the grandfather and hugh morton

Today was fabulous!
Well, except for one little thing: I forgot my phone at the condo.
That meant I had no ability to take photos...all day... drats.
No worries: Barbara and Sandy had their phones to use as cameras!

For instance, Boo took this one at our first stop on Grandfather Mountain.
We were standing in front of this gorgeous, orange-bedecked, rhododendron.
I know you can't tell, but there are mountains right behind our shoulders.
(smile)

That photo, and this one,
were taken at the first stop
on the audio driving tour.
Here, Sandy and I are posing
against Split Rock.
The Sphinx Rock was right beside it.
There were some trails available
for those sure-footed folks
who wanted to climb them,
but the Tear'em Up Trio
opted not to do so!

Speaking of las tres amigas,
here we are with Mildred the Bear
(and her cubs!)
inside the Nature Center.
We had lunch out on
the deck of Mildred's Grill,
enjoying birdsong and the view!
Then we visited the cougar -
the three bears (plus a cub!) -
the bald eagle and his juvenile son -
and the sleeping otters.
Oh! How very cool!
Then it was time to sample the fudge!
The Tiger Ripple was quite tasty!!!
(smile)
After a perusal of the Museum in the
Nature Center, it was time to continue
our journey upward and onward!

"Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit" went the Grinch.
We drove nearly twice that high!
Did we have nice, straight, sweeping paths to the top?
Oh, you make me laugh!!!
See those hairpin turns and banking curves and loops?
That's the road, dear...
that's the road.
It really reminded me of the narrow, winding, little streets on the isle of Capri.
I'm glad our tour guide handled those for us, back in 2002!
Those folks drove fast.
We never even hit thirty miles per high and were generally going much slower...
just like everyone else here.
Dancing with the car, once more!

Then, suddenly, the view opened up
and we were at the top!
Of course we had to walk across
the Mile-High Swinging Bridge...
But of course!
The Park Ranger woman was even
kind enough to take this photo
to document that we sea-level gals
were five thousand, two hundred and eighty feet above our normal.
Wow!!!
This four-hour adventure was
so worth the cost of admission!


An hour and a half later, we were back at the condo.
Yes, we took a scenic route... again... but we returned before dark.
Hallelujah!
I cooked dinner for all of us - lots of veggies and the rest of the rotisserie chicken!
Then we got in our pajamas and caught another lovely movie on television with our Sandra Bullock and my Keanu Reeves: "The Lake House". What a sweet romance!
What a marvelous day!
i thank You, God!