2020-07-04: Day 2 of Our Roadtrip Through the Smoky Mountains and Finding Fugitive Crash Site and Smallest Post Office

Welcome back friends, Jeepers, Geocachers, RVers, and Adventurers. On this Day 2 of our long weekend roadtrip geocaching through the Smoky Mountains, we got to see the beauty of the mountains while discovering some other sites of interest as well. Such as the bus and train crash scene from the movie "The Fugitive" and the smallest post office in the country. But not to get ahead of myself. So climb aboard the GeoJeep and lets go exploring.

Leaving Morganton, I drove back north towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our first stop was just a simple LPC (Light Post Cache)(GCV6EB). It made for a quick stop and credit for Mitchell County. Now usually you'll find just a pill bottle with the logsheet inside under these skirts. But this was a first time for me seeing that the entire skirt was used as the geocache container.

A few miles later over in Yancy County, I made another quick park and grab geocache stop to claim a find in that county (GC18PVC). Continuing on US-19 over into Madison County, we made a stop at the Mars Hill Recreation Park for one more quick geocache (GC5CWVV).

The next one on the list is just another of the many reasons I like Geocaching. In Jackson County, specifically in the town of Dillsboro along the banks of the Tuckasegee River, there's a geocache hidden up above the Fugitive Train Wreck (GC3F9ZA). In the 1993 movie "The Fugitive," starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, included a wreck involving a train and a prison bus. 

This wreck was staged near Dillsboro on a rail siding in the GSMR maintenance yard, between the working rail tracks and Haywood Road, the rail cars and bus remain in the same location today. Year round you can get a good view of the Illinois Dept of Corrections transport bus. But as you can see from our photos, the train is a bit hard to see with all the summertime foliage.

We even drove around to the other side of the river to get a different view, but not much better. The best view of the wreckage would be to take a ride on the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad which runs on the tracks right along side of it.

Driving west on US-64 to Clay County, the most western North Carolina county we needed to complete our map, we target the nearest geocache "The Legend of the Fairy Cross" (GC3GX90). This section of US-64 runs alongside Buck Creek. We exit the highway closer to the geocache onto the parallel National Forest Road, which looks like it might have been the Old US-64.

There was a small pull-off area to get to Buck Creek, so I decided to stop for a moment for some photos. I like these old roads enclosed by bushes and trees. After a few minutes of enjoying the sounds of the creek and taking some photos, we drove up a little further and turned onto Buck Creek Road.

For all my geocaching friends I thought I'd post a rare photo of my GeoJeep. Usually I'll post just the hood logo in front of something or have the tracking code blurred out like in the pic above. I'm only gonna leave this here a week, maybe longer, so log your "Discovered It" soon. I don't normally allow virtual discoveries so please don't copy this photo to your social media sites. And please include the location of where I'm parked in your discovered log. Thanks.

50ATJ9

Now back to the geocache. According to the description on the cache page: "this general area has a great history of minerals and mining. We are aware of at least 4 abandoned mines nearby. One of the minerals unique to the area is staurolite crystals, also known as fairy crosses because of their unique shape.

"Two thousand years ago, so the Cherokee legend of Fairy Crosses begins, the "Yunwi Tsunsdi," or Little People, lived in the beautiful mountains of what is now North Georgia and Western North Carolina. Shy and elusive creatures, the Little People were revered throughout the Cherokee Nation for their ability to find people lost in the thickly forested mountains of the region.

"One evening, while the Little People were enjoying an enchanted celebration of dance, music and song, a foreign messenger arrived bearing the sad news of the Crucifixion of the Son of the Great Creator. So moved were the Little People upon hearing the news of the loss of one so great, that they were moved to tears. As their tears fell to the ground, they turned into Fairy Crosses, where they can be found to this day."

Well I don't know anything about the little people or fairy crosses, but I did find the geocache down by the creek. I looked along the banks a few minutes for some minerals or cool rocks, but I didn't see anything special. Didn't want to spend too much time there though.

Finally rounding the corner and headed back to the east towards the campground, we followed US-64 into Highlands and Cashiers. Once in Highlands, I started taking the rural backroads to my next stop. It was there we found the Smallest U.S. Post Office in the country, at just 6 feet by 6.5 feet.

Originally built in 1878 about a mile away on Whiteside Road next to a grist mill at Sliding Rock, our next stop below. It remained there for 69 years and its first postmasters were Thomas and Elizabeth Grimshawe. In 1911 the Grimshawes sold their property to Warren and Lena Alexander who acted as the postmasters for 36 years. In 1947 they sold their property and the post office was moved near its current location once owned by the Alexander's daughter. Mae Alexander Passmore was postmaster for the final 6 years until President Dwight Eisenhower closed all third class post offices in 1953.

