Gatlinburg ... a Practically Unplanned Adventure! June 27 - July 5, 2009 About This Page:

[christiejay]

Originally Posted by Meggera

Everything is so green and lush with real trees. Living in Central TX, everything is brown and barren with short, squatty trees. I miss living in the East. Great update!

Thanks! Funny you should mention green and brown. I did notice while I was inserting the pictures for this update, the two pictures from the trail (after the big barn but before the homesite) were very different - one green with lots of ferns, and one brown with dead leaves in a gully. I hadn't intended to do that, I was just taking pictures as we went and everything else pretty much looked the same.

[chezp]

More wonderful photos.

[christiejay]

Originally Posted by chezp

More wonderful photos.

Thanks, Cheryl. Next update coming right up!

[christiejay]

Continuing with Day 4 - June 30

As mentioned last time, our next stop was at the Cades Cove Visitor Center. After a stop at the restroom, we looked around in the gift shop and found a few things to buy: A Clingman's Dome hiking stick medallion for Joshua, a National Parks Centennial coin, and a book of historic photos from the park - it is part of the Images of America series. Then we headed out to explore the sites. (I had asked Joshua to pay careful attention to what we saw so he could complete an activity in his Junior Ranger booklet.) The grist mill is the only building here on its original site. The others were moved here from other places in the park. The blacksmith shop (which I don't think I got a picture of) is a recreation, as is the building the gift shop is in. Here's the pictures of what we saw:


The molasses furnace and cane mill







My timing wasn't good - Jay was reading a display board





The corncrib






The smokehouse


Next we tried to check out the grist mill. It was a very popular place. It is still in operation, and you can buy flour or corn meal that they grind here.








Joshua on top of one of the old mill stones


The flume that carries the water to the mill




We walked up the path to the dam. The portion on the left is the part that runs down into the flume to the mill. The majority of the water continues on its regular course.


The large cantilevered barn


Equipment is stored under the cantilevered portions


As the picture says this is a wild hog trap. They have invaded the park and are destroying much of the native plantlife. Several different methods are being tried to get the hogs moved to a different place. The trap was on display behind the blacksmith shop.


At this point I knew that we would not have time to exit the park here and take the long loop around through Townsend like I had planned. I was disappointed, but I guess that just gives us something else to do next time. I decided we should just head back toward the entrance of the park, have lunch, and pick up our schedule from that point. Unfortunately we got behind some really slow-moving vehicles. For some reason the traffic heading back out is always slower than the traffic heading in. And I really don't understand that, because we've always seen the wildlife in other areas of the cove. But the other thing is, these people driving so slow will have a whole line of traffic behind them, and never once think how considerate it would be if they pulled over to let us all pass. We hadn't planned on making any stops on the way out, so I took pictures as we passed by:


Deer!


The Dan Lawson place




One of the outbuildings and the house at the Tipton place








The Carter Shields cabin








Like yesterday we had brought a picnic lunch with us, and with our now-modified plan we were going to eat at the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area. But on the way there I asked Jay to pull in so I could get a picture of Meigs Falls. There is no trail to this fall, so a view from the road is the best you can do.




The two above were zoomed in, this is more of what it looks like from the road.


I had also wanted to pull in just up ahead to get some picture of "The Sinks" but the parking lot is small and it was very crowded today. I told Jay just to keep going to the picnic area, and we could stop here some other time. Arriving at the picnic area (which also has a road that leads to Wears Valley), it took a little while to find a good site to eat. The picnic sites are split - some on one side of the road and some on the other. The right-hand side was smaller and therefore full. So we made our way through the left-hand side. All the sites along the river were taken already, so we just pulled around and picked a nice wooded site. Lunch didn't take long, then a quick trip up to the restroom and we were ready to head out again.

Up Next: Adjustment #2 to our schedule for today

[PrincessSharon]

Just catching up again, Christie! I was watching Samantha Brown's Great Weekends the other day and she was hiking and camping in the Smoky Mountains and I immediately thought of you and your TR. It looked like she went on the Rainbow Trail? Does that sound familiar? Anyway, it sounds like you're really having a good time (except for the occasional traffic jam). Sorry you aren't spotting much wildlife (other than bees, which I'm sure you could do without seeing). Looking forward to more!

