Swannanoa, NC.  Yesterday, Tuesday, we drove to Chimney Rock, NC, home to Chimney Rock State Park.  This is the best developed and best maintained state park that I have ever seen anywhere in the country.  Many national parks are not this nice.  To get there, however, requires driving NC State Road 9, one more roller coaster road through the rocky woods.  There are so many loops-around on this road that you wonder if you might end up where you started, somewhere spiraled up or down.

The GPS finally took us to a small road in the middle of nowhere, which we wound out of into the town of Chimney Rock, where a very friendly man told us that we had missed the park entrance only by a quarter mile.  The GPS had diverted us prematurely off route 9.  You actually are better off taking U.S. alt 74, which brings you to the park entrance.  We took that route back home, but it was an abbreviated version of Rt 9 in its contours, and some frustrated race car driver always ends up tail-gating you all the way.

As you enter the park entry road, you find a very narrow patched byway that winds its way up a couple miles until you reach the ranger station to pay the admission fee.  $17 per person.  No senior rate, and we could not pass as children to get their lower rate.  After paying the entrance fee, we drove another couple miles up a similar road, with every kind of vehicle winding too quickly down around every blind corner in true NC style.  

Finally you reach the lower parking lot. 

Lower Parking Lot

View Back Toward Chimney Rock

Panorama View from Upper Parking Lot

View of Chimney Rock from Upper Parking Lot

There is a hiking trail from the upper lot that leads to the Chimney Rock platform, but we preferred the elevator that is offered.  This is one of the park's most stunning achievements.

We Parked Beside the Elevator Entrance

Amazing Tunnel Leading to Elevator

Sign at Entry Door of Elevator

Note the pep talk to hike the Hickory Nut Falls Trail.  It seems like nearly everyone did.  More on that later.

As you exit the elevator at the top, you enter the gift shop and food bar.  Exiting there, you arrive at the base platform for the Chimney Rock climb. 

View Upon Entrance to Platform

 

View from Platform Toward Lake Lure

Stairway Leading to Chimney Rock

View Upon Reaching Top of Stairway

View Toward Lure Lake

There is another stairway to the left of the Chimney Rock stairway.  We were tired enough already, and the view would not be much different from over there, to climb one more stairway.  We had no idea what awaited us on the trail to Hickory Nut Falls.

Sign at Lower Right Says Opera Box

View Down to Our Jeep (Lower Right)

We now began our pilgrimage to Hickory Nut Falls.  To reach the trailhead, one descends a long winding stairway from the lower parking lot.  On the way down we met people returning from their hike to the falls.  They were hot, sweaty, and tired looking; but they always said it was worth it to see the falls.

Once we reached to bottom of the stairway, we saw what the trail was going to be like.  Up and around, punctuated by rocks and tree roots.

Typical section of Trail

Betty Wanted Photo Proof That She Made the Hike

On and One It Went, Hot and Humid

And Betty Soldiered On

Reaching Her Place in the Sun

Patches Like This Can Cause Stumbles

Just Before the Falls, Hazards and More Stairs

To the Left Some Kind of Raised Platform

Traversing This Area Was Treacherous

All That Effort for a Nearly Dried Up Falls

After all the long, hot, humid, mostly uphill hike; all you have is a mere trickle of water over rocks.  We clearly were there at the wrong time of year.  Mid-July is too hot and humid, and the falls are nearly dried up.  What was all the raving about this that we kept hearing from other hikers on the way back?  If you want to see a true falls, come here in April.

Now we had the long hike back, but mostly downhill at this point.  It was still a long ordeal.  After the long hike back, we still have to climb all those stairs.

Up We Go Again

After a Long Climb, We Reach the Final Stage

After we finally make it back to the Jeep, we head for the other "must see" item on the list, The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge.  It seems that an old bridge was retired, and instead of abandoning or demolishing it, they enhanced the surface to provide a flowering nursery.  Few communities would think of doing that.  Very impressive.  

Archway in the Nursery

Walkway Leading to Archway

Partial View of New Bridge in Background

Better View of New Bridge in Background

View of Lake Lure in Background

While visiting the Flowering Bridge, we again came across others we had met on the Hickory Nut Falls Trail.  Everyone was exhausted and tired out from the heat and humidity.

We headed into town to get some supper, since it was now past 6 pm.  To our amazement, almost all the restaurants were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  During peak tourism days.  We finally found a place that would serve us, after a half hour's wait, some rather strange pizza. 

After this full day, we went to the only nearby Publix for a pharmacy refill and some groceries.  Good to be in a Publix again.