Friday Cliff had his one week post-op eye appointment with our optometrist only to walk out of her office with continued restrictions.  She felt he needed another week to allow further healing which brings him to the time of his right eye surgery.  That was depressing news for him.  So many daily tasks that we do automatically, like reach down and tie our shoes, empty the dishwasher, pick up things that drop on the floor, he still has to remember to modify or ask me to do them. He's restricted from running fire/rescue calls, doing yoga, yard work or anything that kicks up dust and debris, including not lifting more than twenty pounds, and has to keep water from running into that eye.  For about the next three, maybe four weeks, lots of chores around here will be put on hold. 

Saturday morning we did the usual errands, had lunch, and headed to the Ocoee River Gorge in Tennessee to get Cliff out of the house for a few hours. The river rapids are wild after continuous days of rain in the area. 

                            Crazy people!

This morning after breakfast, to get Cliff out of the house again, we took a leisurely drive in the opposite direction through the Nantahala Gorge toward the Cherokee Indian Reservation.  We needed to walk a trail and see something new.  Cliff had read about Mingo Falls located in the Qualla Indian Reservation in Cherokee, NC.  The drive took us through lush woods and winding streams flowing over large rocks, past quiet camp grounds and fishing holes.  There was only one small sign for Mingo Falls.  If I had sneezed, we would have missed it. The trail to the falls is about 1/3 of a mile and

is over 150 steps all uphill

 carefully avoiding slippery mud and huge tree roots

rain soaked rocks and fallen trees

to  small wooden bridge that crosses the Mingo Creek in front of the falls.

We stayed on the bridge watching a few hikers balance their way across fallen trees to get closer to the falls.

She's still following behind her husband.......

then comes to her senses, slowly walks back to the bridge where she safely takes pictures of his daredevil feat.

Estimates on the height of the falls run from 120' to 200', according to the sites I've read.  Pictures don't do it justice.  The falls sparkled like diamonds with the sun hitting the spray and the many streams running down the rocks.  Spectacular sight.