May 13 - 18, 2015

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

We were still laughing and calling Spence an ugly little man this morning over coffee. We couldn’t remember the whole diatribe. I checked yesterday’s log so I could say the whole thing. We didn’t talk for long though, Spence was in a hurry to get the restrooms cleaned because he was taking off early today to go to a funeral.

I thought we were going to have a day without running out to a store, but Andy reminded me that he wanted to go to the As Seen On TV store and get one of the hearing aids Nurse Sarah in Site 11 suggested he try. So off we went.

Spence had told us exactly how to get to the store in Sevierville, but Andy wanted to follow the directions from the iPad (Google Maps) that took us MUCH FARTHER to Maryville, TN. I think that added two hours of drive time to our trip. We got to the store and they did not have the one he wanted in stock. The clerk called the store in Pigeon Forge and they had plenty. As luck would have it, there was a Home Depot right across the road in Maryville, so Andy wanted to go over there to look for a microwave/convection oven. They had one, and only one, that would fit in the motorhome. After one call to the extended warranty company and three calls to the RV dealer in Knoxville, we finally arranged to buy it through the RV dealer so our extended warranty will cover it. I’ll call to see when they have it and then we’ll make the appointment for us to drive the motorhome to Knoxville and get it installed. That means we can go in one trip and, with any luck, get it installed that day.

Wouldn’t you know it? The As Seen on TV store was very close to the Mellow Mushroom. We ate pizza and I did an email send/receive.

I was so happy to get back to Big Creek. I hope we can stay here for a few days without running an errand. I want to walk in the woods.

We only had five campsites occupied this evening, a low for this year so far. When we got to Site 12, both brothers were there. Brent from Orlando, on the right, has been hanging around Big Creek all week, but Dan from Chicago, on the left, has been going out to find internet access so he could work. We had not seen Dan until tonight. They are leaving tomorrow.

We met two men from Saudi Arabia in the parking lot. They said they are going to school in Indiana. One was very concerned about bears, but seemed satisfied when we told them that bears don’t like people. They are a problem with food. It turned out that they were part of a large group of Saudis and the rest of them were coming into the parking lot from the Big Creek Trail. We were the curiosity.

Headlights came down to the group site about 2100. Andy went out to see what was going on. It was a group arriving. We do not have a reservation report since Boss Larry is in training this week. The woman had her reservation number and filled out a form to post on the board. No problem. Shannon and her boyfriend Will are leading a group of college kids on a mountain adventure trip. They are rafting on the Pigeon River tomorrow. They are graduate students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and are also interpretive rangers here in the park.

Andy put in the As Seen on TV $29 (each) hearing aids and seemed quite satisfied with them. It sure will be a lot less traumatic if, or when, he loses one. I’m thinking of painting them bright orange or red so they won’t blend into the gravel like the expensive lost one has.

On the radio:

BOLO for a suicide alert, armed, 38-year-old man in a1996 white Chevy pickup truck, Accused of sexually abusing a minor. Has a 22 long-barrel pistol. Last seen in Newport, TN. This announcement was made for officer safety.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

The first wildlife sighting today was this moth on the bathroom cabinet door.

Andy slept well last night and when he woke up this morning, he decided he was ready to walk up the Big Creek Trail as far as the Midnight Hole. We walked around the campground first. Someone had left five or six of these on a stump. I’ve never seen anything like them, except of course, clover. However, the bloom was three or four times the size of any clover I’ve seen.

There were only a few people in the campground this morning. This white flower, maybe a quarter of an inch across was on the bank of Big Creek.

I can’t remember when we saw these young men take off for their backpacking trip, maybe three or five days ago. They had just come off the trail and were jubilant.

We chatted briefly and then headed back to the RV to offload my park satchel and our fleece jackets. Here is the Big Creek Trailhead.

I had to take a picture of this sign to show that it is there and is not invisible. Many people bring their dog to the park and ignore this sign.

The trail is very easy because it was once a railroad bed for the logging that was done here before the park was established. It does get a bit rockier than this farther up and you have to watch your step so you don’t trip on one.

