Waterfalls – Wandering Dawgs

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – North Carolina

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017Posted in Butterflies, Historic Sites, Lighthouse, North Carolina, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, Waterfalls, WildflowersTagged Biltmore Estate, Blue Ridge Parkway, Cataloochee, Great Smoky Mountains, Mount Airy, Outer Banks, Scenic drives13 Comments

State 30:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

North Carolina

North Carolina became the 12th state on November 21, 1789. The capital is Raleigh.

From the Great Smokey Mountains to the Outer Banks, there is a lot to explore in North Carolina. Waterfalls and beaches, hikes and scenic drives, mountains and racetracks, wildlife and wildflowers – these are just a few of the things that make North Carolina memorable.

Back before our RVing days we wandered around the Outer Banks seeing the lighthouses and beaches, visiting the Wright Brothers Monument where they took their first flight, and taking the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke. Another ferry took us from Ocracoke back to the mainland where we visited Bath where the pirate Blackbeard once lived.

Hatterras Light

Ocracoke Lighthouse

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Wright Brothers Memorial

Ocracoke Island Ferry

Hatterras Beach

If you love waterfalls, you won’t be disappointed in North Carolina.

Waterfall along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Dry Falls

Tom Branch Falls

Juney Whank Falls

It doesn’t get any better than a campsite with a beautiful view. Our campsite in Asheville was perfect for hanging out after hiking or touring the fabulous Biltmore Estate.

20090807-3Campfire-Lodging-(5) — Blondie taking a break at our campsite at Campfire Lodgings in Asheville

20090807-2Biltmore-Estate-(4) — Biltmore Estate in Asheville

20090806Sunset-(5) — Sunset at Campfire Lodgings in Asheville

I felt as if I had gone back in time to Mayberry as we wandered around Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy.

Andy Griffith Statue in Mount Airy, NC

Wally’s Service Station in Mount Airy, NC

Andy and Opie on the water tower in Mount Airy, NC

Downtown Mount Airy, NC

We ended our tour of the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the winner’s circle.

20100514Charlotte-Motor-Speedway-(32) — In the Winner’s Circle at Charlotte Motor Speedway

One of the hikes we made was on Whiteside Mountain in the Nantahala National Forest.

20070817Whiteside-Mountain-Nantahala-Natl-Forest-(22) — Whiteside Mountain in Nantahala National Forest

Whether it’s the leaves showing their fall colors or the flowers showing their brilliant blooms, the vibrant colors of the North Carolina mountains change with the seasons.

20071006Blue-Ridge-(8) — Fall Colors on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Tiger Lilys at Mabry Mill

Rhododendrons along the Blue Ridge Parkway

North Carolina Wildflower

Swallowtail and Wildflowers

Jewel Weed

Rhododendrons

We explored Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mingus Mill in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park near Cherokee.

Mabry Mill, the most photographed spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Mingus Mill in Great Smokey Mountains National Park

And if it’s wildlife you’re looking for, try visiting in the fall where you might see the bugling elk in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Bull Elk Bugling in Cataloochee Valley

Bull Elk in Cataloochee Valley

Two young male elk lock antlers in Cataloochee Valley

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – New York

June 15, 2017Posted in Historic Sites, Lighthouse, New York, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, WaterfallsTagged Cave of the Winds, Golden Hill State Park, Lake Ontario, New York City, Niagara Falls, Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse5 Comments

State 29:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. We have never been to New Jersey so the next state in my series is

New York

New York became the 11th state on July 26, 1788. The capital is Albany.

A few years ago we camped in Niagara Falls, Canada. After exploring the Canadian falls we made a day trip into New York where we had close up views of the Bridal Veil Falls and got soaked as we walked along the decks on the Cave of the Winds Tour.

20080613Niagara-Falls-Canadian-Side-(45) — Bridal Veil Falls as seen from Canada

20080614Niagara-Falls-American-Side-(64) — Niagara Falls USA

You will get wet if you take the Cave of the Winds Tour!

20080614Niagara-Falls-American-Side-(39) — You can’t get much closer to the falls that this

20080614Niagara-Falls-American-Side-(24) — Up close to the falls on the Cave of the Winds Tour

Walked under the American Side of Niagara Falls in New York — That’s Henry waving from the Hurricane Deck

Our next stop in New York was Golden Hill State Park. Although the park is located about thirty miles by water from Niagara Falls the drive is a little bit longer. This peaceful state park was exactly what we needed after the excitement of Niagara Falls. Where else can you have a view of a lighthouse and one of the great lakes from your campsite? We enjoyed touring the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse and Blondie enjoyed swimming in Lake Ontario. The highlight each day was watching a gorgeous sunset over the lake.

Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse overlooking Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario at Golden Hill State Park

Blondie swimming in Lake Ontario at Golden Hill State Park

We could see the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse from our campsite at Golden Hill State Park

Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park

Sunset at Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park

I recently returned from a fantastic Mother-Daughter Weekend in New York City. We did all the things on our bucket list and much more. The best part of the weekend for me was seeing the city with my beautiful daughter.

Statue of Liberty

The Lake in Central Park West

The Palm Court at the Plaza Hotel

Empire State Building

Times Square

Lower Manhattan

Statue of Liberty

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – New Hampshire

June 5, 2017Posted in Historic Sites, New Hampshire, Wandering around America, WaterfallsTagged Brick Store, covered bridges, Harman's Cheese, Sabbaday Falls, Scenic drives, White Mountains15 Comments

State 27:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one of the original 13 colonies and became the 9th state on June 21, 1788. The capital is Concord.

