Within moments of the bus leaving the Mexico City terminal bound for Veracruz I was fast asleep. I’d been traveling hard, seeing sights and meeting people by day, cataloging photos and writing by night. An eight hour bus ride meant a welcome opportunity to catch up on sleep. Some hours later I awoke and was surprised to see what appeared to be pollution from Mexico City still floating above the flat horizon like a gray blanket. But there was also something else: a brilliant white point floated atop the layer of grit.

Pico de Orizaba volcano

I blinked a couple of times and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, suspecting a mirage, but with every subsequent mile the snow-capped pinnacle grew clearer and more impressive, protruding effortlessly and suddenly from a flat plain. My map showed that this was Pico de Orizaba volcano, the highest mountain peak in Mexico, third highest in North America, and second most prominent volcanic peak in the world after Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. It is considered an active volcano, although it hasn’t erupted since 1687. Read the rest of this entry »

Before I knew it, I had been at Entre Amigos Hostel in Urique for an entire week and had done little but walk to town a couple of times and cook delicious meals from ingredients plucked from their organic garden. I also realized that the local Tarahumara (Raramuri) Indians were rarely seen in Urique; if I expected to experience their culture I would need to visit the smaller villages in the area. Of the two Tarahumara villages within hiking distance, I chose to visit Guadelupe Coronado because I was told the seven kilometer walk was level, which would be better for my still recovering hip and knee.

I set out in the early afternoon on the dirt road that follows the Urique River upstream, hoping to escape the worst of the midday heat and still arrive in time to shoot photos of the towns historic mission church in the golden afternoon light that precedes sunset. Though it is possible to drive to Guadalupe vehicles must ford the river at one point, making 4-wheel drive an absolute necessity, but since I was hiking I could simply cross on the swinging bridge. At the ford, I headed up the hill and stepped carefully over the gap between the first metal tread and the rocky lip to which the suspension bridge was attached. Holding onto the thin metal wire handrail and mesh netting that make up the sides of the bridge, I picked my way to the middle of the river and stopped to watch tractors and heavy dump trucks crawl around the river bed, working around the clock to construct a new concrete bridge.

Swinging bridge over the Urique River on the way to Guadalupe del Coronado

I was sadly considering that the old swinging bridge will soon be abandoned when I reached the last third of the span. Here, the platform changed from metal steps to rough wooden planks; many were severely split and wobbly, while others were missing entirely, leaving dizzying gaps to the shallow waters a hundred feet beneath my feet. Gingerly, I tested each plank before applying my full body weight, gripping the metal cables in the event that one gave way. As I hopped over a missing plank that had been stuffed with a tree log I admitted that a new concrete bridge wasn’t such a bad idea. Finally stepping onto terra firma on the other side, I shuddered and looked back across the canyon. Two Tarahumara women were setting down their 50-pound sacks of groceries to rest before crossing the bridge; thank God I made it across before they added their weight to the flimsy span.

Wooden portion of the swinging bridge has rotten boards, gaps, and some areas plugged with tree branches

Tarahumara women carrying a heavy load rest before crossing the swinging bridge

Just beyond the suspension bridge, the road to Guadalupe del Coronado diverts into a side canyon

On the other side the road diverted into a side canyon and began a gradual climb. The terrain was greener here, with blooming trees and a forest of giant cactus with upthrust limbs. A smaller stream ran below the road, pooling turquoise beneath enormous pink boulders. In some areas, the path turned to fine white sand, an indication of the floods that inundate these valleys every summer when the rains come. After two hours of walking it seemed like I had Read the rest of this entry »

After five weeks on the road it was time to head home, but not before one last day of hiking. From the North Carolina mountain town of Cashiers, I mapped a route past Gorges State Park, which opened to the public this past May. Located atop the Blue Ridge Escarpment, this newest North Carolina park is the source of five mountain streams that gradually descend toward the South Carolina border, where they suddenly plunge over spectacular falls and rush through steep-walled gorges.

