June 29, 2015 - Leaving Big Creek

We drove out of Big Creek, but an inspection crew was inspecting the bridge over Big Creek, down near the power plant on the Pigeon River. We had taken Sao down to the river and then took the car back up to offload some equipment in the ranger station. We were stuck for a while so I walked around and took some pictures while we waited.








This is the lower bridge over Big Creek, right at the power plant.




This picture is looking up the creek from that bridge.



This is looking at the downstream side of the bridge at the power plant.



And, this is the power plant at the confluence of Big Creek and the Pigeon River.



Here, Sao awaits the car in the kayak and raft launching area along the Pigeon River.

June 28, 2015 - Preparing to Leave Big Creek

I could not figure out what the emergency rescue was that was going on this morning. There was an extraordinary amount of talk on the radio for that hour.

We ate half of the cantaloupe that Boss Larry brought us yesterday. It was cantaloupe perfection. Andy raved about how it tasted like cantaloupe to him. He was thrilled and talked about it the rest of the morning. I guess taste buds do gradually recover from radiation. Thanks again Larry.

The morning campground walk went well. People were looking for sites and the campground was full before we left. I don’t think dispatch heard me when I gave the morning vacancy report.

We did a lot of talking with campers, but I was anxious to get back to the motorhome to prepare for leaving tomorrow. Andy packed up all the exterior things, except the folding chairs. I did laundry all day, including all the park shirts and fleece jackets.

We ate our meal earlier than normal and then I started making a batch of pecan praline cookies. I’ve made this same stupid mistake before, but was in a hurry and did it again. I toasted my pecans in the oven, but did not let them cool before adding them to the cookie dough. The hot pecans melted the butter and made the dough too soft. I suppose I could have put the dough in the fridge to firm up, but was in a big hurry. The cookies were flat and crispy. They were also delicious.

Spence and Linda arrived with a trailer carrying a Gator from Cosby. I hope that means they will take Spence’s Gator back to Cosby with them to get a new muffler. They used it to clean the ashes from the fire rings in the campground. With Spence spending so much time in Cosby this week, the fire rings were quite full. He is supposed to clean them out when the campsites are empty, however, the sites are only empty for a short time before new campers come in. They enjoyed some cookies before they left.

I packed up my camp host office and put everything into the car to take to the ranger station. Then I packed all my nature books (birds, trees, mushrooms, wildflowers) and park books (waterfalls, day hike, trails) back into the cabinet.

Rangers Heath and Will were supposed to come here to pick up money envelopes, but Will got diverted to the ongoing crisis. Heath came alone and told us the rescue on the radio all day was a girl, who is a classmate of his oldest son. Yesterday, she decided to climb up (I think Alum Cave) bluffs and, at some point, could not go up or down. She spent the night stuck up there. They got her off with a helicopter today. We had a nice campfire going even though it took us forever to get it started with the damp wood. Andy made a fire starter with some cotton balls and petroleum jelly wrapped in a paper towel.

We had heard Heath on the radio before he arrived. Some hikers had called the park to report that a horse, without a rider, had followed them off the trail. Dispatch called Heath to respond. Horse and rider were eventually reunited and then Heath called into say he was transporting some hikers to the Big Creek parking lot. We knew we would see him soon.

Andy and Heath went to the campground to get the money envelopes out of the iron ranger while I tended the campfire. Then we had coffee and cookies around the fire.

June 27, 2015 - Busy Day in Big Creek

There was a power failure some time during the night.

I don’t know what it is, but this stuff falls off the trees. Those are tiny white flowers.

There was an enormous cooler sitting on the picnic table bench in Site 1 this morning. They had wrapped tie-down straps around it, I suppose to keep the bears out. I shook the corner of the tent to ask if anyone was home, the way I saw Ranger Tim do it, as politely as possible. No one was home. I wrote up a courtesy notice and then went to get the cart; there was no way the two of us were going to carry that monstrosity.

