Last Paddle

Cascade Lake CG site #P4
Pisgah Forest, NC

Yesterday morning we didn’t get out of the MH except to walk Smudge.  We enjoyed some relaxing time with the computers.  Gin has been working on our information cards and they are ready to be printed now.  In the afternoon, we put the kayaks in the lake for one more slow paddle up to Hooker Falls.  Gin took her fishing gear but didn’t have any luck.  As we were leaving the CG part of the lake, all the local geese were too.  Five adult geese have started hanging around the family with little ones.  That’s what the goslings will look like when they grow up.

We went up a cove that has had a beaver dam in it at one time.  It’s a little shallow and is full of fish beds.  All the geese followed us.

As we rounded the point, a Great Blue Heron flew away.  A pair of Belted Kingfishers also like that cove and flew by flirting with me to take a picture.  They wouldn’t stay still very long so this is the best shot I got.

Just before you leave the CG part of the lake, there is a nice little boat landing.  They allow small boats with a maximum of 12 hp in here.  Most people use canoes and kayaks.

The mountain laurel is starting to fade a little and the rhododendron is just getting started.  They should look real good in a week or so.

Here’s one more shot of the falls just to say that we made it.

I love the rock and plant life along the bank.  I don’t know how plants hang on so strong.  The moss and fern are so green and really help to take the stress away.

There were some fish in this oxbow so Gin cast her rod a few times but didn’t have any luck.  She saw a river otter on the bank, but he was way too fast to get a picture.  We also saw a lot of newts in the shallow area.  I don’t know what kind of bush this is but the fruit look like tiny cherries.  Maybe it’s a wild cherry tree, but I sure wouldn’t eat any.

As we were slowly paddling back to camp, this herd of noise came paddling by.  The boys looked to be 12-13 years old and three young adults were with them.  Too much energy for us.  I counted nine boats and most were tandem.

As I approached camp, our geese family greeted us.  I was hoping they weren’t so protective that I couldn’t get out.  They sure have grown a lot this week.

Today (Wednesday) is our last full day here. After seeing rain in the forecast, we packed up the outside stuff and relaxed inside for the afternoon.  The rain started about 3:00 and it was the gentle napping kind.  I’m glad we put away the stuff while it was dry.  We plan to leave fairly early tomorrow since it’s a long drive.  We like this CG and plan to be back next summer (after retirement).  We may even be full-timing by then.  It would also be a good place to be a volunteer host couple.  The manager couple is Jeff and Lisa Shepard.  We camped next to them last year.  He is a retired Transylvania County Deputy and his son Chris is a NC State Trooper.  The Cradle of Forestry in America is the concessionaire.  They also handle the Davidson River CG on Hwy 276 along with many other facilities in other states.

CG Trail

Cascade Lake CG site #P4
Pisgah Forest, NC

Saturday was indeed a day of rest for us.  I did refill the hummingbird feeder.  They have enjoyed it and we have enjoyed watching them.  We only have one male visiting for every five female visitors.  I’ll need to fill it again on Monday.  We spent  a little time on the laptops and had a grilled steak for supper.  There are a lot of families here for the week end and they are having a good time.

Sunday started at a slow pace.  I paddled around the lake for about an hour.  I also struck up a conversation with a volunteer host couple here, Linda and Howard Jackson.  They told me about a nice little walk through the woods behind the swim lake.  It was less than a mile and not very hilly.  We decided that was about the right pace for us this afternoon.  As we got to the backside of the swimmin’ hole, we saw the family of geese.

We saw some interesting plants on the ground.  The first that caught my eye was the ground cedar.  I’ve seen it in the woods before, but I had never heard a name for it.  Linda had told me what it is called.

She also had a name for the other interesting plant we saw.  It is the Indian Pipe plant.  Howard told me a brief Cherokee story of the origin of the plant.  Basically the Great Spirit punished some tribal chiefs by changing them into these little flowers since they were smoking the peace pipe even though there was no peace.  Here's is a link to that story.  The little flowers have no chlorophyll.

