Pothole Falls

After filling our truck with firewood (passed a local nursery that had kiln dried wood at a good price), we ventured out to a secluded area to Pothole Falls.  It was located near a bridge.  What we didn't realize is after passing through a beautiful valley beneath the face of Whiteside Mountain, we had to access the waterfall via a gravel road.  The road itself was riddle with potholes.  We joked with each other that maybe that is why the falls were named this.  We were on this road for quite some time, but eventually found the falls.

The best view was actually from atop the single lane wooden bridge.  They do in fact look like a bunch of potholes!  We were wrong in our assumption as to how they arrived at the name.

They had a path that led you down to the edge.  The closer you got, the less the effect of the potholes was seen.

 Looking toward the bridge.

Whiteside Mountain

The weather was perfect for camping.  Evenings cooled down to a brisk 34 degrees and the days in the low to mid 60's.  After looking over information we had on the area, we thought it'd be best to see what the locals say.

After a stop at the Visitor Center in Highlands, NC, we decided to hike Whiteside Mountain.  The boys and I had hiked it about 15 years ago with Jim, Nereida, and their boys when we had visited Aunt LaDon and Uncle Wally who lived in nearby Cashiers over the July 4th holiday.  We did swing by to see if we could see their home from the ski resort across the street.  Yep, it's still there!
And one of the few areas that had full fall foliage.

I will say the hike although similar has changed quite a bit.  I don't remember stairs being an option on the trail.  I told Clif I would rather start with the stairs and descend with the nice wide path that everyone else was walking up.  At least we warmed up!

The views were the same though.

The color change was hit and miss.  Some areas reminded us of Florida...goes from green to brown, and yet other areas were beautiful.  I guess it is because of the drought they are having.

Time to enjoy a snack while Clif takes pictures of the landscape.

I was reading a story about a local man who fell in this area in the early 1900's where fortunately his was entangled in some bushes or he would have fallen 500 feet to his death.  Those with him had to go through the above crevice to reach him, and then due to his injuries had to figure out how to lift him out of it and bring him to safety.  Quite a story, one I didn't remember reading before.

I do have a picture at this location from our previous trip with the boys.  I told Clif, being you weren't with us, let me get a picture of you!

I am glad we did the stairs first because the wide path on the descend was easy and delightful, not to mention it was quite a distance in comparison to the stairs we had to climb.  People passing us on their ascent were huffing and puffing and we were asked by each one, "how much further to the top?"

Sometimes it pays not to follow the crowd!

Sky Valley, GA

Clif has only had 6 weekends off this year.  Since Labor Day, he was working between 72-84 hours 7 days a week.  He asked me the beginning of October if I had any full weeks open without any jobs to teach. He was in desperate need of another vacation. I did, the last week of October.  He said because he had 1 week left of vacation, he would like to see the leaves change.  I didn't know if we'd be able to find reservations, but we did.  Van Hook Glade Campground near Highlands, NC.

We left Oct 21, spent the night with my niece in Suwanee, GA, then headed to the campground after church on Sunday.

When we got to this overlook, they had a sign about the area.

They advertised the community of Sky Valley located along Hwy 106. There was a waterfall that was easy access.  Being we didn't have an agenda, just to relax and enjoy the sights, we decided to take a look.  Well, the community itself was festive!  I have never seen large hay bales painted and used for decor.  How fun and creative!

Mud Creek Falls is located right in the midst of a developed neighborhood and the end of a dead end road.  

Along Hwy 106 there were a couple of nice overlooks.

The drive was pretty and if we hadn't stopped along the way, it would have been a 2 hour drive instead of 4.

Things always work out for the best because had we had not taken our time, our campsite wouldn't have been ready for us when we checked in.

Hurricane Matthew

The boys out assessing.  Amber was at dispatch for 48 hours as to not risk driving in hurricane force winds.  Stephen also had to work, but wasn't allowed out on the streets once winds exceeded 35 mph.  He was waiting an all clear to get onto the roadways to make sure they were safe for travel.  We were all under a mandatory curfew.  No one was allowed to be out and about for 48 hours until we got the all clear that it was safe.

Hurricane Matthew didn't have nearly the intensity as any of the 3 hurricanes we experienced in 2004.  Nonetheless, we had 3 trees down in the neighborhood (2 of which were diseased).  Not only that, our street was the only one in the neighborhood without power thanks to whipping tree limbs around the power lines that snapped the line down from the pole.  Fortunately, we had power on in just over 24 hours.  My neighbor across the street stored our frozen food for us in the meantime.  I was quite grateful. :)

The coastline however from Brevard County north to Flagler County on the other hand was a different story.  They now know how we felt in 2004.

Last Days of Summer with the Grandkids

I took 2 videos of each grandchild.  I had a "Grandma's" day with each individually before the start of the school year.  You have to take advantage of those opportunities you know!

First up, Levi having a good time.  We did this in the house because it is SO hot in Florida in August.  I might have to rethink this in the future.  Even though I had towels on the floor, I still had water everywhere.

Next up, Chloe.

This is her first time with a baby doll.  She usually plays with her Barbies.

The Quilt

First up, the quilt.  I had told Amber I would make her a quilt in Nov 2015.  I thought I would have it done as a Christmas gift. Then an Easter gift. Maybe Mother's Day gift....

It became a "back to school" gift.  Needless to say she was very excited.

I must say, I was proud of myself because I appliqued on the anchors before figuring out the design for the rest of the quilt.  I gave her several options as to what I would be able to do to make it, she tweaked one and that was the design.  I am grateful that my sister Diane came up to help.  I have trouble with backing and layering.  She is an expert.  We were able to get it assembled in 2 days, then I took the remaining week to tie and quilt it.

The color scheme is navy blue, grey, and white.  I don't know why the colors look so different than what it actually looks like.  If you do Facebook, what Amber posted looked much nicer. :)

Back to Blogging

You are all probably wondering why I haven't blogged in awhile.  It is called Divine Intervention.  

Let me explain.  I went on a blogging binge right before school started.  As I continued blogging along, I felt the urge to stop because I should have been doing other things that were more important when you are trying to live like Christ.  In any event, I pushed through the blogging until all was finished.  Then, I had this conversation in my head that if it was that important not to blog as to do these other things, I wouldn't have a computer.  At that moment, the computer dropped on the floor out of my hands and busted!  Clif wanted to get me a new computer immediately, but I refused.  I did the things that I was procrastinating that God had placed on my heart, and when the ball was running in those endeavors, I then let him get me a new computer.  

    The next dilemma was remembering how to sign in as computer designs change so frequently.  I guess you can't get to accustomed to things in life, they are sure to change!

     Anyway, keep posted as I will be posting little blip-its to get you up to date quickly.  Lots to post since the beginning of August.