Yuko-En On the Elkhorn

Japanese Gardens

Georgetown, Kentucky

Today we visited Yuko-En On The Elkhorn, which is a Japanese gardens in Georgetown, Kentucky.    There is a large Toyota factory in Georgetown and I am sure this garden would not be here if Toyota was not.  It was a nearby attraction so we decided to go check it out.

There were some really lovely spots and some views that I am glad I got to enjoy but it was not that wonderful.  I think they need money from Toyota!  There is no admission fee and in fact, there was no one there except Kirby and I and our dog, Jake.  We were so alone that we were able to let Jake off the leash as we walked the grounds.

Here are some of my photos.

Morning Walk in the Forest

 Pisgah National Forest, Lake Powhatan Campground

I just beat Kirby at Mexican Train so we are taking a break for a few minutes.  I am loving these quiet stay at home days we are having.  And it looks like quite a few of the weekend campers are leaving today.  Let’s just hope they go soon and take the 25 or so children that are on our loop!  I know the kids are having fun and it is really cool that they get to experience the outdoors but they are just so noisy!  Tomorrow should be even better!

We headed out this morning for another walk in the forest.  There are many, many trails but most of them are too long and too steep for me.  I always accuse Kirby of trying to kill me on our hikes because he is such a stronger hiker than I am and we go up and down the hills and I get so tired and he just keeps on trucking.  But he has been doing this to me since our beginning.  The joke is that I will ask how much further and he will tell me it is just around the corner or just over the next hill.  It is always further!

Here are some pictures from this morning’s walk where we were almost run over by a couple of young men on mountain bikes.  Oh, my but they were going fast as they came around that corner and of course I screamed as they startled me so much!  It took a while to calm my heart down.  

North Carolina Arboretum

Since it was so close we decided to visit the North Carolina Arboretum.  The flowers were in full color and the trails were in great shape so we had a wonderful morning for our visit.

We didn't see any place that looked good for our picnic so we drove about a quarter of a mile down the road to Bent Creek Park.  This small park is located right where Bent Creek flows into the French Broad River and is used mostly by fishermen who fish from the banks or can launch their small boats from the shore.

This was probably way to easy a picture to get as I think his short life was about to end.  He just sat there and let me take his picture.

Busy at Lake Hartwell

My but this has been a busy week and so fun!  We enjoyed a lot of family time with my daughter and her family and also with my sister and her husband who visited from Georgia.

Dave and Patti visited from north Georgia

Casey and his girlfriend, Hannah

 On Friday, my grandson, Casey graduated from Clemson University.  Kirby and I chose not to attend the actual graduation but we did help everyone celebrate.  My daughter and her husband had rented a large house on Lake Hartwell just 10 minutes from our campsite – it was perfect!  So we were close and got to enjoy the whole family – eating cake and celebrating.  I really am so proud of Casey and his accomplishments.  He graduated from the Honors College also which means that he had to work extra hard to get his excellent grades while being in a fraternity and playing big time which of course is what you are supposed to do in college.

We have enjoyed being here at Lake Hartwell State Park.  It is so beautiful and peaceful.  Of course it won’t be this way much longer as summer comes and the place fills up. 

I will leave you with some of my photos to make you envious!

Palmetto Trail

Each day we walk a bit of the Palmetto trail.  It runs about 50 feet from our campsite so it is very easy to get to.  We would like to walk more of it but after about three quarters of a mile the trail is in the middle of a small pond!  We tried and tried to find a way around it but it was hopeless.  Maybe if we can keep the rain away for a few days more it will dry up enough that we can get past it.  But in the meantime we walk the part that we can. 

This is the only thing blooming right now.

There are ferns EVERYWHERE!

With all of the rain and damp, the mosquitoes are in full force.  Lots of insect repellent in necessary!

Jake is in heaven here!

A Day at the Campground

In this picture of the lake you can see the root of the tree that I saw fall yesterday.  Obviously something has happened in the most recent years to get too much water up around where this tree was growing because you can tell that the roots just rotted out and that caused the tree to fall.

What a great day this has been!  Of course it started out with a bang - literally.  Kirby and I had almost forgotten what a southern thunderstorm could be like but were reminded beginning at about 1:00AM this morning and it went on for a few hours.  Lots and lots of loud thunder.  Like a rolling loud noise.  And almost constant lightening to light up the sky.  There were a couple of big crashes that made us jump and sent Jake to our bedside.

But all that rain washed away the heavy covering of yellow pollen that was covering everything and left the morning looking like crystal.  We took Jake on his walk around the campground and then went off on our bike ride to check out the boat launch area.  When we were there we noticed a turtle that was about 6-8 inches in size floating down the stream.  We watched until the water got too deep and muddy and then we lost him.  But we did find a nice bridge over the stream that lead to a trail.  Tomorrow we will check out the trail!

It was not a really warm day but it was sunny and nice.  We spent time outside reading and also played some Mexican Train (dominoes).  The park host stopped by a couple of times to trade jokes with Kirby.  Our wonderful day just sort of slipped away.  Retirement IS everything it is supposed to be!

Following are some photos that I took on our morning walk.

The Dogwood trees are in full bloom and strike an amazing pose in the forest.

Early morning fishermen.

I don't know what this vine is.  Probably classified as a weed but I remember seeing them in South Carolina when we lived there.

The reason for all the yellow pollen.  Well, at least the majority of it.  Pine Pollen!

If a Tree Falls In the Forest.....

Well, I still don't know if it makes a noise if no one is there to hear it but I do know that if there IS someone there, it does make a noise.  I saw a big pine tree just decide to lay down today.  A first for me.  Jake and I were out for an afternoon walk and I just happened to be looking right where the tree was and saw it fall.  It was an amazing sight.

Since we don't have sewer here we decided to use the campground showers today to save our holding tank as we want to stay until the middle of next week.  (we love Beaver Dam Campground in Louisiana!) And we needed showers!  The whole thing was very iffy but I was successful in the end.  The water pressure was good and I didn't have to keep pushing a button like so many of them. (Can you count how many times the floor has been painted?)  Just as we were finishing up (Kirby in one shower and me in the other) the park host arrived to do his daily cleaning and didn't know we were in there and thank heavens there was a little bitty clasp on my door!  We are both much cleaner this evening.

Jake and I took a walk after dinner.  Here are some of the photos.

The dogwoods are in full bloom!

I am in love with these seeds.  They look like red M&M's!  But I have no clue what they are.  Can anyone help?

Even the little weeds are blooming with color.

This is Beaver Dam Lake with Jake in the foreground of course.

Desert Color

It is that time of year in South Carolina when I would be drooling over the displays of color from the azaleas.  Out here in the desert there are no azaleas but there are flowers blooming and I am enjoying the color that I find!  The bluebonnets seem to be behind us but just look what we have found -

And flowers don't have all the color!  Just look at this sunset we had in Junction, TX!