Day in Gatlinburg

Monday, we headed to Tennessee to visit that side of the Smokies but first had another great breakfast at Everett Street Diner.  Driving through Cherokee, Sandy pulled over next to a gas station.  What at first appeared to be statues were actually elk.

We watched them for a few minutes as they crossed the street in a crosswalk and then continued grazing.

We entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park and soon had to stop for a mother elk and her fawn in the road.

We continued all the way through the park to Gatlinburg and took Cherokee Orchard Road to Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  Right near the start of the one-way road, we parked at the trailhead for Baskins Creek Trail.

There were a good number of wildflowers blooming along the trail.

The trail gradually headed up for a short ways to a ridge.

Even in summer, there were nice views along the ridge here.

After this, it went back into the forest and started to descend down to Falls Branch.

There were more wildflowers blooming and we saw some mushrooms too.

The giant ironweed was really pretty.

In just over a mile, we came to a split and went left on a spur towards the waterfall.  The last part of the trail was very steep heading down to the base of Baskins Creek Falls.

Although the water was low, I thought it was a really nice waterfall.  And unlike the nearby Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls, we didn't see anyone else along the trail.

I climbed up the side to the base of the upper drop.

Harper splashed around a bit in the shallow water at the base and then we headed back.  We took the spur to see the little cemetery.

Then we made the climb back up to the car.

Roaring Fork Motor Trail is one way so we had to drive the rest of the way.  Near the other end of Baskins Creek Trail, we spotted a bear sniffing around just next to the road.

The road ended back in Gatlinburg and we parked to visit the aquarium.

It was very crowded and rather over-priced but they had a lot of cool exhibits and Harper enjoyed seeing all the fish.

There was an upper and lower level with exhibits from various aquatic and marine environments.

Harper seemed to really enjoy watching the jellyfish.

The fish and sea life were really beautiful.

A moving walkway led through a tunnel in the shark lagoon with sharks, turtles and rays swimming about.

The sawfish was really cool.

After cruising through the lagoon, there were a few more exhibits to check out.

The snake-like garden eels were really cool.

The scorpionfish was well camouflaged and looked very much like a rock.

Mudskipper is fish that can breath air.

The sea walnuts were really cool.

The last exhibit we visited was the penguins.  A keeper was giving out toys to the penguins.  Harper and I crawled through the tunnel so she could pop up for a closer view.

After this, we took off and headed to Gatlinburg Brewing Company for a late pizza lunch.  Then we started making our way back to NC.  We first stopped for a roadside view of Chimney Tops.

Then we stopped again at Ben Morton Overlook.

After crossing back into NC, we pulled over again to see a bear foraging along the side of the road.

Finally, we stopped at Mingus Mill.

We took Harper for a short stroll along the mill race and got come pictures of the mill.

Then we headed back to Bryson City for the evening.

Drive through Nantahala Gorge

Sunday, we went into town for a great breakfast at Everett Street Diner.  After breakfast, we headed west on US-74 through the Nantahala Gorge.  Our first stop was at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.  We walked across the street and down to Nantahala Falls.

The river release hadn't started and the flow was very low.  It's fun to paddle over when the water is higher but not much of a waterfall.  Then we went back up to the bridge and went down past the railroad tracks.  I think the road is closed and we couldn't make it to Townhouse Falls.

We could get a view of Wesser Falls from just past the bridge.  In the low water, this one looked nicer.

Then we took off and continued up through Nantahala Gorge.  We turned on FR-422/Winding Stairs Road, crossing the twin bridges over the river and then steep, bumpy climb up the road.  It was about 3 miles to a viewpoint of Queens Falls.

The view from the road in summer isn't great and I think all the land is private property.

So we headed back down the mountain and parked at a small area on the other side of the road.  A short trail led up across the railroad tracks and crossed Bartram Trail to Findley Falls.

This small waterfall on Ledbetter Creek is easy to reach, especially with a baby.  All the other waterfalls are much, much harder.

We let Harper crawl around a bit and then headed back.  We continued to Wayah Road and headed up and stopped at a nice drop on Nantahala River.

A fisherman was in the river but it would have been difficult to get down, so we continued to a parking area just a couple hundred feet up the road at the Cascades of Nantahala.

