Fall Colors in North Carolina --October 22-26, 2018

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway,  October 23, 2018

Dear Friends,   We have had a busy but wonderful week...   From October 22-26,  we met our good friends,  Neal and Patti,  in Maggie Valley, North Carolina  for some fun times together.   Then,  yesterday,  we went with son Mark and his girlfriend Diana to the Smoky Mountains for the day... To say that I'm weary today is an understatement ---but it is a "HAPPY" kind of weary!!!!!

While in Maggie Valley,   we saw the elk in Cataloochee Valley.   We drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway.   We did some hiking.  We saw several waterfalls.   We drove down several  'back' roads and forest roads.   AND ---we DID see some pretty Autumn Colors.   As everyone says this year,  the colors are not as bright or as vivid  as usual in October.  BUT---that made us search even harder!!!

I haven't had much time to go through my pictures ---but did go through and pick out some of the pretty colors we saw.   Hope you enjoy FALL IN NORTH CAROLINA!!!!

A Mountain QUILT --full of Fall Colors,  taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway,  10/25/18

My Favorite Fall Color,  RED;  Taken on 10/23/18  off of Highway 215

Some Yellows/Oranges/Browns;  taken on 10/24/18 off of the unpaved Balsam Mountain Road (also known as the Heintooga Ridge Road),  10/24/18

Don't you love seeing all of the Fall Colors as we checked out the mountain ranges  from the Blue Ridge Parkway, 10/25/18?

Beautiful Tree showing off its colors;  Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, 10/23/18

I love the blue sky behind that brilliant yellow and red trees;  Taken along the Balsam Mountain Road, 10/24/18

Betsy and her RED Trees  (I love 'em);  Taken at the Deep Creek Area near Bryson City,  NC on 10/24/18

Fall Colors along the Blue Ridge Parkway,  10/25/18

Multi-Fall-Colors;  Taken at the Deep Creek area,  Bryson City, NC  on 10/24/18

A close-up showing the Fall Colors in the mountains,  taken from Highway 276 on 10/25/18

I'll close by showing you one of my favorite pictures  along the Blue Ridge Parkway,  10/25/18;  That is Looking Glass Rock behind the Autumn Colors.

As I said above,  the colors around our area (and others) are sparse  and/or dull for the most part this year.  We had a very rainy and warm September and a very WARM October...  In order to have pretty colors each fall,  we need some COLD weather  and we just didn't get much until about the week of Oct. 15.....  

Every year is different depending upon what Mother Nature gives us...  This year may not have been the prettiest --but we searched and searched ---and you can enjoy some of what we actually found!!!!!  The challenge was FUN!  Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Hugs,

Emoticons

ELK at Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina 10/23/14

This is the first Bull Elk we saw when getting to Cataloochee.

George and I took a vacation last week with our good friends,  NEAL and Patti.  This is the fourth year we have taken an Autumn Vacation together.  The four of us have so much fun together --and each trip seems to get better than the last one!!!!!  This year,  we spent several days in Maggie Valley,  North Carolina.

We were on the go-go-go each day from 7:15 in the morning until about 7:30 at night.  We did a lot of 'leaf peeking' ---searching for pretty Fall Colors.  We traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway stopping at most every overlook.  We traveled the back-roads ---especially on Scenic Highway 215 between Rosman and west of Waynesville.  We saw WATERFALLS and Cascades (Yeah)... We took a nice hike each day.  We ate some great meals... We stayed in a wonderful motel/inn. AND the fellowship with friends was AWESOME....

BUT---if you put all of that aside, 'my' very favorite part was seeing the ELK at Cataloochee Valley.  We got there at the right time (early in the morning) in order to hear one of them 'bugle' loudly.  This is rutting/mating season ---and the males really like to chase the females ---and each male keeps a group of several ladies by his side!!!!!

