Out in the woods - in Missouri!

There has been a bit of a time jump since my last post! I completed my season at Big South Fork and am now back in St. Louis - and have been so busy that I still have to finish sorting through all the pictures I took during my last few weeks in Tennessee! I plan to keep posting them, and I will backdate them so that they go up in chronological order.

In the meantime, I wanted to show some pictures from a trip I took last week, here in Missouri. I drove down to visit a friend near Cape Girardeau, and on the way back I took the scenic route and stopped first at Hawn State Park, then at St. Francois State Park. Most of the leaves were gone, but it was a bright clear day, cool but not cold, and the sunlight was beautiful. If I'd had more time I would have gone on a real hike, but just walking around near the creek and the river felt really good.

At Hawn I drove down, down, down into the picnic area, which is full of pine trees - shortleaf pine, Missouri's only native pine tree. Tall, and really moving in the breeze.

There is a little trail that cuts from the parking lot over to Pickle Creek. I started with that.

Not much color except for the pine trees, but I did find some.

O & W Bridge

(I did this hike on 10/19/15, selected the photos for the blog post, and never did the writeup! I was able to fill in some of the gaps by looking up a chat where I told my sister about the hike.)

This hike was fun, but longer than I expected, so I was pretty tired by the end of it! It was a beautiful walk, though, on the O&W Trail. It starts at Leatherwood Ford, walking 2.3 miles along the river to the old 0&W Railroad Bridge. The fall colors were really gorgeous.

I went out on the river bridge and took photos downstream and up before I started on the trail.

Fall Rush

(Written 10/18/2015, posted retroactively 10/24/2020!)

It got incredibly busy at Big South Fork this week, and I really got blindsided by it! I knew visitation was going to pick up as the fall colors started to show, but it's been so very quiet up til now that I wasn't ready for it.

Thursday I was staffing the visitor center by myself (usually we have at least two people) and it got very busy. Part of that was that it was just me - if I was talking to someone at the desk and the phone rang, I had to let it ring - but there was very little down time during the day. I called over to the campground and found out that it was completely booked for the weekend! I'm sure it's the same for next weekend, too - everyone plans to come out starting in the middle of October. Over the weekend it was the same - busy, busy, busy, with very little time in between the people that came in, and we needed two and sometimes three people out front most of the time! It finally wound down on Sunday afternoon, when everyone was going home, but I'm sure it's only going to get busier from here.

It's strange, because other places I've worked start to die down once the summer is over - but here, fall is a big season, so it's getting as busy as I've ever seen it, just before I'm getting ready to leave!

Honey Creek Trail

(I wrote this just after the hike but am posting it retroactively on 10/24/2020!)

Last week I did the toughest hike I think I've ever done.

The Honey Creek loop trail is one that I had been told is difficult, poorly marked, and has a lot of side trails that could take you a long way in the wrong direction. It's also absolutely beautiful, and I really wanted to try it. I planned carefully - I didn't do the entire loop. The road cuts it in half, so I would just do half. I even brought my bicycle so I could ride the section along the road and save some time.

I don't usually bother bringing a backpack on the day hikes I've been doing here, but this time I did. I used my Camelpak so that I wouldn't have to carry a water bottle, and would have my hands free. I brought my little emergency kit (poncho, thermal foil blanket, whistle & compass) and a first aid kit, including ace bandages. (One of my worst fears is spraining an ankle on a hike. Partly because I actually did that once, when I was by myself, and hadn't thought to tell anyone where I was going...) I had told several of my coworkers that I was going to do this trail, and they were all somewhat startled to hear that I was going to tackle Honey Creek...

I copied a walk-through from one of the hiking books that we sell. I even planned my route so that if I did get lost, I could follow the creek downstream to the river, and hopefully find my way back to the trail there!

After all that preparation, I did something stupid - I got a very late start. I didn't get up very early, and then I remembered I needed to give my half of the dorm a good cleaning because some new people were going to be checking in, and my side always gets checked as well. Things just took longer than I expected, and it was 10:45 by the time I was ready to go.

