After a busy week in Greensboro I head west to the Appalachian mountains. Booked a room in Maggie Valley. Been looking forward to this all week. Got a little hesitant when the weather forecast showed rain on Saturday and snow on Sunday. Too late to cancel so off I go.

Maggie Valley is a mountain holiday resort by the looks and seems to have been so for a while. I am a couple of weeks to early and the stuff worth seeing has not opened for the season yet. There’s a motor museum and some small amusement parks carefully shuttered and locked. I am sure this place is more beautiful when the sun shines, today it looks a little drab. Spot a collection of rusty vintage Jaguar Cars on the road into town.

I get an urge to drive to Max Patch, a bare mountain top north of Maggie Valley. I have been there before in the summer time. As the crow flies it’s not far but on the winding, slippery dirt road it takes forever. The melting snow makes it even worse. I stop and take some shots of creek with some fast water. Once there the views are spectacular and, despite the challenging drive, I am not alone. Not a place that gets crowded easy, the people actually help to get a sense of scale.