Local Adventures

Most mornings, if time allows with Bruce's busy schedule, we walk around Lake Davis two times for both some exercise, and some bird watching. Most days something is going on and early last week was no exception. Figuring it was about time to return to the here and now after so many vacation posts, however, I've not forgotten about London because there are still some things to share. For now though, let's catch up with what's been going on since we returned from our trip to the mountains. 

So we were walking around when we saw two ducklings in the water all by themselves. Not a good sign because they were quite small. The closer we got though, we saw their siblings coming in from behind, yet still no visible parents. Eventually they were reunited with their indifferent Mother while we stood watching, making their way back into the water once all were gathered.  As to the pictured swan, we learned one of the cygnets was hit by a car and now there are but three. :(

  Perhaps it was this fellow that is responsible for the fact that they have all disappeared?

 Just behind our place, new aquatic plants have emerged with one of them flowering! I've learned that this is a Water Hyacinth and isn't it so pretty?

There was a slight delay in the workers getting started on the church columns, so we took advantage of our free time, heading South to Lake Kissimmee State Park in the middle of nowhere! The closest small city is Lake Wales, 15 miles away. Driving down SR 17, it was both empty and beautiful. Holy Cow, a little hill action. Rare for Florida, indeed.

Most of you know that the once thriving Florida citrus industry is in steep decline due to citrus canker that decimated thousands of orange trees. While we did see some beautiful groves on this drive, not nearly what once was to be found in the middle of the state. Below is what, we've later learned, an attempt by grove owners to stop the spread amongst new trees. Apparently, these fine mesh bags, which cost $8.50 each (thanks Google!), are left in place for at least the first two years of a tree's life. The good news is that there is good news---it seems to be helping!

And finally we arrive! The photo below is taken through the windshield which is stained by love bugs, and if you are from Florida, you know just what I mean.

We were there to check out their camping sites which are plentiful; driving through making notes on the best sights for a future trip as it is hard to choose just from a map. The park is filled with stately old oak trees with their branches touching the ground in some instances. I can't recall ever seeing an oak such as the one in the back in the photo below with branches clumped together on the ground. Must be old age which, as I am learning, is full of surprises!

Close observers will see a staircase in the distance which is where I was headed, climbing a three story observation tower/platform to see Lake Kissimmee, Florida's third largest lake. Not to be confused with the city of Kissimmee, much closer to home, where the big lakes there are called Lake Tohopekaligia, and East Lake Tohopekaligia.                                      

Bruce did some dock fishing while I roamed around in the heat. Not August heat, but under sunny skies, still very warm.  Eventually it was time to find some lunch, easier said than done when you are in cattle country!

Made all the more difficult because, you guessed it, no internet connection!! Sandwiches from a roadside market was the best we could do. Most all of the area is either ranches, or connected to fishing in one way or another as Lake Kissimmee is one of the top rated lakes in the country for catching bass. 

On our way home, after managing to get back to SR 17, we passed what we are presuming is an old phosphate mine filled with this lovely shade of water.

A side note here....watching a Great Blue Heron flying by just now, as well as ducks swimming in the sparkling lake, shimmering in the early morning sunshine....quite the distraction for me!!  Secondly, David and Michelle are going on a little trip to Charleston tomorrow morning, prompting me to search the blog for our visit to that beautiful city. Oh how I love having a blog and being able to go back in time, even if that post contained the information that we had bed bugs in our hotel! :)

The next day we visited a nearby park off Hiawassee Road, formerly called Turkey Lake Park, a place I passed many times while working out that way. I say formerly because the name has been changed to Bill Frederick Park after a former long term mayor of Orlando. So what was it like? Amazing! For one thing it is HUGE! There are birds,

and of course, the lake which sits adjacent to the Florida Turnpike on one side, and is not very far from Universal Studios theme park. Apparently it is also home to the Boone Braves crew team too. Boone High is where both of us went, all of our children, and is just across Michigan Street. On occasion we hear their football games it is so close!

 How big is the park? 183 acres is how big! Again, a place we visited to check out their camping sites. I know, weird, right?

