Smokemont Campground: Great Smoky Mtn. Nat'l Park September 21 - 28, 2020

 We spent a great week "bookdocking" in the Smokies.  For those of you unfamiliar with boondocking, that means that we were not hooked up to power, water, or sewer.  When we bought our trailer, we wanted to be able to boondock a lot, so we got a trailer with large fresh water, black (sewer) water, and grey (sink) water tanks, as well as a solar panel on the roof to charge our batteries.  This is the first time we have boondocked for an entire week, and it worked out extremely well.  It helps that I accidentally chose a site that got sun, so the solar panels recharged the batteries during the day.  We had brought along a generator, just in case, but never needed it.

We got a lot of rain, but we were prepared for that, also, bringing books on Kindle, games, etc.  The only difficult thing about the rain is that you are basically in a very expensive tin can, and rain on the roof is VERY loud, especially when you are trying to sleep.  Here at home this morning, I was happy to wake up to know that it was raining, and I hadn't heard it until I woke up!

We had a great site across from a branch of the Oconaluftee River.

We were able to do several really nice hikes.  The first was a wonderful short walk in the fog at a "quiet walkway" at one of the overlooks.  The trail was lined with beautiful ferns and wildflowers.  Seeing them all in the fog was magical. Facebook friends have already seen these.

Another day we did the Kephart Prong Trail up to the Kephart Shelter.  It was an incredibly lovely trail, also, following a prong of the Oconaluftee River as it cascaded down the mountainside.  Unfortunately, my phone malfunctioned, and the camera icon vanished, so I didn't get many pix that day. (It was an easy fix when I got time to deal with it.)  The trail was not for those afraid of heights, though.  Four times, you crossed the river on a log footbridge with a good handrail.  Most of these were 10-15 feet or more above the level of the rushing water.

Oconalufee River

Alan on log footbridge

From a distance, so you can see how high the footbridge was.

We also enjoyed park service things near the visitor center:

Mingus Mill:  The water went to a chute
that ran a turbine, not a water wheel.

Farmstead display:  Lovely old cabins, barn, etc.
 moved there so visitors could see typical
 old buildings on a farm in the mountains.

Huge chestnut logs 

The Park Service has reintroduced elk into the park, and a herd would show up near the visitor center almost every evening--causing a huge traffic jam.  But they were fun to see.  It was rutting season, so we could hear the bull elk bugling, even in the campground sometimes.  If you've never heard the sound, it is really interesting, and VERY loud. Utube of Elk "bugling"

I don't have pictures, but we did go into the little town of Cherokee, NC a couple of times.  It is a part of the reservation of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.  It is a typical tourist town on a reservation:  lots of souvenir shops selling Indian paraphernalia and a casino.  There is an excellent Museum of the Cherokee there, also.  I recommend it, especially if you are not very familiar with the history of the Cherokee in this country.  Lots of interesting artifacts.

https://www.cherokeemuseum.org/

Everyone is interested in how Shelby fares, so I will end with her.  

Yes, she is allowed to sit on the table,
where she can watch what is happening outside.

She must have been cold here,
so snuggled as far back on her bed as she could get.

She did have two mishaps:  

One night I woke up with her on top of me retching.  It was probably a hairball, but she had upchucked all over the trailer.  We were concerned and didn't leave her alone the next day.  She was fine, though.

The other incident was more serious.  I've told you in the past that she now has completely acclimated to driving in the truck. She immediately goes under Alan's seat and sleeps the whole way.  On the way back, she got under the seat as usual, but without our realizing it, her harness got caught in the seat mechanism and she couldn't get out.  Instead of crying and yowling, she just patiently waited until we stopped, discovered the problem, and Alan was able to untangle the harness from under the seat.  From now on, we are going to have to make sure she can't get under there!  It was terrifying to think of what could have happened if she had panicked, fought the harness, and choked herself.  We are so lucky that we have such a patient kitty who trusts us to help her when she needs help.