Tom’s Creek Falls

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

On grandson David’s day off, we went adventuring. He found an easy-access waterfall near Marion from our book about falls. We had not seen Tom’s Creek Falls before, and we gave it high ratings. There was a parking area for several cars, and the path to the falls was wide and even. I was thankful there were no rocks or roots to trip over. If you have the stamina for a mile-long walk on gentle grades, you will probably enjoy the walk and the easy viewing platform near the base of the falls. David took an extension of the trail to get on a high rock.

From there, he took a shot of John and me on the viewing platform.

From the high rock, he went down to the creek for a closer view of the water.

I liked David’s zoom of the falls, bringing the water pattern closer.

Forgetting that I couldn’t change the orientation of a video, I took one that can only be shown sideways. I need a little fellow to come out of the camera and hit me on the head to remind me to shoot in landscape position. The sound won’t change, even if the water is defying gravity across the screen.

I took one selfie to show off my band-aid badge. Before we went adventuring, the dermatologist took a biopsy of a bump on my nose. Her assistant suggested I make up a fanciful story to explain the bandage on my honker. I thought “biopsy bump” was explanation enough. I was thankful to be distracted from my nose, because the band-aid was more bothersome than the tiny wound.

On the way home, we drove by Andrew’s Geyser. We’d been there several times before to watch trains screeching around the Loops to climb over the mountain. The geyser was not working, but we were pleased to see the site improvements. There was a well-defined parking area with a railing. A new set of steps and a ramp gave easy access to the ground.

David and I wandered over to the gurgling stream, dreaming of wading in hot weather. I saw a bird flying over the water and realized it was making a sound as it flew. I suspected it was a king fisher, and seeing it confirmed my hunch. Most bloggers would follow a statement like that with a perfect close-up. I won’t, because I was nowhere near enough or quick enough to catch it with a camera. I hugged the memory to myself the rest of the day.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

43 thoughts on “Tom’s Creek Falls”

    1. I used to see kingfishers on Long Island, so it was special to see one here.

      I don’t mind showing a disfigured nose in a photo, but I’d never willingly show one that makes me look fatter than I am. Pride!!!

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  6. The landscape is beautiful and David was really high up to take that photo of you and John on the platform. That water in the video was really racing wasn’t it? Looks chilly and David is all bundled up. That was a great adventure and a perfect way to spend your day off.

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      1. I figured it might be far away and high up. I thought it might be chilly as David had the hood up and looked cold … John is becoming a softy after all those years in cold and snowy Long Island. 🙂

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        1. We don’t seem to be as thin-blooded as people around us, but that’s not saying much. John says his thermostat took a hit when he had a heart issue. He had a stent(s) put in to open up some arteries. His sensitivity to cold probably comes from medications to keep the blood flowing. At least he feels normal most of the time!

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          1. Oh, I’m sorry – I was joking about John since he was a native New Yorker and more than used to the cold weather. That is interesting that happens when a stent is put in. Normal is good! It started snowing gangbusters here about 4:00 p.m. and they say it will be 46 tomorrow – I find it hard to believe and had planned a little outing to the River … maybe late in the day – it won’t be crowded there due to the Super Bowl.

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            1. No reason to be sorry. John is continually amazed that his thermostat is off. Before we moved, he never got uncomfortably hot in TN or chilled in NY. I found out why. He has type A blood. The A stands for antifreeze.

              Hope you can get outside tomorrow and that it’s warm enough to be comfortable.

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              1. Oh, I mean since I joked about him being cold – and he had a heart procedure. I have type A blood too, but I do get uncomfortably cold or hot. I am A positive – I gave blood for many years and one time a phlebotomist was a newbie and could not get the needle in after repeated tries. I have small veins and even the experienced staff have had an issue and would try different sites until they could get it positioned, so I suggested she ask one of her superiors as it was not always easy. There were several of them around eating donuts and drinking coffee and bashing their boyfriends and husbands – she said “no, I know what I’m doing.” I used to give blood twice yearly at a blood drive for a local Catholic church then go during the year to the Red Cross donation station. She insisted on trying again, so after the needle fell out of my arm again, I called for one of the others and said to take it out and I was going to leave. I got home and had bruises up and down my arm and to this day, unbelievably, I have a tiny hole where she kept sticking me – it is a permanent mark. I don’t care about the hole – I have plenty of other little marks, like chicken pox scab scars, vaccination scars, etc. – it was her insistence in not walking away and having someone else do it. I can’t give blood now as I don’t eat red meat and don’t take iron supplements so I can’t meet the required hemocrit level.

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  8. I often find myself in the same situation as you. I want to snap a pic that I know would make a perfect ending for the post, but I’m too slow to get the shot. ‘Tis a burden we slowpokes have to bear.

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  11. That’s a lot of bandaid for a small nose! Sometimes I think they grab the first one that’s nearby rather than one that fits the occasion. At least it didn’t have dinosaurs on it. Great pictures! Glad you are getting out. Our weather is here is downright balmy for winter! Maybe the groundhog won’t see it’s shadow!

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    1. I have smaller band-aids now. That huge one was overkill. I should have taken a selfie at the BBQ restaurant after we left the waterfall. I had spicy sauce on my meat, and my face turned bright red. What a contrast it was to that skin-colored band-aid!

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  14. Oh, that’s not so bad. Once, one of the little humans irritated Salem so much he swiped them good on the nose. They had to wear two bandages for a week!!! Hope it turns out well though.

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  15. Isn’t it annoying that our skin keeps presenting new odd growths! Keeps the dermatologists in business I guess. David climbs around those rocks like my husband. You and I keep a safe distance! I am looking forward to beginning our tour of New England waterfalls in a couple of months. Some have their most water in late spring.

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  16. Lovely scenery! Nothing like those falls around here, for sure. Around Montreal the land is very flat – except for the mountain in the middle of our island city – well, actually, we call it “the mountain” but it’s more like a hill! 🙂 – 764 feet high. But no falls! The mountain is called “Mount Royal” which our city’s name is derived from.

    Sorry about your biopsy bump! Did you get the lab’s result yet? Annoying spot for a bump, isn’t it! I’ve had quite a few of those things, but luckily never right on my nose! Good luck!

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    1. We’ve been to Montreal, but I forgot about Mount Royal. I laughed at the height, because our house is at 2,600 feet. Actually, we aren’t that high on the mountain, being closer to the valley than the ridge.

      The dermatologist didn’t seem very concerned about my bump. The lab report will come in a week or two, and they will send me a card if there is anything wrong. That could take a month! I don’t have time to worry that long.

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  17. It looks chilly. I guess spring has not sprung there yet. Our trees, didn’t see winter this year and are already blooming. I feel sorry for them if we should get a cold snap, which is supposed to hit this week.

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