It was then moved and used as a ticket office and post card stand until returning here in 1976. Falling into disrepair and still getting the occasional tourist visitor, in 1999 neighbors decided to restore the post office and move it off the road a little bit and provide safe parking. From the photos displayed inside, the front area where I'm sitting was the customer area and the back half for mail and storage. Currently hanging on the back wall is the last flag which flew over the post office from the 1950's.

Driving a mile up the road we get to Sliding Rock. Actually a waterfall flowing over a large smooth rock, it turns a creek into a natural waterpark. A popular place in the summer time to cool off as you can see. There was a geocache on the short trail leading from the parking area to the rock but I couldn't find it. (The cache has since been archived as many others could not find it as well.)

And finally, one last quick roadside geocache (GC3C0B0) in Transylvania County to complete my final 100 North Carolina counties Geocaching map!

That was it for Day #2 of our long holiday weekend. On Day #3, Candy wasn't feeling well and we drove nonstop back to the campground at Lake Norman. I hope you have enjoyed this roadtrip through the Smoky Mountains. And perhaps found something I've written about to add to your bucket list of places to visit. See you back real soon.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-07-03: A Long Weekend Geocaching Counties and Hiking in Western North Carolina

Well we're working in North Carolina and have a 3-day holiday weekend. Do we chill at the RV Park or go exploring the Smoky Mountains and Geocache the remaining six counties to complete the state? It's a roadtrip of course! Grab the hiking boots, hop into the GeoJeep, and let's go sightseeing along the backroads of North Carolina!

Leaving the Lake Norman Motorcoach Resort behind for a few days, we headed west on NC Highway 18 until we got near Pleasant Grove. There we made a detour over to a bridge on Old North Carolina 18 for a First-to-Find attempt at a geocache published two days earlier (GC8VWYF). Another geocacher tried to find it the same day it was published without any success. I tried searching for nearly 30 minutes. But it wasn't for me to find on this day. I ended up having to log a DNF.

Driving north on US-321, I get off at the Mulberry exit for our next geocache (GC8MRYY). It was located near Silvervale Falls. These cascading falls are about 80 feet from top to bottom. Being this far from the Blue Ridge Parkway, there aren't as many tourists visiting these waterfalls. Only enough parking for 3 cars and we didn't have any problem. But worth the stop if you happen to be nearby.

One of the other reasons I like geocaching and traveling the backroads is that you never know what you might come across. Like this old rusty car, truck, and tractors lined up on the side of the road. I just had to stop and get a few photos.

Our next stop WAS to be Blowing Rock and then Grandfather Mountain. I've visited the Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway many times. However I have never made it to these two popular tourist destinations. Today it was going to be another of those times. It was July 4th weekend and the places were packed full and we did not want to contend with the crowds. So we continued on southbound down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

One of the first photo opp stops we took along the parkway was at the Wilson Creek Valley Overlook. A great view and you can see for miles!

Our next stop was a hike for a virtual geocache in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. The Linville Gorge Wilderness is part of the Pisgah National Forest. The gorge is formed by the Jonas Ridge on the east and Linville Mountain on the west and is bisected by the Linville River which drops 2,000 feet into the valleys below.

The virtual geocache (GC3A44) was a hike down the Spence Ridge Trailhead. This trail was supposed to take us down to the Linville River where we were to find the "House Rock," a flat top rock formation in the river that looks like a house. I wish I could show a picture of it, but we never made it. After about an hour of hiking, we were slowly getting closer but the destination appeared to be staying off to the right. Finally we decided to turn around and head back to the GeoJeep. As we were hiking back I noticed the correct trail we should have stayed on teeing off. Oh well, maybe next time.

Driving our way around to the other side of the Linville River we headed for our next virtual geocache called "Look At That" (GCG9YT). After 3.5 miles of gravel road, a little rough in a few spots, we made it to our destination at the Wiseman's View Scenic Overlook. Just a short walk from the parking area and you'll arrive at this viewing platform high above the gorge.

Driving back along the 3.5 mile gravel road, which is the Old NC 105 / CR 1238, I spotted this old road marker off the side in the weeds. After a few hours of research, Andrew Milton Kistler (1871-1931) was originally from Pennsylvania and became a prominent businessman in Morganton, Burke County, NC. First established in 1926 as the primary route between Nebo and Linville Falls, a 24 mile road that has since been rerouted and improved. The remaining Old NC 105 is now 17 miles of gravel road which can require 4x4 in some areas. That just added to the adventure in the GeoJeep.