In an alternate universe, I would have realized that it was really late to be starting this hike, and switched to another one, saving Honey Creek for another time. But I was so committed to the idea at this point that I went anyway. I turned out to be lucky, but I will definitely be more careful of that in the future.

The drive out took a while, but it was beautiful. I parked the car at the very end of the road, by the Honey Creek overlook. Of course I went to the overlook first. It was worth the drive just for that view.

Halloween decorations

The bookstore in the visitor center has some Fall/Halloween decorations up, including fake spider webs in the windows. This week I noticed that a real spider seems to have taken that as a signal that this is a good neighborhood, and built a web on the outside of that window! It's a fairly big spider, and I have been looking every time I go out that door to see if it is still there.

A day or two ago I spotted what was probably the same spider, lowering itself from the eaves just outside and in line with the door! I knew someone was probably going to walk into it there, so I swooped its thread away and deposited it on the railing next to the bookstore. I'm glad to see it took the hint. It's fun having such realistic Halloween decorations!

North to Kentucky

(Mostly written the week of 10/6, posted 12/3!)

Somehow there is a huge difference between "I have a whole month left!" and "I only have three weeks left!" I made a list recently of all the places I still want to see, and since I'm running out of time I decided to do something on each of my days off this week, instead of just one. I did Angel Falls Overlook yesterday, and today I drove up into the Kentucky section of the park. I wanted to go up to Blue Heron and actually look at the exhibits - both the other times I was there it was for work, so I didn't get to spend much time looking around.

On the way up I took a side trip out to the Bear Creek Scenic Area. I knew there was a river overlook there, and a short hike out to Split Bow Arch. I got a little turned around on the way there but I found it easily enough, and it was a beautiful drive. I just forget sometimes how long it will take to get to places on these twisting roads!

At the Bear Creek parking area, I went to a picnic table to change my shoes, when I looked over and saw an enormous black bird sitting in a tree just beyond the car with its wings all spread out! I hurried back to the car and was tramping around with my shoes untied, trying to get a good angle. The vulture (I assume that's what it was - it wasn't an eagle, and it was too big to be anything else) was evidently sunning itself, and that meant the sun was shining into the camera as well, so it was tricky to get a shot.

River Rise

It rained a lot last week, and the river's been up. It's not really flooded, because it was quite low before the rain started, but the water has been high enough to change the view from the bridge. I stopped at the bridge on the way home from work yesterday to get a few pictures.

This is a view out of the car window about halfway up the road to the top. This little waterfall is only there after a rain - and when I remember to look for it, and see it pouring down like this, I try to wrap my mind around the fact that this same thing is happening everywhere along the gorge, we just can't see it - and that is why the rocks in the river are covered up right now. (There was one day a few months ago, after a solid week of rain, that I looked over and realized I couldn't even see the trees growing out of the rocks... and yet they're still there!)

I stopped at the bridge again this morning on my way to go hike, and again on the way back in the afternoon. The water levels were about the same but it was interesting how the light changed.

Angel Falls Overlook

Finally, I got out on another hike! I didn't want to waste any more time. I drove out to where I rode my bike the other day - very slowly, because the road is narrow, winding, and rough in places. I didn't have any trouble, although I did have to line the car up very carefully to go across the one deeper rut. I parked at the end and headed out toward the Grand Gap Loop.

I've been telling people all summer how to get to this trail, and I'm so glad I finally made it myself! People often hike up from the river level, or through the woods behind the campground, but that would just be too long of a hike for me to manage. (I'm always amazed when people can do thirteen miles as a day hike, or as one leg of a backpacking trip. My limit is about 5 miles, usually.)

I was starting on the inner section of the loop, which snakes around the edge of the gorge and then sort of doubles back on itself. The part I did today took me through the woods to the edge, and then a little way along the edge before I turned around.

