Difficulty: EasyLength: 280 yards each way
Tot and Brother were both having a cranky afternoon and Mommy could tell they needed naps. Tot is a sleep fighter if there ever was a sleep fighter! If she can get up and move she will to keep from falling asleep. The only sure way to get her to nap is to buckle her in the car and drive. She can't move and usually falls asleep quickly, stays asleep for a couple of hours, and wakes up ready for adventure. So, this was what we did today. Around 3 pm, we all got in the car, Mom got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed north. We got a little way north of Asheville and it started raining, and there's nothing quite like the Parkway in the rain. You're high up, the clouds surround you and at times you even end up above the clouds and can watch it storm in a valley below. It is truly awesome and an experience I recommend highly though not what this post is about.
As we drove we came to a sign that pointed toward Mt. Mitchell State Park. Mt. Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River and somewhere Mommy had not been in many years so she turned and thus began our accidental adventure. We woke up as Mommy pulled into a space near the summit trail. This is such an easy trail; Tot ran the entire way to the summit. It is a little steep, but very short, and paved the entire way. At the top is a new observation deck that opened in 2008 and I imagine on a clear day the view is amazing!
The Mountain is named for Dr. Elisha Mitchell a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill from 1818-1857 (GO HEELS!!!) who climbed the mountain a number of times to measure its altitude. He was killed when he fell over a waterfall climbing down the mountain and is now buried at its summit.
Check out Tot's mad photography skills. Not bad for a 2 year old. Mommy's mostly just impressed that no heads got chopped off, and the composition is even actually pretty good.
