Fun With Family-Part 1

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Western North Carolina is always beautiful but fall, when the leaves turn to golds, yellows and flame is especially outstanding.

Our daughter enjoys visiting when the leaves are in full blown splendor but unfortunately the color was late this year. On the plus side, it was a short visit and thanks to a conversation in the local home improvement store, we found a new place to explore.

St John’s Episcopal Church is located off of Highway 64 west, on a road appropriately named, St.John’s Church Rd. While it dates back to the 1800s it is still and active church.

Among the cemetary headstones we discovered an Indian Chief and his wife as well as the Rufus Morgan garden where several family members are buried.

I knew that a Rufus Morgan had been instrumental in mapping hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and Western North Carolina but had no idea what an avid naturalist he was.

This is an excerpt from Find a Grave

Naturalist, Author, explorer: Rufus Morgan was one of the early pioneers in the founding and development of the Appalachian Trail. Raised in the far western mountains of North Carolina he was well acquainted with the various peaks and valleys of the area. Following the proposal for a national trail to follow the spine of the Appalachian Trail he was a natural to develop the trail route from the Georgia Border to The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. He was the original author of the Appalachian Trail Guide for this part of the path. Over the years he introduced thousands of people to the Appalachian Trail, the Nantahala Gorge, and the National Park.

Find A Grave.

 After leaving the church we headed to one of our favorite local recreation areas, Standing Indian. We enjoyed a picnic then took advantage of the cool temperature to indulge in a short hike to Mooney Falls.

It is not spectacular, but we find the sound of rushing water to be both relaxing and refreshing.

At home we spotted a doe with her two babies in the woods next to our driveway.

Our neighbors have an awesome inflatable dragon for Halloween. The thing is, the dragon’s movement results in it toppling sideways. Our daughter couldn’t resist posing as a dragon slayer. For fun, I looped the photo so that it appeared as if she kept falling off. Unfortunately, WP wouldn’t recognize the file. (I don’t think our neighbors read this blog but if they do…honest, she was not kicking the dragon!)

It was short visit but we laughed, made memories and enjoyed each other’s company, even if the Fall color was late. We feel blessed and look forward to making more memories.

Next week Part 2 will be adventures with more family. Hint: The Fall color doesn’t disappoint.

Tags: Enjoying Fall, Family, Rufus Morgan