Great Smoky Mountains

My stay at Norris Dam State Park in Tennessee was somewhat interrupted by weather and having to get the right front tire replaced on the truck. But I did manage a day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Norris Dam

 It was a 3 hour round trip and passing through Pigeon Forge made it a bit longer. This place is a tourist town on steroids; everything from Dollywood to Jurassic Park to Feuding Lumberjacks. And the fact that many of the local schools were on spring break didn't help the heavy traffic conditions.

Still, I did get to do a few hour “auto tour” of the park. There were more people than I expected for the first week in April and some of the locals I spoke with said they wouldn't even consider coming to the park during the summer months because of the crowds.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by FDR in 1940. It encompasses 522,419 acres making it one of the largest National Parks as well as the most visited.

Having a limited amount of time, my plan was to drive the Newfound Gap Road for 29 miles from Sugarland’s Visitor’s Center at the west end, through the park, to the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center at the east end, stopping at Clingmans Dome on the way which would take about an hour. Then drive back to the Sugarland’s Visitors Center, pick up Cades Cove Road and make the 27 mile, 1 hour drive to Cades Cove Loop. Both of these roads wind through the mountains with sharp curves and steep grades so going is slow.

The Newfound Gap Road had several areas of road construction and the drive took longer than planned. I made it as far as Clingmans Dome and had to start back toward Sugarland’s or I wouldn't have time to make it to Cades Cove. I did manage a few photos along the way but didn't have time to do any trail hiking.

Along Newfound Gap Road

Along Newfound Gap Road

Newfound Gap Overlook

At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. There had been a foot of new snow a few days earlier and some of it still remained at the summit. While the temperatures were in the upper 70’s near the park entrance, it was only 56 up at the dome.

View from Clingmans Dome

I think the drive on Old State Hwy 73 Scenic, AKA Cades Cove Road / Little River Road, was much prettier than Newfound Gap. It follows the Little River and Laurel Creek, providing great scenes of these clear mountain streams flowing over boulder and rock strewn beds.

Along Cades Cove Road

Along Cades Cove Road

Along Cades Cove Road

Cades Cove is an isolated valley which was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the park. It attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant wildlife. The Cades Cove Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cades Cove Valley

There are about 10 homesteads and churches located on the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop. I understand that during the busy season this 11 mile drive can take up to 4 hours to complete. My limited time and completely full parking areas at most of the buildings allowed me only 2 stops; the Primitive Baptist Church and Cable Mill visitor’s center which has a large parking lot and a nice collection of buildings in one place.

The Primitive Baptist Church was constructed in 1887. The church was organized as the Cades Cove Baptist Church in 1827, and renamed "Primitive Baptist" after the Anti-missions Split in 1841.

The John Cable Grist Mill, constructed in 1868.

The Becky Cable House, constructed in 1879, adjacent to the grist mill.

Various buildings have been moved from elsewhere in the cove and placed near the Cable Mill visitor’s center, including this barn.

You can read more about Cades Cove here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cades_Cove

It was a short stay for such a large park but I thought it was worth it, seeing that I was camped so close. I’m now in southern Indiana at Brown County State Park and should be back in the Chicago area next Tuesday. Will be spending a few weeks at Ronna’s place until the state parks up north open for the season.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Stone Mountain North Carolina

I spent the last few days in the eastern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at Stone Mountain State Park, North Carolina. This 14,100 acre park is named for Stone Mountain with its 600 foot granite dome. It was established in 1969 and designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1975.

The camping spot was very nice with a small creek running just outside my back door. If the weather had been warmer it would have been nice to leave the windows open and listen to it all night. But temperatures were down in the upper 20’s and low 30’s most nights. Being in this hilly area made cellular service spotty. I was able to text and make phone calls most of the time and internet, while very slow, was available over my Verizon phone. Some fellow campers who had other providers weren't so lucky

One day graced me with a few inches of snow; wet heavy stuff that coated the trees and was just beautiful. But maybe not so for the people up north who have seen far too much of the stuff this year.

The snow was gone by 5 PM but kept me around camp that day. Rain on another day and doing some minor truck repair and getting a propane refill on another took up more time.

