Destination: SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK IN TENNESSEE

Destination: SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK IN TENNESSEE
By Marilyn Elmore Bragg



The Great Smoky Mountains State Park is a destination for many visitors of the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge tourist area. From my front door to the park plus a ride down Little River Road and back home put 276 miles on the "LIL GIRL": my 1993 Anniversary Edition XL Sportster.

I did my homework for this ride. I wanted a mountain ride that would include some wildlife, curves, history and solitude. I got most of what I was looking for except for the solitude. Cades Cove 11 mile Loop Road appears to be a favorite destination for locals and travelers alike. I knew this from my studies so I elected to be up and out of the house by 5:30 AM. According to the maps this ride would be slightly less than three hours. I guess it would be except I was riding though fog until I came to the Douglas Dam area.


IMAGE CAPTION: Douglas Dam and Lake, near Pigeon Forge TN.

My gloved hand was my windshield wiper. The extended pointing finger of my left hand moving left to right over the lenses of my riding glasses, back and forth: wiping the mist from my sight only to be blurred seconds after the pass of my "blade".

This slowed my passage. Well the fog and the fact I decided to take a slightly deviated tour from the one planned for me by Google Maps. I never was good at taking directions. NEVER.


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My route from Johnson City to Cades Cove and back.


IMAGE CAPTION: ALMOST THERE

This park is very large. Once through the gates the visitor will ride through several miles of beautiful, mountain country rich with history. You will ride with a small river running beside the road for your visual and auditory enjoyment. The mountains are covered in Mountain Laurel. This ride would be beautiful in June when these plants bloom, that's certain.

The road is not tight with twisties nor is it fast. The speed limit inside the park is limited from 25 MPH to 35 MPH. That's OK. I'm not in a hurry. I'm a sightseeing fool. I arrive at the ranger's station just before the Motor Tour of the Loop Road. Here you can pick up books and maps of the area...for a fee of course.

It was 10 AM, much later than I planned to arrive. The cars were starting to roll in. I was disappointed but what to do? Get on the bike and do what you came to do. Ride the Loop Road. The 1st 2/3 of the road was unencumbered by traffic, but at each stop to photograph or tour the site, I fell further behind the new arrivals of stinking four wheelers...ah well, life is a trip. Just get on with your business and don't fret the small stuff.

I stopped to photograph churches of the early 19th century, with the graves of the people who lived on these lands before the Government was able to save it from the timber companies.


PHOTO CAPTION: Early 19th century church and yard


PHOTO CAPTION: INSIDE THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH OF CADES COVE

As I ride the Loop Road, I realize this is a flat "valley" surrounded by mountain walls. To the left of me as I ride is this table of land full of a large variety of wildlife, living side by side with man's tamed beast of burden, the magnificent horse.


IMAGE CAPTION: HORSES GRAZING: CADES COVE

On the loop as I was driving I stopped to watch a group of Wild Turkey as they pecked and poked their way across the fields to my left.


IMAGE CAPTION: WILD TURKEYS

I saw a black bear as he ambled across the road ahead of me. I couldn't capture his image though...so sad for that fact.

To my right is a forest whose floor near the roadway is carpeted with Black Eyed Susans and other wild flowers.


IMAGE CAPTION: EDGE OF FOREST CARPETED WITH BLACK EYED SUSANS


IMAGE CAPTION: THE FOREST IS COVERED IN BRIGHT COLORFUL FLOWERS

I know why this area is such a draw. I have proof taken from my own eye. I’ve captured for you, my readers to behold. This is just a token of the beauty these old mountains provide. OUr mountain ranges in the east. (including the Great Smokys)
are the oldest mountain ranges in the United States. This is why we have trees covering the entire mountains. The canopy of green is hiding the shrunken state of the old men standing with bearded faces as well as their knobby heads covered with the same greenery as their faces. The mountains have faced eons of weather and storms, shrinking the old men down until they are no longer the sharp hardened young visages like the Grand Tetons in the west.


IMAGE CAPTION: AN UPWARD GAZE BEYOND THE COVE


IMAGE CAPTION: MAN IN THE MIRROR, GOD AHEAD

Moving on, I've come to the "SETTLEMENT". Here is the original mill for the area, as well as a farm house that has been moved to help represent the settlement. The house is a native of the Cove, just not from this particular site. I was impressed with the observance the Park personal took to give us the feel of a true settlement.


IMAGE CAPTION: CADES COVE

This mill is a working mill, here are the gear works...fascinating to me. How about YOU?


IMAGE CAPTION: LARGE WHEEL GEAR CONNECTED TO WATER WHEEL TURNS GRINDING STONES

Here is a shot of a typical styled mountain barn behind the home at the settlement. Also shown is the beautiful grounds. I doubt it had grass like this back in the day, but it sure makes for a beautiful shot.


