Flowers and Waterfalls with a couple of close calls thrown in..
A few weeks ago, the Princess and I pointed the rig East again, this time to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is about a 500-mile drive from home to Townsend, TN where we parked the ORV for a week in the Little Arrow Outdoor Resort. I had registered us for a photography workshop concentrating on wildflowers and waterfalls with Mandy Lea Photo. You may recall I worked with her last fall in Colorado. She and her partner Kendrick are great to work with and I was able to shoot a few photos worth printing.
On the way down we stopped in Nashville a couple of nights to enjoy some country music. We stayed at the Nashville KOA close to the Grand Ole Opry. This is our second stay here; it is a well-run place with easy access to the entertainment district using the shuttle service to avoid the drive downtown; It is only $10 round trip per person, and runs every hour till midnight.
After leaving Nashville the first of the two close calls occurred on I- 40. We were moving along listening to an audiobook as is our normal way to pass time on travel days. We normally drive about 60 MPH but had slowed down to something under 55 because of constricted lanes. Not sure how I missed it but the traffic in front of me came to a complete stop. While stepping hard on the brakes, I managed to pull onto the shoulder to stop a couple of feet past the bumper of the vehicle in front of me. What a scare, but relieved afterward at how well the ORV tracked behind the truck. It took a while for breathing to go back to normal. After that, we were very glad to get to Townsend to park the rig.
The workshop began with a group dinner designed to introduce everyone. I think there were eight people so there was no chance that I would remember all the names but was impressed how everyone meshed after just a few hours. Our first shoot was a sunset shortly after dinner from an overlook not far from camp. Which was followed by a sunrise location what seemed like only a few hours later. There was no shortage of opportunities to use our cameras. Mandy and Kendrick got us out early every day to different locations around the Park. I had no trouble falling asleep at night.
This is the first time we have been in the Smoky Mountains National Park (SMNP). Beyond the morning photos everyone has seen online, I knew nothing about the area. The first thing I noticed was a lack of an entrance gate or fee. I kept thinking that we would eventually come upon it. I later read that as a condition of creating the park, Tennessee stipulated that there would be no fees charged to use the road, which the state had built thru the area.
The Park was founded in 1934 and is partly comprised of farms purchased from the landowners. In 1983 SMNP was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Besides the beauty of the forests, there are a number of historic structures to explore; several grist mills, cabins, and churches. The auto tour of Cades Cove has 18 stops highlighting the early history of the area. If you are really energetic, the road is closed on Wednesdays to allow access for bicycles. For us, the unrestricted bicycle access to Cades Cove would be worth returning just for that.
Eligah Oliver Place; built in 1865. The enclosed front porch on the left was know a the “Stranger Room” to provide lodging, at no charge, to travelers. Cable Grist Mill, built 1867
Mingus Mill; constructed in 1886 is still operating. Tipton Place canilever barn reproduction built 1968. The design of this style served many purposes one of which may have been to reduce property taxes based on the square footage of the foundation.
Most impressive during our stay was the many varieties of wildflowers. With my trips, I usually get to a destination a week early or a couple of weeks late for everything. Mandy and Kendrick managed to schedule us there during the peak color for the flowers. It was great to have someone who could identify most of what we saw. If only I would have taken notes.
Large Flowered Trillium, pink White Erect Trillium Painted Trillium, Smoky Mountains Large-Flowered Trillium; Smokey Mountains Yellow Trillium, Smoky Moutains
Fire Pink; usually found on dry steep banks in the Smoky Mt’s Dwarf Iris Golden Ragwort, There are several varities of this flower, Butterweed and Groundsel are very close realatives. Dogwood White Fringed Phacelia
I have always had trouble photographing water. It is not as easy as it looks. So mostly I try to shoot a lot of frames hoping for the best, load them on the computer when I get home, and then delete the photos a few days later because I didn’t like the images. This time with a little help from Mandy and Kendrick I was able to bring back a couple that gets a little closer to the feeling of the moment.
Un-named Cascade #6 Un-named Cascade #3 Un-named Cascade #4
The second close call came the day following the end of the workshop. Arrangements for the trip and booking of the campsites occurred months in advance. This is about the only way to guarantee a campsite in a popular area. After all of the people from the workshop left on a Friday morning, Sherrie and I decided to take a hike on our last day there. We were planning to leave on Saturday. It was nice to have time to ourselves with no schedule. We returned to the ORV about 3:00 in the afternoon to find three electric carts and six people standing at our campsite. My first thought was something had happened in the trailer. Then I was approached by the campground manager to confirm I was the owner and then that I was four hours late to vacate the site. She explained that the next occupants were going to be here in 30 minutes and were close to calling service to haul away my unit. As I protested and grabbed my reservations to support my position that I had paid for one more night I found that she was correct, oh well. The end of our perfect day smacked us in the face. I was a little embarrassed. It took Sherrie and me about 15 minutes to close up and move on. Looking back, I think they could not figure out how to raise the automatic leveling supports or the trailer would not have been there upon our return. Close call; my fault but we still had a good day.
The drive home was uneventful thankfully. Looking forward now to the next adventure.
Dennis
