My trip to North Carolina

[conanjaguar]

While this is probably not in any way related to TLD, we are in the middle of a trip to North Carolina. I continue my shutterbug habit by sharing a bevy of pictures here. 

DAY 0: We arrived at the cabin after some minor drizzles. We ascended the extremely slick, steep driveway with our bags and made ourselves comfortable.

DAY 1: Refreshed by the brisk mountain air, we awoke early. I snapped some pictures of our general area while hunting for wild mushrooms.

 

 

We then set out for some waterfall... I believe it was Smoky Falls, or something like that. Here are a bunch of snaps from the hike.
About halfway to the falls, we encountered two concrete bunkers that were once used to store explosives. 
We then continued on to the falls, enjoying the beautiful scenery. I snapped some pictures whenever an opportunity presented itself.

The waterfall itself was beautiful, surrounded by lush rhododendron bushes that lent it a tropical appearance. I climbed around on some very slippery rocks to get good shots, in between searching for mushrooms, salamanders, and lizards.

Unfortunately, a slight drizzle started whilst we were enjoying the waterfall. We ignored it, until Nature at last unleashed her wrath on us. We ran through the storm, taking shelter in the bunkers. While trying to start a fire to warm my sodden clothes, I remembered that I had left my firestriker in the car!

Now I’m back in the cabin in dry clothes, watching the rain and drinking hot tea. And to think, the day is not over yet!

[Leeanda]

Looks very tranquil 🙂.   

Shame about the rain though. Hopefully you'll be back out there in no time.  

Great pics,thanks for sharing🙂

[conanjaguar]

DAY 2: Soon we awoke early in the day to a slight drizzle, the sky cleared up. We set out for Stony Toe Falls. While the trail was not that impressive, the waterfall was.

On the way out, we noticed a bush bearing what appeared to be Beautyberries, which make a wonderful drink. However, they turned out to be flowers.

After returning to the cabin for a quick lunch and cup of Turkey Tail/Blackberry  Tea (from the mushrooms we collected), we set out for Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain East of the Mississippi.

Here are a bunch of assorted snaps from the hike. We all had great fun wading through wild raspberry bushes, picking mushrooms, and in general just enjoying the mountain air.

One of the buildings, probably the visitor center, bore a resemblance to Trapper’s Cabin.

More pictures from high up on the summit.

After we ascended to the summit, a fog began to roll in, adding extra mystery and wonder to the scene.

However, it quickly dissipated, and we continued on our way down the Balsam Nature Trail.

As more rain was coming, we returned to the cabin, late in the day, and searched for rubies in the nearby river.

[Admin]

Thank you for sharing!

[conanjaguar]

@Admin 

But there!s more to come!

[conanjaguar]

THE VIRGINIA TRIP!

DAYS 1-2: Nothing much to note. For the first cabin, we chose a cabin (actually two cabins joined together by a short passage) that predated the Civil War! No air conditioning, no washer or dryer, no nothin’... except ghosts.

Now that I think of it, this cabin reminds me of Paradise Meadows. 

Yep, the cabin was officially confirmed to be haunted a few years ago by a group of paranormal investigators. 

After a long drive, we arrived too late to do anything. So, we put off the exploration until the next day.
                                                           ***

There were woods surrounding the house, which we explored to some extent, finding lots of edible(?) mushrooms, a creepy tree with random items hanging from it, and even an Eastern Newt salamander, which I added to my collection.That’s all for now.

 

[Leeanda]

It does look like paradise meadows.  Coincidence?🤔🙂.  

Cute little fella.  Given him a name yet? 

Looks a beautiful place,and I hope you're having fun.🙂

[conanjaguar]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:06 AM, Leeanda said:

It does look like paradise meadows.  Coincidence?🤔🙂.  

Cute little fella.  Given him a name yet? 

Looks a beautiful place,and I hope you're having fun.🙂

Coincidence it is... or is it? The salamander’s name is yet to be decided.
Having fun? Well... yes .

DAY 3: Today was spent in packing up our stuff and going to the second cabin of the trip, little more than a trailer. What should have been a two hour drive turned into a three-hour one, as we stopped at the D-Day Memorial. I can’t say it wasn’t worth it, though:

Unfortunately, I was unable to get more pictures.
We arrived at the cabin late; in time to go shopping and eat supper.

