What It's Like to Live with Me.

I woke up from a very vivid dream in which I had been encountered by Mother Nature who appeared in various forms. The dream was very vivid. Lots of greens and blues and reds and oranges and yellows and…well, it was colorful.

Nothing to do and no pressing reason to get up. I looked to my left. My wife was awake, too, and peering into her cell phone.

“Hey! You’ve got your cell phone!” She chose not to respond. “Mine’s charging at my desk. I need you to look something up!” I was so lazy I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. “I need you to look up Marion Ross!” Carole gave me a funny look. “I need to know if Marion Ross is still alive!”

"Marion Ross?"

"Yeah. You know. Mrs. C.! Richie Cunningham's mom on HAPPY DAYS! Tom Bosley's wife on the show! Did you know that Tom Bosley was Jewish? I mean--Father Dowling? Fuck! That guy went completely under my Jewdar! Didn't see that coming!"

Carole ignores the raving exposition. "Why would you possibly need to know if Marion Ross is alive?"

“I just had a dream about Mother Nature appearing to me and her voice was Marion Ross’s voice! I vividly recall she sounded exactly like Marion Ross! Look her up. Is she dead?”

“Okay, okay. Give me a second.” Then. “Why does it matter if she’s still alive?”

“Because if they make a movie out of my dream then she’ll have to voice Mother Nature.”

Another funny look (as if 'yeah, that's gonna happen'), but by then she had the information. “Yes, she’s still alive.”

“That’s good,” I say, and sit up. “Hey! They have her picture and one of Erin Moran when she was young! She was really cute! Too bad she croaked.”

More funny looks. “Very sad, yes.”

“Do me a favor. Look up the German word ‘jager’ for me! I think it means ‘hunter’, but I’m not sure. Look it up! J.A. G. E. R. YAY-ger,” I add.

“You’re right, it means ‘hunter’.” I know she’s going to ask me why I needed to know that, so I look at the screen of her cell phone and yell, “DAMN! Why do they have a photo of a cool-ass European travel trailer there? That makes no sense at all! That’s a cool trailer! Click on that and tell me about it!”

“You!” She’s angry, of course. Between me raving and pushing my head between her chest and her cell phone she has had it. “Just…just go somewhere else!”

And my job there was done.

Erin Moran and Marion Ross laugh at me.

You Have to Go High.

Here in Charlotte it just doesn't snow that often. Fewer and fewer snow days down here in the Piedmont as the effects of human-caused global warming become more pronounced each year.

Carole and I enjoy the snow. We're big kids at hear and we like to experience a good snowfall from time to time. We like to play in it like all of the other children. There are a couple of sleds in the barn out back.

But since there is almost never an opportunity in the Charlotte metro-area to experience a good snowfall, we find that we have to head to the high country to find it. Fortunately, we have the highest mountains in the eastern USA not too far away, and so it's often just a matter of driving for a couple of hours to find the frozen precipitation and where we can look at the beauty of it, breath cold arctic air, and slide around on it like the overgrown children that we are.

When the north winds blow we see the clear, blue skies.

Let's hike in the snow!

At Carvers Gap on the NC/TN line.

On the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Round Bald, 5,826 feet above sea level.

Photobomb?

Carole took this photo of me at an outdoor sea-food restaurant on the Rainbow River in Florida. And looking at it, I noticed that the woman behind me seems to be flossing her teeth! Photobomb!

Strange lady flossing in a restaurant.

Or maybe just goofing off?

Birthday. Casita. Hemlock plague?!

Carole and I rode out to her mom's today to celebrate her birthday. Carole's actual birthday was a couple days back, but both of us were so sick with some kind of bug that we couldn't celebrate it. So, today we headed out. Her mom treated us to dinner out and then we went to the house for cake. Later, we messed about with the Casita trailer. Carole vacuumed and cleaned and restocked some of the shelves. I got out the generator to tune it up and get it running. Today, it ran great! That was a relief. It has not given us any trouble after almost ten years!

The last thing I did was go check on the backyard hemlock trees. I examine them every time I'm there and up until now they have been free of the Hemlock wooly adelgid plague that is driving the species to extinction. But today...looks like one of the trees is stricken! Just a few days ago there was no sign at all. And today several of the branches had what looks like adelgid infestation.

However, there was something about the hemlock wool that did not look right. I took some of the wool off the tree and examined it. A kind of brown residue was left on my fingers which was something I'd never witnessed when examining adelgid wool in the past. Is it something else? If it is hwa, then I will of course treat both trees against it with one of the nicotinoid insecticides that are proven to kill hwa.

The cake.

The birthday girl!

Getting stuff ready in the Casita. First trip is still some weeks away.

I powered up the Honda generator and plugged in the trailer.