It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny. The sunlight at this time of year is just golden, and since I was up on top there was a lot of light coming through the trees - at the bottom of the valley the light is filtered through a lot more leaves before it gets through!

It rained a lot recently, and I kept seeing all kinds of moss and lichen.

It looks like tiny fern fronts and soft spiky balls...

A Silver Lining

I missed out on hiking this week. Yesterday morning I was going to hike, then decided not to because it was starting to sprinkle... Then I decided, it was just spitting, I could go hiking and get a little wet... Then I looked out and it was a steady shower. So I gave up and drove to town instead. It stopped raining by the time I got there... and was sunny the rest of the day.

Today, it rained all day. A gentle shower, but very, very wet.

I drove to town again, and when I came back there was sunlight trying to break through the clouds, even as the rain kept coming down! The light was truly extraordinary. I decided to drive over and walk out to the East Rim Overlook and try and capture it. It was golden.

A Scouting Expedition

I went for another bike ride after work today, but for a specific purpose. I went out on Duncan Hollow Road again, past both the places I turned before, and went down Alfred Smith Road. This leads out to a trail junction along the Grand Gap Loop, a hiking trail with a lot of overlooks of the river gorge. The most popular of those is Angel Falls Overlook, which can also be reached by hiking along the river and then climbing all the way up to the top... but I know I would not be up for that.

I really want to see that overlook, so I thought I might hike there from the end of Al Smith Road and back. (The entire Grand Gap Loop is almost seven miles, which is too far for me. This would be a little less than two miles each way, I think.)

The problem would be the road. Earlier this summer, my boss, Bill, had me drive a park SUV out on all the back roads in this part of the park, so I could describe them to people if they were thinking of going there. Alfred Smith Road was one of the roughest ones - it had been raining all week, there were several very deep ruts and I had to line the car up very carefully in order to get across them. That was several months ago, and I wanted to go scout out that road and see what it looks like now and determine whether I would be able to get all the way to the end in my Malibu!

The first section of the ride is familiar by now - except that they apparently just put down some new gravel on the road. Since there's not much traffic it hasn't really been packed down yet, so it was a little slower to ride on that section. The new gravel petered out by the time I got to the part of the road I hadn't ridden on before.

The ride in on Al Smith Road was easy, not really rutted at all. In fact it was too easy - I was coasting all the way in! I kept braking, because I didn't want to come upon a rough spot too fast. I was starting to dread riding back out, since it would be a long way uphill, but at this point I wanted to see it through. I made it out to the parking area and trailhead at the end of the road, and there was only one deeper trench, which still looked passable. I stopped at the end, got off and stretched for a minute, and then headed back.

Apparently a lot of that road is fairly level, because it was actually not too bad going back out! There were only a few uphill spots, and only one that was difficult. I had just gotten up enough momentum that I was coasting on the level stretches as much as the downhill sections, so I thought it was all downhill!

In fact, the hardest part of the ride was the last section, on the loose gravel! This was a bit longer than the other rides I've done, and it was a good workout. Best of all, I now know that I will be able to drive out there and take that hike to Angel Falls Overlook!

Haunting in the Hills

Today I didn't start at work until noon, because I was to stay late for the evening events. Since I was off in the morning, Joanne and Amanda came over for breakfast. They provided eggs and bacon, and I provided pancake mix and maple syrup. It was delicious - I don't usually buy bacon for just me! And they let me keep what was left!

The big event this weekend, and today in particular, was the 23rd annual "Haunting in the Hills" storytelling festival, which is always the third Saturday in September. Because it's been going on for a number of years now, it's well known and draws a big crowd. The campground had been completely booked well in advance. The main events are always on Saturday; there were various ranger talks and activities, including several demonstrations of traditional country crafts. There were also a lot of local venders of crafts and food. There was a huge tent set up in the field across from the visitor center, and throughout the afternoon there were different local music groups playing.

