Epic Appalachians

Ride Video

Mountain Route

Mileage: 1,435 miles

Pace: 300+/- Miles Per Day to allow for POI stops & short hikes.

States Covered: GA, TN, SC, NC, VA

Favorite Trip Lodging Location: Valle Crucis Bed & Breakfast

Interesting trip note #1: Ran into "Slow2" (FJR Forum member) from Birmingham, AL and his wife at the base of Bald River Falls in TN. Nice fellow!

Interesting trip note #2: On the last day we came across a Ninja 1000 rider that had just low sided and wrecked into a ditch on the side of the mountain. We stopped, made sure he was ok, and I rode his bike out of the ditch for him. 5 minutes later his brother showed back up looking for him. He was from NJ. His bike was rideable but scrapped up and the front headlight cowling was cracked. No major injuries however.

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Me & StreetBetty got to go on our 5-day / 4-night trip to the mountains recently. We had a terrific time. This was our adult get-away trip without the kids for just the two of us. Sometimes you just have to get away by yourselves to recharge the batteries. I try to be very judicious and not just take pictures of every little thing I see but I still managed to take 164 total pictures on the trip. But I've whittled it down to a measly 25 to provide a good cross section of what we saw. Thanks for viewing!

1899 Baptist Church south of Tellico Plains, TN (I love old buildings!!!)



Church Porch Flooring



Old Sautee General Store - Sautee, GA







Old Mast Store - Original Store in Valle Crucis, NC (National Historic Register Building)



Valle Crucis B&B (Stayed here 2 nights of the trip)



View from the deck of the B&B. The horse farm below was once owned by actor Paul Newman. We sat here on this porch both mornings for coffee. Very relaxing!!!



The Appalachian Trail literally goes right down the sidewalk in Hot Springs, NC.



Craggy Gardens Overlook - BRP



Misc. Flowers





Hiking Trails





Waterfalls

Graveyard Fields Lower Falls - BRP - We hiked down & took this shot in the early morning. At over 5,000' elev. we were in the clouds and you can see the heavy mist/clouds but it was a pretty magical feeling standing there in these conditions.



Elk River Falls



Cherry Falls



Bald River Falls





Misc. Rapids / River shot - Unnamed



120 degree Panoramic Shots

Grayson Highlands Overlook - Virginia



Lake Glenville



"The Rattler" - NC-209 - Typical 180 degree corner along the way up to Hot Springs, NC



180 Degree Panoramic - Craggy Gardens Overlook - BRP

Nice trip report! Love the old buildings and bucolic mornings and lush hikes of the Blue Ridge. Thanks for sharing.

wow...very nice.

Good stuff. My day is coming to get up there and see the sites. Good eye for pictures.

Great report...making me want to go up there for a quick weekend jaunt.

Nice Video..and realy Greates pictures..!!!

Awesome pics! Photographer material 4 sure and what a scenic ride with twistys to boot.

I realy like your beautifoul country!!

You have a way of bringing it to life Nathan. Awesome! Luv the all the pics, but especially the inside of the Old Sautee General Store, reminds me of The Waltons.

Great RR! I'll catch the video when I'm home next week.

Nathan, you've done it again! I love the pics in 'sepia' - or whatever that effect is called?

Thanks for enlightening me on what other parts of our continent have to offer.

Al.

Nice picts. Think I may have to go back to GA for visit.

Love the pics, you have an eye for great shots! I especially like the panoramics... I'd love a couple of them in 6' wide prints! :clapping:

Glad you had a safe ride!

Great report & pics! I passed thru Valle Crucis on June 3rd. How about that Hwy. 194 from Banner Elk to Valle Crucis with the one lane construction lights? We were gonna make the Roan Mtn. loop, but it was storming there. I want to go back & do some more back road touring up there.

I feel like a fool for saying the same thing over and over, but you really set the bar for quality ride reports. Your photographic skills along with the perfect wording to narrate the story make me jealous. Thank you so much for continuing to post these reports.

I see your pictures and it makes me want get on the bike and go. Even though I get up there at least once a month its not enough. Very nice

What camera did you use to take the pics?

First off thanks to all that viewed & especially had posted positive comments on me & my wife's trip. It's nice to share our journeys with those that have a similar passion & interest!

FJRBandit said:

...especially the inside of the Old Sautee General Store, reminds me of The Waltons.

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Turk next time we ride in N. GA I'll make sure to make a pit stop here so you to check it out. You can spend 30 min. inside the store just looking at everything! Right next store is a cabin that was built in Norway and shipped over that makes some killer deli sandwiches and it's a great lunch spot for a motorcycle ride.

kamal said:

I love the pics in 'sepia' - or whatever that effect is called?

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Yes that is Sepia. I prefer Sepia over black & white for these old time wooden structure images.

Linc said:

I especially like the panoramics...

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I really love the Pano's as well. It allows you to put yourself in the image better and it's more similar to how you see the scene in person.

HPTuner said:

GI passed thru Valle Crucis on June 3rd. How about that Hwy. 194 from Banner Elk to Valle Crucis with the one lane construction lights?

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Yeah that detour wasn't the greatest and they've been working on that route for quite some time. Once they get it finished and put a new layer of fresh blacktop down that will actually be a really good road to ride...but right now it isn't.

Redfish Hunter said:

Thank you so much for continuing to post these reports.

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Thanks for the kind words.

Barry 07 FJR1300AE said:

What camera did you use to take the pics?

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This One

When we are over that way the wife and I always stop at the Nora Mill Granary in Helen to restock on the fresh ground cornmeal, makes THE best cornbread! It has a similar feel to it going way back in the times of old. It's hard to believe I've never heard of the Old Sautee store, as it basically just around the corner. Definitely on the itinerary for our next visit, which needs to be soon!