GSMNP

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Cindy

Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. What? More so than Yellowstone or Yosemite? This surprised me until I considered its proximity to the population-dense East Coast. Its 800 square miles straddle the North Carolina/Tennessee state line, and the popular Blue Ridge Parkway connects it to the Shenandoah National Park. The park is extremely popular during peak foliage season, which is now–except that this is a dud year for foliage in this part of the US. Ah, well, there certainly are no guarantees.

absolutely perfect creek on the Alum Cave Trail

But not so, according to the woman from Pennsylvania whom I talked to in the park. She was quite upset that there wasn’t much color to capture in her camera. “My friends in Pennsylvania assured me this is peak season for foliage in the Smoky Mountains,” she lamented. “And there’s really nothing to see.” She regretted making the nine-hour drive when it was obviously not Peak Week. “But this is peak foliage week,” I told her. “It’s just not a peak foliage year.” She looked at me dubiously, and I wondered how she could live in Pennsylvania and not understand the relationship between a year’s weather and its fall foliage color. It’s not like the leaves don’t turn in PA.

below the arch

Despite the lack of color, we enjoyed seeing the Smokies–our first time. According to Wikipedia, the mountain range gets its name from organic compounds that are released from the conifers in the dense forests that cover 95% of the park. These chemicals have a high vapor pressure and naturally create smoky-looking vapors when released into the air.

through the eye and out the top of the arch

We hiked part of the Alum Cave Trail in the park. The first milestone was the arch naturally carved from the rock by wind and water. It’s 1.4 miles off Newfound Gap Road (US 441), the main thoroughfare that crosses the park from Cherokee, NC, to Gatlinburg, TN.

chubby little bird

Another mile along the trail was the Alum Cave Bluffs, with inspiring views of the mountains below us. There actually is no Alum Cave; the trail gets its name from the protective ledges that project from the bluff walls. The trail continues to Mount Le Conte, the second highest peak in the park. We opted out of the remaining 3.2 miles of strenuous, uphill scrambling and returned to the trailhead. Wise choice, as the sun was already starting to set.

victory cairns created by hikers who successfully return to the beginning of the trail

On our way out of the park, we were rewarded by an appearance of a park resident we were beginning to think was purely myth. Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001, but despite our best efforts, we couldn’t find the herd. Three elk were grazing nonchalantly in a meadow next to the Visitor Center. They even performed a little rutting pas de deux for us. A planned performance for the tourists? I wonder….

“They’re paying me $1.50 an hour for this gig. What are you getting?”

Deep Creek

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Cindy

Tom Branch Falls

The Deep Creek loop, just inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Bryson City, North Carolina, is a great hike that takes you past three small waterfalls. Each fall is not remarkable in terms of height, but is pretty in its own way.

hellbender salamander

These hellbender salamanders, known locally as “snot otters,” are found throughout western North Carolina. This one is approximately 15 inches in length, but they can grow to about 30 inches. They have a frilly skin that ruffles as they move through the water, earning them the additional nickname “lasagna lizards.”

Indian Creek Falls

undercut

Love these undercut banks along the trail! There’s a lot going on here, a veritable forest in microcosm. Looks like the perfect home for woods fairies!

Juney Whank Falls–you gotta love the name!

fill ‘er up!

The rain held off (barely) while we hiked, but started up when we sat down for a picnic lunch afterward. Fortunately Marcus brought a tent with him. Roughing it in the Smoky Mountains!

Assateague Island National Seashore

Posted on October 7, 2018 by Cindy

We left Bethany Beach and drove down the Delmarva peninsula toward our next stop: Cape Charles, Virginia, on the eastern shore. Just south of Ocean City, Maryland, I saw a sign for Assateague Island National Seashore. I’ve always wanted to see the wild horses on the barrier islands of Assateague and Chincoteague since reading Misty of Chincoteague in fifth grade, but I had heard that the horses are only on the islands seasonally. So we stopped by Tourist Information to get the scoop. Turns out the horses are present on both islands year round.

