Located in the museum park, off one of the trails and in a corner where you're probably not going…read moreto just stumble upon it is this extremely interesting artwork. It took me about 90 minutes of walking and wandering until I finally found it. Difficult because it's not on one of the paved trails and some of the woods trails are marked off. But I did eventually get there. The Cloud Chamber is a "camera obscura" that uses a pinhole in the roof to project a mirror image of the lit area onto the walls. After you step inside and close the door, once your eyes adjust, you'll see trees and clouds and blue sky projected across the white cement walls. It's very clever! Thank you to artist Chris Drury who installed this stone, wood and turf structure in 2003. And thank you as well to Atlas Obscura for the entry: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cloud-chamber-for-the-trees-and-sky GPS coordinates: 35.805927805555555, -78.69912752777778 [Review 11689 overall, 1471 of 2019.]

I love this park. We typically come during the day to enjoy the paths but we came today early in…read morethe morning with our run club. The trails within the park were closed (not sure why), so we went running around the park. It's especially hilly in this area and connects to the greenway. It's great for endurance training. We also love to come here for picnics, photo shoots, and bike rides.

The art museum here has somewhat limited hours, but it is notable that the surrounding Parkland is…read moreopen even when the interior of the museum is not. The park offers various objects d'art set against a woodland plain, and it links in with other trails as is common in North Carolina. There are a lot of greenways. There is ample free parking and it is close to a lot of other things but quiet and secluded. And if it is a day when the museum is open, you can get a good mix of indoor and outdoor experiences for free.

Love this trail. Not many trails can accommodate mobility devices, such as mobility scooters…read more This is great for walking. Dogs are welcome as long as they are on a leash per leash law of Lee County/Sanford.

Here is info from various website about this historic site…read more I hiked to it in the late 80s and it really made an impression on me. I've wanted to revisit it ever since and now I can more easily since a road has been put in. Standing at nearly 40 feet tall, the furnace is an impressive historic remnant of a by-gone era. About a 150 years ago, a group of industrialists came to Lee County to mine local iron ore deposits. They constructed the Endor Iron Furnace to smelt the iron which they then transported by rail to supply the Confederacy. The furnace site is located on the south side of the Deep River. County / Township Lee / Cumnock Watershed Deep River / Cape Fear River Acres 426 Protection Status Acquired by purchase in 2001 using funds raised in the Deep River Campaign and grants from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund. Transferred to state ownership (Department of Cultural Resources) in 2002, but managed by TLC. Owned by the State of North Carolina, managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy and maintained by Lee County Parks and Recreation.The 426 acre site, on the banks of the Deep River, includes 250 acres of floodplain and wetlands, and about 3.5 miles of stream frontage--TLC's largest conservation project to date. Scheduled tours of the furnace site are announced throughout the year. Site Location: Iron Furnace Road Sanford, NC 27331-1023 Days/Hours: Tours announced throughout year. Also by appointment. Fees: Free Phone: (919) 776-7479 Email: info@tlc-nc.org Website: http://www.tlc-nc.org/endor_property.shtml Bus Parking: Yes Handicapped Accessible: No http://www.historicdistricts.com/NC/Lee/vacant.html http://www.triangleland.org/lands/partnership/endor_property.shtml

This is just strange enough that you need to stop and take a picture. Someone has built a pair of…read moregiant legs that make it look like the model was lying on her back with her legs wide open. There's room in between for you to stand for a picture. It's a one minute stop and it's great for your Insta. [Review 2150 of 2024 - 3809 in North Carolina - 23169 overall]

Nothing wrong what so ever! Wayne worked hard on these now are a land mark! meet me at the legs ,…read moreok everyone who lives in Henderson knows that the giant legs are in south Henderson and Wayne is the man's name who cut out the metal with his bare hands and sanded the metal, prime painted the legs then painted the legs with the color on the painted legs sun south Henderson. Wayne also worked hard setting the legs up and positioning the heavy metal

