Sunset on Bell Mountain

I love that we have seen a sunrise and now a sunset atop two graffitied mountains together. There is a frankly terrifying road leading up to the summit, with no pulloffs until you’re almost at the top. Then there are some serious stairs up to the observation deck. But the 360 degree view of the […]

North Carolina Re-Do

No injuries, chaos or near death experiences on our return to North Carolina! Just peak fall foliage, mountains, waterfalls, and a wealth of food n alcohol. Us n the Wall, Bugle witch fingers Graveyard Fields Horse camp! Camp feast! Chicken jalapeno hot dogs, salmon dip, berries, fancy cheeses, local bread and roasted veggies Schoolhouse Falls. […]

Onyx Cave

Another gorgeous limestone show cave! This is a vertically formed cave with intricate cave corals. The main attraction for me was the “waterfall wall,” I loved thinking of it as having a “melted candle look.” Lots of tight spaces and steps in this one- I got a bit of vertigo and felt my stomach turn. […]

Crystal Onyx Cave

Another stunning, privately-owned show cave. I am a huge fan of mashups between natural wonder and man-made kitsch so I was all about the fiberglass animals, aliens and dinosaurs. I loved “cave coral” being called “popcorn,” and a flowstone described as “butterscotch pudding.” We also had a moment at the end where we sat with […]

Diamond Caverns

Our first wet cave! As opposed to a dry cave system like Mammoth, Diamond Caverns had all the shimmering, snotty, drippy, intricate formations I always imagined in caves. There are no diamonds down there; the name comes from glittery calcite. I loved the names for different stalactites- “curtains” or “drapery” for wavy, fabric-fold-like formations resulting […]