Canoe Trip, Stone Mtn. and Grandfather Mtn, NC

Must wrap up our stay at New River State Park in North Carolina as we moved on today back to Endless Caverns in Virginia where we will be for a whole month.  We were hoping to try and avoid the summer heat....we will see.  It was 85 degrees with 50+ percent humidity when we arrived today!

Anyway, back at New River SP.  We enjoyed a very nice canoe trip down part of the river last weekend.  I was about a 1 hour 45 min float, almost, down a stretch of the New River.  We signed up at the park for the trip and it cost us $5 each for a lovely afternoon!

With our park ranger guides in the canoe
on the left,
we had lovely float down the river witch
included a
narrated history of the area!

We passed some people tubing the
river and
a few fishermen enjoying the float!

We drove about 50 minutes back to Boone to do a trail on Grandfather Mtn. which we were not
able to do the previous stop there:

 This was a steep, but really beautiful trail.  Very scenic.  Only downside was the noise from traffic
coming up from a highway which runs through the bottom of the canyon.

Profile View

thought these were pretty cool!

 We did a waterfall trail at Stone Mountain State Park.

 We really had no idea what we were in for here.  We read that you could access 3 waterfalls on one trail so that sounded like a plan to us.  We did not know we would have to walk down some 550+ stairs to get to the top/first falls and that, of course we had to return the same way!  Whew!

the largest of the falls cascades down a 200 foot rock wall

Colorful shrooms
everywhere!

this one had purple rings!

this fungus was pink!

back up the stairs!!!

Doughton Park, Blue Ridge Pkwy, More Yadkin Wineries

We have been back up on the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of times doing some trails in the Doughton Park area.  Got some nice pics right after a rain one morning.

Also made another trip back to the Yadkin Valley for more wineries and may make one more;)

Doughton Park has several
trails that take off from a
couple of different overlooks
along this stretch of the
parkway.....around the
240 mile marker.

had to throw in a couple
of pics of the local
agriculture....


tobacco and
christmas trees!

Visited 4 more of the
Yadkin Valley wineries...



They were nice but we
actually preferred the wine
at the first two places, Elkin
Creek and Jones Von Drele
which are a few miles
away from these

from Piccione's front patio, vineyards in the distance

Very pretty after the rain!

Fodder Stack Trail

So excited to see 2 red
spotted newts this day!

lots of nice looking wild berries!

Bluff Mountain Trail in Doughton Park

wild flowers everywhere!

Yadkin Valley Wineries, Jefferson Natural Area

We are currently staying at a very nice state park, New River SP, in northwest NC.  We have a few miles of pretty forest trail here at the park in addition to the New River, which we cannot see from our hill campsite, but will be canoeing on this coming Sunday;)

We are just about 10 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, so more hiking there, yay!  And we are about a 50 minute windy, but pretty, mountain road drive, to the Yadkin Valley wine region! Double yay!!

a morning hike right here at New River SP

largest black mushroom I've seen to date!  

Our first afternoon in Yadkin Valley:

We really enjoyed Elkin Creek,  had some nice wine, bought some nice wine and really enjoyed.....

...a bacon and brie pizza, yum!

Jones Von Drehle, a beautiful vineyard, also had some nice wine

Jones Von Drehle vineyard

Nice hiking and views from near
by, Mount Jefferson

pretty amorphous rock formations on the trail

really nice views from up here!

I stepped out on a view point just in time for a blast down below at a quarry!  I felt it!

on the way down the mountain we saw this mom and baby