2021/10/4 - LAKE LURE, CHIMNEY ROCK
SPIDER FREE THEATRICAL RELEASE

This is the Spider Free Theatrical Release for this album, meaning I have included only the highest quality photos and cut the arachnids. I have trouble culling down even this far - because I get emotionally attached to the memories - but I do it all for you, the viewers. If this isn't quite enough photos for you, visit the longer Extended Edition at LAKE LURE, CHIMNEY ROCK - DIRECTOR'S CUT EXTENDED EDITION.

In September/October of 2021 I took a trip to Asheville, NC and walked my poor feet as much as they could take up and down the Appalachian mountains. On the day I planned to drive home, it was forecast to be raining from sunup, but as always, the prediction kept pushing it back later and later. I decided to detour to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock to squeeze in one last adventure before the downpour. I was delighted to find the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge while waiting for clouds to move through. It rained on and off a couple times, but I had a lot of material to read on local bees and plants posted on the hut I took shelter under.

Thinking that the precipitation had finally cleared for the morning, I then wasted a few more hours exploring the hiking trails above Chimney Rock, hoping that at some point the persistent clouds would move on and I could actually see something off the edge. There weren't a lot of bugs up there, but the moist air was growing a glorious amount of mushrooms! I am also a big sucker for misty, foggy forest trail photos. The storm continuing to pass through made for some unique views of the Rock - some more visible than others - but eventually I was able to catch a glimpse of the spectacle below me. I got caught in the rain as I was about to descend in the afternoon, and hid with a large spider in the conveniently located Opera Box rock formation until it let up enough for me to escape.