Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

Aug 8-12, 2012
(I wanted to do just one post for our stay here but the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail was so nice that it deserves it’s own post.)

Sevierville, TN
River Plantation RV Park site 165

We thumbed through the cg brochure that was given to us at check-in and decided to take this nice ride in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg.  It was wonderful!  It’s a five mile long narrow winding road with mountain streams, cascades, moss covered boulders, and green forests by the roadside.  It’s like taking a hike without any of the effort!

 

We lowered the windows on Suki and opened the sunroof to let our ears and noses enjoy the ride too.

 

There were several places to park and take real hikes but we enjoyed the few stops at the overlooks.

 

I have always loved the lush green foliage that is found in the Great Smokies.  There was green everywhere!

 

There was moss growing on everything that didn’t move.  Tree trunks were covered even before they fell to the ground and the boulders were green with moss!

 

We could see and hear the mountain stream that flowed along beside the road much of the time.  So refreshing and cooler in the higher altitude.  I just had to sit on a rock and enjoy it for a while.

 

 

The tour took us by a few buildings that were left by the families that lived here before the National Park was created.  We were just more engrossed with nature.

 

I have always enjoyed rock outcroppings too.  There were several boulders along the roadside with trees and bushes growing right out of them.

 

 

But the most exciting thing that happened to us to make this day so very special was our own personal bear sighting.  I drove very slowly on this auto tour and any time a car rolled up behind us, I would pull over and let them go by.  There was no one else around when this juvenile black bear sauntered across the road only 20 feet in front of us.  The pics are a little fuzzy because Gin was so excited she couldn’t hold the camera steady.

 

 

The bear took it’s time wandering across the road a couple of times while foraging for food.  She never paid any attention to us in the car.  It was very magical for us.  Gin took a brief video of the bear as it left the road to return to the woods one last time.  This is dedicated to Tricia who would have thoroughly enjoyed this too.

This Bear’s for you Tricia

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

River Plantation RV Park (TN)

Aug 8-12, 2012
(Catching up in the Great Smoky Mountains.)

Sevierville, TN
River Plantation RV Park site 165

We stopped by here for a few days to enjoy full hook up on our way to visit family back in NC.  We really wanted to go to the Cable Mill Visitor’s Center of Cades Cove and get some Caribbean pancakes at Flapjacks Pancakes which is right next to this RV Park.  Many of you are familiar with this place because we were at the RV Dreams Rally in April of 2011.  There is a new office to check-in at in the park and it is still a well maintained park.

 

The first order of business for the day was the Caribbean pancakes.  We had enjoyed some when we were here a year and a half ago and our taste buds were ready for some more.  We sat down in a booth and saw that it was no longer on the menu!  I asked our waitress about it and she said that it would be no trouble for the cook who could whip up some just special for us.  They were good with coconut, banana, pineapple and nuts on them.  Yum!

Next, we decided to take a ride on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  It was so nice there that I’ve decided to do a separate post on that soon.  It started raining as we finished up with that but we still drove over to Cades Cove.

 

In our previous visit here we had stopped at most of the restored pioneer buildings and I did a post about them that day.  We just enjoyed our ride today by finding some wildlife in the meadows.

 

 

Much of the attraction of driving to Cades Cove is the drive itself.  There is a stream that runs along beside the road most of the way there and there are lots of squiggles (curves).

 

We could tell that a strong storm had hit the mountain not too long ago.  There were several places along the road that had many trees down.  I think that some of them had been cleared away but most of them were still laying there.

 

I guess it’s nature’s way to open up the canopy to let new growth sprout forth.  This rainy day also helps with the new growth and keeps everything a very lush green.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Athens PA (Watkins Glen, Susquehanna, Thumbsucking, and a Surprise Visitor)

July 17-23, 2012

(My next few posts will go back in time to wrap up the highlights of the past few weeks.  Between being busy, blog lazy, and poor internet connection, I’ve fallen behind quite a bit.)

We enjoyed a tourist day with Dan and Tricia by going to Watkins Glen NY.  Dan drove the Suki since he is familiar with the roads.  That sure was nice.  We first did a quick ride to see Watkins Glen Raceway for all you racing fans.  It was closed for a car club (Porsche) to use so we didn’t really see too much.  Next we enjoyed a picnic on the shore of Seneca Lake which is one of the Finger Lakes in NY.  It was a very hot day but there was a nice cool breeze coming off of the deep water.

 

Our next stop that day was Watkins Glen State Park.  We parked in the main lot along with a few hundred other folks and walked along the Gorge walkway.  It was a nice cool breeze there at times also.

 

I absolutely love waterfalls so you know I fell in love with this spot.  There are several waterfalls along Glen Creek which formed this Gorge thousands of years ago.

  

  

Dan enjoyed walking the whole trail while the rest of us went at a much more relaxed pace.  He found the Suspension Bridge first but Tricia and I found it also.  Unfortunately, Gin got a little overheated and went back to the car for some ice water (that darn MS).

 

On another day of this enjoyable visit, we floated on the Susquehanna River right from the family farm.  It was not nearly as touristy which was fine with us.  We enjoyed holding on to Dan and Tricia’s Paddleski since he had put a trolling motor on it.  I call it “Dangineering”.

 

 

We saw about eight Bald Eagles flying along the shore.  Some of you might think that we saw the same bird eight times but we actually did see three at one time so I know it was a good number of them.

 

On the last day of our visit, we all went to a working dairy farm.  Dan’s friend Doug had invited us over to see some of their new calves and get our thumbs sucked.  Boy, they have some powerful suction!

 

I love animals but I’m not real comfortable around the big ones.  Horses make me nervous but I had to rub this beauty.  I also had a chance to mike a cow without getting kicked!  Thanks Doug!

 

While sitting outside on the morning of our last day, we enjoyed the wildlife.  There was always a hawk squawking, a deer grazing, or a chipmunk running around.

 

I don’t know how Pauline managed it but she had a surprise visitor show up for us.  Running up one of her driveways and through her back yard was a Black Bear.  I had our little camera out so we have proof (click the pic to enlarge).

 

It ran right by the blackberries which is where Dan and his mom were at the time.  Dan had seen one earlier in the week during a morning walk.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here with great friends and their family.  It’s a very nice community and we felt very welcomed.  I love the summer weather but I think the winters would be a bit too cold for us.

This shot is especially for Tumbleweed.

The End.