Cades Cove-2 hour trip

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains.  If you click on the link you will find out more detailed information about the park and the activities here. 

There were 15 of us and we took hamburgers, hotdogs and the fixins.  We found two tables in a terrific location next to a stream.  We felt lucky to find two tables together so we could all be together.  Finally a day w/out rain!

Here are the guys getting the grills ready for us to use to cook the hamburgers and hotdogs.

Here are Sandy, Judy (standing) and Willa (sitting) posing for the picture and chatting about the food getting ready to be prepared.

Another of our couples from Etowah are Mary and James enjoying the day without rain.

Ann's got the right idea.  Read and block it all out.  That only lasted for a few minutes.  She had to get in the action.

Jim joined her to pose for the picture.  Jimmy is my nephew.

Here is DS and BIL, Wanda & Don.  They are the reason we are here.  They will celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary on Friday, October 16, 2009 but their group has been coming up to the Pigeon Forge for the last several years to celebrate with them.  My sister is such a sweet and kind person.  Everyone loves Wanda.

Bobby and Bobby carry on a very intense conversation.

DS, Shirley is getting the chili ready for the hotdogs and Willa looks on.  Sister Shirley is the planner and she gets us all headed in the right direction.

Wanda and I pose for a picture but where was Shirley?  It's not complete w/out the other one of us.

While we were eating we saw three deer run through our picnic site.  Cutiest little doe w/mama and another female.

Once we finished eating and cleaning up our area it was time to take a trip around the Cades Cove Scenic Loop.  By this time it's a little before dusk and it should be a good time to see wildlife.  So we all head to the bathroom and then load up in our vehicles.

The colors were just beginning to change and since it wasn't sunny, the mountains didn't show their beautiful fall colors the way sunlight dances on the leaves to give us the show they can.  It was still a beautiful drive.Here is the view of the road from the back of the van.

Just about the only wildlife we were viewing was deer.  Big, small, medium, you name it we saw many herds.  Willa estimates we saw about 75 head of deer.  Hope that's the correct terminology or my readers from TWRA will post and correct me, especially if they figure out they can post annomously.  LOL

Here is the church in the dell where last year, Wanda and Don renewed their vows.  Of course all the gang had a part in the ceremony.  BIL Doug performed the ceremony.  Bobby played the piano, Paul gave Wanda away and it just sounded like they had a ball reenacting their wedding.  Notice the church is standing on rocks as their foundation.

If you will look closely at the third car in front of us, you will see Ann as our spotter.  She was like a jack-in-the-box through her sunroof.  We were looking for black bear but alas, not to be.  I heard on the news tonight that there are an abundance of black bear in the area but we didn't see one.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you it took us 2 hours to go 11 miles on the Cades Cove Loop.  Lots and lots of cars inching along looking for that alusive black bear.

It was a good trip and a great cookout.  I am so glad that I got to come along and be part of a great group of Etowahans.