved!

This was Tucks first real brush with the wilderness and steep terrain.  He made all canines proud, even though he was not allowed to explore every smell and sound that drew his attention.  Good dog Tuck!

P.S.  Bunny's electricity went out due to last nights storm and she found out that it would not be back on for 3 more days.  Think about that for a minute and what that means...

Well for us, it meant meeting John and Kate, friends of Bunnys.  They had freezer space available for Bunny and an invitation for dinner for her and her guests...US!  It included, among other taste treats, burgers that were to die for and for desert...ice cream covered with homemade chocolate syrup.  We've encouraged Bunny to call her other friends looking for freezer space while we are here.

Dude, let's go tubin' !

When in the Smokies, do as the Smokians.
When in Deep Creek, do as the Deep Creekians.
When in Deep Creek, Smoky Mountain National Park, do as the tubers do.  Just a few miles away lies the border to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park and a place called Deep Creek.  It boasts a campground and what could be the "tubing" capital of the world, or at least Bryson City, NC.  Tubing you ask...this little girl epitomizes "tubin."

Yes, she has a little dog on her lap.  She matter of factly told us
he fell out once and she had to pull him back in (like how dare he).

Yesterday, as we were headed up the Deep Creek trail we came to hike, Deep Creek the stream  meandered out of the mountains in the opposite direction.  Tubing, a local classic we will try before we leave, has numerous vendors just outside the park renting the tubes that bring such simple pleasures for $3.  Although the water is very chilly,  the heat of the day warms you right up, and the tubes have a seat in them to keep you slightly elevated above the water to keep your tookus semi dry.  The little girl and her dog twirled and bobbed effortlessly down to her dad, that was resting next to a large boulder in the stream.

A little farther up the trail among a few fly fisher-people, we saw this solitary rhododendron just so we could share it with you...

As we neared our turn around time on the trail (30 min. out and 30 min. back), we rounded a bend in the path and saw this magnificent sight.  It look like it should belong in a national park!

It was so classic...really!

One final secret Deep Creek revealed was this bench.  So simple in design, yet so Frank Lloyd Wright (minus the flat roof) in its use.  Reminded me of a piece of art that oozed Art Nouveau, with a hint of Neo-Abstraction, and yet a touch of Post Impressionism.  

The bench model is not bad either...expensive though!
I could not afford her in the nude.

We finished our trail and with the morning behind us, we headed to Sequoyah National Golf Club.  Thanks to Golfnow.com, I got a cheap rate at an expensive course.  We arrived 30 minutes early to warm up a bit and were greeted by Tommy, the tee time starter and incidentally a Cherokee.  The course belonged to the Cherokee Tribe along with the rest of the city of Cherokee, casino, and other tourist attractions.  Tommy informed us they were running behind due to a morning tournament.  So in the meantime, Miki watched adoringly as I impressed her with hitting balls at the driving range, which I regret I did not photograph.  The area you hit off was in the neighborhood of some 100 (+/-) feet higher than the landing area below.  As the pictures will show, this course was literally cut into the mountains.  This was a mere tease of what was in store for us when we began play about 30 minutes later (foreshadowing) than the scheduled tee time.  Finally we were sent to the first tee, alone.  We saw foursome after foursome precede us, so we knew it would be a long round.  At the last moment, they added another single player, we'll call Ed.  We are calling him Ed because that was his name.  He was visiting also, from Virginia.

Ed is the one on the left, I am on the right,
in case you could not discern for yourself.
There is an elevated green behind Ed's head we were about to tee off towards
and the elevated tee in the opening to the right of my head for the next whole.

Ed is retired from the greenhouse growing business.  He could tell you stories about the business that would curl your nails, it was so interesting.  Really, he was good company and you could not find a better southern drawl, even better than mine...the real deal...really.  The front nine was fairly uneventful, except for fine shot after fine shot, after not so fine shot, after fine shot, etc...  At the "turn" (after the first nine holes) as we say, the play hit a Smoky Mountain and things got backed up big time.  We are talking 3 and 4 groups on a hole waiting in some cases.  Not to worry, I have Ed and Miki!  We persevered.  Here are some of the holes, but you really had to be there...

