Hike a Beautiful Trail

Hello all. Since my last post, we have been busy hiking. The weather has held out and it has been beautiful and sunny. We did something we hadn't done in over a week--run the air conditioner. But only for about 2 hours tops; then we got an afternoon shower and a breeze off the river, so we opened the windows again. We have extended our stay a few more days and head out Wednesday. Here are the pics as promised. Enjoy!

Mingus Mill--oldest running mill--since 1887. The millstones are still the original stones. The corn stone comes from Smokemont, the wheat stone from France.

 

 

Oconaluftee Indian Village--a recreation of the Indian village. The middle one is making a canoe. They put clay around it, burn it with fires, and hollow it out. The man said it takes roughly six months, and the whole village helps out. They even included a fight scene. Cool!

 

 

 

 

Mingo Falls waterfall--a simply beautiful cascade

Another pretty waterfall on the Deep Creek trail

Clingman's Dome--topmost part of the park (1/2 mile hike straight up; but what a view!) When you get to the top, you get to see 3 states:  NC, TN, and of my favorite, VA!

 

 

 

Smokemont Loop trail was 6.1 miles. Heard a coupla bears but scared them off. It was very pretty and quiet. Once we hit the Smokemont part, 1/2 of it was up, but again, the other half was down. Phew!

Today we did the river hike along the Oconaluftee River. It was 3 miles and basically flat. Tomorrow we tackle a 4 mile hike, relatively easy, to a hidden waterfall. Enjoy!