Smokies in April, 2018

Doug and I spent a few days in the Smokies the first week of April. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a favorite getaway for us, only a day's drive away, very scenic, and most relaxing. 

There was virtually no sign of spring in the trees and shrubs except that the redbuds were out in their glory, and the dogwoods were just beginning to bloom. The lack of any green elsewhere, really made the redbuds stand out.

Redbud Trees at Oconaluftee

River Walk at Oconaluftee

Golden Hour Back Roads Tour

On Thunderhead Prong Trail

Bridge on Thunderhead Prong Trail

Thunderhead Prong Trail

Douglas Dam

On Noland Creek Trail

Noland Creek Trail Plus View of Fontana Lake from Road to Nowhere

Mama Bear (upper right) and Two Cubs (center and lower left)

Another Bear, Same Day, Different Location

Beauty & Peace in the Smokies

My last post focused on the fire damage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in and around Gatlinburg, Tennessee. But, lest you think that there's nothing left in the area but burned-out buildings and scorched landscapes, I'd like to assure you that we still found the area beautiful and still experienced the sense of peace that always comes over us when we're there.

We enjoyed some beautiful spring-like weather during our recent short stay. I've been experiencing some foot pain (plantar fasciitis), so we weren't able to hike, but we did take the very short walk back to Cataract Falls.

Cataract Falls

This beautiful flowering tree was drawing a crowd at the Maloney Point Overlook.

The historic Bud Ogle cabin escaped the fire, which had burned to within a few feet of the back porch.

A Mockingbird serenading us from the top of a tree at one of the many outlet malls.

A quick story about going to the outlet mall...Doug saw a store advertising wallets, and he needed a wallet. So we stopped in. It was a Wilson's Leather store. They didn't have what he wanted in a wallet, but they did have what I wanted in a leather jacket. We thought about it for a couple of days, and I did some online research to look for a better price. But, in the end, we went back to get it. And I love it.

One of our favorite places in the area is the Douglas Dam overlook, so we went there on the day before we came home.

Douglas Dam

We've seen lots of unusual things on our visits to Douglas Dam. This time, it was a man playing a trumpet (later, a saxophone), accompanied by his faithful dog, Jazzy. 

Another time when we were there, some teenagers had strung a rope between trees and were practicing tight-rope walking. Fortunately, the rope wasn't very high off the ground because they hadn't finely tuned their skills yet.

Before leaving the dam, we like to go down to the base of the dam, where birds gather to fish. There are blue herons, cormorants, egrets, terns, and bald eagles. An alarm goes off when water is about to be released through the dam, and it's like a dinner bell to the birds. Apparently the incoming water is filled with fish.

This rookery includes nests of herons, egrets, and cormorants.

Blue Herons waiting for dinner

The Smokies After the Fire

Doug and I got away for a few days last week to visit our beloved Smoky Mountains. We'd been wanting to get down there ever since the wildfires had raged through the area in late November, 2016; but this was the first opportunity we'd had to do it.

During the time since the fires, much had been done to deal with the damage and destruction. Some 2400 structures had been damaged or destroyed in and around Gatlinburg. Most of that debris had been removed, at least in the areas we saw. But we stayed away from some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.

The above photo, taken from the Gatlinburg overlook, shows the scorched trees in the foreground.

The Park Vista Hotel, the tall, round hotel in the photo above, was surrounded by the fires. The blackened area in front of the hotel shows how close the flames were on that side of the building. A little below the Hotel, about the middle of the photo, there are several burned-out structures visible.

Crews had sprayed a mixture of fertilizer and grass seed along the burned areas next to the roadways in the national park, resulting in lush green grass growing close to the road. But, a look above the green reveals some of the burned area.

We've often stopped at the overlook from which the above photo was taken, but we'd never seen the river at the bottom of the hill before. The fires had burned away much of the ground vegetation. You can also see a blackened strip coming down the ridge of the mountain on the right.

The photo above shows what's left of the Smoky Mountain Castle, situated high on a mountain, overlooking Gatlinburg. To see pictures of the Castle before the fire, click here. A bit of the Castle's history can be found here.

Above are two views of one home's burned-out foundation.

Two more burned-out homes

The fire started in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Chimney Tops, a popular hiking destination. On November 28, 2016, winds approaching 90 miles per hour swept the fire down the mountain and into the town of Gatlinburg, with little warning. In addition to the 2400 damaged or destroyed structures, 14 people lost their lives. Two juveniles are currently being held in Juvenile Detention, accused of aggravated arson.

Fall in the Smokies

As most of you know, Doug and I love the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and try to visit there every spring and fall. Our fall visit for this year was the last week of October. The colors had peaked the week before, but there was still enough autumn beauty to stir the awe in our hearts for God's wonderful creation.

The above photo collage shows two pictures of Laurel Falls, shot on different occasions. The one on the left was taken in April, 2006. The one on the right was taken during our recent October visit. The area has experienced a drought this year, and there was very little water flowing over any of the waterfalls we visited. I just had to include the shot from 2006, so you could see what this waterfall looks like in years with sufficient moisture.