The woman at TI explained the difference between the horse habitats. Assateague Island is owned by the government and is maintained by the National Park Service. The horses there are wild; the only human intervention is birth control. Scientists discovered that if the horse population grew to over 100, the plant life on the island suffered, which affected the biological balance of the whole island–flora and fauna. So to strike a healthy balance, they allow each mare to foal only once. After the first foal, the mares are inoculated to prevent conception. This year’s census was in the low 80s, and the island is thriving.

On Chincoteague Island, the horses run wild but are technically owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. They control their horse population by rounding up some of the younger horses each summer to sell at auction to raise funds for the fire department.

We opted to visit Assateague, since Tourist Information was so close to the National Seashore entrance. It was a perfect-weather day for exploring the park. We saw probably 20 horses, some up close and others farther away, and we had a picnic lunch under the cedar trees on a bayside beach.

The horses are magnificent, and I commend our National Park Service for preserving their habitat so they can continue to run wild. The island is a beautiful place to visit. We especially loved the boardwalk through the salt marsh where we saw lots of wildlife.

2018 Family & Friends Fall Road Trip

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Cindy

detours on I-95 as a result of Hurricane Florence

We left Stuart on September 21st on a rare (for us) road trip. Since we began our extended travel in 2013, we have always flown to our destination, rented a car, driven the most comprehensive route I could comfortably squeeze into two to three months, returned the car, and flown home. And that’s what we intended to do this time, but then Marcus got the itchin’ for a road trip–from start to finish in our own car. Having grown up seeing the USA from the back of a (Chevrolet) station wagon, I was down. I love nothing more than to pack a car to the gills, stash a cooler full of goodies, and hit the road.

This trip is also different in that we’ll be doing much less sightseeing than usual. This trip is dedicated to visiting some family and friends that we haven’t visited or seen in far too long. The first leg of it, from Stuart to Rockville, Maryland, to visit Marcus’s sister Sheri and family, involved driving through North Carolina only eight days after Hurricane Florence whipped through. Although most of I-95 was in great shape (primarily due to speedy recovery efforts on the part of NCDOT, is my guess), there were still a few detours to negotiate.

The parts of I-95 we did travel had lost quite a few trees and billboards (no loss there!), but the saddest thing we witnessed was the number of dead wildlife along the shoulders. Of course there are always deer, raccoons, and possums who wander across the highway at night, but we saw many more than usual, including a wild pig–something I’d never seen. Made me realize how many animals must have been displaced from their homes due to flooding and had nowhere to go but to seek higher ground–on the interstate.

Best wishes to the state of North Carolina for a full recovery, and our condolences for your losses.

Lakefront bike ride

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Cindy

Toronto Inukshuk Park

Activity for the day: a 30-kilometre (19-mile) bike ride along Lake Ontario. We rented bikes at the Harbourfront and started our tour on the west end of the lake trail at Toronto Inukshuk Park. I love these crazy man-shaped piles of rock created by the Inuits in northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland to look like hunters lined up on the hillsides of the tundra. Two converging lines of inukshuks were used to funnel caribou into herds for easier hunting. They’ve become a symbol of native Canadian culture. Pretty ingenious, I’d say. But then, as my living room will attest, I’ve always had a fondness for stacking stones.

seven ducklings!

Next stop: Amsterdam Brewhouse for lunch. No better day than a biking day to order poutine. We eat this traditional Montréal dish every time we come to Canada: French fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy. Comfort food at its tastiest!

poutine!

After carbo-loading, we rode the remaining nine kilometres to our easternmost destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Leslieville. You would never guess that this bird sanctuary, on a lacy peninsula extending into Lake Ontario, is so close to the city unless you happened to glance up to catch the Toronto skyline on the horizon.

Canada geese have returned for the summer

Toronto skyline from Tommy Thompson Park

the Distillery District

Our post-bike reward was visiting the Distillery District just east of Downtown. A refurbished old brick distillery originally built in 1832, it is now home to several boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and the Mill Street Brewery—forty buildings in all. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. (You know how I love my superlatives!)

