Whooo Did We See in Greenbrier?

There we were, driving down the road to exit the Greenbrier section of the GSMNP.

Wayne suddenly hit the brakes and backed up, saying he thought he saw an owl in the woods.  Sure enough, an owl was perched on a branch a few trees in from the road.

Allaboutbirds.org says that Barred Owls live in dense forests near water and roost quietly in trees during the daytime.  On the other side of our truck was a large creek so that sounds about right!



We backed up and parked in a pullout, closing the doors quietly.  Wayne armed with binoculars, me with my Canon SX50, we walked down the road to where we had spotted the owl. 



While I was trying to get some shots that were somewhat focused, Wayne slipped a little further along the road.  That owl's head turned and kept its eyes on him the whole way.



My poor arms got tired of holding the camera up, and then I noticed that it looked like the owl had seen something and was kind of hunching down.  I turned my setting to video and then he was in flight!  It was so great having the opportunity to be a part of his day, and now that's two owls I've watched during the daytime. If you listen closely you can hear me whisper "I got him!"

These Boots Were Made for Squishing

We only got a chance to wander around the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park once while on our trip in October.  We drove out to the end and parked at the Porter's Creek trailhead.

I spent some time turning over smalls rocks and rotting wood looking for salamanders but only saw one tiny guy who was so small and fast I almost missed seeing him at all.  Mostly what I saw was leaves.  And rocks.  Big rocks.

I even thought ahead and brought my boots, but no amount of squishing around in mucky spots produced the salamanders I was looking for.  It was fun looking though.

We also made a quick stop to the spot where you can turn off and go over the bridge to the Ramsay Cascades trailhead.

I pulled my boots back on and waded out into the water for some special views you can't get from the road.

I never would have been able to get out in the spring, it was above my boot tops and a little fast even at this time of year in spots.

We also had a wildlife spotting after we got back in the truck and were leaving.  More on that later!

Little River Road

The Little River Road winds through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park from the Sugarlands Visitor Center to Cades Cove and was originally a railroad roadbed.  This is where you find the trailhead for Laurel Falls as well as the parking lot to check out The Sinks which we skipped on this visit but enjoyed on our other trip out here.

We stopped into Elkmont Campground while driving the Little River Road and decided that when we get a generator in the future we would definitely like to camp there.  We're thinking about diving into investing in one in 2015 before we take that trip out to Glacier National Park so we can stay in the park which has no hookups.

There are a lot of small bridges on this road as the Little River twists and turns, but we got out to investigate only one.  It was a cutie, and we had it all to ourselves.

Corbin Post Office Mural, Kentucky

This U.S. Post Office mural is located in the old post office in the town of Corbin, Kentucky.  The current occupant of the building is the Corbin Board of Education, and they were more than happy to unlock the door that it was hidden behind and share it with me.  Like the other mural I found in Kentucky, there was some adventure to get to see this mural, in this instance trying to find the building itself as it seems that everyone in Kentucky gives really weird directional advice.  Three different passes through town before we found it.  The lady at the post office really messed us up because this was only two blocks from the new one and she told us to go left when she should have said right! 

Painted by Alice Dinneen in 1940, this oil on canvas is entitled "The Dark and Bloody Ground".  I couldn't find any more information on the theme, but I do recognize the landscape as being similar to what you would find in Kentucky.

Linking up to Mural Monday.

Off the Beaten Track in Cosby

While staying in the Smokies we drove to the Cosby area of the park for a look around.  It was about a 20 minute drive from our campground on the outskirts of Gatlinburg.  The NPS has a 175 site non-electric campground there, no shower facilities and the sites are rather close together.  However, there were some other private campgrounds on the way into town that looked really nice if you're thinking about stopping in.  There is a trailhead right outside the campground that goes to Hen Wallow Falls which sounded interesting, but Wayne was in no shape for that so we contented ourselves with spending a little time by the creek along the road instead.  If you're tired of my creek pictures, this is not the post for you and feel free to skip it!

There was a gentleman fishing in a great spot just down from us, and if Wayne had only remembered to pack his brand new rod we could have come back and he could have fished while I hiked.  Oh, well.

The weather here in southeastern Wisconsin calls for highs in the 30's all week.  The weather is fluctuating in Gatlinburg from 60's, to 40's and then back into the 50's.  I hope they know how lucky they are!  It's not only cold but it's been windy steadily ever since we got back.  Spring is a long ways away already.

Regan's Mill and Mingus Mill Revisited

While we went to the Smokies for the fall color, there was still a lot of green to be seen in late October, especially along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  I took a few pictures at Regan's Mill, and this year we even crossed the road and wandered around the homesite.  Afred and his wife had seven children and they all lived in the small home. The attic was converted to two bedrooms for extra sleeping space.  Just think of Little House on the Prairie, except with more kids!  I had to borrow a shot from the internet as I accidentally deleted mine!  Theirs was better anyway.

Alfred Regan not only operated the area's grist mill, he also was a blacksmith, operated the general store, harvested timber and was even a part-time minister! That sounds amazing to us, but in those times it wasn't unusual to have so many skills, it was essential for survival.  The soil in this area is quite rocky so farming was limited to growth of food for personal and farm animal use.  The main crop was corn and it was ground at this tub mill that was built around 1900.  It wasn't the only mill in the area, but would operate when others wouldn't due to low water thanks to its fine construction.

horizontal turbine

We also revisited Mingus Mill when we went to Maggie Valley.  I didn't get the shots I wanted there, fall color was spotty and things looked really dry.

I did walk down the flume and visit the source of the flowing water this time.

Since we got there right at opening time we got to see the miller put the steps in his ladder and climb up to get the water going to the mill.

There was a wood stove going inside on that chilly morning, which was a nice historical touch.  They still grind flour at the mill, and this time I took a picture upstairs of the equipment up there.  The wheat or corn was transported upstairs by bucket to be blown clean before going back downstairs for grinding. After the wheat flour is ground it is again transported upstairs and fed to the bolting chest to separate it into different grades of fineness.

For more pictures, you can see our spring 2012 trip to Regan's Mill here and to Mingus Mill here.

Cades Cove

A trip to the Smokies wouldn't be complete without a drive through Cades Cove.

This lush valley used to be home to a thriving population and includes three churches along the 11 mile auto loop.  We didn't stop last year but we popped into one this year.  The graveyard was more interesting to me than the church, though the stack of rocks acting as the foundation for the building surprised me in that it has held up for so long.

Also located along the drive are other settlements including homes, barns, and even a grist mill.

Lots of deer and turkey to be seen in the valley, but unlike last year's visit we didn't spot any bear.  Last year we also stopped and hiked the Abram's Falls Trail which originates in Cades Cove.  Check out the Great Smoky mountains NP link at the bottom of this post for all our past posts about GSMNP.

This lovely doe strolled out in front of us on the gravel side road in to the church.

The later it gets in the day the more likely you will be to see wildlife.  Of course, don't expect to be the only one who knows that fact.