More Waterfalls, More Writing

I'm pretty sure the novel's going to take me right down to the wire, as far as deadline is concerned. I'm doing really well and have managed to catch up to where I should be from the week I took off in February to go to Los Angeles. But as the book continues the plot is becoming more complicated. That's the way of novels--the characters and the situations become more complex as you write. They really do take on lives of their own. At some point, I tend to become not so much a puppet master as an observer. This has occurred on every novel I've written since I was a young man. Even after all of these years, it's strange to observe.

Here are some more waterfalls. Most of these were trips I took in 2006 and 2007. For a guy whose main hiking hobby is peak bagging, I manage to see an awful lot of waterfalls.

Douglas Falls, North Carolina, with my nephew, Harris.

High Shoals Falls on Jacob's Fork in South Mountains State Park, North Carolina.

This waterfall is also in South Mountains State Park. It has a name, but I can't recall it.

Schoolhouse Falls, Panthertown Valley, North Carolina.

Laurel Falls, lower section, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Me, Carole, and Andy at the upper section of Laurel Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Waterfall along the Virginia Creeper Trail near Damascus Virginia. With Cindi and Emily Aiken sitting on the right.

One of my favorite waterfalls: Backbone Rock Falls, in Tennessee.

I forget the name of this waterfall, but it's in Virginia not far from the Applachian Trail. I hiked several miles to see it, and it's not as high as I am tall. For the effort involved, it was a huge disappointment. Still, a pretty little minor cascade.

Midnight Hole on Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is my ultimate all-time favorite swimming hole. No other swimming hole even comes close. Just be sure you swim there in the hottest weather possible, because even in the midst of summer the water is COLD!! COLD!! I MEAN COLD!!!

Sliding Rock in the Pisgah National Forest.

Some waterfalls on Bald River, Tennessee.

Greenland Creek Falls, Panthertown Valley North Carolina.