Day five starts out as planned.  Up early and at the entrance to the cove shortly after dawn.  The first thing we notice is that the fog over the cove gives it a very cool appearance!  And the next, is that we are finally seeing some wildlife.  There are deer all over the place!  But still no bears.

Shortly after entering the park, we found these guys trying out their antlers.  They would spar for a bit and then turn to see if the girls were watching.  Then they would spar a bit more.

The early morning fog gave a very surreal feeling when I looked down the hill to see this young doe in front of the muted colors of the trees.

And who can pass up the “sunlight-bursting-through-the-fog-covered-trees” shot?  This whole place seemed like a completely different park than we had visited yesterday.  The fog, mixed with the light and deer added something extra to the entire experience.

 

And much like the previous shot, the “dew-on-the-spiderweb” shot has been a long standing staple of the photographer.  And so much better when taken at about 25 yards with a 400mm lens while sitting in a vibrating jeep.  🙂

 

After a few passes of the most known locations for bears in the park, and even getting out and trekking through the woods in search of them, we finally accepted that our one bear crossing the road a night experience would be our only encounter with the black beauties this trip.  So we decided to take the other “primitive” exit from the park and drove out to the south this time on Parson’s Branch Road.  This was much like the Rich Mountain Road we took yesterday, except it went to the south.  Very primitive and heavily wooded.  It was a nice hour and a half 8 mile drive.  Let’s just say it was an adventure, in a good way!

 

Once we left the park we made our way back to Townsend on the Foothills Parkway where we stopped for this obligatory “yes, we were really here” tripod and timer shot.  When looking out over these mountains it still gets me how they just seem to go on and on forever.

With still quite a bit of daylight left, we decided to take yet another cruise up and down the Little River Road.  This is a great relaxing drive (when done during daylight hours) that follows the river through its twists and turns.  There are many pull outs available for stopping to enjoy all the water features.  And later in the afternoon as the sun is setting, the colors start reflecting off the water and it is a sight to behold.

 

Karen had noticed this calm spot a couple of days ago while we were headed home but we were in a hurry to get somewhere.  Luckily, she remembered where it was and we were able to stop and I got this shot of her enjoying the reflections of this peaceful spot.

 

And of course, it seems that no day on this trip would be complete without a stop at Pizza Hut for our dinner!  You’d think they would know us by name by now. 

Tomorrow we pack up and head to Chattanooga to meet up with some old friends and see how much our little town has changed in the past thirteen years since we have left.  From what I’ve heard, it’s not such a small city any more.  Guess we’ll find out the tomorrow as we explore some of our old spots!