A short paved pathway provided nice views of the cascades.

We then continued to Old River Road and parked at the bridge over Whiteoak Creek.  Heading back across the bridge, Jagged Rock Falls was right across where Old River Road split from Wayah Road.

In low water and summer foliage, it wasn't too impressive but did have a lot of wildflowers blooming around it.

There was some thistle blooming along the river.

We then made the short hike to Whiteoak Falls.

I first climbed up to the pool at the base and rock-hopped out for a picture.  But I liked the view from further downstream better.

Then we headed back and drove just a short ways further up Old River Road to another parking area that was right at the top of Nantahala Cascades.

A short scramble path led down to the base.

It looked like there used to be stone steps but they had washed away.

We got some pictures and then climbed back up.

There were some wildflower blooming along the road here.

Driving back, we made one more stop to see a heron at the top of Whiteoak Falls.

Then we headed back to NOC to get lunch at River's End.  After lunch, we took Needmore Road into Needmore Game Land and turned on Big Dog Road, pulling over in a quarter-mile at the top of Rattlesnake Falls.

I didn't see a reasonable path down to the base and it really didn't seem worth it anyway.

There was some butterfly bush blooming along the road.

Driving back, we stopped at the Needmore Road Suspension Bridge.

There were nice views of Little Tennessee River and the wobbly bridge led to a gravel road on the other side.

Then we headed back to Bryson City and enjoyed the nice hot tub at our cabin.

Return to Catawba Falls

Saturday, we left to take Harper for a week in the Smoky Mountains for her first birthday.  We left early and stopped on the way near Old Fort at the trailhead for Catawba Falls.  The area was closed for several years as the Forest Service was making improvements for safety and accessibility and had reopened at the beginning of the summer.  This would be our first visit since reopening.  Arriving at 8, it was raining lightly and there were only a few cars in the parking lot - a good thing we arrived early.  After getting Harper in her backpack, we set off on the Catawba Falls River Trail that mostly followed the old trail.

Soon, we came to a bridge at the ruins of an old hydroelectric building.

It used to be a rock hop across the river, but the bridge has been here for a few years.  The trail followed the river upstream with a moderate incline.  In about a mile, the trail passed Lower Catawba Falls.

Before the new trail, there was a scramble path down to the base, but that was no longer possible with the trail reroute.

We could see the upper portion of the waterfall from here, but the lower section with the small cave was not visible.  The only way down would be to backtrack to a point to get in the river and creek walk up, but weren't going to do that with a baby.  I did a quick loop on the short wildflower trail and then we continued on.

The stairs began shortly before we reached Catawba Falls and we could get out at the base.

The water level was a little low, but the waterfall was pretty in the light drizzle.

Although visible from the base, the stairs weren't as much of an eyesore as I expected.

Then we began the steep climb up the steps.  Several landings provided a view of the upper sections of the falls.

Carrying Harper, I took a few breaks to enjoy the view and catch my breath.  The old path to reach the upper falls was still visible beneath the steps.

The final part of the climb was up an observation tower that had nice views, especially from the top.

It was just a short ways further to Upper Catawba Falls.

The new viewing deck provided a nice view and we scrambled on the rocks for more pictures.

On the hike back, we took Catawba Ridge Trail to make a loop and avoid going down all those steps.  It was a bit more uphill and then started heading down.

Overall, I think they did a nice job in building the new trails and stairs.  I would prefer the wilderness experience but the area was so popular and so many incidents that something had to be done.  The parking lot was full when we got back, even with the rain, so glad we arrived early.

It was getting to be around lunch time, so we drove to Asheville and fajitas at Orales.  It was still a little early to check in, so we made a stop at the Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  While Harper and Sandy browsed, I went for a hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail heading south/westbound.

There were some wildflowers blooming along the roadside and in open areas, but most were non-native.

I hiked just past the tunnel under I-40 and turned around.

On the hike back, a very large black bear popped out on the trail in front of me.  He turned and ran immediately but we sure was a big boy.  Sandy and Harper were about finished up and we took off.

We drove west to Bryson City and stopped at the visitor center to get a parking pass and then checked into our little cabin.