I traveled across North Carolina this month on the blue highways (well, highway is stretching it for some of the roads), from Asheville to Raleigh via Burnsville and Sparta (near the Virginia border). I visited family, longtime friends, and saw beautiful countryside. You can read the words and see more photos on my post “You Can’t Go Home Again.” Here is the photo journal.
Leaving Seattle at sunrise under the crescent moon.
I love kids soccer, especially when a grandson is playing! Ethan scored two goals. Memories of his father and aunt and times gone by rush in.White Duck Tacos on the French Broad River in Asheville.
Hooker Falls on the Little River in the Dupont State Forest.The Bigs and their parentals.
The Little River is an old favorite. It runs through Elkmont Campground in the Smoky Mountain National Park, the place of my first solo camping adventure after many camps there when my children were young and not so young. It was also a place of my mother’s heart when she was a young woman.
Triple Falls
Heart rocks did not abound here, but we did remember Nana.From the Bigs’ backyard near Weaverville.Max answering the hooting call from his grandfather down in the holler across the road at sunset.Scored a visit with my big sister who just happened to be at nearby Montreat from her home in northern Virginia.The Toe River near Burnsville.Sharing my friend Katherine’s soul place on the Toe; I’m not the only one who has left Raleigh. She lives in Celo, a communal land trust community established in 1937 to care for the natural environment.
Toe to toe on the Toe with Mama.Road trip! Traveling north to Sparta to visit Norma, another friend who has left Raleigh.
Dancing clouds led the way.
Sunset from Norma’s front porch.Sunrise from Norma’s front porch.New artwork at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, my former church home and employer. They finally got new pew cushions!Before I moved away, I served on the committee planning for this work by artist Catherine Kapikian. It’s the first time I’ve seen it. Designed by the artist, it was executed by members of the church community and depicts the radical inclusion and values of the current church, complementing the ancient history in the stained glass.More time with friends.A Place at the Table is a radical restaurant concept to feed fresh good food not only to those who can pay, but also those who can’t. There are 60 such restaurants. Read about it here.A walk at Lake Johnson greenway out friend Vickie’s back door.You’ve heard of bikes that can be picked up and dropped off; Raleigh also has electric scooters! (It’s a little scary, both for drivers and, I suspect, riders.)Back into Seattle at sunset……under the nearly full moon.
I am a Pacific Northwest native transplanted to the southeast for 36 years. In 2012, I returned to my childhood home and fell in love with this corner of the country again. I am a grandmother, a storywriter, a teacher, an attention payer, a hiker, and a back roads wanderer. Check out my website (and my memoir) at www.gretchenstaebler.com.
View all posts by Gretchen Staebler
6 thoughts on “Adventure Log: Roadtripping in North Carolina”
Beautiful and fun photos – doing full justice to NC’s natural beauty, friendships, and loved ones. What a great trip!
Those “heart💕rock” shots are my favorite. Our lives are always where we are … always beneath our feet. Nice that the stones always reveal themselves to you. Attention is its own reward.
Writing Down the Story 
Beautiful and fun photos – doing full justice to NC’s natural beauty, friendships, and loved ones. What a great trip!
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Thank you, Susan!
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Those “heart💕rock” shots are my favorite. Our lives are always where we are … always beneath our feet. Nice that the stones always reveal themselves to you. Attention is its own reward.
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Yes, it is. It’s why I take photos, to assure myself I’m paying attention. And to remind myself that I did.
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I love an adventure in photos…really tells the story…
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Thank you, Patricia.
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