Posts Tagged ‘Smokies’

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Watery Wednesday # 36

May 20, 2009
Greenbrier Cascade, Great Smoky Mountains. March 28, 2009.

Greenbrier Cascade, Great Smoky Mountains. March 28, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme created and hosted by 2sweeetnsaxy of Eyes, Mind, Heart.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

As you know, Betsy and I love and collect waterfalls.  But  we also like cascades and fast-flowing rivers.  After two years of drought rain has finally returned to east Tennessee, and the rivers are close to normal for the first time in that period.

The picture above was taken along the Little Pigeon River in the Great Smoky Mountains near Greenbrier, Tennessee.  We had been at the same spot in November, but then there had been more boulders than waters in the stream.  But when this picture was taken, March, 2009, the water was rushing over the boulders.  The sight and the sound of all the white water was a beautiful part of our watery world.

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Watery Wednesday # 29

March 31, 2009
The Little Pigeon River in the Smokies. March 28, 2009.

The Little Pigeon River in the Smokies. March 28, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme created and hosted by 2sweetnsaxy of Eyes Mind Heart.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your pictures, click HERE.

Betsy and I enjoyed our stay in Cosby last weekend.  We had some rain while we were there, but not enough to keep us from hiking and exploring a part of the Smokies we haven’t visited as often as we have this side of the park.  The rain had the advantage of keeping the water flows relatively high, which we thoroughly enjoy.

The picture above, which can be enlarged, was taken in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We drove along the Little Pigeon River and stopped to enjoy this view of the water rushing over the boulders in the stream.

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A Little Bit of Heaven

March 30, 2009
The view from Ed's Mill Cabin. March 26, 2009.

The view from Ed's Mill Cabin. March 26, 2009.

Imagine that you like waterfalls and have the opportunity to wake up in the morning, walk into the living room and see the view in the picture above.  (The picture can be enlarged if desired).

That’s exactly the situation Betsy and I found ourselves in over the weekend.  Last November we found a rental cabin in what had once been an old mill.  The cabin was in the Smokies at the base of a waterfall.  There wasn’t much water going over the falls in November, but we knew right away that we would want to go back.

We spent three nights at Serenity Falls and never got tired of watching the water cascade down the falls.  The window in our bedroom overlooked the creek below the falls and we slept with the window open so we could hear the water rushing over the rocks.  What more could two waterfall enthusiasts ask for?

Although we had some rain while we were in the Smokies it didn’t stop us from getting out an doing some hiking.  A high point (in more ways than one) was a 2.2 mile hike up into the mountains to see Hen Wallow Falls.  We were also able to check out a few smaller falls in the area, but we’ve left some bigger falls unseen so we have an excuse to go back in the future!

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I May Have Jinked Us

March 26, 2009
Cabin at the base of Serenity Falls, Great Smoky Mountains. November 10, 2008.

Cabin at the base of Serenity Falls, Great Smoky Mountains. November 10, 2008.

Last November Betsy and I spent a couple of days on the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  While searching for waterfalls we came across the cabin in the picture above, which is located at the base of Serenity Falls.  In November there wasn’t much water going over the falls, but the setting was so nice that we decided we would like to go back when there was more water.

Well, we made reservations a couple of weeks ago and are going back there later today.  But then Tuesday night I posted a picture of Betsy in the rain at a waterfall.  It started raining early Wednesday morning and has been raining fairly steadily ever since.  The weather forecast says that it will rain through Saturday.  I might come back home with several more pictures of Betsy in the rain.

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On a more serious note, today is Purple Day, a day to increase awareness of Epilepsy.  The writer of one of my favorite blogs, Michele at Rocky Mountain Retreat, has to live with this disease.  She recently suffered from a series of seizures which left her hospitalized.  Fortunately Michele is doing much better now.  Michele is a very talented photographer who posts marvelous pictures on her blog.  Stop by her site — you’ll be glad you did.

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Scenic Sunday # 36

March 22, 2009
Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. May, 2001.

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. May, 2001.

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shows beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts or to join and post your own, click HERE.

One of our favorite parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Cades Cove.  Touring the Cove is like stepping back in time.  Not only does Cades Cove contain a lot of history, but it also contains some remarkable scenery.

The picture above was taken in the Spring.

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Watery Wednesday # 20

January 27, 2009
Spruce Flat Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. January 25, 2008.

Spruce Flat Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. January 25, 2008.

We’re still in the grip of winter here on the Plateau — gray skies, rain and ice, but no snow for now.  So I thought I would stay with winter for Watery Wednesday.  The pictures can be enlarged if desired.

Last January Betsy and I hiked to Spruce Flat Falls in the Smoky Mountains.  Spruce Flat Falls is behind the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, not far from the Townsend entrance to the park.  The institute sponsors workshops and programs throughout the year and there are signs pointing the way.

