May 02, 2015 – Camping Oven

Saturday, May 02, 2015 – Big Creek

Two more campsites were filled after we made our walk-around yesterday. I adjusted the numbers on my census form this morning. Campsite 10 was rather smoky as we walked by.

I got a picture of their camp stove.

We had to move on because the smell of breakfast was driving Andy crazy.

We took the path along the creek to the bridge for a look at the creek before continuing on to the horse camp. It was a beautiful, clear, blue-sky day and we marveled over it at least once an hour. I took a few more yellow trillium pictures. Andy suggested I take one with the creek in the background. The only problem was standing back up; I should have had my walking stick with me.

Since the sun was shining, I went back to the large rock in the woods to get a better picture of the little spiky white flowers growing on it.

Here they are from the side. Of course, they were not in my Wildflowers of the Smokies book. They are about three or four inches tall.

Rather than taking the horse trail back to our campsite, we walked out of the horse campground onto Big Creek Road (that’s what I call it anyway). The road is in fairly good shape this year except for usual rutted curve down by the ranger station and the pot holes at the end of the one-lane bridge over Chestnut Branch.

I spent far too much time this morning trying to get on line and eventually gave up to fix dinner. I had told Spence on Wednesday to come here at 1400 today for some beef stew. I used the leftover pot roast and added some vegetables. Then I made a pan of biscuits to go with it. It was one of my better efforts at both.

Ranger Heath and Boss Larry showed up just before 1400 to empty the pay envelopes out of the iron ranger. Andy served them cookies, since they both refused beef stew. Heath had already eaten lunch and Boss Larry does not eat meat. They did sample the biscuits. Ranger Heath asked me if they were hard to make “or can any fool do it?” I assured him that any fool can.

Boss Larry is a Visitor Use Assistant. He takes care of us.

I told Ranger Heath that I had made the cookies for him since he would have to wait three weeks for Andy’s monthly birthday cake. He said he had cake last week for his own birthday. He had turned 48. His oldest son is graduating from high school this month.

Ranger Heath also announced that his wife Dana, the park’s Public Information Officer, was named Park Employee of the Year a few days ago. She is the one who recommended Big Creek to us as a place to volunteer in the park. If I ever get a phone signal, I’ll call and congratulate her.

After eating cookies and biscuits, Ranger Heath told Boss Larry that he needed a nap and Larry would have to drive his ranger truck back to Cosby. Boss Larry asked if he would be allowed to flash the lights and sound the siren. Then, he told of a time when he was riding with Ranger Jared and tried to talk on the car radio. He was calling Dispatch, who did not respond to his call. Then, Ranger Jared noticed that Larry was using the microphone for the exterior loud speaker and not the park radio. 
When they left, Ranger Heath was driving and said good-bye to us with the loud speaker.

We took the MiFi to the Verizon store in Newport, Tennessee in the late afternoon. The young man who served us said we were due for a new one anyway and replaced it with a newer Jet Pack. While he was looking at our account, he said we were also due for a new phone. We got another basic Samsung flip phone. He said the newer one had a better antenna. I was sorely disappointed when we got back home and still could not get a signal on the Jet Pack or the telephone. We were able to get on line last year sitting in the very same spot (when it wasn’t raining).

Ten of the twelve tent sites were occupied in the early evening. We chatted with everyone and handed out the Smokies Guide newspapers.

April 30, 2015 - Wildflowers

Thursday, April 30, 2015 – Big Creek

Andy was up early and figured out why we could not get a signal yesterday; the signal booster was not plugged in. He said it was 48 degrees outside when he got up this morning.

The first thing we heard on the park radio this morning was a report that the 350 (a bear) was running over the hill. We obviously missed the best part of that story.

Maintenance Spence was off work today; Thursday and Friday are his weekend. Boss Larry was in a training class so we did not see him either.

It is a one-mile walk for us to leave the motorhome, walk around the tent campground, check out Big Creek at the bridge, pass the motorhome and take the horse trail  to walk around the horse campground, and then back to the motorhome. We plan to do it three times a day to get in our three miles.