I have not looked up the names of the flowers today; I took too many pictures.

I also noticed some pretty leaves. These plants were about a foot tall, if I recall correctly.

Jami and Rebel (that is his real name) were sitting on two rocks about a mile up the trail. They were on their way back to the parking lot after a three-day hike. Rebel had never hiked before so Jami brought him here for his birthday. And, she took him on the toughest trail in the park, the six-mile Baxter Creek Trail up Mount Sterling. She reminded me so much of Barbara Wright, the now-retired principal of Switlik Elementary School where I volunteer. Andy agreed. It was not just looks, but personality. They were delighted to hear that they only had another mile to go.

There are many trees like this growing atop boulders along the trail.

I asked Andy to stand next to this boulder for scale. I think he was being gallant and holding it up against the mountain so it would not roll over me as I passed by.

And, there is just no telling what he was thinking while putting his walking stick up against this one.

I finally got a picture of this flower in focus. They are along the edges of the forest and on the lawn in front of the toilet building and in the picnic area. The small cluster of tiny blooms is on a tall stem.

The Midnight Hole is a mile-and-a-half up the trail. Most people go below the eight-foot waterfall, but today I wanted a different perspective and took a path to the top of the boulders. I took this picture from the top.

Here are the falls, about eight feet high. There are two streams; one is behind the leaves. The big boulder on the far side is where everyone jumps into the pool.

He is not really on her shoulders, but in front of her and he jumped right after her.

The Midnight Hole is one of the big reasons so many people come to Big Creek. The pool is about 17 feet deep. The five young men we saw in the parking lot had walked back up the trail for another dip in the Midnight Hole.

We met this mountain man on the way back down the trail.

I was taking a picture of this leaf because it was the only one in a little spotlight of sunshine. Then I noticed the bee-looking bug on it.

We got back to Sao and took a good long rest before starting dinner. The little steaks from Food City were very tough. I should have tenderized them first.

These two men were fishing just above the bridge in the afternoon.

I walked to the far bank to take a picture of this bolt stuck in a boulder. It may have been a cable for the original bridge here, or could have been part of the logging operation.

I saw what I thought was a golden snake on the shore of the creek. Then, when I got the picture on the computer, I realized that it has legs and is a salamander. The Smoky Mountains National Park is the salamander capital of the world.

On the radio:

At 0950 someone called into dispatch asking if anyone had reported a yellow stunt plane flying over Cades’ Cove. He said he was sorry, but it had already gone and he couldn’t get any numbers.

Dispatch called 401 to ask if he was available. The arrestee of last night wanted to get into her car for some personal items, but the tow company would not allow it without permission from the park. 401 said he could get there in about an hour and fifteen minutes. About noon, dispatch called 401 again to say that the arrestee’s mother was with her at the tow company and they wanted to get the grandchild’s medicine out of the car. He said the tow company would supervise and 401 gave his consent.

A ranger called 700 to say that he was continuing on the case where someone tore up the violation notice and threw it out the window at him. Are you kidding me? What kind of idiot would do that?

Friday, May 15, 2015

We were shocked when we saw this silver van in the parking lot this morning.  It is a Ford Transit.  In our experience, that means small.  Remember the one we traveled in when we toured Europe?  It was as luxurious as a 1960s Volkswagen. This one is huge. I wonder if they have grown in Europe too or this one is Americanized. I suppose Ford in competing with the Dodge Sprinter.

There were only a few campsites occupied in the campground this morning.  As we approached Site 10, Andy began muttering, “Oh no.  Please say they are not gone.”  Food and coolers were sitting on the picnic table bench and a plate of breakfast food was on the table.

The tent has a large screen on the side and I could see a woman on an air mattress.  There was also a baby sleeping in an inflatable crib.  I put my finger to my lips to signal to Andy to be quiet.  I didn’t want to wake the baby.

If it had not been for the sleeping baby, I would have rousted the campers out and told them to put their food away.  As it was, I wrote up a courtesy notice and left it on the picnic table.  Mom didn’t seem too sound asleep anyway.

