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Women’s March on Washington Trip (Day 3)
We got a leisurely start this morning with a light breakfast at the hotel and reading the Lesson-Sermon. It was nice to have a mini-church service together! Then we headed out in the direction of Gatlinburg. I think that was about 9 AM.
Once again we relied on the Garmin to get us to the first Visitor’s Center on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park where we got initial directions and hiking advice–and did a bit of souvenir shopping. We decided on a short hike to a cabin and falls to test our trail legs. Then we stopped at the actual National Park Visitor’s Center, which is where this hike started. Bonus here was a 20-minute movie about the geology, history, and formation of the park.
Then we were off! This hike on the Fighting Creek Nature Trail was just over a mile. At one end was a cabin (you’ll see me on the porch) and at the other was a small waterfall, Cateract Falls (not too scenic, so no picture). It was a great leg-stretcher.
By the time we were done with this, we had decided to go back to Gatlinburg to get some lunch, then possibly do another short hike to a different waterfall and then drive to Cade’s Cove, which was a settlement before the whole area became a park and the people living there had to move.
After lunch, we walked around the Gatlinburg town area for a little bit and found a Ben & Jerry’s for dessert. 🙂 We also saw some evidence of where the recent fire got to in the town. There’s a river not far from the main drag, and the fire burned some houses on the other side of that river. It didn’t appear to touch the main tourist section, though. Still, I’m sure it was scary for a while!
By this time, it was getting late enough that we felt it wise to head straight to Cade’s Cove since it was about an hour’s drive further into the park. So after a little confusion about where we were after exiting the parking lot, we got back to and drove past the visitor center and headed to Cade’s Cove.
The drive was lovely, even in the winter. With many of the trees being leafless this time of year, we were able to see farther and got good glimpses of the forest floor and the mountain tops than we would have in the spring or summer. The whole drive was in a valley and along a river, so while there were no big elevation changes, there was a lot of winding around.
At our destination, we followed the one-way loop around to see some of the structures that were in place (a primitive Baptist Church where I saw a buck close up!, a Methodist Church that had a simple cross on the wall, and a Missionary Baptist church. There were other family cabins and trails along the route, but we didn’t stop at many since it was getting late (after 4 PM), light was going down, and we knew the park was closing at dusk.
On the road leaving the first church, we saw some cars stopped and just idling. We soon found out that they were watching a bear. I got a couple of good shots with my other lens–a telephoto that I had purchased for just this type of event. We learned that the bear’s name was apparently “Hope,” and that it was a female.
A bit further along, we stopped to take a shot of a pretty field with mountains in the background. A little later I got a pretty good shot of a deer.
At the far end of the loop was a collection of buildings that had been moved from their locations in the area and set up in one settlement-type place. There was a cool mill (with a water wheel that didn’t turn, even though water was running over it), a barn that would have been a shelter over the horses but otherwise left them open to the elements (unless there were temporary doors or wind-breaks that have since disintegrated), and another barn with a cantilivered roof that would have provided some shelter. There was also a house that had originally been used as a store. It had a great sittin’ porch!
By the time we left this area, it was getting pretty dark. Although there were a few cabins that might have been nice to see on the way out, there wouldn’t have been enough light to get very good pictures. And since we’d tentatively planned to see a movie this evening, we decided to boogie back out and head home.
We made it to the movie (popcorn for dinner!) by the skin of our teeth. Cathryn and I saw La La Land and Sharon decided to see Hidden Figures. We made it back to the hotel a little after 9 PM and are packing up to be ready to get on the road early in the morning.
Tomorrow’s a long driving day. We’ll drop the car off and make our way to stay with a friend of Cathryn’s in DC. We want to get there early enough to visit with our hostess, but not so early as to run into any inauguration traffic. It’ll be interesting!
So we’re finally heading out to our main purpose for this trip. Day after tomorrow we join thousands others to stand up and be counted. That seems more important then ever in the current political climate.
For now, enjoy the pictures.
