Looking like this isn’t even a weekly blog at this point. The press of work has really put a crimp in this trip, and it turns out I have to return home this Friday for a week. That will leave me just one more week, after that, to enjoy Asheville. But I’ve sure gotten around in the meantime.
Since last I wrote, I’ve done a tremendous amount of mountain hiking. We’re not talking the kind of mountaineering where I have a team of Sherpa guides, of course. But there’s a hell of a lot more huffing and puffing as I haul my decrepit body up and down the hills. Let’s resume the accounting with my trip up Mt. Pisgah, a fairly iconic mountain that looms somewhat prominently in the horizon facing Asheville. Like many of the great local hikes, this one starts just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, meaning that both going there and coming back, one can enjoy tremendous Smoky Mountain scenery. I mean, unless its completely fogged in and raining to where you can’t see a damn thing, which is like half the time. Mt. Pisgah is in the 5,700′ or so vicinity, though the trail starts at around 5,000′ so its not like you’re climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or something. Lots of shade and rocky terrain until you get to the top, so not a lot of great views. About halfway through you really start to climb. But when you do get to the top there’s a 360 degree view of all the surrounding mountains. There’s also a huge enormous radio antenna tower at the top as well, so that’s pretty odd. But that’s how you can identify Mt. Pisgah.
That Sunday, I went a little further to hike Graveyard Fields. Which isn’t actually in Mordor but is in fact located in North Carolina. Like many other place names, its a relic of what the first pioneer types saw when they arrived, which is that a bunch of ancient trees had been covered with grasses and other vegetation, looking like tombstones. Alas, a big fire burned it all in the ’20s (not raking the forest floor again, huh?), so it no longer looks like a graveyard, but the name stuck. This is a fairly easy hike, with two awesome waterfalls to enjoy.
Later that week, I made it to another Tourists game. Nothing like spending a nice evening outside, at the ballpark. Watching High-Level Class A ball. Meaning that there were several errors, misplays, and other bad performance that turned it into a pretty long game against the Winston-Salem Dash. But its still professional baseball and these are kids, most of whom have been playing pro ball for a couple of seasons at the most. And they’re the Mudville Nine, as it were. Plus, I was outside at the park, and it was in the lower 70s. No mosquitoes. Another experience you can’t get in Texas.
And on that next Saturday, I went to another Shindig On the Green, sadly this time without Kimberly. It was pretty much the same, albeit with rain threatening the entire time. Except, there was this bizarre square dancing troupe. Like something you might see on Lawrence Welk. I can’t do it justice. I uploaded a video to my flickr site. You just kind of had to be there. It was like something you might have seen at a Ronald Reagan Republican Convention.
The following weekend I flew via American Airlines (through Charlotte) to Cary, NC, a suburb of Raleigh and Durham. Objective, to visit my old college girlfriend Lee Ann, who lives in the eastern part of the state. I’ll keep that part to myself, except to say we had a lovely time over Sunday brunch. But the town itself was pretty interesting. I described it as the Park Cities (Highland Park and University Park) inside Dallas, only without nearly as much money. Immaculate streets, upscale developments, charming historic downtown area with renovated (and no doubt pricey) homes. Several interesting restaurants in the area. I stayed at the Mayton Hotel, an historic hotel which apparently runs the town. The bar was hopping on that Saturday night, and lots of preppies were there for Sunday Brunch. I would definitely stay there again. I was going to attend the baptist church service at the huge enormous First Baptist Church across the street before Lee Ann arrived, but was just too tired to make an 8 a.m. service. Let me tell you also, Covid may have shut down some travel, but not in either Raleigh or Charlotte. The latter airport was cram packed all that afternoon as I waited for my last flight home. Who the hell flies through Charlotte, NC? Oh well. Glad to see that at least some people are still out there.
It was my birthday the following Wednesday, and as I told my people, I made the executive decision to celebrate by taking the day off to go hiking. Meaning that I took off between about 10 and 5, but worked the rest of the time. In between I went out to the Pisgah National Forest and hiked to the top of Looking Glass Rock. All the while as rain threatened, but largely held off. This one was pretty long, about 5 1/2 miles. And a pretty steep incline. Its also largely covered with canopy, but when you get to the top, some amazing incredible views of the surrounding mountains. This time, no tower. Just ominous signs saying to not go to close to the edge of the sheer cliff that the Rock becomes, because falcons were nesting. Sold. I don’t need to have some bird of prey carry me off to its nest to feed to its babies. While the rain held off during the hike, the skies opened up on the way back, which was just fine, as for once I didn’t get soaked.
I think I’ll stop there. Mostly life has become work and working out during the week, with amazing incredible weekend hikes. I’m enjoying getting into the ordinary groove of somewhere else. Just wish I knew some people beyond the ones I see at my workout place. But its not 97 degrees every day, it rains a lot, everything is green, the people are friendly, and I don’t have to get on I-35. Ever. I count that a win.
Next: Craggy Gardens. The rains came. And the terrible fog and more rain. But so many flowers.
Summer In the Mountains 