THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CLX

Autumn Leaves & Waterfalls

Stinky is more excited than usual to see Periwinkle for their adventure. As he last saw her on Halloween, he’s had to wait eight days for their get together. He’s delighted when he hears the teleportation tunnel rumbling. Moments later, with a whoosh, Periwinkle is ejected right into his waiting paws. They spend a bit more time than usual paw hugging and whisker kissing before Stinky takes her paw and leads Periwinkle back into the tunnel.  

They arrive at their destination in North Carolina. When Periwinkle sees the beautiful colors in front of her, she squeals in delight. “Stinky, this is amazingly beautiful. Where are we?”

 

 

Pisgah National Forest

“This is Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. We’ve come to look at the autumn leaves. My mom says the leaves are the prettiest she has ever seen. She’s super old, so they must be spectacular. I know we’ve had similar fall adventures, so I hope this is okay?”

“Yes, absolutely,” replies Periwinkle. “I definitely don’t get to see this at home.”

“That is Looking Glass Rock in the background. It has an elevation of 3,969 feet and is very popular with hikers,” explains Stinky.

“We aren’t going to climb it, are we?” asks Periwinkle in a shaky voice. “I know how much you like to climb things and get up really high.”

“Nope, I think that’s too high for even me,” Stinky tells her.

 

 

“Wow, Stinky, I can hardly believe how beautiful these leaves are,” exclaims Periwinkle.

“They certainly are. The Blue Ridge Parkway is always a great place to see flowers in the spring and colorful leaves in autumn. That’s the Buck Spring tunnel behind us. Do you want to walk through it?”

“I think I’ll pass. We don’t have a flashlight, and from here it looks pretty dark!”

First Waterfall Stop

 

“Oh, boy, waterfalls,” exclaims Periwinkle as she claps her paws. “I love them, and we haven’t visited any in ages.”

Stinky tells her these are called Lower Falls. He is surprised that Periwinkle has climbed higher than he has, but doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to call her attention to it in case she gets frightened.

 

 

“Stinky, this is even a better view of Looking Glass Rock,” says Periwinkle.

“Yes it is,” Stinky replies.

Picnic Time

 

“Oh boy a picnic. Thank you Stinky. You are the most thoughtful boyfriend. I love listening to the water, and this will give us lots of time to do so while we have a snack.”

“This waterfall is called Living Waters. Right now we are below the Parkway along the north fork of the French Broad River in Balsam Grove,” Stinky replies.

“Well, it certainly is a lovely spot.”

After their snack the tabbies fall asleep listening to the falls. They only take a short nap prior to moving on to the final attraction of the day.

Dry Falls

 

Before even asking where they are, Periwinkle admonishes Stinky for climbing so high. Secretly he wishes he’d said something to her when she climbed above him at Lower Falls. Stinky is tempted to blow a razzberry at her, but remains the gentleman and refrains. He tells her they are now at Dry Falls.

“That’s a funny name. This waterfall has more water than the others,” Periwinkle tells Stinky.

“The name comes from the fact that a trail lies behind the falls where we can walk without getting wet,” Stinky explains.

“Let’s go do that,” says Periwinkle.

Stinky agrees and tells her that after they go behind the falls, it is time to head back to his house. They join paws and stroll behind the waterfall giggling and enjoying each other’s company. They stop a couple of times to share whisker kisses. Then the two tabbies head to the teleportation tunnel for the speedy trip back to Stinky’s house.

Visiting the Kittens

After arriving at Stinky’s, Periwinkle says, “hi,” to Stinky’s parents. Both tabbies then head to the catio where they find Calista Jo, Audrey, Cooper Murphy and Raleigh. Bird watching seems to be on the day’s agenda, and Periwinkle and Stinky join in.

 

 

Periwinkle remarks that she is happy they have had a warm fall day for the adventure. Cooper Murphy tells her that the temperature has broken a record. The high was 83 degrees. The old high temperature for the date was 78 degrees.

Finally it’s time for Periwinkle to head home. She says “good-bye,” to all the Kitties Blue. She and Stinky spend several minutes paw hugging and whisker kissing. Then with the familiar whoosh of the teleportation tunnel, Periwinkle is on her way home.

Stinky returns to the catio to hang out in the sun with his fursibs.

The End

Periwinkle & Stinky are joining the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus.

All photos were taken by Tom Blue and used with permission. Locale names were provided by Tom Blue. Looking Glass Mountain elevation is from Google. Temperature information is from the news broadcast on WSLS Channel 10 in Roanoke, VA.