Van Hook Glade Campground, 10/29 and 10/30/01

 

 
We spent last night in Murphy, NC in an EconoLodge - and decided that we will buy a small travel trailer before our next trip! Motels have gotten to be generally terrible. I even found a flea in the bed! We left Murphy around 10:30. The weather was cold but beautiful and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. We arrived Highlands, NC early afternoon and went to Van Hook Glade Campgrounds. They close for the season on 10/31, so we barely made it. Besides the host and one other couple, we were the only ones in the campground. It is primitive: one bath house, no showers, no electricity, no hot water.

By 4:00 Harry had a big fire going and I started preparing our dinner. We wanted to eat before dark, which would come before 6:00.

Clear, cold night, down into the 20s. Moon almost full. We snuggled under heavy covers and stayed warm.

Tuesday 10/30. There are wild rhododendrons everywhere! Their blooms will be spectacular in the summer. It was a beautiful day. Warmed by the sun, we soon stripped down to shorts and T-shirts. We did a long hike up in the mountains through forests of pines and hardwoods. The fallen leaves rustled under our feet and smelled great.


To the right is our van parked behind Bridal Falls. A short road allows you to drive behind the thin "veil" of water falling from 120 feet. The water flows down into a pool that you see in front of the van toward the bottom of the picture.

 




 

Forward to hiking on WHITESIDE MOUNTAIN - great pictures!