Tiny Treasures on Laurel Falls Trail

I'm already three posts behind!  I still have 2 posts from Kentucky that I'll probably save until after I get home.  This morning I dragged Mom out of the house and made her go for a hike to Laurel Falls.  It looked quite different from when Wayne and I hiked it last fall.

My mother is not a hiker, but even she got ahead of me in no time once my eyes fell on all the tiny treasures hidden on the side of the trail.

Woolly Blue Violet maybe?

All of the flowers were so tiny that you could have picked every one in these images and they would still have probably fit in the palm of my hand.

Dwarf Cinquefoil

On both of my hikes so far I've see an amazing variety of violets. I always thought a violet was a violet, but look closely and you'll see some differences in petal and leaf shapes.  There are more than 30 varieties in the Smokies!

Smooth Yellow Violet

Northern White Violet

Bird's Foot Violet

I kept expecting to see my mom waiting impatiently around every bend, but I never did catch up to her.  She was on a mission to keep going without stopping.

Trailing Arbutus?

Galax flower yet to bloom

I even found what looked like teensy carnivorous plants peeping up above the leaf litter.  (A few days later I realized they were new Galax leaves sprouting.)

I was only minutes from the falls when Mom came back down looking for me complaining that she was waiting for at least 15 minutes for me!  I laughed and told her that was nothing to complain about when hiking with a photographer.  Nearby hikers got a good laugh at that one.

We even got to hear a horror story from a park volunteer who used to live in Wisconsin about someone who wouldn't listen when they told them not to climb on the rocks around the falls and their kid fell and split his head open.  

Smooth Solomon's Seal

Just what I needed, right?  My mother worries enough when I'm out hiking.  The volunteer also had a lot of great things to say, and helped me identify this bird when we first met on the trail.

Rufous Sided Towhee

It's a wonder my brain doesn't explode with all the information I get on these trips.  Anyone who knows what this moth/skipper?  below is or any of the unidentified flowers above are please feel free to comment below.

And, of course, there were a few dogwood trees to admire along the way against the sunny blue sky on our way back down.

Mom's cousin Annmarie didn't make it yesterday, but made her way here today instead.  My dawdling on the trail meant she actually got to the rental house before we did.   Due to limited cell service we didn't know until we were only minutes from home.  We didn't miss her by much and she was able to turn around and get back up the hill to the house by the time I had the salads laid out on our plates for lunch.

And all that was before noon!  I did some more solo hiking after lunch while the ladies spent a small fortune at the Christmas store in Pigeon Forge.  Annmarie took my request literally and brought back a dozen enormous Gigi's cupcakes....maybe I'll fit into my hiking pants tomorrow, we'll have to wait and see.

A Yearly Thing?

Well, I just had to laugh out loud when Sharon chastised me in the comments section for spending all my money on shoes.  Don't worry, Sharon, Wayne's on board with me babying my feet with as many shoes as I feel I need.   Last time we were in Gatlinburg I dragged him into Nantahala Outdoor Center and made him buy a new pair of Keen hikers!  At lunch I had mentioned that I might not come back to the Smokies for years after this trip....but after my hike today I'm thinking it might become a yearly thing.

Hen Wallow Falls Trailhead in parking lot next to Cosby Campground

This morning I was up early and as soon as it was light I drove half an hour to Cosby.  Before I even got to the parking lot I was dazzled by the dogwoods.

dogwood blossoms

If I come back again next year I want to come when the rhododendron are blooming and tent camp for a week.  Doesn't that sound great?

golden ragwort...I think

 On my way to the trailhead I had to stop to shoot some wildflowers in the ditch.

I bought "Wildflowers of the Smokies" at the Sugarlands Visitor Center today but did not find either one of these blue beauties in its pages.  Identification help appreciated!

This photo below is actually two different flowers that were cozied up together.  The one isn't unfurled yet, but the tiny white one seems to be an orchid or iris of some type judging by its "beard".  I know it's not the dwarf iris because I saw that one later in the day!

The trail to Hen Wallow Falls  is 4.2 miles round trip and with an elevation gain of 900 feet and is rated as moderate.  For a "flatlander" who has been stuck inside all winter it seemed okay at first but got tough.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right?

There was a lot to help keep my mind off the agony of 'da feet, including lots of new ferns sprouting....

some quiet moments just enjoying the views....

Rock Creek

a surprising encounter with a spider that was only the size of a grain of quinoa....

 and a  chance glimpse of the many legged foe that my mother described as having been in our bathroom at the lodge in Kentucky. The one in Kentucky had a quick journey down the toilet, but I left this one alone.

But the moment of joy on the trail came when I suddenly spied the elusive Painted Trillium.

This trillium is smaller than the others, and harder to find in the park.

A little easier to find is Sweet White Trillium. I found quite a few of them along the trail, especially as it kept climbing.

Sweet White Trillium

Also in abundance was Star Chickweed.  It wasn't until I got home and loaded the pictures that I even noticed the pink stamen.

Star Chickweed

I only saw a handful of Mountain Bellwort.  This sweet little yellow flower's seeds are dispersed by ants.

It took me almost 3 hours to hike the 2 miles to the top of the trail.  After all the shooting I was doing my arms were tired, after all the climbing on the rock strewn trail the bottom of my feet were sore and my quads were quivering.

When the rain started I got a little worried that I might have missed a turn, but soon enough I saw the turn-off to head to the bottom of the falls.

