Day 10+: Getting Reflective (Epilogue)

Not much to say about the last day.  I simply drove home from my mother-in-law's house in NW Ohio to home, about a 3-1/2 hr drive.  I was pretty dang tired, but I did have some time to reflect on my trip.  So in this post, I want to share in some of those thoughts, relate how Ansel performed, and post some additional photos.

First, I want to share a few things that I forgot to include in previous posts:

• In one of the first posts I had an asterisk (*) where I mentioned something about bears.  Did you notice?  Well, I forgot to add a footnote that I had seen a black bear cub on the road.  It was right in the middle of the road, and when it saw me, it started to run to the right but then turned around and scampered off to the left and up the adjacent hill.  Cute little guy (gal?)...glad I was in the van, though.
• On the way from Knoxville to Ohio, I took Ansel to what I assume was a brand new Bucc-ees in Richmond, KY, my 8th Bucc-ees of all!  What is Bucc-ees some of you may ask?  Well, to quote one of their ubiquitous billboards, "If you know, you know."  It was absolutely packed....I couldn't believe how many perople were there (likely because it was new).  I picked up some Bucc-ees pork cracklin's, a frozen bacon-wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin (we've bought these before -- delicious), a pack of gum (hey, I needed gum), a bag of addictive beaver chips, and then quickly got out of there!  Madness!!!
• I had a few occasions where people acknowledged Ansel's license plate.  While in Cade's Cove a women who had pulled over with her family yelled and waved, "Hello Ansel Adams!".  Cool.  At one stop, a fellow photographer jokingly asked me if I was related to Ansel, and I said, "no, just a fan".  He then went on to tell me how he had reproduced Ansel's famous photo at Canyon de Chelly.  I asked him how it turned out, and he said, tongue -in-cheek, "mine was better".

Ansel performed extremely well, as expected in fact.  I had no major issues, but I had to learn to remember to secure things before driving off.  On a few occasions I had cabinets fly open and things slide off the countertop.  Nothing serious, though.  And, I had to get used to the work flow of things, such as during cooking, washing dishes and the morning routine.  Overall the electrical system performed very well (I never got below 60% battery charge, which is at least a day's worth of energy), the refrigerator worked great and had ample space (though sometimes I had to dig to find what I was looking for), the stereo system was awesome (I even watched a few movies), and the bed was super comfy.  Does that mean everything was perfect?  No, of course not.  I have a running list of things I want to improve upon, and there are things that I didn't get completed before the trip, like build the upper cabinets (I discovered they are very much needed).  So, overall Ansel was great!

As far as the trip itself, I would say it was successful.  The places I visited were beautiful, and for the most part the colors were at or near peak.  And, the waterfalls were excellent...I was actually quite impressed.  As is usually the case, I didn't hit all of my "highly desirable" locations (in part due to some of the challenges and issues I experienced, which is par for the course), but that's okay.  My intent for this trip was to go with the flow and not try to highly script what I would do.  To a large extent this is how it unfolded.  After all, this was part of the idea with having my own campervan...I didn't have a rental contract that ended on a specific date, nor did I have a return flight to catch.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) was beautiful, and part of me wished I could have spent more time there.  However, I had other places to see and the crowds were a oppressive.  (No wonder: GSMNP is the most visited National Park -- in 2021 it had over 14 million visitors -- and October is one of the two busiest months).  Of the two National Forests that I spent time in, I liked Nantahala the best.  It seemed to be more scenic to me, and it was more conducive to free-camping.  In addition, there were great scenic opportunities outside GSMNP and the National Forests.  Bottom line: the Appalacians are a gem!

With that, I will leave you with some additional photos, some of which I simply forgot to include with previous posts.  

Thank you for reading my blog!  Till the next adventure...

Another black & white shot of Hyatt's Lane in Cade's Cove in GSMNP.  This is similar but technically better image than the previous one I shared (it's focus-stacked).  I like it better.

Close-up of the "splash down" area of Dry Falls

Another shot of the reservoir on the Cullasaja River

The fog along the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway

Sunburst Falls in black & white

Shelf mushrooms and fern-like moss on a fallen log at the Blue Valley Campground

Colors at the Blue Valley Campground

Log Hollow Falls in the Pisgah National Forest

 

Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah National Forest

Close-up of Looking Glass Falls

The stream along the Smokemont Campground in GSMNP

The Appalacians

Scene from Cade's Cove in GSMNP.  There was a photographer here doing a portrait session with a family that was taking an extremely long time to move on, which I found to be quite annoying (yes, I know it's her business, but this is a public place after all).  I eventually gave up and took the shot when they got up up by the tree.  I then Photoshopped them out!  So there!

