Hoot Owl Mine

Howard wanted to try out his new four-wheeler. I'm always up for that so Monday we took off for the Hoot Owl Mine in Mitchell County. We've been there before but it's always a fun ride. First stop was a small abandoned feldspar mine not too far down the trail.

There is some really pretty scenery just about everywhere you look.

Viewed from the opposite ridge, these holes in

the mountainside give the mine it's name.

You can just drive right on in and all the way down to the bottom where there is a "lake". I don't know how deep it is but would guess not very.

It's a little unsettling when you're in there because you can just imagine a big chunk of rock falling off and bonking you on your punkin' head.

This "pond" is a result of mining activities and is always there, even in extreme drought conditions. I tossed a rock in and shot the resulting wave action reflected on the rock above. It looked like a spider web.

This is another view of the pond from a different angle. The water seems sort of chalky, I guess from the feldspar. Someone once told me that one of the uses of feldspar was to obtain the glossy finish on magazine covers.

Here we are headed out. Howard is visible back up the trail. This shot also shows the sheer size of the mine.

This is a view of the pond from the trail going out.

I made this panarama from six pictures I stitched together. This is about a 300 degree view from a high meadow that is situated at about 4000 feet elevation.

Altogether a good day riding but then I can't remember a bad day four-wheeling!

Getaway

Another last minute Sunday ride into the mountains of North Carolina. It was 95 degrees when I left Marion at 3:30 to head up into the "cool" mountains. Straight up Coxes Creek Road toward Spruce Pine and then a quick dodge onto the Blue Ridge Parkway at the top of the mountain and then North toward Linville. There is an instant cooling effect after you get on the Parkway from the canopy of tree limbs.

My first stop was the Orchard at Altapass. Apples played a significant role in pioneer culture, and, don't kid yourself, it took a pioneer spirit to settle this country. Scratching out enough flat, rock-free land to cultivate a garden was a major challenge. I've always marvelled at the sight of rock piles situated at the bottom of a one-time "field" that an early settler cleared to grow enough "truck" to feed his family.

This overlook also afforded a view across the North Cove valley to the mountains that rise up to the ridge overlooking the Linville Gorge and the Kistler Memorial Highway which follows this ridge for several miles down to Lake James. It's several miles across but you can see where fires burned earlier in the Spring.

This faraway view of fiery destruction is in stark contrast to the cool scenes one experiences travelling up the Parkway, even in the midst of a drought.

Below is native azalea which can be seen in many different colors.

I'm not sure what this flower is...

Below is mountain laurel which at lower elevations is bloomed out but up here is at full bloom in early June.

Christmas trees are big business up here in this country.

The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid is destroying our hemlocks. This hemlock on the Linville River should be full and lush and green. Instead, the foliage is sparse and thin, the normal shade provided to the river environs gone. What the long-term effects this will have on trout streams is unknown but it probably won't be good.

Below is a healthy hemlock bough on which can be seen new growth and a healthy color.

This bough is infected. It's obviously less lush and the infestation can be seen thickly embedded on the leaves. These bugs suck the very life out of the tree. it's said that if you or your children have not seen a hemlock forest that you had better go now because in a few years they will be gone.

Grandfather Mountain, 5:30Marion, 6:15

Makes me want to go back up there!