The leaf changing finally reached the lower elevations. I think last week was the peak of the leaves. Fall around town has been beautiful. Here’s a view of Bryson City from our hill:

It rained almost all week but I was able to make it to Deep Creek:

Toms Branch Falls:

Deep Creek from one of the bridges:

Walking home from the train last night:

Waiting for the train during a recent afternoon:

I’m so sad that the fall color will be gone soon. It’s easy to forget how amazingly vibrant the colors are as soon as they start to fall. But pictures will help me remember….

Well I haven’t been able to post the last few days because of technical difficulties…and my web guy Dwayne was in the wilderness. Usually I’m like “hey are you there?” and then a few hours later “sorry, I was in the woods” comes as a reply…and I just have to laugh because I imagine most of the world would be like “can’t you get Internet out in the woods?” And woods = wilderness by the way. Maybe you recognize this bus?

Yeah that’s Dwayne and his dog Bobby at the converted “McCandless” bus recently:

“Happiness is only real when shared” Chris McCandless AKA Alexander Supertramp. It’s not about the bus or the adventure. It’s so much more! For those who understand: the bus and Chris’ story offer hope. We all have our reasons for going. I was all smiles when I walked in after trudging 18 miles through snow, rivers, and quagmires. The road was hard but the reward was great. We are all on different paths and none of our stories are the same. Life’s not about following in another’s footsteps, but rather finding your own. -Dwayne Parton

This is how they got there:

My heart honestly stopped for a moment when he posted this photo crossing the river with his dog.

This past summer Dwayne left Bryson City, NC and drove cross country with his dog Bobby, camping out in his converted truck:

As of today he’s been traveling 57 days and 8,251 miles (map here). When he got to Alaska he decided to stay a while:

It’s funny, a year ago I probably would have had a heart attack if I wasn’t able to get my website fixed within five minutes. These days I have a little more patience, mostly because it feels great helping to support someone’s dream in my own small way. So if you check in here and see that maybe I haven’t posted in a while it could be because I’m outside exploring …or maybe I’m working on an awesome project….or maybe I’m waiting on Dwayne because he’s here:

Or here:

Or here:

And well, you just don’t get cell phone coverage in places like that. It’s not that Dwayne is cut off from the world…he’s in it. Basically: just blame Dwayne…for wandering to places that most of us only dream of visiting. He’s mastered the art of wandering. (I do need to note here that Dwayne is still more responsive than all of the previously web/tech help I have had over the years all added together.)

If you want to follow Dwayne’s wilderness adventures (you do!) check out his Instagram account @dwayneparton and his blog here.  Last year he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 100 days…that’s a cool story too.  

P.S. Dwayne was featured on I Heart Dogs recently which I think is an awesome compilation of Bobby photos (and you know I love dogs!)

All photos courtesy of Dwayne Parton.

If you haven’t read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the Chris McCandless story, I definitely recommend it:

“In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.”