Take A Hike – Page 9 – The Intentional Travelers

Blue Ridge Hiking At Peaks of Otter

One of the first tourist centers in the Blue Ridge Parkway was The Peaks of Otter dating back to the mid nineteenth century. Today it includes camping, a hotel, restaurant and Visitors Center with a number of interesting trails to hike. One, the Johnson Farm Trail takes you past a restored mid-1800s farm. The JohnsonContinue reading “Blue Ridge Hiking At Peaks of Otter”

Elk In The Appalachians • An Encounter

It’s been some time since I read anything about the reintroduction of elk into the North Carolina mountains and I hadn’t given it any thought when planning our Blue Ridge Parkway trip. It was an unexpected encounter when we found elk in the forest. Reintroduction of elk into Great Smoky Mountains National Park began inContinue reading “Elk In The Appalachians • An Encounter”

Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 5

Fall Colors On The Parkway As Fall approaches the leaves of trees begin to go through a change as chlorophyll production slows and eventually stops. The old chlorophyll in the leaf begins to decompose, and when it’s all gone, the leaf’s underlying color is exposed. Nights becoming progressively cooler is one of the major triggersContinue reading “Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 5”

Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 4

Linville Falls North Carolina One of the highlights of traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway is spending time around Linville Falls. There are almost a dozen trails for hiking with many offering vantage points overlooking the various levels of the falls as the Linville River drops into the Linville Gorge. While most of the trails toContinue reading “Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 4”

Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 2

Working our way up the Blue Ridge Parkway starting at the southern entrance in Cherokee, North Carolina. October 5th – Cherokee, North Carolina. Today the plan was to start out with a hike on the Conaluftee River Trail from the Conaluftee Visitors Center. That would be followed by a short hike to Mingo Falls andContinue reading “Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 2”

Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 1

We’re working our way up the Blue Ridge Parkway starting at the southern entrance in Cherokee, North Carolina. October 4th – First stop is Cherokee, North Carolina arriving in the afternoon for our trek up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not wanting to get into a long hike late in the day we headed out toContinue reading “Traveling The Blue Ridge Parkway • Day 1”