I worked in the visitor center all afternoon, but I did get a chance to go out and walk around the grounds at one point. There was an afternoon session of "family friendly" storytelling going on at the big tent - the P.A. system was powerful enough that it could be heard just about everywhere. There was one story that was getting a lot of giggles as I was walking by, about how "Rindercella" and the "Pransome Hince" got to go to the "Drancy Fess Ball" with the help of the "Gairy Fodmother"...

The Grand Tour

We got a much earlier start this morning! I drove over to the campground, where Joanne and Amanda were just cleaning up from breakfast. We set out right away. I had volunteered to drive, since I was already familiar with the roads, and they had just driven all the way from St. Louis!

We drove west and north, out to the Twin Arches trailhead. This was a no-brainer when I was thinking of places to go. I had hesitated to just tell them, "This is what we're doing," but their reaction was, "Oh good, she already knows what we're doing." So it worked out well.

Twin Arches was gorgeous, as always.

Another Family Visit

My sister, Joanne, and her friend Amanda are here for a visit! They took a few days off work to come out here. Since they are both teachers they were able to leave right after school and drive most of the way yesterday. They thought they would get here by lunchtime today but since it was such a late night they had a late start this morning as well. I waited at the visitor center, just hanging out and using the wifi. When they arrived we headed to the campground. I reserved a site for them a few weeks ago when I found out it was filling up fast, because this weekend also happens to be the annual storytelling festival at Big South Fork! Fortunately I had picked a good site - not too far from the bathroom, right at the edge of the woods, and plenty of room for two tents.

New Neighbor

A couple of times now there has been a BIG spider making its web on the railing of my porch. I don't mind, except that it doesn't like getting its picture taken and always runs away before I can get in a shot! I think it feels the vibrations as I get closer.

Today I managed to get a few photos.

These first two are from the porch looking out at the yard. There was a really nice spotlight from the afternoon sun. This is about life size - maybe just a little larger than life.

Riding Away With Myself

I went on another bike ride today! This one got a little scary. I started by heading down Duncan Hollow Road again, the gravel road behind the campground. I passed the road I turned on last time, and then turned left on another gravel road to get to the Duncan Hollow Bike Loop. This was a dirt bike trail in the woods.

My bicycle is a hybrid - the tires are wider than a road bike, but not quite as big as a real mountain bike. I've never actually ridden on this type of trail before. I will think twice before I do it again.

Part of the problem was that I hadn't looked at it that closely on the map, to realize that the first section would be all downhill. I was going faster than I would like, just hanging onto the brakes and trying to stay in control! Luckily it was a fairly smooth trail - no rocks or roots to speak of. But I felt like I wasn't in control at all!

The late afternoon sunlight was golden and gorgeous. The spiderwebs across the trail showed up really well in the light - as I was crashing through them! I managed to keep my mouth shut, at least.

When I finally slowed down at the bottom of the hill I was able to ride for a while - then it started going back up. And I found that I just couldn't get enough purchase to keep moving - probably a combination of factors, the trail surface, the narrower tires, and my own weight and lack of leg strength. I would push off, but not be able to get moving fast enough to keep my balance. I ended up walking up all but the very slightest of slopes.

When I finally got back to the gravel road it was a relief - even though I knew the trail wasn't that long, I was still having visions of walking out in the dark. At least on the gravel road I'd be able to see where I was going on the lighter rock!

As I rode out I had to get off to one side to let a pickup truck pass by. The driver waved, then did a double take, since I had just talked to him in the visitor center a couple of hours earlier! We talked for a minute then headed out separate ways.

Riding back on Duncan Hollow Road was much easier than it was last time - enough vehicles have passed through that the gravel has been packed down again. I stopped at a meadow to try and capture the evening light on the trees.

 

Driving the Grand Circle

Today I got sent on a mission: drive to all the smaller visitor centers in outlying towns and bring copies of the newly-published fall newspaper for Big South Fork NRRA. This ended up taking most of the day, starting with a twenty-minute session on Google Maps to make sure that I knew how to get to all of them!

