Sandcastle Momma: Cherokee North Carolina and Newfound Gap

Ok. So I am totally confused about when we did what and I think the picnic I said we had on Wednesday actually happened on Thursday.

At any rate, on the second day, Dad and I woke up in Rome and checked the forecast for Tropical Storm Nate.

It still wasn't a hurricane and potential landfall had shifted to the west of our homes but the “cone of uncertainty” still showed a rain/wind event coming to the area we were going to explore in the mountains and it was set to arrive on Sunday – this same day we were to leave Rome and go to the mountains.

We talked for a few minutes and in the end both of us decided we'd pass on the geo-event and leave for the mountains that morning.

That way we could explore and see what we wanted to see before the remnants of Nate arrived.

Off we went in the direction of Cherokee, NC. And now that I've looked at the map, I realize that's when we had the picnic at the dam.

As we drove north we drove along the Oconaluftee River we saw a lot of white water rafting outfitters and several groups of people rafting as we drove.

That river trip would be awesome.

We got into Cherokee, stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and saw this sign.

Really? I've never seen elk and according to my Dad I'd have to go to the Cataloochee Valley to see them. According to my daughter I'd NEVER make it because the road would freak me out.

One of the Park Rangers told us some of that herd had migrated into this valley and there was one big bull they'd nicknamed Big Boy. Big Boy played a big part in populating this area with elk.

The Ranger also told us we'd know which one was Big Boy if we saw him.

It was the middle of the day so we weren't expecting to see any elk but then we heard an elk bugle.

Whoa. They are here now and must be right inside of the tree line.

We stood there for a minute and then a female stepped out into the field, followed by a bull.

They were a way off but Dad had binoculars so I got a good look at them.

Sadly, the zoom on my camera couldn't come close to you'll just have to believe there are elk in these pictures.

The bull was huge with a giant rack and we wondered if that was Big Boy.

A man and woman near us saw them, grabbed a bunch of camera gear from their car and immediately trotted out into the field.

Which really pissed all of the people standing behind the sign off because the elk immediately went back into the trees.

And the worst part was their camera had a MASSIVE zoom lens – meaning they could have taken amazing shots from behind the sign.

We could still hear them bugle and a minute later we saw two more over by the Indian Village.

That's when we knew the first one we'd seen was indeed Big Boy. He is huge compared to the other male we saw.

Of course “camera people” changed direction and scared them off too.

It was time for us to move on and we knew “camera people” were going to keep any more elk from coming out into the field so we got back into the car and up the mountain we went.

Originally, we were going to visit Clingman's Dome but it's closed for renovation so we stopped at Newfound Gap right on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina.

The ride and destination were amazing. I enjoyed the views and because we were on a nice, wide road with guard rails I didn't feel like I was going to fall of the mountain.

I even mentioned to Dad that I'd made the entire ride to 5,000 feet and hadn't needed a Valium to do it.

The view was beyond stunning and I could have stayed there all day, just looking at the mountains.

I didn't see this sign until we were leaving and there were cars behind us so we couldn't stop but I was extremely proud of myself for making it up there. I don't know who the man in the picture is but I wanted a picture of the sign.

From there we drove into Gatlinburg, enjoying the views and looking forward to our next adventure.

The sun rose and rested at the top of the sky and the first half of day 2 of our 10 day adventure was a success.