There is actually a dual meaning to the title of this post. Not only is it the fall season, but it was also a falling season for Doug and me. We both took tumbles on the Laurel Falls trail, which is highly embarrassing since it's a paved trail. Doug's fall occurred at the base of the waterfall, where the rocks have been worn smooth by many feet and much water. Mine happened when I was stepping to the side of the trail to let some other hikers pass. It's amazing how quickly a crowd can gather when a white-haired woman falls on a busy trail.

Neither Doug nor I suffered more than a scrape, a bruise, and some major humiliation. Another hiker has convinced us of the wisdom of carrying trekking poles on future hikes.

Some Last Video Clips from the Drowned Camcorder

My last post told of the drowning of our video camera when it went into a cold mountain creek with my husband. Doug came out of the ordeal cold and wet but otherwise fine. But the camera was unable to recover.

When I told that story, one of my faithful readers commented that I should have shown some of those video clips that I was able to rescue from the camera's memory card. So I thought that's what I'd do in this post.

The first video clip shows the heron rookery at Douglas Dam. We were shooting across an expanse of water, so the detail isn't great; but it was still an interesting sight to see. There were a number of cormorants among the herons, and we also saw a bald eagle. The eagle isn't in this clip, though.

The next video shows a cairn that someone had built at one of the stream crossings on the Grapeyard Ridge Trail. It was at another stream crossing on this trail where the video camera met its demise.

The steam engine that had rolled into the creek in the 1920s is featured in the following video.

Lastly, the final shot from the deceased camera was of the large root ball of a tree that had fallen victim to strong winds along the trail.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these clips from the little video camera that had served us so well during the last few years. It was sad to lose it, but we've replaced it already, with what is basically a newer model of the same camera.

I'll share some video from the new camera in future posts.

A Spring Visit to the Smokies

As many of you know, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee is one of our favorite vacation getaways. Our latest visit there was from March 26 to April 2, 2016.

One of our favorite trails to hike in the Smokies is Little River Trail because it's pretty and...well...not hard.

Little River Trail

 Doug and I have a good photography arrangement. I shoot stills, and he shoots video.

Doug and the Video Camera

 

A favorite place to spend some quiet time is the overlook at Douglas Dam. The scenery is hard to beat, and the water around the dam draws an abundance of birds. In fact, there's a heron rookery in the woods at the base of the dam, where we also see cormorants, bald eagles, night herons, gulls, and terns.

Douglas Dam

Great Blue Heron at the base of Douglas Dam

Herons checking out a warning sign at the Dam

 

We had planned to hike to a waterfall on Porters Creek Trail one day, but the parking area was full; and cars were lined up along the road leading to and from the trail. So we chose another nearby trail called Grapeyard Ridge Trail.

Doug on Grapeyard Ridge Trail

 

That stick in Doug's hand is actually a monopod, on which the video camera is mounted.

Grapeyard Ridge Trail doesn't boast any waterfalls. Its main claim to fame is the presence of an old steam engine lying in the creek where it tumbled off the road back in the 1920s.

One of the water crossings on Grapeyard Ridge Trail

The trail is also known for its many water crossings, none of which are bridged. Hikers must hop across on rocks, walk across on logs, or get their feet wet.

Another water crossing on the trail

There are 12 of these water crossings on the round-trip hike. Doug and the video camera successfully handled 11 of them. That 12th one didn't go so well. Doug came out of it cold and wet but otherwise unhurt. The video camera came out of it dead.

Part of an old steam engine in Injun Creek

Injun Creek derives its name from the wreck, not from the Native Americans who used to live in the area.

Old Steam Engine in Injun Creek

The steam engine had been brought in to saw timber for a new school. Many of its parts were salvaged after the accident; the turbine and a couple of wheels remain in the creek.

On another day, we planned to hike a little way up Middle Prong Trail, but it was also very crowded. So, instead, we took a Quiet Walkway that begins at the same trailhead. There was an interesting vehicle that caught our eye in the parking lot, though.

Homemade Camper

Before I close this post, I need to bring you up to date on the video camera. After a few days of drying out, it did power up again. But the automatic lens cover wouldn't open and close, and the camera smelled like a muddy creek bottom. I checked into having it professionally cleaned and was told that it wouldn't be economically practical. 

On the good side, I was able to recover the video from the memory card. And I've since purchased a new video camera from eBay, where I got a great deal on one that was being auctioned.

I tried out the new one this week and was very pleased with it. I'll post a video clip soon. Well, "soon" is a relative term, right?

A Few More Photos from Our November, 2015, Trip to the Smokies

After Doug's hike to Andrews Bald on Wednesday, the 4th of November, he developed a couple of nasty blisters. So we avoided any serious hiking for the remaining two days of our time in the Smokies. But we still got out into the National Park and enjoyed its beauty.

This river is in the Greenbrier area of the park, at the beginning of the Ramsey Cascades trail.

This is part of the road that takes you back to the Ramsey Cascades trail.

We pulled to the side of the road in Greenbrier and took a short walk off trail through the woods.

A stone fence is all that remains of a homestead that was located here before the property became a National Park.

This is a rather tattered Variegated Fritillary butterfly that shared the hillside with us at Douglas Dam one afternoon.

The same butterfly, but showing the underside of the wings

This Common Checkered Skipper butterfly was also sharing our hillside that day.

The fall colors are in evidence in spite of the haze in this view from the eastern Foothills Parkway.