Before we began our RV adventures, during an early spring trip to New England we traveled along some scenic back roads in New Hampshire. Instead of spending the nights in RV Parks, we spent our nights in inns along the way. We came across three historic covered bridges as we wandered through the beautiful countryside.

014New-Hampshire-(3) — Covered Bridge in Bath, New Hampshire

014New-Hampshire-(4) — Covered Bridge in Bath, New Hampshire

014New-Hampshire-(8) — Swiftwater Covered Bridge

015White-Mountains-(36) — Covered Bridge in Jackson, New Hampshire

We picked up some New Hampshire cheese at Harman’s Cheese and Country Store in Sugar Hill and fudge and other goodies at the Brick Store in Bath.

014New-Hampshire-(7) — The Brick Store in Bath, NH

There was spectacular scenery as we drove along the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountains. A hike on snow and ice beside a partially frozen creek was worth it for a close up view of Sabbaday Falls.

White Mountains

We took a scenic drive on the Kancamagus Highway

Hike to Sabbaday Falls

We took a hike in the snow and ice to Sabbaday Falls

Sabbaday Falls

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Montana

May 27, 2017Posted in Glaciers, Historic Sites, Montana, National Parks, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, WaterfallsTagged Glacier National Park, Going to the Sun Road, Great Falls, Little Big Horn, Our Lady of the Rockies29 Comments

State 24:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Montana

Montana became the 41st state on November 8, 1889. The capital is Helena.

We visited Glacier National Park in 2006 on our very first cross country RV trip. The National Park had just opened back up after a wildfire when we arrived at Johnson’s RV Park. The smell of smoke was heavy in the air and many firefighters were still in the area. Our campsite sat on top of a hill overlooking St. Mary’s Lake.

Driving from the eastern entrance of Glacier National Park to the western entrance in West Glacier on the 55 mile long steep and curvy Going to the Sun Road was the highlight of our visit. After wandering around West Glacier we turned around and returned to St. Mary the same way we came. We also enjoyed exploring the St. Mary side of Glacier.

20060815Glacier-(17) — Glacier National Park, Montana

20060815Glacier-(32) — Glacier National Park, Montana

20060815Glacier-(48) — Glacier National Park, Montana

20060815Glacier-(50) — Glacier National Park, Montana

The next year we traveled to Montana again, this time to visit the Little Big Horn National Monument near Hardin. While we were in the area we made a day trip to Big Horn Canyon.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana

20070416Little-Bighorn-Battlefield-(2) — Little Bighorn Battlefield

20070416Bighorn-Canyon-(10) — Bighorn Canyon

Earlier in that same trip we had gone through snow storms in Minnesota so we kept an eye out the weather after we left Hardin. We made a quick overnight stop in Garrison, Montana. Everything was fine when we went to sleep that night. The next day we woke up to several inches of snow. We were headed west with more snow moving towards us from the east so we skedaddled out of there as fast as we could and arrived safely at our next destination in Washington.

20070418Three-State-Day-(1) — After the storm in Garrison, Montana

Several years later we enjoyed spectacular scenery as we traveled through Montana on the way to Alaska. We spent a night at Cardwell Store and Campground and three nights in Great Falls before crossing into Alberta, Canada about 120 miles north of Great Falls.

Mountains in the distance in Cardwell, Montana

Our Lady of the Rockies overlooking Butte, MT

Snow on the mountains between Butte and Great Falls — It was snowing over the mountains between Butte and Great Falls

In Great Falls we took care of some business and stocked up on supplies before continuing north to Canada and Alaska. We also got to do a little sightseeing.

Statue honoring Lewis and Clark at the Visitor's Center — Statue honoring Lewis and Clark at the Visitor’s Center

On our way home from Alaska two and a half months later we spent two more nights in Montana as we traveled east towards Georgia.

A Bear cub with fish in our campsite in St. Regis, Montana

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Michigan

March 24, 2017April 17, 2017Posted in Birds, Lighthouse, Michigan, RVing, Wandering around America, WaterfallsTagged Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City, Pictured Rocks, Porcupine Mountains, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Upper Peninsula25 Comments

State 20:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Michigan

Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837. The capital is Lansing. Michigan is the only state with two peninsulas.

Our wandering around Michigan took us to three great lakes, two national lakeshores, huge sand dunes, magnificent waterfalls, a beautiful island with no motorized vehicles allowed, a lock connecting two great lakes, lighthouses, and gigantic cliffs.

Our Michigan journeys included camping in Muskegon State Park on Lake Michigan and in Lakeport State Park on Lake Huron.

20080610Muskegon-Channel-Swan — Swan in Muskegon Channel

20080611pmLakeport-(7) — Beach on Lake Huron in Lakeport State Park

We picked a beautiful day to explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan.

20100528Sleeping-Bear-Dunes-(24) — Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

20100528Sleeping-Bear-Dunes-(49) — 450 feet above Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

We had a great view of the Mackinac Bridge from our campsite at Macinaw Mill Creek Campground. The campground was our home base for a visit to Mackinac Island.

Mackinac Island Ferry

On the ferry to Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island

Lilacs were blooming at Fort Mackinac

Mackinac Island

After crossing the Mackinac Bridge we spent a few days in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, otherwise known as the UP. We spent a day marveling at the spectacular waterfalls in Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls State Park.