Watery Wednesday...Nantahala River

One of the main tourist attractions in this area is whitewater rafting. There are several rivers located just a short drive away, but around here it is the Nantahala River. "Nantahala" is Cherokee for "land of the noonday sun", the river runs through a narrow and steep gorge, where in some places the sun only reaches the ground when it is directly overhead.

The Nantahala River is formed at the base of a hydroelectric dam. Water is routed to the river through two circular tubes, from the upstream side of the dam. The water originates from the bottom of Nantahala Lake. As a result, the Nantahala River is a cool 50 degrees year-round. The river flows down hill, toward Fontana Lake. Fontana Lake, an enormous lake with just under 12,000 acres of surface area, is held suspended in place by Fontana Dam, the highest dam east of the Rockies, which holds back 30 miles of water.

Wy and I took a drive this morning and stopped to take a few pictures. I hope you enjoy.

There are alot of rafting businessess with Nantahala Outdoor Center being the most prominent. They offer several different packages to spend the day doing, including Raft and Rail, which starts with a trip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway and ends with a trip down the river. The have cabins for rent and restaurants to eat at. Here is a bridge that crosses the river from the NOC to the rail area.

It amazes me that even though it was a cooler 65 degrees this morning Wy decided that he had to get in the water (which is 50) and get his feet wet.

I somehow managed to capture the water drops with the sun reflecting off them.

The Road To Nowhere

In the 1940's the Tennessee Valley Authority wanted to build a hydroelectric power dam. As such they purchased or took 67,000 acres of land in Graham and Swain counties. More than 1300 families were left homeless with no relocation assistance from the government.

The government in order to appease these people promised two things: First, to reimburse Swain County for Hwy 288, which would be flooded when the lake was filled, and second to build a road around the park to give access to the more than 28 cemeteries that were left behind when these people were forced from their land.

Approximately 6 miles of the road, including a bridge and a 1,200-foot tunnel were completed by the end of 1969, but the remaining 26 miles was never finished. Many of the people, who were forced to leave their homes, are still waiting for the government to build the road to their ancestral cemeteries as promised and they were extended an olive branch, so to speak, in October 2000 when US Representative, Charles Taylor and Senator, Jesse Helms secured federal funding of $16 million toward the construction of the North Shore Road Project.

As of now it is a hotly contested debate in the area as to if the road will ever be built, should it be, or should we just take the money. Then you have to wonder who will actually get it or will it just be pissed away on things that have nothing to do with the road. The area now is mostly a hiking and tourist place, with some people using it as an art canvas. I can't say I like the theme of the picture below, but at least the person had some talent.

A Few Random Pictures

I decided to see about taking some photos this week. The colors are full and I keep trying to capture it on film. Not having such good luck. I'll keep plugging along though.

This is a maple tree with a missing large limb probably

due to encroaching on power lines or something.

I found it interesting so took a pic.

Here are some leaves from said maple tree.

I stopped on Saturday on the way home from work and took a few of the river. It's so low right now that I could probably skip from rock to rock, if I could actually skip, not get my feet wet.

Here is where the gravel meets the

pavement on my drive home.

I just love the mountains. It's different

every time I drive through. I look forward

to frozen icicles in winter and hopefully

SNOW!