This hike was much easier than the one to Courthouse Falls.  It hadn’t rained here yet today so it wasn’t wet or slick.  Yes, Smudge walked a couple hundred yards before I carried her the rest of the way.

Here’s a good carpet of ground cedar.

We got cleaned up good and went out for supper at Twin Dragons in Brevard.  They have a good Chinese buffet.  I ate too much of course.  The CG has thinned out for the next few days.  We hope to have a few more adventures before leaving here.

Relaxing and Pier Time

Cedar Point CG site #37
Croatan National Forest, NC

After such a wonderful day paddling, we took it easy on Tuesday.  It was a little cool and overcast so we did some stuff on the computers and made a run to the grocery store.  I walked around the CG and found a dogwood still in bloom.  It must be a hybrid that blooms later than the wild ones.

I also went out to the viewing area of the Tideland Trail to get some shots at the birds.  This Snowy Egret took off just as I stepped out from behind a bush.

This is the general view with the town of Swansboro on the other side of the water.

 

There were a lot of little crabs in the marsh.  They only had one big claw.  If I was real quiet, I could hear them eating.  It was probably a couple hundred of them.

 











There are several of these nice pedestrian bridges on the trail.  I was talking with another couple out there that said the Snowy Egret had a nest under one of the bridges.

Here’s that boat landing where we launched the kayaks and the resident Snowy Egret.  It’s really too shallow for anything other than a canoe or kayak.

Wednesday was a little warmer and windy.  We went to Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier in Emerald Isle.  They don’t charge anything if you just want to walk out for a few minutes.  Here’s Gin.

There was some other nice scenery there.

A couple of guys were trying to surf even if they were close to the pier.  It looks like a lot of work with so little in return.

While there were a lot of pigeons around the pier, I did get some seagulls in the viewfinder.

  

There was also this really big, loud bird that flew by several times…

I’m sure the Harrier Jet came out of Jacksonville NC which is close by and is home of the Marine Corps Base of Camp Lejeune.  As a matter of fact, they have been doing some training with artillery because we could hear it all day Tuesday and into the night.  It sounds a little like distant thunder.

We ended the day by taking Julie and Steve out to the Icehouse in Swansboro for supper.  It was a nice way to end our week here.  Yep, we are leaving tomorrow.  I don’t think we’ll have any problem adapting to a slower pace when we finally get to our full-time life.  We don’t have to be tourists every day.

Near Perfect Day

Cedar Point CG site #37
Croatan National Forest

OK so I left ya hangin’ for a day or so.  I’m sorry but this is such a Sylville kinda place that it’s easy to loose track of time.  Sunday was Mother’s Day so of course we each called our Mom’s for a nice chat.  Cell phones have changed our lives mostly for the better.  We mainly hung around the CG on a beautiful day.  There are a few geocaches in the area and a couple right here in the park.  We had logged in some a couple of years ago, but one of them (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha) is a puzzle cache where you get the clues for the coordinates from the nice nature trail.  We used those to find the cache in the woods.  We relaxed some more, and Julie (the camp host) came over for a visit.  Her daughter was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer after having battled other cancers in the past.  It’ll be an uphill battle.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

Monday was an absolutely gorgeous day.  It wasn’t very windy or humid so we got the kayaks in the water.  As we paddled out into the White Oak River, it was low tide and very shallow.  The bottom near the boat landing looks like dark chocolate brownie mix.  It doesn’t smell like it though.  We didn’t have our GPS with us but I remembered seeing an island cache on the geocache website and thought we might could find it.

It was kind of a long paddle but it was such a nice day that we thought we could do it.  We found the little green island and the cache and headed back to the boat landing.

We were paddling into a head wind but we got there by keeping it slow and steady.  I was surprised at how shallow it was.  Gin got some nice shots of some birds.  Here’s a seagull drifting in the air.

And a Snowy Egret at the boat landing.  As we approached, he of course flew off down the canal.















