In Richfield, NC is a gravity defying stretch of road with a supernatural twist. So the story goes that years and years ago a young mother was driving on the road late at night and her car broke down. While she tried to get the car working again a truck came by and killed her. Local rumor says that if you pull up to a certain spot in the road and put your car in neutral the car will be pushed up hill by her ghost. Some people have reported seeing ghostly hand prints on their cars.
Well it took us a while and one long dirt road but we found Richfield Rd and the starting point of the Gravity Hill. It has been well marked by graffiti. Sadly the graffiti was really rude and inappropriate with a lot of cursing and disgusting language which ruins a fun spot. I pulled up to the graffiti and placed the car in neutral a few times and watched as we rolled up hill. Luckily the road was empty and allowed us to experience the hill safely, see for yourself as we appear to roll up hill.
We also pulled out a level and did a few tests were we tried to block our view of the horizon further to see if we could force better perspective.
2. LAB AKA Lexington Avenue Brewery. On our trips home we stopped in Asheville for dinner each time. Our favorite find in Asheville was LAB The menu was reasonably priced, though some prices had just gone up. (I knew this because the printed menu did not match what I had seen online.) Still even with the increased price I felt it was a good value. The beer was excellent and so was the place and atmosphere.
The building dated to 1916 and had once been the T.S. Morrison building and I believe was a small pharmacy/convenience store. Back in 2009 two friends bought it and completed renovations on it. By speaking to the waiter we learned that a lot of the original wood that was removed in the reconstruction was actually used to make the tables and counters currently existing in the bar.
Well it took us a while and one long dirt road but we found Richfield Rd and the starting point of the Gravity Hill. It has been well marked by graffiti. Sadly the graffiti was really rude and inappropriate with a lot of cursing and disgusting language which ruins a fun spot. I pulled up to the graffiti and placed the car in neutral a few times and watched as we rolled up hill. Luckily the road was empty and allowed us to experience the hill safely, see for yourself as we appear to roll up hill.
We also pulled out a level and did a few tests were we tried to block our view of the horizon further to see if we could force better perspective.
2. LAB AKA Lexington Avenue Brewery. On our trips home we stopped in Asheville for dinner each time. Our favorite find in Asheville was LAB The menu was reasonably priced, though some prices had just gone up. (I knew this because the printed menu did not match what I had seen online.) Still even with the increased price I felt it was a good value. The beer was excellent and so was the place and atmosphere.
The building dated to 1916 and had once been the T.S. Morrison building and I believe was a small pharmacy/convenience store. Back in 2009 two friends bought it and completed renovations on it. By speaking to the waiter we learned that a lot of the original wood that was removed in the reconstruction was actually used to make the tables and counters currently existing in the bar.
One of the main objectives of the bar, whether for food or beer, was to use fresh locally sourced ingredients, which is a common focus in a lot of the newer craft breweries and restaurants that have been opening up in the last decade. This focus may be described as farm to table or just like LAB mentioning a focus on quality of ingredients and creativity in product.
We each tried a couple of beers and my favorite was the LTD:
For dinner I resisted my general trend which is to order a burger, especially if that burger is named for the restaurant. I instead went with the fried green tomato sandwich and a side of macaroni and cheese. Let me tell you- if you are in Asheville get this sandwich it is amazing.
And now the reason we had originally decided to go to LAB- dessert! I had checked out the menu online (again which is how I know the prices didn't match) anyway they had a dessert called Beer-amisu, layers of LAB beer cake and Italian cream. We knew we were going to try it. We ordered one to share. After the first bite we both realized that sharing that evenly and not just selfishly scooping it all up would be one of the hardest things either of us have ever done.
3. Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Cherokee, NC is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During our second week in North Carolina one of our coworkers at corporate told us about this beautiful spot where you can go and see Elk. She showed us pictures that she had taken of her family and the majestic animals and we knew we had to try and see them.
Sunday as we drove to North Carolina we took the slightly longer drive through the Smoky Mountains. At one viewing spot and as we drove one thing that immediately hit me was the reminders of the fire that had badly damaged the area in 2016.
The smaller picture shows new growth under barren trees, some of which have fallen in recent storms. The other picture shows the burned bark of barren trees.
As we were driving Meghan saw these two trees, well stump and tree. They were certainly distinctive and worth a stop and walk around.
At one rest stop I was looking at the view and I turned to see Meghan moving and getting down on the ground to get an angle on something maybe a flower, butterfly, or just a better angle on the view she saw. So here is the photographer at work.
Then we saw a sign that told us we had arrived:
We pulled over at the rest stop and took a walk along the Oconaluftee river where I took this picture. I'm actually super proud of it and I might try entering it in the TN State Fair, camera phone category.
After the river walk we went back to the field and waited for awhile to see if the Elk would come out for an afternoon/early evening walk. Unfortunately we eventually saw some park rangers who told us they had just crossed most of the herd and that they were deep in the forest by now. Since we needed to get to the hotel and still had a lot of driving ahead of us we couldn't wait to see if they would return for a night stroll. So we left and finished the drive through the Smoky's determined to return this way on Friday night to try again.
Because of poor weather when we left work on Friday we again got to the visitor center too late to see the Elk. So we decided to spend the night in the visitor center parking lot to try and see them in the morning. We had discussed the possibility that this would happen and I was looking forward to trying some dark sky viewing and photography. . . .
We were in the Smoky Mountains. . . .
They have that name for a reason . . . .
We watched as patches of fog rose from the mountains and enveloped around us at various points. I did get a good glimpse at Jupiter and his moons but that was about it. What we did see was at first a few flashes of light and then the woods at the side of the road came alive with lightning bugs which were amazing. I also got a pretty cool time lapse video of the sun rising with fog coming in and out.
Now it was morning and it was our last chance to see the Elk that I had so desperately wanted to see. We watched the field looking for any sign of Elk. Then off to the left Meghan saw something large moving across the street. We walked past the field and down the road away from the Visitor Center to get a better look. It was several real big wild turkeys. We got as close as we dared, well Meg got closer we already have discovered I am not a fan of large wild birds.
Anyway as we walked back to the field Meg threw her arm out in front of me and pointed. On the far side of the field we saw something move.
There were three of them and we watched from a distance, multiple signs had warned of staying 50 yards away from them as they can be territorial and aggressive. They walked along the tree line and out of sight. I wanted to try and see an Elk in the river so we went back over to the river and began walking along it. At one point as we walked Meg saw movement out of the corner of her eye and then they were just there. I wouldn't think something this large could sneak up on you but we hadn't heard or seen them until we were basically eye to eye.
When I saw them close I didn't want to move. Not because of fear though. They were so beautiful and amazing to see. I didn't want to disturb them. Instead I stood still in awe at their movements as they reached to the trees and walked along the tree line. One stopped and looked at us as we watched and took pictures of him. I think he could tell that we were there to observe him and not as a threat but as witness to him and the beautiful nature we found ourselves surrounded by on all sides.
I leave you with a short video of the Elk walking.
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