Thursday, Sept 17 After midnight there was a steady, slow rain, the kind that is nice to lay in bed and listen to. It was still raining in the morning, as Tom cooked pancakes outside under the awning. We examined the map of the area, and decided for a rainy-day-drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Balsam Mountain Road. We tried for this road the past two years in a row, and it was always “closed for the winter.” Today it was open and we got to drive back to the Balsam Mountain Campground. It was mostly pull-over sites along the main road, and there were two nice bathrooms. At that point the paved road ended, and we turned around! As for the weather: still drizzling and very foggy, but still a nice drive. A dramatic thing happened on the way down the mountain! Walking towards us in the mist was a woman and a giant black German Shepherd Dog. Off to the side of the road was a Roadtrek camper van that had slid on the wet grass down into a ditch. It was distinctly eerie in the drizzle and heavy fog as we stopped to see what was needed. Patricia and her companion Triumph jumped in the back seat of our truck without hesitation and told us her story. Patricia had driven past her turn-off and was attempting to turn around, when the van slipped down in the ditch. It was only inches away from turning into a roll-over, and she was fairly frightened as she climbed out! We drove Patricia and Triumph to a near-by Ranger Station; they aren’t allowed to call a tow truck without permission from the Cherokee Nation . . . if it is on Cherokee property. It was not, but by only about a mile! He directed us into Maggie Valley where we linked up with Anytime Towing. They would not allow us inside out of the rain, but gave Patricia the phone number of a driver. The tow truck met us back up at the intersection to get onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, and we led him the 5 miles to where the Roadtrek was ditched. From his point of view it was an easy pull-out, and she was back on the roadway and ready to travel. He could only take cash (his credit card machine was broken!) and between Patricia and us we were able to throw him the $125 cash he needed. Yes, Patricia, you provided us with a sense of worth today and we enjoyed every minute with you. We will enjoy the Buddy Brew Coffee! Safe travels! We ate a late lunch and headed back to the camper. At 5:00 we tweaked our usual evening schedule to drive to the meadow before supper, hoping there might be some nice elk action now that the rain had quit. There were 22 mademoiselles resting in the field, and the one big gent. Nobody appeared anxious to do anything, until the male slowly stood up and walked from one gal to the next, nudging them onto their feet. They stood up and stalked away, and I thought he was a little quick to take “no” for answer. It became evident that he had the intent of herding the girls to keep them together, and later we saw him moving the whole herd from one end of the meadow to the next. He has his own game plan! A new twist tonight was that the perimeter of the meadow was more heavily guarded by Rangers – with paint ball guns! As a female came inquisitively toward our viewing group, the Ranger walked out to meet her and shot a blast of clear paint balls to chase her back. The rangers are always on guard that the elk can get agitated and charge at any minute. Patrolling Ranger Brandon answered a few questions that we had. This buck has “claimed” the doe in the fields as his, but another (satellite) male might sneak around the perimeter and bag a doe for himself. Sometimes there will be challenges and fights among the males, but not as often as we had thought. Brandon said not all the girls come in season at the same time, and there might be a mating tonight, or maybe not for a few weeks. With that, our Elk Rut trip basically ended and we headed back to the campsite. We both indulged in showers and otherwise cleaned up the inside of the camper as we would be leaving in the morning. Note to self: if we do this again next year, we may want to come the first week in October!
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Wednesday, Sept 16 Happy 3rd Anniversary, Caleb and Halie! Down in the low 60’s it was good sleeping weather overnight. At 8:00 we fixed coffee and headed off to drink it on a sight-seeing tour. First off we saw one lonely elk resting in a field. Heading out for the Bryson City area again, we wanted to see Deep Creek campground (a GSMNP campground we have not seen before) and we wanted to drive the Lake View Drive, known as the road to nowhere. Deep Creek campground is a nice campground and was only 20% full . . . mostly tents. We did not see any sites that would be large enough for us. Dogs are not allowed on the trail so Tom did the Juney Whank falls trail while I stayed and walked Charlie and worked on my blog – internet reached all the way back at the trail head! We followed a bit of the Road to Nowhere and then ended up back in Bryson City for lunch – McDonalds in the car. On our way back to Smokemont, we took a side trip into the town of Cherokee. We have always remembered it as being run down with neglected store fronts, and it was good to see that it was now in much better shape. Afternoon at the campground we settled in to enjoy the campsite, and Tom made us a fire! I worked on a new basket, and Tom read a book. Supper was impressive: fried Lake Erie Yellow Perch fish fillets and tater tots! Then, a trip back to the Visitor Center field for the evening elk watch. Wednesday night is definitely NOT HUMP NIGHT! There was one adolescent elk in the field, close to our viewing area, and he was calmly grazing. The girls were far across the field, and gradually they disappeared into the distance. So did we! Tuesday, Sept 15 I love a late morning! At 8:30 a park ranger with a large blower began blowing leaves from the path to the bathroom consequently woke us up. He then progressed to blow grassy areas along the roads