Saturday, October 26, 2013

Lake Chatuge Damn

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 58, low 39)

 

Well, we survived the coldest night so far this year.  It was 24 degrees this morning.  There was frost on the pumpkin….or there would have been, but we put the pumpkin in the cabin last night along with my flowers!

Can you see the frost on the deck and grass?

frost on deck. 24 degrees

Our two maple trees evidently are not the pretty colorful kind, but our neighbors have some beautiful trees.

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Our new heater kept the house about 62 last night, which is apparently as warm as it will be with such low temps.  That’s fine with us though because we like cool temps when we sleep and of course we’re under the electric blankets.  Despite their fur, the kitties get chilly, so we have an electric blanket on the couch for them!  So far we haven’t had to run the dreaded noisy furnace!

 

We took a drive up to Murphy, North Carolina yesterday, and picked up our friends Karen and Ken.  We decided to have lunch at Shoebooties Cafe for lunch.  Al and I had a delicious black bean burger.  One of these days I’m going to try their “shoetini martini” sampler. They have a $24.95 all you can eat snow crab special that Al wants to try, so that might be the time for the martinis.

After lunch, we walked down to the Trail of Tears Museum.  It was only $3.00 per person, and well worth the money. They had some wonderful Indian artifacts as well as a lot of information on the removal of the Cherokee Indians from this area.  What a shameful time in our history.

After visiting the museum, we decided to take a drive towards Franklin, North Carolina along the scenic highway 64.

The fall colors are fading with many trees bare.  There were still some pretty spots though and the vistas from the higher elevations are always pretty.

I loved the sheer rock walls along the highway.

highway 64 between Murphy and Franklin NC

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highway 64 between Murphy and Franklin NC

Here are Ken and Karen posing for us.

Ken and Karen Williams

We didn’t really have any specific plans, so when we came across the sign for the Lake Chatuge Damn, we decided to check it out.

We were glad we did, because it was beautiful.

Lake Chatuge Damn

It was also very cold.   You could walk around this barricade and walk along the walkway on the berm.  There was a campground in the distance.  The further we got, the more the wind picked up.  The cold wind on my face gave me the feeling you get when you eat ice cream too fast.  We decided to not walk all the way across, but we’ll go back on a warmer day.  It was lovely.

Lake Chatuge Damn

campground at Lake Chatuge Damn

Lake Chatuge Damn

There were some gorgeous slate rocks along the berm.

rocks along Lake Chatuge Damn

You can see the wind blowing across the water.  Burrrrr.

Lake Chatuge Damn

Since it was too cold to walk to the campground, we decided to drive.  It’s a lovely campground with beautiful waterfront sites.  I didn’t even think about taking pictures of the campground.  Sorry.

Lake Chatuge was formed by the TVA in 1942.  There are 7200 acres of water and 133 miles of shoreline.

Al at Lake Chatuge Damn campground

 

Lake Chatuge Damn

We left Lake Chatuge, and headed a little further towards Franklin, but decided we’d better turn around or we would be going home in the dark.

It was a lovely day spent with good friends.

Today, we’re going to hang out around home and do a few chores,  and hopefully can start painting the little cabin on the new RV lot.  It’s small so we should be able to get it done pretty quickly.  Of course, we have to wait for it to warm up a bit.

Despite the chilly weather at night, other than yesterday, the days have been pleasant and we’re not feeling the urge to head south just yet. 

Friday, October 25, 2013

Visitors From Florida

 

Blairsville, Georgia (high 48, low 28)

We awoke to am outside temperature of 26 degrees this morning.  That is our coldest morning so far.  After today, it will be warming up and the day time temps are supposed to be in the upper 60’s.  We are staying nice and warm, and only use our new portable heater at night.  We love our new heater and prefer it to our heat pump or furnace.

 

We had visitors from Tampa yesterday.  I worked with Karen at USAA.  She and here husband came to see the fall foliage.  They were unable to get a hotel here in Blairsville and had to to up to Murphy, North Carolina.  This is a busy time of year and you need to make hotel reservations early.

They wanted to see the new RV lot, so they drove into Blairsville.  We visited awhile, then went to lunch and then off to see some sites.

We ended up driving through Helen, Georgia, which is billed as Alpine Helen in the Bavarian style.

This is a picture I took last summer.

Helen, GA

Our destination was nearby Anna Ruby Falls.  It’s a nice short .4 of a mile paved hike along a mountain stream ending up with a huge double waterfall at the end.

Anna Ruby Falls

Karen and Ken Williams

I am always amazed how these trees seem to grow out of the rock.

tree growing from rock

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Anna Ruby Falls

Anna Ruby Falls

Anna Ruby Falls

Our route to the falls took along the Richard B. Russell Byway and some pretty fall color.

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We stopped at a scenic overlook for a few photos.

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The colors still have not peaked in this area and I’m afraid the leaves might drop off before they completely change colors.

We took the other route back home, over the infamous Blood Mountain.  It’s a popular ride for motorcycles and bicyclists.

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It’s also a gateway to the Appalachian Trail, so we stopped at a shop along the route.  They sell all kinds of hiking and camping gear.  There is a nice overlook on the deck behind the shop.

Ken and Karen Williams

We plan on heading up towards Murphy today and seeing what interesting things we can find to do today.