Big Creek

The men in the group site slept late and then loitered around the camp this morning.  When we headed out for the tent campground, one of them called to us.  When we walked over to see what he wanted and he gave us two mango juice drinks and a bag of Oreo cookies - because we were so nice and helpful.  He said they are international students at the University of Michigan. I asked where they were from; Dubai.  I asked if it is true that everyone in Dubai is rich.  He answered that that is a misconception; only seventy percent are rich.

Ericka, a regular camper we have known for years, came walking up to our host site with my book in her hand.  She and her husband had been out backpacking for a few nights and she stopped in so I could sign her book. She is actually mentioned in the book, but not by name.

All the sites in the tent campground and the horse camp were reserved for the weekend. Of course, we had several campers arrive without a reservation because they had not heard of the new system.

Here is today's Yellow Trillium with a moss background.

The two wildlife guys showed up again this morning. They unloaded the four-wheeler and prepared to head up the Big Creek Trail to find the bear.  Yes, he was a bad bear.

The previous users of the four-wheeler had told them a tire was bad and they had to walk back down the mountain.  So they checked the tire several times before loading their gear.

Then they loaded their rifles. The bad bear had a death warrant on him. He had torn into tents on seven occasions.  They had caught the bear in the past, took a DNA sample, gave him an ear tag, and put a tracking collar on him.  Then they took him back up to Campsite 36 and tased him at the scene of the crime before they let him go. The bear did not learn anything from the tasing and reappeared at the campsite three days later. His DNA matched the DNA on damaged tents. He was caught on camera tearing into another tent, wearing his tracking collar. It would only be a matter of time before that bear hurt a hiker for food.

I recalled a discussion we had with Ranger Tim some years ago.  He didn't think a taser would have much effect on a bear because of its thick fur coat. Ranger Ryan countered that a taser will fold a bear up like a dish rag. It is also effective on elk.

It was a sad occasion, but, really, this is the first time I saw the expression, "loaded and ready for bear" being literally true and appropriate.

They posed and gave me a couple cheesy grins before heading up the mountain.  I gave them nut bars for the ride. Ranger Ryan Williamson, the driver, is a wildlife technician.

I took this picture of Andy as we were sitting in our screen room after lunch. He had just made another face at me, but I snapped while he was chuckling at himself.

Then Andy noticed that water was leaking out the back of Scamp.  Not a good sign. I'll blame Winnebago for the design.  But, I was the one who did it.  Our galley sink has a glass cover to use for extra counter space.  Fine.  The trouble, though, is that if the tiny faucet handle is left in the hot position, lowering the glass lid will turn the water on.  The water filled the holding tank and then the sink.  The sink overflowed and some water was running into the top drawer.  And the middle drawer.  And the bottom drawer. After mopping as much water as I could off the floor, I emptied all the drawers and either dried or set stuff out to air dry. Then, we left all the drawers open for the rest of the day to dry out completely.  What a wet mess.

Andy heard the wildlife guys reporting to dispatch on the radio that they had finished with the bear and were on their way back down the trail. They showed up just before dark. (I used photoshop to lighten this picture.)  This is the tracking collar they took off the bear. It has a two-year battery and sends out a GPS signal every twenty seconds. He told us the collar costs $3,000 and a battery change costs $1,000. That is how the rangers can track the bears (or elk) on their cell phones and always know exactly where they are. He can remotely release the collar from a bear and then go pick up the collar after the bear has moved on.

The men clearly felt bad about putting the bear down.  I was impressed by how much effort they put into making sure they have the right bear before they resort to it. The evidence against this bear was overwhelming. But, he was just being a bear doing what bears do: eat. Ranger Ryan said the problem is people tempting bears by leaving food out. He surprised me by adding that the horse people are the worst because they bring coolers full of food up the mountain.

May 3, 2018 Big Creek Campground

The Vermont campers, Liz and Craig stopped in this morning before their hike up the Big Creek Trail.  We had a delightful chat.

Andy was obviously in a silly mood.  When I turned the camera toward him, he made this face.  He deserves to have it posted on my blog.

Daddy Long Legs season is officially here!  This group of five was on the campsite 12 signpost.

This cluster of Yellow Trillium was also near Site 12.

Here is yet another picture of Andy standing on the footbridge across Big Creek.

Andy spotted two turkeys crossing the road.  They wandered into the grass, but I could not get a good picture of them.

I got a clear shot of this one when it crossed the horse trail, but it was looking the other way.

Two men drove up in a park truck towing a trailer.  We had seen the trailer and four-wheeler in the parking lot last evening.  This morning the trailer was empty. The men said they were from Wildlife (a park department) and were looking for a bear.  I forgot to ask whether it was a "good bear" or a "bad bear".  They were also looking for a safe place to leave the four-wheeler. Andy told them to put it on our campsite. That four-wheeler would be easy picking for a thief - already on a trailer and ready to be towed away.

Here is a closer look.  I told the man we were going to take it for a ride, but he didn't seem concerned.

We have had campers arrive every day, not prepared for the new reservation system. Folks who have been camping here for years do not check the park website before they come.  So far they have bee lucky and there was still a campsite available.

