Dry Falls - The Best Waterfall Yet in NC

North Carolina Travelog #16
Highlands, NC - Fri, 22 Sep 2023. 11:30am

We began this morning relatively early... well, early for us, this trip. We were on the road by 9:45. We have a long list of waterfalls we want to visit today. Fortunately they're clustered closely enough that we can hit several of them today— just like our epic day yesterday with 10 waterfalls.

For today we decided to start with the most distant waterfalls of the set. We figured if any fell off the itinerary at the end of the day, they'd be easier to add back in tomorrow or Sunday if they were the closest waterfalls instead of the farthest. It's a totally reasonable idea. It was just funny to put it in practice as on our way to our first destination, Dry Falls, we literally drove past another falls, Bridalveil Falls, pouring right next to the side of the road on US-64. We chuckled as we passed it, "We'll come back for that one next." 😂

Now, you might think with the name Dry Falls this waterfall would be, like, at most a trickle of water. We've certainly seen several falls already this trip that are flowing at just a trickle right now. But no; this is dry falls:



I did not expect this amount of water at "Dry" Falls!

Hawk had lined up most of the falls for today's trip. She advised me that apparently dry refers to how the hollow behind the falls is so deep you can walk behind the falls and stay dry. Okay, let's try it!

Watch on YouTube

Link: watch video on YouTube

Okay, so I got a little bit damp from the spray of the water and drippiness of the rocks overhead.



It's just as beautiful on the other side.

And back again....



This is so far my favorite waterfall in North Carolina.

In beauty I walk.

Bridal Veil Falls (North Carolina)

North Carolina Travelog #17
Highlands, NC - Fri, 22 Sep 2023. 12pm

I mentioned in my previous blog (Dry Falls) that we drove right past another falls this morning en route to Dry Falls. That's Bridal Veil Falls— and it's right on the roadside on US-64 outside of Highlands, NC.

Watch on YouTube

Link: watch video on YouTube

You can walk right up to it and behind it. The route is even paved. It looks like they used to let people drive behind the falls!

RIP, Diane Feinstein

Senator Diane Feinstein passed away today. She was aged 90.

Feinstein had been an icon in politics for decades. She was the oldest member of the Senate, the longest-serving female senator and the longest-serving senator from California. But her political career and reputation as a trailblazer for women in politics started long before her first Senate victory in 1992.

In 1969 Feinstein won election to the San Francisco Board of County Supervisors. Journalists in the media at the time were disgusting with the sexist tropes they promulgated. They wrote about wondering "who wears the pants" in her family and asked her then-husband if he felt "humbled or intimidated" by her success. (To his credit, Dr. Feinstein responded that he felt neither.) But what journos missed with their sexist sneering and offensive questions was that the people of San Francisco had elected her. They were not representing the people of San Francisco with their reporting, they were representing a biased minority.

Nine years after that Feinstein became Mayor of San Francisco under grim circumstances. On November 27, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated— by a fellow county supervisor, no less. The duty fell to Feinstein, who by then was President of the Board, to announce the sad news on the steps of City Hall. As board president she became acting mayor, and a week later the board appointed her to finish Moscone's term. She later was reelected mayor twice.

Two things define Feinstein's long political career: persistence and bipartisanship. While working her way up through politics starting in the 1960s she doggedly pursued her duties and aspirations, not letting insults or roadblocks deter her. She not only endured countless slights along the way but bounced back from several lost elections. She lost her first bid to become a county supervisor, she ran and lost a race for mayor (before later becoming mayor by appointment and then winning reelection), and she ran and lost a race for governor. Despite people opposing her for her politics (though she was always a centrist Democrat) and her gender she remained steadfast in reaching across the aisle to find political consensus. As one of her contemporaries said many years ago, ironically thinking it was an insult more than a compliment, "Diane wasn't in politics, she was in government." We need more politicians like that today.

Cullasaja Falls

North Carolina Travelog #18
Highlands, NC - Fri, 22 Sep 2023. 1pm

I'm not sure how Cullasaja Falls got on our list. There's no trailhead for it, nor a trail sign. Heck, there's barely even a trail. And even with AllTrails.com and Apple Maps giving us driving directions in the car we still drove past it a few times and had to turn around and try again to find the right narrow pullout on a dangerous canyon road. All that fuss of turning around a few times was worth it, though. Cullasaja Falls is amazing... once you find it.



There's little indication from the road down this steep canyon that there's a falls nearby— other than the fact it's a steep canyon. Even from the narrow pullout you can only see a glimpse of part of the falls (photo above). But as you crane your head to peer through the trees you can see there's more to these falls. A lot more. And all it takes to get there is a scramble down the steep side of that deep canyon. 😨

Fortunately for us, we came prepared for a steep scramble.



What we weren't prepared for is how huge Cullasaja Falls is. Hiking guides didn't give an accurate indication of what to expect. They made it seem like a roadside curiosity (i.e., small) that you just look out your car window to see (you can't) while driving past.

With how huge Cullasaja Falls is, and how it's hidden from easy view within this steep canyon, a short hike halfway down the side of the canyon felt like a journey into the Land Of The Lost. (Yes, I've got the show tune from that 1970s Saturday morning kids show running through my head now. 🎵 The la-and of the lost! 🎵)

We could have scrambled all the way to the bottom of the falls. It would have been tricky, but our boots and poles and skills were working well. Yet it wouldn't really have been any better. Waterfalls are honestly best viewed from about halfway down for best perspective... or at the bottom but far enough back to see everything. To me this was about the ideal vantage point. Plus, if we'd gone all the way down we'd have had twice as much huffing and puffing to get back to the top.

BTW, "Nantahala", the name of this national forest, is a native word meaning "Land of the noon sun". In deep canyons like this there is only sun around noon.

In beauty I walk.