Today we went to two natural local attractions: Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. Chimney Rock is a very famous pinnacle overlooking the Broad River Valley, with view of up to 75 miles. It stands alone with a walkway connecting it to the mountain. To get to the pinnacle either take the trails or an elevator which will drop you off near the summit. Other trails lead out from the visitor's center, ranging in difficulty from easy to hard. Along the way were numerous waterfalls, especially Hickory Nut Falls, which was filmed in the movie, "The Last of the Mohicans". The views are very beautiful.
Lake Lure is a man-made lake made by damming the Broad River. The Movie, "Dirty Dancing" was filmed in part there (the staff cottages and the scene where Patrick Swayze taught Jennifer Grey dance lifts, while standing in the water. A one-hour boat ride points out the numerous summer homes on the shores and the sunken town of Buffalo County. The boat even passes over a sunken town, which occurred because of the dam. You can see some of the buildings on the bottom of the lake as the boat passes over them.
Cave
We took a hike with the Nature Conservancy organization to Bat Cave, the largest fissure cave system in North America. The shifting of the tetonic plates rather than erosion from rivers forms this type of cave verses the other types of caves, e.g., Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Cave, The hike started off fairly moderately, but then we climbed more than three hundred feet on a trail festooned with rocks still wet from the recent rain. We went inside the cave for a few hundred feet: quite an experience. We made it to the top and returned via the same harrowing path. Needless to say our muscles were complaining vociferously.
Chimney Rock Area, North Carolina - Lure Lake and Bat Cave Cave
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