We've seen the elk before --but this time,  we saw them THREE different times and in three different places during our visit there.  SO---since I love the elk so much,  I decided to share some ELK pictures with you today... Be sure to click on the pictures for enlargements.  Hope you enjoy them!!!!

"Hmmm",  Says Mr. Elk..  "That's a good-looking lady over there!" 

The pretty lady got up ---and took off!!!!  I heard her say,  "I don't want anything to do with him!"

She was smiling as she got away from him!!!

So dejected (see that pitiful face????)!!!!  "Why does she not like me?"

This young male was near the road where we were traveling... He didn't pay much attention to the people around ---and just kept on eating the leaves around him...

Another Bull Elk in another location later in the morning;  Did you know that Bull Elks can weigh up to 700 pounds??.  Their antlers/rack as I call it  can weigh 40 pounds... (Imagine the headache I would have if I carried those things... Yipes!)

 We took a hike to the Woody Cabin that morning after seeing the first group of elks.  The hike was about 2 miles round-trip ---and when we got back,  we found this group of elves.

This is sweet... This little lady was not running from Mr. Elk.   I think he gave her a kiss!!!!! 

She did get up --but he didn't seem interested --although she acted as if she was!!!!!!  What did Mr. Elk do instead of giving that lady some attention????????????????????????

WELL----I guess Mr. Elk was just too hungry ---so he ATE instead of entertaining the lady! Mercy Me!!!!!!

Then I saw it!!!! Mr. and Mrs. Elk AND little one!!!!!  See him/her??????

Then,  Mr. Elk left them and headed OUR way... Of course,  we were safely in/around our cars.  Luckily,  he wasn't paying a bit of attention to us.  SO--that gave us time to get some awesome photos... Like it????

Since Mr. Elk went the other direction,  we enjoyed watching all of the females and their little ones.  A female elk can weigh as much as 500 pounds...

Later in the day,  we encountered some female and baby elks again (near the school house).  There were about 15-20 elks in this group.  We were able to get fairly close --and I was amazed at the sizes of some of those females. 

Here's a cute little baby elk (called a calf).  These babies are usually born in May/June and weigh about 35 pounds at birth.  They are fed by Mama's rich milk --and will gain about two pounds a day.  By winter,  these little guys weigh up to five times their birth weight.  This one is not extremely young since he has lost his spots.  YES--they do have spots just like fawns do!

We enjoyed watching this  group of about 15-20 elks crossing the creek.  I loved watching the little one in my previous photo---who was one of the last ones to cross...  When he finally decided to get in that COLD water,  he 'quickly' hurried to the other side!!!  

Well---I could show you about 50 more pictures of the elk --but this is enough for now!!!!  All four of us really enjoyed watching them --off and on the entire time we were there.  Before you ask,  I will say that we were all very careful --and did NOT get near them, especially the big Bull Elks.   We KNOW that they can be dangerous --especially during rutting season!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.  OH--what fantastic memories!!!!   If you ever get a chance to see the elk at Cataloochee,  DO IT....

Hope you had a great week.   We certainly did!!!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons

Oh those Gorgeous ELK

SO --this is my big surprise...  When we left Biltmore on Oct. 4,   we decided to drive to Cataloochie Valley to see the ELK.... (You know how much I loved that!!!!)  Since it was late afternoon,  we thought we'd see some ---and hopefully hear them BUGLE....  It is rutting season ---so we got lucky!!!!!!!   Not only did we see some elk --but we also heard them bugling...  That was SO awesome... Today,  I share some pictures with you from Cataloochie.  Be sure to enlarge them for larger shots.

This  looks like a fairly young one...  Looks like she is taking a nap!

Can you see the one on the right looking at me?????  Being at Cataloochie at sunset was neat... The sun was going down behind the mountains---causing shadows in some spots.

This male looks like he is getting ready to bugle!!!!!  I'm sure he's saying:  "I want me a woman... Anyone out there for me?????" ha..  I love the sun's rays in this photo.

