Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 
   When the kids were young, our favorite destination was the Smokies. The park straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina line and we could get there in one day. And there was never a problem getting a campsite. 
   We were tenters and backpackers in those days. Our girls learned many valuable lessons. Not just the names of birds, animals, and trees but things that strengthened them in other ways. There is the simple matter of muscle awareness that comes from climbing mountains all day carrying a pack. But, more importantly, there is the matter of coping with your fears and apprehensions. What are those strange noises in the night when it is really, really dark? Is that a bear in the trail up ahead? What if we get lost way out where we have not seen anyone else for a couple days? Then there were the skills required to pitch a tent, rig a tarp for protection from the rain, and stow your food so the bears and mice can't get at it. How to cross a rushing mountain stream without falling. Or, at least, not falling too often. Most of all, they learned that they could do more than they had imagined. Even if they were not always happy about doing more than they had imagined.
   In retirement, Shirley and I go to the Smokies far less often. Usually, the park is not the destination but the place we pause for a while on our way to Savannah, St. Augustine, or up the Blue Ridge for the spring wildflower season. Pretty nice in the fall, too, now that I think about it.
   We have time for more extensive travel now so being only one day away is not as significant as it once was. Besides, like all the national parks, the Smokies are increasingly difficult for campers. You can't get a site without reservations. This rather puts a damper on spontaneity. No more saying, "How 'bout we go to the Smokies next weekend?"
   Still, for those of you who lack the time or inclination to drive to the Rocky Mountain West, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is well worth considering. By the way, the name comes from the blue haze created when terpines released by millions of trees interact with sunlight.

Our favorite day-hike is to Abrams Falls.

Most stream crossings, except in the back country, are made on simple foot logs. Usually with hand rails. Not always. 

In the back country, a stream crossing can look more like this. Take off your hiking boots and put on your tennis shoes. You did bring a change of footwear didn't you?

Unlike national parks in the West, this land was once private property so there are old homesteads and family burial plots.

During the Civil War, much of eastern Tennessee favored the Union. 

You can visit the John Oliver cabin on the Cades Cove loop road.

Old cabins have been preserved as part of our historic and cultural heritage.

The Park Service is big on re-introducing wildlife. Wolves failed but elk, introduced

in 2001, have thrived. A few scruffy looking animals from Alberta, CA Elk Island

National Park were released at Cataloochie, a remote valley. The multiplied and spread

so that they are now rather common at Oconoluftee near Cherokee, NC. 

Bugling during the fall rut can raise the hair on the back of your neck. 

Consider what it must do for the lady elk.

For several years, skunks emerged from the forest each evening to beg beneath picnic tables in Cades Cove. First-time visitors were often quite nervous. Rangers with blow darts failed to discourage the skunks but disease got them.

Appalachian Trail shelters had only three walls but they saved the need to set up tents.

Horses for trail rides were pastured in Cades Cove.

Smokies are in a temperate zone rain forest, hence all the rushing water.

Cable Mill

Bote Mountain Trail

The Farm Museum at Oconolufftee

Aptly named tulip poplar

Mountain laurel

In the South, kudzu was planted to prevent soil erosion. Like Sherwin-Williams, the creeping vine set out to cover the globe. Likewise, pink mimosa is an alien species that grows abundantly. The difference is, pink mimosa is beautiful, especially when it lines miles of highway. Strict environmentalist still hate it for its invasive habit.

Almost nobody objects to rhododendron.

Mingus Mill