WANDERING WESTERN NC

A lot of people have been asking now that we finished all 50 states if we are still roaming around, and we absolutely are, but our recent trips have a bit more intention to them...

For those of you asking "Do you guys still camp?" the answer is yes! We are still enjoying getting out and exploring new places, but we are looking to move to a new area and most of our trips the last few months have been to different parts of the Carolinas to find where feels like "home." After seeing lots of houses and land we thought we might enjoy, we decided to head to Murphy, NC. For those of you unfamiliar with NC geography, Murphy is the farthest town in Western NC. It's right on the Tennessee and Georgia line in the mountains.

​We booked a spot at Clay County Rec Park for the entire week, which is actually in Hayesville, NC, the town next to Murphy. We were unsure what to expect or if we would even have service. From what we could tell, the area looked pretty remote. 

After a 4 hour drive down the windy mountain roads we arrived at the park. It was right on beautiful Lake Chatuge. The campground was a decent size and most of the awesome waterfront sites were claimed, but we had a spot up on the hill that overlooked the rest of the campground. We could already feel the mountain air, it was much cooler than Charlotte, exactly what we wanted! 

We settled in, and it wasn't long before we noticed a paved walking trail behind our campsite. It looked like the went all the way around the campground and around a bend into the trees. We made note to explore it, but at that moment it was dinner time, and you never explore trails on an empty stomach! 

Since our mission was to get to know the area as best we could, we decided that rather than cooking all our meals like we typically do camping, it might be good to explore what there was locally. We hopped in the truck and drove the 5 minutes into downtown Hayesville.

The town of Hayesville was what you would expect for a small mountain town. There was a library, few small shops, and and a brewery. So far so good! We decided to give Nocturnal Brewing a try. Let's just say it didn't make any type of showing like we felt like we needed to up and move to the area... 

After some beers, we decided than rather to eat at the brewery, our bellies might be best served with some local BBQ. There was a place called "Rib Country" right by the campground that looked like it was going to be delicious. And it definitely was. We actually got it twice that week!

The next morning we took our coffee and strolled the popular walking trail that was right behind the campsite. We were unsure where it went, but we saw lots of people on it, so we figured it must lead somewhere. After rounding a bend we came to an opening and saw this:

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As it turns out, that trail is actually the Chatuge Dam Trail and is several miles long through the campground and around part of the lake. It was a beautiful, albeit busy trail, that we enjoyed walking all week. ​

In between our busy work schedules, we filled the week with lots of house exploration, local town visits, and paddle boarding. We lucked out with some great weather that was cooler at night, but great for camping during the day. 

We found a local spot called the Sand Bar & Grille over the border in Hiawassee, Georgia. And yes, it's literally a sand restaurant. It was a great spot that we could have drinks, enjoy live music, and look at the lake with our feet in the sand. We went a couple nights and made friends with the bartender. Cameron and I might even have our own beer there after suggesting he mix a pumpkin beer, with a coffee beer! There was also a great little marina across the road that we tried one night for dinner as well. 

We decided to book an extra night at the campground and do one more day of exploring the nearby towns. So far, we had really enjoyed the area, but we did realize a lot of the homes we were looking at sat up on high mountain roads that wouldn't be ideal for our trailer. Our last day was spent working at Hiawassee Brew, while looking at the mountains, before ending a great week of exploration with a paddle board. 

You'll have to stay tuned to see if Western NC is where we end up...!