For the July 4th weekend, we decided to camp at Myrtle Beach. So yesterday we camped at the Cades Cove campground for one night to test out the camping. The last time my mom and I went camping, I was around 10 years old. Here's our tent all set up at the campsite.
The test went well. We realized there were a few more things we needed to add to the list to bring with us. We also unexpectedly got to to test out how well the rainfly worked, and fourtunately it worked very well.
In the morning after packing up, we went for a hike on the Pine Oak Nature Trail..
I just like the way the sun was shining through the trees here. This was the only photo that I like that I took between the bottom of this trail and where it got to the top of the mountain (well, foothill of a mountain anyway). It was quite a climb up to the top. It switched back and forth around 5 times to go up to the top.
This was the one good scenic view from the top.
This deer made this whole rather long hike totally worth the hole thing. The deer started out here, a little ways down the trail from us. We stood still watching (and taking pictures), and the deer actually walked along the trail towards us.
This photo is zoomed in some, but not all that much. The deer got to within about 15 feet of us. Unfortunately, I had the camera on autofocus and didn't realize until afterwards that it wasn't focusing correctly. But seeing the deer was still awesome, even if the photos were only so-so.
This was a very cook looking spider web along the trail. This was the best photo I got of it.
Mom saw and liked these flowers as I was taking pictures of the web. So I went back and got this one for her.
I went back to try some more with the web after that. I really liked the way light plays off the water droplets on the web in this one.
There were around 3 of these types of bridges we had to cross on the way down the trail. I just liked the way this one looked over its stream.
This small waterfall was cooler looking in person, but this was the best picture I got of it.
This sign is a lie! The only way this trail is mile is maybe if you just fly up to top as a bird and straight back down. Mom and I think the length you actually have to walk on the trail is more like at least 2 miles. But regardless we did it.
When we were about halfway along the trail, we remembered that in this trail guidebook we have that the author rates this as a difficult trail. He also said that it is not only a mile. But by the time we remembered this, it was too late to not just keep going.
Here's mom coming off the trail. She made it too (just barely).
After the trail we went on a drive around the Cades Cove Loop.
It wasn't long before we saw a stoppage that always means wildlife along the road. This bear was sitting between two trees along with her cubs at her feet. This is the best shot I got of her.
But I also got this video, and towards the end of it you can see the cubs playing together.
Farther down the loop, we saw a buck in a field. Unfortunately, by the time the car in front of us got out of the way, all I ended up getting a picture of was buck butt going into the woods.
When we drove up to the field this bear was in, she was actually standing up on her back paws. I think she had her cubs in woods behind her.
I did take this video of her. Sorry about the waving around, the people passing behind me were distracting at points.
So when the bear went on into the woods, I drove on further. Not farther along, people were once again stopping and pointing. So I got out again, and we got to see the mother bear along with her 3 cubs passing through this small field behind a barn. I love this series of photos. They are the best I have ever gotten of a bear in the Smokies.
 |
| This is the only one where you can really tell that she had 3 cubs. |
This was a stream flowing along further down the loop. The water was flowing fast but this has a bit of time lapse to it.
This is actually the other side of that same stream after it had flowed under the road.
