Asheville Adventure: A Chimney, a Devil, and the Stairs of Death

The top of Chimney Rock

On our first full day in Asheville, we got up and got ready in a leisurely fashion. Ahhh, vacation time. Then, we headed out to Chimney Rock State Park, which is a local rock formation in the blue Ridge Mountains, so more ear burping was in store. It's called Chimney Rock because it is about 26 stories tall and sticks up like, yes, a chimney, without attachment to the mountain right behind it. You can take the stairs up to the top or a very quick elevator. In a burst of optimism/delusion, we considered the stairs....then looked at the five year old and hit the elevator. Right choice. After the 30 second ride up, we climbed some stairs and there we were: gorgeous 360 degree views of the lush forest carpeting peaks and valley alike. We also had great views of nearby Lake Lure, where Dirty Dancing was filmed. We learned that several movies have been filmed near Asheville, most recently The Hunger Games. It was a beautiful, clear day and the Blue Ridge Mountains had their typical blue haze. There was fresh mountain breeze that cooled us off. Splendid.

Devil's Head

We had read about Chimney Rock itself but we were pleasantly suprised to find many other sights in the same park. Continuing up the mountain from Chimney Rock, we took the Skyline Trail, a rather strenous climb up 150 feet to another formation called Exclamation Point, which offered even higher views. Along the way, we stopped at two other formations. Devil's Head was just a stopping place on the the trail where you could see a big ol' devil scowling out over the valley. Opera Box was a low-ceilinged, balcony-like formation a little further up from the devil. Then on to Exclamation Point at the top. After cooling off, we descended back to Chimney Rock. At that point, we were still 26 stories up and encountered the same elevator vs. stairs choice as before. This time we chose to take the stairs all the way down. Thankfully, the stairs had little nooks so you to stop and rest or take a photo, allowing others to pass you. Taking the stairs was fun but our legs were quivering when we got to the bottom. The kids did suprisingly well with the rocky, steep terrain and the stairs of death.
 

The stairs of death

When we got to the bottom, Rome ducked in a gift shop to look for a state park patch -- we're collecting them as we visit -- while the kids and I stayed outside and listened to John Mason, a friendly hammer dulcimer player who was there playing and selling his CDs. His music was beautiful and he asked for requests. I was at a bit of a loss -- do I ask for Stairway to Heaven, which seemed appropriate? -- but ultimately, we requested Carol of the Bells (Christmas in June, of course!) and Precious Memories. My mom used to sing the latter while she was cleaning or cooking, but she would only sing, "Precious memories....how they linger." I have no idea how the rest of it goes but Mr. Mason did.

We went out of the park for a quick lunch. The fare was just some average diner food, but the restaurant was also a bakery and it smelled how the kitchen of heaven must smell, heavy with pound cake scented deliciousness. The table where we sat had a large checkers set, so the kids had fun playing until the food arrived. Of course there were the usual reminders to Katie that you can't make up your own rules for moving the pieces (yes, she's definitely my child). After fortifying ourselves with lunch and sweet tea (and Tylenol for Jerome...those biking knees were protesting), the very friendly park staff welcomed us back for another hike after lunch.

Hickory Nut Falls

Next up was the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, which took us about 30 minutes in on moderate terrain, much easier than the combination moutain climb/hike we did earlier. The reward at the end was a 404 foot waterfall made famous in The Last of the Mohicans, which was filmed in the area. We were thoroughly tired when we hiked back and got to the car. After a quick stop for ice cream, we were glad to get to the cottage and hop into the hot tub for a luxurious post-hike dip. You're welcome, leg muscles.

We were tired -- correction, the parents were tired...the kids were refreshed and ready to run a marathon -- so dinner was pizza, pasta, and parmesan (eggplant and chicken) delivered from a local place whose menu was on the fridge in our cottage. The food was good but the delivery was a bit of an adventure. The person who took Rome's order quizzed him about local cross streets and many other things we visitors just don't know. Jerome suggested Mapquest, but the guy said they "don't do the computer thing" and said he'd leave the restaurant to find one to use. After calling us five more times (yes, five...at least he was persistent), we got the food and it was still hot. The guy cheerfully told Rome on the last call that he didn't look for the street names or number we'd given him, even though we'd gone out to our GPS to get him some streets to look for. Hey, we wanted local color and we'd met a local character, obviously, but he was friendly and the food was delicious. We enjoyed our dinner and relaxed into the evening, grateful for another lovely day in Asheville.