From what I read, those camping sites are a godsend for folks looking to vacation in Orlando, so near the theme parks, for the very reasonable rate of something like $25 a night! Quite the dock too!

Another day we lunched at Brio, maybe after our walk around Mead Gardens? See, if I don't get right to blogging I forget things! Anyway, seated at the bar, I happened to notice the mirror right in front of us, so why not? The soup and salad were just okay.

This time of year is prime bird watching primarily due to Fall migration patterns. I've heard before that Mead Gardens is a stopping ground, so let's go there, shall we? We walked waterside for a bit, then took the boardwalk through the wild part, although all I saw was but one Carolina Wren which isn't saying much. The thought of how much Florida has changed crossed my mind during this short walk through what our state must have once looked like. Filled with bugs too, which is not the most romantic thought.

 Heart shape alert!!

Another thing I'd heard from folks is there are resident owls that nest yearly, however, I'd yet to see them on my infrequent visits. Well, now I have seen the female.

True birders are very protective of their finds, or cagey at best. In the parking lot a fellow was loading his car and, spying his binoculars, I inquired if he'd seen anything. Turns out this is the fellow who leads a weekly bird walk on Saturdays during the month of October, sponsored by Audubon. I think this must have been Thursday because he said no, hadn't seen much, and was a wee bit worried about Saturday. Asking him about the owl, he gave out very vague directions. Heading that way, scanning trees like mad, luckily another fellow, lugging a large tripod with two cameras hanging around his neck, was more specific, going so far as to take us there. Nice, right?

Closer to home, I've resumed working on the quilt I'd abandoned, this time moving into the dining room to avoid the distraction of the lake, a good decision because I got a lot done yesterday afternoon. Gloomy weather helped!

Two reasons for the photo below--one, the little quilt, such as it is, for the end of our bed is completed. Secondly, note the pile of clothes ready for folding.

For several weeks now I've been wanting to share my new found love of Marie Kondo and her method of folding clothes. While late to the party, I am a convert! After reading an article about her in a magazine, I searched out her charming series on Netflix, watching most episodes in succession. For years our drawers have been filled, sometimes to the brim, with rolled clothing which is good; her way is better. Both of us hate to use up our clothing now because we don't want to disturb the look.

Like a little bookshelf in your drawer! For the curious, here's the link to her series.  Before I considered myself tidy, now I know that there is always room for improvement. But that's like most things, don't you think?

Finally, here's a look at the scaffolding that went up last week, with work underway now to repair the capitals and columns.

Mr. Peck is there as I type, scraping paint alongside the restoration crew. :)

Local adventures are fun, however, I still miss those majestic mountains!

your friend,

Gail

On the Road Again and Under the Stars

Leaving Brevard, a little after 9 in the morning, we traveled West on the Greenville Highway, merging onto SR64 a block outside downtown. Our mission was to another state park for a night of camping, specifically Tallulah Gorge at Tallulah Falls. The park system website for Georgia is easily navigable, so finding another interesting place was made easy. Plus, now I that I have an account I told you about,  reserving a campsite is a breeze. 

Our first stop was in a town called Rosman where we spent some time and money at an outfitters on the French Broad River. Bruce is in heaven visiting a store like this. One thing we bought were walking sticks, something that would have been very helpful in the Dupont Forest. 

Actually this post began with a story that was not entirely true. It is only now, looking at the photographs, that the real story came to me. What happened is that the kind folks at this store allowed me to use their wifi to find a campsite. Although mostly we've come to think of internet connection as a right, in the mountains it is not something to be taken for granted. While I was engaged with the iPad, Bruce was fishing for anything that would bite. He learned from the folks inside that what he did catch are called Rock Bass. He was just happy catching anything!

With walking sticks, a new t-shirt and some stickers for the camping box, we continued our journey to Tallulah Falls, only about 95 miles away. In Cashiers, a darling town, we stopped for firewood. Every year of late, I've been amazed at the new varieties of pumpkins available. Nothing says Autumn more than pumpkins, right? Well, that is if you don't count changing leaves that is. Of course in Florida, leaves are, sadly, not part of our landscape. Oh but I wish they were after living through the Vancouver autumn. We do, on the other hand, have Golden Rain trees that blossom both yellow and orange this time of year so we aren't completely without color.:)

Many years ago, following my Dad's retirement, my folks bought a place in Highlands, NC that I never saw. Sadly, only about a year or so later, he died of an unexpected heart attack at home, leaving my Mom a youngish widow with no experience handling money. Immediately the house in Highlands was put up for sale. We drove through Highlands, another super cute town, with an apt name as the elevation is over 4,000 feet!