and campsites – which is, I guess, why they have so much grass. Still, it seemed like a losing battle! A slow start to the day called for “Tom’s hash ‘n eggs” breakfast. By the time we were cleaned up from was 10:00 and we headed off to explore. At the Visitor Center we checked our communications, and then drove to Bryson City which publicizes train rides through the mountains; We saw one of the trains, very long, full of people wearing masks! Not today! The town was small and quaint with an interesting downtown with nice little shops. I bought a rug that was made by a local craftsman, and did a few other shops, while Tom entertained Charlie Button outside. With such a late lunch we were not hungry, but came back to the campground to enjoy the 73- degree temperature and sunshine. On this Tuesday afternoon the campground was about 60% full and was given over completely to oldsters – we saw no young kids! But, we did see an interesting cluster of pale pink pipe-like flowers. And, I got a picture of one of the super long campsites -- a 48" motorhome's dream! Notice Tom standing on the other side! We ate an early supper and headed off for the elk field. Last night there were just boys and one big male elk. Tonight, there was a meadow full of girls, and we could hear bugling off in the woods. Slowly a huge BIG BOY crossed the main road and walked majestically into the meadow. I was so shocked it took a moment to get the phone up for a video. At times it did appear that he was herding them together, and he concentrated on moving one young male out of the meadow. Then he lay down right in the open meadow! All the girls grazed their way out of his immediate area and even into the fenced in area of the historical farm; few stayed in his meadow! After over an hour– there wasn’t any explicit action! Just a boy checking out the girls, and girls acting completely indifferent. We left before dark . . . hoping that we didn’t miss something.
Monday, Sept 14 There wasn’t much reason to hang around, and we were anxious to leave this sad place and move on. By 9:00 we were on our way to Cherokee, NC and Smokemont campground. It has been a long time since we have camped on the North Carolina side of the GSMNP, so it was sure to be a change of pace. The Elk were the calling card, but there would also be new things to see and do in Cherokee. There were several ways to get there, but we decided against hauling the trailer on “The Tail of the Dragon” road, and also against going along the new portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, thru Pigeon Forge, and downtown Gatlinburg. Our choice was thru Maryville to Townsend, the River Road to Sugarlands, and then up over Newfound Gap and down the mountain to Cherokee. Ninety miles . . . in 3 hours! Smokemont campground has level campsites, some grass with mostly dead-leaf forest floor, and a lot of shade. Some of the campsites are pull-through and large enough to take on the largest rig imaginable. There are river sites, but we had not been able to snag one. There are no hookups, but generators are allowed from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. No cell phone service! We drove to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to scope out the elk particulars. We were greeted by an Elk sign on the door cautioning us to keep proper Covid distance. There are signs all around the large meadow saying to stay out when there are elk present, but other than that, we saw no evidence of elk gathering. There is a Mountain Farm Museum, and we were able to walk the outside-the-fence-perimeter as dogs were not allowed in! Story about this next picture. Many National Parks have rules against moving rocks in the park! Tom’s biggest joy with our young boys was building dams across a mountain river. Now, we always enjoy hoodoos (stacked rocks) and Tom frequently places little illegal stacks of rocks in prominent places! We did see a large gathering of rubbernecked people . . . out of their cars, gazing toward the tree line, and supervised by a man wearing an official vest. We joined the crowd and quickly saw a big bull elk laying peacefully back in the trees. Resting for the rut? We got pictures of our first elk and went on our way. Dinner: chicken wings and drumsticks and grilled potatoes. Then, a drive back up to the meadows for a little Elk action! SCORE! There were 4 male Elk in the meadow by the Visitor Center . . . and not too many gawkers. One male was obviously older/bigger than the other three, and he started a little hurly-burly with one of the younger Elk. We got some still pictures as the two made half-hearted attempts to lock horns, and a couple nice videos as they carried out their little pre-rut, pushing and shoving practice. We also heard some of the famous bugling! It was just amazing! Just as fun to watch, were the “professional” photographers with their monstrous camera set-ups! We are hoping that is just the first of our rut peeping, and especially hoping that some females will respond to the call! Bucket List: Elk Rut in Cherokee, North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We’ve heard about it, but the closest we have seen is the aftermath in a large field that had been plowed up by Elk Rut “activity.” Hearing that it takes place mid-September to late-October, we decided to schedule our annual fall leaf-peeping trip 5 weeks early to check it out! Brief history: Although native to the area, Elk had been missing from the Southern Appalachian area for 200 years. In 2001, 25 Elk were reintroduced, and there is now a herd of about 150 in the Oconaluftee/Cataloochee area. It seems that their favorite mating meadow is right next to the Oconaluftee GSMNP Visitor Center, making it easy to view the show – if we are there at the right time! Thursday, Sept 10 Before leaving town, Tom had a 9:20 annual physical. With a clean bill of health, we were off at 10:45 – destination East Fork State Park just 8 miles away from Micah. We stretched a 3-hour drive into 