 The dog was loose in Site 6. Andy spoke to the dog and the woman came around the tarp to grab him by the collar. I told the woman that she needs to keep the dog on a leash. She said she had to let go of him to pack something and I countered that if she had the dog on a leash, she would not have to hold him by the collar. The second woman said they know the rules. I rephrased it and said the rules are that you need to keep your dog on a leash. I must have repeated that two or three more times before I walked on shaking my head.

We finished walking around the campground and I checked my tally. I told Andy we had four vacancies.  That reminded him to turn on the radio to be ready for the morning vacancy report.  (He had it turned off to conserve the battery; the charger was not working well.) The instant he turned it on, dispatch called “Abrams Creek” and then “Big Creek”.  I responded and she announced completion of the morning vacancy report.  We made it in the nick of time.

I think the reason I have not seen any touch-me-nots, or jewelweed this year is that something had been eating the tops of the plants.  Maybe deer.

Even though it was a dark, wet morning, the leaves over the bridge were bright.

I took pictures downstream and up.

Big Creek

Big Creek

 I spotted this orange fungus along the trail to the horse camp.

I went off the trail for a closer look.

Orange Fungus

 I made a blueberry cobbler for Heath today, to make up for the peach cobbler he missed on Monday and Tuesday. Boss Larry arrived while the cobbler was in the oven, but left before I took it out. He was waiting for Heath to arrive so they could take the money out of the iron ranger, but Heath called to say he would be at least an hour and a half. We took a lot of pictures of each other. I took 15 pictures of Spence, Linda, and Larry. I loved them all because they were clowning around and smiling.

Spence, Linda, and Larry

 Spence and Linda came to clean the toilet buildings and waited for cobbler. Spence said he does not like blueberries, but was having seconds just to keep it from Ranger Heath. And, he asked me to make sure I told Heath that.

Clyde and Debbie, the Cosby hosts are going to replace us here for July.  They stopped by to check out Big Creek and we gave them what we considered good advice.  They may take it or leave it.

Ranger Heath did arrive later in the evening. I served him cobbler and gave him the rest to take home.

Ranger Heath Soehn

 We were still talking when he got a call from dispatch about hikers who had not come off the trail when expected. The caller was at the ranger station. Heath left to talk to them.

We saw Heath’s truck in the parking lot with a group of people as we walked to the campground. There was another missing hiker on the Big Creek trail. We went on to the campground.

An empty money envelope was hanging on the Site 7 clip. Andy went to Site 7 to figure out what they were doing. I was doing the evening head count at the registration board. A couple came up looking for a campsite and I directed them to Site 5. When I joined Andy in Site 7, I noticed the woman in Site 6 putting a rope on her dog. The man in Site 7 had a lot of questions. This was the first camping trip for his two boys. We said “good evening” to the folks in Site 6, but they just glared at us as we walked by. Another couple came up looking for a site as we passed Site 10. We decided to put them in Site 6 in the horse campground. They walked with us to the registration board and were filling out a pay envelope. The couple from Site 5 offered to share their site with the latest couple. They declined, thinking the horse camp sounded better. Then a man came up with two small boys looking for a site. We all decided that the man with the two small boys would fit better at the horse camp and the couple would camp with the couple in Site 5. My head was spinning and I hoped no one else came in looking for a place to camp.

Ranger Heath was still in the parking lot when we walked through. All the missing hikers had come off the trail. I said he is a hero and he struck a Dudley Doright pose. Heath says that if he takes long enough getting ready to go rescue someone, they walk off the trail before he starts out. Everyone was getting in their cars when a thin black man with very poor English walked off the trail. He said his friend was hurt up Big Creek trail. He broke his toe and the bone was sticking out. Ranger Heath moved his truck to the trail head and we walked back to Sao. We could hear Heath on the radio with dispatch. At first, the injury was worse than he expected and he wanted to get permission to use Spence’s Gator to bring the man down the trail. Then he decided that the man could walk well enough. He asked dispatch to get the phone number and address for a hospital ready for him to relay to the party when they got off the trail.