 Not far from the Georgia state line, as a matter of fact.

The drive was filled with super winding roads with no place to pull over until finally we came to an overlook.

So lovely! You could see for miles and miles, even the road in the valley below that we would soon be using to get to the campground.

Once we found the campground and our site, we set up camp. That quilt is entirely too small and since I gave away one that would fit to the Bahamian relief effort, another one is in the works.

 The river is dammed on one part of the property, very near to where Bruce did a little fishing.

If you can imagine, the cute young couple, camping next to us were from St. Augustine, FL. So maybe that's not so weird, but what was amazing is that the 23 year old man went to Boone High School! He's now a firefighter in St. Augustine and she's studying criminal justice. It's tempting to think young people aren't much into camping, yet maybe that's not the case? I'll let you know once we've done it a few more times.

 Roasting marshmallows---black for me please.

Here's the part where I have to tell you something I forgot when writing about our first night in the tent. It's a big laugh on me. I woke during the night and asked Bruce, what is that bright light coming in through the front window? Why, that's the moon honey! Duh!

Before breakfast the next morning, we returned to the visitors center to actually see the gorge, one thousand feet below where we were standing. There are trails on either side, connected by the suspension bridge you see below.

Although going down the 235 steps would have probably been fine, we decided the going back up part was not for us. That said, the views from above were breathtaking.

 In fact, it is really hard to describe both the sights and the sound of a place like this. One of those, "you had to be there" kind of places. I was super stoked when a bluebird flew across the canyon, it's color so vibrant as to be unmissable.

The visitors center is extremely impressive with photos from the films made there, topography explanations, wildlife, as well as the costume Karl Wallenda wore when he tightroped across the canyon!

This article describes it way better than I ever could!  Packing up our gear, we next headed not too far away to the town of Toccoa Falls, a place I'd heard much about but had never seen for myself. Located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College it is easily accessed and just beautiful.

During our visit, with picture perfect weather, it is hard to imagine the heartache this caused when the dam behind it broke and more than 30 people were killed in the ensuing flood.  Never underestimate the power of water, right?  Heading south our next camping spot has a crazy name, Hard Labor Creek State Park. We drove all the country roads to get there, and without the aid of our iPad, I'm not sure that we would have found it!

It was an especially beautiful drive with more like rolling hills than mountains. And here we are, another place built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Because there were not so many campers, the extremely helpful ranger who checked us in allowed us to pretty much pick whatever spot was open as we were the last check in for the day. Nice!

I will say that is one hard thing about this camping business, picking your site from a map when you pretty much know nothing about a place. As well, she refunded some of the money I'd pre-paid for a senior discount! It was around 4 in the afternoon by now and the sun was streaming hot and heavy through the many trees. Actually, it was crazy hot, nearly 90, but fortunately Bruce packed a fan and we had power so no worries there. I convinced Bruce not to put the cover on because the threat of rain was nil, and I am oh so happy he agreed!!

 Sitting by a campfire is the best, even if it is warm outside. We just pulled the chairs further away.

Friends, that uncovered tent was one of the highlights of the entire trip because, although the trees were plentiful, there was just enough of an opening such that I could stargaze to my hearts content. There is nothing quite like sleeping under the stars and I mean nothing. Plus, it cooled off enough that we did not need the fan all night. Marvelous is what I have to say about all this.

An extremely hot day for driving following our night under the stars and finally we were home. Now this is what I call fun!

your friend,

Gail

Butterflies and a Mountain Lake

After the foggy start to our second day in the mountains, we turned back around, once again heading to DuPont Forest in search of Fawn Lake in order for Bruce to do some fishing, always a big priority. And while I don't fish, I never complain about being waterside! After some seriously winding roads, we arrived at the designated parking area and began the fairly short hike to Fawn Lake.