Has Hemlock wooly adelgid finally located our hemlock trees?!

Our Stay at Charit Creek Lodge, Part I.

I have to say that one of the coolest experiences of our trip was the hike down to Charit Creek Lodge and our overnight stay. The lodge is located in the bottom of the gorge. There are shorter hikes to get there, but we chose to take the Twin Arches Trail that is 2.1 miles in length and leads past two of the largest natural arches in eastern North America. Those are well worth the trip and make one feel small indeed. (Mother Nature has a way of doing that.)

Despite losing about 500 feet in elevation, the hike is pretty easy as such things go. There are a number of switchbacks along the way and also a number of stairways and steps. It's a very well engineered path. And it takes you through a very beautiful recovering forest of an impressive diversity.

There is no electricity at the lodge. Lighting is by lantern. Heating is by wood stoves. There are bathrooms with flush toilets, and hot showers powered by propane heating. Meals are provided by the lodge staff and during our stay the food was excellent. Included in the price of an overnight stay is supper and breakfast, both of which were vast and of high quality. You can also buy lunch, and you can have beer and wine at a modest charge.

A great boon for me was the total quiet. Except for one aircraft that flew over the vicinity for a brief moment, I never heard the sound of any machine. There was nothing but the sound of the wind and the bird calls and the slight music of the nearby creek.

At the start of the Twin Arches trail.

At the top of the North Arch I found this view of the cliff walls on the other side of the gorge.

Carole heading down one of the massive staircases.

Me, carrying our stuff down to the lodge. You don't need much. Grooming needs, change of clothes, some water for the hike, towel and wash cloth. The lodge provides everything else.

The forest was very diverse. Surprisingly so. The hemlocks there are still thriving. Oaks, beech, hickory, pines, sycamore, walnut, etc. It's an amazingly healthy forest considering the toll that timber and coal mining operations took on the area.

We emerge from the forest to see the first structure, a smokehouse put to new use.

The main lodge building. Circa 1817. It is the oldest building owned by the National Park Service that is still in use.

That weeping willow is nothing short of amazing. Like something from a storybook. This is the back section of the lodge. There is a sitting area between the willow and a pair of hemlocks where you can soak in the peace and quiet.

The barn. Used now to store fire wood and equipment.

This was our cabin. Screened in porch on one side, open porch on the other. Beyond you can see the bathroom and past that (out of sight) is the shower house.

Also sometimes used as a group cabin. For us it was a couples-only abode. All linens provided with plenty of extra pillows and wool blankets.

But you don't need those wool blankets all that much, because that wood-burning stove will heat the entire building more than adequately!

A brief video tour of the lodge grounds from Charit Creek to our cabin.

Tomorrow...more photos. I celebrate the hike down to the lodge by going on a long hike!

Blue Ridge Parkway.

Carole and I visited another National Park inn. This time the Pisgah Inn at milepost 408 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We chose this weekend to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary since we both had to work through our actual anniversary date earlier in the week.

We only had to face about a three-hour drive to get to the Pisgah Inn so we didn't even have to leave all that early to get to the Parkway. But one thing about driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway is that the going is VERY SLOW. Even slower than the 45mph top posted speed limit. There is almost always heavy traffic at favored spots along the Parkway and often people merging in and out of the flow. So once you get to the Parkway itself, you just can't make good time.

Which is fine. Because the Parkway was meant to be savored.

Soon after our arrival. The window looks out on the balcony which has a door access.

This was the view that greeted us when we stepped out on the balcony.

Sunrise, this morning (06-22-2014).

This bunny was enjoying the clover beneath our balcony this morning.

And no mountain excursion is worth having if I can't get out to hunt for waterfalls and go hiking!

Next Vacation

Carole and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this weekend. We'll be taking a trip to a lodge in the NC mountains where we've wanted to stay for some time. I hope it's cool up there above 5,000 feet!

Plus, we're planning our next mountain vacation. We've settled on a spot in Virginia where we've also never been. But we have to get the trailer ready for the trip. Two of the unfortunate things that happened on the latest trip (Outer Banks) is that a leak developed between the water heater and the onboard water tank. It's apparently an easy fix for an expert, but far beyond my ability to repair. It's not a problem for us if we have city water hookups since the leak is only between the onboard water tank and the water heater. But we need to have it fixed ASAP because we like to use out of the way campgrounds that don't have water hookups.

Second, those notorious winds at the Outer Banks tore off our canopy on the trailer and utterly destroyed it. I had to trash the entire unit. Replacing it will cost me somewhere between $700 and $800. Sad, but true.

So...there are mountains in our vacation future.

The wind utterly destroyed our canopy.

Feels weird to see the Casita without its awning.

