March 27th, 2009Ah, the joys of sleeping in! Friday found us sleeping late and working on some school projects for several hours, while the puppies explored both the cabin and the countryside. After perusing the guidebooks in the house and inquiring at the Boone Visitors' Center, we decided to set off for the Cascade Falls trail. It was an interesting drive out on the Blue Ridge Parkway out of Bamboo Gap, as every other sign warned us of the impending closing of the road. Luckily it ended at the Cascade falls parking lot! (Despite the instructions of the Visitors' Center staff.)
It was EXTREMELY foggy and ours was the only car in the parking lot. We followed the path down a wooded trail with markers for various indigenous trees and plants. As we reached the top of the falls, it began to to rain gently. By the time we descended a steep set of stone steps to the main waterfall, it was simply pouring. Nevertheless, we took some interesting shots.
After returning to the cabin to dry off and warm up, we headed back out on the road to Banner Elk Winery, which we became familiar with during our last two visits to the Blue Ridge Wine Festival. The Garmin had a mind of its own and directed us along the most winding, roller coaster, switchback road we have ever seen...otherwise known
as Route 194. Through Valle Crucis and west into Banner Elk, we were happy to finally arrive! So we drank some wine, bought some wine, crashed some random guy's 30th birthday, inquired of the locals how they survived in High Country year-round (specifically the winter?!?!) and general stuff that wine makes you do. We stopped back at the cabin for a visit with the puppies and turned right back around again to go shopping at the outlets in Blowing Rock. The fog was so thick that when we arrived, we couldn't see the opposite end of the small shopping center from our car. Some serious damage done at J. Crew, we headed to Twigs for a casual dinner at the bar. Then off to sleep in the mountain air.
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