4 ½ hours with a shop stop at Cabelas and a lunch stop for Chipolte carryout – which we ate in the trailer in the parking lot. By 3:30 we were unhooked and set up and cooling down the Silvermine from the 90-degree temperature. It didn’t take long with the AC and two fans running to circulate the air and outside the temperature was going down quickly, too. On a Thursday night the campground was mostly empty, but predicted to fill completely for the weekend. Our site was the last one in the loop, with not much shade around it. However, the angle of the sun in the afternoon gave us plenty of shade. East Fork State Park is one of the largest parks in Ohio, with a whopping 415 campsites, a large lake, hiking trails, birding trails, horse camping and bridle trails. At 5:00 we headed out in the truck – first for a drive past the lake. Then, into Jungle Jim’s for a walk-through. Always a fun place, we are usually overwhelmed by the variety of every kind of grocery item, and mostly go for the thrill of looking – rather than buying. But, we did buy a few items, and enjoyed browsing all the different ethnic departments. All of the displays are unique, but our favorite one is always the little psychedelic 16’ Airstream! We were back at the camper at 7:30 and had a light supper, walked the dogs, and let the day wind down. Friday, Sept 11 After a slow and lazy morning, we left the campground at 9:45 to meet Micah at our favorite Hofbräuhaus restaurant in Newport, KY. Since Covid, Micah has made this a Friday lunch pilgrimage, and we have been guilty of driving down from Van Wert just to eat lunch with him a couple of times! This time, being camped nearby, we were happy to meet him again at the outdoor Biergarten. At 11:00, there are very few people there, and the covered outdoor patio makes for great open-air social distancing. The portions are so huge (or is it that German food is so filling?) that we brought home plenty of leftovers for tonight! While downtown we had a bit of an agenda with the chance to visit the REI store. They always have the greatest and up-to-datest outdoor stuff, and we love looking at it all. It is pretty sad when two camping enthusiasts visit a camping supply store, and can’t find a single camping gadget to take back to the camper! The day remained on the cool and cloudy side, just reaching the low 70’s. It was a great chance to enjoy the campsite, as scores of campers arrived. One large fifth wheel was towed by a truck approaching semi-size, and another little compact car had a mound of equipment balancing precariously on a back-bumper bracket. It made me reflect on how our choice of a 25’ Airstream suits our need for living, mobility, and maneuverability so well. We drove all the campground loops and then took the dogs for a long walk, checking out the camper arrivals and taking note of campsites we might like in the future. We reheated our (can’t remember the German name of it) spätzle with steak tips and mushrooms and could barely finish the leftovers. We each took a shower (me in the camper, Tom in the shower house) and then retired to our outside chairs for books and movies! Tomorrow we head for Knoxville! Saturday, Sept 12 Off at 8:15, It was a quick get-away with only 5 hours to drive. Yarberry Peninsula Campground is our usual stay-put place when in Knoxville, and here we were meeting sister Tink for two nights. She had arrived at 1:15, and we pulled in at 1:30. As we rushed to set up, the sky darkened and my Iwatch started signaling lightening alerts. . . then the downpour chased us all inside. It lasted for 45 minutes, cooled things off, and then quit, giving us the opportunity to sit outside. Our campsite area is a series of stepped sites on a long, gradual, hill backed up to a beautiful green, grassy, “bowl.” The front faces an inlet of the lake, across the street. Dinner was hot dogs with coney sauce – Tink brought the food, Tom cooked the dogs, and I served everything in the Airstream! After dinner there was another brief rain – we were able to sit this one out under the awning. An unfortunate incident was that Jasper came back from a walk feeling and looking like a very sick doggie. He barfed in the camper twice: once on the floor (good boy!) and once on my bed (bad dog!) Tom left Tink and I to sit and chat while he carted all the bedding into a coin laundry. With that one good deed, Tom earned enough brownie points to last the next week! Sunday, Sept 13 This is a sad story to tell – I will make it short. Jasper was not better in the morning and we searched out an Emergency Vet clinic 20 miles away. His gall bladder was swollen, he was bleeding into his stomach, his breath was very shallow, his gums were white, and he was in shock. It was thought that he would not pull out of it and we made the difficult decision to have him gently put to sleep. He rode on my lap to the ER, and I did get this last picture of him. The grief consumed the rest of the morning into the afternoon. He was short of 3 years old, and was the sweetest, most anxious to please little doggie there ever was. He was always careful to do everything just right. He was Tom's best little walking buddy, easily trotting along for two walks (5 miles) every day. The afternoon perked up a bit as my brother Richard joined us for a dinner at the campground. Richard arrived at 4:00, and we enjoyed at least 45 minutes outside before the rain threatened. During that time, knowing that rain was on the way, we took a group picture of us three sibs! Knowing it would be a 100% downpour like last night, we moved the grill under the awning, positioned Tom outside for cooking, and the rest moved inside the trailer for eating. Menu: Steaks, margarita shrimp, twice-baked potatoes, rolls – not a green or yellow vegie on the plate! It was a great sibling retreat, and even more special because we pulled it off during Covid-time!
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Archives
October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |