A Week in Banner Elk, North Carolina, Part 1

Hey everyone, Mea'Ola here. I know it has been over a month since my last post but my mom works for an attorney and now that this Covid-19 thing is easing up some the Courthouses are opening up and trials are starting back up which means my mom is working super hard. 

Anyway, in March mom booked us a really nice 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on a mountainside in a town called Banner Elk in North Carolina. Mom told me that Banner Elk is in Avery County, which sits on the North Carolina/Tennessee state line and is the third county down from the Virginia/North Carolina state line. Mom used to live and work up here and loves to come back and see her friends and go hiking which is what we did this trip. 

My mom is super thoughtful on our trips. The first thing she unloads is my elevated bowl set and then gets me fresh cold water. Next is my bed and my basket of toys. Then I get walked and she stays with me while I explore our temporary home. 

Like back in January, I settled right in while mom unloaded the truck with all our stuff. Mom even brought all our food for all our meals so she wouldn't have to leave me at home while she went food shopping. Boy, I sure lucked out when she picked me. 

At sunset the first night mom kept saying how pretty is was. I guess she forgot I don't see colors, maybe it was the champagne she was drinking. She always enjoys some the first night of all our trips. The white light is the flash from mom's new camera. She is still learning how to work it. 

Sunday March 7th was our first full day in the mountains. Aside from a few longs walks we didn't go anywhere and mom never took her pajamas off, she just pulled on sweat pants and a sweat shirt before grabbing her coat. Mom's office had moved on March 5th and she was tired and needed some down time. I was more than happy to go along with that.

Monday was a beautiful day so mom packed our gear, loaded me and and we headed off to Linville Falls. Mom says she likes to hike here every time she comes to this part of the North Carolina mountains.

Our first stop was at the upper falls. They are not very impressive.

 

This is looking down onto the top of the lower falls. I tried to get a better look but mom wouldn't let me jump on the rock wall. She's smart like that. 

We went back to the main trail and hiked out some more, always going up. This is the view of the lower falls with the upper falls in the background. 

Since neither mom or I am used to the altitude, what ever that is, mom decided that we needed a water break. Mom said the elevation here is 3,268 feet above sea level back at the Ranger Station but we were higher than that since we had been steadily going uphill since the Upper Falls lookout.

If you look away from the falls, this is the river heading south out of the Linville Gorge.

Further out we stopped at another lookout of the gorge and we had another water break. 

We started heading back to the truck which was all downhill, then mom said "Mea'Ola, let's go see the Hollywood tree." I looked at her. She asked, "didn't you pay attention all those times we watched the movie The Last of the Mohicans? I always point out the Hollywood tree in the movie and told you we would see it on this trip." I pretended I didn't hear her. When we got to where the tree used to be there was only a stump. Mom was pretty bummed.

When we got back to the condo she put the movie on and pointed the tree out to me,,,,again, I yawned. What is so special about some curved tree in some silly movie? 

I went and laid down in the dining room next to kitchen. "mom,,, MOOOMMM! Since you forgot to bring any snacks with us today can I have my kibble early? And will you please add extra chicken and cheese? I'm about to starve to death! Don't make me grumble at you!" She ignored me, the nerve, especially after we took that 2.4 mile hike. 

Mom said there was another nice sunset that night but that is was not as pretty as Saturday's was. 

Tuesday was another beautiful day. Mom took some back roads she knows for us to get onto The Blue Ridge Parkway. Mom started going "ooohh and wow" a lot. She pulled over and took this photo. She told me The Blue Ridge Mountains were living up to their name this morning. I didn't see anything special.

She also took this photo. She told me that 20 years ago she stood on the  peaks of the mountain in the background. That is Grandfather Mountain she told me and added that from the right place on the other side, it looks like an old man staring at the sky.

We finally got to today's hike, Price Lake. There is a trail that goes all the way around the lake. Shortly after we got on the trail there was a long boardwalk. Now I understood the training mom had me doing when we first met. I am so ready for this!

We were about 1/3 of the way around the lake when mom took this photo. It is a pretty big lake.

After while we started walking through all these plants. Mom said they are Rhododendron and they are stunning when they bloom in the  summer. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Mom knows some pretty cool places.

As we hiked mom told me about some critter called a Beaver and how there are usually lots of tree stumps from where the beavers gnawed down a tree to build themselves a home which doubles as a dam across running water.

She pointed this one out to me. I was not impressed, it didn't even smell different. 

Eventually we got to The Blue Ridge Parkway end of the lake. Mom's truck is still a fair distance away down the right side of the lake.  

We sat and rested in the afternoon sunshine and had some water. I watched other people and their dog closely in case I had to protect mom. 

When we got home mom told me that we had hiked 2.7 miles today and that the elevation of the lake trail was 3,400 feet above sea level.