No spirits for us today, but we did enjoy a cold brew to help us cool off on this exceptionally warm and humid spring day. Great ride, great day!

Distillery District

crazy Jenga towers

More Gan

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Cindy

A few highlights from our walking tour of Gananoque…

Airbnb Roulette

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Cindy

Riverview B&B

Months ago, when I was planning this trip, I was looking for a place to stay between Lake Placid and Toronto. We wanted to see the Thousand Islands area, but I didn’t know any of the towns along the St. Lawrence River. So I played Airbnb roulette: Pick a town anywhere in the vicinity—Kingston, Ontario, say. If you don’t see anything you like in Kingston, keep zooming out on the map until you find something. That’s how I found the Riverview B&B in Gananoque. Ganawhat? Doesn’t matter. Just put your chips down and spin the wheel.

The Riverview was a bit difficult to find only in that our GPS (some of you may remember the obstinate Rita from previous trips) disavowed any knowledge of Thousand Islands Parkway where the B&B is located. How can that be? It’s a major thoroughfare along the river! With Rita in a huff and not having cell service in Canada, we were on our own. (What did we do before Smart Phones?) Fortunately signage was good, and we were able to find the parkway, which, by the way, is spelled “1000 Islands Parkway.” Hence, Rita’s attitude.

The B&B, the former Lansdowne House, stands out like a manor house in its rural community just east of Gananoque. It was a large, stately home that has recently been remodeled into eight spacious guest rooms, plus a large suite for the owners. It also has a fitness room, a breakfast room, and a beautiful rooftop terrace. Relieved that we had at least broken even on our bet, we dropped our luggage and headed in to town to explore.

What an adorable town! Gananoque—or Gan, as locals call it—is just our speed: small, picturesque, quiet, and oh-so friendly. There are several scenic walks through the town of approximately 5000 which highlight some of the elegant homes built during Gan’s heyday as a major transportation hub on the St. Lawrence. Perhaps it’s fortuitous that river traffic was later diverted to Kingston, a city of over 120,000 today, so that Gan could retain its 19th-century charm.

We started at Tourist Information, where a pleasant woman educated us as to Gan’s many highlights. Primarily, it’s a launching point for boat tours of the 1000 Islands. Rather than being cooped up with tourists feeding seagulls for five hours, we opted to see the sights of the town on foot, starting with the Ganonoque Brewing Company which, as luck would have it, was right across the street from TI. We enjoyed a very talented (humorous, as well as musically endowed) duo performing in the brewery’s diminutive Beer Garden while we washed down the dust of the road.

at the Purple House Cafe

A couple saw us reading through our TI brochures and asked if we were looking for a place to eat. Not particularly, but we would take all recommendations. Purple House Cafe, hands down. Just a pleasant stroll away, Purple House had a sweet stone patio with a wood-fired pizza oven out front. The weather was perfect—sunny and a warm 75°—so we enjoyed a delicious pizza while playing a rousing game of dominoes. Board games are part of the ambience. It just keeps getting better. Winner, winner, pizza dinner!

Bendominoes, bendy dominoes

Local knowledge

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Cindy

entering High Peaks territory

Our next stop northbound was Lake Placid. I really didn’t know what to expect. A lake, of course, and who can forget the 1980 Winter Olympics when the US hockey team upset the Soviet Union? But do tourists come here? Maybe not; I couldn’t find an Airbnb rental within 100 miles.

Turns out Lake Placid is quite the tourist destination in summer because of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains and the lakes. The Main Street area is adorable, with lots of cute shops and yummy restaurants with lake views. And there are three craft breweries! But physical activity comes before beer. So what to do? When in doubt, seek out local knowledge.

I approached the woman at the hotel reception desk. “If you had only one day to spend in Lake Placid, what would you do? Where is the ‘wow’?”

She didn’t hesitate. “The High Peaks.”

