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.
I'm definitely coming back
to do that.
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.
I saw elk! Which is a pretty cool.
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.
But
we still had miles to go and other things to see.
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.
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