On the radio

Several rangers were looking for and finding a white jeep. Dispatch said that the tags were registered to a different kind of car and were listed as “no longer on vehicle”. Andy noted that they must be stolen tags.

There was a lot going on in the park, but I was too busy to listen to the radio most of the day.

June 26, 2015 - Jim Duncan and Dianne Saunders

I slept late and Andy had a peaceful morning. The forecast rain did not appear until evening, but it was muggy all day. Purple boat man was in the campground early bargaining for Site 10 with the occupants who were planning to leave. He piled his gear at their site while they ate breakfast and packed up. As usual, we walked along the creek to the bridge. This ledge is one of my favorite spots.

 

Here was a new sight in the picnic/parking lot area. My only guess is that the owner had made a stop in the toilet building before heading to the creek. I like the way the blue chair stands out against the green.

We walked on past our site and on to the horse camp. All the horse people had hit the trail early. They left two horses behind. Maybe they are spares. Maybe there was no one left at home to horse sit, so they brought the extras along for a camping trip. I took pictures of this red one yesterday from the other end. I was walking by and thought, “this is a good opportunity to add to my animal butt collection”. Then I noticed her back legs. She looks knock-kneed to me. The other horse’s legs did not turn out like that.

Horse Knees

I noticed some nice plants along the horse trail. This vine is so delicate and the sun was hitting it just right. For the rest of the day, I was thinking of the word “tendrils” and long curly hair.

Tendrils

This fern frond was covered with water droplets and sparkled in the sunshine as we walked by. The picture does not capture the effect very well.

Fern

Something else I have not noticed in the horse camp before today. The wheel barrow has been converted into a barrow. I don’t know when that happened. It must make it impossible to muck out the stalls and carry the stuff to the dumpster. That means more of the job will fall to Spence.

Barrow

We saw a family walking up the horse trail with a dog and called to them. When we said dogs are not allowed on the trails, the man suddenly remembered that fact about national parks. We offered to dog sit and this is our dog of the day. Her name is Millie and she loves Pupperoni.

Millie

She was anxious about her family leaving and paced around, wrapping herself up in our lead several times. After a while, she settled down. When a woman came riding a horse up the trail though, the dog went ballistic. I don’t know what she would have done if she had not been tied to the picnic table. When the family came back, they were mystified and told us the dog is accustomed to horses and goes along on trail rides.

Boss Larry stopped in with updated reservation reports and we chatted for a while. He has more area to cover now and can’t stay as long. I asked him to relay a message to Ranger Heath. I have blueberries and will make him a cobbler if he shows up here soon. We are leaving on Monday.

Just about the time Larry was leaving, friends Jim and Dianne, from Raleigh, stopped in for a short visit while on their way to a family reunion in Alabama. Dianne had mentioned the possibility when she was here before, but we forgot about it and were surprised to see them. Andy told them we would stop at a Walmart near them as we pass through Raleigh on our way to Son Mike’s house in far northeastern North Carolina.

Dianne was telling Andy that she has applied for a new job with the city. If she gets the job offer, her current employer, the county, will match the offer to keep her. I suppose her job title is some kind of cartographer; that was her major.

Dianne Saunders

Andy was listening raptly.

Jim broke out his new ukulele and played pieces of a lot of songs. It was fun to listen to him. He is a beginner, but as with everything else he does, he has jumped into it with great fervor.

Jim Duncan

Here’s another rhododendron shot. Big Creek road is filled with them, especially down along Chestnut Branch by the ranger station.

Rhododendron

We had gone down to the river to send/receive email last night, but this morning I discovered that the email did not all go out. Maybe that is why the Outbox was so full. Andy wanted to go refill prescriptions at the Walgreen’s in Newport so he suggested that we wait for them to be filled at Subway. We dropped off the prescriptions and got our regular table in Subway (the one with an electrical outlet next to it). I made sure all the email went out this time. We did our evening campground check by car when we got back.

On the radio

There was some emergency on the Laurel Falls Trail already underway when we turned the radio on in the morning.

