Pages

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Blackwater Falls State Park

     Tuesday, May 21, was a chilly day. We spent the morning discovering a few of the sights at Blackwater Falls State Park.  
     There is a “staircase path” wIth 200+ steps leading to several viewing platforms for the 57 foot high Blackwater Falls, so visitors are able to see the falls from different viewpoints while listening to the thundering sound of the cascading water.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1e--RYhbCMrxEXGk7_5z2YVPsTtv-yg0l

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1BI9ChaXyFtxQjRQ_cBZh3EJnOsmHJopr


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1WbLVd3oeog9Qww3QWgAzXW3c1gVwGvku


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1wzh4PqMZE3K4azAkqxM1BcjVNAErtwEc


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1uPxIhQ_eODIQMdzwLtBv9rl-9HVTh5Sf


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1UIMxJPJmT6fdBycGgbkdPQGLO5Bq_hWG


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1TwFGKfB-qKz4xH9C3CB671R9IeUUcvPY


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1rvDuVEh_CluoXDs_c71d-pna88n-C14N


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1oe-zCUyHxP-dt6uzH3pWsKcTFtCMVPac


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1UT6fbAFPi7ESXsuz1eNOHd2SL-X6bqme


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1UUivuVepTqxZmrInVA9nvjcKZfJDEfsf


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Ed4IKgoYFsDdGxAwBToMbq9BVrLgSzZp

     Another falls can be seen about a quarter mile down the Elakala Trail which begins beside the Blackwater Lodge.  Hidden in a Hemlock forest, this pretty falls is about 35 feet high.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1uwp0keg9hoQaTbjORsKzzFttJQUQEmlE

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ED1dFSnxwmBMTotG_myq-HU9LUs_3Ekz


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=10RK2ah0yQsmKM86BFywYSDB_SeRttkpi

     The Lindy Point Trail was an easy walk through the trees and wild rhododendron to a rocky cliff overlooking the Blackwater Canyon where we saw large hawks soaring in the wind currents.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sneIU783FlHwtM9K3_iiz-neHzZtsnJb

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1k4Z7zXO2GvvZUr1kgi4M5cnGH50UW2Rs


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=10VZdWOnV9kXIhyIPufVSBhi8J_jysZ-m


     I was alone in a large restroom and just as I put my hand out to open the door to the exit I heard a distant “ding ding”. It was a text on my iphone. I had set it down and neglected to pick it back up. Thank you, Jesus, for the timing of that text.  Without it, by the time I discovered I didn’t have my phone, I would have had no idea where I had lost it. ❤️
     In the afternoon we drove about a hundred miles to Front Royal, Virginia and started down Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

     

Monday, May 27, 2019

Smokey Mountain National Park

     We parked overnight in the Walmart in Waynesville, North Carolina and got up early to head to Smokey Mountain National Park.  It’s a beautiful park but it was EXTREMELY busy since it was Memorial Day Weekend.  In many areas we encountered slow bumper to bumper traffic and the overlooks and parking lots were overflowing with cars parked far along either side of the road.  The roads snake back and forth through the mountains but are nicely paved and well-maintained.

     The Oconaluftee Visitor Center had interesting displays which included the disturbing story of how many of the Cherokee were displaced from this area and relocated to Oklahoma to make room for non-Indian settlers.  It also had an open-air Mountain Farm Museum and we paid $1 for an informative self-guiding tour booklet.  The barn was an unusual, large triangle-shaped structure.  In addition to the house and barn, there was a meathouse, apple house/orchard, cane mill and molasses shed, beegums, corn crib, etc

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1FP0AjrOaaT3AqYMGuIRIiErmZkDlHk81

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1neoTevqkBOE-6Z8p3FcTnAeiXVpWmi3r

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18fdPLRGqEbSwnmQuyiioxoLRbrzlZl70

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1PIgzt8hZ4JnOox4keLxjsqFkpTr43_pv

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1T2bQVpRUBHuyugzyVdV5Tt43ISFzwWt3

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=12FU17k2XEOv4jScan-LL3owYfDqpGBHl

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13w9yAQPMD2GO6NsAEWpEH2fibZUXXiIL

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1HpdxM2bbpPKpeWIfgK1aefVbX6UFD2EI

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18u3YLaZKOmj-Zxwy_6XyMyejPKxY59IL

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1krbU1VDtulUYkonvUl8Sf-p28XjREdNM

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1q_y5BMOpZDXUJWXs7l5m_o64gXHS-iUL

     Further on, we saw our third gristmill.  This one, Mingus Mill, was powered by a turbine using water pressure in a shaft rather than a paddle wheel.  The mill was operating and we were given a demonstration and explanation of how it worked.  

