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!
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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 |