We woke to delightfully cool, overcast weather. It was refreshing to put on a jacket after all the 90-degree temperatures we’ve had. Small groups formed and headed out after breakfast.

We packed the cooler on Beth’s bike and set our course to go down US-276 to Brevard, NC, across US-64 to Rossman, NC, and up on NC-215.

We rode through some fog and light rain on our way to our first stop was at Sliding Rock. We had been here 30 years ago before it was turned into an organized park. Now there is a charge to enter, decks and overlooks, life guards and monitors. The ride down the rock is the same, however.

Someone was flying a drone to capture video of friends from a different perspective.

A few miles down the road we came to Looking Glass Falls and stopped to watch it.

We continued to a grocery store for some lunch supplies.

We were looking for a place to stop and have our picnic when a guy suggested we go to Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute a couple of miles off NC-215.

We toured the facility…

…and had lunch on the grounds.

This radio telescope received the signal from Neil Armstrong on the Moon saying, “That’s one step…” and transmitted it to broadcast stations around the world.

Among their display items is a Redstone rocket and a communications satellite.

TN-215 is our favorite road so far. It has challenging curves, is three times longer than The Dragon, and has three times the fun. Thanks to our friend Bonnie Ketchum for suggesting it.

The Shark Week activity for the evening was the raffle. About 50 vendors donated items to the raffle, which is the main source of income for the meetup as there is no registration fee.

Flowers

Tomorrow we will line up the bikes for a group picture, then do some more riding. Shark Week will officially come to a close with a BBQ dinner.