Our adventures on Lake Toxaway continue. Of course, I had to take more pictures of The Greystone Inn property on my early morning walkabout enjoying the grounds.

Yesterday afternoon we took a boat ride in Laura and Dan’s Duffy named “inTOXAWAYted” on Lake Toxaway.

When we were here in October 2021, we took a ride exploring the lake while Laura pointed out each of the amazing gigantic homes and who owned them. Since then, many have been renovated and older small homes have been torn down with larger homes replacing them. This is one of those summer destinations definitely for “the wealthy” based on the prices Laura was quoting. And one of the original large homes built on the lake is now the Greystone Inn!

For dinner, we drive to a restaurant in Lonesome Valley, about 45 minutes away. A huge tree has fallen across the winding mountain road and we have to wait 10 minutes or so to drive slowly under it. The traffic coming the other way is stuck because a huge tractor trailer is in the front of the line and cannot go under the trunk of the tree. The joys of mountain living! (By the time we drive back, it has been cleared by the local Fire Department.)

Canyon Kitchen is an open air restaurant and on beautiful grounds in Lonesome Valley facing the granite rock side of a mountain, part of a box canyon. Great food and drinks and such a fun evening being outdoors in this setting.

This morning we have breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then off we go to see Whitewater Falls in the Nantahala National Forest. This waterfall drops into the Horse Pasture River. We have visited this particular falls every time we have been in this area. It’s a paved walkway up to the water fall viewing area. Through the trees you can see Lake Jocassee located in South Carolina. Then, if you have good knees, you can go down about 100 steps to a viewing platform. Such a pretty area, always lovely to see!

When we leave, we make a stop at Gorges State Park Visitor Center. This park is a must if you are ever in the area – lots of hiking and beautiful scenery.

Inside, the exhibits are interesting and cover the geology, history, hydrology, and the flora and fauna of this area. It is wonderful the state is protecting this area. The park is part of the Blue Ridge Escarpment on the Atlantic side, east of the continental divide. I would have spent more time here because I enjoying learning about these ecologically rich areas. However, everyone is ready to head back for some lunch and there won’t be any hiking today!

A quick stop at Toxaway Falls which we can only catch a glimpse of through the trees and condo buildings. This particular waterfall is part of Gorges State Park and is (according to the visitor center) falling over the oldest rocks in the entire park. How do they know?

Tonight Dan is smoking some mountain trout for us. It rained earlier but seems to be clearing. We are looking forward to a nice evening sitting outdoors – not something we get to do much in Florida this time of year!

Also, I have fallen in love with the Oak Leaf Hydrangea plants that start out with white flowers that then turn pink.