Elk Park, NC Day 5

Wednesday, 8/12/2015
Elk Park, NC

We decided to go out and enjoy a big breakfast so we could skip lunch.  I put a roast in the crockpot before we left so we would have a nice dinner when we got home.

Breakfast was at a place called Banner Elk Cafe.  There are actually three different restaurants here.  The Cafe, the Banner Elk Lounge, and an ice cream store.  In the Cafe and the Lounge you get to order from the others menu.  Breakfast is a shared event.  Food was good but they put everything on one plate (and they were not big plates) so there was no place to put your toast while you were trying to eat your food.  We did enjoy it though.

While we were eating breakfast the clouds cleared out and the sun arrived.  That was good because we were going to drive Grandfather Mountain.  It is a couple of mile drive.  The top of the mountain is almost 6,000 feet above sea level.  There is also the swinging bridge at a mile above sea level.

It was $36 for the two of us.  They charge by person, not by car,  It is a little high but you also get a CD that describes the drive.

Our first stop was an overlook and you could see Linville and Second Peaks.

Next we came to Spinx and Split Rocks.

Spinx Rock

Split Rock

Next we stopped by the Nature Museum and Animals Habitats.  We spent a little bit of time walking around and visiting the animals.

Bald Eagle

Otters

Bear

Bear

Cougar

Deer

Next we drove to the top of the mountain to Top Shop.  This is where the Mile High Swinging Bridge is.  It was a lot cooler on the top of the mountain and the wind was blowing.  We should have brought jackets.

Yes, we walked across the bridge and it did swing.

When we finished we returned home.  It was a nice drive home.

After dinner we decided to take a drive to see if we could find Elk River Falls.  I couldn't find it on the GPS so we headed out using the directions we copied off the internet.  Luckily the town has put up better signs than the internet said to look for.  They also described the walk to the falls as a gentle walk.  Ha Ha.  There are about 6 really steep steps then it does become a nice walk until you almost get to the falls.  Then it turns into a difficult climb over rocks and tree roots.  We finally made it down and I got some good pictures.

Then we had to climb back up!  We finally made it and got home before dark.

Tomorrow we head out.  We are headed over to the Ashville area.  We have tickets to visit the Biltmore Castle.  We have never done this before.  We have always skipped it.  This time we will see the castle.

So that is all for today.  Here are all the pictures I took.