Day four of our adventure here at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park began a little late.  We had planned an early morning to be at the entrance to Cades Cove when they opened at dawn, but we were blessed with a little rain during the night and into the morning, so we got to sleep in a little.  We have been really excited about going to Cades Cove because they say that the largest concentration of bears in the park lives there.  We are hoping to see one now in the daylight to get a picture.

There are currently three standing church buildings in the cove.  This is the Cades Cove Methodist Church.  All the churches have grave yards attached.  Talking with the guide I learned that there are still people being buried in these grave yards.  The only stipulation is that you must be able to prove that you are a direct descendant to someone who is already buried there.  We noticed several graves that have been placed in the last decade and he stated that he had spoken to a gentleman who had just received his validation to be buried there as well.  An interesting side note is that his wife would not be able to be buried here unless he dies first and is buried there.  Rules…  🙂

Driving through the cove it is clear to see that the colors here at the lower elevations are still quite brilliant!  This lone tree in the field is an example of the beautiful color that can be found all throughout the park.

At the west end of the cove is the visitor’s center with several original buildings.  This old grist mill is still in operation today.  They actually sell the ground corn that they make here.  I overheard the gentleman who runs the mill tell someone that he had been working here as the operator for over 10 years.

 

An example of the homes that were lived in during the time that the cove was private land.  This cozy little home was nestled in among the trees at the foot of the hills.

And one can’t walk through the woods here during the autumn without looking upwards and seeing the splendor of color that God had blessed His creation with.  This truly is a wonderful place.  Sometimes we need to get away from the day-to-day grind of the city and just get back to the basics of life.  Count me in for a simpler time.

 

As the day rolled on (and after circling the cove 2 and a half times), it became apparent that we would see no bears today.  In fact, we saw very little wildlife at all this day.  It was as though they had all been given the day off from their “entertain the guests” duties.  So we thought we would try one last place.  One of the exits of the park is an 8 mile long one-way, one-lane, “primitive” road over the mountains called “Rich Mountain Road”.  So, earlier vehicle troubles not withstanding, we decided to give it a try.  True to it’s description, it was a very primitive road, through a very heavily wooded area.  But alas, no bears were found there either.  On the other hand, there was a nice overlook of the cove where we stopped and took this shot.  If you look near the bottom, you can see the Methodist church we saw earlier.

 

So, even though there were no bears, it was still a great day.  As we headed down the other side of the mountain from the Rich Mountain Road, we called ahead to Pizza Hut for our dinner order and then back to the cabin to sort through the day’s pictures.  Tomorrow, we will try the early morning option for Cades Cove again.  One more chance for bear!

Day three of our adventures begins with a drive to the top of the mountains.  For the Smoky Mountains, that would be Clingman’s Dome.  The drive was uneventful, but once we got there we realized that we should have gotten up earlier because the sunlight was very harsh and the colors were all washed out for photos.  And on top of that, it seems that the peek colors were already gone from the upper elevations and most of the leaves have left for the season.  But even at that, the magnificence of the mountains can still be seen as the appear to stretch on forever in the distance.

On our way down from the dome, we stopped at the Newfound Gap overlook to see if maybe the sun was at a better position on this spot.  It was a little better, but still not great.  Nothing like shooting landscapes with the sun directly in front of you.

With our summit pictures blown, we decided to stop at the Laruel Falls on the LIttle River Road.  A relatively short hike at 2.5 miles round trip, but it’s never the distance that kills you around here, it’s the elevations.  Also, I think they measure these trails as a straight line, but in reality, they twist and turn more than a bowl full of spaghetti!

That said, the trail was beautiful and presented many opportunities for enjoying the colors here at the lower elevation.  Down a couple of thousand feet from the summit, the colors are still flourishing.

 

 

Finally arriving at the falls, it’s time for the typical long-shutter-blur-the-water picture that everyone has come to expect.  Little does the viewer know just how difficult it is to get a shot like then when there are dozens of people walking around getting in your shot every 5 seconds.  It takes a lot of patience when at a public waterfall, especially when the trail leading to it is listed as “easy”.

 

With that done, it’s time to head back to town, stop at Pizza Hut and head back to the cabin to download the pictures and recharge for tomorrow.  Cade’s Cove in on the agenda so it will be an early morning!

For day 2, it is up and across the border into North Carolina and the Cataloochee Valley.  There is a herd of elk over there and we’ve been wanting to see elk since our trip last year to Wyoming.  This visit did not disappoint.  We had a few more photo opportunities on this day than our previous.

First stop of the day was the visitors center soon after we cross the border.  They have done a very good job at making their state feel welcoming with a nice splash of autumn colors in their park.

Next stop was an overlook on the road leading into the Cataloochee Valley.  Again, another nice opportunity for viewing the beautiful colors of the season.

Once down the twisty road (do they have any other kind in this part of the country?) we get into the heart of the Cataloochee Valley.  We come across the Chapel that had been used by the early settlers in this area for their worshiping of God.

Once in the valley, we realized it was too late for the morning exercises of the elk, so we spent the early afternoon simply taking pictures of the mountains and a short walk into the woods where we found this small brook.

 

Finally, like clockwork, the elk reappeared in the early evening and began frolicking around the fields.  Karen had wanted to hear an elk bugling badly ever since we didn’t get to see any in Wyoming.  This trip satisfied this hunger as we heard the elk sounding off numerous times.  This picture was taken shortly after he had sounded and was chasing one of the “ladies” around the field.

  

Our next stop was the Blue Mountain Parkway to get some sunset shots over the Smoky Mountains.  The overcast day began to break apart in time for sunset, and the clouds made for a magnificent pallet of colors to be displayed!

 

As the time progressed, the sky seemed to come alive with fire as the mountains grew dark.

 

It was about this time that Karen and I realized that it was now dark, and we were on the wrong side of the mountain!  I now had to drive back across the mountain, about 80 miles in the dark on 25mph roads.  Needless to say, it took about 2 and a half hours of very tense driving but we made it back safely by the grace of God.  And as a bonus, we actually did get to see our first bear on our way home.  In fact, he was almost a hood ornament.  🙂  As we were coming through the park, I rounded a curve and my headlights shone on something dark, moving quickly to the side of the road.  As I stopped quickly, we could see this little black bear scurrying up the hill to the side of the road!  Of course, with his sudden appearance and disappearance, and of course the darkness, we have no photographic evidence to support this story, but that’s what happened and I’m sticking to that!  🙂