Land of Waterfalls

Our tour began with Abbey Falls . . .  on the site of a failed development.

There was lots of Galax in the woods -- its shiny green leaves make long-lasting decorations and mountain folks often gathered it to sell to florists.

On the same site was the more impressive Boren Mill Shoals Falls  . . .

I wonder if Boren is a corruption of boring -- 

there used to be water-driven boring mills for cleaning out rifle barrels. 

The wildflower below is Goats Beard.

 

Next came Estatoe Falls. The word estatoe turns up often in this area.

 It's  the Cherokee name for the extinct Carolina parakeet.

The tree below made me think of Tolkien's Ents.

Below is Twin Falls -- the one on the right is somewhat obscured by greenery.

This is located in South Carolina in the Estatoe Valley.

There was a viewing platform here. . .

An unknown fungus -- if you know what it is, please tell me.
Mamabug tells me it's Yellow Coral Fungus -- makes sense! 

A house and an old mill overlook what may have been my favorite stop...

Below is Mill Shoals Fall . . .

And just to the left of Mill Shoals Fall is French Broad Falls . . .

Two rivers converge here -- it's pretty spectacular.

 
Fire Pinks were blooming on the roadsides. . .

And Flame Azalea lit up the woods. . .

 The last stop was Woods Cove Falls

 So much beauty. . .

 Everywhere.

 

Below is our intrepid guide, Craig Miller of Miller's Land of Waterfalls Tours. 

Craig was knowledgeable and charming -- 

if you visit the area, I highly recommend this tour.