We followed the creek path to the bridge and while Andy looked for fish, I walked to the far bank to look for wildflowers.  I didn’t see any, but did get a view of the creek from yet a different angle. Upstream:

The bridge.

Ranger Heath stopped by in the afternoon to say hello. Andy asked him what happened to Ranger Devin, the one who slept out on the trail with the fallen horse last year. He said that Devin and his wife moved to Colorado.

Then Heath told us a story about pigs.  He was driving on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail when he saw a spot on the side of the road that looked as though it had been very recently uprooted by pigs. A moment or two later, Heath saw a sow and a bunch of piglets. He pushed the button to unlock his shotgun and pulled it from behind his seat.  Then he got out of his vehicle as quietly as possible.  He took aim but had not released the safety.  When he did that, the click alerted the sow and she took off running into the woods with the piglets behind her.  Heath took off after them, firing away, but did not hit anything.  And, here is what the story was really about.  When he got back to his vehicle, he discovered that he had left it running and in gear.  He doesn’t know why it did not roll down the hill and into the woods.  I suppose the slope at that spot was in his favor. (Feral pigs are a big problem in the park and have damaged wide swaths of forest. They are descendants of boars that escaped a hunting camp in North Carolina years ago)

A large school bus followed by several cars of mothers drove in and we assumed it was the people scheduled for the group site tonight. However, the bus just stopped in the parking lot and offloaded a large number of purple t-shirts. A few minutes later, they all got back on the bus and left.  I was mystified, but Ranger Heath thought they were taking a bathroom break.

Maintenance Junior brought the newly renovated garden cart back to Big Creek today.  We are thrilled.  Now, rather than drag heavy coolers and plastic bins of food to the bear-proof locker, we can haul them in the cart.  We have not seen the cart since our first year here in 2010.

Four of the Cosby maintenance crew delivered the cart.  Linda asked me whether Spence is going to Cosby in the Park tomorrow.  Team Leader Richard had told Spence he was not needed in Cosby for the event.  But he was joking.  He forgot to tell Spence he was putting him on before he left. Spence thought he was serious and mentioned that to us on Wednesday.  Richard said he would call Spence at home tonight to make sure he goes to Cosby tomorrow.  I said I will tell Spence if he shows up here.

The couple in Site 1 have a small, shaggy, wiry-haired dog.  She is old, can’t see, and can’t hear.  The man said, “She will bite ya, but the good news is that she only has two teeth left”.

There was food sitting on the picnic table in Site 2.  While I looked in the bag to determine if it was food, Andy called to the people in Site 3, “Is this your food?”  It was, so we did not haul it off. The dog in Site 3 had wrapped itself around the post and the tree so thoroughly that it could not move.  It looked like Cat’s Cradle. His owner untangled him as we talked.

The two neighboring couples also had two little girls aged one and three. One of the women is a park employee who works a desk job.  This is her first time in Big Creek.

Four chemical engineers from Nashville are in Site 11. They were setting up a Eureka tent one man claimed is 30 years old. It is a nice design. He says they don’t make a model like it anymore so he keeps repairing and replacing to keep it going.

On the radio:

Dispatch called for emergency radio traffic only.  We did not know what was going on.

There was another emergency about 1700 at Parks(?) that might have been a heart problem. The medic on the scene said he was not sure it was a cardiac problem, but the man was unable to walk.  The medic started an IV. At 1745 he reported that the man seemed to be stabilized, but had tightness in his chest.

BOLO for four missing persons in a 1998 white Chevy van.  The woman picked up her three children from school on the 13^th of May and advised someone that she was driving to an unknown destination in Gatlinburg.  The children are aged nine, seven, and three. Later, a ranger reported the van in the BOLO was in the Elkmont campground.  Later in the evening, however, dispatch announced that she was faxing more information to all rangers about the children in the BOLO.

A ranger in Cade’s Cove noted that a window is missing in the Methodist Church. 