[conanjaguar]

DAY 4: Over breakfast, we had considered going to the battle of Monasses (Bull Run), and the vote was unanimous; we were going to the battlefield... until we started driving around in circles in search of coffee and gas.At this sign, we decided to go to the nearby Luray Caverns, instead.

I wish I could have taken pictures... I really do, but, like an idiot, I left my iPad/camera in the car. I can say this, though: it was pretty darn impressive inside those caverns. Oh well. Nothing can be done about that now, I suppose.

After spending hours in the caverns and nearby automobile museum, we made the hours’ drive to the historic town of Winchester, touring the museum, converted from the old town hall.Over all, pretty neat, as was the restaurant we went to afterwards.

[k0s0ff]

Insanely beautiful. Thanks.

[conanjaguar]

On 10/17/2022 at 11:37 AM, k0s0ff said:

Insanely beautiful. Thanks.

I just realized that I never finished it 🤦‍♂️. I have a new project for the week, it seems…

[k0s0ff]

On 10/19/2022 at 1:22 AM, conanjaguar said:

I just realized that I never finished it 🤦‍♂️. I have a new project for the week, it seems…

Great. I'll be looking forward to it. There is an inexplicable charm in such messages. I'd like to share my photos, just like you, but I rarely go anywhere. The last time it was 1.5 years ago and the photo is outdated))

[conanjaguar]

I have an absolute CRAPTON of pictures to dump on you guys today, so get ready for a really LONG post that will likely break the Forum .

DAY 5: Today, we got around to going to the battlefield of Manassas, the first great battle of the American Civil War… I think. I don’t really remember .

Here are some pictures from the battlefield:
“Please do not climb on the cannons…”
I think that’s enough for now… after all those pictures, the lag is awful, and I’m not even halfway through!

[conanjaguar]

Florida / Day 1

Gonna keep this short, since I’m supposed to be on vacation and don’t want to spend too much time on the Forum (amazing place that it is).

It smells salty here. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not . It is also hot and humid, but I should be used to that by now…

The house is situated on a very sluggish river. The (practically) still water reflects like a mirror; it’s like looking through a window into another world.

 

(Sorry that video’s not working properly…)

Edited June 4 by conanjaguar

[conanjaguar]

Florida / Day 2

I could easily picture dinosaurs and their ilk roaming around these landscapes. Those turquoise waters could easily have once been home to mososaurs and plesiosaurs. As I recall, it was this beach that reinforced my fear of the deep ocean when I was stung by a stingray nearly a decade ago…

A far cry from the dirty brown-ish murky water back home, these shimmering sapphire depths are perfectly clear. Subnautica’s main theme song echoes in my head as I write this .

The waves were a bit rough, but that didn’t deter us.

Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for about 3 hours before the waves got too rough and we heard thunder in tense distance. 

We also saw a few lighthouses on the drives to and fro:

A few extra pictures:

[conanjaguar]

Florida / Day 3

We went to Wakula Springs State Park today, home of the world’s deepest freshwater spring. Grrrreeeaat…

The water was perfectly clear; one could see fish swimming ten feet below. It was also COLD, I couldn’t take it for long. Just as well, it reminded me a lot of a recurring dream I had when I was younger. In said dream, i would duck under water (also perfectly clear) and see about a half-dozen sharks swimming towards me. No dream I have ever had has terrified that much.

Fortunately, my fears were unfounded… I emerged intact and with some cool pictures:

[conanjaguar]

Florida / Day 4

Nothing much, moved to a different rental house.

Florida / Day 5

We went canoeing up the Rainbow Springs River from the KP Hole. The water was very clear, but not as clear as at Wakkula. Still, I could see fish, turtles, birds and even an otter in the water below! Unfortunately, stupid me forgot to take pictures along the way 🤦‍♂️.

After swimming for a bit to cool off, we went back to the house, changed into dry clothes, and debated about what to do next. It was decided that we would go to Clearwater beach… however, due to a navigational error, we found ourselves at the Crystal River archaeological site. I’m not complaining, because it was pretty interesting .

(Let’s hope these pictures work)

EDIT: Yep 😅.

Edited June 12 by conanjaguar

[conanjaguar]

NC 2 / Day 1

By chance the cabin we stayed at was very near to the cabin we were in when I first started this thread .

Not much happened, we drove up, went down to the river, and gathered birch bark. I also made BBT.

[J.W.P]

cool

[conanjaguar]

Yup, it’s Mount Mitchell again . I’m not even going to try and describe it, the pictures speak for themselves.