| We had planned to spend the weekend in the National Park on one of
their campsites but temperatures below freezing and the forecast of four
inches of snow drove us down to lower altitudes. This brought us to Pigeon
Forge, the home of Dollywood and one of the naffest main streets in the US. |
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 | On Sunday we had
almost decided on the impossible to us - a visit to Dollywood! But low
temperatures with wind chill persuaded us to go shopping instead.
Fortunately we escaped lightly, only succumbing to some cutlery to replace
our original stuff which could have been sold by Uri Geller. We did manage a
coffee in the Old Mill which rates as the only worthwhile eating place in
the town. |
| Monday found us considering our options. We elected to go to Townsend
at the gateway to the park and a mere 18 miles away. From here we took the
scooter up into the park and round the Cade's Cove loop. This is round a one
way loop in a valley just inside the park. Looking at the lushness of the
grass makes it easy to understand why folk wanted to settle here. |
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 | The trail was
well laid out with a guide book to point out all the buildings of historical
interest. Many of the homesteads were made entirely of wood (including the
door hinges). This was one of the larger houses but would still have been
regarded as primitive even when built. It is built of notched logs with no
nails and holds together under its own weight. The gaps are plugged with a
mud mortar. |
| As you walk along the wildlife seems quite oblivious to your presence
as with this white tailed deer which was only about 12 feet from us. What
has struck us is how few birds there are in comparison to England. I'm sure
they must be somewhere, but it does contribute to the incredible silence in
these places. |  |
 | Part way round we
found a walk to a waterfall of 2.5 miles each way described as moderately
difficult, allow four hours for the round trip. It took us just two. The
camera was mis-set for this and the original photo has been computer
enhanced. I wasn't about to go back for another shot. There were quite a
number of anglers along this stream fly fishing for trout. The water was so
clear they must have been seen coming by the fish. The falls are called
Abram's falls after a Cherokee chief. |
| Halfway round the loop is a visitor centre based in an old mill
complex. The old buildings had been left as an industrial museum and are
typical of the era but not necessarily original. There were several churches
on the loop with many Scots names in the graveyards including Shiels which I
have researched in the past. |  |
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