Can you imagine how colorful this will be looking in a few weeks time? Maybe next year we can take a similar trip in mid October!

Coming up a steep hill, once at the top we were rewarded with this magnificent scene on the other side, and while there was nothing but sunshine, it was still early enough in the day to be a very pleasant temperature.

Before long Bruce disappeared into the forest, leaving me to soak in the silence and solitude with my camera in hand.

 You just knew I could not resist putting my feet in the water, didn't you?

 Eventually one woman hiker came along to rest on the dock, as well as a Park Ranger who filled me in on more details about the lake saying that it was as clean as any lake could be because of the forest completely surrounding it. Every now and again a mountain biker or two would come down the road from behind the tree line. He also mentioned that it is a super popular swimming area that would soon be filling up after church let out. With no threat of alligators I can imagine it is marvelous.

Seeing a Monarch butterfly flitting amongst the lakeside wildflowers was a special treat.

Because no one was around, including Bruce, I hollered out and he heard me! Yup, along the shoreline way across the lake. If you are wondering, he caught one and let it go.

So a Monarch was special enough, but Lordy, Lordy, check out this beauty that landed on the warm sandy gravel in front of me! Isn't it beautiful?

 Then along came another of those stunning blue ones. I could not believe my luck!

Yet another cool butterfly! Absolutely amazing that in the wild I saw four butterflies in a matter of minutes. Conditions must have been ideal for them; I can't tell you the number of times I've searched for butterflies in gardens and not been able to see even one so you know I was a very happy lady.

Seeing so many butterflies was making me very happy indeed, and I wondered how it could be any more special, that is until the moment on our walk back to the car, when a doe bounded out of the woods in front of us, disappearing as fast as she appeared. Back to the main road and onto the parking lot to view more waterfalls. While you can see two different ones from the one lot, we chose to only do the walk to Triple Falls which was strenuous enough.

 Actually I wussed out on the final push up the hill, content to see it from the pathway.

You know how you have seen stupendous waterfall photographs before? Those are all taken when it is overcast making them look all moody. It isn't often that I want cloudy weather, but in the case of photographing waterfalls, well, I wish we'd had some. That said, check out the photo below with the puddle in the shape of a heart!!! When I was selling photos I had a number of images with heart shapes that people really liked. Think a shell, or something like that. In any case. Bruce noticed this one, pointing it out to me, who in turn pointed it out to the other folks standing along the rail. It's hard for me not to do that sort of thing. I'm always wanting to share wonderful things. Perhaps that's why I am a blogger?

Trudging down the hill, carefully, we stopped to enjoy the cool water as did these folks with their dogs.

Successfully, this time I managed to navigate the boulders for a nice seat, as did Bruce who is studying the water for trout.

There is a reason they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains, as seen from a city park fronted by the French Broad River that flows for a long time. Some folks who have been to Asheville will recognize the name.

I got it into my head to see what the trails were like at our place, following lunch at a local spot where the server was as friendly as you'd expect someone from North Carolina to be.

When we checked into our cabin, the owners gave us a map of the property with many trails and a small waterfall that I was keen to see. Leaving Bruce to a nap, I took off up the hill and down. There were all kinds of cool mosses growing at the base of the trees,

however, there were loads of roots too. Not to mention that the trails were narrow. The further I got into the forest, the more I became leery, thinking that if I tripped over one of those roots, it could spell trouble for me. One thing about the campground is that there is no cell service, thus no way to call for help.

That is when I put my adventurous spirit aside and got practical, heading back the way I came. After cooking dinner, watching the Ken Burn's episode, we slept well with the windows open for the cool air and night sounds of the insects.

Many years ago, the Mannix family asked if we'd go to North Carolina to take photographs of the cabin they owned, hoping good shots would help their place stand out on the rental sites. So, we have been to North Carolina before, 11 years ago. We loved our little spot at Ash Grove, but the inside of the cabin, while quaint, was nothing like their home, the photos which I recently came across.

It is no wonder loads of Floridians have a second home in North Carolina because it is mighty beautiful, especially when the weather is good which it continued to be the next day as we made our way to Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia.

your friend,

Gail