Rocky Knob Hike

Sunday morning, we had a really good breakfast at the hotel and then parked at the Saddle Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a hike at Rocky Knob.  With the early morning sun in the east, we didn't bother with a picture from the overlook and started climbing up Rocky Knob on Rock Castle Gorge Trail.  We soon made it to the old AT shelter and took a short break.

Continuing on, we descended the peak via switchbacks and the trail met with Black Ridge Trail.  Some spiderwort was flowering along the trail.

There were a few spots with nice views of the gorge through the trees.

Where the two trails then split, we turned right to stay on Black Ridge Trail and cross the parkway.

The trail followed an old road and descended to a creek then started climbing back up.  There was an old chimney along here.

At the next split, we took Picnic Loop Trail around then took Black Ridge back to meet up with Rock Castle Gorge Trail.  Heading back, we took the spur to go around Rocky Knob without climbing and back to the Saddle Overlook.

The view was much better by this time.

From here, we continued a short ways southbound on the parkway to Mabry Mill.

It was really pretty with the rhododendron flowering around the mill.

After some pictures, we stopped at the restaurant for an ice cream.

Then we started making our way home.  Near Martinsville, we went south into North Carolina and parked at the Deshazo Mill access for Mayo River State Park.  Since out last visit, the park had made a small parking lot and blazed the trail to Fall Creek Falls.  It was less than 1/4 mile to the waterfall.

We decided to hike the rest of the trail since it was short.

Just another quarter mile out to where Fall Creek flows into Mayo River.

We enjoyed the view for a bit and then hiked back.

We drove most of the way home and stopped for dinner at Bright Penny in Mebane to finish out our weekend.

Lake James & Mayo River

It had rained quite a bit overnight, but stopped by day break.  Alex was thirsty from not drinking water after dinner the night before.  I woke up to him licking condensation from the tent and let him out to get his water bowl.  We packed up camp and then headed down the mountain.  Our first stop was Lake James State Park.  It was a lot hotter down here than up in the Black Mountains.  We parked at the visitor center and first thing was getting Alex's passport stamped.

Then we hiked along Paddy Creek Trail following the lake shore.  There were a couple spots to go out for a nice view.

At the end, we crossed the road and hiked the Holly Discovery Trail.  A spur led down to a nice spot on Paddy Creek.

Finishing up the short loop, we got back on Paddy Creek Trail and took another spur down to the lake.

On the way back, we made a detour on Homestead Trail and then finished up our hike.

It was pretty hot by now and the air conditioning felt good.  Leaving the park, we made a quick stop at the Linville Gorge Overlook.

Shortoff Mountain was visible at the south end of the gorge.  From here, we headed east on I-40 towards home, but wanted to get another park.  In the Triad, we went to Mayo River State Park near Mayodan to get Alex's passport stamped.

Then we hiked the short loop from Mayo Mountain access area.

It's a double-loop with the inner about a half-mile and the outer about 2 miles.

It was quite hot at this point, so kind of a relief for a short hike.

After finishing up, we made the rest of the drive home.

Waterfalls at Hanging Rock and Mayo River

On Sunday morning, we woke up to a light rain.  We broke camp quickly and made the short drive to the visitor center at Hanging Rock State Park to begin our hike.  We followed Indian Creek Trail, which is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, downstream.  Our first stop was Hidden Falls, a small waterfall on Indian Creek.

With the recent rain and overcast conditions, it was really looking nice.  Of course it started to downpour as I was getting pictures, so we quickly headed down the trail to Window Falls, where we sought shelter under a rock overhang.

When the rain lightened, I headed down to get some pictures of the waterfall and then we continued on the trail.  Few people hike past Window Falls on Indian Creek Trail, so we didn't expect to see anyone.  It's a really nice trail and there are some really scenic sections along the creek.

After crossing the road, the trail continues, passing an old building and then following a ridgeline high above the creek.  There's an overlook high above the creek, but it's too overgrown to really see down into the gorge.  There were more mountain laurel blooming up here, though.

After the overlook, the trail heads down to creek level with several crossings through a scenic canyon-like area with several creek crossings.

Shortly past this area is the end of the trail.  I hiked the Riverbluffs Trail for a short loop to see the Dan River bluffs from across the river.

There was also some Ohio spiderwort blooming along the trail.

After the loop, we hiked Indian Creek Trail back to the visitor center.  With all the rain, we spotted more red eft newts along the trail.

Fortunately, Alex doesn't seem too interested in amphibians.  Before leaving, we hiked over to see Upper Cascades Falls, but it was too crowded for a picture.  I made a quick stop to see the rock gardens and then we left.

Before leaving Hanging Rock though, we stopped at Lower Cascades, my favorite waterfall in the park.

It was really flowing and the big amphitheater-like rocks surrounding the falls are beautiful.

Then we started making our way home, but wanted to get one more waterfall.  We drove into northern Rockingham County to an undeveloped parcel of Mayo River State Park,  From the pull-off on DeShazo Road, we followed what looked like an old road past wooden stakes indicating state park property.  It was less than a quarter-mile to the top of Fall Creek Falls.

The road basically ended, and we scrambled down to the base of this surprisingly nice waterfall so far east in the state.

We got some pictures and then made the drive home.