The Sapphire Valley in that silver of North Carolina between Tennessee and South Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We initially chose this place because, it’s only a few hours drive from Pigeon Forge and we got a deal on a place to stay. Once I started researching the area, I was really glad we had chosen to stay there a few days. This area is known for it’s waterfalls. There are waterfalls literally everywhere and there are also many hiking trails in the area as well. If you fly fish or like to golf this is also a great place to vacation.
Day one we decided to hike in the Panthertown Valley area. There are numerous hikes in this area and we saw a number of day hikers along with backpackers staying for a night or 2. We had gotten a map for the area because it was suggested that you NEED a map. And yes, we were glad we had it. The trails crisscross all over each other and we were using a few different ones to create a larger loop. The map also shows the location of some of the area’s features, like waterfalls. We think we did close to 7 miles. It turned out to be a very grueling day, but I highly recommended this area to hike.
We woke the next day to another sunny, but slightly chilly morning. It would be a good day to visit the Gorges State Park and some of the areas better known waterfalls. Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls can both be reached from the Rainbow Falls trail, which is about 3.5 miles round trip. Can you see why it’s named Rainbow Falls? Glad we got there when we did. We hiked on to Turtleback Falls and by the time we returned the sun had changed position and the rainbow was gone. Another quick hike in the park to Bearwallow Falls. It was a half mile round trip, but very steep.
Just down from the state park are the Whitewater Falls. This is part of the National Park Service and is about a half mile walk each way. There is an overlook of the falls there or you can continue down the 154 steps to the lower overlook. The Whitewater falls are the highest falls east of the Rockies at 411 feet. The pictures really do not do it justice. They really are impressive. There are many other waterfalls in this area and a number of them can be seen from the road or just a short walk.
We also went to check out the Sapphire Valley Ski area. They have one ski run and also have snow tubing and winter zip lining. Looks like it would be a good place for beginners to learn to ski. There is also a large activity center there with indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, sauna, fitness room, and meeting rooms where various activites are held.
Time to move on as we headed to Asheville, North Carolina. We spent a half day touring Asheville. Didn’t have a lot of time so we just opted for the Trolley ride. We hopped off for lunch at the Bier Garden restaurant in downtown. Had a great lunch and hopped back on Uncle Ted’s trolley bus. Our first driver was good, but Uncle Ted takes it to the next level. He was hilarious. He had so many stories and southern phrases that at times it was hard to keep up. Some of our favorites, “You want to marry the type of woman that’ll bring a pistol to a knife fight and don’t y’all go in there and embarrassing Uncle Ted by ordering a half slab of ribs you get churself a full slab”. We learned a lot about Asheville in the process and will have to go back again when we have a bit more time to explore.
We were making our way down to the Fort McAlister State Park. It’s outside of Savannah, Georgia. We were going to spend a couple of nights camping. So, we got in and set-up our tent and had just enough time to head back to the visitor center for a tour of the Fort. They offer a tour daily at 2, and because we were overnight guests, we got half off. So, for less than $10, Will and I got a private tour by one of the rangers. Really interesting and informative. We were glad we did that one. It brings home the fact, that I really don’t know a lot about the details of the civil war. The fort survived a number of attacks until General Sherman’s Union forces took control in December of 1864. The Union Army destroyed much of the fort and it had mainly been forgotten. In the 1930’s, the area was purchased by Henry Ford, who had much of the fort restored. It was eventually given to the State of Georgia and became a state park.
We drove up from our camp site the next morning and headed into Savannah. We had a tour scheduled that morning with Jonathan. Jonathan owns Architectural Savannah and he offers walking architectural tours of the city. He tries to limit his group sizes to no more that 15. We lucked out with a small group of only 6. If you have any interest in architecture or history, this is a great tour. He is very knowledgeable about the city and is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. We really learned a lot about the history of Savannah and the various architectural periods in which each house was designed. And we also know about the meaning of 5 over 4 and a door. At the end of the tour, Jonathan recommended a great place for lunch, the Collins Quarter. Will had the short ribs and they were excellent. We then toured the Thomas-Owen House , one of the first homes with indoor plumbing in the US. We explored the river front area and managed to tour a couple other museums that were included in our ticket from the Thomas-Owens house. For dinner we found a tapas place and had a great meal at Jazz’d.
Back on the road the next day we headed to the NCAA Women’s basketball semi-final games in Tampa. Second year we’ve gone and the girls didn’t disappoint in providing some exciting games to watch. Before heading out from Tampa we found a breakfast place call First Watch. Breakfast was excellent and we understood why the wait for a table was so long.
