Tubing Down the Buffalo River

Summer! The ultimate season! You can't skip it, you've gotta have it! This summer we made a discovery that is going to make it even better. We found a place to go tubing! The Buffalo River Resort is only about an hour and fifteen minutes from Nashville. Totally worth it for 4 hours of floating down the river. 

We went in late May with Crystal, Marc and Thomas. For $16 bucks a person you get a tube and they shuttle you to the drop off point. The van is covered in graffiti, they even hand you a marker to leave your own name or whatever. Thomas wrote the initials of his company because he is a total work dork.  

 This was my favorite. 

The water was a little bit cold for comfort, but it was a hot day so it ended up being ok. It was a little shocking when you first got in.

 Ahhhhhhh. It is so nice to just float down the river. 

 And feed each other chips. 

Travis was in charge of our cooler tube. It is an extra ten dollars, but worth it I think. You can put your dry clothes in there, and your lunch and sunscreen. You can also all tie on to it if you want to float together.

The water in the river seems to be from five feet deep to a foot. Most of the time you can see the bottom. You can dangle your legs down through the tube and swim, or sit on top and just float. BE SURE TO PUT SUNSCREEN ON YOUR SHINS! I didn't and got SO burnt!

The water in the river was so nice! If you go, call ahead and check the water level. If it is low, tubing isn't as fun.

Hey! It's me! There are a couple places that you can pull up to the shore and stop a while. You can have a picnic, or just set your tube up and swim.

 Check out these really cool water shoes!

When we got in sight of the pull out point we pulled on up a little rocky island to hang out for a while. We weren't ready for it to be over! I THINK it took us about 3 hours to float the five miles.

 This hat is a lifesaver. I haven't gotten a burn on my face since I started wearing them. 

 While we were sitting around this tiny turtle swam up and sat on Travis' foot! Look at him! 

Couldn't get over how cute it was. We held it for a minute then put it back in the water. It swam right back! Little turtle wanted to be our friend.

Once we were ready to go, we all got in a train and got Travis to tow us in. So relaxing! I can't WAIT to go back. I hope we can make it a regular thing this summer. If you are in Nashville, I highly recommend the Buffalo River Resort! 

Pacific North Wonderland Day Six: I Saw a Whale!

On our last full day on Orcas Island the main plan for the day was to go whale watching. We talked about it a lot. Is it too expensive? Is it too late in the season? Would it be worth it? We decided to go for it. And I'm so glad we did!
Our boat left at one, so before that we went on a hike in Moran State Park. We took the short trail to see Cascade Falls.

It was beautiful!

Had to commemorate with a selfie. This the sweater I bought in Portland! It has been so warm since we got back, I haven't gotten to wear it again!

Look at that tiny pine cone!

It was such a beautiful day, and we were already in the park, so we decided drive up to Mt. Constitution again and attempt to see the view. And it looked like THIS.

We were laughing so hard! It looked like we were on the end of the world! I told Travis "Look like you are seeing something amazing!" Hahahaha, even though we couldn't see anything I'm glad we went up there.

Then it was time for whale watching! We went with Outer Island Excursions on one of their last excursions of the season.

The boat went up into international waters and around Canada. It was GORGEOUS! Even without the whales, it would have been wonderful. We zipped past lots of islands, saw seals, and maybe I cried when we saw the tiny dorsal fin of a harbor dolphin way in the distance.

There had been a pod siting about an hour out. At first everyone was excited and riding on the front of the boat. It was COLD though, and windy so by the end almost everyone was inside. Except Travis, up on the bow in his shorts.

This guy had the biggest zoom lens! I was jealous! This was moments before we saw the whales...

These photos aren't super impressive but it was INCREDIBLE to see these animals in the wild. We saw a pod of seven whales, including a baby that was only a few months old! It was so tiny! We followed along with them for almost an hour. I took something like 300 photos of them, almost all of them look  like this, but further away. Ha! See the mist coming out of his blowhole?

When we first saw them they were feeding on something, then we saw them in a hunting pattern. It was just amazing, and I couldn't take my eyes off of them! The crew of our boat was amazing too. There was a naturalist on board who answered questions and was so excited about the local wild life.
There were a few other boats nearby, and it was cool to hear the crews talking about which pod we were seeing. They could identify them with just their markings. Which seemed crazy to me, they look so similar and you can only see them for a few seconds at a time!

Here is me, moments after seeing a whale! Ah! So happy! Definitely cried.

Here is the inside of the boat. You sat on big bench seats. The guy in front of us kept opening his window to take photos out of it, so cold!

This island had seals all around it! You can kind of see them, the little dots down there at the water line. We saw two get in a slap fight. So cute.
As we were getting off the boat the naturalist said that this would be a perfect night to watch the sunset from Mt. Constitution. We were a little skeptical, but decided to give it one last try!

We stopped at this mountain lake. I wish it had been warm enough to swim! We saw lots of geese here, and someone was walking a cute little poodle.

I love exploring with Travis. He is always up to pull over whenever I want, even if it is just so I can peek over the edge of a dock.

We stopped at our favorite lookout again. It's looking good...maybe we'll be able to see from the top! And guess what, we saw ANOTHER half white deer! This one was a baby (kinda).

And here is Travis scaling the mountain, trying to get some closer pics for me.

Look at that golden light! We stayed on that tiny trail, but it was a pretty steep slope!

Success! It was clear and we could see so far! It was breathtaking! Here is Travis at the top of the observation tower on top of the mountain.

Just amazing. Totally worth the three drives we made up there.

Remembered to take a photo together, even if we are both making kind of weird faces.

We stayed up top until it started to get dark, then went back to our little cabin to catch one last beach sunset. We had a beach fire, then went inside and Travis made us spaghetti with this super delicious locally made pasta. It was such a good day!

Cummins Falls

Cummins Falls has been voted one of the top ten swimming holes in the country, and you know I love a swimming hole! We've talked about going a bunch of times, but it is the same direction and about as far from Nashville as Rock Island, which you know I LOVE! Labor day weekend was beautiful here in Tenneessee. The temps were in the 90's and that might be the last hot weather of the summer so Travis and I decided to give it a try.
When we got there we couldn't believe the amount of cars. HUNDREDS. We had to circle 6 or 7 times to find a spot. Then we were in a huge crowd down to the trail.

We weren't sure what to expect. First you walk down a hill with lots of switch backs then there is a long walk through water back to the falls. It was a little weird. There were people carrying strollers! Why?

We finally round the corner and see the falls! And so many people! I know, I know, it was a holiday weekend. But it was insane!

The waterfall is over a pretty amazing series of rocks that you can climb up pretty safely. There is also a pool at the bottom for swimming. It was deep enough that we couldn't touch in the middle. Really gorgeous place. I read some tips that coming earlier in the day helps beat the extreme crowds.

Awkward selfie. I learned my lesson in Asheville and wore contacts. Maybe someday I'll finish going through those photos.

The beauty of the falls made up for the crowds. look at that place!

Always sitting under the waterfalls.

We stayed maybe an hour? Not worth the drive this time. We spent more time walking there than swimming. It was just so crowded you couldn't really hang out and there were SO MANY barking dogs. Nonstop barking. If your dog doesn't like other dogs, please leave them at home.

Before we left Travis made me sit under the waterfall. Verdict: Beautiful place but I definitely like Rock Island better for the hangs. We might try Cummins again next summer at a different point in the season, on a less crowded day. 

Have a summah!