The sun was in and out behind small clouds for the morning walk. The leaves were wet from and early rain. It was brilliant. There was no sun as we walked up the road to the tent campground.

Yellow Trilliums are everywhere. Many of the leaves had been chewed on, but I found a number of bite-free ones. These were in the picnic area next to the creek.

Big Creek was a torrent by the tent campground. It was mostly white water behind the gnarly old tree.

I spotted so many wildflowers today, but have not looked them up to tell you what they are. This tiny violet-type thing was on the path by the creek.

This amazing yellow one was just a little farther along the path. Those are impossibly tiny flowers.

Here is the first of many pictures of the bridge over Big Creek you will see in May and June.

The gorgeous cluster was on the far bank of the creek.

I walked down to the water’s edge and took a picture of my scale model Andy on the bridge.

These, my favorite of the day, were also on the far bank.

On our way back to Sao from our morning walk around the campground, a car stopped by us and a man said that someone had left a backpack sitting in the parking lot. We walked past the cars blocking our view of it and saw the backpack sitting out by itself, not near any cars. Someone drove off without it. It was open and full of gear, so I zipped it up and handed it to Andy to carry. It was heavy. I planned to examine the contents for some identification when we got back to our campsite and report it to Dispatch. Just as we got to the sidewalk at the end of the parking lot, a car came speeding in, driving the wrong way in the one-way traffic circle. When he got near us, he held his arm out of the car and yelled, “That’s mine! That’s mine!”  Andy handed him the backpack and told him to slow down when he leaves. He said he was speeding to hurry back to retrieve his pack.

The horse camp is immaculate and ready for the season.

Andy laid out our plastic outdoor carpet and staked the corners. Then we set up our new screen room. It fits nicely over the picnic table. We were anxious to get it up as the gnats are swarming around our heads.

Spence had mentioned them yesterday and today we saw them for ourselves. There are a bazillion small brown grasshoppers here. That is no exaggeration; it’s an estimate. When we walked by them in the forest, their jumping in the dry leaves sounded like rain. We had not seen them here before, but this place is alive with them now. I mean grasshoppers in Biblical proportions.

At 1345, someone at Clingman’s Dome called dispatch (700) to report that it was snowing up there. It started raining here in Big Creek at 1400 and rained lightly for the rest of the day.

There was a mildly interesting conversation on the radio between two park employees.

“ You are leaving a lot of smoke behind you.”

“Yeah, this thing is using a quart of oil every three or four days. Your spotlight in on.”

“Thanks.”

Someone reported a tree down across a guardrail and asked for someone to come with a chain saw to remove it. Another person responded that he would send someone and, then a few minutes later, a third guy said he was on his way.

It was raining for the afternoon walk around, but I carried my umbrella and took pictures until it was too dark to get them in focus. This cluster of small white flowers is growing on the moss on a boulder lining the campground road.

 The Sweet Shrub is in bloom along the campground road too.

I took another, close up, for a better look.

The field of large boulders is green as ever.

We chatted with the campers huddled under their tarps to stay dry. Everyone seemed happy. It was getting colder so Andy stopped back in the motorhome to put on a sweatshirt under his raincoat. I saw this turkey on the horse trail while I waited outside.

It’s not the best picture ever, but it is better than my usual turkey butt.

At 1800, someone reported from Clingman’s Dome that the snow was starting to stick. At 1920, the park closed the road to Clingman’s Dome. There was ½ to ¾ of an inch at that point. A ranger called in tags for two cars parked there to see if they belonged to backpackers. Dispatch checked and both cars belonged to people who had registered for backcountry campsites for tonight so they didn’t have to worry about them driving out in the snow.

A woman was walking by our site as it was getting dark so Andy went out to see if she needed some directions. She said she was looking for a place to pitch her tent. Andy asked where she came from and she said she had walked from Georgia. Surely, not today. Then Andy told her where to find the tent campground.