The 2009 race was featured on Man Vs Food. And I think folks may have been wondering how could 2010…read moretop that. But this is just the kind of race that gets better (and more remarkable) with age! What is Doughman? Think Ironman -- but a lot, well, doughier. For those not in the know (and really you should check out that M v F episode -- hilarious!), Doughman combines competitive eating with a 4-person team quadrathlon and crazy costumes. The charities this year were SEEDS and See-Saw Studios -- both Durham youth programs. And the food stops on the race were all Durham restaurateurs with a local focus. I volunteered with some fabulous yelper helpers: Mari J, Helena K and her hubby, Al. We were stationed at the first stop in the race, Hog Heaven. Bikers cycled in and proceeded to wolf down (or try to) a chicken leg, cup of pulled pork and three hushpuppies. Sound outrageous? It is. The next stop involved an inner tube and paddling across a pool. Some of the best costumes were the Stay Buft team (cute Pillsbury hats and shirts!), Inconceivable! (a Princess Bride cast... how the hell they raced in pirate boots and capes is unbeknownst to me), and Breakfast of Champions (Biscuit King and Wonder Bread Woman?? So clever and well-produced!). But of course it was our very own Make Me Yelp team (Tripp W, Jane W, Phil G, and Meghan B) that won first place in costumes this year... for some very homemade Richard Simmons'-inspired outfits complete with curly wigs -- and the jumping jacks and high knees to go along with them! They finished 16th place (out of 70) in the race; and Yelp raised enough money to earn the 10th spot on the fundraising leaderboard. In other words, you yelpers rock! ;) Super-excited for the Doughman Banquet (yummy local food and beer) which takes place this evening. Ticket funds go to the charities. Awesome way to participate in Doughman if you don't necessarily feel like dressing up like superheroes and stuffing your face with a hoagie at 9am. Time to start planning for next year's race! --- So I just has to post a quick same-day update to say the Doughman hEArTs Durham Banquet was so fabulous. Terrific local breweries, great live music, and really good catered food (especially loving the Dolly Mama chocolate; LocoPops; and the bbq). And just swell company. People ate, drank and made merry for sure. Wish I could've stuck around for the dancing but I was pretty pooped after such a big day!

Being a part of the Doughman race is one of the more fun things I have done in a while. What other…read moreevent can you simultaneously dress up in ridiculous costumes, get exercise, act stupid, eat amazing food, get a scenic tour of Durham, meet interesting new people, and dance to 80's music? That's right, no where else but Doughman. We represented yelp proudly and with tons of spunk (can someone say random acts of jumping jacks?). I feel I got the best food draw of the team with local yogurt and a BBQ platter, but with the uphill 10 mile bike ride, I definitely earned every tasty morsel. Fav moments: - Phil G hopelessly roaming around for food prior to the race. Blah blah blah donut blah blah. - Kicking the Biggest Loser team's butt. There was no way I was going to let them come even close. - Meghan B 80's mix. Imagine me rolling through Durham driving the chaser truck, windows down, full Richard Simmons costume, singing 80's tunes at the top of my lungs, and waving to every person that passed me by. Classic! - People mistaking the wig for my real hair - The 3rd place team's coach in short shorts and an armadillo belt buckle - Eating and drinking my weight in food and beer at the banquet that night (still not really sure how I did it) So much fun. I can't wait to do it again next year!

I remember my first handful of visits to Raleigh as a teenager and seeing the Cree Shimmer Wall as…read moreI drove down S. McDowell St. as we passed the Raleigh Convention Center and Red Hat Amphitheater. At the time, I had no idea what it was but thought the way it shimmered in the light was beautiful. I've been a Raleigh resident for several years now and I can confidently say that even to this day, I have to stop and admire the wall whenever I'm nearby. "Shimmer Wall is a 9,284-square-foot piece of art adorning the west side of the Raleigh Convention Center. This spectacular piece is made up of 79,464 light and dark aluminum square pixels that change shape and disappear as the squares flap in the wind. The design team, including artistic inventor Ned Kahn, worked to put the thousands of 4-inch by 4-inch aluminum pixels hinged on louvers to allow for free motion on 4-foot by 4-foot grids. To aid nighttime "shimmering," the design team chose to backlight the wall with 56 LED fixtures from Cree, which have a lifespan of 15 years. The LED colors vary depending on the season or celebration. The wall depicts an image of an oak tree and has become a symbol for Raleigh, the City of Oaks." - LocalWiki How cool!!! I have heard that you can get a good nighttime glimpse of the Cree Shimmer Wall at night from the bridge on Boylan Street. I've never stopped to check it out there but that is also a great spot to take a snapshot of the city at night. I love this city.

