Grandfather Mountain (Sept 4-14)

We stopped at Moonshine Creek CG after 97 miles of mountain driving, which is plenty for the old man. It rained off and on the whole way, and forecasts don't show much improvement. The campground is nice, but sites are closer than we are used to. The facilities are clean and seem well maintained. We are only here one nite, but we will return here on the way back next week.
Wednesday - We drive the rest of the way to Boone and set up at Grandfather Mountain CG for a week. The drive was not easy, but not eventful either. It is a nice CG, with a level, well graveled pad, and a great view of the surrounding mountains. We are rather close to our neighbors, but they seem nice.
Thursday - We did our typical first day explore and had an extraordinary time. Our first stop was Linville Falls Wilderness Area. The hike and falls we're much better than we expected.
After pizza at The Italian Restaurant for lunch, we hiked the Linville Cove Viaduct Overlook Trail. It wound around rock formations mostly under and along the famous viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Finally, we stopped at the Julian Price Lake and found out that it is stocked with trout and we can launch our kayaks there. It is a beautiful lake with great mountain views. We fished for awhile and caught a few bream.
Friday - We had planned to kayak and fish at Julian Price Lake this morning, but when we got up, it was very foggy. We didn't figure a drive up the mountain in the fog was a good idea, so we went to the outfitter to replenish our fly floatant and get an idea on some good spots. One suggestion was to fish the Watauga at the park in Valle Crucis. After checking out xxx Dept. Store, we wet waded there at the park, but caught nothing. John tested the water, and found it was 75 deg., which is too warm for trout. We wondered if the guy at the fly shop had actually fished there recently. Usually, the information we get is good, but this was questionable. It is a beautiful park, and well used by the locals. One other person was putting in to fish when we did, but didn't stick around long. It turned out to be a gorgeous day.
Saturday - It was a rainy day, so we got a walk in and spent the day watching college football. It was a great Florida game. Go Gators!
Sunday - There were signs posted in several places here in the campground that there would be a worship service in the pavilion at 10 AM. However, when we there, no one was there. Disappointed, we did a Walmart run instead. In the afternoon, John fished for awhile in the Wautaga River that runs thru the campground here. We had seen some fish while walking along the bank. It was too cool for Joan to wade, so she took a pass. John ended up catching a nice 8 inch rainbow and losing two. It was a beautiful fall day here.
Monday - We launched the kayaks on Price Lake, and fished both ends. We only managed a few bream. This is a stocked lake, but must not have gotten any trout for awhile. To console ourselves, we stopped at Applebee's for dinner.
Wednesday - We had one of the best days of our trip today with a ride to New River State Park. This river, they say, is the second oldest in the world, with only the Nile being older. The park is beautiful, with only the very best facilities. The river is gorgeous and very popular for canoe/kayak trips and fishing. We decided to wet-wade, armed with wooly buggers on our 4 wt. fly rods. John had the right color today and caught two smallmouth bass. They were small, but put up a nice battle before being released.
Thursday - We are back at Moonshine Creek, between Sylva and Waynesville overnight, and will head back to Trackrock tomorrow.

View Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/114754015214438395393/GrandfatherMountainSept413

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