Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival
The Sunday of June 18, 2017 [Father's Day!], I followed up on my trip announcement in Blue Ridge Outings to lead a group of hikers to Roan Mountain, TN, to participate in the Rhododendron Festival. The festival is an annual event organized by the Tennessee Roan Mountain State Park to…
New River in High Water
The Saturday of May 27, 2017, some lawyer buddies and I took a paddling trip on the New River in Ashe County. My partner Mike Cooper, Drew Willardson and his Maryland lawyer buddy Justin canoed and kayaked from Zaloo's Canoes just south of NC Hwy 88 north about 6 miles…
Grandfather Mountain in Spring
The Saturday of April 15, 2017, I took a hike on Grandfather Mountain. The goal was to enjoy the warm spring weather, see all the beautiful dogwoods and other flowering trees along the road and mingle with lots of other people on the trails. Today I saw an abnormally large…
Doughton Park in Winter
On New Year's weekend between 2016 and 2017 I went winter backpacking in Doughton Park. Terri and I did not miss any big parties because of our habit of going to bed about 8 p.m. most evenings. I had been backpacking a month earlier in Grayson Highland State Park, VA,…