The hike to the falls was not bad  — a little under a mile.  The trail was fairly steep near the trailhead at the institute but it soon leveled off.  It was a good day for a hike — crisp, but not particularly cold.

When we got to the falls we were delighted to find water, snow and ice.  It was quite a visual delight.  The falls actually contains three steps — the picture above shows the main portion of the falls.

Water and ice at Spruce Flat Falls. January 25, 2008.

Water and ice at Spruce Flat Falls. January 25, 2008.

This second picture shows the water and ice of the falls in a little more detail.  Spruce Flat Falls was a very nice addition to our waterfall collection.

To see more of our watery world, or to join by posting your own pictures, click HERE.

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Watery Wednesday 16

December 30, 2008
Upper Cove Creek Cascade, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Upper Cove Creek Cascade, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Tuesday was a beautiful day here in eastern Tennessee, so Betsy and I decided to drive over to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to check out some waterfalls.  We haven’t been over there since late October and we hoped that the rains of the past couple of weeks would have replenished some of the streams in the mountains.

We visited several falls that we had seen before and then later in the afternoon drove through Wears Valley.  We drove along Cove Creek for a short

Secret Falls, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Secret Falls, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

distance, and, seeing a fair amount of water flowing, stopped to walk along the creek.  We enjoyed the cascade shown above and then noticed a small sign pointing to Secret Falls.  Secret Falls was unknown to us, so we just had to investigate.  A short walk led us to the pretty little waterfall shown on the right.

It was as close to a perfect day as we could possibly get — cool temperatures, a brilliant blue sky, and the sound of rushing water.  What more could a person ask for?

To see more of our trip to the Smokies check Betsy’s blog HERE.

To see more  pictures on the Watery Wednesday meme click here or on the logo below.

waterywed2c

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A Visit to the Quiet Side of the Smokies

November 28, 2008
George at Greenbrier Creek, November 3, 2008.

George at Greenbrier Creek, November 3, 2008.

I’ve mentioned before that Betsy and I went to Cosby in early November to belatedly celebrate Betsy’s birthday.  I finally got a photo page put together with which to  share our memories.

We rented a cabin for three nights, and since we went in November rather than August, we practically had the place to ourselves.  The cabins on either side of ours were empty.

When we planned our trip we hoped to do some hiking and waterfalling, but although we got some hiking in, we did not see much in the way of water in waterfalls.  Our drought has been just too severe.  We found Noisy Creek Cascade, but there was almost no water in the creek.

We did find a couple of surprises, however.  For the past three years three of Betsy’s grandchildren (two from Texas and one from Florida) have spent a day in the Smokies near Greenbrier campground.  We’ve seen pictures and video of them playing in the creek and we found the spot they visited — Greenbrier Cascades.  Although there was water in that creek, both Betsy and I resisted the temptation to go swimming or tubing (it was just a little cool!!).

But the nicest surprise was at Serenity Falls.  There was a little water coming over that falls, but there were also three rental cabins on the creek.  One of the cabins was at the very base of the falls with a deck that extended over the creek.  It didn’t take us long to decide that we wanted to go back there in the early spring and spend at least one night in that cabin.

Although our  outdoor activities didn’t go exactly as planned, our stay was very relaxing and enjoyable.  To see more of our Cosby trip click HERE.

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Proof Our Vacation Was Relaxing

November 15, 2008

nap

I’ve mentioned a couple of times how relaxing our visit to the Smokies was.  Tuesday was especially nice as we stayed at the cabin all day.

The picture above was taken about noon on Tuesday.  I’m not going to mention any names concerning the identity of the person under the blanket!  I simply offer the picture as proof of the relaxing nature of our stay in the Smokies!!!

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We’ll Go Back

November 14, 2008
Serenity Falls, Cosby, Tennessee. November 10, 2008.

Serenity Falls, Cosby, Tennessee. November 10, 2008.

As I said yesterday, Betsy and I had a wonderful time in the Smokies earlier this week.  We got some much needed rest and enjoyed exploring a part of the Smokies (the eastern side) that we’ve visited less frequently than we’ve visited the western side.

Of course we hoped to visit some waterfalls that we hadn’t seen before.  We knew that this wasn’t a good time for waterfalls — November is one of our driest months and we’ve been in a two year drought.  But we always have hopes!

We did find two waterfalls that had some water going over them.  The most impressive was Serenity Falls, which is shown above.  Serenity Falls is on private property near the Cosby Campground.  There were three cabins on the property in addition to a farm house.  While talking to the owner we discovered that the cabins were once part of a small community that practically disappeared when the road through the area was rerouted.serenitycabin01

We were told that the cabins are now rented out.  One cabin, an old grist mill, is located at the base of Serenity Falls.  As the picture on the right shows, the deck of that cabin looks right out at the falls.  Care to guess where we’re going to stay when we go back to Cosby?

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