[Meggera]

I love Gristmills. I think they are the neatest things. Great pictures and another good update!

[chezp]

What a beautiful place - I also can't get over how green and lush everything is.

[rhinohunter]

Very nice drive through Cades Cove. At least you got to see some wildlife. When we drove through in July, we were able to see turkeys, deer and even some glimpses of some black bear. Your pictures are really good. One question, was all of your vacation spent driving and hiking through the National Park? We usually travel with one or more of our grand children and only have limited success when we want to take them for drives or hikes, Your son is a trooper. His Cub Scout badges must be a big draw. It worked with our son when he was a Cub.

[christiejay]

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Just catching up again, Christie! I was watching Samantha Brown's Great Weekends the other day and she was hiking and camping in the Smoky Mountains and I immediately thought of you and your TR. It looked like she went on the Rainbow Trail? Does that sound familiar? Anyway, it sounds like you're really having a good time (except for the occasional traffic jam). Sorry you aren't spotting much wildlife (other than bees, which I'm sure you could do without seeing). Looking forward to more!

I missed that show! Yes, the Rainbow Falls Trail is very popular. However it is fairly steep for the entire length, so I haven't yet tackled it. As they say, "Maybe next time!" It will make an appearance later in the trip, though.

Originally Posted by Meggera

I love Gristmills. I think they are the neatest things. Great pictures and another good update!

Thanks! The visitor centers sell a booklet entitled Grist Mills of the Smokies. There's another large one like this at the other end of the park, as well as a few smaller ones of a different style that can be found at some of the old homeplaces. Sorry I couldn't get any pictures inside - it's a very small area, plus today as you saw it was very crowded so I couldn't get situated very well for a picture. It's also fairly dark in there as they depend on solely natural light, so I'm not sure a pic would have turned out that well.

Originally Posted by chezp

What a beautiful place - I also can't get over how green and lush everything is.

My parents like to go about 2-3 times a year. They usually go at Thanksgiving, so either the leaves are multi-colored or the trees are bare, depending on that year's weather and the elevation. They do get a good dusting of snow every winter too.

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Very nice drive through Cades Cove. At least you got to see some wildlife. When we drove through in July, we were able to see turkeys, deer and even some glimpses of some black bear. Your pictures are really good. One question, was all of your vacation spent driving and hiking through the National Park? We usually travel with one or more of our grand children and only have limited success when we want to take them for drives or hikes, Your son is a trooper. His Cub Scout badges must be a big draw. It worked with our son when he was a Cub.

My parents tell me early morning and late afternoon are the best times. We tried to get there early that day, but were about an hour later than what I'd hoped for. Most days we went through the National Park from morning until mid-afternoon. We've done that the last 3 times we went. Joshua is a good car rider. As his abilities have increased we have done more hiking. I just did research beforehand to make sure it wouldn't be too strenuous for him (or for me ). It definitely depends on the individual child whether that works or not. I love the change in his attitude toward anything (at home or on vacation) when I tell him he can get scout credit for it!

[christiejay]

I'm running out of computer time for today, so a shorter update than usual.

Continuing with Day 4 - June 30

We picked up everything from our picnic and got ready to walk over to the trail area. Before we started I showed Joshua the questions he would need to answer about the place we were hiking to - the Little Greenbrier School. There were only two questions, so we didn't have to take the Junior Ranger booklet with us. And before we got started, I had already made a decision. We would walk to the school, and continue on to the Walker Sisters' homesite. We wouldn't worry about going to the Junior Ranger program at the visitor center this afternoon because there wasn't enough time. But walking to the school would allow Joshua to complete more activities in his book, and it would be a shame not to continue on to the homesite. There were other Junior Ranger programs that we could go to on other days. So here we go!

The first thing we did was walk across a wooden, one-lane bridge. There were a lot of people swimming and tubing today.


Just on the other side of the bridge was the trailhead.

It's possible to drive to the schoolhouse, but it is a one-lane road with very few places for passing. So if you meet a vehicle coming the other direction somebody is going to have to back up for some distance. (So says my dad, who always drives to it.) Plus, we were here to hike anyway, so that was fine. As you can see it was only .6 mile to the school, so not too bad.

For a short distance the trail was a nice flat roadbed that followed the river. That's one big tree!


