Hiking- Otter Falls, Seven Devils, NC

 Otter Falls                               1.3 miles

We’ve been home since February - no trips, when this was supposed to be our year of travel. So one day, I said to Scotty, let’s go somewhere. We have a timeshare that we’ve been trying to get rid of, but it came through. We were able to book a place at Banner Elk Village. It’s a 2-story 2bedroom rustic themed unit and will serve as a great getaway. 

Today was supposed to be the coldest day of the week so we didn’t head out until after lunch. We went to Otter Falls which was only 2.5 miles away. The temperature was 46 degrees and the skies were a bright blue, although first thing in the morning we thought the clouds looked like snow clouds. There’s a small parking lot(no more than 20 cars), but there were still some spaces, even one to park the truck with overhanging kayaks. There are 3 trails here - red, yellow and blue which all lead down to the falls. The trail is classified as strenuous and there were a few places I felt unsure, but that’s probably because I’m an old lady (haha) and also because o had slightly twisted my right knee 2 weeks ago when we were portaging kayaks. The trail down is lined by Rhodendrons which must be beautiful in the spring. Most of the leaves have fallen, we probably missed peak color by a week or two. Oh well, during this time of the pandemic, we golfers blessed to travel. We quickly got to the waterfalls and walked along the flowing river before we headed back uphill. That’s when it felt strenuous to me. We are at an elevation of 3835 feet (        Ft above Clarksville).  It was a great first day hike (1.3 miles) and we took the alternate route home realizing that the scale was misleading on the map. We made the best of it and stopped at Kettles Brewery and had a beer and split a pretzel. Yum! Good pretzel, good beer and friendly workers. Best of all, North Carolina has a mandatory mask mandate.

Kettell Beerworks -Munich Lager

A view on the way home.

Kayaking - Red River - Fabulous Fall

Red River - Fabulous Fall                                                     12.15 miles

Me, Scotty, Dick, Weather was 80 degrees, 3.0mph avg speed, 4:26 elapsed time, river height 4.62 ft.

We've had cold weather so we decided to take advantage of this warm day and headed to our usual kayaking route - The Red River.  We put in at TWRA Access and went to Red River Canoe Rentals.  It was definitely a low-key, relaxing day.  The leaves are changing and as we paddled, the leaves fell around us.  Sometimes we'd come up to a section of the river where the river was covered with a layer of leaves.  We stopped half-way at the big gravel bar for a lunch break.  We didn't pass anybody else on the river so it was heavenly having the river to ourselves.  

Red River with the Boys

Red River with the Boys

Both Ethan and Richie were here for the week - 'working from home'.  The rivers are low and the weather was a bit chilly, but we wanted to take advantage of their visit.  When we awoke, the temperature was 40 degrees, but by the time we got into the water, the temperature had risen to 60 degrees.  We all had on layers and as the day progressed, we lost some of our layers.  The river was very shallow, and there were at least 2 times where we had to get out and walk our boats.  It was a challenge to read the water and try to find a route through some of the shallow areas filled with large sized rocks.  We stopped at the large gravel bar about halfway through the route and had a quick lunch.  I needed to get home for a Zoom meeting - life during the pandemic!  :(  We saw herons, vultures and this time we were able to see lots of fish as the water was clear.  At one point, we followed a bald eagle down the river, but he never stopped for a photo.  Times are different and we appreciate being able to get out and spend time with Ethan and Richie.