Adirondack Mountain Club trail

The High Peaks are a cluster of 46 mountains in the Adirondacks, just south of Lake Placid for the most part, that are over 4000 feet in elevation–or so they thought at the time they came up with the designation. If you climb all 46, you are eligible to join the Adirondack 46ers club.

mountain flora

She recommended three easy-to-moderate hikes, at our request, in the High Peaks region. We chose to summit Mount Jo. I’d never summited a mountain before! I mean, how many mountain summits do you know of that are moderate hikes? Jo isn’t one of the High Peaks, but at 2876 feet its summit offers great views of 17 of the Big Guys.

mountain fauna–the third snake we’ve seen on this trip [so far]. Anyone know what kind?

We drove to The Adirondack Mountain Club’s High Peaks Information Center and consulted the experts. The difficult decision: Do we want to take the short, steeper route up Mount Jo, or the longer, less grueling path? We debated, considering our already fragile knees. Our expert suggested we climb up the steep path and return on the gentler path. Perfect!

at the summit

For much of the hike up, we were climbing a dry, steep stream bed like stairs. It must have been a waterfall during the Spring snowmelt! Not too bad though; it only took us an hour to summit. And the view was spectacular, especially of Heart Lake in the valley below. The hike down? Well, let’s just say that the longer path was only mildly easier. We had our hiking sticks with us, so we were able to save our knees, but my quads hurt for days afterward.

And the black flies! The only good thing I can say about them is that they distracted me from the steep descent. We had purchased a natural bug repellent from the information center, which worked well around my bare legs, but apparently my hair product was just too intoxicating. By the end of the hike I looked like a measles-riddled crazy women, with bites all around my hairline (despite my repellent-doused hat) and an extra-special, bulbous bite smack dab in the middle of my right cheek.

Heart Lake

Despite the flies, mosquitos, and sore quads, it was great to get out-of-doors and give our dormant hiking boots some exercise.

elevation gain on our hike: the descent was only mildly gentler than the ascent

Hike to Val-Kill and Top Cottages

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Cindy

the trail to Val-Kill and Top Cottages

There’s a very cool hike through the woods from the Roosevelt family home of Springwood to Val-Kill Cottage, where Eleanor Roosevelt chose to live, and then farther up the hill to Top Cottage, where Franklin intended to live after leaving the presidency. Both cottages were on the vast Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, both small by Springwood standards (especially Top Cottage), both entirely independent of the other, and both the source of great comfort and isolation to their residents.

Let’s back up a bit. Why did Eleanor choose to live at Val-Kill, when Franklin was living at Springwood? We’ve all heard the rumors of their supposed infidelities. I won’t comment on them because I know nothing about them, but according to our park-ranger guide, Eleanor never felt at home at Springwood while Franklin’s mother, Sara, was alive. (She passed away in 1941.) Springwood was always her mother-in-law’s home. She and two friends had originally developed the Val-Kill property as an industrial site where locals could learn handicraft skills. It became Eleanor’s getaway when she was in Hyde Park with her husband, but became her full-time residence after his death in 1945 when she had the factory converted into her home. She lived there until her death in 1962.

Cindy, waiting for her hot dog at Top Cottage

Top Cottage, or Hill-Top Cottage to be precise, was designed by Franklin, an amateur architect, and built during his second term in office. It was his retreat from the world, but they–both he and Eleanor–used it for family picnics and entertaining guests as well. In 1939 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Britain attended the famous “hot-dog summit” at the cottage. (The King’s Speech, anyone?) It was Roosevelt’s desire that the king and queen see how the American commoner lived–and what he or she ate. Note: The queen ate her hot dog with a fork and knife. The king enjoyed eating his by hand!

furry friend in the forest

So, back to the hike. The woods were beautiful. We had them almost to ourselves on a Wednesday morning. The hike to Val-Kill was mostly level–piece of cake! The hike to Top Cottage from Val-Kill was a pretty rugged climb up muddy paths cut through the leaves by heavy rains a few days before.

Here are some of the guys we met along the way.