CNPA-Charlotte Outing to Bass Lake

[sjennings]

The following is information concerning the CNPA – Charlotte outing to Bass Lake on Saturday, July 26th.

Bass Lake is located in Blowing Rock just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Highway 221. An easy one mile trail runs along the perimeter of the lake with additional trails into the wooded areas, some leading to the Moses Cone Manor and other sites on the property. We will primarily be shooting water lilies on the lake, but those who would like to venture on the trails should find an assortment of wildflowers in bloom as well. Both were blooming this time last year when I was there. I stopped by Bass Lake on the way home from Roan Mountain and the lilies and daisies have begun to bloom around the lake, so it should look nice when we're there.

Depending on interest we can visit Flat Top Manor and the Parkway when we’re finished shooting at the lake. Also, if there are some who would like to make the drive up real early, sunrise can be photographed from the Parkway before heading down to the lake.

Please let me know if you are planning to attend, so that I can plan accordingly and provide you with additional details. Also, let me know your level of interest in sunrise and/or shooting on the Blue Ridge Parkway and if you have any other suggestions.

You can e-mail me at sh.j@att.net or reply to this forum.

Thanks!
Shawn

[jschornak]

Shawn,

I'm interested in this outing. Please let me know what I can do to help with planning.

Thanks!
John

[dawnita]

I am interested in this outing. I would also be up for doing sunrise on the parkway.

Dawnita

[tomdills]

Shawn -

We've got this outing on the schedule but don't know logistics yet. We may plan to spend the weekend in Blowing Rock. Sunset spots are a little sparse along that section of the Parkway but there are a number of decent sunrise locations. Looking forward to hearing more!

[sjennings]

You're right about sunset spots being sparse on that section of the Parkway, Tom, I meant to say sunrise. :) I'll go back and edit it.

[tomdills]

Actually I thought you meant sunrise and sunset!

[jenniferbrown]

I'm interested, too! Please keep me in the loop. :D

[sjennings]

Hey Folks - Here is the info from the flier I put together for the meeting last night. After reviewing this, please let me know if you are definitely planning to attend and 1. if you want to do sunrise shots and 2. if you want me to make lunch reservations

My e-mail address is sh.j@att.net.

Thanks!

Shawn



CNPA Charlotte Region
Saturday, July 26, 2008 – Bass Lake in Blowing Rock
Leader: Shawn Jennings


Agenda
•Sunrise at Thunder Hill over look, MP 290 on the BRP. (Provided there is interest in shooting sunrise) Sun rises at 6:29 AM.
•Head to Bass Lake about 8:00-8:30 to photograph water lilies, waterfowl and view of Flat Top Manor from the lake during morning hours. Bass Lake has a flat trail that circles the lake and several trails throughout the property which contain wildflowers, apple orchids and old buildings. There is also a trail from Bass Lake to Flat Top Manor if you are inclined to hike it.
•Lunch at Canyons
•After lunch head to the Blue Ridge Parkway to photograph Flat Top Manor and other areas of interest.
•Other options available: Broyhill Park and Annie Cannon Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain sunset from Raven Rock Overlook on BRP MP 289.5. Sun sets at 8:37 PM.


Directions from Charlotte

Take I-85 South to NC Hwy 321 North.
Stay on Highway 321 until you reach Blowing Rock.
Once in Blowing Rock, take NC Hwy 221 South – this will also be Main St.
Turn right at the Yonahlossee Rd intersection to continue on Hwy 221.
Bass Lake is a short ways down the road – approximately 1 mile – on the right.

Travel time is approximately 2 hours.




Additional info if you're interested:

Glen Burney Trail & Annie Cannon Gardens

Ancient Indian trail winding along New Year's Creek in Blowing Rock. The trail, long used by Indian hunters and later as access to the turn of the century logging camps, now delights visitors and newcomers as well as old timers with an escape from day to day life. The 1.5 mile foot trail begins in the Annie Cannon Gardens, and descends some 800 feet and provides breathtaking vistas of two waterfalls, the Glen Burney(45') and the Glen Mary(55'). The trail has been there forever according to old timers who confirm that it was most likely used by Archaic Indians. Because it was used in the early part of this century by logging camps, a crew of CCC works were dispatched during the Great Depression to improve the trail from Globe Valley to Blowing Rock. The existing portion, used today to access the falls, is the only remaining section preserved in usable condition. Enjoy an inviting two hour round trip walk into a virgin Appalachian hardwood forest with spectacular cascades.