With only one afternoon at my disposal I decided on a duo of one-mile round-trip hikes. The first, marked “strenuous,” descended sharply to a wooden platform overhanging Bearwalow Creek, where Upper Bearwallow Falls dropped 200 feet into the gorge. Pretty – but a bit anticlimactic after others I have seen around Transylvania County. And almost not worth the straight-up, half-mile ascent that had me gasping for air.

Upper Bearwallow Falls in North Carolina's new Gorges State Park

After catching my breath I crossed the parking lot to access the “moderate” Bearwallow Valley Overlook trail. I eyeballed the spongy, leaf-littered path Read the rest of this entry »

“I wonder where that road goes?”

Some insatiable curiosity has always compelled me to take the path less traveled, searching for little known landmarks, attractions, or beautiful vistas that I am certain lie along its route. I simply cannot resist the allure of the unknown. So when I returned from my westbound trek on the Silver Comet Trail the other day and learned that the ruins of an old mill could be seen on the eastern portion of the trail, I knew I could not leave Smyrna, Georgia without investigating further.

The following day I walked east on the Silver Comet, looking for the side path I had been told would lead to the ruins. Perhaps a third of a mile from the Concord Road access I came upon an unmarked narrow asphalt path that descended steeply, snaking through the forest in a series of loop-de-loops that must have been mapped out by a drunken surveyor. At the bottom of the hill the old mill leaned precariously toward Nickajack creek despite steel I-beams bracing what remained of its two-foot thick brick walls.

Concord Woolen Mills Ruin

When Concord Woolen Mills opened in 1847 it was one of the first industrial employers in the county. During the Civil War the mill made Confederate uniforms until it was burned by Sherman’s troops on July 4, 1864. After the war the mill was rebuilt and prospered until 1889, when fire again Read the rest of this entry »

Seems I have a hard time staying in one place for very long. I am on the road again, headed for Chicago to attend two blogging conferences: BlogHer and TravelBlogExchange. As usual, I am wandering a bit. In Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) I stopped to check out the Silver Comet Trail, the longest paved trail in the U.S. and one that is extremely popular with walkers, bikers, joggers, and roller bladers.

Portion of the trail west of the Concord Road access in Smyrna

The vision for this trail began in 1991, when a group of cycling buddies envisioned a network of off-road trails in and around Atlanta. Each of them had biked off-road trails in other cities and understood how they connected neighborhoods and encouraged healthier lifestyles. Determined to develop this same type of amenity for the Atlanta area, they convinced the Georgia Department of Transportation to purchase miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way for a potential commuter rail corridor and allow interim use as a trail. It was named the Silver Comet Trail in honor of the Silver Comet train, which had carried passengers along this route from 1947 to 1969. Read the rest of this entry »

By the time I crossed over into northeast Georgia from the mountains of North Carolina, I was tired. For days, I’d been hiking back country trails, shimmying down river embankments, and clambering over rocky cliff faces in search of waterfalls. But when I rolled into Tallulah Falls, Georgia, I realized there would be no rest on this particular day, as this town’s claim to fame is Tallulah Gorge State Park, home to five major waterfalls.

View of L'Eau d'Or Falls (French for "water of gold"), top of Tempesta Falls, and Hawthorne Cascade and Pool from the north rim of Tallulah Gorge

I stood at the rim and gazed out over the gorge. For thousands of years the Tallulah River has eroded the hard, quartzite rock into a two-mile long, 1,000-foot deep chasm. The river drops nearly 600 feet as it rages through the canyon, forming L’Eau d’Or, Tempesta, Hurricane, Oceana, and Bridal Veil Falls before joining the Chattooga River. Having arrived late in the afternoon, it was too late to get a permit to trek into the very bottom of the gorge, but I could hike the very strenuous Hurricane Falls Loop, descending from one side of the rim and climbing up the opposite side via a series of wooden staircases and a suspension bridge that hovers directly over Hurricane Falls. I considered it for a Read the rest of this entry »

Deep within North Carolina’s Nantahala Forest, a glittering emerald valley is encircled by 5,000-foot high peaks. Sunshine streams down through crisp pine-scented air, illuminating the craggy stone faces of Yellow Mountain, Rock Mountain, and Chimney Top that stand sentinel around the valley. In the surrounding woods, spongy footpaths carpeted with last winter’s detritus follow rushing creeks to thundering waterfalls. Mountain roads snake past wildflower-choked fields, neatly manicured crimson barns, and tiny hamlets on their way to spectacular mountaintop vistas.

