The North Carolina Mountains are the most breathtaking, lush, green mountain paradise that we have encountered. We have seen so many amazing sights. The mountains that make up the area have a human history spanning thousands of years-from the prehistoric Paleo Indians to the Cherokee who considered the mountains to be a sacred place and referred to the area as Shaconage : land of the blue smoke, to the early European settlement in the 1800s, to loggers and Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the 20th century.
These past couple of months, we have been exploring this great green paradise from our location at The Great Outdoors RV Resort in Franklin, NC. Our summer stay has been nice with mild weather, not bad humidity and just the right amount of rain to keep everything green. Our little area is popular for retires from Florida. It’s their hidden gem, as I’m told. They come here for the summer and back to Florida for the winter. Not a bad plan!
With all the rain and moderate temperatures, gardens are popular and so are farmers markets.
Every weekend during the summer in Franklin, the town has free concerts, car shows, art exhibits and parades.
Greenville SC
A couple of hours south is Greenville SC. I been there a few times during my working days and remembered how downtown was such a neat experience. I wanted to show Denise.
Reedy river flows right through downtown Greenville. There are walking/bicycle paths on both sides and plenty of places to eat, drink and shop along the way.
Wayah Bald
Not far from Franklin (16 miles) is Wayah Bald. It’s an old lookout tower built from the local stone that was used to monitor forest fires back in the 1930 & 40’s. It sets on the highest point in the area (5385ft elevation) and is a favorite spot for Appalachian Trail hikers to rest. It took us about an hour to get there, the last 7 miles was on gravel.
Smoky Mountains National Park-Clingmans Dome
Smoky Mountains National Park-Newfound Gap
Another Great Ending to some Great Adventures!
Camera in Tow Photos
Nice mix of pictures.
Thanks Richard…Hope tropical storm Nicholas will die out and all goes well for Rockport.
Living the dream
It’s been a good night sleep! lol