Fourteen holes and 5 hours into what should be a 4 hour round, we stopped persevering and left Ed in the good company of two grouchy hackers (sorry Ed).  In the following picture of the 15th hole, we were about half way down from the tee box on our way back to the club house when I snapped it.  The elevation drop on this particular hole must have been about 200 feet.  The cart paths were steep and designed as switchbacks all around the course, as though you were climbing 14ers in Colorado.

We finished the day with a delightful dinner with our friend and one of our whitewater paddling instructors, Bunny Johns.

This morning we met Bunny and her dog Max for a walk along the Nantahala River, where we learned to whitewater canoe.  After our dogs got along famously for 2 miles, we parted ways only to meet up again after lunch for a paddle on the Tuckasegee

Bunny and Miki

Miki and Me

Bunny, Miki, and Me
Photo taken by me in an over the water, one-handed (please lord don't let me drop this),
in a bar with friends kind of don't let anyone else take the picture kind of way.

We got off the river in time to get back to the trailer to see this coming at us from the west.

Once again, you had to be there to see it, but minutes later the blackness engulfed us. Winds, rain, thunder and lightning brought their wrath upon our souls, but then 20 minutes later the worst was over and it has been raining ever since.  You know the river that we back up to at the RV park...it is rising!!!  

Dude, let's go tubin' !

Where does the time go?

Let's get caught up...

We arrived in Bryson City, NC after leaving Charleston a few days ago, to locate our new RV park for the next two weeks.  We had a general idea where it was, perched atop a big hill in town, but had never been there except on the internet.

Doesn't look too bad...right?  

Photo from the Ridgetop RV Park

Well, this is what we were shown as our site.

Neither site is great, but then I am an RV site snob.

We actually parked the trailer in place (which was no easy feat) with masterful driving I must say.  Joe, the owner and guy that greeted us and showed us to our site, was very nice.  While the RV sat in place, we visited for a few minutes as he told us about the dogs that run loose in the neighborhood, the crazy guy in the rental (out of site), and not to mention we could smell the breath of our neighbors to the right in the photo we were so close.  Joe heads back to his car to go back to work and we look to see that the trailer is more out of level than we wanted to deal with.  Without really discussing it, we both decided we did not want to stay at "Joe's, Give Me A Giant Shoe Horn To Fit My RV In, RV Park."  I ran after him and he graciously cut us loose.

Our backup plan was a new park about 8 miles away, sitting on the Tuckasegee River (the river our dog Tuck was named after).  Miki called them up and they took us right in.  A slightly different set up as you can see.

Notice, no giant shoe horn.

The view of the park "down stream" from our site.

We both had a sigh of relief and settled in to our new neighborhood for the next couple of weeks.  We do miss not being close to town, but the trade off of not handing our neighbor another beer through our window when they belched for another one was worth it.  We are between two small town small towns.  Bryson City to the west and Sylva to the east.  Bryson is smaller and more quaint.  Sylva is still quaint, but supports a Lowe's.  


We have been playing tourist the last few days, driving through the Smokies, sightseeing and visiting little mountain towns...

Friday night concert in the park in Sylva. 

Arts and crafts show in Cashiers, NC (about 45 min. south)

Bought some unbelievably sweet peaches at this market,
adjacent to the art fair.

On our way home from Cashiers, we happened onto two impressive waterfalls.

Name..."Dry Falls"...no kidding.

The trail goes behind the falls...yes, you get a little wet.

 Yes, we did what everyone else was doing...click-click!

A few miles downstream, another watery wonder.
This one was not accessible and used a telephoto lens.
This was what we could see.  It fell quite a ways.

Fly fishing the Tuck...not catching, just fishing!

All this fun while entertaining a slow leak in one of our tires on the truck.  It ended up being a small screw that found a home in between the treads.  A tire shop fixed it in less time than it took for my little compressor to blow it up each day...for only 5 bucks!

I think we are up to date.  More to come as we hit some small town events in coming days.  So, how you doin'?