There are several hiking trails in the park and I did manage some exploring on a nice, cool sunny day. My first stop was Stone Mountain Falls. It was over 300 stairs to the base of the falls, and of course what goes down has to come back up.

 

After a short break I continued upward.The hike to Stone Mountain Summit is only 1.6 miles but the gain in elevation and the previous 300+ stair climb made it feel much longer. I rewarded myself with a cold drink and chocolate bar before heading back down the mountain.

View on the Summit Trail

Almost there......

Made it!!

After descending to the truck I drove to the lower parking area and walked a half mile (uphill of course) to the Hutchinson Homestead. The original cabin was built by John and Sidney Jane Brown Hutchinson in 1855 (restored in 1998). Rooms were added over the years that it served 4 generations of Hutchinsons. The site features the cabin with original furnishings, barn, meat house, blacksmith shop and corn crib. On weekends during peak season the buildings are open to the public and staffed by park rangers. But at this time of year everything is locked up, although one is free to roam about the grounds.

On my way back to the camper I encountered some of the local wildlife.

Needless to say I slept well that night!

Tomorrow I leave for Norris Dam State Park in Tennessee. Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

South Carolina and Heading North

Hello from South Carolina!

Last week I spent a few days at Hunting Island State Park which lies north of Hilton Head Island. My campsite was only a hundred feet or so from the beach and provided some beautiful sunrises over the Atlantic. How nice it was to watch the show each morning from my dinette window as I sipped my morning coffee and take daily walks on the beach to view the sunsets over the park.

Camp

Sunrise

Sunrise

Walk on the beach

This one had me stumped...

Groin

Brown pelican 

Sunrise view from my dinette in the camper

Sunset

Sunset

On Thursday I took a drive into Charleston to visit Patriots Point and Fort Sumter. I have to apologize for some of the photography below as the quarters on the ships are quite tight, lighting isn’t the best and some of the rooms don’t allow walk-in access, just viewing through a Plexiglas panel. At Fort Sumter the sun was bright with harsh shadows. Now that I have my excuses out of the way we can continue.

Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum is located in Charleston Harbor and I drove across the half billion dollar, 8 lane, Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to get there. This cable - stayed bridge spans over 13000 feet over the Cooper River and is the third largest such bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Home of 3 retired Navy vessels, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10), the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724) and the submarine USS Clamagore (SS-343),  Patriots Point also boasts a recreated Vietnam Navel Support Base as well as dozens of historic aircraft. Fort Sumter is on an island further out in the harbor and accessible only by ferry tour boats.

I arrived at 9 AM when the ships opened and purchase a ticket for the 1:30 PM tour boat to Fort Sumter. Lucky I arrived early as it took almost 4 hours to tour the 3 ships and support base, grab a quick bite to eat and board the tour boat. 

The crowd was light on this sunny but cool winter day and I had the USS Laffey all to myself for a while. This Alan M. Sumner class destroyer is 376 feet long, commissioned on February 8^th, 1944 and had a 336 man crew. Named after Seaman Bartlett Laffey, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, she saw extensive action in the Atlantic, at the D-Day Invasion, and the Pacific theater. Nicknamed “The ship that wouldn’t die” she survived five kamikaze and 3 bomb hits while operating off Okinawa on April 16^th, 1945. It was kind of spooky to sit in the aft gun turret and watch a movie about that day, realizing that 6 sailors lost their lives there (in the original turret) when it was struck by one of the kamikaze. She was decommissioned in 1975 and arrived at Patriots Point in 1981. The tour of the ship is self-guided and most of the decks are open to the public.

Operating / examination room

Galley

Mess

Chow line

Captain's Bridge

Helm

You can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Laffey_(DD-724)

Next was the USS Clamagore, a 322 foot diesel powered submarine. She was commissioned in June of 1945, just a few weeks before the end of the war and didn’t see any combat action. Her 30 year career was spent operating out of Key West, Charleston and New London. Decommissioned at Philadelphia in 1975, she was towed to Patriots Point in 1981. The self-guided tour begins at the forward torpedo room, runs the full length of the ship, and ends at the aft torpedo room.

