November 2 - Chimney Rock

Last year when we were in Asheville, I hiked Chimney Rock on my own. I thought it was so amazing I HAD to bring the rest of the family this year. It was about a 20 minute drive from the resort where we are staying (Rumbling Bald). We got to the the park at 10:30 a.m. and did not stop hiking for nearly four hours. OK, we sat and rested now and then, but not for long! We had a picnic lunch and then were on our way for more exploring. Chimney Rock used to be a privately owned property. It is a high granite rock, I guess, that is at the top of a mountain. It was recently sold to the state of North Carolina and made a State Park. We score discounted tickets yesterday because the elevator was broken.

OK, so we parked and started our hike...the trails are wonderfully maintained and most of the ascent to the top is STAIRS. Carolyn swears we went up and down over 1000 steps - and I have to say she probably is underestimating! I happened to count one leg of a climb and it was 170 steps. My legs were burning at the end of that one! So we hiked up to the top after stopping at a couple look out points. We could just sit and take in the beauty of the multi-colored leaves on the mountains around us. We watched a squirrel eat something on a branch at the top - no kidding, the squirrel was flipping upside down and sitting on a branch with nothing but 1000 feet of air below it. As I drove down the mountain I did see a dead squirrel splatted on the road...I wondered if it was the same one! I took pictures of the squirrel in the tree...maybe I should have taken a picture of the squirrel that was on the road to compare! Anyway, the squirrel was enjoying itself.

After stopping at the Chimney we continued our ascent to Exclamation Point. I am sure it's called that because you have to exclaim "WOW!" when you see the view. I can not possibly post all our pictures...suffice it to say it was beautiful. After Exclamation Point we began the hike DOWN all the steps and went to Hickory Falls. They have had a lot of rain lately in North Carolina so there was a lot of water running over the falls. They were beautiful.

Weather here is fantastic - probably in the 60's or so...leaves are falling as I write. We are picking up leaves and acorns to decorate our Thanksgiving table and are just enjoying the cool weather.