Day 5 started in a pretty similar fashion. I snuck out early to do some exploring while the rest of the Big Truck stayed dormant. After riding around the park a bit, it was evident that there is a lot to see here, and very little of it is apparent just driving in. This view is a couple hundred yards out the back of our site.
I was able to bike around for a bit and check out the different parts of the park - Table Rock is quite expansive, with multiple camping loops, a set of cabins, and an East and West entrance a couple of miles apart. It became evident (more on this later) that no one down here knows what a fat bike is. I may as well have been riding around on a talking unicorn (are there other kinds?) with the stares and questions I got.
Here's Table Rock from the park overlook.
Here's another angle, with Pinnacle Lake in the foreground. There is a small dam/waterfall to my left, and a reservable lodge off to the right a bit further up the hill. Very peaceful setting, and not much to clutter up the natural beauty of the lake.
I made it to the park headquarters which had been closed when we rolled in. They had this cool setting on Lake Oolenoy - they loan out fishing gear and you can fish off this deck. There were a few kids out there having the time of their lives.
I parked next to another Jeep (not required, but it happens more often than not if one is there) that was littered with stickers. Not really my thing, but I did take note of one which immediately make me thing of our daughter. Maybe there is hope...
On the way back the Jeep was feeling a bit left out of the blog, so I indulged.
Not much of a transition here, so fast forward to the start of our day trip to Asheville. I had ridden through Asheville years ago as part of one of my motorcycle trips to Deal's Gap (where 2 of my brothers will be in a couple of days, ride safe), and had always wanted to return if given the opportunity. It seemed pretty promising, as we saw this public climbing wall (Jordan wanted to stay and watch the climber, as she is unable to walk past anything climbable) 2 minutes after parking downtown.
A bit further into the visit, we found Asheville Brewing Company and settled in for lunch in their outdoor beer garden/game room. Jordan made a few friends while dominating them in velcro Checkers. Here she is breaking out the dreaded Black Widow opening sequence on these unsuspecting novices.
I really hope Kessel is a partner in Parsec Financial*.
*Nerd humor. If you don't get it, scroll down.
Here you go. You can also enjoy uber-dorks arguing about the accuracy of a quote from a 35 year old fake movie.
Asheville has a lot of character - cool architecture, some interesting street performers, and some unusual art as seen below.
On the other hand, as cool as the city, buildings, and surroundings of Asheville are, we found the people to be - interesting. Hopefully it was just the section of downtown we were in, because later in the day we stopped at another place for dinner and the crowd was a bit older and more friendly. After spending 5-6 hours downtown Asheville, I am convinced that the Urban Outfitters store downtown is the Patient Zero of a Hipster zombie epidemic, and any Asheville resident under 40 years old is powerless against this outbreak.
As evidence, here are a few of them, far too busy being ironic to allow themselves to have any fun.
There is something fascinating about watching them walk around with their USB 'portable' turntables so they can break out this vinyl while claiming not to care about it because it's already too mainstream.
As I mentioned, hopefully we were just in their Eastown (GR residents, now you understand). As we moved further out, we happened upon a place that was recommended by one of the locals, and with good reason. The Wicked Weed, aptly named after a quote from Henry VIII, shown here on their menu of excellent beers.
Their downstairs pub was very cool, with an open air atmosphere and their 'Wicked Wood' series barrels aging next to the brewing setup. This gives my basement something to aspire to.
On our way out, we noticed someone who definitely has a sense of humor.
We did have time for a quick family shot. I assure you Jordan is in there somewhere.
The trip home showed a glimpse of the Smoky Mountains, and this shot does them no justice. The layers seem to go on forever.
Just before we got to our park, we found this little roadside waterfall, and got a real smile out of Jordan for once, not her plastic 'school picture' face.
Finally, back at the campsite, I latched onto the weak Wi-Fi signal at the camp store, and the same two guys that were playing some nerd MMO game when we left at 9am were still at it 12hrs later. Sorry for the blurry creeper pic, but that is to obscure their identity as I'm sure they'd prefer to be known by their online gaming tags instead. W00T!!1!
Day 6 brings some of the best mountain biking in the area (Dupont State Forest) for me, and an estrogen day for the rest of the family.
Stay tuned...
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