Mad. Cool. (Of course they were setting Red Hat Amphitheater…read morefor Shinedown concert the day I went to see the wall, so whole downtown Raleigh gone mad hatter, but consider it as part of experience) Over 9,000 sq ft wall designed by Clearscapes with LED lights donated by Cree. It made with 80,000 metal panels, moving in the wind and creating rippling effect. Some panels are fixed, and paint a picture of old Oak Tree, to commemorate Raleigh nickname, City of Oaks. Like a reflection of Oak Tree in the water, rippling and changing, it representing the city that stands for it's past and changing for the future. This is grand.

There's a giant cat prowling car dealership parking lots in Zebulon NC. I managed to find it! Two…read morestories tall, it's currently mounted on a trailer. Considering that the cougar is nearly 50 years old, it's in amazingly good shape. Originally part of a promotional stunt for the Mercury Cougar automobile, it's worth a stop to check it out and get a unique selfie. Thanks to Atlas Obscura for this one. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mercury-cougar [Review 11744 overall, 1526 of 2019.]

I love cats! Obviously it was required to visit this giant mural while in town. It is fun it is…read morefunky and while strolling along easy to get to and snap a photo of. It was purrrrr-fect!

Hooray for the fifth annual Raleigh Typhoon Scavenger Hunt! It was a lot of fun, a lot of food and…read morejust a wee bit of drinking. A great chance to explore the City of Oaks and get silly with 500 other scavenger hunters criss-crossing through the downtown area. But as Christina mentioned, the end was not quite what we hoped for in terms of prizes and how it was handled, bummer. We played leap-frog, passed a hula hoop, did word jumbles, hop scotched, counted crosses, rocked and scissored it out and more. Along the way we got to check out Ripple City, the Big Easy, Woody's, The Oxford, Hibernian, Armadillo Grill, Noir, Jules and a slew of other sponsors. And yes, we drank some beer! But given the amount of ground we covered, we had to hydrate! ;-) All-in-all a fun event that could use a little better organization. Just know that Team Yelp was in it to win it. Puzzles: Finished. Drinking: Complete. Eating: Done. Next year we're bringing home a big prize! And only 3 sombrero's were sacrificed during the evening. Nice job peoples!

Honestly, I'm really glad I competed in this year's Raleigh Typhoon, but I'm not sure I'd do it…read moreagain, or if I did I'd focus more on enjoying the drinks and games instead of trying to get it all done, because at the end of the day...it was about the journey, not the reward (because there was none). Seriously, the deck was stacked against participants in the first place. After registering, we received a white sheet with clues on where we could find 'challenges' that would earn us blue puzzle pieces. Challenges ranged from a good ol' crossword, to origami crawfish to more physical challenges like a team vs. team leap frog race. Once we had the blue puzzle assembled (before any other team we saw) we had an entire new list of 17 items we needed to find and paste to a 24x24 posterboard to get the $400 prize. The $600 prize puzzle was a 'letters missing' puzzle and the $1000 prize was a pictogram to find a key that would open a safe. So yeah, not easy. Things that need work: 1. Attention to detail: Our blue puzzle, once assembled, was cut from different stacks so we had whole words missing (effectively eliminating us from being able to even compete for the 'letters missing' $600 prize). 2. Closing/Prize Ceremony: I don't know about you, but after I've been running around in costume for 9 hours in the heat, not stopping for food, but stopping for lots of drink, I want to pay for MORE beer and listen to LOUD Katy Perry/Gaga pumping out of the same mic used to announce rules for submission of posters / prizes. It took them 3 hours to even announce the winners. Tighten that shiz up! Then, we'll party. AND...when it came time to submit the posters for the $400 prize, they chose the winner based on the first one they liked out of only 20 submissions. Our poster was complete, along with our other items at 7:30, when some people were still making theirs at 8:30. I know it's not a race, this just seems unfair. 3. Confusion: We understood that we were supposed to get photos at every stop, save receipts and other such requirements, so we did it all. At no point in the prize ceremony were these items mentioned or considered, enhancing the feeling that we busted our butts for nothing. GoodTimes: 1. Meeting other teams! There were some playing dirty (grab all the matchbooks...you know who you are...) but most people were happy and having a wild-eyed good time. 2. Getting to see Raleigh! Businesses I'd never been to like The Union and Gypsy Jule made a great impression. Others were less welcoming (and that's pretty interesting too). 3. Bonding with my own team! Raleigh Typhoon is a great way for a group of people to see many sides of each other, working together, keeping each other pumped and sacrificing your own comfort (feet & heat) with your eyes on the prize.