Just a short ways up the highway from Looking Glass Falls is the trailhead for Moore Cove Falls. While longer than the "just off the road" walk to Looking Glass the trail definitely wasn't too long, clocking in at less than a mile. We figured that it would be another fun sight for the kids to see.
The Moore Cove Trail leads hikers to Moore Cove Falls, which drops 50 feet over a cave-like rock outcropping. The trail allows hikers access to this rock outcropping. However, the path does not go beyond the falls. Do not attempt to hike to the top of the falls. Remember: waterfalls can be very dangerous! Wet rocks are often slick, and a slip above a waterfall can be fatal. Stay on the trail to safely experience the sights and sounds of this spectacular waterfall.
--from exhibit signage
The parking area is once again just off the road.
Just before the trail starts is an informational billboard.
The trail then continues up a set of wooden and gravel stairs.
As mentioned the trail is rated quite easy.
The stairs were a bit steep of a start if you look back on them, but I'd rather have something downhill at the end of the hike with kids.
The trail features some nice bridges over streams.
There was one bridge that hadn't yet been rebuilt and so we had to walk on a raft of logs.
Before too long you come to the actual falls and a viewing area.
Sadly there wasn't too much water flowing over the edge.
In April 2019 we took a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. On the way down we made some stops to enjoy scenery in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest. On a previous trip through the area we'd tried to camp at Davidson River Campground only to find that it was full. On this trip we made sure to arrive early enough and we weren't disappointed--it was a great campground. One morning we got up see some waterfalls and the first one we picked was an easy walk from the road, Looking Glass Falls.
Looking Glass Falls is one of the most popular falls in Western North Carolina. The name "Looking Glass" comes from Looking Glass Rock, where water freezes on its sides in the winter and then glistens in the sunlight like a mirror or looking glass. Looking Glass Creek, which flows past the rock, is also named for the impressive natural structure. Its easy accessibility makes Looking Glass Falls a popular spot for travelers along U.S. 276 near Brevard. The falls are 60 feet tall.
--from Pisgah National Forest website
The falls are actually visible from the road.
The parking area is along the side of the road and has a sidewalk that takes you towards the falls.
I felt safe ignoring the icy warning on this nice warm April morning.
Once down the first section of stairs you come to a viewing area. Here is a 360° view of the area.
I know I've said it before, but I really enjoy time-lapse photos of waterfalls.
It is sad that people have to be told not to move things--you'd think it would be obvious to leave things just like you find them.
The view was also good from the lower platform.
If you're in the area you should make the quick trip to see Looking Glass Falls. So long as the stairs aren't icy it is a short trip from the road to enjoy a beautiful waterfall. A few more photos are in this album.
Just past the Mingus Mill you can pull into the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, the one Smoky Mountain visitor center in North Carolina. As we're usually staying on the Tennessee side we don't always get to go by, but whenever we do we enjoy our time there.
The Mountain Farm Museum is a unique collection of farm buildings assembled from locations throughout the park. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived 100 years ago. Most of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were moved here in the 1950s. The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s. The museum is adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.
--from Great Smoky Mountains NP website
The visitor center does a great job of explaining the history of the area, starting with American Indians but also including the first non-Cherokee settlers that arrived in the 1790s.
You also learn something about how the farms would have been laid out.
In addition you can learn a bit about the park's history.
In a way though the best exhibits though are outside in the Farm Museum for these are actual buildings gathered from all over the park to tell the history of the area.
No pets are permitted in the area but thankfully kids are welcomed.
We first entered an area of heirloom apple trees protected by modern elk-proof fencing.
Apples were a staple for many mountain families and would often have been stored in a building like this apple house to protect them from the elements.
This is a sorghum mill used to press out the cane and extract sorghum.
You can see how it worked via this picture that I took at Dollywood a couple days before where a modern mill was being run as a demonstration.
This is a furnace that was used for refining the sorghum.
