OK...all you NC members...

[ReefLady]

And I know there are a LOT of you here.

Pretty soon we'll be heading out on our family vacation. We are renting a house in Deep Gap, NC (near Boone). Never been there, no clue what to expect - except for all the tourist stuff I read on the 'net.

So - I'm open to any/all suggestions, thoughts, ideas, cautions, etc.
Here's the general "wish list" for our vacation. If you can fill in with "must-see's" or "must-do's", especially things a little out of the general "tourist trap" loop, I'd appreciate it.

R&R / scenic drives
waterfall-looking
photography
Fishing (river/stream), preferably trout
geocaching/ hiking (nothing difficult/strenous - I'm on vacation!)
Local culture, "flavor" - music, farmers markets, art
Good BBQ - please?
Anything else?

Should we stay in the house and never come out? Will the locals hate our accents and torment us? LOL.

Any/all thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!!

 

[BigAl07]

Should we stay in the house and never come out? Will the locals hate our accents and torment us? LOL.

Yep Just like when I "go up there". LOL!!

Watch for a place called "Newland" NC. It's up that way and founded by my relatives who also started "Appalachian State University" (formerly called Appalachian Teachers School).

Be careful with any "WaterFalls". I don't know why but there has been a RASH of waterfall accidents this year. Most are unfortunately fatal.
ABC 13 - Top Stories
ABC 13 - Top Stories
ABC 13 - Top Stories
ABC 13 - Top Stories
ABC 13 - Top Stories
ABC 13 - Top Stories



As far as fishing goes that's HUGE in the area. We're FAMOUS for our trout. If you can get over that way Cherokee (The Indian Reservation) has some really cool fishing spots and great local sights to see.

Bryson City has the "Scenic Railroad" that crosses over Lake Fontana.

Photography? This is God's playground so you'll get that everywhere you look. Grandfather Mountain is amazing as well as Chimney Rock, Shining Rock, Pink Beds, Looking Glass Falls, Lake Logan, and I could go on and on all day long. I LOVE it here

Hiking: Like stated above LOTS of hiking around here. The "Cradle of Forestry" area (Pink Beds) has some great trails. Different "levels" of toughness so you can pick. The Mountains to the Sea trail is a good one to start on.

Culture: Get into Waynesville (where I'm sitting right now) and visit Maggie Valley as well as Cherokee. You'll be glad you did.

BBQ: hmmmmm you just missed a HUGE BBQ competition last weekend at the Agriculture Center in Asheville. It's HUGE and YUMMY! I'll have to look around because I don't know of any "Events" for that right now.

If you're in town THIS weekend Asheville is having it's annual Bele Chere Festival 2009 and it's AWESOME!

I LOVE this area!

 

[BigAl07]

Just so you know... My tanks DO need that cleaning

 

[jgking21]

I think BigAl has hit it all on the head! Cherokee is awesome, I go camping there usually twice a year. Just make sure if you are fishing to get a Cherokee fishing license, I've seen people get busted and it's not pretty, I think up to a $500 fine. Grandfather Mountain is also a great place to see, good for hiking and views! I love NC also, I moved from FL and only wish I moved closer to the mountains, Enjoy!!!

 

[BigAl07]

I think BigAl has hit it all on the head! Cherokee is awesome, I go camping there usually twice a year. Just make sure if you are fishing to get a Cherokee fishing license, I've seen people get busted and it's not pretty, I think up to a $500 fine. Grandfather Mountain is also a great place to see, good for hiking and views! I love NC also, I moved from FL and only wish I moved closer to the mountains, Enjoy!!!

Awesome! Where do you camp? We just got back from "Smokemont" over next to the "Reservation". LOVED it! Heading to Davidson River (near Pink Beds) in 3 weeks to camp.

Yeah get the Cherokee license ($7/day I think) or you'll get spanked. GREAT trout fishing though! Anything from "sitting on the pond bank watching your BOBBER" all the way up to back country hard core fly fishing to native speckled trout.

 

[jgking21]

I usually go to a place called Indian Creek Campgrounds. It is one of the farthest campgrounds from downtown. Nice place to go with the dog, he's never on a leash. You can also get into the Pisgah National Forest through a few back roads. I just need to explore the area more to find other places to go.

 

[ReefLady]

Awesome....you guys are great. I appreciate it! I'm printing all this, because I think the one drawback to where we will be is there will be no cell (blackberry) service - yikes!

The house we are renting sits on "Elk Creek" - which supposedly has decent trout fishing, but I am definitely interested in checking out other places. My 11 yo has a rod & reel permanently attached to him. ;-)

Is Linville caverns worth visiting?

Unfortunately, I think Cherokee is a little far (about 4 hours from where we'll be if my mapping is right). But you never know. ;-)

We'll definitely make sure we get the right license/licenses for fishing. Same thing here -- rangers/wardens will essentially own you (and everything you own) if you're caught without a license. No sense in that.

Appreciate it!!!!

 

[ReefLady]

Nice place to go with the dog, he's never on a leash.

Brings up a good point. We'll have our 2 labs with us, so anything "dog friendly" is a plus. ;-)

 

[BigAl07]

Teri check out this link
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/off-topic/49077-ripleys.html#post688236

4 hours? Really? I guess it could be that far but I didn't realize it was. Maybe it can be an "on the way there or home" type of stop-over.You really NEED to get over to Cherokee if at all possible. It's worth the trip IMHO. It's like 50 minutes from my front door to Smokemont and that's just outside of Cherokee. I'm not an overly speedy driver.

