Lovely day

Today was lovely, no photos because the camera was out of juice, but still lovely. On the way up to the Cradle of Forestry we stopped at Glassy Falls. The temperature in the morning was in the 80s- pure heaven. Cradle of Forestry was sweet- an indoor exhibit was a hit with the kids and then they were persuaded to visit the historic buildings - the school house, office, cabins of the first national foresters in the US. This was my favorite part we walked through the forest on a paved path - lined with rhodos and Mt. Laurel- and stumbled upon the buildings at intervals. The Ranger Station had some huge phlox which was covered with butterflies that alone was a magical part of the day. The WNC Nature Center was a little less fun for me- I was tireder, it was hotter and the animals were mostly taking a siesta. The reptile house was a big hit- the farm was not. The "petting zoo' consisted of donkeys who may bite and four sheep, one of whom was shaking with fear! We did get to see some deer and two black bear- the bear especially aroused my deeply conflicted feelings about zoos (as did the hellbender earlier- a large salamander in a ordinarily sized fish tank).

The children and I enjoyed the windy route up, with absolutely stunning views of the Blue Ridge. The way back was thankfully more straightforward as Mr. GPS map calculated a new route from the nature center home - by this time I was tired and the children were fractious and we may have ended up at the bottom of one of those scenic valleys- definitely no fun.