When we left Lebanon, TN I hurt my back folding up a camp chair so this leg of the trip started with me hobbling around like an old lady. But, with a few days rest, and some "Aleve" we were ready to explore America's most visited National Park. It is also the only National Park that has no entrance fee!
During the first few days my hiking ability was limited so our first excursion was the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop Road. First stop was at John Oliver Place. Some people think the 43 foot RV is small. Think of large families living in this log home held together with nothing but mud mortar, no electricity and no running water!
On the loop we saw many signs of a small community: barns, corn cribs, blacksmith shops, smokehouses and churches. But the sites we found most interesting were the wildlife: turkeys, deer and in this photo, these horses enjoying the cove.
But...without question...the highlight of Cades Cove were the Bear sightings. We saw a total of 6 bears during our trips through the park. But the most interesting was this bear cub who walked out of the woods right in front of us...
...took one look straight at Mark and walked right in front of him and crossed the road. I'm glad there was no sign of this cub's mother!!!
The Great Smoky Mountains are so different from the rocky sharp edged mountains of the West Coast. These are beautiful rolling blankets of green.
The trails wind through the foilage...
...and cross over the gently flowing rivers. This is quite the bridge, and we crossed two of them on this trail, but it is more sturdy than it looks. The rivers generally parallel the roads and are also prevalent on many of the hiking trails.
There is an obvious reason why these mountains are called "Smoky!"
Sometimes you actually know you are drivng right through the clouds ...
...and sometimes you are rewarded with spectacular double rainbows!
One hundred and fifty trails extend for about 800 miles so there is no limit to the hiking in this park. On Saturday and Wednesday morning Cades Cove loop is closed to autos so you have a scenic 11 mile bicycle loop. There is a hike up to LeConte lodge where they feed you dinner, you stay the night, enjoy a mountain top breakfast and get a sack lunch for your hike back down. There is so much more to see and do in this area but that will have to wait for Part II.
2 comments:
Wow, that's beautiful. I'd heard the Great Smokies were wonderful. As for the John Oliver Place, it looks as big as the 10'x40' mobile home Jean and I lived in for many years, or the grad student apartment after that. And don't forget, none of the floor space is taken up by a bathroom! :)
Oh, BTW... that comment above was left by Dan Smith
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