in Cherokee, western NC. Anne is a doctor at the Cherokee Native American Reservation and at the nursing home. It is for tribal members only at no cost. Chuck maintains the property of 44 acres. The horses use most of the land. There is a shed and natural pond for the horses. There are three beautiful horses, three loving, eager dogs and two cats. Chuck voluntarily mows a large portion of the grounds and has a very productive garden as you would expect of him. Anne and Chuck made delicious dinners every evening with fresh produce from the garden. The house is built like a lodge with large rooms and a porch which surrounds the whole house overlooking the garden, horses, valley and distant mountains. The foliage was very colorful while we were there.
Saturday, we drove to the Cherokee Reservation and saw the hospital and the arts and crafts museum store. They sold authentic baskets, blow guns and darts and face masks. Across the street, the Native American men in eloborate dress, chanted and danced. We stopped at a bead store on the way home and bought several selections of beads.
Sunday, Chuck and Anne packed a picnic lunch, stopped at an apple orchard store and bought apples and a pie and drove over the mountains to the Pisgah Forest. We ate lunch at a public picnic area and saw the Mirror Falls, one of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen.
Monday, Anne took us to the Oconaluftee Village which is a restored Native American village as it was 225 years ago. There we were escourted on a tour by a young Native American in authentic dress. We observed the making of beaded necklaces, hand held pottery, blow guns and darts, dug out canoes and houses made of twigs enmeshed with red clay. They looked like stucco houses. We also saw bear, fish and small animal traps. Mom particularly liked the fish trap which was made of twigs. We could have built and used one up on the St. Lawrence. We listened to a lecture given by an elder dressed in robes telling of their belief in a single, loving creator and in the structure of government and customs of the seven tribes. This elder said that 70% of the people were veterans of military service and they were proud to serve our country. They are extremely patriotic and devoted to America. They are not the political, but spiritual owners of this country. He and Dad both knew of Ira Hayes, the Native American youth that helped raise the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. He was not Cherokee, however. Ira and Dad were both members of the 28th Marines Regiment. We enjoyed a lunch with Anne at the Bryson City Train Station Restaurant where we saw a train many blocks long full of sight seers leaving on a scenic trip from Bryson City to Dillsboro and back.
Tuesday, we rode on errands with Chuck and stopped in Sylva for homemade beer and rootbeer.
Wednesday, we also drove around with Chuck and had mango smoothies at Bradleys, an old time ice cream parlor.
Thursday, we drove to Franklin and saw stores along the highway which rented buckets for visitors to pan for gold in the streams and look for sapphires and rubies and other gems on the ground. It is the discovery of gold that precipitated the forced removal of Cherokee known as the "Trail of Tears" from the Carolinas to Oklahoma.
Friday, we packed and loaded up the car and climaxed our visit with a buffet lunch at Harrah's Casino decorated with many neon lights. Harrah's is the largest employer in North Carolina with an annual payout of 80 million dollars giving a discretionary annual income to the tribal members. With this money, the members have been able to make many improvements to their health including the hospital and nursing home. Then we drove to the airport in Asheville, the location of the famous Biltmore House. Following the erection of the Biltmore House, entrepreneurs built many upscale bed and breakfast houses and mansions, many of which are still there. These buildings give the city an artsy atmosphere. Anne and Elley had fun shopping there. When Alex came for a visit, he and Chuck went white water kayaking on the Nantahala River.
This visit was an unexpected vacation and novel experience. We scarcely knew it was there and would never had seen it if we had never gone to visit Chuck and Anne. It was an area of great beauty and history. We had a wonderful time and cherish the time we spent with Chuck and Anne.