Someone reported “three llamas off the trail”. They use llamas to pack supplies in and out of the Mount LeConte lodge, at the top of, well, Mount LeConte. I didn’t get whether the llamas had simply wandered off the trail in search of tasty leaves or whether there was a mishap and they fell.

June 26, 2015 - Jim Duncan and Dianne Saunders

I slept late and Andy had a peaceful morning. The forecast rain did not appear until evening, but it was muggy all day. Purple boat man was in the campground early bargaining for Site 10 with the occupants who were planning to leave. He piled his gear at their site while they ate breakfast and packed up. As usual, we walked along the creek to the bridge. This ledge is one of my favorite spots.

 

Here was a new sight in the picnic/parking lot area. My only guess is that the owner had made a stop in the toilet building before heading to the creek. I like the way the blue chair stands out against the green.

We walked on past our site and on to the horse camp. All the horse people had hit the trail early. They left two horses behind. Maybe they are spares. Maybe there was no one left at home to horse sit, so they brought the extras along for a camping trip. I took pictures of this red one yesterday from the other end. I was walking by and thought, “this is a good opportunity to add to my animal butt collection”. Then I noticed her back legs. She looks knock-kneed to me. The other horse’s legs did not turn out like that.

Horse Knees

I noticed some nice plants along the horse trail. This vine is so delicate and the sun was hitting it just right. For the rest of the day, I was thinking of the word “tendrils” and long curly hair.

Tendrils

This fern frond was covered with water droplets and sparkled in the sunshine as we walked by. The picture does not capture the effect very well.

Fern

Something else I have not noticed in the horse camp before today. The wheel barrow has been converted into a barrow. I don’t know when that happened. It must make it impossible to muck out the stalls and carry the stuff to the dumpster. That means more of the job will fall to Spence.

Barrow

We saw a family walking up the horse trail with a dog and called to them. When we said dogs are not allowed on the trails, the man suddenly remembered that fact about national parks. We offered to dog sit and this is our dog of the day. Her name is Millie and she loves Pupperoni.

Millie

She was anxious about her family leaving and paced around, wrapping herself up in our lead several times. After a while, she settled down. When a woman came riding a horse up the trail though, the dog went ballistic. I don’t know what she would have done if she had not been tied to the picnic table. When the family came back, they were mystified and told us the dog is accustomed to horses and goes along on trail rides.

Boss Larry stopped in with updated reservation reports and we chatted for a while. He has more area to cover now and can’t stay as long. I asked him to relay a message to Ranger Heath. I have blueberries and will make him a cobbler if he shows up here soon. We are leaving on Monday.

Just about the time Larry was leaving, friends Jim and Dianne, from Raleigh, stopped in for a short visit while on their way to a family reunion in Alabama. Dianne had mentioned the possibility when she was here before, but we forgot about it and were surprised to see them. Andy told them we would stop at a Walmart near them as we pass through Raleigh on our way to Son Mike’s house in far northeastern North Carolina.

Dianne was telling Andy that she has applied for a new job with the city. If she gets the job offer, her current employer, the county, will match the offer to keep her. I suppose her job title is some kind of cartographer; that was her major.

Dianne Saunders

Andy was listening raptly.

Jim broke out his new ukulele and played pieces of a lot of songs. It was fun to listen to him. He is a beginner, but as with everything else he does, he has jumped into it with great fervor.

Jim Duncan

Here’s another rhododendron shot. Big Creek road is filled with them, especially down along Chestnut Branch by the ranger station.

Rhododendron

We had gone down to the river to send/receive email last night, but this morning I discovered that the email did not all go out. Maybe that is why the Outbox was so full. Andy wanted to go refill prescriptions at the Walgreen’s in Newport so he suggested that we wait for them to be filled at Subway. We dropped off the prescriptions and got our regular table in Subway (the one with an electrical outlet next to it). I made sure all the email went out this time. We did our evening campground check by car when we got back.

On the radio

There was some emergency on the Laurel Falls Trail already underway when we turned the radio on in the morning.

