Southern Trip: Part III
One of the most incredible things about Knoxville is it's proximity to the Smokey Mountains. Many areas just outside the city provide you with breathtaking mountain views. We were so excited to spend a day in the mountains and we decided to make the trek on our Aniversary (yeah, 4 years of living, loving and learning together!). We headed up to the Smokey Mountains National Park and decided to explore a part of the park called Cades Cove.
From the Park's website:
"Cades Cove is a lush valley surrounded by mountains and one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies. Deer are almost always sighted in the fields, and observations of other wildlife, including bear, Wild Turkey, and fox are possible." "A wide array of historic buildings dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries is scattered through-out the cove. These include a grist mill, a variety of barns, three churches, and a marvelous collection of log homes and outbuildings."
This is a great way to see a part of the Park with a two-year old. We were able to stop at many of these small wooden buildings and take 1/2 mile walks into the woods which is the most we can ask from Griffin at one time. We saw many, many deer, gorgeous mountain views, many different mosses and mushrooms. My ultimate desire for the day was to see a black bear! We had heard that there was a low acorn harvest this year and that was driving the hungry bears into more human inhabited areas of the park than usual. My folks, along with the park rangers warned us to be careful when walking in the woods. ( little side note here: Ever read that book "A walk in the woods" by Bill Bryson? Great read...about a middle aged guy with a bear phobia who decides to hike part of the Appalacian Trail...oh yeah, he has a sidekick too.) I took the warning to heart as a mother, but as an adventurer, I wanted to see a bear. So much so, that as we entered the park I sent an energy message out there to the bears that went something like this. "Hello, I am a nice lady with a nice husband and a nice son. We are here to enjoy the beauty of your home. We would love to have a glimpse of you while we are here today. I will promise to not be invasive to you, to treat you with respect, and only leave this park with a picture and a renewed passion for protecting the environmet we all share."
I repeated this mantra a few times in my head, not sure if my message was being received and then focused on all the beauty around us. Cades Cove has a one way road through it. As you move, you see many cars pulled off to the side, often meaning that there has been an animal sighting. We stopped and saw many deer, birds and bugs throughout the park but unfortunately no bears. Only slightly disappointed, we decide to start to head for home. We were about a half mile from the exit of the cove when Griffin pointed out to us that his seatbelt on his carseat had come loose. Bruce pulled over and Griff and I played at the edge of the woods until the problem was fixed. We all piled back into the car and Bruce started to pull out again when...I looked up. There were big pieces of twigs with leaves attached, falling to the ground. This was unusual so I had Bruce pull back over and before he stopped the car, I was out and running into the woods. There he was...they had heard my message and caught my attention just in the nick of time. A HUGE black bear was up in a tree having a munch on some acorns. Bruce and Griffin joined me a we stood in silence and awe for about 3 minutes with the bear. That's when the OTHERS saw us staring up into the tree and started pulling over. Within 5 minutes, there were at least 75 people and a couple of rangers watching the bear with us. We felt uncomfortable in such a situation so we each thanked the bear and headed out. It was really incredible!! So here are some pictures from the day. My favorite is "smoking in the Smokies". The bear was too high in the tree for our camera to pick him up but that is what he looked like.
From the Park's website:
"Cades Cove is a lush valley surrounded by mountains and one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies. Deer are almost always sighted in the fields, and observations of other wildlife, including bear, Wild Turkey, and fox are possible." "A wide array of historic buildings dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries is scattered through-out the cove. These include a grist mill, a variety of barns, three churches, and a marvelous collection of log homes and outbuildings."
This is a great way to see a part of the Park with a two-year old. We were able to stop at many of these small wooden buildings and take 1/2 mile walks into the woods which is the most we can ask from Griffin at one time. We saw many, many deer, gorgeous mountain views, many different mosses and mushrooms. My ultimate desire for the day was to see a black bear! We had heard that there was a low acorn harvest this year and that was driving the hungry bears into more human inhabited areas of the park than usual. My folks, along with the park rangers warned us to be careful when walking in the woods. ( little side note here: Ever read that book "A walk in the woods" by Bill Bryson? Great read...about a middle aged guy with a bear phobia who decides to hike part of the Appalacian Trail...oh yeah, he has a sidekick too.) I took the warning to heart as a mother, but as an adventurer, I wanted to see a bear. So much so, that as we entered the park I sent an energy message out there to the bears that went something like this. "Hello, I am a nice lady with a nice husband and a nice son. We are here to enjoy the beauty of your home. We would love to have a glimpse of you while we are here today. I will promise to not be invasive to you, to treat you with respect, and only leave this park with a picture and a renewed passion for protecting the environmet we all share."
I repeated this mantra a few times in my head, not sure if my message was being received and then focused on all the beauty around us. Cades Cove has a one way road through it. As you move, you see many cars pulled off to the side, often meaning that there has been an animal sighting. We stopped and saw many deer, birds and bugs throughout the park but unfortunately no bears. Only slightly disappointed, we decide to start to head for home. We were about a half mile from the exit of the cove when Griffin pointed out to us that his seatbelt on his carseat had come loose. Bruce pulled over and Griff and I played at the edge of the woods until the problem was fixed. We all piled back into the car and Bruce started to pull out again when...I looked up. There were big pieces of twigs with leaves attached, falling to the ground. This was unusual so I had Bruce pull back over and before he stopped the car, I was out and running into the woods. There he was...they had heard my message and caught my attention just in the nick of time. A HUGE black bear was up in a tree having a munch on some acorns. Bruce and Griffin joined me a we stood in silence and awe for about 3 minutes with the bear. That's when the OTHERS saw us staring up into the tree and started pulling over. Within 5 minutes, there were at least 75 people and a couple of rangers watching the bear with us. We felt uncomfortable in such a situation so we each thanked the bear and headed out. It was really incredible!! So here are some pictures from the day. My favorite is "smoking in the Smokies". The bear was too high in the tree for our camera to pick him up but that is what he looked like.
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