Grandfather Mountain

Photo reproduced from CaptainKimo.com

Several people suggested that we visit Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and so we did that today. The "main attraction" is a mile high swinging bridge. Of course,  mile high means the deck of the bridge is 5280 feet above sea level.  The distance from the bridge deck to the ground is only 80 feet. Even though the mountain is privately owned it is well maintained and its exhibits are very educational. Grandfather Mountain includes a number of habitats constructed for native bear, eagles, otters, cougar and deer.

The weather here in the Blue Ridge Mountains changes often.  We started our drive in sunshine and as we approached the mountain it started to cloud up.  Nonetheless,  the view from the top is beautiful.

One of two bears we spotted.


One of the two resident otters.

And here is his buddy swimming laps in the pool. They are fun to watch as they are quite animated.

We enjoyed our visit as well as the drive to and from this scenic attraction.

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A few days ago Sandy and I both noticed an unusual flying insect at the farm.  At first I thought it was a cobweb with a spider in it. It had the shape of a snowflake and was about the size of a quarter.   It seemed to be carried by the wind, but it actually was flying on its own.  When I mentioned it to the farm owners in an email they responded that it was a crane fly.  I was able to find a photo of it on Google Images.  See below. Unfortunately, this photo just does not do it justice.