Someone reported “three llamas off the trail”. They use llamas to pack supplies in and out of the Mount LeConte lodge, at the top of, well, Mount LeConte. I didn’t get whether the llamas had simply wandered off the trail in search of tasty leaves or whether there was a mishap and they fell.

June 25, 2015 - Rhododendrons and Pommes Anna

I am so happy the rhododendrons have popped out this week. I thought we were going to miss them. These blossoms are all on a bush next to the motorhome.

 

Boss Larry came by. He told us that he is going to start working three days a week at Elkmont campground on the other side of Gatlinburg. They seem to be so short-handed. It takes two people to count the money from camping fees and not everyone is authorized to do it. They used to use campground hosts as witnesses, but that practice has been banned.  Ranger Chuck is leaving to take a ranger job on the Blue Ridge Parkway. That leaves our section of the park with only two rangers, Will and Heath. I guess that mean only one ranger on duty four days a week, when the other is off. Big Creek will really be the lawless frontier now. People already do what they damn well please here.

I have been wanting to make this dish since I saw the picture in Cooking Light magazine some years back. I did not have an oven-proof pan that would fit in my oven. But, my new oven has stationary racks so an oblong pan can fit because it does not have to spin. I bought a small pan for the oven a year or two ago, but it would not fit. I had sent it home with Daughter Kathy and she brought it back to me a few weeks ago. Finally, Pommes Anna on our table.

Pommes Anna (Potatoes Anna)

Trust the French to come up with a potato cake that is alluringly crisp

on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. Called Pommes Anna,

this dish was created during Napoleon Ill's era and named after one of the

lovely women at court. Traditionally made with enough butter to float the

Normandie, we've made it with much less, which nonetheless produces a

dish so rich and delicious, there's never a crumb left. Slice the potatoes by

hand, by mandoline, or in a food processor.

teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

(I didn’t peel my Yukon Gold potatoes)

tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and divided

tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Melt 2 1/2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron or ovenproof

heavy skillet over medium heat. Arrange a single layer of potato slices,

slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern in pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon

salt mixture. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon melted butter over potatoes. ~

Repeat the layers 5 times, ending with butter. Press firmly to pack.

Cover and bake at 450° for 20 minutes.

4. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until potatoes are

golden. Loosen edges of potatoes with a spatula. Place a plate upside

down on top of pan; invert potatoes onto plate. Sprinkle with parsley,

if desired. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge).

Mine turned out almost as pretty as the picture in the magazine. I had the stove burner on medium while I placed the potatoes in the pan. Those top taters were crispy and delicious.

 

Maintenance Linda came by to test the water at the group site while we were eating, so I cut a wedge of potatoes for her.

When the dishes were done we walked to the horse camp. That camp is full tonight, but everyone in the group had not arrived when we walked around. I met a few of the horses.

 

Andy was talking with the parents about hiking up the Big Creek trail while I talked to the baby. I didn’t catch the smile, but was shocked when I saw all the teeth. He is eight or nine months old and has seven teeth in front, four on top and three on bottom.

 

This leaf was on the grass next to the parking lot. I suppose someone cut the holes, but like the pattern anyway. It sure caught my attention.

We drove down to the Pigeon River in the evening to send/receive email. I got a lot of emails from real friends who said my Facebook account has been hacked. Betsy said there are two of me on Facebook. I changed my password, but don’t know if that makes any difference or not. I don’t know what else to do about it. I can’t look it up until we get back out to a regular cell  signal.

On the Radio

A worker “fell from a height” on the Foothills Parkway near Wears Valley. There was some uncertainty as to the exact location. It was in a closed section, I think that means under construction. One ranger was heading in that direction and another was getting Rescue One to follow. They called for ambulances to come in from both directions until they could find the patient. They called for the Walland rescue squad to get ready for a technical rescue, if it was required. Someone on the scene said the man fell and hit his head. They already had him in a vehicle and were heading toward the gate to meet the ambulance. His injuries must have been serious because they took him to the University of Tennessee.

At the same time, on the same parkway, on an open section, a car had gone off the road and down the mountainside. There were injuries, but did they not seem serious.