A short reflection...

We bid farewell to South Carolina today after a nice stay.  We witnessed our nieces take another step in the right direction, visited an old angel, golfed like I was somebody, and put our toes in the Atlantic before any hurricanes were named.  The pets have responded above and beyond.  Their highlight was dipping their toes in the the Atlantic too.

Can you see the smiles on their faces?  They are there!

We over heard Tooga talking to Tuck...
"This is the biggest path we've ever been on...really!"

We said goodbye to our KOA campsite.  There were quite a few long term campers there, but we failed to document their sites.  So imagine the next two pictures with an outdoor patio with potted plants, flamingo lights strung from the awning, a pile of campfire wood, home state or favored university flag flying high, an outdoor grill, and if you were somebody you'd have your family name routed out in a nice piece of pine to establish your temporary place residence... not that there is anything wrong with any of these outdoor semi-permanent decorative touches.

Are you imagining?

Bare beginnings for these newbie campers.  Not even a tiki torch.

We spent our last evening at the beach, letting the dogs feel the sand between their webbed toes one more time.  And like most families, looking for that one family photo that can be used on a card for next Christmas.  Not sure these will be in the running, but they will go in the collection entitled, "Where are the dogs now?"

I don't think the guy I handed the camera to realized we wanted to be
recognized by family and friends, by zooming in a bit maybe.

Not to overcompensate for the previous picture's short comings,
I attempted the one handed, party shot...with equally good results!
It will be a toss up at Christmas.

One chapter closes as another begins here in North Carolina, as we settle in to a new setting, new neighbors, and new adventures to write about...really.

Check it off the list...

Most days we don't have a list of things to get done, but there are those days that need one.  


#1  Get vacuum bags
Yes, vacuum bags.  You would think that this would be an easy, run to the store to get replacement bags kind of deal.  You see, we pull our house behind us down the highway to wherever awaits us and this house came equipped with "central vac," and like most vacuums, there is a bag that fills with stuff and is discarded.  Okay, easy enough so far, until you are ready to replace said bag.  "Normal" stores do not carry our replacement bags, the RV stores we have checked do not stock our bags, so what are you gonna do?  Google it!  It just so happens that a distributor for the vac system we have is located in Charleston. Miki called.  He will deliver them to us at our campground.  Check it off the list!


#2  Visit an Angel
Over 1500 years old and about 26 feet in circumference, this is a very big angel in the form of a live oak.  Live oaks are the trees we see with spanish moss hanging from them in great old southern movies. This special live oak, Angel Oak, is thought to be the oldest living thing this side of the Rocky Mountains.  Its long limbs, some resting on the ground, could be good sized trees in their own right.  Angel is off the beaten path, without a lot of hype and is threatened with growth and development like so many natural wonders.  The surrounding forest is shrinking after having protected Angel Oak for centuries.  Aptly named, to sit there in its presence was kind of like sitting with an angel.  Check it off the list!

Angel Oak

Opposite side from picture above

#3  Eat at Reds, on Shem Creek
Eating is always part of the experience wherever you go and Reds was recommended to us by Broboliscious, before he had to head out of town on buisiness...to Kansas City!  As you look at the picture of Reds, imagine it crowded and the rafters a-rockin' on a weekend after some good fishin'...or whatever you did that day, like shopping for vacuum bags.  We caught it for a midweek lunch and gave it two thumbs up.  But the food is not really why I am mentioning it.  It was the entertainment from Reds' deck we had while sitting along side Shem Creek as boats, kayakers, paddle boarders, and dolphins passed by.  As fisherman threw pieces of fish into the water, the pelicans came for the handouts.  It wasn't long before three dolphins arrived to crowd in on the free fare.  One of the three, not clearly seen (bad photographer, bad!) is a baby.  The whole dining experience drew a small crowd on land and on the water.  Check it off the list!

Reds

Flash of two different dolphin's fin and tail (center/right) across from Reds

No one said lists needed to be long and involved, at least to me.  And that is what our list included on this two hundred ninety-sixth day of being out of work (but who is counting?).