April 21
April 22
April 23
April 24
April 25
April 26
We slept in - until 6:15, that is. Joints had stiffened up overnight, so we decided this would be a low mileage day.....
Our first stop was the IHOP in Pigeon Forge for breakfast. We were about their first customers.....
Our target today is the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, which originates in Gatlinburg and is a one way, narrow, six mile long road through the park.
Our first stop was the homestead of Noah “Bud” Ogle (photo on the left above) and the nature trail behind the cabin. We spent quite a lot of time here before heading for the Motor Trail. The remaining photos above were taken on the nature trail behind the cabin. The center photo shows some Crested Dwarf Iris against a large rock. The one on the right has common blue Violets and foamflowers growing on a rock.
As a result, the parking lot for Grotto Falls was full by the time we got there. It’s just as well. The sun is shining brightly again today and that’s not good for waterfall photography.
So, we continued along the trail, stopping near Jim Bales place and taking the trail near there that goes to Baskins Creek. We only went as far as the small cemetery (Bales Cemetery - see the photo to the left) there, which was closed to the public. There was a fence around it, but we could shoot over the fence....
Returning to the car, we continued on. We also stopped at Ephraim Bale’s cabin and the Alfred Reagan Place. The park service was reshaking the roof of the Reagan place.
Continuing on, we stopped for some stream shots and ate our sandwiches there, also. I took this photo (on the right) while we were stopped here. As you can see, the sun is pretty bright....
We stopped at the Place of a Thousand Drips, but the water levels are really low - more like late summer/early fall than early spring. Neither of us took any pictures here.
On to the end of the trail. We made one small pit stop at the local Food City, then plunged back onto the Motor Trail.
This time, the parking lot at Grotto Falls had more places available and the clouds were allowing the sun to play peek-a-boo. We parked and hiked the 1.3 miles to the falls. I have some really nice photos of these falls that I took a few years ago. However, sometime in the last two years, some large trees have fallen across the stream, ruining the viewpoint I had then. In fact, the trail, which continues on another five miles to the top of Mount Le Conte, was closed two miles beyond the Falls due to storm damage....
The photo on the left above shows Lower Grotto Falls as it looks today. The photo on the right shows a larger view of the same falls as it appeared three years ago, before the storm damage.
We spent some time there, mostly waiting for the sun to dip behind a cloud. Well, technically, waiting for a cloud to pass in front of the sun.... And we took the plunge and walked behind the Falls, too. We got a few drops on us, but not enough to worry about. The cameras stayed dry....
The photos above show three different views of Upper Grotto Falls. The one on the left is the view from down the trail a ways. The center one is much closer. The one on the right was taken after we had walked behind the falls.
We also stopped at one of the bridges over Roaring Fork to shoot some stream shots. The first time through the loop, we checked the crossings carefully to see which one was the best (the one just after the Reagan place). When we returned, the light cloud cover made the stop very worthwhile, as you can see by the two photos below.
Once we emerged the second time, we headed back to the Talley Ho and cleaned up for supper, which was at AJ’s in Townsend. Deb had a barbecue sandwich and I had some country fried steak - the tenderest I’ve had in a long time. And the portions were just right!
We went to bed early.....