The N. C. Arboretum

We had been to the N. C. Arboretum near Bent Creek more than once in the past, but we had always felt that we did not have enough time to fully explore it.  Martha had found that there would be a tour this morning and had arranged to participate, so we awoke relatively early and drove to this beautiful 434-acre arboretum and botanical garden only a half-hour from Deerwoode.

Our volunteer guide was Barbara, a down-to-earth and friendly woman who clearly enjoyed showing the gardens to visitors.  She took us through the Promise Garden, the Stream Garden, and the Blue Ridge Quilt Garden on this cloudless day – the perfect day for being in a garden. 

We chatted with some of the other visitors and took plenty of photos, only a few of which I will post here – a lovely purple Rose-of-Sharon, for example, and a small, compact sunflower.

There was also some impressive sculpture and other artwork in the gardens.  I especially noted this lovely metal gate with rhododendron, turtle, and pitcher plants.

And, continuing the tour that afternoon on our own, after lunch at the on-site Bent Creek Bistro, we marveled at this Life of the Monarch Butterfly sculpture in the lower end of the Meadow.

We hadn't really planned out the rest of the day, but we had identified several options, such as going on to Asheville to view the Botanical Gardens at UNC-Asheville, or perhaps visiting the River Arts District.  But when we left the Arboretum it seemed as if we were almost drawn by a force of nature onto the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway located there; we spent a lot of time on the Parkway early in our marriage and it holds a special place in our hearts.  So in just a few minutes we were climbing up toward Mt. Pisgah (where we had spent our honeymoon), thunder all around and showers veiling the valleys below.

Sometimes it is good not to have a plan, to make a plan along the way; some of our best journeys have happened that way.  Somewhere along the way, when we had found we had internet service on our phones (non-existent at the Arboretum, which has no unsightly cell-phone towers), we discovered that there was a waterfall on Highway 276 just above Looking Glass Falls to which we had never hiked.  It is called Moore Cove Falls and is not marked with a sign, but we have driven past it dozens of times and wondered about all of the cars parked near the old stone bridge.

The trail was steep but relatively short, perhaps the most difficult hike I have done since my surgery but negotiated without any problems. 

The 50-foot falls are impressive, and although one can supposedly walk behind them as we can our local Dry Falls in Highlands, the rocks looked too slick for us to venture there.  How many times, we both marveled, had we driven by this trailhead and not known about this beautiful waterfall, right under our noses!  It is a lesson we learn over and over again.

At the end of the day we returned to Deerwoode for out third night and had a wonderful dinner out on the porch.  In the river haze before us we could see the observation tower, behind which we imagined we were being observed by ghostly deer hidden in the tree line as daylight faded to darkness.