Sumter National Forest

Our Memorial Day Picnic Feast

We had a great 200-mile ride today to South Carolina, down HWY 107 through the Sumter National Forest. We picked up lunch at Ingles grocer and feasted alongside a lovely river near the Foothills Trail.

Foothills Trail

Mt. Pisgah

Steven, with Mt. Pisgah behind him...

In the fourth chapter of the Bible's Deuteronomy, God told Moses to climb to the top of the mountain Pisgah and look in all directions to see Israel's "Promised Land." Once a part of George Vanderbilt’s 125,000-acre Biltmore Estate, Mt Pisgah is located about 20 miles west of Asheville at the Parkway's milepost 407.

Loved People

"Loved people are loving people."
~ Katharine Hepburn

Many Beautiful Scenes

Steven Along NC Hwy 151

"Live your life each day, as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point." ~ Harold B. Melchart

Nature Brings Solace

"I firmly believe that nature
brings solace in all troubles."
~ Anne Frank

The trees along upper Pisgah Hwy 151

Here are the magnificent trees I see from my perch on back of our Harley, riding on the upper Pisgah Hwy 151, near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway ... A secluded ride, every way you look, a touch of heaven. The leaves are just coming in at this higher elevation...

As we travel down the mountain, the leaves are all filled in, florescent green, vibrancy, hanging low, a canopy of natural beauty....

Hominy Valley

Hominy Valley, Candler, NC

I had Lasik surgery on Wednesday. I couldn’t help it… we had to take a ride on the motorcycle. The colors are so beautiful, clean, and clear. What a wonderful thing I have done with my eyes.

Here I am overlooking Hominy Valley, Candler, NC... This valley is near our house and where we do our evening rides up to NC HWY 151 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. So much beauty in our back yard.

Vein Mountain Tunnel

Tunnel Near Vein Mountain, NC

We found a great one-lane-tunnel near Vein Mountain just south of Glenwood on NC 221 in McDowell County. A creek of the Second Broad River flows inside the tunnel. Nearby you can pan for gold and gems in the quaint rural town. In 1788, a 17-pound nugget was discovered in Cabarras County, about 90 miles away. That discovery touched off the first true gold rush in the United States.

Lake James & Bill Clinton

We drove down to the foothills near the base of Linville Gorge and saw Lake James for the first time. With 6,510-acres of water and 150 miles of shoreline, the lake is fed by three mountain rivers.

After a nice lunch at the Lake James Bar & Grill, we were getting ready to ride off when a couple pulled over to admire our Harley. While talking, the woman mentioned that Bill Clinton was scheduled to give a speech at nearby Morganton, so we headed there. Ahh, spontaneity!

The first President I’ve ever seen in person! Close enough with the zoom. Clinton’s front-porch rallies throughout North Carolina have been successful. “President Rock Star,” I said. His visit to Morganton also marks the first time in over two decades that a president has visited the county.

Clinton said, “In every place I did a front-porch rally, on Election Day, Hillary got more than 60 percent of the vote in those counties.”