Family Trip

[randlemanboater]

Last Friday after the kids got out of school we drove up to the NC mountains to play in the snow. They had a big (2 feet in places) snow last Wednesday and I knew there would be some left.

We stayed in Marion NC (about a 2.5 hour ride up I-40) which is at the foot of Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain peak (6684 feet) east of the Mississippi River.

The hotel had an indoor pool so we swam in the morning and then set out to wander.

First we drove around Lake James and stopped at the State Park, the weather was clear but cool in the morning with a stiff breeze.



I spent a lot of time of Lake James as a kid, it was the closest big lake to where I grew up, about an hours ride.

Then we went up the mountain to try to get to the snow, we could see the snow on the tops of the mountains from Marion.



We had lunch at Famous Louise's Rockhouse Restaurant, it sits in 3 different counties, and has good food. It is right next to the Blue Ridge Parkway on Hwy 221.

The Parkway is the only road to get to the State Rd. that goes up to Mt. Mitchell. It was closed at 221 so I drove around to try another way, but it was closed there too, so no snow for us.

This was as close as we got. I grew up on the other side of this mountain.



My son, who absolutly loves rocks, wanted to go to one of the "gem mines" that are all over up there, we found one that was open (not much is open up there this time of year as tourism is the only industry). The kids found about 15 emeralds, and rubies along with other colorful rocks.



Here is the view from Little Switzerland, NC.



It was a nice little 26 hour trip.

[willy]

I love that part of the country, have driven it a few times. Good family days, the best times you can have.

[Blue_Runner]

Sweet RB. Its nice living in between the mountains and the coast...we sure do have it made in that department!

Your son should start looking for some plowed fields to hunt for arrowheads. If he ever finds an indian artifact he'll be addicted. I found my first about 6 years ago and go artifact hunting several times a year. Last was 2 weeks ago and found 3 pieces of pottery, about a dozen broken arrowheads, 2 or 3 near perfect specimens and other tools.

I can give some tips on how to go about it if interested. You just need to find a plowed up field. Helps to be near a creek and pretty flat.

Great pix.

Blue

[randlemanboater]

I'm sure he would love to look for Indian stuff, any pointers would be appreciated.

The other day he had a pair of pliers out trying to make an arrow head out of a rock from the driveway.

[Blue_Runner]

I described how I do it a while back. Put on some old shoes and get ready for some exercize! One thing I realize now that I left out of my instruction is don't be afraid to ask permission from a land owner to walk through their field. Be sure to mention that you will not be littering and in fact you will pick up whatever litter you find! I haven't been turned down yet and I have asked 3 - 5 different people that I did not know.

Here you go:

Cy, I'll give you the basics on artifact hunting in just a couple of bullet points.....

- Best bet is to hunt where the indians lived - i.e. campsites. This is where they sat and made arrowheads, knives, tools etc out of stone. They had to have water, so looking near a creek, stream or spring, is your best bet. Flatter land is better since they typically didn't pitch thier tents on a hillside or in a flood plain.

- Be suspicious, if you see a rock pick it up and examine it. I like to hunt in fields that have few rocks so when I find a rock I'm curious. I found a perfect point once because I bent down to pick another rock up. I reached for the regular rock and my finger accidentally turned over a perfect arrowhead in the process!

- Plowed fields are where I hunt. This is where the plow reaches way down deep and pulls the artifacts to the surface - but they aren't visible just yet. Need to wait for a good rain or "gully-washer" to clean and compact the upper layer of soil that is hiding the artifacts.

- Early morning or later evening provide better light than the mid-day sun. Bright sun creates a glare on the soil and makes it harder to see.

- Study flint. Flint is the type of stone arrowheads were made from. Know what it looks like so you will recognize it if you see it. Look for little flakes of flint. This is where they sat and made arrowheads and tools. You are likely to find arrowheads and tools in this area. When making arrowheads they are prone to being broken during the process...at which time the indian would have chunked it right there.

- Think about the topology of the land. Realize that over thousands of years what was the surface back then may have since been covered by several feet of soil. This is particulary true next to rivers and streams that flood and displace soil.

- Look in gully's created by heavy rain. I found one right outside my back door in a small gully less than a foot wide and about 8 inches deep where the water runs past the edge of a retaining wall.

- Be suspicious, if you see a rock pick it up and examine it. I like to hunt in fields that have few rocks so when I find a rock I'm curious. I found a perfect point once because I bent down to pick another rock up. I reached for the regular rock and my finger accidentally turned over a perfect arrowhead in the process!

- Be patient. I typically pick up roughly 25 - 50 pieces of flint before I find an artifact (not always). But, the flint I'm picking up is the waste from when the indians manufactured the tools.

Now go young jedi and find some chit! Please post pics ;D

P.S. A co-worker of mine showed some pix to her son of my arrowheads. The other day he plowed a 1 acre field for a lady then it rained. After the rain he walked around the field 5 min and found his first arrowhead!

[willy]

also if you are finding flint shards, rudimentary striking tools or mineralized bone of antler(tools) also keep an eye for old dark looking areas where there may have been fire pits, you will often find animal skeleton remains. If you find an area like that bring a shovel and do some light escavating. The fire pits is where they sat and worked, cooked, made clothes and tools and weapons. They would travel and use the same locations for thousands of years, hunting camps, fishing camps, outpost villages, winter homes, summer homes etc.
Actually if I could have their lifestyle with modern medicine I would go back in a heartbeat

[Blue_Runner]

Actually if I could have their lifestyle with modern medicine I would go back in a heartbeat

Me too willy.

BTW, in the plowed fields you can see the dark areas where the fire pits were but not likely to find any skeletal stuff due to the plows that have made their way through the field so many times over the years. I do however find quite a few large rocks that were obviously burned from being around the edge of the fires.

[willy]

right there is where you should dig down Blue, excavate a little at a time, that is what my friend did. The guy who I told you about before, excavated the immediate area around the firepit, and the firepit, would find all kinds of artifacts

[C YENSEN]

looks like a great family outing

[Blue_Runner]

right there is where you should dig down Blue, excavate a little at a time, that is what my friend did. The guy who I told you about before, excavated the immediate area around the firepit, and the firepit, would find all kinds of artifacts

Well, I'm not much on the diggin, cept diggin hot chicks...but I might try that Willy.