Day 8 & 9: Getting Finished

Day 8

I spent a leisurely Saturday morning with Shelley and Barry, which felt nice...no pressure to dash off to the next location.  In fact, I really had only two locations on my list for this day day: (1) Soco Falls and (2) the location where I'd spend the night.

I had originally planned to visit Soco Falls after I left The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but that's when my tripod ball head issue occurred, so I skipped it, hoping to catch it later.  Soco Falls is actually on the Cherokee Indian reservation but is open to public.  It is a twin falls, but based on pictures on line I wasn't expecting to much.  And, it was mid-day with strong sunlight so I was anticipating some challenging lighting conditions.

I put the location in the Garmin and headed off.  It was (yet another) twisty, turny mountain road.  The parking area was very small and on the opposite side of the road...impossible to safely pull in with Ansel.  So I kept driving looking for a spot to turn around, which I eventually found three miles later!  When I got back to the parking area there were no spots open.  I pulled off on the shoulder to wait, thinking someone would leave soon.  But, Ansel's hind end was sticking out a little, making me a little nervous.  I noticed people walking down the road so there must be additional parking up there, which there was (about 1/4 mile walk).

To access the falls, you had to climb down a bunch of rocks.  Fortunately someone had strung up a bunch of ropes to create a kind-of technical ropes course.  I didn't have any problem going down (or back up) but some folks did as they either did not have suitable footwear (I had my hiking boots on) or were not in good (enough) physical condition.  Anyway, the falls turned out be nicer than what I expected, and the lighting was not too bad either  A great photo spot to close things out!

Full view of Soco Falls

Lower section of right-hand falls

The right-hand falls

Some "drips"

Off to the location where I would spend the night: Crafty Bastard Brewing in Knoxville.  Crafty Bastard is a partner of Harvest Hosts, an organization that enables RV-ers to park overnight at partner locations free of charge (if you're member).  The expectation is that you spend at least $20 at the establishment, which could be a brewery, winery, farm, museum, church or (if premium membership) a golf course.  I had wanted to stay at one of these locations on the way down, but it didn't work with my schedule.

When I arrived, there were already several RV's in the large parking area, and a couple more pulled in after me.  By the time I walked into the brewery (to spend my $20), I was one of seven RV's in the parking lot.  Knoxville being the home of the Vols, it was a raucous atmosphere inside with the Tennessee-Alabama football game on TV.  Of course the place went nuts when the Vols beat the Tide, the first time in 15 years.  Fun!

As I walked back to Ansel to make dinner, there more RV's in the lot, including two Promasters.  One had parked right in front of Ansel and one right behind, as if they said, "we need to stick with our own kind".

My beer flight....beers were not too bad!

The 3 Promasters with Ansel in the niddle

Day 9

My destination this day was my mother-in-law's place in Ohio.  Not only was this a convenient (and free) place to spend the night, it turns out Mary Jo was there for a baby shower.  So, I would be abke to see her a day sooner!

Before leaving Knoxville, I wanted to upload my next blog so I found a McDonalds.  For some reason, I couldn't connect to their free WiFi as I had been able to do all week.  I tried two other McDonalds nearby, but still couldn't connect.  Very strange.  I eventually went to a Starbucks since I needed another cup of coffee anyway.

I thought I might have time to do one more waterfall in Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, but I dilly-dallied too much, and so it didn't work out.  I probably wouldn't have had time anyway, so it will just have to wait for the "next trip".

It was a long drive to my mother-in-laws place (I was so tired), but I made it.  It was great to see Mary Jo and to enjoy a nice dinner.

Sorry, no photos from this day!

I'll have one final post with my thoughts from the trip, so still stay tuned in!

Day 6 & 7: Getting it Done

 Day 6

My goal this day was to head to Nantahala National Forest, pretty far southwest from where I was at.  That said, I headed north to civilization so I could find a McDonalds again.  I didn’t feel like making coffee again, and I needed WiFi again so I could finally upload my first blog post.  I made breakfast in the McDonalds parking lot (a little ironic, actually.  I set the Garmin for my first stop, Upper Sols Creek Falls.  The colors in the Appalachians were beautiful along the drive.

I don't recall which town I was driving through when I spotted this scene.  I found a doctor's office up on a hillside so that I could shoot over the power lines and traffic lights.  The clouds were amazing!  (Again, click on image to see a bigger version)

The trailhead for Upper Sols Creek Falls was not very obvious but my AllTrails app confirmed I was in the right spot.  This trail turned out to be one of those that about half into it you question whether you should keep going.  It wasn’t very long, but the second half was very steep sloped, so much so that someone had rigged up ropes to help your descent.  I decided to keep going, forgetting the obvious: coming back up would be a bitch!  I arrived at the creek with some very nice rapids.  My app indicated I needed to cross the creek in order to get to the actual falls.  However, I couldn’t find a spot to cross that I felt comfortable with.  Another photographer showed up, and he managed to cross, but he had much longer legs than me (and was much younger too).  So, I made do and grabbed some images of the rapids.

