Mount Mitchell

On our way home from the mountains, we took a scenic ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway and made a stop at Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. The views were breathtaking!

 

Mountains - Little Bradley Falls

We took a challenging hike to Little Bradley Falls one day while on our mountain vacation. It was treacherous at times, but so worth the effort. It was absolutely beautiful!

We discussed as a family buying a NC waterfall book and making it our goal to visit each one! I am so excited about that. I love being outside in God's beauty with my family. It's my peace.

I absolutely ADORE this picture of L. I need to blow this up huge and frame.

Mountain Gems & Golf

You can't go to the mountains and not mine for gems, even as hokey as it is. The boys love doing this and treasure each little gem they sift out of their bucket of dirt. They carefully compare each tiny sliver of a gem to the gem chart to try to figure out what they've uncovered. They were surprised (and excited!) to dig out an amethyst geode from the bottom of each of their buckets.

We also found a little putt-putt place right next to the river at the base of the mountain. I got a hole-in-one. And Christopher "dadded" the mess out of that green.  :)

Chimney Rock & Hickory Nut Falls

One day, we visited Chimney Rock State Park and climbed the 26 stories of stairs to the very top of that giant monolith. The panoramic views of Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure were amazing. After waiting out a rain storm at the top and hiking back down to the bottom, we had lunch in Chimney Rock village. We returned to the park and hiked a beautiful trail to Hickory Nut Falls, which is featured in the movie, The Last of the Mohicans.

Lake Lure

We had dinner on Lake Lure one night. Some scenes from Dirty Dancing, including the staff cabins and the bridge where Baby learned to dance, were filmed there. The lake, with the mountains as her backdrop, was a beautiful spot for a family pic. And proud to report that none of my children fell in!

Mountains - That Tubing Life

Our mountain house sat on the Broad River. We would throw our tubes in a few miles up and lazily tube down to our house, and would hang out at the flat rocks after a tubing trip. Every day but one (when they let the dam open), it was a very lazy trip. The kids enjoyed riding down.

*I WILL get caught up. Eventually. 3 months to go!

Mountains - The Hammock Life

When we arrived at our mountain house and saw the hammock on the porch overlooking the mountains, I knew it was going to be an awesome week. We switched their hammock out with our 2 Enos and spent a lot of time relaxing in them as you can see...

A Week in the Mountains - Prelude

Waaaaay back at the end of July, we vacationed for a week in the NC mountains. We rented the most perfect mountain home in the Lake Lure/Chimney Rock area right on the river. We did a lot of tubing, hiking, waterfall-seeking, and drinking beer in hammocks. In other words, it was perfection.

Here's a picture of my cute little family in front of Little Bradley Falls. I'll post more pictures from that hike later (and not 2 months from now!*) and pictures from our adventure that week, but for now...The Bagley Circus after a long, slightly treacherous, and fun hike to a beautiful falls.

*Thanks for your patience and for my dedicated readers that keep checking back to see that I haven't posted anything new. I started a new job on August 10 and have been working like crazy there and even some nights at home. So when I'm not working, I'm with my babies. Or watching America's Next Top Model of The Great Food Truck Race (I have some friends on the show this season!). Bear with me friends... you know I'll get it together eventually. XOXO