While checking out of our motel this morning, we asked the owner the question that had occurred to us yesterday as we toured the auto road: Is he related to Ephraim Bales whose farm buildings have been preserved in the National Park? Sure enough, he, the owner of the Bales Motel, was the grandson of Ephraim. Pretty cool.
We set off for the National Park, hoping that the Cades Cove area might be open today. Upon arrival, we saw the portable sign indicating that , no, that area of the park was still not accessible. Apparently the storm on Thursday took down some large trees that fell over the access roads, and they still had not been cleared. So, we opted to head south on the road that bisects the park. Our first stop was the Alum Cave Trail. The trail crosses over streams several times, and traverses old growth forest of hemlock and yellow birch. Most notable to us, though, were the giant stands of flowering rhododendron. There are two species of rhododendron here: rosebay (white) and catawba (pink-purple). We saw massive flowering displays of both on this trail. Its hard to describe the sight of these towering stands (I'd guess 20 feet high) all along the hillsides that flank the rushing streams. Absolutely gorgeous. We followed the trail along to Arch Rock, a large slate black rock that has formed over the millennia, a natural arch. There is a set of steep stone stairs that take you down through the arch. A steel cable has been set into the rock as a handhold. The trail was easy to hike, and the air in the forest and by the rushing streams, cool enough. But the humidity was very high. And, as usual, I sweat up a storm.
We continued down Newfound Gap Road and stopped at a few overlooks to enjoy the splendor of this place. Did you know that the mountains are misty because the huge amount of foliage causes evaporation? In these times, pollution also adds to the haze.These mountains are so different from the Rockies. Their allure is more low key, not like the flash-bang , slap-you-in-the-face brilliance of the mountains of the west. We'd love to come back in the fall.
We set off for the National Park, hoping that the Cades Cove area might be open today. Upon arrival, we saw the portable sign indicating that , no, that area of the park was still not accessible. Apparently the storm on Thursday took down some large trees that fell over the access roads, and they still had not been cleared. So, we opted to head south on the road that bisects the park. Our first stop was the Alum Cave Trail. The trail crosses over streams several times, and traverses old growth forest of hemlock and yellow birch. Most notable to us, though, were the giant stands of flowering rhododendron. There are two species of rhododendron here: rosebay (white) and catawba (pink-purple). We saw massive flowering displays of both on this trail. Its hard to describe the sight of these towering stands (I'd guess 20 feet high) all along the hillsides that flank the rushing streams. Absolutely gorgeous. We followed the trail along to Arch Rock, a large slate black rock that has formed over the millennia, a natural arch. There is a set of steep stone stairs that take you down through the arch. A steel cable has been set into the rock as a handhold. The trail was easy to hike, and the air in the forest and by the rushing streams, cool enough. But the humidity was very high. And, as usual, I sweat up a storm. 
No comments:
Post a Comment