The rapids on Uppers Sols Creek

More rapids...almost as good as the falls themselves!

Now back up!  At first I couldn’t find the trail and started to freak out a bit.  But, my app helped me find the trail, and eventually I spotted the ropes.  This is when the obvious hit me…going up was indeed going to be a bitch.  I took many breaks, but it was definitely a heart pounding ascent, and I was sweating like a bandit.  I was grateful when I finally spotted Ansel in the distance.  Yay!

May be difficult to get perspective, but this is looking down the trail on my way back up.

I decided to forego visiting any more spots – I could do this tomorrow since they were close – and instead headed directly to my planned camping spot, Blue Valley Campground, in keeping with the strategy to get to campsites early.  Turned out there were several spots available, and in fact there was only one other person there (and I never saw human activity, however -- very curious).  The spot was beautiful…very quiet and peaceful.  I pulled out the camping chair and just enjoyed the solitude.

There was this moss-like fern growing everywhere.  Does this look like something to you?

Mushrooms!!!

Ansel at the Blue Valley Campground

Day 7

Up early (as usual).  Still no signs of activity “next door”.   Was the person lost?  Did something else (God forbid) happen to them?  Or did they simply sleep in the truck instead of the camper?  Very odd.

A waterfall called Glen Falls was very close so I headed for that but there was no obvious trail I could find.  It wasn’t high on my list so wasn’t willing to invest time searching for it.  I set the Garmin for the nearest town so I could get Wi-Fi again and figure out where I was going next.  While driving out on the Forest Service (FS) road (a well-maintained gravel road) I stumbled across a waterfall that I did not know about right beside the road…and it was a pretty cool one.  I wondered what the name of it was.

The unknown falls (but read following paragraph)

I found a really nice coffee shop in the “high end” tourist town of Highlands, NC (for you Michiganders, think Harbor Springs, Frankfort or other similar trendy places).  I bought a coffee, logged into the free Wifi and did my business.  As I was about to leave I noticed a very large framed photograph on the wall by a local photographer…it was the same waterfall I had just “discovered”.  No way!  There was no description of the image but there was a bio of the photographer along with an e-mail address.  So I emailed-him!  He replied right away and it seems the waterfall is called Brooks Creek Falls.  Nice!

Onward to Cullasaja Falls.  Not a “must see” but it wasn’t far away.  It is located on the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway, a 60-some mile, scenic byway from Highlands to Almond, NC.  Oh my gosh, this twisty-turny drive was beautiful with the fall colors…possibly second only to Highway 41 towards Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw (OK, I’m biased).  I didn’t drive the entire stretch, though I’m sure it would have been worth it, since I did not have the time (my goal later in the afternoon was Asheville to meet up with Mary Jo’s relative, Shelley).  When I got to Cullasaja Falls there was no parking (very small parking lot).  I turned around but still no luck.  That’s OK because the lighting wasn’t the best.  Instead, I stopped a Dry Falls Recreation Area which was free with my Senior park pass (have I said before that I love that pass?).  This turned out to be better than expected.  And I grabbed a few other images along the way.  I would highly recommend this drive!

A reservoir on the Cullasaja River

The Cullasaja River upstream of the falls

The "splash down" from Bridal Veil Falls along the scenic byway

Not Cullasaja Falls but still pretty cool rapids!

Dry Falls

Onto Asheville with two more possible stops (well, three actually).  The two other waterfalls, Whitewater Falls and Rainbow Falls, required long-ish hikes for which I didn’t have time, but the latter (which is located in Gorges State Park) looked like it would be very nice.

Onto Asheville where I stayed at Shelley & Barry's house and got a much needed shower (man, did that feel good).  We went to dinner at Barry's brewery & restaurant, The Thirsty Monk.  The beer, food and conversation was outstanding!  A very memorable evening.

Day 4 & 5: Getting In the Swing

Day 4

After making some coffee, I checked out of my Smokemont campsite and headed to the camera store Asheville, about 90 minutes away.  The store, Ball Photo, was a small, unassuming camera located in an obscure strip mall.  When I walked in my jaw dropped.  It was filled with tons of used (in addition to some new) equipment, literally in piles.  I inquired about tripod ball heads, and an older gentleman with a thick accent (I’m guessing he was the owner) showed me a few.  I selected a new one…actually a nice upgrade to the one I had.  I looked at a few used items for fun, but they were a little expensive, and I didn’t really need anything.  Nonetheless, I had fun chatting with the guy and also a younger employee about film and processing (film is making a resurgence, believe it or not).  I could have spent longer in the shop, but it was time to move on.

