Excursion to Bryson City

March 28, 2013

It was chilly this morning, heavy frost or light ice on the windshield, but that did not deter us from a short walk to Mingo Falls followed by a trip to Bryson City.  

Now Mingo Falls are beautiful that are visible after a short quarter-mile walk with level staircases.  Sorry no photos this time but you can find several nice shots and in-depth information at http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/mingo1.htm.  Guess the scenery and a cautions walk on an icy and damp path sidetracked the photographer.

I suggested a stop at Cherokee Coffee (formerly Tribal Coffee) as we missed the morning “cup of joe”.   Cherokee Coffee proved to be a good stop, in addition to bold coffee we found time to regroup, thaw, read tourist rags, and decide on our next path.   Back in the car and still undecided we headed to Bryson City which is about a 10 mile trip.  

Na-Bers

Being near lunch I noticed a Drive-in serving BBQ, one of Bill's favorite items, so we stopped at Na-bers Drive-in.  This is straight from the 1950s with cars parked outside, curb service, and real bench seats at the booths.  The menu is breakfast to dinner and you can order items not on the menu.  The food is fresh and tasty, the service prompt, facility clean, and prices reasonable.  We gave the Drive-in 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars).  While dining we learned Our State magazine, March 2013 issue, rated Na-bers in the top 70 restaurants.

On to Bryson City which is a town of garage sales, yard sales, thrift shops, and consignment shops.  It is a bargain hunter’s paradise!  After a few purchases of needed items and items of questionable use we focused on Granpa's Mountain Music.  Larry (owner) was in the store today and we had a nice visit.  We mentioned Granpa's Music in St. Augustine and learned the Bryson City store was the original store and Larry purchased the store when the owners moved to Florida and opened a new shop.  With so many familiar overtones Bryson City felt like home.  

But we returned to the campground sans photos and finished the evening by playing a few tunes.

Author Marg

The Jackpot

March 27, 2013

Talk about good fortune…  ‘catching’ trout bait and then a passel of fresh trout!  Just in time for dinner!  

Dinner

Seems the neighbors are lightening their load a bit.  The guys from Alabama had an early AM departure and no longer needed trout bait.  I thanked them for the fishing advice and bait before wishing them a safe journey. 

Bob

A bit further down the road Bob gets out of his truck with a bag filled with trout, ten to be exact which is the creel limit.  As I admired his catch he said “You want these, I don’t have time to clean them.  I have to fix a leak from a fitting that broke with the freeze.”  Now, my mother did not raise a fool so I said “Why thank you.  How about if I clean them and bring them back?”  But Bob said “My box is filled with fish from yesterday, you can have them.”    

So, I headed back to camp with a shopping bag filled with trout.  As I pulled out the knives, bowls, and newspaper to clean the fish Billy said “Want some help?”  Again, my mother did not raise a fool so I said “Certainly.  What do you want me to do?”  Billy replied, “Bring another bowl, I’ll cleaned them.” 

Pretty good day!

Snow Day

March 26, 2013
Snow Day in Cherokee

Not bad, work one day and take the next one off.  This is Billy's kind of job.  
And we were not alone in having a free day, area schools and some businesses were closed for a snow day.  

Daytona Gal thrilled with the snowballs.

Was it that bad? 
There was a snow covering of 3-4" this morning.  And the car... well take a look.  

When it was time for a trip to town Billy discovered why our friend Mickey gave him an Ice/Snow scraper as we left South Florida.  

Thank you Mickey.

The roads were clear but that was due to early traffic and the sweeper.   

Office early AM

Heather Murphy (Owner) managing the store

Johanna (Work Camper) inside the office

Bill Murphy (Owner) Sweeping Snow

Guess I am adapting because the cold doesn't seem as bad as before and I managed several 1-2 mile walks in addition to photos. 

Brave campers from Florida

One of our streams
http://www.indiancreekcampground.com

What is that white stuff?

March 25, 2013

What a surprise, I stepped out of the trailer in my socks to find a funny crunch.  The rug and mat were frozen and covered with snow.  In fact every surface that was not asphalt or gravel was covered.   Welcome to a spring snow storm.  

Yes, the entire area took on a silver color as the snow drifted down and swirled through the air.  For some this is getting old but for Floridians it is a treat.   Well not all of us, Slippery (the cat) was not impressed.  She went outside for 3 minutes and returned to snuggle in the bed with Billy.  She resurfaced around 6 PM but did not venture out until 8 PM when she lasted 10 minutes in the snow.