Then the trail turned and went up a hill. It was still a gravel road (nice and wide), but very steep and it took us a while to walk this portion because Joshua and I had to keep stopping to rest. About a third or halfway up was an old homesite, you could tell because of the stone wall and steps, and the ornamental plantings on each side of the steps.


This pile of rocks is probably where the chimney stood.


Then we continued up the hill. Guess what? More green!






Another rest stop at the top of the hill, and we started downhill. The hiking trail book described this as a rhododendron tunnel.


There were lots of rhododendron petals on the ground, so it kind of looked like a scattering of snow.


As the trail reached the bottom we joined a small stream which provided some lovely views.




Don't know who created this dam of rocks, or why.








Don't know exactly what this is


We crossed a log bridge


And I was obsessed with all the ferns



I took those two pictures, thinking I might use one as my computer wallpaper. I have yet to choose though.

After a short walk further along the stream, and another log bridge crossing, we could see the old schoolhouse just ahead


But as we walked around to the front we discovered that we wouldn't be able to go inside just now. There was a Park Ranger out front, who told us that a woman was giving a talk inside. Apparently she used to go to school here or was taught by one of the Walker sisters or something, and was hosting a program about life in the Smokies, and school life in particular. I don't know how long the talk had been going on for, but we didn't want to walk in and interrupt. We decided that we would go ahead and walk to the homesite a mile further up the trail. By the time we got back the talk should be over and we would be able to explore the schoolhouse. We asked the ranger where the trail continued, and she showed us which direction to start. After thanking her we started on our way.

Up Next - Could you live here?

[chezp]

Originally Posted by christiejay

My parents like to go about 2-3 times a year. They usually go at Thanksgiving, so either the leaves are multi-colored or the trees are bare, depending on that year's weather and the elevation. They do get a good dusting of snow every winter too.

I bet it's stunning both when the leaves are multicoloured and in the snow.

[chezp]

What a shame you weren't able to go into the schoolhouse.

[christiejay]

I like looking at my parents' pictures from their fall/winter trips and seeing the difference as compared to what we're used to seeing in the summer. Sometimes I can't even recognize places I consider myself to be familiar with, it looks so different. They don't get a lot of snow accumulation, but there are a few roads that are always closed during the winter and early spring, mainly due to the ice buildup. My dad hiked a trail one year, and had a water bottle with him, and the water started freezing while he was out!

We'll definitely get to see the schoolhouse, I think I've got it in my next update. Just a little detour at this point.

[christiejay]

Continuing with Day 4 - June 30

This next trail (to the Walker Sisters' homesite) was a service road that is gated. It is gravel but fairly easy walking. Not too steep, but enough that we had to stop to rest every so often. Here are a couple of views from along the way:






And a butterfly I found. This also shows the surface of the trail.


Eventually we reached the end of this trail and its junction with another. Our path curved off to the right, down a hill and around a few more curves. Then we entered a lovely meadow/clearing where the Walker Sisters used to live. This was a group of 5 sisters who received special permission from the park to continue living in their house. (After the property became part of the national park.) Visitors to the park would often come and visit the sisters. The last one died in 1964. There were other siblings, but just 5 that lived in the park. Pictures from their homesite:
The first view - Jay is already at home on the front porch.


Their springhouse


I assume this was their well




Views of their workshed








A view back from the workshed, I like the "landscaping" they did, little clumps of greenery here and there


Various views of the house, outside and inside















Joshua had long since turned his hiking stick and garbage collection bag into a gun of some sort.



I loved how they used horseshoes as hinges.




As we left the homesite I tried to get a good picture of a butterfly, but I couldn't get any to be still for very long.






Finally we made it back to the schoolhouse.


Here's some pictures of the interpretive sign out front.












We went inside to look around and for Joshua to find the answers to his questions. On the walls were hanging some rubbings that people had taken from the tombstones of the various family members.








There was a cemetery outside, but I couldn't get at a good angle to take pictures. The problem was the way the gravesites were situated on the hillside, and the fact that I didn't think we were allowed to go inside the gate of the cemetery. Plus, most of the tombstones that I would have taken pictures of, were represented by the rubbings inside the school. So from here we said goodbye to the Walker sisters and the Greenbrier school and hiked back to the truck.

Up next: Another end to another day

[rhinohunter]

Very nice. You are doing well with the pix. Joshua looks like he is having fun as well.