This was one of the houses that you could enter.
The meathouse would protect a valuable source of protein that was usually salted or smoked to allow it to last without refrigeration.
Here is an interior view of the meathouse.
If you're in the area and the weather is decent you really should stop by the Mountain Farm Museum and stroll around. Admission is of course free since there is no entrance free for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
This video tour (that I found via the park service page) will give you more of a preview before you come.
William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace Star Wars Part The First
by Ian Doescher
I've had this book on my shelf for a number of years. I picked up The Phantom of Menace back in 2016 as a bargain buy at Joseph-Beth bookstores. It was shortly after this that I listened to the first William Shakespeare's Star Wars (Episode IV) via my Audible subscription and knew that I enjoyed the combination of Shakespearean drama and language with the story of Star Wars.
I thought about starting to read Episode I, but felt that I would be missing something if I didn't have the rest of the prequel trilogy handy. In the years since I hadn't found others on-sale, so it had languished on my shelf until late in 2019.
I'd started watching through the Star Wars movies with my six-year old and I decided that I'd pick this book off the shelf and see if it was more enjoyable with the film fresh in my mind. It did in fact make a difference and I think really helped with the enjoyment of the artfully crafted work. In addition I decided to postpone re-watching Episode II myself (not with the kid--she isn't old enough for it yet) until I'd watched through all of the Clone Wars on Disney+. Of course little did I know that would take a while if only because I want to watch through in the correct chronological order. But enough about other parts of Star Wars, this review is supposed to be about William Shakespeare's version of the tale.
I've had a passing familiarity with William Shakespeare since my days in high school (when I read Hamlet) and college (when I acted in Hamlet and was crew for a production of Much Ado About Nothing). While it takes some work to translate some of what is written the stores are well done and entertaining to read even today hundreds of years after they were first written. While I wouldn't consider Star Wars normal science-fiction, they're definitely engaging space opera and I think the match up of Star Wars and William Shakespeare was a genius inspiration. Doescher does a great job translating the story of the film into the format of a play. I found the final product quite compelling. It takes a good bit of talent to take a story produced by someone else and render it into a format developed by yet another person and ensure that people will want to read it today.
A number of illustrations were also sprinkled throughout the text, not only headings for each act, but images of several characters and scenes.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Summary: A dramatic rendition of Star Wars Episode I in Shakespearean language and five acts.
Technical: Hardcover with dust jacket, 173 pages
After we left the Laurel Falls trailhead we headed towards the North Carolina side of the park. While we made a brief stop at Newfound Gap to take in the view from higher elevations we were going on further. Our next stop was Mingus Mill, which is right off the main road. Amy and I had been there before but we had never taken the kids with us there.
A half-mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. Located at its original site, Mingus Mill stands as a tribute to the test of time.
--from Great Smoky Mountains NP website
The mill dates from 1896 and was rehabilitated by the Park Service over fifty years ago. Once you leave the parking lot you cross over a bridge and walk up a path towards the mill.
It is a two-story structure and looks so much better than all of the buildings in the park that aren't actively maintained.
Inside in addition to the working machinery is an information table/sales counter.
If you continue upstairs you can view more about the history of the building.
This is a bolting chest. "After the wheat was ground into flower a conveyor, or bucket, belt transported it to the bolting chest located on the second floor of the mill. This machine, which was also powered by the turbine, sifted the flour and separated it into several grades from fine flour to bran (bits of hull)."
--from exhibit signage
This wheat cleaner looks somewhat like a Trojan horse to me.
Out back of the mill is the watercourse that brought the water to power the machinery.
Of course it started out on ground level.
Then as it got closer to the mill they needed to build supports to keep the flow going at the same level.
Finally it powered the waterwheel on the side of the building.
The mill is well worth a stop when you're on the North Carolina side of the park. You might even catch a glimpse of a beautiful stream as you walk around.
If you want to see a few more photos of the area you can find them here.