Monday, the first work day, actually it was orientation and training.  Did the cold and snow stop us?  No, we toured the campground, learned about the sites, cleaning and check-in procedures.  The staff has grown by two, Johanna and Issy, another part-time camping couple with ample campground management experience. (Add these names to your cast list for future reference – or maybe I will give a new list shortly.)

Billy acting warm

A camper from Alabama sporting shorts greeted us this morning with his fishing gear.  You know he is a serious fisher as the snow is falling, the temperature is 28 degrees, and he is going fishing.    Not to be out done, two rigs drive in around noon in the falling snow with plans for a week of camping.  Complete with two pick-ups of fire wood (prepared campers), they build a fire, roast hot dogs, and make an initial fishing trip.  As the fish are not interested they return to the fire for more dogs and stories.  These stout souls are adjacent to our site and will be our neighbors for the next week.  Perhaps they can teach me about fly fishing during their stay…

 

Marg, late afternoon and it is warmer.
Indian Creek Campground

Opportunities on an overcast Sunday

March 24, 2013

The rain started around 2 AM and continued non-stop until 8 AM with several hours of heavy downfall.  Guess you could say it is raining ‘cats and dogs’ with snow predicted Monday.  Speaking of cats, Slippery (aka Slip Jig) is bamboozled by the mountains, rocky ground, bare trees, and rushing stream aside our new home.  

So it was a mountain grey day with fog hanging in the bare trees and mountain tops.  Did I mention we are nestled in the mountains at an elevation of 2800 feet?  To a gal from Florida this is fascinating.  Even the cold is tolerable with our furnace, oil-filled radiator, and heat strip in addition to plenty of layers, blankets, and Slippery.

Today I began work by cleaning a cute little cabin and was almost finished when I noticed a flood on the floor.  Mopping the water was the easy part, reporting the leak was not as pleasant but the owners smiled and scurried off to investigate.  In short order the leaking pipe was replaced.   

The remainder of the day Billy and I were busy around the homestead.  I played a few waltzes on the harp and started learning Morag's and Mr. & Mrs. Snowden.   Cooking a pot of beans sounded good and allowed time for us to walk around the area.  As we returned Chad's fire was inviting which led to conversation and with he and Pam (refer to the cast list).  

Pam asked us to attend an Easter Cantata and covered dish dinner at a local church so being neighborly we did.  The musical program was inspirational, the people friendly, and the food excellent.  One way to learn and area is to dine with locals and a covered dish dinner is tops.  Corn must be is popular in Cherokee as there was corn on the cob, corn bread, corn muffins, corn pudding, corn casserole… did I miss one?  Of course there was bean bread (a local tradition), ham (Easter tradition), and fried chicken (southern tradition).

It is getting chilly so I’d best snuggle under the covers till the morrow.

Stay tuned for more adventures... and maybe pictures.

We have arrived!

March 23, 2013

After a couple of whirlwind months getting working into our new lives we have ‘arrived’.  Arrived at Indian Creek Campgrounds outside Cherokee NC where we met our new home and bosses, Heather and Bill.  The weather was overcast but the warmth from Heather and Bill brought the sun.  

Indian Creek

After setting up camp or should I say our new mountain home we met the 'neighbors' who today are mostly other part-time employees.
The cast includes:  Pam, Chad, Mary, Harvey, and a few to meet later.  Like a Russian novel, you will want to keep the cast list handy for future reference.

Life is different here

• -          Rushing stream instead of Interstate and city traffic noise.   The stream is loud and the traffic light maybe ten cars yesterday.
• -          Small rocks instead of sandy soil.     A source of confusion for Slippery, our cat.
• -          Tall leafless trees instead of lush green foliage.
• -          Relaxed attitude instead of constant motion.
    Well, this is a campground
• -          No cell phone or wireless access, only telephone wires
     It is supposed to be relaxing.   You can leave a message on our phones but email will be faster.

Everyone here is friendly and interesting...
   Just this evening Pam (see above) and I had a long conversation over the roar of the stream.  We spoke under a hazy full moon amid the leafless trees a perfect western NC mountain scene.  
   I learned of her long time association with the campground, 13 years as a visitor and 15 years as a campground employee.  

   Bill got the scoop from Mike, a camper who keeps a trailer here year round for almost weekly fishing trips.  Yes, this is trout country - fly fishing.  Mike warned of coyotes and stray dogs.
(Must add Mike to the cast list!)

The loyalty of the repeated campers and part-time employees is amazing.

Well, time for bed as it has been a busy journey.