Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Blairsville, Ga (high 85, low 52)

 

Did you notice our predicted high temps today?  Yep.   85 degrees.  No fear, the high for tomorrow is supposed to be 60 degrees with a low of 38 for the next few nights.  We’ve had perfect weather until the last few days when we had a bit of a heat wave.

Our Tampa/Wesley Chapel friends arrived here about the time of the heat wave.   Hummmmm?

Fall in the north Georgia mountains is the best time to be here and we try to enjoy every day.  Unfortunately, the fall foliage show only lasts a short time, so you have to catch it while you can and that means a lot of driving if you want to catch the best shows.

Last week we took a very long drive up to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  I’m behind on my posting but will post some pictures later. 

Twice this week, we did a fall foliage tour nearby on Brasstown Bald Mountain, which is the highest peak in Georgia.  It was gorgeous.  More on that later.

We got up and were on the road by 6:40 am yesterday morning.  It was dark when we left and we normally try not to drive at dark.  

It’s about 80 miles from here to Cherokee, NC which is the beginning (for us) of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It’s actually the end, I guess since it starts at mile marker 1 in Virginia, and ends at mile marker 469 in Cherokee.

We took the scenic route from Hayesville, NC on Highway 64.  Shortly after we left Hayesville, the colors started getting very pretty.  As we approached Cherokee, the color was faded.

It was pretty foggy as you can see.

 

 

Of course, the Appalachian mountains, whether they be called the Blue Ridge, the Smoky, or the Appalachians, are noted for being “smoky.”

It started off pretty chilly with temps in the 50’s, but by mid afternoon it was getting pretty warm.

We make a quick stop at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Cherokee.  There is a herd of elk that often hang out there. We were hoping to see the herd with the big bull Elk.

 

We only saw a young bull that was not allowed to be around the herd. There is one bull elk in charge and he chases any other males away.

This is rutting season (mating) to you might be lucky and hear them bugle.   Fighting is common among the males.

 

The entrance to the Blue Ridge is a short drive away.  Getting a picture of the entrance sign, is about as difficult as getting a picture of the Southernmost sign in Key West.  

 

The fall color wasn’t great in Cherokee, but it started to change very quickly as soon as we got on the Parkway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nice thing about the Blue Ridge is that there are a LOT of scenic overlooks. Some have picnic tables and some have nearby hiking trails.

 

 

 

There are many tunnels on the parkway.  A lot of people take motorhomes and drive the Blue Ridge.

I don’t think we’ll be taking our motorhome up there anytime soon. There are others not this tall.

This next overlook was was about as high as we got in elevation.  The trees had really lost a lot of leaves and the color was fading.  We didn’t go any further but it appeared the color was better at lower elevations.

 

I loved all the Blue Spruce trees that were at this overlook.  Sadly there were many dead ones due to some sort of blight.

 

 

 

You can see all the bare trees.

 

 

We would have loved to have been able to keep on driving and heading further north, but unfortunately, we had to head back home.

 

We left the parkway and took a side road  back to Cherokee.  It was Al’s choice.  My vote was to stay on the parkway.  He had to admit I was right and the parkway would have been the more scenic. He thought it was going to be a pretty mountain road but it turned out to be a busy road with tons of electric poles and wires and trashy homes and businesses.   The expressway has no businesses and only occasionally can you see a home off in the distance up on a mountain.

We ended up back at the visitor center in Cherokee, hoping to catch the elk herd.  They are known to be there grazing in the field early morning and late afternoon. 

Everybody knows this and the cars were piling into the visitor center. It reminded me of going to a drive in theater years ago.

We saw an elk cow at the edge of the field, and felt sure the rest  would show up soon, but we were so tired by this time and we still had a two hour drive home, so we left before the herd came.

 

We had a lovely day and thoroughly enjoyed our drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Good, But Sad News

 

Blairsville, Ga,  (high 74, low 55)

 

We have been enjoying absolutely fabulous weather here in the north Georgia mountain. We’ve had to run the furnace at night and have gone from shorts and flip flops, to long pants, jackets and real shoes.   We are so very happy to be away from the stifling Florida heat and humidity.   I don’t understand why people who don’t have to, spend their summers in Florida. 

We are settling into our “new” Fifth Wheel and have worked hard to set up another household.  It took many trips to Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon!

 

In a previous post, I mentioned the homeless cats that were here at the RV park.  If you’re interested, you can read about it HERE

We found a shelter that agreed to take the mama cat, but they couldn’t take her two babies.

As it turned out, she was pregnant again (naturally) and has since had three more kittens.

Here is a picture of their Mom with her  new babies.  I hope she and her babies find wonderful homes.  Thank you Nancy at Wholly Cats.   If  I can personally vouch for this wonderful lady.   If anyone feel charitable, she could always use donations.  If you know anyone looking for a kitten, she would make arrangements to get on to you (provided you passed her very stringent test)

 

 

In the meantime, we kept the other two kittens and had them spayed and neutered. We worked on taming them and eventually moved them into our cabin, so they could be out of the cold and safe.  They settled in and learned to use a kitty pan immediately.  Cats are so easy!

I put an add in Craig’s List and thankfully got a call from a lady wanting the long haired kitten.   I was very particular who I gave them to, and most people would not have qualified.  The one and only call I got turned out to be a wonderful lady who will give them an excellent forever home.   I managed to talk her into taking them both!

The problem was, that I had an appointment to have them neutered but it wasn’t until Oct 5th.   Deb wanted to wait until after the surgery to take them.  I reluctantly agreed but knew I was in danger of falling in love, and of course I did.    

How could you not love these adorable and sweet babies?

 

 

I was worried that she would change her mind, but in the end, it all worked out and Deb took the two babies. They will be inside only cats and will be well loved and cared for.

Someone asked me in a comment on the previous post what I would do if I couldn’t find them a home.   There was never any question, they would have come with us.  There was no way we would have left them here to die. 

Of course, when we brought them to meet their new owner, I was extremely sad.  There were tears shed (a lot of them).  That was Tuesday and I’m adjusting but I still miss those guys like crazy.  Deb is sending me pictures and updates.  The kittens are doing fine and are adjusting to their new home. They have a big brother that they have yet to meet, but that is coming soon. 

 

We have been keeping busy here.  There are a lot of fall festivals and things to do.  The leaves are starting to change colors and we’re hoping for a good fall show.  Since there has been a drought all summer, we’re not too optimistic.

Here are some pictures from some of our activities.

There is no shortage of places to hike, including the Appalachian Trail which is just 2-3 miles from here.

campsite along the Appalachian Trail

We’re happy to see that it’s going to be a good year for acorns, so that we don’t see the squirrel carnage of a few years ago when they were crossing the roads frantically searching for very limited food.

 

A trip up to Brasstown Bald (highest peak in Ga).  It was a little chilly up there.

 

 

You can’t see too many waterfalls.

Our birdfeeders have been busy. This was our first ever Rose Grosebeak.

Al put up a bluebird box behind the rv and we had a nest of them when we got here.  They fledged shortly after we arrived. 

 

The trees around the campground are changing colors.

 

We took a drive out to Lake Chatuge Dam.  All the lakes in this region are brought to you by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the water levels are controlled by a series of dams.

I love mountain lakes.

 

We are always amazed at the beauty in this area.  We are thankful to be here and are hopeful we will be able to stay until at least the end of the month.  Mom is doing ok for now.   We’re keeping our fingers crossed.  She has her good and bad days.

 

Stay tuned for some hermits, bear and dragons.