Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 Hello Friends,

On Tuesday, April 26th we left Beaver, West Virginia where we stayed for three days while we explored New River Gorge national park We went back to Litle Beaver State Park and took a nice walk, a little over two miles, around the man-made lake that started near the entrance.

On the backside of the lake, we happened across a Robin that had managed to get itself tangled in a piece of monofilament fishing line. It was struggling mightily to get loose but appeared to be weakening, so Mom tried to free it from certain death.  She couldn't untangle the fishing line, so Dad tried, but finally had the break the line with his teeth to release the poor bird. 

We really enjoyed the walk and liked the spillway at the end of the lake near the parking lot.

We drove over 285 miles South to Gatlinburg, Tennessee where we spent the night in a hotel right in the city, just outside of the entrance to the national park.

On Wednesday, April 27th, we drove down the road to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

After stopping at the Visitor's Center we decided to take a nice hike on Gatlinburg Trail. A nice creek runs right alongside the 2-mile trail that winds its way back to the city.

This is one of the only trails that cute puppies like me are allowed on in the park. The ranger's told us that dogs are not allowed on most of the trail because there have been problems with wildlife, sometimes the dogs bother the wildlife, and sometimes the wildlife has caused a problem for the dogs (Bears, Elk, and Coyotes attack dogs).

Then we drove around  Roaring Fork Nature Loop Road hoping to spot some so Mom could take some pictures of wildlife. The mountain road was very narrow, windy, and steep in many places, making both Dad and Mom nervous and uncomfortable. There was another tunnel through the mountain near the beginning of the road.

After lunch at a picnic area, we drove several miles away to try another Nature Byway trail, called Cade's Cove Loop Road. Mom said she hoped we would see a bear there, but Dad was skeptical and said he doubted that we would see any bears. Well of course, just after he said that aloud, we spotted a black bear at the edge of the woods, about 500 yards from the road.

Mom quickly got out her camera and long-range lens to snap some photographs of the bear. To her surprise, the viewfinder brought into focus a mother bear and her three cubs playing in the field at the edge of the woods.

A couple of miles further, we encountered a wild turkey right at the side of the road. He happily posed for Mom to capture his portrait.

The rhododendrons were beautiful everywhere we went in the park.

 Unfortunately, there we very few places that cute puppies like me were allowed to go, the crowds were getting larger, and we were told that starting May 1st park visitors would need an appointment,  so we decided to move on to the next place we plan to visit.

Tomorrow we will drive across the state of Tennessee to Memphis, over 400 miles, a long day in the car for all of us😃.

New River Gorge National Park

 Hello Everyone, 

On Friday, April 23rd we left Virginia and drove 200+ miles to West Virginia to explore the newest national park in our country. Dad says that we have traveled over 1,245 miles and visited five states, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia so far.

The first thing we learned at the Visitor's Center was that New River is "Not New" at all. In fact, it is one of the oldest rivers on our planet. It is older than the Appalachian Mountains which surround it. Some of the rocks that the river has exposed over the centuries are as old as 330 million years old.

We were also treated to something unusual when a car with "Diplomatic " plates parked in front of us. A nice young Japanese family was there to do some sightseeing in America before they have to return to their native country in a few weeks.

One of the highlights of the park that we saw on Saturday, April, 24th, is an engineering feat called the New River Gorge Bridge spanning the gorge near Fayetteville. Completed in 1977, the arch is 875 feet high, the third-highest bridge in the US. It is so tall, the Washington monument and two of the Statue of Liberty, standing on top of each other would fit beneath it and still have twenty feet to spare. Very impressive!

We walked down a newly completed stairway to view the bridge halfway down the gorge (174 steps).

Next, we took a hike on the Endless Wall Trail which gave us spectacular views of the Eastern side of the gorge.

We were treated to the spectacle of a long coal train passing through the gorge far below us.

Dad was able to get a rare photo of me and Mom on the ledge above the gorge.

Later we drove to the Sandstone Falls area down a narrow, windy mountain road that made me, and Dad, and Mom very uncomfortable. The drive was worth it though, and a beautiful boardwalk gave us a nice hike out to an island in the river to view the falls up close.

On the way back to the car we took a nice hike around the island, where we found many blooming flowers.

On Sunday, April 25th, we drove back to the Grandview area of the park to view the gorge from the Western and higher side. Grandview is the highest place in the park, over 1,400 feet above the river.

This area is known for its world-class white water rafting and kayaking in the river's rapids. Much of it is class four and some of the rapids are class five or more.

I led Mom and Dad on the Grandview Rim Trail for a four-mile hike to see some very spectacular views from various overlooks.

We finished the day by visiting a small state park nearby the hotel we are staying in at Beaver, West Virginia.

Tomorrow we are heading South to Great Smoky Mountains National Park😀.

 

 

Shenandoah National Park

 Hi Everyone,

We drove from Carlile, Pa to Shenandoah National Park on Wednesday, April 21st. 

Shenandoah National Park and its main feature, Skyline Drive, was mainly built between 1932 and 1942 by about 10,000 CCC workers (Civilian Conservation Corps). A statue at the park headquarters tells of the CCC "boys" and their mission to build the infrastructure of America.

Here is the statue of "Iron Mike" in honor of the CCC "Boys"

That day we explored the first 45 miles of the 105-mile Skyline Drive which winds its way near the top of the mountain range through the park delivering spectacular views of the Shenandoah Valley from numerous overlooks. It was a chilly but nice day and the Redbud trees were in full blow along the highway.

We found a hole in the side of a mountain, that at first, I thought looked like a big dog house. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it went all the way through the mountain, like a tunnel that was made by humans.

A few miles down the road I took  Mom and Dad for a hike up the Hawksbill Mountain Trail.

We ate lunch in the parking lot after returning from the top of the mountain and drove a few more miles to another hiking trail. The Blackrock mountain trail took us up to a section of the famous Appalachian Trail, so we hiked about half a mile on that too.

We left around dinner time and spent the night in a hotel in Woodstock, Virginia.

The next day, Thursday, April 22nd, we drove back to the park and hiked to the South River Falls, about 3 miles, with a vertical rise of over 910 feet.

There were many pretty wildflowers along the trail for me to smell and my human parents to enjoy.

The waterfall was about 50 - 60 feet high, but the day was cold and windy.

We drove the rest of the length of the park on Skyline Drive, then left the park so Dad and Mom could go explore a local winery a few miles beyond the end of the park. The Hilltop Berry Farm and Winery had several very tasty fruit wines, Dad and Mom and enjoyed sampling some. We spent the next two nights in Waynesboro, Virginia.

On Friday, April 23rd, we drove back to the national park and hiked the Rose River Loop Trail, down a mountain, followed a bubbling stream called the Rose River, and passed many small and large waterfalls.

The trail was rather steep and rocky in many places.

 

Rose River Falls

From there, we went on to the Dark Hollow Trail and hiked that for a couple more miles. 

There we found numerous small waterfalls, flumes, and rapids.

 

A very nice lady, who said I was very cute, offered to take a picture of us with the Dark Hollow Waterfall in the background.

After hiking over 4 miles we were tired and went to our new hotel in Harrisonburg, Virginia. to get some rest.

Tomorrow we are heading to West Virginia and plan to explore the newest national park at New River Gorge😃.