2017 Sexton Travelog

May 2017

We started the month out with a guided fishing wade trip to learn the best techniques for fly fishing in the creeks and rivers of North Carolina.  Since our only other experience with fly fishing was in Alaska, we learned that the methods are totally different.  We had a great time with our guide Jason, and “Top Hook” honors as usual went to Chippy with a haul of 4 rainbow trout, while I caught 1 brown trout, 1 rainbow and a tiny shiner on our four hours on Scott’s Creek and the Tuckasegee River.  We will need new fly rods our next time out as the fly rods we used for salmon in Alaska are too heavy for trout fishing, but we have the gear to do a little bass fishing in the lakes in the meantime.
 

 

 

We have found the most amazing golf course just outside of Cherokee NC, which is owned and operated by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.  The Robert Trent Jones designed Sequoyah National Golf Club is filled with scenic vistas, beautiful views of the Smoky Mountain National Park on every hole, and VERY challenging golf.  It certainly has the WOW factor and my fellow workampers Scott, Dick and I have enjoyed every round.  There are also a couple other very nice courses, but Sequoyah tops them all. 

 

 

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad was another great day trip, beginning in Bryson City and winding through the beautiful countryside of Western  NC for 4 ½ hours,  with dining in the first class cars with private attendants.  Our guide was extremely entertaining and informative throughout the entire ride, pointing our historic landmarks and points of interest.  The round trip tour did make one stop at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, home of the 2013 World Championship kayak course. 

 

Another great hiking area we enjoyed was the Deep Creek area of the Smoky Mountain National Park celebrated for its streams and waterfalls.  There were several loop hikes leading to the three waterfalls in the area as well as trout fishing along the streams.  We will definitely return in June to do some fishing in the area.  There was also a sizeable picnic area, tent camping and several tubing outfitters, but we are waiting for a bit warmer weather before we do some tubing and rafting.

 

 

We have hit many of the local restaurants in the area for breakfast, lunch and dinner with our Workamper friends Scott, Tracy, Dick and Terri and have not been disappointed at all.  

We finished off the month with a visit to the Sierra Nevada Brewery with fellow Workampers Scott and Tracy just outside of Asheville and had a great free 90 minute tour and tasting.  The Brewery headquarters in Chico CA opened in 1979 and the local Brewery in NC was opened in 2014. The huge craft beer campus includes the brewhouse, bottling facility, restaurant, gift shop and entertainment center.  The tour was really hands from handling the hops, to viewing the copper clad kettles mixing and fermenting the finished product.  Of course the best part of the tour was the sampling of 9 different beers, of which all were very tasty. 

 

 

2017 Sexton Travelog

April

4/1/2017 – Today we arrived at Moonshine Creek Campground in Sylva NC which will be our home for the next three months.  It is a very rustic campground surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest in an area of NC filled with beautiful views, charismatic culture, and outdoor adventures.  The campground is just a few miles from the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway, halfway between Asheville and Cherokee NC in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.  The area has so much going on; I don’t know if we will be able to take it all in during our three month visit.  We will be working three days a week for a total of twelve hours each and will do our touristy stuff on our four days off.  This is our first foray into Workamping and we are really looking forward to it as the owners and other Workampers we have met really seem like nice.  It is a small well groomed campground with tent and RV sites as well as cabins.  After setting up we just relaxed for the rest of the day and strolled the grounds finishing off the evening with a campfire and a bottle of wine, one of our very favorites!!

 

 

 

Here are a few shots from the “Land of Waterfalls” in Transylvania County & Brevard NC.  The winding mountains roads through the Pisgah National Forest took us along the Davidson and French Broad Rivers to elevations of 6000 ft and treated us to several waterfalls, some right along the roadside and others a short hike away.  We will definitely return in a month or so as the forest has not yet begun to show its colors and there is a plethora of rhododendrons covering the hillside.  We also would like to return to Sliding Rock Waterfall when the temperatures rise so I can ride the boulders down the river and plunge into the eight ft pool at the bottom. 

 

 

 

 

Rode the Blue Ridge Parkway for about twenty-five miles on the way home and it was so clear you could see for hundreds of miles.     

 

                                                                                            

 

Our work week is three four hour days and four days off, not too bad – I work outside and Chippy works inside, just have to escort campers to their sites and cabins, pick up trash, clean sites and cabins when they leave, and clean the bathrooms.  Chippy started out deep cleaning a few cabins for opening season, ongoing that will be the men’s job.  She also learned how to run the office and take reservations etc.  First week was a bit messy as we had two out of three days with heavy rain, but we made it through just fine.  We had a group of ladies (Sisters on the Fly) fill the campground this week with some very colorful campers. 

 

 

 

Starting to explore the area a bit more on our days off

Bryson City

 

 

Waynesville

 

 Soho Falls

 

  

Rodeo in Franklin

 

Heading South to Lower 48

8/5 – 8/12/2016 – Watson Lake - Of course we had to go to Watson Lake Signpost Forest to hang our sign among the 90,000 plus signs that have been hung since 1942.  We decided to hang a sign that has been part of our RV travels for the last 20 years and represents our long time residence in NJ, which is no longer our home.  We will have a new sign made for our future travels.  The Signpost Forest is truly an amazing place that represents every country in the world and is displayed on everything from wood, plastic, steel, and rock.  It was started by Carl Lindley a homesick US Army soldier who was working on the original construction of the Alaskan Highway.  A sight to behold……

 

 

 

 Stewart BC/Hyder Ak – The ride to Stewart/Hyder was truly beautiful with glaciers and waterfalls along the way.  Of course the reason for travelling here was to visit Fish Creek in Hyder not only to see salmon reaching their final destination to lay their eggs and die, but also to see bears feasting on the salmon.  We saw plenty of salmon, but unfortunately no bears at the creek.  We did see bears along the highway on several days, but we not able to catch a picture as we were in traffic.

 

 

 

 

Travels through British Columbia - Here are some of the sights along the highway…..

 

 

 

Vancouver BC - Our last day in Canada we decided to take the SkyTrain into Vancouver to explore the city.  We enjoyed strolling the waterfront, shops, Canada Place, and Gastown, Vancouver’s most historic neighborhood, and had a nice lunch at The Flying Pig even though there was little pork on the menu.  It certainly appears like a city on the move with tower cranes constructing high-rises everywhere you look, but sadly also saw many homeless and homeless tent camps nearby.