The Camera Store in Asheville...pretty non-descript, right?

I needed internet to access some of maps and information, so I found this very cool coffee place (w/free WiFi) in downtown Asheville.  It's actually a double decker bus!

Since I was in Asheville I set my sights on a couple waterfalls to the east in Pisgah National Forest.  They didn’t come up in the Garmin, but I had the coordinates.  I punched in the farthest one first, Roaring Fork Falls (not related to the Roaring Fork motor drive in GSMNP), which was about a 2-hour drive away.   

Mountain colors along the way.

With about an hour left something just didn’t feel right, so I pulled into a gas station and pulled up Google maps.  Dang, I was going the wrong direction!  I must’ve fat fingered the coordinates when I entered them in the Garmin (let that be a lesson).  I re-entered the coordinates, and I still had about a 2-hour drive, meaning that I had effectively lost an hour or more.  Rats!  But, it was worth it.  The falls were very cool.

Roaring Fork Falls

Unfortunately, it was now late afternoon.  I couldn’t do anything else and thus needed to find a campsite.  The one I had in mind was only 10 minutes away and reportedly had plenty of spaces.  But when I got there I discovered it was full.  Rats again!  There was another, smaller campsite about 45 minutes away, but what was the likelihood it would be full too?  Should I take a chance?  Light was starting to fade, and I made a decision to simply head back to Asheville.  I’d find someplace to stay there, a Walmart, if nothing else.

The Garmin put me on the Blue Ridge Parkway back to Asheville.  I passed a state campground, Mt. Mitchell, and thought I might get lucky there.  After a long drive to the campground entrance (sound of clock ticking), there was another sign: campground full.  OMG.  Back to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  By now it was getting darker…and foggy!  Alright God, what else will you throw at me?  It then occurred to me that I should call Mary Jo’s cousin’s daughter, Shelley, who lives in Asheville.  We had planned to meet on Friday, and surely it would be OK for me to camp in their driveway.  Use the resources you have, right?  Cell service was terrible, but we finally connected.  After several redials, she said it was no problem staying there.  I told her that I didn’t need a bed, just a place to park.  I was tired, and after saying hello, I would actually just rather retreat to Ansel.  Being an introvert like me, she totally understood.  So, I plugged their address into the Garmin.

Before it got real dark, I noticed this scene at one of the many overlooks.  I pulled over and took a quick, hand-held panorama.  I love how the cloud layer is just setting over top the misty mountains.  (PS - This look better bigger.  Just click on the image.)

A while later she called back.  Her husband, Barry, suggested that I park at one of the warehouses he owns (he is a contactor), which are located inside a fenced area.  I said that sounded great!  He gave me the address for one of the warehouse and the combination for the lock box, which had the key for the gate padlock as well as the two warehouses, which had bathrooms!  So that’s where I spent the night!  And, it got me a little closer to my next destinations. 

Barry's warehouse (in daylight)

Day 5

I departed Barry’s warehouse area early before any of his workers showed up.  Barry said this would be unlikely, but I didn’t want to freak them out.  Found a McDonalds for coffee, breakfast, and free WiFi, then I headed for my destinations in the western section of Pisgah National Forest.  My plan at the end of the day was to stay at one of the many roadside (free) campsites I had found on a map issued by the Forest Service.  However, as I drove to one of my photo ops I never found any of these.  Per signage, you are only permitted to camp at locations posted with the camping icon, but again, never saw these but for one spot (which was not on my on my map).  So either I entered these incorrectly into the Garmin database or something had changed.  Not to worry (yet) as it was still early…so, I headed to my next spot, Sunburst Falls.  This location was even better than I had expected based on on-line images I had seen.

Sunburst Falls

Sunburst Falls is immediately adjacent to a road and discharges underneath a curved, stone bridge, creating another interesting waterfall in its own right

Now, where to stay?  Lessons learned from the day before suggested I needed to get to a campsite early before it filled up.  I wasn’t sure where to go, and I found myself back again on the Blue Ridge Parkway…with fog again.  Starting to get a little anxious, I pulled off into one of the many overlooks (not much to see, but I actually grabbed a couple shots) to explore my options.  There was a National Forest campground, Sunburst Campground, on the same road I was just on and a ways past the waterfall.  Do I dare check it out?  It’s in the opposite direction of other potential campsites, and my luck thus far suggested it would be full.  But, I decided I had to try since it was relatively close (still a 30+ minute drive).  This time my luck panned out…this was a very small campground, but there were actually 3 sites left.  I nabbed one for the whopping cost of $7 with my Senior Pass (I love the pass) and settled in for the night.

On the way to Sunburst Falls on NC 215.  It was overcast and rainy that day, which actually made for great shooting conditions & compositions.

Another image from NC 215.