Roanoke Canal Trail

RV Resort (site #P37)
Roanoke Rapids, NC

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  Not much interesting has been going on.  We are in one of those rv parks just off of I95 so we do have a little bit of entertainment to watch as the Snowbirds come in usually for a one night pit stop.  They start landing here around 1:00pm and the place is almost full by 6:00pm.  At 8:00am the place is half empty and by 10:00am, all of the over-nighters are gone.

On Tuesday we did manage to get out for a nice walk in the woods on the Roanoke Canal Trail.  It’s almost 8 miles long beginning at the dam of the Roanoke Rapids Lake and ending in the town of Weldon.  It sort of parallels the Roanoke River.  We of course, did not walk the whole trail.  It’s divided into a few segments with parking in various locations.  We started at the Roanoke Canal Museum and walked the 1.5 miles to the dam and back for a total of 3 miles.  It took us about 3 hours since we like to stop to find beauty in the ordinary.  Remember those fish statues around town?  Well here’s one at the Museum that looks like a real Rockfish…a really big rockfish!

We didn’t go in the Museum because we wanted to take our time on the trail, but I did get a few shots of some of their outside features.  Many years ago when the Roanoke River was the main highway for the area, supplies came upriver until they reached this stretch where the rapids were just a bit to rough for the boats to handle.  That’s where the Canal and these Batteaux Boats came in.  They were pulled into the narrow Canal Locks to bypass the rapids.

 

 

After taking a look at the posted map, we began our trek to the beginning point at the Roanoke Rapids Lake.

 

It’s a beautiful trail with English Ivy growing on both sides and the bright green of Spring all around us.

 

There are several informational signs posted along the route about the trees and plants in the area along with information about the old Canal and Power Station that were used in the 1800’s.

 

Here’s the Power Canal Bulkhead.  There was a picture there showing the lake formed by the bulkhead that was dated around 1940.  It was drained when a new Hydroelectric Plant was built about that time.  I think it’s interesting how quickly nature can reclaim the land once it is left alone by man.

A little further along we came upon an old Canal Culvert.  At first I thought there were some pieces of black plastic in the rocks but upon closer observation, thought about the Indiana Jones movies.

 

We found a nice bench to sit on and enjoy our picnic lunch at the open end of Rochelle Pond.  We both grew up here and have spent a little bit of time riding our bikes under the power lines as kids so it brought back some memories.

 

Speaking of the power lines,  some of the trail skirts along the edge of the wood line and the power line clearing.  It’s nice that the town can make use of this otherwise unusable land.  An Osprey found a way to use the power lines too.  Gin got a distant shot of one in a pine tree with a fish in his talons.

 

Although the color for the day was definitely green,  we did see a few wild flowers.  Here is some Yellow Jasmine and some Coral Honeysuckle.  As a kid I used to get that sweet nectar drop out of a honeysuckle flower quite often.

   

We managed to make it to the Roanoke Rapids Lake and the Hydroelectric Plant at the dam.  If you notice the Yellow Forsythia on the bank in the next picture, that’s where my brother and his wife live.  Hey Doug and Carla!  Your raised bed gardens look nice!

 

There is a city park here that is closed on Monday and Tuesday.  It has a nice beach area for swimming in the lake and a nice disc golf course.  The Power Plant is all fenced off now but I can remember as a kid that you used to be able to walk out pretty close to the dam.  I guess I’ll just have fun climbing on the old turbine.

 

It was a good day for a walk in the woods but it was time to head back to the car and then home for a shower.  I’m glad we got a chance to enjoy part of this trail.  We may have to try another section some other time.  We did see some other folks enjoying it also on their bikes or jogging with their dogs.  Thanks for joining us!

We’ve Escaped!

Crooked River SP (site#54)
St Mary’s, GA

On Thursday afternoon, we decided to go to Bushnell FL and check out the SKP park there.  It’s about 60-65 miles from Lazydays.  While we were there, we drove over to Center Hill and bought some material to make tire covers like Karen and Al.  Here’s a post that shows a lot of their modifications.  Since we will be hanging around the house in NC for a while, we’ll make the covers then.

