Loose Laces

Viewing southwest from Pleasant Garden.
Mt Mitchell, the highest peak east of the
Mississippi River can just barely be seen
in the center background.

Carolyn and I drove to Limestone Cove via the Rock House Road area, the Laurels, Siota, and 107. We turned onto Red Fork Road and drove to near the summit of Unaka Mountain at the old overlook called Pleasant Garden. We were up there on the final day of summer last year, but the view was mostly obscured by brush. This time was different. A lot of he brush has been cleared, and the view was spectacular; at least it would have been on a very clear day. The air was typical summertime hazy which made distance viewing difficult, but added its own beauty to the smokey mountains effect. There are no tables or picnic facilities there, so we made do by sitting in the Escape and eating sandwiches. Carolyn picked blackberries and I found some huckleberries for desert.

We left there and drove on over to the Beauty Spot, and it too had a lot of brush cleared and the view was pretty good considering the atmospheric conditions.
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Carolyn could have gotten a lot more blackberries, but she was afraid a bear would get her.

The day was cool (according to Carolyn) and very windy atop the hills. The wind was from the south; probably from the Florida storm.

In the gap between Unaka High Knob and the Beauty Spot, we found a bug photographer's paradise. A patch of milkweed, black-eyed susans, goldenrod, and other plants had lots of different butterflies, bees and wasps, beetles, and other assorted insects and spiders. I was pretty well worn out by the time we got there, and didn't get many good shots of the critters.

Back in the 50's and 60's, Unaka mountain was a popular spot for families on Saturday—and especially on Sunday—outings. Then a series of crimes were committed there, including murders, rapes, thefts, and automobile vandalism. Local law didn't have or wouldn't use resources to patrol the area and the outlaws thrived for years. Now that Unicoi County is trying to build its tourism, it has again become a relatively safe place to go, as far as I know. The tourism council is even promoting visits there, but I doubt it will ever be like it once was with picnickers and hikers all over the place on Sunday afternoons.
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We drove by our old friend Ken Moore's house, but we didn't stop. The back door was open, but Brenda's Dodge truck wasn't parked anywhere to be seen. There was a small red truck in the upper driveway.
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