We ended the day in Marion, NC. It was a pretty good day with the sightseeing, the hiking, the off-roading, and a little bit of history. I hope you have enjoyed todays adventure. See you back soon for another day of exploring the Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2019-05-26: Roadtrip Day2! The North Carolina County Challenge: Visiting Mt Pilot, Siamese Twins, the Jail Chapel, and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Rise and shine roadtrippers, geocachers, travelers, and friends. Today is Day 2 of our 3-day Memorial Day weekend roadtrip across North Carolina. (Click here for Day 1) We gotta lot of miles west into the mountains to get to today. And hopefully round the corner back east to start the return trip for tomorrow. So grab a cup of coffee, climb into the GeoJeep and let's get going...

I grab breakfast in the lobby and check out of the hotel at the crack of dawn. Before driving away, I first grab the geocache (GCW6C1) in the parking lot to claim a find for Forsyth County. It wasn't a planned cache, but when there's a geocache so close it's hard to just leave it behind.

Driving west into Yadkin County, I pass through East Bend headed for the Mt Olympus Greek Restaurant for my next geocache (GC42WQF). What should have been a quick parking lot find turned into 15 minutes spent for a DNF. Being half Greek, I really wanted to find this one. But no luck this morning. I still need the county so I drive another mile down the road for another quick roadside cache and find that one (GC3YNZM).

On the way to my next geocache, driving the backroads through the country, I spot this old truck sitting off to the side of this gated driveway. Then I notice the skeleton sitting inside and just knew I had to turn around for a photo. As I'm taking the photo, I see the sign and realized that I'm getting my picture taken also.

Driving north on US-52 into Surry County, I see my next goal. As a fan of "The Andy Griffith Show" I wanted to return to Pilot Mountain, also known as Mt Pilot on the TV show. It's been nearly 14 years since I last visited this area with my sons and I hadn't yet started geocaching. There were two geocaches: "This Way to Pilot Mountain" (GC322YP) near the state park entrance and the "Pilot Mountain" Earthcache (GC1195C) up near the observation deck. I drove up the mountain to the parking area and made the short hike to the observation deck. After some photos I gathered the information I needed to claim a find for the earthcache.

Driving up US-52 with a view of Pilot Mountain

The view from the observation deck.

The view from the observation deck.

I wouldn't want to be down below if that rock slides off!

Instead of continuing on up to Mayberry (Mt Airy), since I've been there before, I thought I would check out less popular historical sites. Such as a virtual geocache at the grave of the Bunker Brothers (GCF338). I know... you're probably thinking "Who are the Bunker Brothers?" More commonly known as the Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng were born in 1811 in what used to be called Siam, now Thailand.

In 1829, the twins left Siam to begin touring Europe and the US. They were very popular and drew large crowds in "freak shows" where the twins exhibited various feats of strength and dexterity. In 1839 the brothers quit touring, purchased 150 acres in Traphill, became American citizens and choose the last name of Bunker in honor of a woman they met and admired in New York. In 1845 they purchased 650 acres here in Surry County. A few years later the twins married two sisters, Sallie and Adelaide Yates. 

Within 9 months and one week of the marriage each sister had given birth to a child. Over the years 19 more children would be born to the sisters. Over time, the two sisters began to fight and would often put Chang and Eng in the middle of their fights. It was decided that the family would split and two houses were built. The two houses were about two miles apart and the twins would spend three days in one house with Sallie and then move in with Adelaide for three days before starting the cycle all over.

Chang passed away on Jan 17, 1874. There were several theories and autopsies performed as to why Eng died, some saying within 30 minutes and others up to two hours. It is often said that Eng was scared to death of the thoughts of his brother being dead and have attributed his death to shock. Others concluding that blood continued transferring from Eng to Chang, but obviously not returning. They were then buried in the lawn at Chang’s house and in the 1920’s were moved to the church that they are at now, which the brothers had donated the land for.

The White Plains Baptist Church was established in 1856 on land donated by Chang and Eng who went to church there. The twins, their wives, and 40 other Bunker's are buried there in the cemetery, plus many other descendants under various other names.

One more geocache for Surry County was at the Dix Freeman Homeplace (GC4P3ER), a favorite location for Round Peak musicians to gather to play their old-time music and hold weekly square dances. Furniture would be moved, sometimes even outdoors, to make room for two or more groups of square dancers in the two room cabin. String musicians, mostly fiddle and banjo players, would stand in the doorways and play their music for the dancers.

