Usually, when we walk into this field the cows just stand and look at me. I always think they are wondering what I will do next, This super crazy lady is back! But that was not the case on Sunday evening. Suddenly, we had their full attention and they came running from the opposite end [...]
Historic rural churches have fascinated me for many years! Photographing them could be tough without some planning. About a year ago, I heard of a guy, who photographs rural historic churches in Georgia. Some are still in use and others have been abandoned and some are being restored. This is a post of an old [...]
Behind me is where Elisha Mitchell is buried. He dedicated his life to this mountain; and sadly, he died while trying to cross a waterfall near the mountain. He is also the person, who bushwhacked the Old Mt. Mitchell trail. Mt. Mitchell is one of those places that stands apart from the ordinary. It's dramatic [...]
Earlier in the summer, I almost hiked Black Balsam Bald, but stopped before I reached the summit because I had not hiked that far in well over a year! For almost eight months, I dealt with Chemo treatments, and I walked very little. Once I healed from the initial surgery, we would all pile into [...]
This is a longer than normal post, but I wrote it so I would remember this adventure with friends and fellow bear trackers! We always sit on this porch in Balsam, North Carolina, and look out to the mountains in front of us and wonder about their location. We knew the Blue Ridge Parkway runs [...]
During my trip to Balsam in July, I got this really wild and crazy idea—hike at least six of the over 6,000 peaks in North Carolina and Tennessee. There are supposed to be 40 of these. We've made a commitment to hiking six before the first of the year! So, far we have hiked four [...]
Finally, we had a break in the rain and I had a break in my schedule, and we headed out to the Tugaloo River for a sunset paddle to a very special hidden place—the wetlands near Tugaloo Bend. I had been wanting to paddle to this area for weeks but one thing after another kept [...]
By far, this is one of my favorite lakes. (But I say that about all our lakes.) Lake Tugaloo is wild and undeveloped and it's practically in my backyard. It is also very deep—from what I have read over 300 feet in some places. Along the shoreline only 50 to 60 feet deep and much [...]