Shooting in the rain without a tripod while holding an umbrella over myself and my camera was a new experience!  I didn't let it stop me from taking the time to get the shots that I wanted.

Remember the two lenses I bought?  I returned the 17-40mm lens also and ended up with a Canon 28-135.   I used it to shoot every shot in this post and I'm really pleased with its overall versatility and clarity.  Now I'll have to get a polarizer for it to clean up the glare, maybe in Pigeon Forge tomorrow.

side view of the bottom of the falls

I don't mind hiking alone, but I recently decided I wanted a new hiking buddy.

My new friend fits in my backpack and doesn't argue when I want to dawdle.  As I set him/her  down at the falls I thought I might need to buy him/her a rain hat and some hiking boots.  I can't decide on a gender or a name for my new friend and I'm not getting any suggestions from the little stinker.  Any ideas?

Best Travel Day Ever

This morning I was up with the sunrise to break camp and get on the road.  Thought I'd include a picture of some of the campsites that were available for hard sided campers.  As you can see, they are not very big at all.  All camp sites were basically gravel, with a steep drop off into a ravine.  Not the kind of place you go for a true camping experience.

You go for the falls.

See the butterfly?  It's near the top of the falls.  Butterflies and rainbows, a little girl's dream, just need a unicorn for the trifecta.

As I mentioned already the food at the lodge was much less than great, but I figured I should also mention that the room wasn't cleaned very well, the bathtub was missing its stopper, the sink stopper wouldn't stay open, and one of the windows was missing its screen.  Not very "resort" like.  The lodge itself was probably nice once upon a time, but now it's run down and not very well run.

That being said, the restaurant we met Sharon at for lunch was FANTASTIC!

First Watch 

Right?  So good I ate every morsel of that Floridian French Toast...and plan to steal Mom's leftover pancakes.  She couldn't decide which flavor to order so we talked her into ordering three different ones.

Catching up with Sharon was so much fun and hopefully I'll be seeing her again on Friday for a Smokies hike.  She gave us some great ideas for things to do on our way out of Knoxville.  We stopped in a couple of shops, including a shoe shopping spree in Dillard's.

Mom stole the shoes I wanted to buy, so I had to console myself by buying three pairs.

To be fair I threw out all my sandals at the end of last season except my Keens that I trudge through streams in.  Don't judge me!  I'll use the fact that we don't have Dillard's up north as my excuse.

We plan on stopping in Knoxville again on our way home to see the Dogwoods in Sequoyah Hills.  We were in too much of a hurry to get to our new home away from home to do it today.

The Ober Gatlinburg tram overhead

The 4 bedroom house we rented in the Chalet Village section of Gatlinburg is as fabulous as advertised and has a great view we've been looking at ever since we got here.

turkey burgers for dinner on the deck

Tomorrow morning I'm heading right out to Hen Wallow Falls trail in the Greenbrier section of the park.  Mom's cousin Annmarie is joining us tomorrow, it'll be great to hang out with her after all that exercise.

Right now Mom has me watching "Dancing with the Stars"...Drew Carey dressed like a pimp and dancing the tango to "Superfreak".  Good night from Gatlinburg!

Kentucky Critters

It's Monday Mural today, so instead of showing the promised waterfall or hiking shots I'll show you the horse related mural we saw when we stopped for gas on our way down through Kentucky.

We saw real horses along the way too, but at Cumberland Falls State Park we've seen a lot of butterflies thanks to all the gorgeous spring blooms here.

Insects are buzzing, birds are chirping, and tree frogs did their best the last two nights to keep me awake.  I swear, it sounded like the one tree frog must have had a microphone he was so loud.

The bear was back in the campground.  I heard the leaves on the ground rustling in the woods just after dark and peered hard into the gloom through my mesh window but he never appeared.  The sounds gradually moved off deeper into the woods.  I had no tasty morsels to tempt him, like the good camper I am.

We're fluttering away ourselves today, driving from here to our rental home in Gatlinburg. We're stopping for lunch in Knoxville and to see a bit of town with our guide, Sharon.

This is How Easter Morning Should Look

After arriving at Cumberland Falls State Park last night I decided to sleep in my tent and let my mother have the lodge room all to herself.  The hall and the room smelled strongly of bleach, I think it's the water here.  By the time I decided that was what I was going to do I was setting up in the dark, but it was the easy tent so not a big deal.

There was a little excitement in the campground last night when my neighbor came over to my tent to let me know there was a bear moving around behind their campsite.  I didn't see the bear...I could hear everyone else in the small campground talking about it though for the next hour.  There was no snuffling around my tent through the night so I assume I wasn't interesting enough to deserve a visit.

This morning the birds had me up early and after a shower back in the room I laced up my sneakers and grabbed my camera.  There were a few things of interest right near the lodge.

But of course I drove down to the bridge to see what the morning light was doing there...

I met some other photographers down there and we kind of followed each other around to the hot spots.  You know how that goes.  It was a little affirming to see them lug their Canon Mark 5's mounted on tripods to all the spots I hit last fall.

Later I took my mother around to the falls and then in the afternoon I took a hike on Eagle Falls Trail.  But more on those things another day.

 We ate dinner at the Cumberland Falls State Park Lodge last night and were completely underwhelmed.  (That's polite talk for it was crappy)  Therefore, we skipped the Easter Brunch they put on this morning and went to Subway instead, for Easter lunch and dinner.  That's okay though, because tomorrow we're stopping at First Watch in Farragut, TN to have lunch with Sharon!