Friday and Saturday were just spent hanging around LD.  Our service advisor was real busy with 14 new coaches coming in and she had to work through the weekend.  The weather turned cool too.  We knew that we would not be bothered on Sunday so I finally mopped the tile floor.  It feels so much better!

While our slide awning material was being replaced on Monday, we visited with Dan and Tricia at Hillsborough River SP.  We intended to go for a paddle, but it was a bit too cool.  I guess we now have that Florida thin blood.  We all had on our jackets and sat outside to chat.  After a while we decided to walk a couple of the nature trails there.  We chose the Rapids Trail and the Baynard Trail.  Neither were very long and they linked together to make one nice hike.  Here’s the beginning as we walk towards the “rapids”.

   

It was a beautiful day for a hike.   A suspension bridge led over to the other trail.  You guessed it…Dan and Gin wanted to check it out to see how it’s made.

 

Our coach was ready to go on Tuesday and so were we.  We arrived at Hillsborough River around noon hoping to get a site for one night so that we could get in a paddle.  They were full so we headed north and arrived at Crooked River SP in Georgia around 4:00.  It started raining about the time we got here and it looks like drizzle again today.  Maybe we can still get the bikes off the rack and ride around some to check out the Nature Center and some trails.  There’s a nice boat launch and paddle trails here too, but it’s a little cool and tidal for us.  We just want to relax and enjoy the quiet setting that a SP offers after being in Tampa for the past month or so.  This is what we crave.

Moore Cove Falls

Cascade Lake CG
Pisgah Forest, NC

I started the morning a little earlier yesterday.  The water on the lake was so smooth and it was quiet.  Except for the humming birds.  I know at least one cg host has a feeder.  They’re hungry little things.

We decided to go to Moore Cove Falls.  The weather was perfect, low humidity and about 80 degrees.  I packed a picnic lunch and refilled the humming bird feeder.  While I was doing that, our cg neighbor came by to say that she has enjoyed the little birds too.  She has been full-timing about four years now in her Lazy Daze Class C MH.  She’s a senior citizen and is on oxygen but seems quite happy.

We drove over towards Brevard and Hwy 276 past the Ranger Station.  There is a little pull-off on the right side of the road right at a bridge.  This is where the trail to the falls begins.  It’s about 7 tenths of a mile one way…up.  That’s the Suki by the road.

 

We saw a lot of fern and moss on the trail.  You can hear traffic for a while but then birds and running water are the only sounds.

 

It was so peaceful with a small creek right beside us.  Mostly “down” beside us.  It is only about 4 feet wide and that is what the falls is on.  I wasn’t anticipating a very big waterfall.

Little one-person bridges crossed it several times.  There were a couple of big rock outcroppings along the way.

It just amazes me that a big tree or in this case, a beautiful rhododendron bush can grow out of solid rock.  What a great root system.

I sure wish all the trail was this nice, but about half of it had steps, stones, or roots to trip you up.

We finally got there, and it was worth it!  That’s me in the bottom corner.  It’s a 50 foot fall even though it’s a small creek.

The greatest thing about this waterfall is walking behind it and looking up through the water at the blue sky and trees.  Small plants are hanging on for dear life in the rock.

It’s almost like a cave behind the falls.  There is this one really neat rock formation about the size of a car jutting out but touching anything.

I’m not real sure what Gin was thinking about, but she may have been dreading the walk back down the trail.  This is her last hike for quite a while.  Her legs are killing her.

We slowly started our descent back to the Suki.  This is a popular trail.  Many people passed us going up and coming down.  They all seemed to be in a rush to get to the falls but didn’t go slow enough to enjoy the journey.  A little bit like life for some folks.  We stopped to look around and even enjoyed breathing the clear air.

