Day 1 - Roaring Fork Drive

Today was an excellent day.  The weather was perfect.  Before we left the campground, I took some pictures of our shady parking spot and the spaces right on the river which have "decks."  They cost $5 more, so we didn't think we needed one of them.

 Right next to us is an open field which we walked over to yesterday.  It had something that looked like a zip line running down to the river, but the hooks on it weren't heavy enough to hold a person.  This morning we saw it in use -- they hook tubes on it to get them down to the river for tubing.

We started the day by stopping by the Visitor Center in Townsend and picked up some maps.  Then we headed toward Gatlinburg, following this beautiful river.  We spotted some tubers on the river who looked like they were having a good time.

We drove on tree-lined roads all day long, usually right beside this beautiful river babbling over boulders and rocks, with little waterfalls.  The sun glistening on the rapids was breath-taking.

We turned off the main road to check out one of the national park campgrounds, and came upon a really nice spot to pull off, where there was a boy fishing.  We chatted with this family for a few minutes, and the boy got his fishing line stuck in the tree, so we watched the dad wade out in the very chilly water to retrieve it. 

We finally headed on down the road, taking in more scenic views, then we arrived in Gatllinburg.  The town was teeming with pedestrians and traffic.  Cathy had recommended a Mexican restaurant, so we found it for lunch -- No Way Jose's.  Very good.  We were going to sit outside next to the river, but that's where the smokers were so we went back inside.  But we still found a seat right next to the river.  If you look carefully below the window blind, you can see the river flowing by.

 We made a quick stop at Ogle Farm on the outskirts of town, then started on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  That was a beautiful drive, again right along the river.

Right next to the road was this small building that held an old grist mill run by an old water wheel.  I thought this maybe was the beginning of indoor running water, but Joe explained to me how the water wheel worked.

We saw several waterfalls today, some small, but some falling several feet.  The last one I missed, so Joe turned around and drove back and parked so I could see it.  He also spotted a turkey along this road.

On our way back to the camper, we came upon this swimming hole with lots of people jumping off the rocks, some people out wading, so of course I thought I should get my toes in the water here.  Cathy said she wishes she and Joe were here as our tour guides, and we parked next to a vehicle with Indiana license plates here, but I couldn't find Cathy anywhere.

We went back to the RV and had dinner (I had bbq chicken in the crockpot), caught the weather on TV, then headed out for our EWVD (Evening Wildlife Viewing Drive), back to Cades Cove Road.  Just after we turned onto this road, a black bear crossed the road right in front of us.  I wasn't in camera-mode yet, so we didn't get a picture, but we did get a good look at him.  Next we came upon some turkeys out feeding, 5 in total, and one Tom posed for us rather nicely. 

The horses we saw out in the field yesterday at a distance were right beside the road tonight.  I even petted one briefly, but I think he wanted to bite me so I didn't pursue that any further.  They were really beautiful, many different colors.

We got out on our drive about 1/2 hour earlier tonight and the deer were just starting to come down out of the forest.  We spotted one, then we pulled off the road and let traffic go by -- it was bumper to bumper tonight.  While we were sitting at the pull-off, we spotted two more deer coming down out of the trees.  Then we came upon a bear jam -- a bear had been sighted, but it got spooked and headed to the trees before we got to see it -- cars were parked all over the place so we knew something, most likely a bear, had been seen.  Then a coyote crossed the road in front of us, and it ran alongside the road with us for probably 1/4 mile. 

Joe had picked out another road he wanted to take, so even though the animals were just beginning to move out in the open, we left the Cades Cove road and drove up and over the mountain on the Rich Mountain road, a one-way, gravel road, that turned back to pavement about half-way down, between heavily-wooded forests.  There were no meadows or openings and we didn't see any more animals, but I did get a picture of the dogwoods that are blooming here, and a nice sunset.

We hit pavement again just as it got dark.  This was a very crooked road with hairpin curves, so once we were on blacktop Joe got to practice his grand prix driving.  I first thought NASCAR, but they only turn left, and he had to turn both ways, a lot.  It was a good drive, but not one we need to do again.  So today's wildlife count was:  6 deer, 6 turkeys, 1 coyote, and one BEAR!