Western North Carolina Waterfalls

We had a great ten day vacation to the Smoky Mountains and while it's good to be home, I'm missing the mountains already.
One thing I wanted to do on this trip was visit Cataloochee on the North Carolina side, so we stayed in Waynesville one night. But before we went to Cataloochee we wanted to find some waterfalls in the area.

Western North Carolina is home to hundreds of waterfalls and I could spend a lifetime trying to see them all, but since we only had a few hours before we wanted to go to Cataloochee we needed to find some that didn't require a lot of hiking to get to them.

Soco Falls

Our first stop was a beautiful double waterfall located just off of US Highway 19 between Maggie Valley and Cherokee on the Qualla Boundary.

Soco Falls

This waterfall is located only several hundred feet off the road but unless you know where the pull-off is you would drive right past it.

Some cascades at Soco Falls.

This waterfall in Graveyard Fields can be viewed from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

View at the highest elevation on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Devils Courthouse

According to the sign at the overlook:

"The bare rock profile named Devil's Courthouse is sinister in appearance and legend. It's "devilish" look has contributed to the many folk tales surrounding this mountain. Within the mountain is a cave where, legend claims, the devil holds court. In Cherokee lore, this cave is the private dancing chamber and dwelling place of the slant-eyed giant, Judaculla.
Despite its name and reputation, Devil's Courthouse is home to rare and delicate high-altitude plants. If you walk the one-half-mile route to the summit, please stay on the trail. Rare plants, like the Rock Gnome Lichen and the Spreading Avens, live on Devil's Courthouse. Some of these alpine species may be remnants from the last glacial period. The panoramic view from the summit includes four states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee."

Looking Glass Rock

The name "Looking Glass" is derived from it's appearance when rainwater freezes on it's surface and reflects the sun like a mirror.

The following waterfalls are located in Transylvania County known as "Land of Waterfalls" for a good reason. There are 250 waterfalls located here amidst the mountains. These were all within a few miles of each other and very easy to get to.

Looking Glass Falls

 At 60 feet, Looking Glass Falls is one of the most spectacular falls in the area.  Located right next to the road on Highway 276 in the Pisgah National Forest makes it very accessible for everyone.

Moore Cove Falls

Just north of Looking Glass Falls are the Moore Cove Falls. This was a short hike of less than a mile and had I known how little water there was, I probably would have skipped it. The falls flow over an overhanging bluff and you can walk behind the falls. These would be viewed best after a good rain.

I loved the stone bridge at the Moore Cove trailhead though.

Sliding Rock Falls

Not far from the other two falls is Sliding Rock so named because.........

visitors can slide all the way down the waterfall and plunge into the pool below.

Eleven thousand gallons of water flow down over this rock every minute. There is a one dollar per person fee to get in here.

Mingo Falls

I'll include this waterfall here because it is located close to Cherokee but this photo is one from a previous year.

Years ago we found a side trail up to the top of these falls and found another set of falls further back in the woods and I've always wanted to go back and find those again. That will have to go on my to-do list for a future trip. 

Crunchy Tossed Salad

I LOVE salads and right now this one is my favorite.  Toasting the ramen noodles and pecans makes it so crunchy and flavorful. I love crunch in a salad!!
And you can never go wrong with adding bacon and craisins either. YUM!
Oh.... the dressing is pretty awesome too. I like to keep the dressing and a container of the toasted noodles and pecans on hand to throw on any salad when I want to make a quick meal.
This is the one we had at my daughters wedding and I had a lot of requests for the recipe so here it is.


Crunchy Tossed Salad

Green leaf spinach 1 head romaine lettuce 6 strips bacon fried and crumbled 2 green onions or thinly sliced red onion 1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles 1 cup chopped pecans  Sprinkle Craisins on top Toast the ramen noodles and pecans with 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 package of the chicken seasoning included in the ramen noodles. Save the remainder of the chicken seasoning for the dressing. Dressing: Garlic minced....as much as you like 1/2 package chicken seasoning 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp vinegar 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Shake well and add to salad just before serving printablerecipe

Arkansas Green Beans

 I found this recipe on allrecipes when I was searching for a green bean recipe for the wedding. I wanted something that was 'kicked up a notch' from just plain old green beans and these got good reviews.

