The Real Reason To Go To Gatlinburg

Posted on March 14, 2014March 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I touched on this yesterday in my post about Cade’s Cove. When all the moonshine and whiskey, train rides and Dollywood are said and done, the real reason I want to go to Gatlinburg is the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

The Park Services page turned out to be an awesome resource for planning my visit. Since I’ve been struggling with arthritis and recovering from my spill in San Diego, I don’t know how much stamina I’ll have for hikes. I hope to be able to do some but it’s too soon to tell. My right hip still acts up quite a lot. Just in case hiking is not an option the website lists the auto tours.

An auto tour of the park offers a chance to see panoramic vistas, cascading mountain rivers, weathered historic buildings, and majestic forests stretching to the horizon.

We know there’s one though Cades Cove but there’s a whole list of others:

Cataloochee Valley
Newfound Gap Road
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Upper Tremont Road

In addition, the book Smokies Road Guide covers main thoroughfares and scenic backroads in the park. This book and the self-guiding auto tour booklets listed above are available at park visitor centers and online. Self-guiding tour booklets are also available from dispensers at the start of the roads they cover.

I have my National Parks Pass and my “Passport books” to get stamps but there’s no entrance fee to the park anyway! Yup one of the most visited parks in the US is free.

I’m heading to the park in the spring. Anytime is beautiful in this park but the Great Smokey National Park is knick named the Wildflower National Park. Spring and summer are renown for spectacular displays of wildflowers along roads and trails.

And along with the wildflowers are wildlife. The Site offers tips for wildlife viewing. Some are standard like view early or late in the day but I especially liked this advice: Viewing wildlife in the Smokies can be challenging because most of the park is covered by dense forest. Open areas like Cataloochee and Cades Cove offer some of the best opportunities to see white-tailed deer, black bear, raccoon, turkeys, woodchucks, and other animals. The narrow, winding road of Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail encourages motorists to travel at a leisurely pace and sometimes yields sightings of bear and other wildlife.

I’m so ready to go check this out! I’m polishing and cleaning the camera, lenses and filter. I hope I can get some photos that come close to the beautiful ones I get to see when I search online.

Cades Cove Is #1 on my list

Posted on March 13, 2014March 13, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains , part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain.

There are loads of hiking trails from short and easy to long and difficult but they also have loop roads that allow automotive sight seeing. One of the most popular and certainly on my list is Cades Cove, a broad, verdant valley surrounded by mountains and is one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies. It offers some of the best opportunities for wildlife viewing in the park. Large numbers of white-tailed deer are frequently seen, and sightings of black bear, coyote, ground hog, turkey, raccoon, skunk, and other animals are also possible.

For hundreds of years Cherokee Indians hunted in Cades Cove but archeologists have found no evidence of major settlements. The first Europeans settled in the cove sometime between 1818 and 1821. By 1830 the population of the area had already swelled to 271. Cades Cove offers the widest variety of historic buildings of any area in the national park. Scattered along the loop road are three churches, a working grist mill, barns, log houses, and many other faithfully restored eighteenth and nineteenth century structures.

An 11-mile, one-way loop road circles the cove, offering motorists the opportunity to sightsee at a leisurely pace. Allow at least two to four hours to tour Cades Cove, longer if you walk some of the area’s trails.

A visitor center (open daily), restrooms, and the Cable Mill historic area are located half-way around the loop road.

Numerous trails originate in the cove, including the five-mile roundtrip trail to Abrams Falls and the short Cades Cove Nature Trail. Longer hikes to Thunderhead Mountain and Rocky Top (made famous by the popular song) also begin in the cove.

I think it’s obvious why this is number one on my list when it comes to the sights to see in the Great Smokey Mountains! ( warning earworm alert)

Rocky Top you’ll always be

Home sweet home to me

Good Ole Rocky Top

Rocky Top Tennessee

(Excerpted from Trip Advisor)

Photo of the Week ~ 10

Posted on March 12, 2014March 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 10 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Do You Like It in a Box? with a total of 30 points.

To Order Prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h1c618bf0#h1c618bf0

Visit Dustyroadsphotos.com daily to record your vote!

Gatlinburg Planning

Posted on March 11, 2014March 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

That was a short break from planning but I must say a lot of it’s done now. I don’t play golf anymore which is too bad because I’ll be staying at Bent Creek Golf Village.

Winding through the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, discover the Gary Player par 72 golf course at Bent Creek Golf Village. This three-time Masters and British Open winner designed what one magazine rated as one of the “Top Fifty Golf Courses in the South.” Discover the breathtaking blue mist of the surrounding mountains while relaxing in your own well-appointed accommodations. At Bent Creek Golf Village you can enjoy the splendor of every season and the adventure that awaits you in nearby Gatlinburg.

I have a 1 bedroom DELUXE. Didn’t realize that I booked a DELUXE accommodation. I just took the one that met my schedule. I’ll have a washer and dryer in the suite so I can pack light and wash often. 🙂 Queen bed, queen sleeper sofa, full kitchen, living/dining area, whirlpool jet tub, fireplace, washer/dryer, two TVs, DVD/VCP, iPod clock radio, hairdryer and screened-in porch.

According to the events calendar I’ll be visiting during the Smokey Mountain Spring Fest; A countywide celebration of the season featuring special events, local craft shows, and much more.

Just in case I get bored on Fridays and Saturdays in May, visitors can meet characters, hear mountain music and learn about life long ago in the Smokies on the streets of Gatlinburg. Storytellers, musicians and cloggers perform along the strip of downtown Gatlinburg.

But the main reason for the visit is the Natural beauty.

Majestic waterfalls and hemlock-covered forests glisten beneath the breathtaking sunrises and legendary blue mist of the Great Smoky Mountains.

I plan to take lots of pictures.

Ready to Roll

Posted on March 10, 2014March 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

For almost 6 years the pet carriage has been the sole property of Rocky. After Smokey tried it out once or twice he never went back but for Rocky it’s a daily visit. Rocky hates going outside for a walk but he likes to ride around the house or out on the deck.

Because I have 2 escape artists cats I react to quiet like the mother of a 2 year old. I get nervous. What are they into to be so quiet? It can’t be good! So periodically I find myself doing Kitty Head Counts to make sure I haven’t lost one.

Imagine my surprise when Buddy turned up in the pet carriage! Looks like Rocky is going to have some competition for carriage time. I wonder if Buddy would be more willing to go for rides outside? The weather is starting to hint at spring. Maybe I’ll give it a try.