Leaving Smokies

View from the walking path going to Clingman's Dome.

A faraway bear. I'm scared of bears. Do you see the butterfly?

We're leaving the Smoky Mountains tomorrow. It was okay. We spent two days in the park. Yesterday we went to Clingman's Dome, and today to Cademan's Cove which is the most popular spot in the park. Cademan's is a one lane, one way 11 mile loop and people drive slow. Going in we were all fresh but coming out we were headachy and tired and hungry. People are as bad as at Yellowstone - they stop and no one can get around them. That part was kind of miserable. The best sighting today was a pileated woodpecker. He was big. We saw two black bears (a mama and her teen), one deer crossing a cemetery, and some turkey birds.

I was a little disappointed with the buildings at Cademan's Cove. The churches are so well kept that they didn't look old. They had the windows replaced and the part between the panes was plastic so I know they're new and all three churches were freshly painted. I expected them to look old. The cabins and outbuildings, well, I couldn't photograph some of them without the walking path chain being in the photo or cars. That's not very authentic! Then at the other end of the park, yesterday, I took a bunch of photos of the landscape and when I downloaded them they looked like a bunch of regular ol' trees and hills. Hmmm. A little disappointed. I like trees. We need trees. I'm the first to holler, "Hooray it's Arbor Day!" (That might be a stretch.) But I guess you need a specially trained eye to catch a really good tree doing what trees do.

I'm glad we came so I can say we've been here. I think fall with the changing leaves would be spectacular, but it's so crowded. On Sunday the park was packed. I suspect all the eastern parks are more cramped than the National Parks west of the Mississippi because of the high population of the eastern states. It's a blanket statement, but generally.

It's 513 miles to Gettysburg.

Now for the lyrics to one of my favorite songs from fourth grade. We sang it at school.

On top of Old Smokey,
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover,
For courting too slow.

For courting's a pleasure,
But parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover,
Is worse than a thief.

A thief will just rob you,
And take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover,
Will lead you to your grave.

The grave will decay you,
And turn you to dust,
Not one boy in a hundred
A poor girl can trust.

They'll hug you and kiss you,
And tell you more lies,
Than crossties on a railroad,
Or stars in the sky.

So come ye young maidens,
And listen to me,
Never place your affection
In a green willow tree.

For the leaves they will wither,
The roots they will die,
And you'll be forsaken,
And never know why.