Bryson City NC Sunday October 22 2017

After arriving in Bryson City NC, we spent the day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park again.  I spent some time at the Farm museum at Oconaluftee Visitor Center and visited the roosters.

     Farm house

     Inside the farm house

              Busy rooster

Then we both explored the Mingus Mill in the late afternoon.

           Inside the mill was quite dark

        Gears

     Old windows

           Water off the flume

     Then we drove up to see the sunset view at Clingman's Dome, even though we knew the observation tower was being renovated.

     A cap of clouds and fog made the sunset interesting.

     I decided to hike up to the observation tower before dark and brought a little flashlight. When I decided to turn around on the steep path, since I was alone, a young woman caught up to me and we decided to continue up together.  Safety in numbers!

I huffed and puffed my way up, but we got to the top before it was too dark to see.  We were met on the way down by her father and a helpful man with a flash light.  Jim and her father got concerned and they came looking for us, even though the path was wide and paved.  The parking lot was dark and foggy when we returned, but it was nice to have extra company.

After driving down from the mountain to have dinner, Jim told me the brakes were grinding.  This was frustrating, since we had a full safety inspection before our trip at Jiffy Lube.  Later, we found that they had not checked the brakes!!!  I called the police for suggestions, since it was a Sunday night.  The officer suggested we park off the road and he called a towing service for us.  They showed up with a tow truck and a 2nd car to take us back to our mountain cabin on the top of a twisty turning cliffside road.  No thanks to Jiffy Lube!!!!  At least we were safe, but stranded with enough food for 2 meals.

Bryson City Sunset View October 23, 2017

We were stranded at the Sunset View Cabin in Bryson City NC all day while our brakes were repaired.  It rained hard all day, washing out trees and roads even days later. 

 I washed our laundry.

Finally the skies cleared toward evening, so I took a few photos.

  Why the cabin was called sunset view.

                             Jim

Great Smoky Mountains, Townsend to Bryson City

Continuing our Great Smoky Mountains trip:

The next day, October 20th, Jim was feeling better, so we dropped our dog Sarita off to spend a day in the park doing activities that dogs weren't allowed to do.  The drive to the dog sitter in Maryville was crazy, full of turns, but we eventually got there.  The sitter was nice and we continued on our way to Sugarlands Visitor Center. 

After driving up a huge twisty hill, Jim asked me to take him to the hospital, since his vision was bad and he was getting a 3rd migraine!  The hospital was a 45 minute drive back to Maryville, where we spent several hours.  The doctor said one should never quit one of the drugs he left at home suddenly, and that he had treated a patient who was seeing lightning bolts as a result!  So the hospital pharmacy straightened it out with insurance, and gave us a two week supply, and Jim was discharged.  If we hadn’t dropped off Sarita that day, I wouldn’t have been able to stay with Jim in the hospital, since it was quite hot and I would have been dog-sitting outside.

Jim felt much better, so with the doctor's blessing and a recommendation for a dinner restaurant, I drove us to Foothills Parkway to see the view.  We arrived too late to go up to the observation tower, but I took a few lovely photos of the view before going to the nice restaurant, the Dancing Bear.

       Foothills Parkway

The Dancing Bear Restaurant, Townsend, TN

The next morning, October 21st, we headed towards Bryson City and stopped at The Sinks Falls and Sugarlands Visitor Center, where I walked to Cataract Falls alone, while Jim stayed with Sarita.  The Falls were tiny, just a thin thread of water, but I photographed it anyway, since I had gone to so much trouble to see it. 

 

 Great Smoky Mountain Creeks

                The Sinks Falls

Cataract Falls, near Sugarlands Visitor Center, 25 feet high

We continued on the Newfound Gap Road across the Great Smoky Mountain Park, north to south.  By sunset, we just happened to arrive at Newfound Gap, a photographically recommended sunset or sunrise location.  The sunset was different, but at least it wasn’t non-existent.  

                                      Newfound Gap Sunset

Memorial to Laura Spelman Rockefeller and the dedication of the Great Smoky National Park at Newfound Gap.

We continued in the dark to Bryson City, NC, through Cherokee.

Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On the way to Townsend, TN, Jim got a bad migraine, so I suddenly had to drive for hours and we detoured to avoid the super highways that make me uncomfortable.   We stopped for an almost inedible dinner at the wrong restaurant in Maryville and arrived very late in the dark.  The next day, Jim felt a little better, but not well enough to go out for the day.  I drove to Cades Cove alone later than I planned. 

I stopped to see the John Oliver place on a hill.

After a very long traffic jam, caused by a bear sighting, I stopped at the edge of the road, to learn what was happening.  I photographed the back of a black bear before it walked away.  A lady with a long lens told me it was a male, but there were usually more.  I drove away and after about 50 yards, a woman signaled for me to pull over.  I didn't.  Later, I heard there were SEVEN bears I missed when I didn't pull in.  I'm including my BAD photos of the bear. The joke was on me.  Ha Ha!

At the Methodist Church, rebuilt in 1902, there was a small graveyard.

The Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1915 and was active till 1944.

Near the Cooper Road Trail, the view was lovely.

 The biggest exhibit was at the Cable Mill Historic Area and Visitor Center.  The old John P. Cable Grist Mill was picturesque, even though the light was dappled.  Built in 1868, it is still in use, grinding corn meal and flour.

The Gregg-Cable House had a very rustic roof

and there was a big barn with a "drive through" in the middle.

At the Dan Lawson Place, there was big water puddle reflection in the barn that was interesting.

At the Tipton House, built in the 1870's...

 there was a big Cantilever barn replica across the street.

My last stop in Cades Cove was the Carter Shields Cabin, dated around 1910.

After leaving the park, I reached Townsend, about 5 minutes from our cabin, where I received about 10 urgent messages from my poor husband who had suffered through another nasty migraine headache.  Feeling awful, I rushed back to see him.  

Our Cades Cove Cabin