After I made them I knew I didn't have to look any further. They were awesome! The sauce is what gives it such a great flavor. And bacon....well bacon makes everything better!!!

I made a few adjustments to it by cutting the amount of sugar and garlic powder. If you like them sweeter, by all means add more. The original recipe called for 2/3 cup brown sugar and that sounded like a lot to me so I cut it back to 1/3 cup. In my opinion that was enough. I also cut the garlic powder back to 1 teaspoon from 1 1/2 teaspoon. Add the full amount if you like.

Hope you like them too!


Arkansas Green Beans

5 (15-oz) cans green beans, drained 10 slices bacon 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted 7 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp garlic powder Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the drained green beans in a 9x13" baking pan. Cut bacon in halve. Cook the bacon in a frying pan until bacon strips are done but not real crispy. Cut up in small pieces and sprinkle on top of the green beans. Combine the brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour this mixture over the green beans. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Makes 10 servings. printablerecipe

Linking to StoneGable and Foodie Fridays

Hocking Hills State Park Part 2

Conkles Hollow is a rugged, rocky gorge supposedly one of the deepest in Ohio. This is actually a state nature preserve but most people consider it a part of Hocking Hills. If you want to get away from the crowds at Old Mans Cave this is the place for you. There are two main trails. The rim trail is on the plateau above and takes you around the border of the gorge but we only have time to do the gorge trail.
The trail leading up the narrow half-mile gorge is surrounded by vertical sandstone cliffs rising over 200 feet.

  Site of a seasonal waterfall.

The forest floor is covered with a profusion of ferns and spring wildflowers.

 Even in the heat of summer Conkles Hollow remains shady and cool.

More recess caves in Conkles Hollow.

The gorge trail ends at a small waterfall surrounded by hugh boulders.

I saved the best for last. We almost didn't stop here because it was getting late but decided since we made the trip we should try to see as much as possible. This place is called the Rock House and of all the places we were at I think this ended up being the most unique. It is also the only real cave in the area.

The outside of the Rock House.

An entrance into the Rock House.

The Rock House is a tunnel-like corridor situated mid-way up a 150 foot cliff of Blackhand Sandstone.
The main corridor is 200 feet long and 20-30 feet wide.

There are seven window openings like this that let sunlight into the cave.

Looking out through one of the windows.

Several sandstone columns help support the Rock House roof.

Recesses like this were used by the Native American Indians as baking ovens when staying in the cave.
The Rock House was also used by bandits, bootleggers and thieves in the 1800s which lead the local residents to call this place Robbers Roost.

Springs of water permeate through the porous sandstone and collect in these man made troughs. In this way they were able to keep a supply of water in the Rock House.

This trail is only 1/2 mile long and I'm so glad we took the time to stop. Someday we want to come back and hike some of the rim trails.

Home-Canned Tomato Soup

With the extreme hot and dry summer we had, I was not expecting to get many tomatoes this year. Was I ever wrong!! We have been blessed with an overabundance of them picking several five gallon buckets a week.

My husband said he would eat tomato soup if I canned some so this was a first for me. I never cared much for tomato soup but tasting this as I made it, I discovered I might actually like it after all.

Tomato Soup

1 1/2 cups butter 1/2 cup finely chopped onions 2 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp salt 1 tsp pepper 7 quarts tomato juice Directions: Melt butter; add onions and simmer until tender. Stir in flour, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in the tomato juice a little at a time so that the mixture can be stirred smooth. Return to heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Ladle into jars and hot water bathe for 1 hour. Yield: Approx. 7 qt and 1 pint printablerecipe Linking to StoneGable