The last time we were in Cataloochie (October of 2010),  we saw most all of the elk in one place.  This time,  they were spread out all over the valley..  This guy is looking at me also!!!!!!

All of the elk are tagged...  The people in charge keep track of them here in Cataloochie.   On the link I provide below,  they even have an update as to the ones who have died --and the new births this year.  Elk were brought into Cataloochie several years ago---and what a great home for them...

We saw quite a few males ---and they had some BIG racks!!!!!!

If you ever get to North Carolina this time of year,  check out the elk at Cataloochie.   BUT--either go early in the morning or late in the afternoon...   To read more about the elk in Cataloochie,  click HERE.    AND to see my photos from last year's trip to Cataloochie,  click HERE.  Besides this post,  there are six more posts.

This was the end of a marvelous trip ---both Biltmore and Cataloochie in the same day!!!!  Nothing but AWESOME!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Cataloochee Valley, Continued

Please don't miss seeing any of my posts from Cataloochee Valley.   Click HERE  to see any or all six posts.   Above is the Palmer House.  George Palmer brought his family to Cataloochee Valley about 1848--after losing quite a bit of money due to some bad decisions and poor judgment.  Apparently George learned his lesson --since he and his family became one of the most prosperous families in Cataloochee.   George died in 1859,  the victim of a heart attack while cutting a fallen tree out of the road.

George's sons,  George Lafayette (called Uncle Fate in later years) and Jesse,   accumulated considerable wealth,  through hard work and good management.  Some of their market crops included corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  apples,  honey,  molasses, butter,  eggs,  pigs,  sheep,  cattle, tobacco,  potatoes and cordwood.

Both brothers were informed bankers,  lending money at interest and securing it with livestock and land.  They were also public-spirited,  each serving as land assessor,  justice of the peace,  election judge,  road trustee and church official.

The home pictured above belonged to Uncle Fate.  When he died in 1910,  his son Jarvis inherited the place.   Jarvis was an early entrepreneur in the tourism business.  His family owned land and controlled the fishing rights along almost three miles of Cataloochee Creek.  They stocked the stream and charged 50 cents a day to fish.

This is the Palmer's Barn.   The Palmers built a couple of bunkhouses next to the barn (which are no longer there) for the fishermen.  They charged 50 cents a day to stay in one of the bunkhouses,  an additional 50 cents for meals,  in addition to the 50 cents they paid to fish...  To accommodate the diners,  Palmer added a two-room kitchen and dining wing on to the south end of the house in about 1924.. (That is the white part of the house in the photo above this one.)  When the park was established,  the Palmers moved out and a ranger moved into their home.

This building behind the Palmer House was the blacksmith shop.

And this building (also behind the Palmer House) was the springhouse.   Other outbuildings which are no longer there were a canhouse and smokehouse.  (Anyone know what a 'canhouse' was????   I tried to google it--but got nowhere.)

My header at the top of the page is a picture of the Palmer Chapel.   Here is the same chapel from another angle.  Land for this Methodist Church was deeded by Mary Ann Palmer in 1898,  and the building went up in the same year.  Most of the preachers were 'circuit riders' ---who visited about one Sunday a month.  However,   Sunday School was held every week.

Here is the inside of the Palmer Chapel.  Services consisted of prayers,  singing and sermons.  Revivals held each Fall rekindled the spirits of the faithful,  and brought in new members.  Even today a reunion is held each year at the church.  Friends and families return to clean the cemeteries,  attend services and have dinner on the grounds.  (We did not see a cemetery.)

Finally,   here's one last picture of my very favorite thing that we saw in Cataloochee Valley.   The ELK were fabulous---and hearing them bugle was totally awesome.  IF you ever get to Cataloochee,  go in the Fall during rutting season --so that you can hear them bugle.  What a fabulous place!!!!

Hugs,

P.S.  Most of you know how much we have needed rain in our area.  WELL--yesterday,  we got a nice rain ---off and on ALL DAY... How special is that!! Praise God for the RAIN!