Sister-In-Law Ellen was up at 4:30 this morning, so I rose as well, drank coffee, washed the linens, and saw her off to her work at the feed &
tack store. I breakfasted on a couple of
fried eggs, then banged out a couple of Blog posts, did some laundry, packed
and got on the road around 10:30 p.m.
 |
| Ellen's garden is full of flowers and butterflies |
I drove up through Vass and Carthage, and past Asheboro
to the freeway, then west toward Mocksville and Hickory. Then I dropped south on State Highway 10 to
see some of the countryside. I’d pretty
much zig-zagged across the State - there are no straight roads in North
Carolina - making it to Lake Lure at about 3:30 p.m. and checking into the
River Creek Campground, taking a couple nights in one of their ‘inexpensive’
cabins at $65/night. Just a note if you
stay here: Bring your own bedding; I used
my sleeping bag.
I drove up to the Chimney Rock State Park to see what the
situation was, and got some trail maps to plan for tomorrow. On the way up toward the Ticket Booth, I saw
a few birds near a seep spring alongside the road, and stopped - getting my
binoculars on my Lifer Swainson’s Warbler!
 |
| Crappy photo, but a nice bird |
There was also a pair of Hooded Warblers and a couple Cardinals at the
spot. Heck, I wouldn’t even have to stay
here, but I will, as I am intrigued with the trails, fauna and flora of the
park.
I came back down and stopped at the Hickory Nut Gorge Brewery for a celebratory pint, and found that they have food as well. So, I paired a glass of their Bitter with a
pulled pork sandwich, and washed it down with a pint of their cask ale. Back at the cabin, I found that the internet
connection was unlikely, so did not prep a Blog page, but the TV worked so I watched
Michigan beat Florida State 2-0 in a College World Series game and enjoyed the lightning and thunder storm.
The next morning, I again drove up to the park, which
opens at 8:30 a.m., and paid the daily entrance fee of $13. That seemed a little steep, but it would
likely have been worse had the place remained a private operation. In 1902, Dr. Lucius B. Morse purchased 64
acres at Chimney Rock Mountain, including the Chimney and cliffs, where he and
his family owned and operated "Chimney Rock Park" as a privately
managed park from 1902 to 2007.
Many
small tracts purchased over the years expanded the Park to 996 acres. In 2006 the land was put up for sale, and the
State of North Carolina purchased it for the State Park the following year. I found it interesting that the park has
privatized many of the functions - ‘way beyond just having concessions; the LLC
hires even the naturalists! One of the
naturalists, Mary Williams, was very helpful in letting me know about several
of the rare plants growing on the cliff and seeps habitats.
I was the first ‘tourist’ admitted this morning, although
there were a number of construction workers doing some repairs and
improvements.
 |
| It was a little noisy for birding as I began my hike |
I spent all day walking the trails on Chimney Rock State
Park, beginning the day walking from the lower parking lot to the waterfall and
back to the Gift shop. It was cloudy/foggy,
with a light south breeze, and warming from 65-72° F through the morning, and nearly to 80 degrees by afternoon.
 |
| There are some steep sections of trail in this park! |
The trail here goes mainly through the deciduous woods,
with few opportunities for views of the scenery. But, not being able to “see far” allows a
person to focus on things closer at hand, such as a leaf that is skeletonized
by shredding insects.
The rhododendrons were blooming.
 |
| Rhododendron maximum |
While I’m pretty good at birding back home in Olympia, I
am unfamiliar with many of the bird songs in this part of the country, so it’s
a bit frustrating to hear birds and not quite know what I’m listening to. I really need to see most of these birds to
be certain of what species they are.
 |
| Black-throated Green Warbler carrying food to her chicks |
The ‘barks’ of the eastern gray squirrels kept attracting
my attention, but that's OK - at least they are native here.
I arrived at the upper parking lot and took the trail to
the upper falls.
The fog & clouds were
burning off a little, but there was barely a breeze.
The muggy, 72° afternoon felt much warmer as I
climbed... and climbed... and climbed.
I did stop to view the Devil’s
Head rock formation, which was a bit eerie in the fog.
As the fog began to lift, there were some better views of
the Broad River valley and surrounding hills,
and the butterflies and other
insects came out in full force.
 |
| I've got Kenn Kaufman's butterfly guide . . . you'd think I'd look these up? |
 |
| A millipede, not a butterfly . . . |
I’d made it to the top at the upper falls overlook by
mid-afternoon, and walked back down to the lower parking lot.
There was a clearer view of the Devil’s Head,
And, finally, a view of Chimney Rock itself!
 |
| From above . . . |
I read the signage for the Gneiss Cave, which has been
closed to the public after bats began roosting in the cavity. Wildlife managers are concerned that humans can
easily carry the fungus that causes White-Nose Syndrome from cave to cave, so
keeping folks out of the cave may just help protect the bat population here.
I got back to town, and again ate dinner at the
Brewpub. The gal behind the counter had
her 4-year-old Dean in the pub, and he was pretty energetic. I let him clean up my table and "tipped" him
with a $1 Canadian dollar coin that I had in my pocket. There was another pretty good thunderstorm and rain this
evening, but I slept well after packing to travel north tomorrow.
Southern Pines ‘morning coffee’ eBird Checklist is here
Chimney Rock State Park evening eBird
Checklist is here
Chimney Rock State Park morning eBird Checklist is here
Chimney Rock State Park mid-day eBird Checklist is here
Chimney Rock State Park afternoon eBird Checklist is here
No comments:
Post a Comment