Cullasaja River Drive-Highlands to Franklin NC

The 12 mile drive between Franklin and Highlands, NC on US Hwy 64 is sometimes a little treacherous, occasionally a little crowded, but always worth the time. This stretch of Hwy 64 runs alongside the beautiful Cullasaja River for most of the trip, allowing nice views of the tumbling waters and waterfalls along the way. Since I am usually coming from Georgia, I like to travel up Hwy 441 from Clayton to Franklin...take Hwy 64 east to Highlands, then work my way back down to Clayton on Hwy 106 over Scaly Mountain and through Sky Valley. The entire loop takes about two hours driving time, but there are a few stops you are likely to make.
Leaving Franklin, Hwy 64 soon enters the Cullasaja Gorge and, if you can find a parking spot on the narrow shoulder, offers a great views of Cullasaja Falls to the south. Heading further east there are a few pull offs and picnic areas offering access to the river. The next big waterfall is Dry Falls which has it's own parking area-but on a recent trip that area was closed with a lot of construction going on. It looks like the entire park area around the falls is undergoing renovation. I suspect they are aiming to have it open by fall leaf season if not sooner. This is a serious mountain road with a lot of twists and narrow shoulders that can be a little hairy if a 50' RV meets you on a curve, so keep that in mind. As you start leaving the gorge the road opens up a bit and you soon come to Bridal Veil Falls(pictured above), which is a landmark I remember from mountain trips as a child. There is ample parking here and you can even drive under/through the low volume falls.
After leaving Bridal Veil Falls you are on the outskirts of Highlands. If you can time it so that you arrive hungry there are numerous restaurants in Highlands, from small coffee shops to fine dining. The bustling downtown area is a specialty shopping mecca in this area and it's worth getting out and having a look around. There is a lot to see and do in this area of North Carolina and it's only a stone's throw from the north Georgia mountains. We hope to do a lot more on specific places and actvities in western North Carolina on future Borders pages. If you have suggestions about or reports from the area, please share them with us!

Caribbean Fusion in Sylva, NC

Wow, what a surprise! A few friends and I ended up in Sylva, NC after a day of rafting on the Tuckaseegee River tired and hungry. We were not super familiar with the town and were really looking for a "Meat & 3" or a good sandwich shop, what we found really blew us away. The Guadalupe Cafe is located right in downtown Sylva on West Main St. and has a level of funk (the good kind) we were not expecting in this small mountain hamlet. The food is simply fantastic.
My friends and I started out with the Salsa Sampler platter that featured home made tortilla chips and a selection of the house salsas-guacamole, pico de gallo and scotch bonnet. All were good but the scotch bonnet mix is pure heaven (with a healthy dose of hell). From there we decided to each order a different item and share. Our Empanadas, Quesadillas, Tostadas and Falafel were delivered to the table promptly and we dug in. We also got an order of the coconut rice dish, Arrroz de Coco, which is Basmati rice cooked with coconut milk and tumeric. We all agreed that everything was great but the Empanadas were the consensus choice for dish of the day. As we talked to some of the locals we found out that the Guadalupe Cafe is a very popular music venue later in the evening with bands playing nightly-all of this in little Sylva! When I read that Mountainfreak.net had expanded it's scope a little beyond the Georgia borders I had to write and let the world know about this fantastic find.

Jim Bowles
Atlanta, GA

Royal Family @ Prospector Hall

I first listened to Royal Family at the Eco-Music-Fest back in June. They put on a good show there so I wasn't at all surprised to witness the same at Prospector Hall last Saturday.
Held down by some of the best drumming I've seen in a local band, their music is mostly raucous and intense-but they can also take the edge off when they want to which is effective at keeping the crowd involved...and they were, at both shows.
Royal Family is advertised as "Garage Rock", but I think they might be a little more evolved from my perception of that term. There is some melody to the madness and they put on a great show. They play regularly all around Atlanta and north Georgia-for more info and a sample of their tunes check out their MySpace page.

Big City Sunrise @ Bigg Daddy's in Helen

It's no mystery why Big City Sunrise has such a loyal following. They put on a high energy, sweat drenched show at Bigg Daddy's in Helen on 6/12 and I was glad to be a part of the crowd. This was my first experience seeing this band live and I have to say they are unique.
Fronted by Jeff Bynum and his electric violin, Big City Sunrise is like a dream where Led Zeppelin meets Vassar Clements...and the result is loud, rowdy and fun. Excellent musicians having a good time generally leads to a good show and this was one.
Bynum does a lot of the singing and is joined by Kevin Rainwater on drums, Doug Meads (a lot of the vocals as well) and Chris Thacker handle the guitars, Adam Kahn plays an excellent bass and is complimented by percussionist Sam Steele. Chris is especially impressive taking the lead guitar-but this is defintely a band that is the sum of it's parts. They work very well together.
The highlight of the evening ( and their fans were waiting for it) was a medley centered around the Marley classic, "No Woman, No Cry" near the end of the show that gave each member a chance to shine.
For our readers in the Atlanta/Athens area, Big City Sunrise has a CD release party at the Georgia Theater on August 15 where they will be joined by Blueground Undergrass. The will be back at Bigg Daddy's for another show in Helen on August 30. Find out more about BCS on their MySpace page.

Coming up in the September Edition of Mountainfreak.net

Still working on a few things, but here is what to expect:

LexFest 2008 in Asheville
Wildcat Creek Recreation
Fort Mountain Report
Java Mama Cafe in Dillard
Batesville General Store "The Best Biscuit in Batesville"
Greenstone Soap Co in Sautee
Music from Dahlonega
Sautee Jamboree coming up this Month
September Live Music Calendar

and maybe a surprise or two;-)

Bigfoot in the North Georgia Mountains?

Yes, we saw the photo. I'm skeptical;-) Might just be an old moonshiner with a steroid problem. There is quite a buzz about the creature, however..and rest assured that Mountainfreak.net is paying attention and will report any facts we come across. I just hope these guys give up the location.

Mountainfreak.net quote makes band flyer...

for the Avery Dylan Project..we appreciate it guys!(click on the flyer for larger image you can read;-)