July 9 to July 11...Mountains = playground

On Saturday morning, McNair and I got up early and headed east.  Near a town called Whitesburg and the Virginia border there is an amazing spot called Bad Branch State Nature Preserve.  I discovered it in 2008 when I was driving back to Minnesota from North Carolina after Alyssa and David's wedding in October.  Then the fall was just about as powerful as a shower.  It looked a little like this:

This trip the falls were much more intense.  After a little coaxing I got McNair to walk behind the falls and come sit on a rock in the sunshine.  I played around in the water and we both enjoyed the serenity of this place.  

  After playing in the falls for a bit, McNair and I parted ways.  She drove home to Chapel Hill and I decided to camp up in the mountains to stay cool.  I looked around on the map, the closest place was called "Wiley's Last Resort" and after a quick peek there, I knew it was not the place for me.  So, on to National Forest land to a campground called Cane Patch.  It was primitive, but I set up camp right next to a stream and admired the lightning bugs.

The next morning, which was Sunday the 10th of July, I kinda meandered through the mountains and drove up to a waterfall at another nature preserve in Virginia called Falls Ridge Preserve.  The falls were nothing like Bad Branch, and you are not allowed to go into the water...not that you'd want to.  Here are a few pics:

As I was leaving the preserve, there was a train. A really close train.  A really close, loud, intense train.  It may have been as cool as the waterfalls.  

That afternoon I drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at a camp called Otter Peaks.  I was pleasantly surprised at how empty it was, even for a Sunday.  I could only see one other person.  I lit a fire with huge pieces of very wet wood and boiled some carrots.  

Then...I had a few beers.  A few beers at almost 3,000 feet is just a little bit different than where I normally have a few beers.  On the beach.  So, I started playing with sticks.  Yup. 

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?