Last week was Scott's 35th birthday. We went about 5 hours east to camp and hike at Roan Mtn State Park, which is on the NC/TN state line. The park is in TN.
We got to the camp ground in time to get the last tent site along the Doe River, which is barely 15 ft wide here. Nice sound of a waterfall all night, oh wait, that was the rain AND the river!
A couple picts of the bday celebration on my birthday, which was celebrated at 11:03 pm central time, so it was my birthday in the eastern time zone.
Cake!
Present with sharks attached by my nephews. It was super cool!
I bought myself a new day pack, which is kind of big, but it is super comfy for hiking.
Our campsite, when we were tearing things down. Yes, we used a chair to push up the tarp so we could move around under it in the rain. The tarp worked fine, but the campsite wasn't good for angling ropes to make it work better.
Rhododendron gardens in NC from Carver's Gap, which is the road over the mtn.
View from the viewing area at the rhodo. garden.
Picts from the Appalachian Trail
Tiny mushroom
Gray's Lily, named after Asa Gray, famous botanist. This flower is Federally Endangered and this area is one of the best places to see it, when it blooms in June.
More Gray's Lily
More Gray's Lily.
Goats! They have goats in fenced in areas, watched by a dog and full time people, on the mountain to eat the blackberry that is overtaking the grassy balds at the top of the mountains. It is a fairly passive management approach to saving these unique habitats.
HUGE tree on the AT. Yes, that is me standing next to it. The tree must be 300+ years old as things don't grow fast up here.
Bee Balm? I have some in my flower garden, but didn't know there was a native version.
At Carver's Gap.
Bec and flaming azaleas.
Who smuggled a beer onto the trail?!
Bec at Round Bald.
Our car is down there, which is a long way away.
Bec on the bald.
The grassy ridge and bald. The AT snakes up this. It is steep and rocky.
We saw the Mello Yello truck on the interstate.
