Cruso, North Carolina

We rode up along the lazy but lovely Pigeon River up Hwy 276 South to the Parkway and drove by this beautiful Memorial Day remembrance in the small town of Cruso, North Carolina, honoring the fallen veterans. I did a search online to find out more about this display. I found nothing. So here is a big, creative tribute as silent as the gentle wind.


Our small communities give as much, if not more, to ensure our freedom without fanfare, with heart.

Remembering Veterans on Memorial Day

"The true art of memory is the art of attention."
 ~ Samuel Johnson

Case Cove Road

Another full day of riding. Starting early and soaking in the perfect day...

As we headed out at 7:38 AM, I wrote on Twitter, "Out the door. Wave at me. Say hi. I'm the one with the pink helmet that says 'aloha.'" I felt so good writing that, feeling very blessed.

I took this photograph of an area very near to our home. Just before you enter this grove, you can see downtown Asheville off in the distance. It is stunning, sitting there close enough to see. In the past I have seen wild turkeys alongside the road here, next to the forest.

Case Cove Road, Candler, North Carolina

"Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees."

~ Karle Wilson Baker

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Early Morning Mo's Way

Another early start. This morning, right after the sunrise, we packed sandwiches on the bike and headed out.

Mo's Way Morning

The colors of early sunlight are spectacular. Today there were a haze in the cove, but that made the photographs of the road we live on that much more spectacular.

We agree, this is the best time of day to be out on the road. Early.

And So We Begin...

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake."

 ~ Marie Beynon Ray

Beaucatcher Tunnel, Asheville

Cool evening ride east through downtown Asheville and the two-laned Beaucatcher Tunnel...

Completed in 1928, the tunnel "cut" was blasted out of solid granite. Here we are, riding through granite and light.

Another Beautiful Day

"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count."
~ Neil A. Maxwell

They say the world will end today at 6 pm, the apocalypse, the rapture. For me, it's just another beautiful day in Hominy Valley, North Carolina. Blue skies, green all around, and the sun shining brightly. Look at this day--paradise on earth. Blessings. Celebrate!

Nantahala River, North Carolina

"I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river." ~ Chuang Tzu

Nantahala River, North Carolina

Here we are at the picnic table along the Nantahala River, just an easy pull off the road. Cool, peaceful, and relaxing. Clean water. Green everywhere. Perfect front row seat for the area’s rafting. From our $1 million perch, we waved and smiled at the many river riders.

Going My Way?

Nantahala River, North Carolina

Listening Heaven

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."
~ Rabindranath Tagore

Look. Listen... Heaven.

Delightful ride along Green River Cove Road in Saluda, North Carolina. Winding to the river bank where tubers and fishermen huddle. A biker's secret, perfect ride through the forest for bicyclists. Full of spring green, mammoth trees. Imagine what history those trees hold, what they’ve seen.

Clean, beautiful running Green River.

Road & Stream

"To receive everything,
one must open one's hands and give."
~Taisen Deshimaru

Road and stream, Hominy Valley, Candler, North Carolina

River View Road, North Georgia

Just south of Franklin, North Carolina, we turned left off of Highway 441 and found a wonderful area of windy, peaceful roads. Here we are on unpaved River View Road, just at the northern border of Georgia.

Cullasaja River Gorge, North Carolina

We road the narrow and stunning Highway 64/28 near Bridal Veil Falls and Dry Falls, past Highlands on the way to Franklin, North Carolina. With the dramatic drop of the Cullasaja River Gorge to the left and solid granite mountain to the right, we curved with the road and river down through the Nantahala National Forest.

Looking Glass Falls

Looking Glass Falls, Pisgah National Forest

Just an easy, short ride from our house, to the parkway, down U.S. Highway 276 to Brevard's Looking Glass Falls, named for its wintertime mirror of sunlight.

About five miles past the entrance to Pisgah National Forest, the waterfall is 30 feet wide and over 60 feet high.