Monster Geocaching Trip: Day 2, North Carolina

Sunday, 8/12/2012:

Started in Emporia, VA...ended Morganton, NC.  Lots of driving today, and very few geocaches.  There were a few "goal" caches in the central part of NC before we got out to the bulk of the caches in the mountains out west.

The day began with a pre-dawn alarm and we were on the foggy back roads north of Lake Gaston by 7am.  During the roughly 40 minute drive to the lake, we encountered at least three areas with dogs off leash, just running around on the road.  On each occasion, I had to slow down to a near stop to swerve and barely miss them.  It pains me to see how acceptable this is in rural South Central VA, and I'm glad to say the trend turned for the better the farther south and west we drove.  I should also note that about half the dogs we saw on the roads in that region were dead.  RIP pups.

Anyway...

The first stop was an enjoyable morning 2 mile flat water kayak out to the NC/VA state line in the water, marked by a buoy:

Next up, roughly 100 miles away, was a virtual cache at the Andy Griffith statue in Pullen Park, one of the nicest public parks I have visited...EVER!  (and trust me, geocaching generally brings you to a considerable number of public parks)  It was country club manicured, and complete with a mini train for the kids as well as a beautiful indoor carousel.  Here's a shot of my dad, Andy and Opie:

And what trip to Central NC wouldn't be complete without some SCNB?!?

Wilkesboro had some nice sights in a little historic area of the old jail:

At this point it was around 2pm, we had driven 300 miles and had only found 4 caches!  The final stop before hitting the Hampton Inn in Morganton was South Mountain State Park - namely High Shoals Falls after a mile hike and a couple hundred foot climb.  We got a bunch of shots on the way up, but this one is my favorite; I feel it best catches the beauty of the lower falls, framed by a couple of handsome gentlemen:

Once again, we finished the day in the hotel room watching Olympics coverage, this time though it was the closing ceremonies dominated by a bunch of crazy Brits singing and dancing.

And if you're curious, click here for a view of the day's route.