While we were in the tent campground this evening, a carload of four men drove up looking for their campsite.  They had just made the reservation online.  But he did not have a cell signal in the campground and could not remember which site he had reserved.  And, he did not have his reservation number.  We could not put them in one of the two empty sites since someone else might have made reservations on the road too.  Andy and I walked back to the RV to check the reservation system again, but could not find them on it. Then, when we got back to the tent campground and the waiting men, one of them said they might have made a mistake and reserved the group site. Sure enough, they were on the group site reservation report.  We directed them to the group site.

About 10:30 this evening, two cars came driving in (through the group site, arousing the four men there).  They stopped when they saw me come out to investigate.  They had reserved Site 5 in the tent campground.  I gave them directions for finding it in the dark of night.

May 2, 2018 - Big Creek Wildflowers

OK, it's another wildflower day.  I have to snap them while they are in bloom.

This is along the creek from the campground to the picnic area.  I'll have to watch it and see what happens next.

The baby leaves are so soft and delicate.  I can't help caressing them as we pass by.

Here is Andy walking along the creek path.

This tree is at the edge of the tent campground, above the creek path.  I love how its roots have wrapped around the boulder.

This is Big Creek, looking upstream from the bridge in the picnic area.

And, here it is looking downstream from the bridge.

These Showy Orchids are just across the bridge.

I got these spiky flowers in better focus today.

I walked to the far side of the creek.  Andy is standing on the bridge.

This Sweetshrub or Sweet Betsy is growing along the campground road.

We set up our screen room today.  We were motivated by some bothersome gnats.

A small patch of tiny iris is growing along the path from our host campsite to the horse camp. That is something else I have not seen before.

The horse camp was empty, though it is going to be full this weekend. Here are some empty stalls.

Here, Andy is walking back up the trail to our host site from the horse campground.

Here is our campsite, seen from the horse trail.  Andy called it Camp Misovec.

On the radio:

A man was passed out along the Hazel Creek trail.

A car was on fire.

Several maintenance people were working on leaking water pipes.  It sounded as though someone had hit a water fixture with a car.  But, it is difficult to figure out what is going on unless we hear the very first transmission.

May 1, 2018 - Big Creek Campground

Our little RV is so full of tote bags full of food and assorted other essentials that I a finding it hard to function.  I cooked oatmeal for breakfast.  There is no counter space available to set the bowls for filling. As soon as I cleaned up the breakfast dishes, I started with the dinner.  I had a leg of lamb in the freezer at home, so I brought a crock pot with me.  The crockpot sits in a cloth basket behind the passenger seat.  I set it outside to cook. Without any counter space, I had to prepare it in the sink.

Maintenance-Man Spence stopped in to say hello. He told us that he worked all winter, except for two weeks.  In the past, he has been laid off for three months. He has been working all over the park, as Big Creek is closed for the winter. He also said that he is no longer just responsible for Big Creek.  He has to work at Cosby and Greenbrier.  He did not stay long as he had a lot of ground to cover.  He also explained that, with the budget cuts, he has been told not to do as much grounds work.  That explains why the grass is so tall.

Boss Larry also came to see us and explain the new procedures. He is also spread more thinly this year and covers a wider territory.  He said he will attempt to get over here once a week. I forgot to ask what he and Kristen did this past winter. They usually take some interesting trips in the offseason.

Here, we were walking up toward the parking lot and on to the tent campground.  The grass is tall and shaggy by Spence's standards, but there are a lot more flowers.

There is a bumper crop of Yellow Trillium this year. They are all over Big Creek and sometimes in patches.

Now, we are walking up the road to the tent campground.

Big Creek Campground has always been a walk-up, first-come/first-served campground.  You fill out an envelope, put your money inside, and drop it into the iron ranger. This year, they have switched to the reservation system. Reserve your campsite today at www.Recreation.gov

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Our job is to check the reservation website and prepare a registration card for each reservation, noting their arrival and departure dates. Of course, we still walk around the campground and greet campers, remind people about bears, and give out hiking and other advice. So far, we have had two campers arrive without a reservation - because they have been coming here for years not needing one. I let them use my phone to call the recreation .gov office to reserve a site.

I was delighted to see Liz and Craig from Vermont.  They are camping here on their annual spring wildflower vacation. I forgot to take their picture.

I have not yet begun to photograph wildflowers.

Big Creek is in Maryville and Knoxville, Tennessee

We spent most of the day visiting book stores.

Our first stop was Southland Books & Cafe in Maryville, TN, where we had a delightful visit with Lisa Misosky. The store is close to the park so I hope there will be some interest in Big Creek there.  Lisa thought there would be. She took ten copies. The store and cafe both look interesting and I might like to stop in again for the cafe on our next trip.  They are currently in the midst of expanding into the adjacent store space.

So, you Maryville folks, stop in and get your copy of Big Creek.  I would recommend a coffee and pastry while you are there.

Next, we visited a number of establishments in Knoxville.  I need to follow up with several, but Union Ave Books took three copies on consignment.  The classic downtown book store is small and they don't have room for too many copies.

We have never

Our last stop, on the way home really, was Tennessee RV Supercenter.  Most RV stores have a small book section so it was worth a shot.  Denise Harrell was interested in carrying it but wanted to check with her co-manager before making a purchase.  I gave her a copy of the book for review.