A Quick Trip to Cherokee and Bryson City North Carolina-

Hello friends how are you?  Last week no sooner had I gotten back from my trip to Nashville, well I did have one day at home, I was off again for another few days to North Carolina.  Another tourism meeting and lots of fun this time getting to see some fun attractions.  We stayed at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.  It was a central location for both Cherokee and Bryson City.  This hotel is very nice but I am too cheap to be much of a gambler.  The hotel has lots of nice restaurants and shops.  First stop Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.

Located in the heart of Bryson City North Carolina the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is a favorite beautiful ride through western North Carolina.  The views are amazing.  We rode The Michigan one of the newer cars and it was fantastic.

   Look at the Conductor isn’t he adorable

             We were able to step outside between the cars and get some great photos.

     I love the gentle rocking of the train and being able to see the beautiful scenery.  We had great weather for the entire trip.

We rode the train down to The Nanatahala Outdoor Center.  At NOC you can raft, hike, zip line, eat, shop and stay in some amazing cabins.  It is the perfect place to chill out. We went back the next day for a longer visit.  We had the chance to raft or zip line or just hang out by the water.  I decided to sit by the river and chill out with a glass of wine or two.  It was so relaxing.  I even dipped my toes in the water and it was ice cold!!!!

After our day riding the train and visiting NOC we went back into the town of Bryson City.  A charming town that I fell in love with.  We had a little time for shopping. If you go you have to check out some of the small boutiques a couple of my favorites were:  Humanite and Pursenality.   For dinner we went to a great place to eat Everett’s Bistro. Everett’s is also a hotel with guest rooms.  Believe it or not it used to be a bank.  The owners have done a spectacular job with this Hotel and Bistro. We were able to tour some of the guest rooms.  I can’t wait to go back and stay for a few days.  We also had dessert on the rooftop.  It was a great day with so much to see and do.  I was so glad to get back to the hotel that night.

The next morning we met a local guide for a trip to The Road to Nowhere.  When I mentioned to my niece that I was going to Bryson City the first thing she said was, Oh!!! are you going to see the Road to Nowhere?  To be honest I had heard of it but really wasn’t sure what it was about.  We traveled about six miles in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  For the abbreviated version of this story click here.  
It is a sad story.  The local people can share with you many of their own stories of having to take boats out to visit their ancestors’ gravesites.  Basically this was a road that was started, many families were displaced and then funding ran out and the road development just stopped.  So it really is a road to nowhere.

Lot of graffiti on the walls of the tunnel.  The middle of the tunnel can get quite dark.  I can only imagine what it would be like at night.

We continued on with our local guide, Wendy, who was just a wealth of information. We went for a two mile hike through Deep Creek.  What beautiful scenery with several waterfalls along our hike.  Check out even more on the link below.

    Fontana Lake.  I made our driver stop so I could get this picture.

Later that evening we had a tour of the Museum of The Cherokee Indian in downtown Cherokee.  This is a wonderful museum full of history and culture.  It has so much character and love put into it.  This is a must see if you visit Cherokee.  Another thing to check out while in Cherokee is Unto These Hills and The Cherokee Historical Association. We didn’t do those on this trip but I have been before.

And then later that night we had dinner prepared for us by some wonderful Cherokee women.  We also participated I some of the traditional Cherokee Indian dances and heard some amazing stories while sitting around a bonfire.  A great ending to a great day.

 

     I always think a fire is magical

The next day we had meetings most of the morning and just like that I was back at home by late evening.  I had a really good time on my short journey.  It makes me realize just how much we have to see in this U.S.A.  I want to see it all!!!!

So if you are looking for something to do in Western North Carolina I highly suggest you check out these adventures.  You will love them!!!!

And always remember to Love Your Day Your Way!!!!