Day 221....More Falls!

Today is Sunday, and after a full week of nothing but rain, and deciding that it was get-out-of-the-house-or-die time, I decided to go exploring to see if I could find Elk River Falls, which is just over the state line in NC, past Roan Mtn. My mother-in-law had told me about them, and had tried on several occasions to explain the fairly difficult process of getting to them, but even with her excellent directions, I had tried...and failed...several times.

The Elk River runs through the mountains of NC, beginning somewhere north of Boone, I believe, and meandering south through Banner Elk and Elk Park. It is in Elk Park where the turnoff is that leads to the falls, but today I discovered why I could never seem to find it before: It is only visible if you are heading west, which I never am doing, coming from TN as I am. But I just so happened to have taken a scenic drive that put me in a position to be heading back through Elk Park on my way home, and lo and behold....a sign!

So I pulled off the highway, and followed the signs to the falls. Not so hard to do, once you've found the main road in.

Elk River Falls turned out to be located in just as lovely a setting as my mother-in-law had described. The only thing detracting from it was the water, which was very muddy due to the recent heavy rains. Normally, the waterways around here are crystal clear. The path from the small parking area runs through the woods along the river a short way before bringing you out onto a large granite outcropping that juts out into the river, forming the top of the falls.

Situated on this outcropping are also a fair amount of large boulders, just right for reclining and enjoying the view of all the people sunning themselves on the rocks below the falls, and swimming in the pool formed at the base. There are even a few adventurous souls who dive in from the top of the falls from the far side, where someone has attached a rope for the purpose of climbing down to the cliff edge. Not me. That's all I will say. Not me. If you know where to look, the rope is barely visible in both the above pics, dangling from the treeline down across the rockface.

It was my intention to follow the trail on down to the bottom of the pool where the other people were. I'm sure the view of the falls from that angle is spectacular. Unfortunately, my sense of balance is iffy on the best of days, and the trail was very steep, very muddy, and lacked a handrail of any kind. Translation: Me laying in a puddle at the bottom had I tried. And most likely, I'd have had to spend the night there waiting on a rescue party to haul me back up. So I parked myself on the boulders at the top of the falls, and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon in the shade, enjoying the roar of the falls and people-watching. Having no desire to spend the next six months in various casts, I left exploring the lower part of the falls for a drier day, when I can go back and enjoy pristine water, and nice, dry trails...preferably in the company of my hubby. There is just so much up here that I can't wait to share with him, and so much that I know we'll wind up exploring and finding together. It's very easy to imagine what the explorers in the early days of the colonies were met with when they went on their travels, there are places here where you can forget that civilization even exists at all. Perfect.