Tubing & Gem Mining

We went on a couple more adventures before we left the high country.  First we went tubing on the New River in Todd, NC which is just a few miles north of Boone.  

Landon pulled over on the river a few times to pick some black berries.  They seemed especially sweet.  

On the three hour tour, we passed a few bridges.  One was a pretty tight fit to go under.  

And we saw some beautiful sites.  

This is a view of this house from the river. Can you imagine having this as your backyard?  

This is a small "sugar shack" we passed along the way.

Tubing was relaxing and fun!  We loved floating down the river for what seemed like forever!  After floating we stopped over in Boone for dinner at the Black Cat Burrito.  We didn't love it, but it was okay.  

When we got back to our campgrounds it was time to start getting ready to head back to South Carolina.  We all did some light packing that night in preparation for the next morning. We would need to be out by 11:00 am and breaking camp, organizing gear and loading the car takes some time.  

The next morning we were all glad we made the necessary preparations as it rained durning the night and breaking camp was extra messy.  We had an awesome stay at Bear Den and would definitely recommend it!  

Side note- the driving around here was terrible!  The blue ridge parkway was treacherous at times, but not nearly as bad as the winding NC state roads.  We got lost everyday except the last.  A lack of cell signal made the navigation impossible and the incorrectly labeled roads added insult to injury.  This combination made getting lost frequently a sure thing.  Plus, we didn't even know what some of the road signs meant!  Suffice it to say this sign means certain death is around the next circle/corner.

On our way out of the mountains we stopped off to do some gem mining. 

We found some rubies, sapphires, amethyst, garnet, aquamarine, moonstone, quartz, and emerald.  We can get some of the bigger ones cut and polished into jewelry.  We may do this as Christmas gifts!

Overall, we had an awesome time in the high country exploring the mountains in our own backyard.  For now, we're headed home to the lake for the weekend then on a short local camping trip with the little kids.  

Trout

I could wake up to this for the rest of my life!  We took a rest day and hung around the campground.  I made bacon and eggs for breakfast, we did some organization, and then had steak for dinner.  While we've had a great time on our adventures so far, this was the first day of pure rest.  It was awesome!  

After resting, we headed out for trout fishing at Grandfather Mountain.  This was a must do for me as I raise rainbow trout from eggs every year in my classroom.  Trout aren't usually found in the midlands of South Carolina because the water is too warm; however, the water in the Saluda river is actually colder than it would be naturally because it is fed by the Lake Murray Dam.  The water at the bottom of the lake is very cold because it is so deep.  Every year my students and I release the trout that have survived 7th grade into the Saluda.  

To catch and eat trout, just like the ones I raise was definitely an experience!

Our lines were set and baited with corn and bacon.  The race was on!  Who would catch one first?  

Okay- so maybe I had a slight advantage.   I have specific knowledge of how they eat and knew to pop my bait across the top of the water.  I caught this fish within minutes of being there.  

The tension mounted...

Landon was next heading my advice and caught this cutie pretty quick.  

Then Kyndale, but we had a hard time getting her hook out.  Because we took so long getting it out, we frantically got the guy on ice so he wouldn't die right away. In the hustle and bustle, we somehow missed getting her picture

Then Maya!

And finally Kirkland got his!  He was beginning to get nervous that he wasn't going to catch one, but I believe he ended up snagging the biggest of them all!  

Naturally the filleting came next.  The kids found this part of the process a little disturbing.  

When it was all said and done, we caught 11 pounds of trout!  The guys at the trout farm iced it up for us and we went on our way.

Back at camp, maya and kirk took fire duty while Kyndale helped me finish preparing the fish.  We had to peel the skin off each fillet.  

We sliced some into nuggets which Kirkland battered and fried.

And we wrapped some in foil with a little garlic butter and seasonings to cook directly on the camp fire coals.  

It was delicious!  Everyone was surprised at how much they really liked the fish.  We didn't do a great job getting all the tiny bones out, but we managed to eat almost half of our catch that night.  

Well.. Everyone except maya.  She still wasn't a fan, but managed to choke down some of the nuggets drenched in ketchup.  

We ended the night listening to kyndale's native bird calls and laughing around the campfire.  I guess the whole "hunting for your food and then eating it" brought out the feral side of her.  

Chasing Waterfalls

We went in search of some waterfalls near our campground. What we found was Linville Falls just a few miles down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

In order to see the falls it required a hike.

And hike we did!

There was also some resting involved.

We finally made it to the top and everyone was too tired. We were huffing and puffing but had made it up the mountain.

The view was spectacular!  Landon and I posed for a pic but got photo bombed twice!

We went a little higher up and could see the falls. While the view was breathtaking, we really wanted to be in the falls. Unfortunately due to many deaths and injuries, the falls were closed for swimming.

So we began our trek back down the mountain.

We did get at least a bit of a closer view.

We walked another trail with no views of the falls, but along this trail we actually found a small waterfall that we could play in. Here is a picture of Kendall pretending to be the little mermaid.

We refreshed our feet in the cold mountain stream.

Though the waterfall was small it provided plenty of entertainment!

Climbing into and out of the waterfall was fairly difficult.

But we stopped along the way for breaks again.

We had a great time at linville falls!

The next day we set out to find a man made waterfall. This came in the form of Paradise Mountain waterpark.

Waterpark seem to be a bit of a stretch for this little place, but the kids had no problem hiking up this hill to ride down the one slide. They did this over and over and over.

It was slightly overcast on the day we went and we wore plenty of sunscreen. We've heard from folks that you can get your worst burn on a day like that.

Up next: trout fishing & tubing!