Monday, October 31, 2011

Vacation Edition Musings

Ole Boy and I "snuck" away on a vacation to East Tennessee and North Carolina.   We went a little later than we normally do this year because last year, the color was still mostly green.  Bryson City, NC, was first on our agenda.   Travel on Wednesday was perfect...sunny and warm!   However, the next day, our train ride was anything but sunny and warm!   We left for Gatlinburg after the ride, and it began to rain.

Bryson City, NC:
Train...somewhere...
Our train ride was fun but COLD!
It finally warmed up on the second half of the journey.
Nantahala National Forest
Nantahala National Forest
(The train stopped here for a short layover.)

I snapped a lot of pictures, but between the jostling of the tracks and the movement of the train (and the limited talents of the photographer) I didn't get a lot of clear pictures while we were moving.  Here are a few:

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

These flowers were at the depot.
I was a little surprised to see them!

Bryson City, NC
 
 

It rained most of the day Friday.   We did get up before daybreak and go to Cades Cove.  It was very overcast with a few sprinkles here and there.   By the time we were leaving, we saw a baby bear in the top of a very tall tree, and it was really beginning to rain.   I took a few pictures, but between the rain and the darkness of the morning, the little guy looked like a mere shadow in the top of the tree.   He finally came down, and I took a few more pictures.   Not knowing where Mama Bear was, I didn't get too close.  Some people didn't care about Mama Bear, and they got in my way, so I didn't get to take too many pictures.   To say I whined about those folks would be an understatement.

Same little bear, Cades Cove
  Baby Bear...he didn't turn out too clear, 
but you can see the little cutie.
Little Bear, Cades Cove

More From Cades Cove:
Cades Cove
The color was past peak, but still pretty,
prettier in some places than in others.
Cades Cove
The not so cute....
Gooblers and Gobblers, Cades Cove
Gooblers and Gobblers
 
Gatlinburg:
Gatlinburg
We were blessed with beautiful color in Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg Bypass
After seeing how past peak North Carolina was, I was 
a little concerned about what we'd see in Tennessee.

Gatlinburg Bypass
I needn't have worried!
Gatlinburg Bypass
 
 
And this is one of my favorite places in Gatlinburg:


Spun By at 9:09 AM
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5 Thoughts About This Post:

  1. glad you had a wonderful trip, and i LOVE the pix!! great job!

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  2. Beautiful pictures! Love the bears :) Happy you had a great trip.

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  3. I had to laugh about people not being concerned about the mama bear and getting perhaps a bit too close to the baby getting pictures. It was like at Yellowstone, people go up and try to pet the buffalo......wild animals.....they think petting zoo?

    It looks like you had a great time except for the weather not cooperating! The colors are beautiful of the trees and such pretty scenic landscapes!

    Hoping it was a good restful time too!

    betty

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  4. Just beautiful! God is better than he has to be huh?!

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  5. Greatly enjoyed your photos of the Smokies. Think we must have been there the following week; Oct 28-Nov 4. Colors were a bit past peak at higher elevations and some lower but there was still glorious maples, sumac, trees I could not identify and the lovely mountain laurel. Surprisingly, I found some mountain laurel in Waterloo. Now I've got the itch to see if I can root a stem for a spot near my 'granny's cabin' out back. Will have to check with Phillip on when to best try this experiment. Great photos, thanks for sharing. Roaring Fork is also a favorite of ours and we were sad to see a portion of the area closed to visitors when we were there.

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