Smokin' in The Smokies

October 5, 2016

While we were in Cherokee last week, we took a day trip through the Smoky Mountains to Cades Cove.  We'd both been working a lot, so we decided to take a drive up to the Smokies to see if

the leaves are changing and check out Cades Cove, 

which everyone recommends. 

On a soft, sunny Autumn morning last week, we drove into the crisp air of the mountains.  Oh, sorry, I was getting all romantic and stuff.  I have to admit, it was pretty darned nice to take Zu for a walk then sip our hot tea and admire the raw splendor of the expansive scenery, if only for a morsel of memorable mindboggling amazing mammoth mountain moments.  Mmmm.

Ahem.

An early start allowed us to experience the Smokies smokin'.  

A few minutes of our day.  One for The Memory Banks.  

The Cherokees called the mountains Schaconage (Sha-Kon-O-Hey) which means "land of the blue smoke".  

I found this on Wikipedia:

"The name "Smoky" comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog is caused by the vegetation exhaling volatile organic compounds, chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure.^[6]"

Driving through The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are many well-positioned scenic vista places to stop and take photos; they invite the traveler to pull over, take a deep breath and soak it all in.  Even for a blabbermouth like me, it's indescribable.  

Iiiii know.  You're Welcome.

Our goal for the day was to tackle toddle along an 11 mile drive through Cades Cove, a long-deserted farming community nestled in the mountain lowlands.  The National Park system bought these people out displaced the settlers decades ago.  In the mountains, a cove is a valley area.  We were looking for water, being from Maine. No cove as we know a cove.  

Jeepers, it's a long story about how The Park dispaced people. Another blog. However, as sad as it is that the inhabitants had to move on, in their memory, the Park has respectfully maintained many of the original buildings, which is important, ya'll.  And there is no charge to travel through the Park or any of the side trips or trails.  Kudos to the National Parks for making these beautiful, rare landscapes available to the public.

Anyway, we heard the drive was super slow, a bit of a slog.  About half way through we were wishing we'd packed a lunch.  Nose to nose traffic explains why this very special place, home to multiple varieties of wildlife including bear and elk, is a desirable destination.  Although it was busy the day we were there, it was a simple pleasure to be able to take a few hours of our lives to stop, to simply idle along an old country road (now paved), to take a silent trip back through time.

However, we weren't that far into the trip and I was babbling on about the leaves and sky and berries and it was obvious Doug was about to quit being the Barbie Tour Guide and simply implode from the traffic.  And here I thought all along that I'm the impatient one!  HA!  

It took two hours to complete the route, but it was totally worth it. Especially when we saw the huge Black Bear.  Yeh, like, really close to the car.  We watched from the car and I got a kwik pic.  I know, I knowww, it ain't no National Geographic gob-smacking photo but hey ....  I was probably shaking .... !
  

Actually, looking at it now, it could be some dude dressed up in a gorilla suit, or Sasquatch.  But, it was the real deal, I swear!

Yeh, so, we spotted this bear plunking through the woods and we pulled over to the side of the road.  Man, they are magnificent creatures.  We were admiring his glossy coat and casual stroll, how he was nibbling on nuts and berries along his path, when suddenly, a group of 30-ish Amish people, the women dressed in crisply starched white bonnets and frocks, the men in trousers with suspenders and black hats hastily pulled over for a closer look.  

They watched for a while, then the bear said to himself "I'm so over this" and he started to slowly amble off. These people then clambered through the woods and followed the bear who was likely thinking WTF?  

I mean, these folks were trotting after the bear who started galumping to get on with his morning.  Then the Ranger showed up.  We were leaving by then.  Fortunately for the tourists, the bear was not aggressive.  I'd rather have a fuzzy pic taken from the safety of the car than a .... yeh, well, anyway ....

People, I missed the best photo op ever. Picture it in your head. There you go.  I feel better now that you're all being all imaginative and stuff.
Thank you.

#greatsmokymountain national park, #black bear, #CadesCove