Broyhill Park

Just behind downtown Blowing Rock, across the street from Annie Cannon Gardens, with a gazebo, a walking trail through beautiful gardens, and a deck for fishing.

[dawnita]

Shawn, it looks like you have mapped out a great trip. It all looks great to me. I am up for the sunrise and the lunch. My son will be joining me on this trip.

Thanks for all the work you are putting into this.

Have a great day!

Dawnita

[jschornak]

I made hotel reservations at the Marion Hampton Inn ... it leaves a bit of a drive but I couldn't pass up a free hotel stay (only 10,000 HH points per night). So we are ready to make a weekend of it.

Thanks!
John

[k.liscinsky]

Shawn,

I will not be able to make it. Hopefully everyone has a great time and get some great photos. :(

[epayne]

Hi Shaun and all,
I am planning on showing up as well. Could not entice Ann to go so it will just be me. Possibly for the sunrise too if I sleep real fast Friday night.
See you there,
Edgar Payne

[epayne]

Where were you guys??? I saw Jenifer and her husband and a fellow CNPA member from Morganton, he was with the new Foothills Chapter and was not aware of our outing. I was in the lot at Bass lake at 8:15 and shot for over an hour until the rain started. I drove into Boone and checked out the Watauga Farmers Market in the Horn in the West parking lot and then shot for an hour at the Boone Garden Club gardens next to the Horn in the West. I had printed the page of the outing with the schedule and wish it had Shaun's cellphone number on it. The list I have in the car did not have Shaun's cell. Tried calling John S and his mailbox was full as always so I could not leave a message.....
Edgar

[jenniferbrown]

We waited out the rain and made it all the way around the lake...never seeing a single camera other than one person with a point-n-shoot - fussing at her kids for being goofy. (heaven forbid kids be goofy!....s i g h....)

Edgar, you left before I could offer you part of the brownies I had made for the picnic! :(

I didn't know where anything else was in town, so we headed back home around noon.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask the group leader(s) to always include a cell phone number as part of the directions/trip plans????

[sjennings]

Edgar and Jennifer,

I’m sorry we missed you at Bass Lake. We had a good time and I’m sure it would have been more fun if you could have joined us. We switched the Bass Lake and BRP part of the schedule when we drove the Parkway toward Bass Lake and found several wildflowers growing along the side of the road. When it rained we just waited it out and continued shooting when it stopped. The overcast skies and rain were great for photographing the flowers and foliage.

Concerning the lapse of communication about the outing…. I asked everyone at the last CNPA meeting to sign the sign-up sheet, along with their cell phone number, to let me know that they were going and neither of your names was on the list. I also posted on the forum (see post from 7/10) the info I gave out at the meeting and asked anyone who was definitely planning to go to let me know they were going by e-mailing me. (My e-mail address is included in the post.) Edgar, I never received an e-mail from you and Jennifer, you sent me an e-mail asking if there were any changes to the outing, but I never received an e-mail from you saying you were coming either. When I checked the forum Friday morning there were no additional posts from anyone saying they were interested in attending the outing, so I was not aware that either of you were planning to meet us. When we met for sunrise in Blowing Rock Dawnita did tell me, Edgar, that you posted Friday afternoon that you might come up for sunrise, but when you didn’t show we proceeded on our way. I don’t think the forum is a viable option for someone to post a message at the last minute that they are planning to attend an outing because the e-mail notifications from the CNPA web site are not always reliable. For example, I still have not received notification that you, Edgar, made a post Friday and that was two days ago. Had I known ahead of time that the two of you were planning to join us, I would have given you my cell phone number so you could try to call us to meet up with us (if you can get a signal in the mountains:) ), but I don’t publish it freely – especially on the forum where anyone on the Internet can access it. I receive enough solicitations without it being published.:)

Once again, I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet up with you two, but maybe a lesson we can learn from this is that we all can do a better job of communicating both ways our intentions on these outings. I hope you were still able to get some good images!

