Roadtrip 2011: Pisgah National Forest, NC

For our second full day in NC, we drove south to the Pisgah National Forest and admired the picturesque Looking Glass Falls.


Forest helped Ramona dip her hand and toes in the nearby water.
Next we went a hike to see the smaller but still admirable Moore Cove Falls.
These we could walk behind, kind of like Grotto Falls in TN.


There were some interesting rock formations behind the falls, which Mr. Muscles used to practice some pull-ups.



Ramona caught a nap on the hike back to the car.
For lunch, we drove over to Brevard and stayed for a couple of cups of gelato, too.
Then we went to take a glimpse at Connestee Falls, just south of Brevard, although you couldn't see much of it from the railing.
We spent the rest of the afternoon back in the Pisgah National Forest, where we took Ramona to a fish hatchery. She tried feeding the trout some fish food from the nearby vending machine and had a wonderful time tossing the pellets in, although the fish kept spitting them out. Perhaps they were a little stale.

We also took her to the Cradle of Forestry Discovery Center. Here our little family piled into a simulated helicopter ride--two times in a row, as requested by Ramona.



On our way back to the hotel, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway and got out of the car at one of the overlooks. Ramona was more interested in her princess book than the views, so I ended up sitting with her right there and reading it to her.
Forest took care of capturing the views.
After that, she fell asleep on the car ride back and nothing we did could wake her up, so I just laid her in bed, and she slept until morning. I'm not sure I've ever seen her so tired.

Roadtrip 2011: Grandfather Mountain & Linville Falls, NC

After we made it to North Carolina, we spent our first morning there at Grandfather Mountain.

We admired some views, then proceeded to hike to the somewhat famous mile-high bridge.


They say the rhododendrons are typically in their peak blooms this time of year. From the looks of things, North Carolina had had an early spring, and most of the blooms were finished by the time we got there, but there were a few late bloomers that stuck around for our enjoyment.


Walking on a mile-high bridge on a windy day with a toddler is perhaps more unnerving than exhilarating, but we went across and back with all of the other tourists anyway.




After a picnic on a scenic overlook, Ramona led us on an additional mini-hike with these views:

Within the park was a small zoo with native animals, so we took Ramona there next. Her favorites were the bears and the otters.



Before returning to our hotel, we squeezed in one more hike to Linville Falls on the way back.