Lenoir NC

Time to leave Kentucky and head for North Carolina.

We have the Allegheny , the Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains to cross

into Tennessee

up and down

into North Carolina

through tunnels

more tunnels











finally relaxing in camp.
We are "roughing" it here. Our roof top satellite dish cannot get a signal here so, we have to use the portable satellite dish. No HD and no DVR, bummer.









We are in Lenoir. To the NW there is Grandfather Mountain, NNW is Boone and Blowing Rock, the dark green line is the Blue Ridge Highway and the dark blue just below Blue Ridge Mts is hwy 268, or Happy Valley Road.
More on each later.








Grandfather Mountain

Sphinx Rock

big rocks



















 Visitors Center

How the mountain was formed

Daniel Boone lived here for a few years

Indians also












A mini zoo with eagles, bears, cougars and deer. All native to the mountain.

This guy was asleep and did not care what was going on around him.

We saw the cougar but could not get any pictures.














Into the fudge shop for some samples. The maple is the best. Of course we bought some, plus some peanut butter and carrot cake.









Then on to the mile high swinging bridge.

The view from the bridge and the other side is great.













The mid point of the bridge is 1 mile above sea level, 5280 feet.










The point across the bridge

beautiful scenery

Cathy taking it in.












We never get tired of this scenery

 They have picnic areas like this all around. You can get a picnic lunch in the cafe.









Next we went to the Happy Valley Scenic Byway.
There were to things we wanted to see.
First was Fort Defiance.


Daniel Boone owned to parcels of land near here. He lived here before moving to KY.







Designed to protect early settlers from the Native Americans in the area, the stockade called Fort Defiance was constructed in Happy Valley during the Revolutionary War. General William Lenoir, a Revolutionary War hero who won fame at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780, named this home for the original stockade. The property has a family cemetery with graves dating back to 1785.

Because at least one family member lived in the home until 1969, a lot of the original furniture and mementos are still here. No pictures were allowed inside.

The building to the left was the summer kitchen.










The smoke house

Family cemetery

The general planted this Cypress in the early 1800s. It is the largest Cypress tree I have ever seen.
He originally planted five. This is the only one left.

The second thing we wanted to see was Laura Foster's grave.
She was killed in 1866, the replacement headstone shows 1865. Although there was another suspect, a jealous girl, Tom Dula (Dooley) was hung for it

The incident became a local folk song and in the 1950s was made famous as "Hang down your head Tom Dooley" by The Kingston Trio.
Mr Grayson had nothing to do with the murder. He brought Tom back to KY from TN to face trial.











We tried to find the grave but could not.

Another day we explored Boone and Blowing Rock. Both are basically tourist town with lots of small shops. Boone has a college.
The main thing we wanted to see was the "Art of Oil" store.
We have been to coffee, wine, beer, bourbon, tequila, cheese, fudge, ciders and other tastings but, never an oil and vinegar tasting

Lots of samples to try. They had small pieces of bread and small cups.

 I tried a lot but the jalapeno olive oil was the best. I think Cathy liked the chocolate balsamic vinegar.

Next door was a neat place for lunch. Most things with onions was done with Vidalia onions. Even the onion rings were made with Vidalias.











Onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs from Front Royal, VA to Ashville, NC. We have traveled a lot of it but not at the same time. This section is one we have not been on.








The parkway runs across this overpass.

Lots of overlooks but today it is foggy.

Typical scenery along the road.
Sorry for not having more pictures but the first day we traveled another section, our camera battery died. This time it got so foggy that we had to slow to 25 MPH.









The view from one of the restaurants we ate at, "The Canyon of the Blue Ridge".










From their porch.

Now it is time to move on. We really hate to leave here, nice campsite, cool temps and five good local restaurants, a Walmart, and a Food Lion within five miles.
We will be headed for Flat Rock, NC for a RV rally. There will be 20 coaches and 38 people, most of them we know real well, catered dinners, games and socializing.