Gone North, Part 2

Left Spartanburg: 11:30 am, Thursday, July 26

On the way: Asheville for a tent; listening to an endless mix, piloted by Christina; picking at an engorged oversized ziploc bag of homemade trail mix; catching up with Andrew Schwartztol; Cherokee, North Carolina

I must pause here. The way, this time, proved more fascinating to me in the end than the destination, as is often the case. I cannot even begin to explain Cherokee. Luckily, Google image search has eased the burden of this task.

This is what Cherokee looked like in the 1950s:

Now picture the exact same place, 50 years later, with very few attempts at modernization or periodic restoration.

Here is some of what we saw:

Don’t worry, it’s stuffed.

Not sure if it’s clear in this picture, but all mini golf establishments in Cherokee boast fountains where the water is an alien, almost toxic looking blue-green, insuring that everything, even water, is a caricature of itself.

Yes and yes.

There is nothing more terrifying to me than a year-round Santa theme park. We noticed that besides having “TONS OF CANDY!” as one of their six million billboards advertised, they are also somehow a real estate broker and a billboard vendor.

There were scores of chubby white people in umbro shorts and tevas doing this. It was weird.

Cherokee. Woah.

Arrived at The Great Smoky Mointains National Park: 4 pm

Purpose: To hike until we found Rachel and Marshall– on the wet and taxing trail since Monday– and feed them Nutter Butters, E.L. Fudges and sliced Provolone cheese.

Left the Smokies: 3:30 pm, Friday, July 27

On the way: Listening to Beach House, a silly and not-quite-as-epic live version of Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle,” and then another endless mix by Christina; picking at a still engorged oversized ziploc bag of homemade trail mix; drying out my cell phone, which fell hard in the rocky creek when I did; Cherokee, North Carolina, and Derya pulling over so I could take a couple quick pictures this time

Um…Heil Sitting Bull?

Arrived in Spartanburg: 6:30 pm