Sauratown Mountains
On the 27th of February, I took a trip up to Pilot Mountain again, but this time I took some pictures from inside the State Park. Part of the ancient Sauratown Mountains, it was once known as Jomeokee by the Saura Indians, which means "Great Guide" or "Pilot." Pilot Mountain is capped by two prominent pinnacles. Big Pinnacle, with walls of bare rock and topped by vegetation, rises 1,400 ft. above the valley floor. Connected to Big Pinnacle is Little Pinnacle (duh!), which is where visitors go on top of to view Big Pinnacle and the surrounding area. Though there are several trails inside Pilot Mountain, going on top of Big Pinnacle is not permitted since it is considered too dangerous for most people to challenge.

The Battle of Alamance & Guilford Courthouse
On March 11th, 2001, I was driving back from Raleigh (visiting my sister) when I decided to take a short detour. The first side trip was to the Battle of Alamance near Burlington, which is basically just a field, a granite monument and a small old house nearby. The flag poles represented where the Royal Governor's Milita and the Regulators (rebel farmers) were lined up during their battle on May 16th, 1771. The Regulators were defeated, but still remembered as another important step before the Revolutionary War.

Mount Mitchell
On March 18th, 2001, I took a little mountain drive, which lead me to Mount Mitchell State Park. Named after Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a professor at the University of North Carolina. He first measured the height in 1835. In 1857, Dr. Mitchell set out to verify his measurement of the peak and perished at the foot of a waterfall on the mountain slope. Today, we all know that Mount Mitchell towers at 6,684 feet, making it the highest mountain east of the Mississippi.

Going down NC 181 and then via NC 183 (this is a good shortcut, don't ever use the BRP if your in a hurry), I arrived in the small community of Linville Falls. Nestled on the county lines of three counties (Avery, McDowell, and Burke), it doens't have much to offer except good Bar-b-que, a 19th Century U.S. Post Office (Still Active), and a waterfall of the same name. Sadly, because I decided to visit the falls so late in the afternoon, I only had enough sunlight left to go on one of the trails to the falls. So I picked a trail I never went on before that would put me in the bottom of the Gorge. This wasn't an easy trail either, as you were either climbing up or down the mountain, not to mention that I was the only person on this trail this late in the day. But I braved it and got some nice pictures of the scenery, and even put my hands in the freezing water (I didn't drink the water though, I have heard that it is somewhat polluted... so sad). Too sum up the rest, I made it back to the visitor center as the sun set.

Roan Mountain
On a nice and sunny day in September, I decided to take a sudden trip to Roan Mountain. Originally, I always thought it was in Tennessee since that is where the community of Roan Mountain is located as well as the state park. However, after driving past both places along Tenn. Hwy 143, I soon discovered it was actually mostly inside North Carolina. At a location known as Carver's Gap (5,512 ft.), this is where Tennessee and North Carolina meet, the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests meet, as well as the Appalachian Trail. Roan Mountain is also managed by the USDA Forest Service from Burnsville, NC.