Linville Caverns is "Ok" but I'm partial because we went there several times when I was younger.

 

[jgking21]

Teri, I looked up Elk Creek, looks like it is between Boone and Morganton. I don't think it would be 4 hours to Cherokee. Cherokee is 3 1/2 hours from my house in Charlotte and it is an hour to Morganton (that is where my girlfriend is from). If Elk Creek is close to Morganton a good day hike is South Mountain, I hike there with my dog all the time. Pisgah National Forest is not really dog friendly, but I do go there when in Cherokee cause there really isn't alot of traffic on the trails. Another good day hike is Stone Mountain, that is where the picture was taken in my Avatar. Also, I've heard good things about Blowing Rock, but I've never been myself. You can find both South and Stone Mountains here: North Carolina State Parks: Find Parks by Activity and Location, both are State Parks and Dog Friendly. I also went to Linville Falls not to long ago and that was really pretty. But just remember, I've giving this advice as a Floridian that grew up 2 blocks off the beach so any mountains and waterfalls are really cool to me! I haven't had the time to explore too much around here.

BigAl, do you know much to see around Boone?

 

[ReefLady]

jgking - we'll be in Deep Gap, which looks like it's about an hour north of Morganton. I think we're about 15 min from Boone.

Hopefully this will work - here are the directions I mapped from Deep Gap to Cherokee - 4 hrs, 21 min.
Deep Gap to Cherokee NC

Al, I wish it were a stop on the way there, or way, home, but it looks like its considerably southwest of where we'll be. If it were up to me, I'd spend the 9 days exploring everywhere from the coast to the TN border, but not sure the hubby & kids would agree. I don't think this will be our last trip to NC, so next time, we may make "home base" closer to new/different things we'd like to see.

I'll definitely check out South and Stone mountains - appreciate it!

 

[jgking21]

Well if Al and I are talking about the same Cherokee, NC, those directions take you alot further west than needed. Try this link:
Yahoo! Maps, Driving Directions, and Traffic
Still over 3 hours and may be too much.
I've been snowboarding in Boone, so I'm sure there is lots to do durning the summer up there. I think there is some good white water rafting around that area.

 

[BigAl07]

Well if Al and I are talking about the same Cherokee, NC, those directions take you alot further west than needed. Try this link:
Yahoo! Maps, Driving Directions, and Traffic
Still over 3 hours and may be too much.
I've been snowboarding in Boone, so I'm sure there is lots to do durning the summer up there. I think there is some good white water rafting around that area.

Holy COW! I think those went to Cherokee COUNTY not the Cherokee Indian Reservation (CIR or Cherokee IR depending on what map you're looking at). Scroll just a click in on Teri's origianl map and close to "Sylva" you'll see Cherokee IR.

 

[ReefLady]

Cool. I may be able to convince the family to do a 3 hour trip. Probably will depend on how much there is to see in the area, and the weather. Our weather here in the Northeast has been SO BAD - we're 4" of rain away from having the wettest spring/summer ever on record - ever, and we've got quite a bit of summer left to go. Not that we've had a summer, but technically ;-) I am crossing everything that can be crossed that we get some decent weather in NC.

I think there is a ton of WW rafting, tubing, kayaking...we may take a day to do that. I'm a junkie for just scenic vistas, hikes, falls, swimming holes, and loca "flavor", so I think we'll have a great time, no matter what.

Thanks again! That map is definitely different - weird! Thanks for the new link.

 

[BigAl07]

I may be "Jinxing" us right now but the local weather here has been PHENOMENAL! I mean nice and cool... a rain shower or thunder storm lasting a couple hours every couple of days... and more than our share of "Blue Bird Clear" skies!! just amazing weather!

 

[BigAl07]

I Think one of the longest/slowest parts of your trip to almost anywhere from "Deep Gap" will be the local roads. From Morganton NC to my drive way is about 75 minutes or so (depending on one intersection between I-40 and 1-26). Then from here it's less than an hour to Smokemont. I think it's a "doable" trip but maybe a bit long for a Day-Trip

You can't go wrong with NC though

 

[jgking21]

Yeah, Teri's map takes you to Cherokee County, but it looks like there is an Indian Reserve there also. When you scroll in on that map, Cherokee, NC is just up from Sylva and West of Lake Junalaska and Waynesville (BigAl's Home). To get there you go through Lake Junaluska and Maggie Valley along Hwy. 19. Looks like Teri can come over for that tank cleaning !

 

[jgking21]

Geez, ya'll were quick! The weather has been great, but I want rain so bad it won't come around. My grass is starting to brown!

 

[BigAl07]

YES! Lake Junaluska is like 3 miles from where I'm sitting right now. By days end she'll be packing her Aqua-Gloves and her tank cleaning thongs for the trip to clean my tanks

 

[ReefLady]

By days end she'll be packing her Aqua-Gloves and her tank cleaning thongs for the trip to clean my tanks

Now Al. you know I never wore gloves. LOL

The weather has been great, but I want rain so bad it won't come around.

No rain dances for my vacation! I'm ready to build an ark in my backyard. ;-)