I actually slept in today! Rich got up first and I didn’t even hear him. It must be that mountain air. I even missed Rich screaming like a little girl when he discovered our unexpected guest.Rich was drying his hands on the towel that was lying by the sink. A very large spider dropped out onto the sink. I don’t blame him for screaming. It was like a small tarantula. Then I woke up and found it in the sink. Before I scream, Rich yells up from downstairs to look out for the spider.
Poor guy was stuck in the sink. I laid out some toilet paper so he had something to grab onto and he scrambled right out of my way. He went over the side and took up residence in the corner behind the door. At least he was out of the way and I knew where he was.
Today, we were heading straight to Clingman’s Dome. This is an observation tower that is on a ridge in the middle of the mountains. It sits at about 6,600 feet. So the altitude change was going to be different for us. You don’t think about that until start trying to breathe heavily. It’s much harder than it looks. Also, we had to go early because the clouds start coming in and you can’t see anything. By early evening, the tower itself becomes engulfed in clouds. That might be cool, but not at the moment.
Luckily, there aren’t too many tourists in the park. It’s fairly easy to drive. The only problem is the construction going on. They are working on retaining walls, shoulders, and even building a new parking lot. Many of the pullouts or parking lots are filled with construction equipment or trucks from the workers.
We get to Clingman’s Dome around 10:00. That’s a little later than planned, but I did sleep in. We are just barely beating the clouds. We can see them over on the next hills and they are starting to roll this way. We start up the ramp, which is a pretty steep and very consistent. You don’t really get a break. Rich is doing pretty well, but I have to stop often to catch my breath and not be sick. Rich gets to the top before I do, but that’s okay. I arrive intact and only breathing heavily.
We get the 360 degree view of the surrounding ridges. We can’t really see too far into North Carolina because of the incoming clouds. We can see east down the ridge of mountains that the Dome sits on, north out toward Gatlinburg, and west over the other side of the ridge. We can see Cove Mountain, where our cabin is located, at the end of a ridge of mountains perpendicular to the Dome. We must be on the back side of the mountain though. We definitely don’t see the Dome from our porch.
So it’s time to go back down the ramp. This means that my legs will be burning from the exertion. We walk slowly and take our time. We first stop at the intersection of the Appalachian Trail so I can get Rich’s picture. I’m going to make a gif of him walking the width of the trail. This will match his new t-shirt.
Going down, we take our time and stop to take photos. There are flowers blooming everywhere. I can’t believe all the color here in September. That and the sound of all the bees that are busy doing their jobs. You can hear those bees over everyone talking around you. I’m not sure why the bees aren’t mad at us all there.
It looks like blackberry season is just finishing up here in the park. Everywhere I look, I see bushes, but the berries are gone or dried up. Along the ramp, there are places where the bears have pushed into the patches so that they reach more berries. It’s hard to see these indentations from the photos. Some are only a foot or so in and some are pushed at least 4 or 5 feet in.
We get down to the bottom and the legs keep burning. We walk out to the end of the parking lot to try and get photos of the clouds lowering onto the overlook. I see a small dog with a couple on his and her motorcycles. Then I see a soft crate strapped to his motorcycle. I realize that poor dog is a passenger on this ride. I sure hope he doesn’t mind.
We get in the car and head out down the road. We stop at the Spruce-Fir Nature Walk. This is a trail through a spruce and fir forest. It was very beautiful, green, and quiet. The trail explained the live and decay process in this force. With this, we saw interesting examples of fungi, including something called Witch’s Butter. Rich got some good pictures of this. I’ll be to be sure and post them.
From here, we go to the Newfound Gap Overlook. This overlook straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina state lines. There was a sign where the line is between the two states. I was able to get a picture with it. The original overlook was built in 1933 as part of the CCC program. The parking lot and extension you see today was built a little later. From this overlook, you can stand in one spot and look down into two states.
Rich saw a description for one of the quiet walkways that included a swinging bridge. He wanted to go and check it. So we drove down the back side of the ridge to the pullout. We didn’t see it at first. We double back and find it tucked in the corner of the lot. We started up the hill and got pretty well into the trail before it stopped and dropped down the hill at a 50 degree angle. There was no way I could that. We give up and head back to the car.
On the road again, we head back toward Gatlinburg. Along the way, we stop in at the Chimneys picnic area. We grab a late lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After eating, we grab our camelbaks and head off to the Cove Hardwood Forest nature trail. We meet a couple coming down from the trail. They tell us how beautiful the trail is, but they forget to mention how steep the trail is. We head up the trail anyway.
These nature trails explain parts of the mountain area along with the wildlife and environment around it. They are very educational besides providing you with a walk trail to hike. This area describes the hardwood forest of the area with its diverse tree and plant population. There are examples of what logging does to the older forest and how it changes the environment.
The trail keeps going higher and higher up the mountain. When I think we might be getting lost, it starts to turn and go back down again. You see the forest from one angle on the lower trail and then get a bird’s eye of the entire forest from the old growth above down through the logged areas. The trail is rock and packed earth. The angle makes it a little difficult, but it was very nice. After this, we are just hot, sweaty, and tired.
We head back down the mountain to our cabin. To get to our cabin from the park, we have to down one side of the parkway, through a tunnel, make a U turn, cross over a bridge, and get back on the other side of the parkway. Our road is a very quick right turn up a hill. The hill twists very quickly and is at about a 45 degree angle. The road twists and turns in switchbacks. The cabin sits right on one of these corners. I have to shoot across the road very quickly and onto the concrete pad to park. I keep thinking someone will come around that corner and mow us down before we get to the concrete. So far so good.
We clean up and head into Pigeon Forge for dinner. I picked out the Old Mill Restaurant for dinner. Mostly, this is for the pottery store that is next door. Turns out, they had really awesome food. Rich got a steak that was cooked perfectly. I got the chicken livers, which were cooked nicely. I was disappointed they didn’t come with gravy because I just wasn’t digging the come back sauce, which was more like Russian dressing.
We finish dinner and I pull Rich into the pottery store. He could stay out in the garden and listen to the oboe player out there playing Kenny G type songs. He looked like Fabio though. I think he had an Italian name, but it wasn’t anything like Kenny G. I look around the entire store. I’m on a mission of sorts for a container. I find what I’m looking for and a little more. There is a butter bell. You put a stick of butter into the bell and put water in the container. The bell fits into the container pushing the water up to make a seal. Then your butter stays cool and sealed against anything getting into it. Pretty cool.
We head back to the cabin for the night. After writing up blogs, processing pictures, and picking out hikes for tomorrow. We get our IPAs and sit on the porch to watch the stars. The clouds are rolling by, but it eventually clears. No shooting stars tonight. Then it’s off to bed.
I realize we have a schedule now. We get up around 8:00 and have breakfast. We are in the park by 10:00 and hike around until 3:00 or 4:00. We then return to the cabin, clean up, and get out to dinner by 5:00. We are back by 7:00 and work on various projects. We check on the progress of the clouds rolling in over Mt. Leconte during the evening. After it is dark, we sit out on the porch with a beverage of choice and watch the stars. Around 9:00, we go to bed and read our book of choice until we are tired. Then the process starts again. Not a bad way to spend vacation.
