Thought Patterns

Lorna decided we needed to spend money on gasoline so we headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Wonderful drive and scenery! We took the camera, three PB&Js, Sam, Joella, water for the dogs and a bug jug o' tea for us. We grabbed chips when we got gas.

We got on at about mile marker 382 and stopped by the Folk Art Center for a map and a newsletter. We continue north to the Craggy Gardens (MP 364). We get out to stretch a bit and take some photos as well as get information about the hikes in that area.

The Craggy Visitors Center is right on the side of the road, unlike most other places on the Parkway. Lorna crossed the road to take some photos of that side.

You can see the effects of the drought from the low water line of the lake below.

These are trees just beyond the parking area. They are twisted and leaning from the wind. It is around 5000 foot there, I think.

This is the view beyond them:

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We had an interesting night here in parts of western North Carolina.

First there was the wave of storms producing winds in excess of 60mph up to 75mph (75 is considered a Category 1 hurricane). We got some wind from it but luckily (for us anyway) it stayed just north of us although we were included in the watches and warnings. We could see the heavy clouds and hear the thunder. That was around 9:30pm to 10pm.

Another wave came through a few hours later, bringing heavy rain and some wind, but not nearly as bad as before.

Then this morning I woke up to this roar at about 4am. It was as if the sky had opened up and God was pouring a bucket of marbles on the house. It was hail the size of nickles and quarters, flatish more than roundish. This kept up for about three minutes or more. The thunder was quite loud and the wind was high.

If you've never heard rain on a tin roof, you've missed out. If you've never heard hail on a tin roof, you really have missed out. On what, I'm not sure. We've had hail before, but never like this. Between the lightning and the sound of the hail on the roof and the ground, it was quite the experience.

The dogs, at least those that can hear, were freaking. Sparky was either behind the stove or crammed into the corner of the living room. Maggie was under the bed. She couldn't hear the thunder but I am sure she heard the hail and saw the lightning. PopCorn, bless her heart, can't fit under the bed so she lay there with her head under. Joella was glued to my side. Jake hadn't a clue what was going on and Casey didn't care what was going on once the noise lessened.

Lorna checked the vehicles this morning and there were no broken windows. I've not gone out and about yet to see how many limbs are down. Poor Lorna, she'd spent a good chunk of the weekend picking a bunch up!

Related storm news:
MyWay News
Thunderstorms, Tornadoes Leave 27 Dead

For images, click the "More…." link below.

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When that Smokey Mountain smoke gets in my lungs…

So I took liberty in changing a word in a song. Isn't that "Parody"?

Anyway, the smoke is much better today, if at all. It got pretty bad even in the house last night and I was up till 4, all hyped up from the inhaler. Much better now. (breathe in, breathe out)

Lorna and I went out to our version of Cheers (Waffle House) then went to Reems Creek Nursery to look at some plants. We bought a Spirea Reevesiana, aka Double Bridal Wreath. It is a shrub that will get to about 3' high and 4' wide (or was it the other way around??). Anyway, we've always wanted one and it was on sale. If you want to get a flowering shrub, get it before they begin to bloom. Once they look purty, the price skyrockets.

At any rate, we were leaving there and headed home. We headed down to the French Broad River and home. The closer we got to the river, the smokier it got. The river itself was smoky enough to be considered fog. We crossed the river and continued on our way home, but the smoke kept up. It was so bad by the time we got home, I had to stay inside vs watching Lorna clear the area for the shrub.

We just heard on the news that Cocke county in Tennessee is doing a huge planned burn. The wind and air pressure turned the French Broad River into a chimney.

View toward the north from Asheville:

(image source: Live-Photo)

Have I mentioned this to y'all? If I haven't, then like, listen up.

Asheville, NC is an odd place. Kinda hip kinda backward kinda rock kinda country kinda…well, kinda. As the slogan for the movie goes: "Asheville, where normal is weird."

There's been several movies filmed here, both good and bad. But this one is different and that is good.

Asheville, The Movie is part documentary and part movie. Here, read their synopsis for yourself.

Mucho thankso to BlogAsheville for the reminder in their recent post.

A Southern City Rolls Out Its Welcome Mat

Chris Keane for The New York Times
Residents of Asheville, N.C., are typically drawn to the stunning mountain views and vibrant downtown, but the city is also attracting an increasing number of same-sex couples who find the community open and welcoming.

By GAY JERVEY
Published: August 28, 2005
IN 1998, Clayton Byers and his partner, Chris Heppe, who lived in suburban Washington, vacationed in Asheville, N.C. The two had never visited the city before, but they quickly fell in love with it.

Among other things, they were enchanted with Asheville's mountain air, beautiful views, vibrant art scene and singular karma. "It was like a calling," Mr. Heppe said. "We knew that eventually we wanted to make Asheville home."

Mr. Byers added: "It was so beautiful, and everyone was so friendly. It's just a nice, relaxed, easy going place."
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I live near Asheville. Cool place. Sit on any corner for a while and you'll see a little bit of everything go by. The best time/place to do this is at the annual Bele Chere. We didn't make it this year, but I've heard it was as good as always. Bele Chere is a huge street festival, the largest in the SouthEast 'they' say. They close off almost all of downtown, filling the edges of the sidewalks with booths of food, goods, art, more food, crafts, funnel cake, and yes, food. Each street that is blocked has a stage and the bands vary by the hour from bluegrass to bagpipes to rap to everything in between. Each year it seems the list of bands gets longer and the names bigger. The Marshall Tucker band was here this time.

I came across a site whilst visiting another. Scrutiny Hooligans is a funny yet to the point view of most things political. Scrutiny is rather opinionated which is why I like it so much. The article that caught my attention was the Asheville Bloggers and Bele Chere. Another Asheville Blogger, Ashvegas, has several pages of pictures and comments about the event.

Also from Scrutiny Hooligans, I drifted over to BlogAsheville. Now, how come I didn't know about this? I live here, I blog, I qualify. Reckon I need to surf more locally, eh? Can't learn about what is out there unless you are like, you know, out there.