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We finally made it to Chimney Rock and I thought it was amazing. From the gate to the ticket window was 1 mile up the road. Mom said it felt like the one mile was taking forever. I replied “Of course it does when the speed limit is 15 mph.” We arrived at the ticket window and purchased our tickets only to find our destination was still another two miles up a twisting turning road full of switchbacks and a 15 mph limit. Finally arriving at the Cliff Dwellers Gift Shop and the elevator to the top, we separated, agreeing to meet back at the hotel later.
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Mom, Linda C., Linda K., and Victoria headed to the Elevator while Linda H. and I walked up to the observation point. We started by following the Outcroppings Trail. This trail is a network of stairs and boardwalk which contains 500 steps. We took the path that led through The Grotto and under the “Subway.” The Subway is a very low tunnel through the rocks. I had to stoop down to get through and bumped my head on the ceiling. We stopped at Pulpit Rock to see the view. From there we climbed to Chimney Rock; elevation 2280 ft. On way down the steps from Chimney Rock, we passed Linda K climbing to the top.
After a short rest and a quick hello to the rest of the group at the Sky Lounge, Linda H. and I headed up to Exclamation Point. This was an additional 200 feet above Chimney Rock with wonderful views. We continued to Peregrine's Point; elevation 2640 ft. We decided to do some of the Skyline trail for about 20 minutes. When the path started on a downward trend, we knew it was time to turn around, not wanting to be caught in the valley with much humidity and many bugs. We headed back to the Sky Lounge for a short break.
Next we took the steps back down to the parking lot and visited the Cliff Dwellers Gift Shop. Continuing our trek, we headed for the Hickory Nut Falls Trail. This Trail was 1.4 miles and led to Hickory Nut Falls. The views were spectacular. Linda said we did over 7 miles, but there was so much up and down hills and stairs that it felt like a lot more.
We stopped in at the Cliff Dwellers Gift Shop for Linda to make a quick purchase and then headed out to find lunch. The plan was to stop in the cafe right outside the gate but it was way too busy and crowded. Linda suggested we stop at Bruegger's Bagels across from our hotel.. She had eaten there with her daughter before and knew the food was very good. She was correct. It was worth waiting until we got back to Asheville to eat.
This is how Linda C. said the other part of our group spent their day.
“After checking out the gift shops, the rest of us went down to an easy 0.4 Mile trail named the Great Woodland Adventure Trail. Toby and Linda K. rested on a bench, Vicki and I took the trail. We had lots of tall steps and wound around and around in the woods. There were displays for children about different forest animals. We decided to go to Chimney Rock town for lunch but it was very busy. There was no place to park so we thought we would go back to Biltmore Village to get lunch at the Corner Cafe. After parking and walking there, we discovered they were closed due to a power outage for the whole of Biltmore Village, including our hotel. We were deciding what to do when the power came back on. We waited to see if they would reopen and eventually they said they would reopen in half an hour. After a total of about an hour wait we finally got in for lunch. It was a lovely place and the food was wonderful.”
“After checking out the gift shops, the rest of us went down to an easy 0.4 Mile trail named the Great Woodland Adventure Trail. Toby and Linda K. rested on a bench, Vicki and I took the trail. We had lots of tall steps and wound around and around in the woods. There were displays for children about different forest animals. We decided to go to Chimney Rock town for lunch but it was very busy. There was no place to park so we thought we would go back to Biltmore Village to get lunch at the Corner Cafe. After parking and walking there, we discovered they were closed due to a power outage for the whole of Biltmore Village, including our hotel. We were deciding what to do when the power came back on. We waited to see if they would reopen and eventually they said they would reopen in half an hour. After a total of about an hour wait we finally got in for lunch. It was a lovely place and the food was wonderful.”
I found mom waiting in our room. I was so hot and sweaty that I took an extremely long shower and felt much better in the end. We met up with the rest of the group for dinner at this place called Zambra, a Mediterranean tapas bar. It was our last dinner together so we were making it very special. The food of this place was a little on the different side, I would say. They had some very unusual things on the menu. Everyone ordered at least two items and really enjoyed the meal. This is a highly recommended place to eat if you ever visit Asheville.
Side Note: This is a cute little incident. Mom and I were in the large elevator of the hotel. This elevator has two doors. One for the guest to use that opens into the hallways. The other is for the staff to use when transporting items between floors. It opens to the service area. When we reached the bottom floor this morning, both sets of doors opened. We figured that the staff needed the elevator. As we exited, one of the employees pushed a large laundry cart into the elevator and right out the other side. It was apparently a shortcut for them. It just looked funny watching them go through the elevator.
Tomorrow we head home.
Side Note: This is a cute little incident. Mom and I were in the large elevator of the hotel. This elevator has two doors. One for the guest to use that opens into the hallways. The other is for the staff to use when transporting items between floors. It opens to the service area. When we reached the bottom floor this morning, both sets of doors opened. We figured that the staff needed the elevator. As we exited, one of the employees pushed a large laundry cart into the elevator and right out the other side. It was apparently a shortcut for them. It just looked funny watching them go through the elevator.
Tomorrow we head home.