Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock

The most spectacular swimming hole we visited was probably Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah National Forest. Here is a photo of Travis looking like a giant next to Crystal and Marc.

Beautiful!

It was pretty crowded even though we went on a weekday. And the falls are totally out of the sun. It was chilly!

The cold water, the shade, and the air blowing off the waterfall made me hesitant to get in. Travis plunged right into it of course. He is fearless (and doesn't get cold).

Crystal got in for a few minutes. Marc stayed on the shore and took in the majesty from afar.

There he is, sitting UNDER the waterfall. Crystal and I were laughing so hard. You could tell it was not comfortable under there.

Always jumping.

This one cracks me up. We didn't know Travis was back there, and he was in every single one of the selfies we took. Also notice the mist all over the camera from that waterfall. Brrrrrr!

After we had enough of the Arctic blast we got back in the car and headed to Sliding Rock. This place wasn't in my plan. You will find it on every list of things to do in Asheville, but I saw photos of the lines and thought it would be too crowded and not worth it. I was wrong! It ruled!

It was crowded, and the line was long, but it moves really fast. Here are Crystal, Marc and Travis on their first trip up. Crystal and I took turns standing on the deck taking photos and videos.

Sliding rock is a big natural slide. You walk up to the top then zip down to the 6 to 8 ft deep hole at the bottom. You go so fast! I loved it way more than I thought I would. My dad said when he was in college they would come here and run down this thing! I can't believe that!

The plunge into that cold water is a dozy!

Here I go!

Boom! I lost my glasses on the first ride down. Which sucked! Thankfully I had some prescription sunglasses in the car so I wasn't blind the rest of the day.

Here is Travis thinking "Oh no I'm going to hit this kid...." He didn't!

Wooo!

It was so fun! I definitely recommend Sliding Rock if you are in the area and it is hot out. It is the only pay area we went to, and it was totally worth the 2 bucks.

We went to two other places this day. I'll be back later to tell you about it.