The August trip to the mountains

 We have departed on another road trip, just a short two week adventure this time. It will be, part discovering new places, part music venues and part for work in the family cemetery in Axton Virginia. Hope you enjoy the journey with us and thanks for reading the blog!

August 13 2023 

The first leg of the trip is from home to Chimney Rock NC. Besides a break from the summer heat, we want to hike to the top of Chimney Rock Mountain as well as explore some of the sounding area.

Myrtle Beach to Lake Lure

The route from the coast to the Appalachian Mountains can easily be made on interstate highways, but we’ve found a more civilized trail to follow. I won’t bore you with details, but we can drive all the way to Spartanburg South Carolina and then on up though North Carolina on good US highways. 

our RV on the bank of the Broad River

We traveled just under 300 miles today and are camped near Lake Lure in North Carolina. Our RV spot for the next three days is Hickory Nut Falls Campground; our site number 67 is located on the bank of the Broad River.

August 14 2023 

Monday we drove went to Chimney Rock State park and went to the top of the name sake rock outcropping. We were surprised that the oppressive heat of the coast has followed us to the mountains. Because it was so hot we cheated some and took the elevator, which goes part way up through the mountain before hiking the rest of the way up steps. You can walk out on the outcropping called Chimney Rock, The small area is ringed with iron fence to keep you safe, I’m sure it has stopped people from sliding off the edge more than once. The thousands of visitors have over the years worn the rock at the top into a slick surface. The view from the top is a vast panoramic that takes in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the valleys that house Lake Lure. We skipped the elevator and did walk down the 500 steps from the top to the parking lot. 

Chimney Rock in the background

View from Chimney Rock

Steps

More steps

In the afternoon we drove thru the villages along Lake Lure. Here there are many gift shops and restaurants sandwiched in the narrow space between the road and Broad River. There seemed to be a lot of tourists in town, there were no empty parking spots and drivers waiting for every departing vehicle. We didn’t compete with the drivers jockeying for the next available spot, we’re not big on expensive gift stores or tourist restaurants, which are always overpriced. We did stop a one curio shop on the edge of the village but didn’t buy anything. Then we went to the flower bridge, an old highway bridge that has been recycled as a flower garden. Even though it was late afternoon it was still very hot and we decided not to walk the trail that starts here and meanders along the river. 

The Flower Bridge

Downtown Chimney Rock

Hickory Nut Falls Campground which dates back to the 1970’s is what we will generously call rustic, is mostly seasonal RV rental sites. Lots of campgrounds do this nowadays for a steady cash flow. The negative here is it is heavily forested and the RV’s which stay here permanently are all covered with black tree mold; it degrades the look of the entire campground. The roads are a mix of old asphalt sections and gravel, sites are gravel or dirt. The two best things about the park are excellent WIFI and the transient sites are all located on the riverfront.

Our campground at Chimney Rock, NC.

campsites along the river

Country Gal had to get her feet in water!

That night as we were streaming TV the power went out. Stayed out until well into the night, we’re not sure when it came back on. We found out the next day a large tree had fallen across the primary power lines feeding the village. It was after this that we discovered the campground is on well water and they don’t have back up generator power, so when the power went out so did the water supply. Luckily we had enough water in our onboard tank for a quick shower before bed. Being right on the bank of the swiftly running river has its benefits, as soon as the sun goes down the cold mountain water cools the air as it splashes its way down through the boulders in the river. The temperature drops quickly in the waterfront sites so we had no discomfort sleeping thru the night. 

Broad River

August 15 2023 

Tuesday, we drove about 25 miles to Ashville North Carolina, did a driving town around the downtown. For the most part it was very nice with boutique type businesses in many of the old brick structures. It a college town, liberal arts I think, so there were lots of book stores coffee shops, and weird looking young people scurrying about. We ate lunch at a Chipotles and visited one dog rescue thrift store, one Goodwill store and one antique/curio mall. 

Downtown Ashville NC.

Veggie Burgers on the grill was the menus for dinner. Millie and I walked around the campground after dinner, we didn’t enjoy it much, nats buzzed us the whole way, Millie got one stuck in each eye, she’s just too sweet! Tomorrow we leave for the next destination of this trip.

Beings that we're already there, heres a sneak peek at our next destination!