Day 3

After a successful night in the wilderness (by successful I mean I wasn't eaten or robbed) I set my sights on civilization and moved eastbound again. I had planned to go on a nature trail hike to a waterfall while still in the park, but since there were already bears spotted around that day I was not allowed to take Poe. They explained to me that my dog might be considered bait and would lead to troops of unsuspecting strangers to be mauled. Up until then I just thought they were being rude and incorrectly considered my dog to be somewhat less than the human that he is. Dismayed, but still upbeat, I rode my brakes miles and miles all the way down out of the misty mountains and stopped every chance allowed to take pictures and loll in the wonder. I resisted the urge to buy Moonshine jelly but I'm already regretting it since I'm pretty sure I won't find it anywhere else in the world! Not long after I left the national park we passed through a Cherokee Indian Reservation and along the road was a tiny sign for a yet lesser known Soco Falls. No less beautiful, I'm sure, than the Laurel Falls we were restricted from entering. It seemed kind of odd that such a beautiful thing could be just a tiny sidenote along a bare winding road. There was nothing around for miles besides a bingo hall and a gas station. I happened upon a young happy couple, kissing in the camera and sharing a moment. It made me wish I wasn't with just my dog. I went ahead and ruined their lovely moment so I could get a good picture, but my moment already seemed to have changed too.
Asheville had a hip and trendy little area that I wanted to stay and walk around in but I was filthy from camping and muddy from waterfall climbing and wasn't quite ready to stop for the day. We moved on to Columbia, S.C. and eventually stopped at a crummy motel where I decided to sneak my canine accomplice inside rather than pay for his company.

Roadtripping alone has it's occasional down side. Poe isn't much of a talker and he hogs the bed.