This was our first time using the hullavators after rowing for a few hours, and it was nice not to have to lift the yaks over our heads.  They weren't cheap but I think they are worth it for us shorter folks.   We got back to camp and fixed an early supper.  It still felt nice outside so Gin fixed a good campfire.  There is lots of honeysuckle at our site so the fragrance fills the air.  The hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees like it too.

There was an Osprey drifting on air current way above us and we could hear one in the distance.  As the day changed to evening, we sat by the fire and listened to the whippoorwill call for his mate.  It was a nice ending to a near perfect day.

Croatan National Forest; Cedar Point NC

November 21-27, 2009
Croatan National Forest, NC
Cedar Point CG Site #15
$51 for 6 nights
271 miles round trip, 7.0 mpg

Saturday-Travel day.  We enjoyed watching a mating pair of Mallards on the pond at our house before we hit the road.  It was an easy drive with light traffic.  We had mostly overcast skies.  Dorothy and Chris are in the site across the street.  They are full-timers that we met here last year.  They plan to go to California after Christmas.  We rode our bicycles around the park and to the little boat launch.  Julie and Steve, the friendly camp hosts, chatted for a while.  She said the fish were biting on the White Oak River.  We played rummy at night.
Sunday-We went to the grocery store and Lowes to get a doodad for the CG water spigot so our hose will fit it.  Gin got a nice campfire going while I cut up veggies and put a roast in the oven.  We had Gin's brother Butch, his son Nick, and Nick's girlfriend Becca over for supper.  It was enjoyed by all.  It rained and we called it an early night.
Monday-It was a drizzly day.  Gin and Nick went to the shore to fish but it rained harder.  They came back and played video games.  We watched squirrels.  One of them stuffed a lot of leaves in his mouth and scampered up the tree to his nest.  I guess that was an extra blanket for the night.
Tuesday-Nick and Becca were both off work today so the four of us went to the shore.  They fished while I enjoyed walking the beach and watching the birds.  We saw fresh deer tracks in the sand leading straight to the waves and then back to the dunes.  I can't imagine what the deer looked like gazing out over the ocean.  Pretty awesome, no doubt.  Gin caught a fish and a rag.  Nick suggested shrimp at Golden Corral for supper since we didn't have any luck.  Gin's parents got set up in the CG while we all cleaned up.  The 6 of us went to Morehead City to eat.  We all played cards afterwards.
Wednesday-It was a rainy do nothing day.  Nick came over for a bit.  The lazy, stir crazy day was finished off by playing canasta with Gin's parents.
Thursday-Happy Thanksgiving!!  The sun came out and it was a beautiful day!  All the food was ready and laid out at Gin's parents at 12:30.  Nick, Becca, and Butch were there.  We invited Dorothy and Chris and Roger (camp co-host) to join us.  A good meal was had by all.  We enjoyed a bike ride around the park and to the water.  We gave our leftover firewood to Julie and Steve.  We packed up the outside stuff after Nick and Becca played Guitar Hero.  They're pretty good.  The squirrels were gathering fresh dry leaves for a cold night.
Friday-Travel day.  It's sunny, cool and quite windy.  That made for a long 3 hour drive.  I got a good nap before going to work night shift.  Sad to say that this was the last RV trip of the season.  We can't wait until next year.  It'll be so nice to visit Sylville on a more frequent basis.

Croatan National Forest; Cedar Point NC

June 7-21, 2009
Croatan National Forest, NC
Cedar Point CG Site #13
14 nights for $119
270 miles round trip; 8.0 mpg; $2.64 per gallon gas