What is this mystical place? Have I been magically transported to Eden? No. This is Cashiers, North Carolina, as close to heaven as a mortal can hope to be.

Path allows visitors to walk behind Dry Falls

This tiny town, located at the junction of U.S. Rt 64 and NC 107 in far southwest North Carolina, perches at the southern crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With little more than a mile of quaint shops and inns, the focus in Cashiers is on the outdoors. Visitors who are not physically inclined can explore the exquisite landscape with a ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The 53-mile scenic rail journey crosses two tunnels and 25 bridges on its spectacular route Read the rest of this entry »

Although rain never puts a damper on my travels, sunny skies are usually preferable when I am on the road. There is, however, one exception; rain is a bonus when hunting waterfalls. Since I was in southwestern North Carolina for my annual real estate continuing education classes, I decided to hike to Hickory Nut Falls, located at the base of the 315-foot high granite monolith in Chimney Rock State Park.

Entrance to Chimney Rock State Park. Note the "chimney" on the left side of the mountain peak.

An elevator leads from the visitor's center to the top of Chimney Rock

I have always been intrigued by this solitary rock column protruding from the canyon floor. I wondered about the geologic forces that had formed it and the family that had painstakingly built a wooden walkway to the top. But it was reading about the elevator that had been blasted through 258 feet of solid rock in the center of the pinnacle that finally made me get in the car and drive to Chimney Rock Park back in 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

Having thoroughly explored the historic architecture in Dunnellon’s Historic Boomtown District, I turned my attention to natural attractions during my second day in this north central Florida town. As home to Rainbow Springs, Florida’s fourth largest natural spring which disgorges 416 million gallons of water each day, and the meeting place for the Withlacoochee and Rainbow Rivers, Dunnellon easily lives up to its claim of being the “Treasure of Florida’s Nature Coast.”  The local rivers are so famous for their large mouth bass that the State officially calls Dunnellon the bass capitol of the world, and fishermen also pull sunfish, bream, longnose gar, shad, and crappie from these waters as well. For those who prefer saltwater fishing, the Gulf of Mexico is only a short distance away by car, or by boat via the Withlacoochee.

This cascade in Rainbow Springs State Park is the highest man-made waterfall in Florida

Not being a fisherman, I decided to investigate Rainbow Springs State Park, the site of the headwaters of the Rainbow River just ten miles north of town. This spring became popular in the late 1880′s when hard rock phosphate was discovered in the area and by the 1930′s it had been developed as a tourist attraction. Sea walls, a lodge, a gift shop, and a reptile exhibit were built and tailings from the nearby phosphate mining operation were used to construct miles of nature trails, scenic gardens, and three waterfalls, one of which is still Florida’s highest man-made waterfall. In the 1960′s, Sperry and Hutchinson Corporation (S & H Green Stamps) purchased the spring and turned it into a popular theme park, dredging the river in order to offer glass-bottomed boat rides, riverboat rides, a log raft ride, and submarine boat tours. S & H also added a zoo, a monorail with leaf-shaped gondolas, and an on-site rodeo.

The theme park’s heyday was short lived, however. In the early 1970′s, Interstate 75 was built 30 miles east of Dunnellon, diverting traffic from U.S. Rt. 41 and forcing closure of the park. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of the Interior stepped in, designating Rainbow River as a National Historic Landmark. Determined not to let this natural treasure wither, in 1984 volunteers began clearing the overgrown lands, restoring the pathways, and with the help of the Village of Rainbow Springs Garden Club, planting azaleas, magnolias, and a variety of other native plants. Constant lobbying on the part of the volunteer organizations finally convinced the State of Florida to purchase the original area that was the Rainbow Springs Attraction in 1990. The park was opened to the public on weekends in 1993 and on a full time basis two years later. Read the rest of this entry »