Back to Nature (2)

On Saturday, we went back to Cades Cove and walked the 8 mile loop.  This time, knowing what it was going to be like, things went smoother.  I ate a better breakfast, I had better clothes, and I brought a picnic lunch.  

Last time, we went to Pigeon Forge to eat lunch.  Yikes.  That place is like Las Vegas-family style.  There is not much nature there.

This time-we did things right-and it was so soothing and so amazing and it had us planning our third trip there.

Here are some pictures from our walk:

It was great to get there early, and watch the mist rise, the sun come up and the cove change from night to daytime.

The mountains and the valley were still amazing as ever.  It reminded me of a sentence I read in Saints at the River by Ron Rash where he says, "...nature has gone out of its way to make man feel insignificant." 

This time we stopped at some old cabins to give Burl some time out of the stroller and we were able to use nature's powder room (don't tell anyone...it doesn't make me sound classy).

One of the parts that MADE the trip was that we ran into bears.  That's right-bears.  Not one, but two bears!

It was great!!!  When we got back to the picnic area, we laid Burl on the blanket and let him kick and roll and coo with happiness because he was out of the stroller:

Of course he was happy, this was his ceiling:

After lunch, we all took turns dipping our feet in the creek.  Man, was it cold.

Picnic by the creek, not a bad way to end a great time at Cades Cove!