High country, we're on the way!

Cedar Point

Our first campground on the trip was Cedar Point in the Croatan National Forest. It's not on the Outer Banks, but was a good place for us to stop for a couple of days before catching the ferry over to Ocracoke. This is a National Forest facility and, as usual, is very well run. Our National Parks and National Forests are the finest things ever created by our government. Hands down. All of that wonderful recreation to be had for a very low fee that helps to keep everything in good shape. I can't say enough good things about our Parks and Forests.

Cedar Point has power hookups for trailers and RVs, but not water hookups. It does provide a very beautiful bathhouse with flush toilets, sinks, and hot showers. So even if you don't have an onboard water system in your trailer, you can still take hot showers to wash off the sand and grit from the trips to the beach!

There is a lot to do and see in the vicinity of the campground. Nearby is a very nice state park (Hammocks Beach) and the commercialized Emerald Isle where you can find beach access just to go swimming or picnicking or surf fishing. In addition, Cedar Point offers access to the nearby marshes, creeks, and bay for kayaking and fishing. Plus, there are some good hiking trails.

Each campsite is paved and offers lots of room.

Here we were, all set up and ready to relax.

The "bedroom"! Set up for movies. We watched several films in the evenings when we returned from exploring, swimming, and kayaking.

Part of the Cedar Point Tideland Trail. About one mile in length. Very beautiful and right at the edge of the campground.

Sometimes I forget how beautiful the marshes can be.

On the trail as the sun was beginning to set.

Carole fires up the coals for dinner!

Carole is the best campground cook around! This meal was cooked all in foil!

On the Cedar Point Tideland Trail.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Well, we're home. The drive back was a very long, so we're bushed.

We enjoyed the Outer Banks. Why did I wait so long to experience it? Well..."the mountains" is the answer to that one.

Briefly, I enjoyed the southern part of the Outer Banks far more than I did the northern half. When you get to Nags Head the development is just too severe. Too many houses, too much traffic, too many people.

I'll post details in the coming days.

Queuing for the ferry ride to Ocracoke Island.

Looking down on the truck and Casita from the viewing platform on the ferry deck. Cost to ride the ferry for our rig was only $30.

Carole enjoying the view and the nice breeze on the upper deck.

The Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island. The village there is not RV-friendly, so we basically had to dash through and head to the other end of the island to catch the next ferry to Hatteras Island where our camping reservations were. Maybe we'll go back to Ocracoke some day without an RV to try to park.

Flat Top Mountain Trail (Part One)

The best trail I hiked while we were at the Lodge was the Flat Top Mountain Trail. It's a National Trail of some note. It passes over Flat Top Mountain which is one of the more impressive peaks in the area and the tallest of the three Peaks of Otter (and the only one of the three that's over 4,000 feet in elevation). There are spectacular views from the summit and at several points along the roughly five-mile trail.

I had Carole take me to the northern terminus of the trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway where she dropped me off and drove back to the Lodge. By hiking over the mountain and back down to Abbott Lake I could end my hike at our room at the Peaks of Otter Lodge. Simple. Years ago I had hiked half the trail by starting at the lake and then hitting the summit and backtracking to the lake. But that had been on a very rainy day with no views at all. Plus, I'd missed out on hiking a little more than half the trail between the summit and the Parkway. This way I'd see everything I'd missed before, plus retracing my hike of several years back--this time in optimal scenery weather.

Carole dropped me off at about 9:30 after we'd had breakfast. It was pretty cool--about 20 degrees--with stiff winds blowing through the forest. After I began my hike and as I gained elevation on the peak, one thing that very much impressed me was how well engineered the trail is. The route follows the easier contours of the peak and does not tackle the slopes head on. Neither does it use very many switchbacks, instead moving easily over the slopes and meandering easily without any extremely steep climbs. It was almost like following a railroad bed and this very well may be the case--I couldn't say. But it was one of the easiest and most pleasant climbs of that height that I can recall. I'm pretty sure that I gained about 1600 feet between the Parkway and the summit, but I hardly felt it.

Also, I seemed to have the entire mountain to myself. I didn't encounter any other hikers on the entire trek. I had complete solitude and quiet for the entire duration. It was just me and the wind.

This is one of the easiest trails I've ever hiked. I hardly broke a sweat.

I guess they just decided to let this snag lay as it fell across the trail. It was easy to step over. You can see that the terrain was getting rockier at this point.

Climbing the slopes. This moss was about the only green in the forest.

The closer I got to the top, the more rugged the slopes.

I was getting even with some of the higher surrounding peaks.

This big patch of ice was actually a pain in the ass. I had a hard time getting around it without slipping.

This was at one of the first great views: Cross Rock. About half a mile from the true summit.