Ch.37-The Ch8se Extravaganza - 11.14.20
Meet my friend Roderick Cummings also known as Chef Rod. He was lead on this ch8se.
When the universe aligns just right, undeniable magic happens. It does, it truly does. After several calls, countless texts, and instant messages, the collaboration of two outdoor enthusiasts finally happened. I am so thankful for social media, for its exposure, unbeatable reach, and the relationships it fosters.
Now this friend and I met years ago. He is friend to one of my family members, yet, we follow each other on social media. He is a professional chef, and an outdoor adventurist. Roderick Cummings (chef_roderickcummings) and I had not seen one another in over five years and in walks the magic of social media. Instagram kept us connected, and our love of outdoors and waterfalls proved to be an undeniable connection and reunion of sorts.
Rod and I planned our collaboration and set out to execute. Basically, I coordinated and followed his lead. We established our meeting spot and just as planned, we huddle up for the meet and greet with our ch8sers. By the way, our meet and greet was at a gas station, where our presence intrigued the locals. I get it, we were twenty or so deep, in a circle, talking in a gas station parking lot. This was totally unusual for this area, we were not your every day crowd. Nevertheless, everyone will soon be used to seeing us, as we continue to change the narrative of the beautiful outdoors, one adventure at a time. We ain't going nowhere.
Introductions and safety discussions all done, Rod explains our adventures ahead, and the caravan continues. Our journey to the most spectacular adventure began with us driving up a picturesque mountain side that afforded an amazing view of Cullasaja Falls.
I snatched this pic from online so you can see how amazing Cullasaja Falls is. Curious about the name, here is what I found: Cullasaja Falls (/ˌkuːləˈseɪdʒə/) is a waterfall in southwestern North Carolina. The waterfall is located on the Cullasaja River in the Nantahala National Forest and is part of the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway. Cullasaja comes from a Cherokee word meaning "honey locust place" pic from the internet, so you can see how spectacular Cullasaja is.
Cullasaja was just the beginning. How we wished we could have sat and enjoyed her beauty; however, her location, on the side of the road didn't allow us to, so we proceeded to Bust your Butt Falls. Yeah, that's the real name of the waterfall. It too is on the side of the mountainous road; however, this one has space where you can actually pull over, park, and get out safely to enjoy. Which, of course we did. By the way, did I mention, we had a caravan of seven vehicles. It was a pretty awesome group of adventurers.
Bust your Butt Falls was sweet, and afforded us a break from the winding road, and gave us time to stretch. The space at Bust Your Butt is absolutely beautiful. We were able to safely climb onto the rocks, and get close into the water without incident. Two spectacular spaces rather close to one another, was so exciting that we could barely wait to get to the next locations.
Dry Falls was next. Listen, this one has been on my radar, on my "to ch8se" list for what seems like forever. I am so glad we had not been to this one, because I am sure we would not have explored as many spectacular spots as we did on this one adventure. The universe knew we needed to wait on this collabo with Rod for it to be the most magical it could be.
Dry Falls, oh my goodness. This is one of those spaces where as much as I attempt to explain, you must experience for yourself. As you approach the waterfall, you can hear its power in the distance. The excitement rises, and the allure becomes increasingly overwhelming. After parking in the pay lot, you descend a flight of stairs, onto a protected path, lined with metal railing that escorts you in front of the most beautiful site ever. It is a paved trail and a short walk from the parking lot. Dry Falls is big and boisterous. She is loud and spectacular, absolutely breathtaking. Just to walk up and witness her majesty would have sufficed, but no, there was much more to her.
We literally were able to walk behind the downpour of the waterfall without getting drenched. I was so elated with this phenomenal experience. This by far is one of the best waterfalls we've explored. The mist from the fall is refreshing, and adds to the beauty of the experience. I am once again in love. For those who ch8sed with us to Minnehaha, in my opinion, Minnehaha does not compare to Dry Falls. How about we just say the two are in completely separate categories.