We decided to have our picnic at Sycamore Flats.  It’s a nice public day use picnic area of the Pisgah National Forest.  There is a Forest CG close by, Davidson River CG, that has no hook-up on most sites.  We’ll keep it in mind when we are full-timing in this area.  This picnic area is beside the river and is a popular place.  The squirrels are almost tame.  This one was fun to watch.  He kept burying the same nut over and over.  Notice how he pats it down with his paws.

We made it back to camp.  Smudge had stayed home this time so I walked her as soon as I got there.  Gin took a well deserved nap on the couch and I snoozed a bit in the lounge chair outside.  It’s made for lounging ya know.  After supper, Gin built a nice campfire and we sat outside until the stars came out.  You just don’t know how many there are if you live near a city.  Oh, the coconut marshmallows were a perfect ending to the day.

We plan to take it easy today around camp and perhaps paddle on the lake some.  It’s another perfect weather day so we may just sit outside and enjoy the clear mountain air.

Courthouse Falls

Cascade Lake CG site #P4
Pisgah Forest, NC

Over the river…

…and through the woods…

…to Courthouse Falls we go!

We packed a picnic lunch Friday and took the Scenic Byway through Brevard and up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It’s a 65 mile loop by way of Hwy 64W, right onto Hwy 215(very curvy), right onto the BRP, and right onto Hwy 276(curvy) to Hwy 64 again.  We wanted to find a beautiful, remote, yet fairly easy to view waterfall.  Courthouse Falls fit  the plan perfectly.  From Hwy 215 you turn onto FR140 and go about 3 miles.  It’s a gravel road with potholes.  After all the rain we’ve had, it was quite bumpy but there were spontaneous small falls and seeping rocks right beside the road.

After parking at a pullout next to the fourth bridge, we got on the Summey Cove trailhead and followed it for about half a mile.  This was a beautiful but wet hike with Courthouse Creek flowing right beside us.  We had to stop a few times just to enjoy the view.

Gin got this salamander on a rock but I was too mesmerized by the flowing water to notice it.

The switchback part of the trail to get to a clear view of the falls was a bit tricky and wet.  I know why it is so lush and green…it rains a little every day in the mountains.  We made it down to get some good shots but we didn’t try the very steep steps to get to the very bottom of the falls.  There was a young couple down there enjoying a picnic and we didn’t want to land on them if we fell.  :)

Yes, I carried Smudge the whole way.  She weighs 10 pounds so I switched arms once in a while.  She is 13 years old and she has aged a lot in the past couple of years.  As I stood next to the sheer rock with the water seeping out of it, I felt like I was so far away from the rest of the world.  The rock wall circles this 45 foot waterfall.
We started working our way back to the Suki.  She handled this road pretty good but I wouldn’t bring a small sedan back there into the woods.  This is what the trails looked like for the most part and another view of the creek.

After the bumpy ride out of the woods, we were very happy to get on smooth pavement.  We soon got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw some beautiful rhododendron blooming.  I don’t know what the orange flowering bush is, but it was sprinkled along the roadside also.

 

We stopped for lunch at one of the first overlooks we got to on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was a nice little picnic table there and a view of the Devils Courthouse which feeds the creek that forms the falls.  Click on the information sign to get some background info.  It’s kinda interesting.

The fog moved in.  It was, of course, more rain clouds.  We could no longer see the huge rock of Devils Courthouse which was right in front of us.

After putting our trash in the bear-proof trashcan, we hit the road again.  It is about 10 degrees cooler up here than it is at camp.  I just love the weeping rock right next to the road.  It was easier to see inside the tunnel than it was in the thick fog.

We were both tired so we didn’t make any stops along Hwy 276.  We got back to camp and took naps.  The invasion of the week-end warriors began in earnest.  The only plans for Saturday are to relax, fill the hummingbird feeder, and cook a steak on the grill.  We need a day or two off to recharge.  It should be nice weather Monday so I feel another waterfall trip coming on. :)  There’s just so much to do in this area.  We could spend all summer here and still not run out of adventures.