We are still parked at Julian Price park. We headed into Blowing Rock, Boone to grocery shop and sight see and get some internet. I wanted to go to Grandfather mountain and walk on the mile high swinging bridge.
bus at Julian Price park, the nature museum on Grandfather mountain- a huge wooden bowl made from a burl on one of the huge trees here.
Minerals of North Carolina. Lots of crystals and gems. There was even a small gold rush here. A black bear in the ‘habitat’ at the nature center.
river otters in the habitat. The mile high bridge! It is at 5280 feet in elevation, it is 80n feet above the ground. It does not swing much anymore since the replaced the old wooden bridge with a metal one. Grandfather mountain is an attraction that the charge $18 a person to go in. It has the nice bridge, hiking trails, and nature museum and fudge shops, curio shops, even an elevator so you don’t have to walk up the rocks to get to the bridge. . . Lots of people here.
View from the top of Grandfather mountain. Also of the huge thunderstorm that was approaching along with lots of lightening and really loud thunder.
The bridge, metal, with lightening really close.
Cool clouds- the rain in the storm. These are the switch backs up to the bridge. They have been used in a lot of car commercials.
Rain, and Forrest Gump curve- it was in the movie where he was doing the cross country run.
a few of the bumper stickers and T shirts at the top of the mountain gift shop, and flowers, butter cups, a bug, milk weed buds and a wet rhododendron in the sun.
There are 4 ski areas on Grandfather mountain. Sugar beech is one. Lots of vertical here. The Mast general store, built in 1883. Wooden floors, post office- pretty cool, but lots of tourists and souvenirs inside.
John on the back porch of the Mast General store watching the blue grass band.
I swear all we have to do to make it rain is to buy an exorbitantly priced ticket to see something. $6 each to see the rock. A couple of photos of the rock from the tourist brochure, since it was raining when we were there. The legend is that a Chickasaw maiden and a Cherokee warrior fell in love, but they were not allowed to be together, so he threw himself off the blowing rock and the wind blew him back up into her arms. The rock hangs out over a 4000 foot drop and the wind blows up the rock.
Here is the rock in the rain. And me clinging to the top of it looking over!
John in the gift shop with a Daniel Boone coonskin cap. Daniel Boone is rumored to have lived in this area, even had a trail over the mountains. John doing the I am not getting wet dance to go get the car. He claims he did not get wet. . .
The parkway back to camp. Price lake with nice reflections and fog after the rain.
Of course after a rain storm, a rainbow, it of course landed on the bus, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
a deer in camp , sunset.
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