The selfie slaughter commences, the videos acquired, and the live broadcasts secured. We have embr8ced the ch8se in this beautiful space. I think we covered all angles and snatched all of the best shots. Oh the magic of this place. I truly look forward to visiting again. This one is well worth a repeat, well worth it.
We are once again loaded into our vehicles, ready for the next slice of wonder. Bridal Veil Falls is up next. She is a smaller version of Dry Falls, in that she too opens up with space to walk underneath her flow. The road to enter the space under the waterfall was blocked for vehicles; however, we were able to walk underneath it. We were all still coming off of the excitement of Dry Falls, and were pleased to experience yet another fall that was a simple park and walk up. Once again, the selfie slaughter commenced, as did the group shots, and countless pics and videos.
From there, we make our way to Glen Falls. Here enters the hiking sticks, hiking poles, backpacks, hydration and endurance. At this point we have been in our vehicles, and merely jumping out to see the waterfalls; that was about to change. Glenn Falls is your traditional hiking trail. Glenn is tucked away in the woods, through the mature tree roots, over fallen branches, and over a creek or two. Oh, and lest I forget the incline. Ya'll Glenn made us work for her goodness.
Glen Falls is a triple waterfall near Highlands with four great scenic stops along the roughly 2-mile round-trip hike in the Nantahala National Forest. The upper and middle cascades are the most beautiful. (Taken from the Asheville website.). Let me just say, this adventure was on the moderate to difficult level for some, and mild to moderate for others. We learned to pack better snacks, more hydration, greater patience, and an extra dose of endurance. This was a great lesson earned for some of us, yet we prevailed. The space at all levels of Glenn Falls were simply stunning. In true ch8e fashion, we embr8ced every moment of the ch8se. We inhaled the goodness of the moment and exhaled any unserving energies present. Such a spectacular space.
Granted, Chef Rod is in his zone, he is true to this, not at all new to this. He has rolled his pant leg up and is over the river and through the woods, to whatever goodness he can find. He is such an explorer. He is in the water, onto fallen trees, and climbing over and on boulders. He is all over the place choosing to embr8ce the ch8se his way. He leads us out of Glenn Falls and back safely to our vehicles.
The ch8se extravaganza included: Bust Your Butt, Callasuja, Dry, Bridal Veil, and Glenn Falls. This was such an excellent experience. It was a completely spectacular day.
After so much goodness, it was time to eat. We drove until we found a spot to stop and have our lunch. Each person brought their own. We are not back to visiting restaurants yet. Hopefully soon. I miss those days.
A short drive up the road, we find the perfect spot, with ample parking. There were no tables, no bench, and no real inviting space for us to set up for lunch. Of course that did not stop us from pulling out our blankets, sitting on the sidewalk, and unpacking our lunch. Yep, we sat right there on the sidewalk, out of the way, and enjoyed our time "breaking bread " together.
We shared our days embr8ce and sat in the moment. The views at our lunch site were not that of waterfalls, but that of the amazing mountains and towering tree lines. Again, the pictures and my explanations is nothing compared to you experiencing this awesomeness in person. Listen, if you ever see me say it's a ch8se extravaganza repeat, do not miss it. Trust me you do not want to miss it. Five waterfalls in one day, with Glen Falls being a triple fall, one could say we actually enjoyed seven different falls in one ch8se adventure, ok, or five, how ever you do the math, it was amazeballs.
11/14/20 will forever be a ch8singwaterfalls favorite. Forever known as the ch8se extravaganza. Forever a Chef Rod, successful first of epic proportions. Ya'll don't sleep on us. We are changing the narrative of outdoors, one adventure at a time. We are the beautiful #BrownFacesInGreenSpaces, and we are here to stay.
Until we #Embr8ceTheCh8se again,
Love, Peace & Waterfalls
Your Ch8se Champ
Deborah McGlawn
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