My drive took me east to Oneida, then south to the Helenwood/Huntsville visitor center, which I drove past but quickly backtracked to. Then it was south to Rugby, which is out at the tail end of the park - a historic Victorian village, run by a nonprofit association which has provided the use of one of the buildings for an NPS visitor center. I stopped at the Rugby visitor center first, and got directions to the NPS building.

Now I headed even further south - to Wartburg, to the visitor center for Obed National Wild & Scenic River, which is a smaller NPS unit that is under the same administration as Big South Fork. I talked with the ranger there for a while, and then headed out. I was driving west through Obed, and stopped at a picnic area for lunch. It was down by the river, and a very pretty and quiet spot.

Ghost Train

This was an interesting day, because I, along with most of the other Bandy Creek staff, was scheduled to work a special event up at the Blue Heron area of the park: the Ghost Train.

Blue Heron has a scenic railroad that comes in daily to deliver passengers who want to look around at the historic coal mining community. However, one of their annual events is the Ghost Train, which is at night, and showcases storytellers at several spots presenting spooky tales. The event needed lots of staff to make sure people didn't wander off into the night!

I drove up there with Jake, another ranger at Bandy Creek. We were in a government car - a Prius. Jake and I are the two tallest people at Bandy Creek. The makers of the Prius apparently never heard of tall people. It was a little tight, but a very smooth ride. And we only got lost twice and had to call for directions before finding it - I've only been to Blue Heron twice, and someone else was driving each time. I thought Jake would know the way because he's from around here, but he hadn't been there since a middle school field trip! Luckily we got there in plenty of time.

A bunch of us walked around the grounds setting out luminaries - gallon milk jugs with electric tea lights in them. Then we went back to the depot and went over the schedule for the evening - there would be five groups, and each group would start at a different storytelling spot and then rotate. We ate supper while we waited for the train to come in. It started raining - hard! And kept raining! We lucked out, and the rain stopped just as the train arrived. It was quite dark by this time, especially with the clouds still covering the sky. The milk jugs we placed earlier had turned into beacons in the night, marking our path.

A Leetle Leezard!

Today I started late because I was going to be working at an evening event, but I went to the visitor center early to use the wifi. As I sat in the rocking chair on the porch outside, I saw one of the many lizards that live under and around the porch - it is just about impossible to sit still for more than a few minutes and not see one of these darting in and out from under the porch railing and in between the cracks. This one actually stretched out in the sun for a few minutes.

That is one relaaaxed lizard. I believe it is a Southeastern Five-Lined Skink - according to Tennessee Watchable Wildlife the juveniles have a bright blue tail and very distinct stripes. That's blue all right!

Lets get rolling!

Today I brought my bicycle with me to work, because I wanted to go for a short ride after work, and all of the bike trails are on that side of the river! It was nice out, not really cool but not too hot, and overcast.

I didn't actually go on a bike trail, but on Duncan Hollow Road, a gravel road that goes out the back of the campground and connects with several other gravel roads and trailheads. This is the same route that a major horse event took place on today - a long-distance endurance ride. I'm not sure how many people and horses showed up for this, but it's veen very busy in the visitor center, and we've sold more bags of ice than any other week! However many horses, they really churned up that gravel road - it was a bit of a slog riding through the loose gravel and dirt. When I got to the side road that leads to the John Litton farm trailhead, I took that, since it was still packed down. Also, I've been wanting to check out that area.

Duncan Hollow Road was a pleasant ride through the woods, but this was a real tunnel. Lovely!

Out to the edge again

I had a longer week this week. My usual days off are Monday and Tuesday, but since I had to work at the Visitor Center on Labor Day, they got slid over to Tuesday-Wednesday. (That's what happens when you work in the place that people go to on holidays! At least I got double pay for that day!)

My hike this week was to an overlook on the Leatherwood Loop trail. The whole loop goes down to the river and then back up - or vice versa - while following the winding gorge road part of the way. I didn't want to do the climbing, but it's not far to the overlook from the parking lot for the Sunset Overlook trail. Just heading to a different spot on the rim.