“Breaking up Christmas,” usually held after harvest time between Christmas and the New Year, was a time for festivities including music, dancing, socializing and lots and lots of food! Families in this Round Peak area would begin at the Freeman home and then travel to a different cabin every night. Dix Freeman, 1908 – 1995, was an oldtime claw-hammer banjo player who learned to play when he was 10 years old. He credits learning most of his banjo tunes from the legendary Charlie Lowe. Dix played with the Pine Ridge Boys and was a collector of banjos and fiddles, amassing over 237 instruments.

Round Peak Mountain, eleven miles east of here, lends its name to the signature style of old-time fiddle and banjo music that developed in its shadow. The relative isolation of the community and difficulty of travel during most of its history helped to ensure that a limited selection of songs shared and composed by residents would eventually became the core of today’s “Round Peak” music. Round Peak music is characterized by a close interplay between the fiddle and the “fretless” banjo with a driving sound that developed as the musicians played for flat foot and square dancers at frequent social gatherings such as corn shuckings, barn raisings, house parties, and an annual local party tradition referred to as "Breaking Up Christmas."

Moving right along and hopefully picking up the pace. I found a quick roadside geocache in Alleghany County (GC2RTZF) before getting onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then quick earthcaches at the Stone Mountain Overlook (GC77NWW) and the Air Bellows Gap Overlook (GC6TP4K).

One more stop further down the parkway exiting at mile marker 248 was for a cache (GC47JGV) at this Jail / Wedding Chapel in Laurel Springs. Gives new meaning to the term "shotgun wedding" I suppose. Doing a little research, I found that that wasn't ever a real jail or chapel. Just painted up that way for a roadside attraction and photo opp. Unfortunately it was a busy area off the parkway with a restaurant and bar across the street and a motel and campground nearby. There were a lot of muggles nearby and made it difficult to search for the cache.

Driving down to Glendale Springs in Ashe County, I stop for a multi-cache. A multi-cache is where you have to go to multiple stages getting clues to the final coordinates. They can be as few as a simple 2-stage cache to as many as you want. I think the longest I've found was a 7- or 8-stage multi-cache.

This one was called "Re-Visit the Past" (GCK8FB). In the late 1800’s Episcopal missionaries came to this region of the Blue Ridge Mountains to provide schooling and medical help for the people living there. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church was built in Glendale Springs in 1901. After the church was officially closed in 1946, members began removing the furnishings and taking them home. For over 30 years the church sat deserted and neglected. In 1972, Rev. Faulton Hodge became priest-in-charge at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in nearby West Jefferson. In the late 1970’s, he started a campaign to restore Holy Trinity. As work progressed on the building, the original furnishings were returned. Today the church has its original pews, pump organ, Altar, and candle stands.

There's also a cemetery on the property as well that has over 200 interments and is still in use today. According to the findagrave website, the oldest dates back to 1879. After gathering clues from the front and cemetery area, The final cache location was around back by this large statue.

Then there is the "Fast Find" cache (GC5QYT7) in Watauga County followed by another quick roadside stop at "Fall Creek" guardrail cache (GC29P3N) in Wilkes County. Had to take a few pictures at the creek though.

Getting back to the Blue Ridge Parkway southbound, I stop at the Green Mountain Overlook for another earthcache (GC6YHXZ) in Caldwell County and a few photos. I decided to include the GeoJeep in one of them.

Moving down into Avery County there was the Boulderdash Earthcache (GC700KY)...

...followed just down the road by the Artic Window Peak earthcache (GC21N6F) at the Yonahlossee Overlook.

My next stop was down in McDowell County at a cache called Restful River (GC6KHW5). This cache was near the bridge overpass for the North Fork Catawba River and the Honeycutt Creek. Down along the banks were a dozen or more of these butterflies. Every now and then they'd stop long enough for me to get a photo.

And then there's the "Be In Three Places At Once" cache (GC6HE12). Louise's Rock House Restaurant was formerly known as the Linville Falls Tavern and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1936 by stone mason Lenoir Franklin and owned by C.J. Howell, the tavern was built right where the intersection of three counties converge. The Avery, Burke, and McDowell counties all come together near the fireplace. With the layout of the restaurant, your food is cooked in Avery County, picked up by the wait staff in Burke County, and then served to you in McDowell County. Even though the restaurant was a little busy, the cache was hidden enough by the wall that I was able to quickly retrieve it without being seen. I just forgot to take photos.

Well it was starting to get late in the day. Looks like I'm gonna have to skip a few of the counties still to west and round the corner back towards Blounts Bay. So I head south into Rutherford County and the town of Forest City. There I get a quick parking lot cache (GC4H1H9) to claim that county. Now driving on US-74 eastbound, another quick parking lot cache in Cleveland County (GC16C21). Turning north on US-321 for a park and grab in Lincoln County (GC53CBQ).