Day Trips

I have the honor to fill in for the illustrious Robby Dilmore on the Christian Car Guy Show this morning.

I have a great time traveling around our State and up into Virginia hiking and sight seeing and would like to share with you some wonderful day trips. Joining me are some dear friends who also enjoy day trips. Shannon Cassell, Dianne Garrett and Howard Bryan. We would love for you to call in and share a particular wonderful day trip you enjoyed.

Please call in at 866-348-7884.

One of my passions is hiking. I enjoy Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge, Mount Rogers, Hanging Rock, Pilot Mountain and Stone Mountain.   If you enjoy hiking and camping in North Carolina and the adjoining states please call and share.

Please consider checking out my Facebook page, I have some great pictures of my hikes and information on the trails. www.Facebook.com/Bill.Mixon

Forsyth Insurance Services has a wonderful Facebook site that lists upcoming community events located at www.Forsythcommunityevents.com.

Grandfather Mountain has an awesome set of trails from the Blue Ridge Parkway up the back side of the mountain. The “Daniel Boone Scout Trail”. I enjoy going up to Calloway peak and Watauga View. Be warned, the hike up is much more strenuous than the hike back down. Unfortunately it can be hard to find a parking spot on a summer weekend. This is the opposite side of the mountain from the swinging bridge side.

Linville Gorge is not far from Grandfather. It has some spectacular hikes. For the younger and older family members the hike to the falls is very tame. Wiseman’s View is accessible to just about anyone. For the more adventurous try Spence Ridge. I love this trail down to the Linville River. Parking is not usually a problem. Of course Hawks Bill and Table Rock are spectacular but are strenuous. You would never forget the ‘”Short off the Mountain Trail” from the Table Rock parking lot South. I stop when the trail plunges down. It is a rather easy trail up to that point and then back. I do not think I ever praised God or felt Him as close to me as the times I have enjoyed the vistas and views from this trail. My main concern is parking can be hard to come by on a summer weekend. They are all GREAT off season hikes.

Because parking is a problem during the summer at Grandfather Mountain and Linville Gorge I took a friend’s advice and started hiking Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia. It is exactly 100 miles from my home. It is breathtaking. Wild horses, ponies and long horn steers. If you have a 4 wheel drive and are really adventurous Google- “Grayson Highlands Scales Campground”. It is the roughest road I have ever taken my 4 wheel drive jeep on but it tops out at the Appalachian Trail. The other side of the park is very visitor friendly and well worth the drive.

Closer to the Triad is Hanging Rock State Park. I know a great many people who have visited the park and never heard of the tower on Moore’s Wall Loop Trail. You can hike for a mile or up to 10 miles with a wide array of distance choices in between. You will find a wide array of awesome views. This is a spectacular place to spend a day. There is also a great campground in the park.

A 30 minute drive from Winston is Pilot Mountain. It has a number of short trails with memorable views. You will also probably have the opportunity to watch people mountain climb and repel. The only problem is that I have driven up on weekends when there was no parking left. If you take the time to view my hiking pictures www.Facebook.com/Bill.Mixon you will see I have started leaving my home early enough to catch the Sunrise on most of my hikes. This can solve the parking problems.

Stone Mountain is also a wonderful park with grand views in our area.

I hope everyone makes time to drive up and down our Blue Ridge Parkway. Last month I visited a place I had heard about near Mount Airy. If you enjoy Blue Grass Music go by the Blue Ridge Music Center at mile post 213. Live Bluegrass most Saturdays. www.BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org.

Please call in and share your favorite day trips.