The Adventures of Bushwhack Jack: June 2017

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

The Thyen Family Vacation to Asheville - Day 6,7, and 8

The Thyen Family Vacation to Asheville

Day 6, 7, and 8

Asheville, NC

Thursday, June 15th through

Saturday, June 17th, 2017

Here are some photos from the last few days of our family vacation to Asheville, NC:

Morning Mist along the MST Trail

Spiderweb Along the Trail

Above the Clouds at Lunch Rock along the MST

Our Rental House for the Week

Amy relaxing in the Hammock on the front porch of our rental house

My brother Bill exiting the slide during the New Belgium Brewery Tour

My Brother Bill and Me enjoying flights at the New Belgium Brewery

The Wedge Brewing Company

My Brother Bill at the Wedge Brewing Company

Sunset from Lunch Rock along the MST

Millennials on a hike

Sunrise from the front porch of our rental house

view from Lunch Rock along the MST

Me at Mojo (our Friday Lunch Destination)

Amy at Mojo

Me and Amy enjoying Milkshakes for Dessert at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge

Storms over the Mountains from the front porch of our rental house

My Brother Bill and his family hanging out on the front porch

Mom and Dad

Me and Amy on the front porch of our rental house

The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157685577579235

Monday, June 26, 2017

2017-06-14 Thyen Family Vacation to Asheville - Day 5

The Thyen Family Vacation

Asheville, NC

Day 5 (The Day of the Rainbow)

Wednesday, June 14th, 2017

Group Photo on Craggy Pinnacle

It was a very foggy morning to start the day, so I soaked it all in on the Front Porch with my morning coffee.

Foggy Morning view from the Front Porch

Liam was the only other early riser to join me on my morning hike to Lunch Rock on the MST.

Me and Liam at Lunch Rock along the MST

Liam at Lunch Rock along the MST

Morning hike Selfie with Liam

Later that morning a group of us decided to do a few short hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway starting with Craggy Gardens. The Rhododendrons were a little past peak, but they were still really nice!

Group Photo at Craggy Gardens

Liam and Marielle

Amy

Craggy Gardens

Next up was Craggy Pinnacle!

Marielle and Liam on the Craggy Pinnacle Trail

Amy at Craggy Pinnacle

Amy and Me at Craggy Pinnacle

My brother Bill and his family at Craggy Pinnacle

Me and Amy at Craggy Pinnacle

We finished up our morning the short climb up to the Summit of Mount Mitchell.

Heading up to the Mount Mitchell Observation Platform

Liam and Conner on Mount Mitchell

Marielle and Liam on Mount Mitchell

Group Photo at the highest peak East of the Mississippi

Later that afternoon Bill, Michelle, Amy and I headed into downtown Asheville to visit a couple of Breweries. It was my first visit to the Twin Leaf Brewery and I really like it. I was a bit disappointed in Hi-Wire Brewing. Hi-Wire used to be one of my favorites, but in my opinion it has really gone downhill over the past few years!

Amy, Michelle, and Bill at The Twin Leaf Brewery

My Brother Bill and Me enjoying a flight at the Twin Leaf Brewery

For dinner, my brother-in-law Scott (the Chef) picked out a place called Copper Crown. This is definitely not the type of place I would have selected, but Scott did well with the restaurant choice as this ended up being the best meal of the entire week.

While at dinner we had a heck of a storm roll through. Once we got back to our rental house we were rewarded with an awesome rainbow!

My Treasure under the Rainbow!

Rainbow from our front porch

I finished up the day with a sunset hike to Lunch Rock along the MST

Sunset from Lunch Rock along the MST

The complete set of photos from Day 5 is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157683348313520

Friday, June 23, 2017

2017-06-13 Thyen Family Vacation to Asheville - Day 4

The Thyen Family Vacation

Asheville, NC

Day 4 (The Day of the Bear)

Tuesday, June 13th, 2017

Mary and Liam at Lunch Rock along the MST

One of my favorite things about this year's vacation was our early morning hikes. I tend to be an early riser, and was usually the first one up. I would enjoy views on the front porch with my morning coffee while waiting for others to emerge from their slumber.

Morning Twilight view from the Front Porch

This morning my Sister Mary and Nephew Liam were up early as well.

Liam and Mary

The three of us decided to go for a hike along the MST to Lunch Rock and a good ways beyond. We were rewarded with some awesome above the clouds views!

Liam and Mary

Above the Clouds

Morning Hike Selfie

Hanging out at Lunch Rock

The morning views were awesome, but the most exciting part of the hike happened at the very end! We spotted this guy along the trail:

Note: The bear photos were all taken with Full Zoom and cropped (sorry about the lousy quality). It is still one of the closest I have ever come to a bear in the wild.

We pretty much stopped once we spotted the bear on the trail ahead. The bear obviously spotted us as well and paused to look us over. It stared as us for a few seconds, then took about 5 or 6 steps towards us before scampering down the hill towards the Blue Ridge Parkway down below.

Many people are afraid of bears, but I always get enjoyment from the rare occasions that I see one in the wild! And I was extra excited to be there for Liam's first Bear in the Wild experience!

Later that day, a group of us went into downtown Asheville to stroll around town, check out a few local shops, and to hit a local brewery for a flight or two.

We ended up at Wicked Weed Brewing Company which was previously my least favorite of the Asheville Breweries I have been to. However, since it was the only one we found that was open early on a weekday, this is where we ended up.

My brother Bill and Me enjoying a flight at Wicked Weed Brewing

If you are a person like me that does not enjoy crowds, this is a much more relaxed and enjoyable spot at Noon on a Tuesday than it is on a Saturday Afternoon!

Conner, Liam, Me, Bill, Michelle, and Marielle at Wicked Weed Brewing

After a few appetizers and brews, we met the rest of the gang for a late lunch / early dinner at the Bier Garden Restaurant for their Tuesday Pint Day Specials. Great Beer Selection and the food was better than expected as well!