IMAGE CAPTION: BARN ON THE GROUNDS OF THE SETTLEMENT

I liked this old buckboard. An extreme example of "modern" transport in the mountain regions. Its age showing: just like the old man Mountains this piece resides in.


IMAGE CAPTION: OLD BUCKBOARD WAGON


IMAGE CAPTION: SHOVED IN A BARN, FOREVER WAITING

Now I've noticed the crowds are building. I needed to get out of the park. It was a long slow torturous crawl out of the park from here; the engine was heating up between my legs. Cars were stopping in the roadway to gawk rather than pulling off to the side. It was like pissing in the wind. Be sure to not fool around on your way to Cades Cove. Be there early before the crowds build up.

I'm off the Loop Road and heading back the way I came. On this trip back, I ride past the road I came in on and ride the Little River Road. A must ride for you. It will help you to decompress after the loop. The Little River runs beside most of the winding and twisting road with stone outcroppings to your right and the Little River rushing over boulders and strewn rock...ah it's heaven all over again.

I enjoyed my trip through the Park. If you go on a weekday...avoid weekends and go early enough in the morning, you too will enjoy your ride through the park!

A Few thoughts...yesterday's ride

A short walk from my home...

I wasn't sure about riding yesterday...the weather started out gray and dismal with showers...I don't mind riding in the rain. I actually like it...but I like being fairly alone on the roads when I do it...and I don't like it when my aim is to get some pictures and write some thoughts for you guys here....so I really was hoping something would break and I would get on my bike....

early morning shot of the Watuga River

The weather did break...kinda...I whacked some weeds in spotty drizzle...then sun came out and I mowed the entire yard...things are looking up.

When I was done, I didn't even change clothes...I mounted up my little girl...with grass clippings clinging to my pants and boots...I opened the petcock...twisted the throttle....turned the key...pushed the button...and cranked her to life...she was kinda sluggish...cold blooded gal...she grew up in Florida...still likes to think she's still there I guess...but she came alive...and so did I....

An old Asbestos factory...a block away from MR's work....

Off to see my MR. at work...I always stop in, let him know I'm off on another adventure...He is my rock. Doggie was sleeping, Mom was comfortable...I was going riding. Be home in about 2 hours.

a view of the past...and the future...side by side...sad it won't be there much longer.

I choose a route I have been on more than a dozen times times I moved here in '06, though I didn't discover the road until '08....It's my favorite "short-timer" road. The one I take when I don't really have much time...but I need to blow out some of the nastiness that tends to accumulate if I don't ride....

Leaving the MR's place of employment...I head off toward Roan Mountain. I don't go all the way...


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Come on y'all....check out some more of Tennessee's Dixie Roads...and really see what Tennessee is all about....
These pictures come from County Road 173....Like said above...it's my favorite local road....now you'll see why!



I believed for the longest time, this barn was derelict....I always thought I would stop and find a way into the barn to photo it...well, I stopped for the first time yesterday...started photographing from the fence line...when I heard mules braying...WHAT? Someone is keeping two mules in this old barn!





If you look at the cut out window on the side...you will notice a small white dot...that is the white blaze of one of the mules...watching me...





Still moving along CR 176...you will notice, the farmers have been busy cutting hay...





And always...along these country roads...you will find housing long deserted....





By taking time to travel on one of the side roads...you will find cool old buildings like this one....it's an old barn or equipment shed converted into a tool shed...





Sometimes if your lucky...a little guy like this one will be friendly enough to ham it up for your camera...This guy has character!





I don't know what breed of goats these guys are, but their coats are shiny and beautiful...not rough like most breeds I've seen up close.





This is not a barn, but rather built and used to shelter livestock in the fields...look closely...see the two horses in the shed?











That about does it for where I stopped on CR 176 on this day...but there are a few more stops I did make on a service road that runs along I-26...after leaving Erwin TN.


On the other side of the tunnel lies a rock quarry...I can see the mountain wall that they have been blowing away to get at the rock they want...beautiful rock not slate, but breaks off like sheets of slate...I want to call them and ask if they would allow me access....it's beautiful...even if they have to destroy the mountain in order to get at it....





I turned to leave the quarry...and came to face this...it's funny how these things just kind of "pop up" around here...or perhaps, I was just so enjoying my ride...I didn't notice the advent of bad weather coming upon me...I dunno...don't care...I still like to ride in the rain...and on this service road...it aint bad with traffic.





On both sides of this road...are steep rock faces...like this one....lovely for pictures....





Climbing up into the rock...and looking up....





For some reason...this reminds me of the song by Frank Zappa...called "Billy the Mountain". I lived within view of that mountain when I lived in Rosamond CA.




I had to put my camera away after this shot...it's raining....time to head the wheels home...by the time I was to get home, I would have spent 2 hours going about 48 miles....

Nothing beats this kind of ride really....nothing.