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Andy announced a real crisis as soon as I came out into the living/kitchen area this morning. Our black water holding tank will not drain. That means the toilet water. The tank is nearly full, so we must stop using it until we get it fixed. Ack! When he pulls the handle to drain the tank nothing happens. Of course it happened on Saturday morning and we’ll have to wait until Monday to call the RV dealer. We can still use the sinks and shower as they drain into a different tank. I guess if the campers can hike to the toilet building, I can too.

Today, it was mostly about the music. The event was Cosby in the Park, held every year in the Cosby campground. As soon as Spence arrived, I went out the door to tell him that Richard was just pulling his leg about not going to Cosby for the event. We drank our coffee and then headed over the mountain. I caught a glimpse of the Park Superintendent, but did not meet him before he left.

The music had already started. These two were great and I loved her singing style. I didn’t catch their names. They played some very old music and one or two newer songs. She introduced each song with some history about it. She told the story and then they played what must have been the original version of Tom Dooley, long, long before the Kingston Trio did it.

The next group was Booger Town, which really is a local place. I remembered them from last year. They were also very good. The fiddle player sat so far away from the others that I couldn’t get a good picture of the three of them together. I also was not sure he was the same guy as last year. They kept saying he hadn’t played a tune with them before. They would ask him if he knew a song and he would say no. Then he would play it.

The banjo player sang one song by himself in the style of the real old timers that sounded a lot like yelling.

The woman was the lead singer and she played several different instruments.

She got some rousing applause after her performance with spoons. She slapped them on his thigh, her thigh, her hands, her shoes, and her rear end. They were not ordinary spoons like I’ve tried to play; they are especially made from wood as a musical instrument. It was a veritable drum solo.

The man brought out a gourd banjo, which has a distinctly different sound than the modern one, softer and not as tinny.

The woman also played three different kinds of flutes. This is an Indian one, but she did not specify Cherokee. It has a soft, haunting sound.

I zoomed in on the end.

I remembered the last couple from last year. We missed part of their performance because we were getting something to eat. He did all the playing and singing and, like last year, most of his songs were soft and low. She played the spoons when he was not singing. They live near us on Tobe’s Creek Road and, again like last year, invited us to stop in to visit them. Andy said we’ll do it this year.

I like this picture of him; he appears to be staring down the camera.

I took one short video of each group, but obviously do not know how to operate this camera. I always think I am taking a movie, but they never show up when I download to my computer.

The last thing was this man, whose name I did not catch. He is either a newspaper person who collects stories or a professional historian. I wasn’t sure which. His theme today was civil war stories on the home front, meaning Cocke County, Tennessee. One was of a southern-leaning family that hid a northern-leaning man who had been a family friend. The two families are close to this day.

One woman hid her son from the guys who rounded up men to take to war. She stood by the wall while he hid behind her full skirt. Another family had taken in a hurt man and hid him, but his bloody clothes were still in a heap on the floor. The eight-year-old daughter sat on them and covered them with her skirt. One little boy was taught not to say anything to anyone about the family. When soldiers came looking for food, the family tied the legs of the chickens together and put them under the house. A soldier asked the little boy his name and he answered, “My name is Christopher and the chickens are under the house”. According to the story, the soldiers were so charmed that they did not take the chickens.

We went to Subway to send/receive email when Cosby in the Park ended. I got this interesting note from one of the guys who had been in Site 5, where we found the wooden tongs.

Hello Dinata,

I am one of the Kroger guys from Cincy that had such an enjoyable time during our visit May 2-5th. You were right on your blog about us using the tongs to turn brats and meats on the grill. I found them at one of the other sites along with that pot that I set up on the stump in case someone returned for it but I doubt that happened as it looked to have a thrift store price on it. I thought those tongs were a pretty clever idea and left them for the next visitor. I hope to see you there next year.

Our new Jetpack did not work when we got to Subway so we took it back to the Verizon store. They exchanged it for a new one. The fellow told me that today was the last day we could return it to the store rather than go through the warranty service.

The last stop was food city for some produce before heading back to Big Creek. 

Sunday, May 17, 2015

This was an exceptionally quiet day in Big Creek. The cool wet weather kept away the day visitors and there were only a few campers in the morning.

