Mount Pisgah

On Sunday, Trev and I headed west on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Pisgah. It was a beautiful day sandwiched between two days of rain and clouds. The weather was perfect, the sky was blue and trail was lovely! At the top off the mile and a half trail there are 360 degree views of western North Carolina. Beautiful!

We discovered the trail leading to the top of Mount Pisgah when we were out driving the day before. This picture was taken at the park area at the trail head. As you can see, the day was cool and drizzley, so we were happy the day of our hike turned out so beautiful.

Beautiful Fall Colors

Growing up in San Diego and then living the last three years in Arizona haven't afforded me much in the way of a colorful fall. So, I am really enjoying seeing the trees turn from green to varying shades of yellow, orange and red. I guess the fall colors are arriving a little late here this year due to the unusually warm weather we have been having. I am already impressed with what I am seeing, so I can't imagine what's in store for us over the next few weeks!

Can you believe the size of this leaf??

This picture reminds me of a kaleidoscope.


This is a picture of some of the trees in our complex... we have watched them change everyday!

Home Sweet Home

Several people have asked for some pictures of where we are living. So, here are some shots of our home sweet home. Our apartment is the downstairs unit to the left of the stairs.

Come on in! We are almost ready for Halloween - we just need to get our pumpkins carved. We are excited at the prospect of having Trick or Treaters this year!

This is the living room as seen from the front door. We have some big furniture, but it seems to have fit in the room just fine. The patio is nice size and has a storage area that is currently full of Christmas decorations!



This is the kitchen and dining room (picture taken from the patio door). We were able to have our full-size washer and dryer (yay!!) - they are inside those folding doors in the dining area. Trev loves it because he can fold laundry, eat a snack, and watch TV all at one time.

We were fortunate enough to get an apartment with a wood burning fireplace. It has been unusually warm since we have been here, so we have not had the opportunity to use it. Right now it serves as a pretty center piece in the room.

This is the master bedroom, and it is the ONLY bedroom that doesn't look like a storage unit. We are very lucky to have found a place with such a large room. All of our stuff fits well and still leaves us plenty of space.

Chimney Rock

The day before my mom headed back to Alabama, she, Trev and I went to visit Chimney Rock. We weren't too sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we had been told it was a "must do" activity when in the Asheville area. Chimney Rock kicked our butts!


The hike started with a climb through The Needle's Eye. This is a passage up through these two rock formations. It is very steep, very dark, and very tight (my back pack was scraping the walls on the way up). I was quite proud that my VERY claustrophobic mom made it through!








I had to come up with a way to get a picture of all three of us when we came across this bidge on the path. I worked very hard to set the camera up on a precarious ledge, center the scene, get it in focus and start the timer so that I could run and get myself into the frame before the picture was taken... this is what happens when no one is monitoring Trevor!





After about an hour and a half of walking through the forest (there was a trail), climbing up steep escarpments (there were stairs) and scaling rock faces (there was a fence), we arrived at Chimney Rock. This rock formation stands apart from the rest of the mountains and has spectaular views of the forested mountains as well as Lake Lure below. It was a beautiful way to end a great hike. Oh... we took the elevator down!

The Biltmore

My mom was gracious enough to fly to Arizona to drive with me and the dogs to North Carolina. It was a long trip followed by many days of digging through boxes and trying to make the new apartment feel like home. After working so hard, the two of us decided to treat ourselves to a little tourist fun. We visited The Biltmore Estate, the largest privately owned home in the country. It was built by the Vanderbilt family in the late 1800's and is a landmark of which Asheville is very proud. The house is amazing and the grounds are thousands of acres of beautiful forest, gardens, farmland and a winery. I am now a year-round pass holder and look forward to returning many times and experiencing all the seasons at Biltmore!

Bama Boys

You are looking at two happy Bama Boys!! While Trevor and I are living in the new apartment in Asheville, Taz and Tanner are living with my mom and dad in Alabama. Of course we wish we had them with us, but we knew they would be much happier running around on two acres of grass, swimming in the fish pond, and boating on the lake. Can you blame them?

Luckily we will be able to take weekend trips to visit our boys, and as soon as we get into another house we will be a happy family once again. Thanks to my parents for taking such good care of their granddogs!!

Viva Las Vegas

While Trevor was slavin' away back in North Carolina trying to get boxes unpacked and our new apartment set up, the rest of the family headed to Vegas! Of course we were there to relax and have a nice mini-vacation in the middle of crazy and hectic times. But the main reason for our visit was to celebrate the wedding of Christopher (Trevor's cousin) and Megan! The special event took place in one of the gardens at Caesar's Palace and was followed by an intimate reception with family and friends. The day was beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, and Chris and Megan now have a beautiful family! We send you all our love.

Moving Day

Welcome to our Blog! For those of you who don't know, Trevor recently accepted a job with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department in Asheville, North Carolina. In an effort to keep all of our family and friends updated with all of our new east coast adventures, we decided to set up the Dale Family Blog. We will be posting pictures and stories that capture all the new experiences we are having back east!

On Saturday October 22nd, Trevor and I loaded up the moving van, leaving our Prescott Valley house behind us. The next day, Trevor headed to our new home in Asheville and I moved in with his mom and dad for two weeks while I finished up my time at Arizona State Credit Union. Our house in Arizona is still for sale, and we are hoping it is sold by the end of the year. It was a good home for us for the past three and a half years. We put lots of blood, sweat and tears into it with all of the improvements we made. Hopefully someone will buy it soon!! In the mean time, it sits empty.