Nobody is talking about why they call it Big Bear Falls.

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” – Plato

Knowing what not to fear is a challenging thing. There are things in life that we should have a healthy fear of. For example, while hiking to place known as Big Bear Falls, you shouldn’t be so afraid of the big bear in order to be able to see the falls. I didn’t see the bear while hiking to and from this set of waterfalls. Fear sometimes keeps us from doing thing we want to do, and from challenging ourselves in new ways. Fear can also keep us from opportunities because of the fear of what happens if we fail? Don’t let fear hold you back. Use fear as a guide to know what to lookout for.

Whenever we travel to the North Carolina Mountains, I am always looking for a waterfall to take pictures. When we went camping the last time in Golden Valley, I found a state park near where we were at. By near, I mean 30 minutes away. Living in the city I am used to everything being 10 to 15 minutes away, so 30 minutes is a little longer than I am used to going. My son and I headed out to South Mountain State Park to check out the waterfalls there. The park is located on the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains. We hiked about three miles so we could see the falls and check out the Jacob Fork River. This is just one of many awesome North Carolina State Parks and Recreation. This is just one of many awesome sites at the park. Lucky for us we never found that big bear.

Here are a couple of facts that I picked up about the park while I was there.

Bring some water and a snack. There are some hills you will need to climb to get there. I forgot to do this. When we got back to the campground, we both put down some bottles of water.

Plan to be there for a while. There is so much to see. We only saw a small fraction of the park. Or better yet, plan to return in order to see more.

If you are like me and love to take pictures, make sure your camera battery is charged, and your memory card has plenty of space. I took over 100 photos in the few hours we were there. It is a beautiful park with so much to see and capture.

There is no cell reception at the park. Plan accordingly.

This is just one of the many places where I have had an adventure so far this summer. What awesome places are you planning on seeing this summer?