North Carolina Mountains
A North Carolina High Country week — Grandfather Mountain, frozen pipes, and waterfalls off the Blue Ridge Parkway. In Laura’s words.
Made it to North Carolina. Place is super cute. Nice shower. Couldn’t wait to use it. Pipes are frozen. So here we are playing trivial pursuit.
Not a bad day for no showers 🤣 Saw a waterfall Got some cookies
I am so thankful my kids like to be outside. Today was another waterfall. Then we (the kids and Stephen Baughn) climbed on rocks all afternoon. I could have slept on my rock with the sound of the water but I always have to watch someone skipping rocks or looking at the next treasure they found. Ended the day with burgers on the grill and s’mores by the fire. Yes we showered.
dreary day 🌧 saw some things: a cheese factory had a hole lotta doughnuts saw two poplar trees that grew into one and a lot of coffee cups snuggled into our little hut and watching welcome to earth
Did two hikes today that we have already done but the views are worth it. Had a fire and s’mores and was pleasantly surprised when the international space station flew by. Was a good day. I love hiking and finding random places for lunch.
The end of spring break… I know all the words to the Encanto soundtrack and the cat and dog still don’t get along.
Evan’s choice. I don’t care what anyone says, Freddie looks so much better in a Braves uniform than a Dodgers. I am going to dry Remi’s feet with this shirt.
We only got him so we could be a part of National Puppy Day. 🤷♀️
How it’s going with the cat 🙄 No animals were hurt during the making of these videos.
Emotion from the boy who doesn’t show emotion. What a fun little tournament. Thankful for the people who encourage him and cheer him on. 🏈
progress…
⚾️opening day⚾️ Remi is a Braves fan
By far my favorite picture of the evening. She picked everything herself. I hope she marries someone just like Stephen Baughn one day…
They are “pirates trying to find their pirate community.” I am amazed at their imagination and I am even more amazed that they do this together. 🏴☠️
🌤️ Weather we had: Highs around 56°F, lows around 38°F, and dry the whole time.
🏞️ National parks & monuments
NPS sites in and around this trip:
- Blue Ridge Parkway — Linn Cove Viaduct, Linville Falls, and the overlooks.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park — a couple hours southwest.
🥾 Trails we hiked
- Calloway Peak via Profile Trail — the high point of Grandfather Mountain.
- Linn Cove Viaduct via Tanawha Trail — under the Blue Ridge Parkway’s iconic curving bridge.
- Linville Falls — the dramatic multi-tier falls of the “Grand Canyon of the East.”
- Rough Ridge Overlook (1.2 mi) — boardwalk to one of the Parkway’s best long-range views.
- Cascades Trail (0.8 mi) — “great trail, short, well-marked, easy walk down to see the falls from the bottom up.”
- Harper Creek Falls (3 mi) — “so fun and lots of exploring.”
- Old Mitchell Toll Road & Pinnacle Loop — “so worth your time! If you don’t look carefully you can miss the start.”
- Crab Orchard Falls (Valle Crucis) — “little [waterfall] at the beginning.”
🍽️ Eats & places
From our Google Maps “North Carolina” list — the High Country around Boone, Banner Elk & West Jefferson.
- Ashe County Cheese (West Jefferson) — North Carolina’s oldest cheese factory; watch the cheddar get made.
- Call Family Distillers (Wilkesboro) — moonshine heritage distillery from a famous NASCAR/bootlegging family.
- Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster (Banner Elk) — a gravity coaster that winds down the mountainside.
- Mount Jefferson State Natural Area — short summit drive with long Blue Ridge views.
- Historic Bunker Hill Covered Bridge — one of the last surviving “lattice truss” covered bridges in the state.
- The Collettsville Cup House — quirky roadside coffee/curio stop.
Nearby waterfalls & overlooks
- Catawba Falls (Old Fort) — a popular cascade hike.
- Upper Creek Falls (Newland) — a two-tier waterfall with a swimming hole.
- Table Rock Summit (Linville Gorge) — big views over the gorge.
- Moses H. Cone Memorial Park (Blowing Rock) — carriage trails around a Gilded-Age manor on the Parkway.
