Down South Road Trip: Notable

Susan (and Henry VIII) at the Wicked Weed, Asheville, NC

It took a while, but I wanted to record some of my favorites from the trip down south!

Eating Out
Most unusual and delicious: Tie -- White Duck Taco's bulgogi taco (Asheville) and Tupelo Honey Cafe's (Knoxville) Venerated Veggie Bowl of grits, greens, black-eyed peas, Sunshot salsa, and fried okra
Best Biscuits: Tupelo Honey Cafe (Knoxville)
Best pizza: Asheville Brewing Co.'s Shear Delight and Badlands
Best beer: Asheville Brewing Co.'s Dark Farm and "Black Ink"
Just darn good: A Harvest Table's (Meadowview, VA) black bean and queso burrito with local apple salsa and the Hellbender's (Davis, WV) Gendarme burrito
Best Coffee: Local Latte from Fido (Nashville)

Eating In
Mom's spaghetti: nothing better post-hike to Ramsey Cascade
Family Sunday brunch: bacon, eggs, Mom's cheese grits, Terri's strada, fruit, and biscuits. Yum!
Pilar's mom's breaded cod with tomato, pepper, onion sauce. Delicious!

Other Fun Stuff
Quote: Don't say "stupid" or you'll be sent to the woodshed.... --Edwards Tate. (Very ominous, sinister, and foreboding sounding, but no one seemed too concerned....) 
Beer Cozy with Lionel Richie's face and the words: "It's me you're looking for."
"Trespassers may be shot" sign seen outside a home(?) near Love Park, Nashville, TN - Yikes!
Mom's lap harp!

Beloved West Virginia

Dolly Sods Ground Cover

Todd, Kathleen (look closely), Susan & Frank on a lunch break while hiking in Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, WV

Partially frozen Red Creek, Dolly Sods, WV

Clockwise: Frank, Susan, Kate, Tristan, Kathleen, & Todd in WV

Culinary Delights & Hiking

View from Sam's Knob, Black Balsam Area, Pisgah National Forest, NC

From Brevard, we headed north to Asheville for good food and good beer. First stop, the White Duck Taco Shop where we had bulgogi, jerk chicken, and bbq with slaw tacos. The bulgogi was particularly delicious. From the White Duck, we walked to Wicked Weed Brewing, a new-ish brewery in Asheville. My cousin raved about the Brussels sprouts, so we sampled those and two brews: Freak Double IPA and the Troy & Sons Old Fashioned. The "Old Fashioned" was particularly tasty and unusual. 

After a sunset walk at Biltimore Estate and a visit to the winery, we headed to Asheville Brewing Co. for the Badlands and Shear Delight pizzas and the best beers of the trip: Dark Farm, an imperial saison-style farmhouse ale; the Beer Guy Brown Ale; and the "Black Ink," a Cascadian Dark Ale, which is a collaboration between Asheville Brewing and the Burial Beer Company. Not a bad day at all. 

On Day 2 in Asheville, breakfast included biscuits and grits at Sunny Point Cafe. Fortified for hiking, we headed south along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Sam's Knob and the Flat Laurel Creek Loop. View above. 

Southern Road Trip

Fall colors sunset from the Hokey Pokey, Connestee Falls, near Brevard, NC

On Friday, November 1, Frank and I headed south for family visits, fall color, hiking, and as much local food/drink fun as possible!

We stopped first at Harvest Table Restaurant in Meadowview, VA. It's a great local foods restaurant...we sampled a fresh, local black bean burrito with apple salsa, local hard apple cider (Foggy Cider), and pimento cheese to go - what's not to love!

We arrived in Brevard, NC, that evening and gathered as the Fort/Dammann/Edwards/Tate clans. 

Arkansas Black Apples at Sky Top Orchard

Saturday brought hot cider, fresh doughnuts, and apple picking at Sky Top Orchard. Our apple varieties: Arkansas Black, Cameo, Gold Rush, and Pink Lady. Some of the family capped off the day with a visit to Oskar Blues Brewery's Brevard location and enjoyed samples of Chubby Mama, Old Chub, and Ten Fidy brews. Plus, a double rainbow. Look closely. 