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=11Xxl8rMWSVRdSiVhiPrBkg7CSTl4wWqb

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1FMQLsBqtAzXCP4Uo6nTr_KsxKtagiq7P

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1dhTJu8SHslV4Rv85J4Qmvgq2ZH3p2B7l

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1IhJc_edkWUXjThlYneKG7NDCsKbcP5mV

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1aZeML6e9prff3cpUR4UkKyv4zXLYsS9z

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1xvTRq9lJrqjQcA-5Kf5QzL5S7gA7TDiK

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1gNMuricy0meV9d1F9AbjJb5OEY5K-1a1

     There was heavy traffic during the 7 mile drive up Clingman Dome Road to the trailhead parking area.  Waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy before the parking lot traffic was reduced to a start and stop crawl and many cars began parking along the roadside with a long walk up to the parking lot. It took 40 minutes for us to score a parking spot, but it was in the parking lot.  Yay!  A steep, paved, half-mile walk takes you to Clingman Dome observation tower at the highest point in the Smokies (6,643 ft).  The view is an incredible 360 degree panorama of the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee.  Though the walk up was steep, it was less humid today and a little cooler so the hike didn’t wipe me out. 😊

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1JiV-G4LEGo6_dWVvLKv30wKBo_a5NXFG

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1pXQ_yOexkFALRVnpA-GLEq6Nbw_20AAy

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1i3QC2PD7ZgI05WxUMLkdibOPS6Ou6F-8

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1gCKxig6f3j40pVQCG9cuB6k5hnLRIEu4

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Lo9o_yVmQqvLmtpuKxLqLMUFnQFTR5uM

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=16ogyoogEjyge_d2qafVFwOCIGTJcDJ6N

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1VoQtGRBX9qFTeIv8AS4rZ8eZreWYkBpW

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Mat8soHruLW56qPV7flgEj0td3IGdlQh

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18uLGtmuZ7vB1rTidoA50EuhtmSXNzGQv

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1QwwfbuRDI17JWcQZxXLARB2rEtIc29By

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=11DMtJR4K4az7wVXZ7jG7A7F9vHVqWSbA

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1tYaWj2mH-U6R3zjIE2gcgd7Vzou8AC4v

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1HHNaJmPmBQozOkgaRRS_0po-2LzCoSTe

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1KvXvujpEzXaJgTTKaOCOGa-oGTmLKI3m

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1crfcFkShNhlIVyS4rfd6IIo3WmHFosxy

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=15lEBqpRsDlPnNjk0ovvFDt0ZnI5N1BEF

     It didn’t take quite as long to get a parking spot at Newfound Gap where North Carolina meets Tennessee, and the Appalachian Trail passes through.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1bIlRAzjXi-3YnjvpE4GxoK9_5RRCn5rf

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=12yAigEmeDvMl5OYDcELGLZXXwOJ0fBRN

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Mf7XL890R1zIXy9gJK1IKE4TFlV-TiAT

     At about 2:30 we were discussing where we could spend the night since all three campgrounds on our route through the park were likely full for Memorial Day weekend.  We had already passed the first full campground and were approaching Elkmont where we saw another “campground full” sign displayed. I felt led to suggest to Mark that it wouldn’t hurt to stop and ask anyway, and to my surprise he turned right in.  I went into the park office and asked if anyone had checked out early, and she had one newly vacated spot!  Thank you, Jesus!  It was perfect.  There were many people playing in the cool, refreshing river running through the campground.  Our campsite was even right next to another truck camper who showed us the laser-guided system he rigged up to assist him with aligning his truck and camper for easy loading.  Awesome!! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1oMvIfHcmdtJDhKq4Lp2WOFOjTPAi7LU8

     The next morning (Memorial Day, May 27), we got up early hoping to beat the crowd to Cades Cove. We made one stop on the way at an overlook to take pictures of the river and accidently found a hidden waterfall near the road.  https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1kbW8xerZohZYIPmqSAdH1Na7ARQZySit

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1bY987YQJrW_UNudWeJFCbCUwaQ47nZU8

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1PAHku8qp4jHra4RleWKyCNhn5i7bSbM3

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1xBOB2QDhL-re1tWF_0wETCb7bwPA4CXK

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13pDYhEIexB0541D0uCpzrFEgtS4puL5p

     We reached the Cades Cove Loop about 8:30am and came upon a traffic jam of cars and people trying to catch a glimpse of a bear rambling in the woods. . . . So much for beating the crowds . . . https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1cEeNyqwDvCFSKhrXOhlLcB4ssKuxGEmz

     Cades Cove has a narrow one-way road that makes an 11 mile loop through a valley that was home to numerous settlers in the 1800’s.  Scattered along the route are several homesteads and historic buildings and structures representative of pioneer life in 19th century Appalachia (cabins, cantilever barns, churches, sorghum mill, corn crib, etc)

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1uCK9pStE-1UiMFIsCEBogjbWqVkQWiDv

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Ljl11t9ReO0_V7xZV5WXLd6i0QVRU9z9

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1-7W7y0kG-sHGNYkp0zQnTHN68B5kpfIH

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=11AKQJeQulROqjGNnQWJ3T2NwcMPFCTyH

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1QHknLjdWd4oYhYj_Z9UofLam0jlDGj6m

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1tiwfeAQGrVSSUtbFox2UTDHVgbQofgxt

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1lEKOExfWPsEZJKAttg0532rW0zP9JufM

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Ys4c2P8s8YUtZqkbUqjN1zZrrogpGDMG

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1JPBzWvS08WeD05TpCAxBlUQCJ-2Lv3oZ

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18OZsXObPWyNZZQqRBHGPpL9tR8NRfkS_

     We saw a young bear run across the road a few cars ahead of us, but he disappeared quickly into the trees. Mark said I should make note that on this trip I’ve seen 4 bears . . . But I want more than just a glimpse! I’m STILL hoping to get a decent picture of a real live bear some day! 😁
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1HF-Iw9IzRb3hwX31he21nwCDn7R8sRHq