June 15-16 2012

We drove over to Hot Springs, NC for a soak. Asheville used to be a resort area people came to for their health, for the clean mountain air and the hot springs when people had TB. This hot spring is not really in Asheville, but close by I guess.

John at the spring. The water was nice, but the place did not have a lot of atmosphere. Only private tubs and  no showers. It was lovely thought, right by the creek, screened by live bamboo. It is time for John to get a hair cut.

No John, you can’t reattach it. . .   Sat we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the visitors center to see fi we wanted to drive the whole way up- 380 more miles to Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. We decided yes, we wanted to start our journey through the lush green forests and the mystical blue mountains of the Blue Ridge National heritage Area.

The Parkway was a product of the Great Depression era work programs and designed to connect Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks by way of a recreational motor road.  The road is narrow and very windy-watch the road.  A falls off the road where we started our hike.

A fireplace in the ruins of Rattlesnake Lodge. It was built in the 1903 and burnt down in the 1930’s. It was a large family  vacation home.  Water beside the trail.

Rhododendron trunks. The Cherokee used the trunks to make hoe handles, they could lash a sharpened stone to one of the bends in the trunk. John hiking between the Rhodies.

John on another section of Rhodies. More water by the trail

red columbines

ruins of the water reservoir at Rattlesnake lodge. John almost stepped on one of these timber rattlesnakes. It was in the middle of the trail, one of the biggest rattlesnakes we have ever seen, at least 2-3 inches in diameter. Fortunately he saw it and backed off. He threw sticks at it to make it move, but it did not, so we bushwhacked around it. He saved my life.

rhododendron bud, red columbine, whorled loosestrife, clematis-they looked to me like they had lip stick on!, evening primrose, Indian pipe buds, Indian pipe flowers, large bush that has some kind of black berries later.

white flowers, a lichen thing that looks like coral, seed head, fire pinks, two photos of Solomon seal- it has the flowers under the stem. This lichen was on a tree, each one is 2 inches long, seed head.