Frank, Meredith, & Dad at Oskar Blues Brevard and a double rainbow

Trip Superlatives & Highlights

Opabin Plateau Circuit, Lake O'Hara, Yoho NP

Road Trip 2013 Hiking Summary: nearly 150 miles over 17 hikes in 29 days (15/17 hikes in the Canadian Rockies)

Best Hikes: 

• Cavell Meadows (wildlife and groaning glaciers), Jasper National Park
• Sulfur Skyline (amazing view), Jasper NP
• Wilcox Pass, Jasper NP
• Takakkaw Falls Area Circuit (waterfalls, rivers, mountain climbing), Yoho NP
• Opabin Plateau Circuit, Yoho NP
• Sunny Boom Lake, Banff NP

Best Nap: The Watchtower - no worries about being bothered by animals...great!

Best Hot Springs: Miette Hot Springs (Frank) and Banff Hot Springs (Susan)

Funny Occurrences: 

• Seeing the same hiker on two different hikes 4 days apart
• Dog bark echoing across Rockbound Lake
• Canadians really do say "Eh," ... a lot

Unbelievable Worst Driving: An RV stopped in the traffic lane on a blind curve with no flashers and no one in the car. Yeah.

Music for the Road: Jason Isbell's album, Southeastern

Entertainment for the Road: Top of the Lake and The Fall

Most Unexpectedly Delicious Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Franks Hot Sauce and Jalapeno Hefeweizen beer at Bowser Brewing Co.

Most Diametrically Opposed Simultaneously Overheard Conversation: Picture a tiny day hikers' hut with two people discussing peace studies and a hiker from Alaska telling the day hut worker guy about a strip club called "The Bush."

Back in Chicago

On Sunday we got great views of the mountains driving from Canmore to Great Falls, MT. In the evening, we enjoyed brews from Bowser Brewing Company in Great Falls. (We also had a lot of Frank's hot sauce..on pizza, on chips.... It must be made in Great Falls.)

On Monday, it was another long driving day from Great Falls to Fargo. What can we say, Fargo was a great cross roads for us. We enjoyed burgers at a great beer bar, JL Beers.

On Tuesday, we made it a vacation day by rollerblading near Chippewa Falls, WI, on the Old Abe Trail and lunching on Mexican complete with margaritas!

Or a Frozen Lake

Frozen Tower Lake on Rockbound Lake Hike, Banff NP

All week the forecast promised a sunny and warm Saturday for our last hike to Tower and Rockbound Lakes. Not so much. The hike, however, was unique. Tower Lake was frozen and thanks to one of the dogs on the trail, we got to hear his bark echo and echo and echo around Rockbound Lake. 

Sunny Skies Again - Finally!

Thank goodness the sun has arrived for our final two hiking days. Celebration below at beautiful Boom Lake!

Susan and Frank at Boom Lake

On Wednesday, we were pretty disheartened that by the time we got to Cascade Amphitheatre, it had gotten quite cloudy. Just a small patch of blue sky below. :(

Cascade Amphitheatre View

Banff NP Hiking Highlights

In Banff, we started out with the popular Johnston Canyon hike. The most amazing thing about the hike was the catwalk built by Parks Canada to take hikers through the canyon. As suggested, it was extremely well traveled. Even beyond the lower and upper canyon, there were lots of people on the trail! 

Ink Pots, Johnston Canyon Area

Two days later we hiked to Bourgeau Lake. We were the first car at the trail head. On the way up, we felt the solitude keenly; Frank saw a bear. As we descended, however, the trail had become a thoroughfare, and we passed at least twenty people. Bye, bye solitude! This is becoming a theme with Banff and isn't surprising given the fact that Banff has 3 million visitor's a year to Jasper's 1.8 and Yoho's 500,000.

Susan & Frank at Bourgeau Lake

With continuing snow, we stayed at a low elevation yesterday and walked the Spray River Circuit.

Spray River Trail Views

Canmore Views

Frank and I have been enjoying Canmore's truly spectacular mountain setting (...wherever you are...you have a great view...even outside the grocery store) and fantastic network of paths around town. My local foods reconnaissance work also uncovered an Alberta cheese plate at Mountain Mercato!

Mountain Views Around Town

Local Alberta Cheese Plate