Our plan was to head out to the mountains for a morning hike, but the closer we got the heavier the rain fell. This was the first time we've ever really taken Michael on a hike in the mountains. But we had to take a detour to Cades Cove. We don't make it a habit of going to Cades Cove because of the crowds, but the rain helped take care of that as well. The clouds on the mountains were beautiful!
The rain gave someone an abundance of puddles to splash in.
We walked around like tourists including some goofy pictures.
The only wildlife we saw up close in Cades Cove was a pretty sorry looking turkey. (There were deer way out in the distance)
As we were leaving Cades Cove, the weather cleared up. Seeing the sunshine was almost depressing, because we were really looking forward to a hike. We decided to turn off onto the Tremont Road and that's where we saw this little guy in the woods right by the road. He galloped off a couple of feet at the sight of us and then turned around and posed a bit. He was actually quite close. In all the years we have lived here, we have never seen a bear...never. Not in Cades Cove or on any trail.
I joke that I like to see my wild animals at the zoo. After today, I pretty much feel the same. This guy galloped off into the woods and we headed up the road to Tremont.
God's beautiful creation
We had heard there was a falls trail right behind Tremont, so we thought we'd give it a try. We followed the signs marked Falls and headed off. It was pretty steep and root-y. That was okay until JP started slipping on the trail in front of us, so then we had to turn around. We got to the bottom and decided we'd walk on further on the Meigs Mountain/ Curry Mountain Trails. I let JP go in front, well, because he's bigger and could scare bears off easier. Michael and Tera walked ahead with him. We weren't 100 yards up the trail, when he stopped. They had seen another bear...a big bear. Tera said the size of the ones at the zoo. (They are huge). I thought for a minute he was joking, but realized really quickly he was not. He said (after he caught up with me---I was outta there quickly in the opposite direction) that the bear had run off a few feet but then turned around looking at them like he was going to stand his ground. So, we left him to his turf and headed back to our car and to lunch! Needless to say, we weren't taking snapshots of this bear. I'm so thankful that I let JP go first, because I'm quite sure I might have fainted.
These two little fakers trying to pretend they were asleep when we pulled into the driveway.
Most days don't go exactly how we plan them. Sometimes we just need to stop--enjoy splashing through rain puddles, seeing clouds on a mountain, and unforgettable memories of encountering bears on the trail.