Mountain Winter

As the colder air moves in and the winds pick up here on Melrose Mountain, stripping the remaining Fall leaves from the trees and turning the mountains from bright orange to a dull grey, we're beginning to prepare ourselves for winter in the mountains!

My Friday Afternoon Delight in Saluda, NC

After a full week of hard work in Spartanburg, I like to take Friday and sleep in a bit (usually til 8 or 8:30 a.m.), mull about the mountain house, complete some chores, make some lunch, then get out for a ride in the mountains!
Living in Western North Carolina, I am surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  Also being a motorcycle enthusiast, our roads provide some of the best riding in the world to boot.

This is the road I live on. My house is just ahead on the right!

FALL 2011 in Tryon, Gem of The First Peaks

FALL 2011 has taken off in spectacular fashion!

The Western North Carolina (WNC) hills have been alive with color during the month of October, beginning in the highest elevations during the first week. The mid elevations' color began around halfway through the second week of October, and the lower elevations are still holding on to a lot of greens, even now in the first week of November!

Exploring the Mountain *Gems* - Tryon, NC

As an extension to my previous post, WNC Mountain Road Trip!, this one discusses some of my personal favorite mountain towns.  If you're planning a day or weekend trip to our Blue Ridge Mountains, this will be a great start for places to explore.  Because this subject could go on and on, I will have to make multiple posts to cover WNC.  Please keep checking back in for updates to this theme!
In the next several posts, I plan to get into waterfalls, historic points of interest, mountain overlooks, great hikes, mountain bike trails, camping, horseback riding, rock climbing, fishing, boating, motorcycling, shopping, dining, B&B's, and scenic drives.  Whew...
To keep with good blogging etiquette, I can't get too long winded in each article, so just as I said in my previous post, I encourage you to do a little online investigation for yourself!  Doing this will help you to learn more about the places you want to visit and experience, and will ultimately lead you into many more adventures!  Here I want to highlight some of my personal favorite mountain towns, some attractions in each one, and some of what to look for along the way!

WNC Mountain Road Trip!

Even before I became a WNC (Western North Carolina) transplant, I have been an expert on the Blue Ridge Mountains (BRMs) and their alluring mystical ambiance. I have spent the past 20 years visiting every small town that I could get to in a weekend day trip, sometimes taking the whole weekend to explore!

I was born and raised in Spartanburg County, SC, which is less than 20 minutes from the base of the BRMs. Spartanburg is defined as the Upstate of SC, the Piedmont region of the state.

The Right One - Part II

I felt like that last post needed some clarification, because I received a few private comments through Facebook where some thought that my "list" sounded demanding.
On the contrary! Those are not demands. Those are qualifiers.
Remember - I don't want a "steady."  I want multiple friendships.  Platonic, if you prefer that term.  No ties.  No expectations.  No deep personal divulgence to have to maintain...  Just friendship!

The Right One?

I've had this conversation more than once this year with various friends, and I've not been supported in full by any one person, although a couple friends do agree with me on this topic.
The right "one" for me.
To catch you up with where I'm at (this present time), here it is.