I was complaining about the holding tank problem while we drank our coffee this morning and ended my lament with, “I like my toilet. You never know what might be lurking in the toilet building”.  Spence agreed, “I like my toilet”. Then he told us about working on the trail crew years ago and felt the urge to go. Of course, he went into the forest.  He was still zipping and buttoning  as he walked back to the trail.  As he cinched his belt, he felt stings. The rest of the trail crew had a good laugh while Spence ripped off his pants and underwear and danced on the trail.  He had squatted over a yellow-jacket nest.

We saw Spence talking to two park visitors near the water fountain.  I noted that he was di-Spence-ing information. He had been blowing debris off the sidewalks.  When he saw me coming with my camera, he struck a pose with the leaf blower on the water fountain. Andy told him that he looked like Mickey Mouse with his ear covers on his hat.

We saw aluminum cans in the nearly-empty dumpster as we took out the trash this morning. They were too far down to reach so I suggested to Andy that we hold Spence by his ankles so he can retrieve them.  Spence saves any aluminum cans he picks up around the park and sells them to the recycle man. I have begun to pick them up and collect them from campers for him in addition to the ones we empty ourselves. Some campers ask why the park does not recycle so I mentioned it to Spence.  He told us the park tried recycling in the past, but park visitors put trash in the recycle bins.

This dog truck was in the parking lot. We figured a dog owner was searching for his hunting dogs.  The truck has four dog cages and cabinets at the back. I forgot to take a picture of the huge bear decal on the back of the truck.

This dog was sitting on the far side.  I spoke to the dog, but did not get much response.  It looked bored or just waiting for the owner to return. What a cute face.

There were several butterflies in the parking lot too.

The woman in Site 1 was reading and the dog was sleeping.  They were waiting for her husband to return from fishing in the creek to eat breakfast and load up the camping gear. This is the dog I mentioned yesterday who will bite (not really) but it won’t hurt because he doesn’t have many teeth left.

We heard another story today. One of Spence’s buddies was playing in a band and invited Spence to come along on a gig at a bar somewhere in Cocke County.  Spence was dating Sharon at the time and took her along.  The music was loud.  When Sharon said something to Spence, he could not hear her.  Several times, she spoke, he said, “what?” and leaned closer. When he was leaning in really close he could hear her say, “You are spilling your beer in my crotch”.

I took several leaf pictures as we walked around. This one is hemlock.

I have no idea what this one is in the picnic area.  These leaves are huge.

I studied every page in my tree book, but could not find these leaves.

This is sycamore.

I could not find these in my tree book either.

Yesterday we told the couple in Site 10 to drive their car to the horse campsite and follow the trail toward our site and they would find plenty of firewood on the ground.  Tonight they had a neat stack of small logs they had found behind the toilet building in the horse camp. They appreciated our tip.

This lively group of six men has returned to Site 12. We remembered them and they remembered us from last year.  They have been meeting here in Big Creek for the past 30 years during the week before the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We enjoyed them last year and I am looking forward to chatting with them as we walk around the campground this week. As you can see from the picture, they are ready for rain. One of them is a chef, so they will be eating well.

On the radio:

About 1100 a white SUV ran off the road on the spur and hit a tree.  There were injuries.  Dispatch called for emergency medical services. Later, we heard that the people in the car refused medical service and were getting a ride from a private party.

About 1300 dispatch and 118 were calling each other, but not hearing the other. Eventually, they could hear each other and took care of their business. 118 had been calling in to report that he was off trail at Molly’s shelter and out of service. 

Monday, May 18, 2015

I asked Spence yesterday where would be a good place to take a walk and see a new section of the park. We wanted easy walking for Andy’s old knees, which means not steep, narrow or rough. Spence recommended the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont.