[epayne]

Hello Shaun,
I too regret that we did not meet up with the group on Saturday AM. My schedule does not allow me to commit to outings always until the last minute. I thought this forum was a tool we could use to communicate last minute changes with but it obviously does not work well.
I still think as a group leader your cell number or some means of contact should be provided for day of the event access.
I was able to get some good photos but would have liked to have met with the rest of the group. I think Jenifer and her husband would have liked to be clued in too as to the rescheduling. I regret that I did not email you directly regarding my attendance. I thought this forum would be adequate as I posted just after noon on Friday. I hope you and the others got some good shots as well.
Best regards,
Edgar Payne

[epayne]

From the first post:
The following is information concerning the CNPA – Charlotte outing to Bass Lake on Saturday, July 26th. This is what I remembered.

You can e-mail me at sh.j@att.net or reply to this forum.

The info from the post on the 10th didn't register. Who can we contact regarding the cnpa site to see what can be done to make this forum more reliable in advising members of additions in the future?
Thanks, Edgar

[jschornak]

I would like to extend a special thanks to Shawn for "stepping up to the plate" to facilitate this outing. I myself had a wonderful time! I appreciate his efforts from the perspective of a member and as the outings-chairman.

In a perfect world we would have all connected this past weekend, but in that same perfect world we would spell each other's name correctly. My point is that it is never going to be perfect ... as Meg Ryan said to Tom Hanks in Joe and the Volcano: "It's always going to be something with you, isn't it Joe" (something to that effect).

I am personally very disappointed that Shawn took such a beating in a public venue. I don’t think anything was accomplished by this exercise. And I don’t think the real issue here is in details like phone numbers and schedules. I am firmly convinced that our first concerns should be membership involvement, a commitment of more people’s time, and effective two-way communications.

I also think too much of this forum thread has centered on "what the leader should do". I think this is an opportunity to revisit the responsibilities of members who are considering attending an outing (I have talked about these at several monthly meetings, but perhaps it would be helpful to repeat).

[1] Members need to communicate (via email, via cnpa.org forum, via phone call, or at our monthly meetings) to a specific outing facilitator their level of interest and their willingness to contribute to research/planning for that outing. Ideally this needs to happen no less than three months before the outing date.

[2] Members next should actively initiate and participate in two-way dialog with the Outing Facilitator over the three-months leading up to the Outing. This is a member’s opportunity to:

• make an outing better
• communicate interests and/or special needs (like I won't know until the day before if my work schedule will allow me to participate)
• shoulder some of the responsibility for research and/or planning

[3] It is each member's responsibility to communicate to the specific Outing Facilitator any changes in their level of interest or changes in their status for attendance during the time period leading up to the Outing. Remember committing early to the planning of an outing does not mean you have to attend (even if you don’t attend you’ll have learned something).

More about communications with regards to our outings ... effective communications necessitate not only two way dialog, but also a "hand-shaking" protocol to verify that a communications sent was received. Members make the decision on their attendance, so it's their responsibility to communicate that information and just as importantly to verify the communications were received. We can't just drop a note and assign the responsibility to someone else. In a society already gone mad with customer service rights and feelings of entitlement an all volunteer organization like the CNPA cannot truly function. The Outings Facilitator already has way too much of the burden to shoulder this, too. If we continue with these current expectations from members, then I fear we'll quickly run-out of volunteers for facilitators (then no more "official" group outings).

Our outings range widely in complexity with regards to planning. This is dependent on many variables (single location vs. multiple photo sites; indoors vs. outdoors; new outing location vs. “old standby”; one-day outing vs multi-day outing; etc.). The logistical difficulty of an outing increases exponentially as more of these variable come into play on any single outing. To be successful with our outings we each need to recognize this and step up our individual efforts. THERE ARE NO CUSTOMERS HERE … NO ONE HAS PAID ANYTHING AND NO ONE HAS BEEN PAID!

A last thought to consider, if you don't like how an outing came together, then volunteer for one of our many "leaderless" outings and show everyone how it should be done. If an outing facilitator requests feedback, then give that initial feedback in a more personal and private venue.

Thanks!
John