Sunday-Travel day. It was overcast which is good for traveling. We towed Suki with the bicycles and the kayaks on top. We also had firewood in the back. We got our usual spot. I don't think there's any bad spot here. It was hot but we set up the screen tent in front of the tv outside. Gin's National Parks Access Pass is honored here so it is quite a deal to be only 3 or 4 miles from the beach at Emerald Isle where there is free public parking at the shore.
Monday-We rode the bikes in the CG some. Gin's brother Butch lives nearby so we visited him on our way to Lowes. We drove over to Emerald Isle and picked up shrimp burger plates for lunch. Gin played Guitar Hero outside while I relaxed and enjoyed the squirrels. We rode our bikes again in the evening.
Tuesday-We kayaked to an island geocache near Swansboro. From the Wildlife landing to the island and back was about 2.5 miles. The climb up the sand dune to get to the cache was tough but the view was beautiful! We would have stayed and savored it longer but the terns let us know that this was their nesting grounds. You could see the ocean waves splashing into the inlet. We looked for little shells on the shore of the island. We went home, showered, and napped. Later we went out for supper at Pelican Island. A storm came in and it rained into the night. Here's a pic of me with the cache log and one of the inlet meeting the ocean.



Wednesday-A day to relax but my bike had a flat tire so we went to WalMart in Morehead City. We stopped at Lowes Foods on the way home to get sushi for lunch. It was nap time and then Gin fixed my tire. She is tech support and life support to me. :) We walked Smudge (our devil of a dog) through the CG. There are about 45 sites and only 2 are vacant on a Wednesday. We finished the day with a game of Rummy before going to bed.
Thursday-We went to the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shoals. It was remodeled a couple of years ago and is very nice. We had Dairy Queen moo lattes for lunch and Gin fixed her spinach souffle and okra, tomato, rice dishes for supper. We'll have left overs that way.
Friday and Saturday-I had to work Friday and Saturday so we drove Suki back to Clayton. We left Wanda (MH) and all the stuff in the CG. We'll be back Sunday!
Sunday-We got to the CG at 2:30Am to sleep a little. We got shrimp and scallops at the fish market and also got squash and watermelon at the produce stand. It rained all afternoon. Butch joined us for supper.
Monday-We started the day with blue tank duties. We rode our bikes on the trail to get the clues for the geocache "Marsha Marsha Marsha". We may go find it in the Fall when we come back here. We rested a bit and then rode the bikes on the longer trail to get "a bridge too far" geocache. We walked Smudge together in the evening.
Tuesday-Another rainy day. The camp host Julie dropped by for a chat while I cut up the watermelon in the morning. She and her husband Steve are very friendly and make great camp hosts. They don't put up with mess. We went to Lowes Foods for a grocery run. Our friend Marie visited in the afternoon. We met her and Nicole while camping in Luray, Va in 2008. They are from Philadelphia and are in Emerald Isle for a few days. Smudge enjoyed another family stroll at twilight.
Wednesday-We started the day by filling the fresh water tank. We put on our 45 sunblock, loaded up the kayaks, snacks and packs, and headed over to Hammocks Beach State Park to paddle out to Bear Island. It was too windy to go out but it is a pretty place. We decided to go to Long Point and paddle up to Haywood's Landing on the White Oak River. We ate lunch in the Suki while it rained. We paddled about 4 hours total. There wasn't much wildlife except for the alligator about 200 yards from the end of our paddle. It was a nice but long day. Our arms are sore.
Thursday-I took a good look at the map. We paddled more than 6 miles total yesterday so today is for resting. We took down the screen and lights from the outside room. Gin played Guitar Hero while I watched birds. We ended the day with peanut butter cup smores by the campfire.
Friday-We spent the day at the shore. The beach umbrella blew down so we got a little too much sun. Marie and Nicole joined us as we bobbed in the waves. The four of us went out for supper at Portofino's. Marie's daughters and nieces are with them but they are a generation younger so they went their own way.
Saturday-It was very hot but we packed up our outdoor stuff. We went over to Julie and Steve's (camp host) for a cookout. We were joined by Roger (co-camp host) and his girlfriend Frankie, and full-timers Dorothy and Chris. We met them here last year when they were using a tent and a car. They now have a good Allegro MH from the 1980's. She is from Canada and he is from Hawaii. Interesting couple. Gin enjoyed a healthy debate with Steve on every subject.
Sunday-Travel day. We rode the bikes one last time on the long trail. It was a windy ride back to Clayton. We like this CG because it is close to the beach and there is so much to do in the area.