Forward torpedo room

Rudder and diving plane wheels. Ladder to conning tower (left)

Galley

Mess

Wash station

Aft engine room

Electrical control panel

Head

Aft torpedo room

You can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Clamagore_(SS-343)

The USS Yorktown, “The Fighting Lady”, was named for the Yorktown (CV-5) which was sunk at the battle of Midway. This Essex class carrier was commissioned on April 15, 1943 and saw extensive action in the Pacific during WW II as well as during the Viet Nam War. Her last assignment was recovering the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1965.  She stared in 2 motion pictures, a 1944 Academy Award winning documentary “The Fighting Lady” and in the 1970 movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!”  She carried a crew of 380 officers, 3,088 enlisted men and 90 planes. There are 6 self-guided tours that cover most of the ship and you can eat a hot lunch in the CPO Galley, served in the style that the men experienced when she was operational (I missed that, darn it!). Decommissioned in 1970, the Yorktown was towed from New Jersey to Charleston and opened as a museum in 1975.

Walkway to ships

Wash station

Machine shop

Crew berths

Head

Pharmacy 

Operating room

Sick bay

Engine room

Galley

Bakery. There are 16 pizza style ovens in here.

Pilot's ready room

Flight deck

Admiral's quarters

Helm

Captain's bridge

Officer's mess

Brig

Barber shop

Ship's store

You can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-10)

Along the waterfront there is full scale exhibit of an ATSB (Advanced Tactical Support Base) like the ones operated by the Navy during the Viet Nam War. The primary mission of the “Brown Water Navy” was the support of ground troops and counterinsurgency operations. Unfortunately the angle of the sun prevented me from photographing the interior of the building as the doorways are covered in Plexiglas and I was left standing out in bright sunshine. Vintage tapes of AFVN radio (Armed Forces Vietnam Network) plays on loudspeakers as you tour the grounds.

Entry gate

Mess hall in foreground

Bell UH-1 "Huey" with mini-gun

Cobra gunship

"Huey" medevac

Watch tower

You can read more about the “Brown Water Navy” here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy

It was about a 40 minute boat ride each way through Charleston Harbor to Fort Sumter with an informative narrative about the harbor playing on the loudspeakers. The Fort is named after Thomas Sumter, South Carolinas Revolutionary War patriot. On April 12, 1861 the opening shots of the American Civil War were fired here. You are allowed 1 hour at this National Monument before the ship departs for the return trip. The hour is just about enough to tour the remnants of the fort which was once 3 stories tall. Only about 80% of only the first level remains due to the fact that it was bombarded numerous times during the course of the war. Most bombardments were done by the North as the fort was in Confederate hands from 1863 until 1865 when it was abandon due to General Sherman’s army advancing on Savannah.

During the Spanish American War, Battery Huger (named after another South Carolina Revolutionary War hero) was constructed inside the fort and dominates the entire central section. Battery Huger was reactivated during WW I and then again in WW II when anti-aircraft guns were installed. In 1948 it was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service. Battery Huger now serves as a museum and gift shop. 

Arriving at Fort Sumter

Esplanade 

View from top of Battery Huger. Tour boat in background.

Powder magazine, whats left of it

Cannon port looking out over harbor

Battery Huger

You can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sumter

It was a long day, almost a 2 hour drive each way and after leaving camp at 7 AM I didn’t get back until a bit after 6 PM. But well worth the trip, I can heartily recommend these historic attractions.

I left Hunting Island yesterday and now camped at Little Pee Dee State Park in northeast South Carolina, near the North Carolina border. Named for the Little Pee Dee River that flows through here, this seems to be a newer state park, judging by the condition of things. It’s somewhat out of the way and there are only 3 campers other than myself here at the moment, a nice place if you’re looking for a quiet, remote spot. They are still cleaning up from an ice storm that passed through last week. I’m told the power was out for 4 days and, while the roads and campsites have been cleared, there are still many down trees and branches. There is a small lake visible from my dinette window and I’m enjoying the tranquility of the woods after the past 2 days of driving and sightseeing.

On Tuesday I will resume my northward migration into North Carolina. Hope you are all happy and healthy!

Dave