We got a late start after greeting the campers arriving in the group site and checking out the tent campground. I drove over the mountain to Cosby. Andy did not have a mental picture of where Tremont was located, but when I told him we would go back into the park in Gatlinburg, he knew where to eat lunch before our hike. Of course, they have a Mellow Mushroom in Gatlinburg, right on our route. It was good, but I am getting tired of pizza. We ate on the second floor overlooking the street. The attraction across from us was a museum of TV and movie star cars. It attracted a lot of attention from passersby. There were a lot of tourists on the sidewalks and Andy noted, “This is where they are doing their hiking”. I think hiking in a place where you can stop in for some fudge or ice cream sounds like a pretty good idea.

It was a misty, rainy day and there was not much traffic in the park. Even so, cars lined the road on both sides of the Laurel Falls trailhead. The small parking lot at The Sinks looked nearly full. The road to Tremont follows the Middle Prong of the Little River and is a pretty drive.

I thought the institute would be a building. It is many buildings. It is an education center, including summer camps. Spence told us he went there as a kid. Our first stop was the gift shop.

We bought a National Geographic map of the park and two brown bear backpacks for Grandsons Owen and Cam. A bulletin board outside the front door gave directions to hike to a waterfall, the name of which I have forgotten.

We headed out, but the trail quickly became too narrow, steep, rocky, and rooty for Andy’s knees and sense of balance. We veered off the trail to easier terrain. I did see some new wildflowers that I can’t find in my wildflower book.

We walked around a bit before it started raining harder and then we headed to the car.

We decided to drive to the end of the dirt and gravel road following the river. It is about the size of Big Creek. I saw a pretty spot with a place to pull over when it was not raining hard. It is not a waterfall, but the water was flowing smoothly over a rock with a pretty effect. The drop was about three or four feet. Andy did not launch into a lecture on laminar flow and turbulence.

We drove on to the end of the road. There were a large number of fishermen along the river and most of the vehicles were parked in the loop at the end of the road. I guess the fishing is better upstream. We crossed the river several times on one-lane bridges.

I paused on a few curves to take pictures of the river.

The mountain laurel has burst into bloom since the last time we were out. I have not seen any in Big Creek yet. Large boughs loaded with blooms hang over high rock walls along Little River Road.

I spotted a waterfall on the way to Tremont and pulled over to have a look and take a picture on the way back home. It is Meigs Falls. The pull-off is along Little River Road.

The waterfall is on the other side of Little River and up Meigs Creek.

I zoomed the camera for a better look. My waterfall book says that it is 28-feet high.

Traffic had slowed and was backing up as we were driving through the bypass intersection near the park visitor center. The cause was a large male turkey standing on the lawn in the middle of the intersection with his tail feathers partially splayed. Andy called it with, “Oh no, a turkey jam”. It didn’t last long.

We drove straight to the tent campground to walk around and make a head-count. The men in Site 12 told us the one toilet in the men’s room was stopped up. I called dispatch on the radio to report it. He told me to stand by while he contacted someone from maintenance. I chatted with the Site 12 guys until dispatch called me back to say our maintenance man would come in. That meant Spence.

We saw Spence’s pickup truck coming down the road so I went to the door as he and Richard got out of the truck. I didn’t think it was a job for two men. Spence asked, “Has your water come back on?”  What?  It’s not a water problem, it’s a stopped up toilet. That explained why Richard came along; he is the water system expert. I offered coffee and they said they would take care of the men’s room and be back.

When the coffee was poured, Andy and I started telling Richard (Spence’s team leader) about the woman who called Spence a "disgusting, despicable, ugly, little man" for ruining her picnic. Then I told him I laughed even harder when Spence said, “I know I ain’t a purty boy, but hellfire!”

Then I added that it was mean of me to laugh when Spence was abused for working. Richard   reckoned that she broke his heart so I showed him the picture I took of Spence when he was telling us what happened. Here it is again.

Spence looked at his picture and said, “It looks like a red worm with the shit slung out of it”. It looks like what?  He added, “That’s what people say when you look like that”. I suppose that means sad or having hurt feelings. Richard agreed, “Yeah, that’s what people say”. Oh my gosh, I had never heard an expression like that one. Spence said he could tell me a lot more crazy expressions. My eastern North Carolina family used many colorful expressions too, but I never hear them anymore. Our language is dull now.