Sapphire Mountain Here We Come

Never been much of a mountain guy.  Growing up, these kinda excursions didn't exist.  Beach bumming was easy to pick up, just some sand, surf, umbrella, chair, and a cooler bag of frozen margaritas and you are all set!

The mountains of North Carolina, now this is a whole nother ball game.  The umbrella and chair get left behind.  No shorts, tshirts or flippers this trip!  Had a sample last fall with a quickie to the tourist trap mecca of Gatlinburg with the offspring and girly friends.  At least I'm in the company of the spousal unit and some fellow beach nuts, so I won't go ape crazy by my lonesome!

Beaching is easy.  Just get in the car and go!  This mountain thang is a whole different kind of adventure.  Coming from central Mississippi, it becomes quite an adventure.  First thang is to load up the GPS with a destination.   This in itself is quite a challenge when using the spousal unit's new smartazz car.  You can't just use your normal southern drawn out voice when speaking to Dora the Explorer.  Like any woman, Dora has a mind of her own!

We headed east to Atlanta.  I'm used to the traffic, no biggie.  I figured that Dora would take the I385 loop around  Metro Atlanta.  Nope!  Straight shot on I20 then I75/I85.  It was around noon, but traffic in this town never slows.  I was tempted to take the commuter lane, but ole Dora was in charge.  Got to scratching my head once we were on I85 north bound.  Made no sense to me.  Heading north to first go through South Carolina to get to North Carolina.    But hey, Dora was in charge, and if I screw up, she doesn't mine, she just says "recalculating" in the nicest tone of voice.

But poor Dora.  This trip she was to be out done by directions written on a piece of paper.  The Spousal unit has a folder full of info, and it was full of turns and twists that poor ole Dora could hardly keep up with.

The exit off I85 could confound the average first timer.  It was a combination exit and rest area combined.  All the 18 wheelers pulled on the side of the road added to the confusion.  Once we got on State 11 we are off and running on the highways and byways of the rural of the Carolinas.

After a while, we got a look at our potential destination.  The sky was quite overcast, but in the distance, we could see what looked like either more clouds, or maybe it was the mountain tops of our destination.   It was only a matter of time before we would know for sure!

As we made our way, the four lanes turned into two lanes.  The straight paths began to get more windy. Up we would go, then down we went.  It was almost like a slow motion roller coaster in the comfort of our smartazz car.  Around one curve, there were a bunch of fellas on the side of the road, in hunter orange caps leaning on their pickups chewing the fat about today's hunt.  Two curves later, there was a covey of game warden trucks parked in a cluster.  I wanted to yell "they're two curves back!" But that's just not kosher in hunting country!  We quickly noticed we had no cell service, and around the next curve there was another member of the orange hat society, talking on a short wave radio.  If this is Carolina moonshine country I could see why!

Finally, a significant road sign ahead, "now entering the great State of North Carolina ".  How and why they chose that spot for the border beats the hell out of me.  Mountains on one side, Gulley on the other, and nothing but curvy roads behind and in front of us!  Destination less than an hour away!

One thing became very clear to me.  Back home, we have trees that go through the seasons of change, with a bit of color at the end.  Those trees are in the minor leagues!  As I was driving, I almost felt the urge on this cloudy day to put my sunglasses on.  The foliage hanging from the trees and road brush were almost literally on fire!  The brightest reds, oranges, and yellows that you can imagine were lighting up our two lane windy pathway.  So THIS is what it's all about!  This ain't  the beach, nope, it's a fall color wonderland!

Finally, another road sighting!  Saphire Mountain community!  So close!  Even saw the Wyndham Sapphire resort on the right, a possible return destination.  We knew we were close.  The road is now steeper, the speed is much slower and the smartazz car is using all kinda gears on some of these climbs.  We notice all the houses from the roadside.  The front doors are road level, but the rest of the houses are hanging off the side of these mountain!

We are now on roads that are less traveled.  The falling leaves far out number the cars that can blow them to the side of the road.  This is what we came for.  Destination has been reached!  Multi-storied four bedroom "house" that I consider a castle, stuck on the side of this mountain!  You walk through the front door, and in front of you is an open floor plan with this amazing view.  Dorothy, we ain't in Kansas anymore!

We unloaded our supplies and luggage and immediately began taking in the views!  The night was capped off with a roaring fire, a beautiful full moon peeking over the mountain top, and lots of stories, aided by wine, beer, and bourbon.

Can't wait for what the morning brings!