October makes for great Fall adventures. We needed a little family time. On HWY 105 in North Carolina, we did a bit of hiking, picture taking, and exploring. The leaves were beautiful. Check out the video! For our family and as a couple, Overlanding is more than just finding the dirt. It is exploring, being self-reliant, and seeking new experiences. When you have a fully capable vehicle that can handle just about anything, your access is nearly unlimited!
Traversing South Carolina
Visit the site, grab the download, use the Google Map … Let’s go! SCARS – South Carolina Adventure Route
Traversing Georgia
We saw a few posts from well-known Youtube-rs. The subject matter was this “thing” referred to as the Georgia Traverse. It looked very interesting. I got out my Google Maps, tablet, and printer, and I began to plan the trip. I planned, but what should have taken us a day or maybe two to complete never happened. We spent three days wandering around the most beautiful national forest, the Chattahoochee. We met great people, saw beautiful views, and found some of the best places to camp. Part One It all started with the map of the Georgia Traverse … We will be back to complete the traverse and revisit our favorite trails!
Bryson City & NNF with a touch of the Smokies
Trip Map We stayed at the Folkstone Inn. It was a great choice. The owners, Scott and Toni, were kind, attentive, and fabulous. Scott was a chef for many years, and our breakfast was an example. The first morning we had lemon souffle pancakes with blueberry compote, sausage, fresh fruit with local honey and yogurt. Our second morning breakfast had scrambled eggs, with a delicious topping of peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and bacon on top of an arepa. The inn was kept incredibly clean, and the outdoor atmosphere was welcoming. I have no issue recommending that you make this a stop if you find yourself close to Bryson City, North Carolina. Our most frequented place for dinner was the Nantahala Brewing Company. You can find it on our trip page too. Here is a hint of what you have waiting for you … On our second day, we left the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad station in the late morning. We selected a moonshine experience through the Nantahala National Forest. Head over to https://www.gsmr.com/ to check out all of the train experiences. Our group was the best. We had a very enjoyable time laughing and drinking samples of Carolina moonshines. I think my favorite flavors were the peach and apple pie. The moonshine cocktails were twists of the favorites, like the Moonshine Sunrise and the Moonshine Mimosa. Later that afternoon, we decided it was time to work off some calories. We headed towards the Deep Creek area of the Smokey Mountains to do a little waterfall hunting and hiking. I will say this – I want to tube down the Deep Creek next visit. That looked like a ton of fun! On our last day, we headed towards the Nantahala National Forest. We found the Beachertown-Wesser trail and a wonderful scenic drive. Happy Birthday Jesse!
Kayaks and the 4Runner
Kayak mounts? Check. Roof rack? Check. Kayaks? Check. This is our first trip out with the Bork loaded up to go to Badin Lake. It was a great day. Plan complete … or so we thought. That little bit of lift on the rig made it really difficult to load and to unload the Kayaks. The J’s got to work and created an attachment for the trailer. This is much better!
Posing at Uwharrie National Forest
Went out with a friend to let the “Borkinator” pose and have some fun. You have to love the 4Runner. To this day, we do not regret trading the speed for the strength. Jesse and I spent many, many months picking this girl out, and she has lived up and exceeded our expectations.
We adopted a 4Runner!
We adopted our 2007 Toyota Sport Edition 4Runner with a V8 on July 10, 2018. We are very proud parents. We affectionately named her “the Bork”. So, with paper tags and stock build, we took our girl to Uwharrie to play with the big kids. Here she is with some of her new friends!