Raft trip

The Big South Fork River is a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking, and I had been meaning to go on a raft trip. I kept putting it off - first I wanted to wait until after Fourth of July was over, and then there were several weeks in a row of rain, and then it slipped my mind... When I finally went to book an expedition, the outfitter was no longer doing daily trips except on weekends. They told me they could let me know if a large group booked a trip, and I could go with them. I asked them to let me know if any trips came up for Mondays or Tuesdays. "Actually, we have a group going out this Tuesday!"

Sheltowee Trace Outfitters does raft trips at several different locations. They actually do rafting in Big South Fork NRRA, but only in late spring and early summer, when the water levels are higher. At this time of year they are starting their expeditions further north - just below Cumberland Falls.

I had to get an early start, because the trip was supposed to start at 9 a.m. and I wanted to get there well before that. I got there just before they opened at 8:30. I put on my sunscreen and went to check in. I had thought that might take a while but I had plenty of time to wait for the rest of the people to arrive. Then a whole crowd of jeeps rolled in - the group that had booked the rafts for the day was taking a break from off-roading to do a float trip.

At 9:00 they called us together, but it turned out that everyone else still had to fill out the liability forms, etc. so I had more time to wait. At around 9:30 we went upstairs to watch a video about rafting safety and how to properly use the equipment. Afterward we went back down and were assigned life jackets, helmets, and paddles. (The two other times I've done this were in the mountains, and everyone had to wear wetsuits to ward off hypothermia! It was nice to not have to worry about that!)

Now came the bus ride - about 20 minutes to our put-in location, at Cumberland Falls State Park. It was a bit of a walk from the parking lot down to the put-in below the falls. One more lecture, and we were assigned our rafts and guides. I was in a raft with three other people who were not part of the larger group, and a guide who was doing a float on her day off.

It was about 10:30 that we were actually getting out on the river. If I had realized it would be that long, I would have brought my sunscreen on the bus and reapplied it when I got to the river!

We were putting in below the falls, but we were able to paddle back upstream and get closer to them. I had bought a disposable waterproof camera at the shop when I checked in, so I was able to try and capture that unique view! Some of the pictures ended up a little smeary from the water, but the views are still great!

My Daily Commute

Every day when I drive to Bandy Creek Visitor Center I go down, down, down to Leatherwood Bridge, cross the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, and then go up, up, up to the other side. I decided I had better get some pictures of the gorgeous views along my commute! The easiest place to do that is from the bridge itself, which has a wide shoulder that I was able to park on and get some pictures upstream and downstream. I did this twice - once at around 10 a.m. yesterday morning, and again today on the way home after work, so as to get the morning and evening lighting. I also stopped at the East Rim overlook, since it's been a while and I wanted to get another look before the colors start changing.

Here are the mid-morning pictures.

This is looking downstream, towards Angel Falls. That old bridge used to be the main one! It's to the right as I'm driving to work.

Camouflage Fail

Just a tip - if you ever get reincarnated as a Walking Stick insect, you will not utilize your natural camouflage effectively by trying to hide on a stainless steel drinking fountain.

Angel Falls

This week it was neither overpoweringly hot, nor about to thunderstorm, so I finally went hiking again! I walked the Angel Falls Rapids trail - the full two miles this time, all the way out to the rapids. I finally saw one of the places people ask about the most! I also saw, not only some new wildflowers, but the fruits of some of the flowers I saw last time I walked this trail in late May.

I saw a lot of yellow flowers. Yellow seems to be the default color at this time of year, late summer getting into early fall. Yellow and white and sometimes purple. This could be a black-eyed Susan, but as I've mentioned before, there are just too many similar-shaped yellow flowers for me to be able to say.

Most of the trail had view like this - above the river, with glimpses of the water through the trees.

Going Back Down - Day 2 at Mammoth Cave

My second tour at Mammoth Cave was the 9:30 a.m. "Domes and Dripstones" tour, which goes through a larger section of cave formations. This also covered the main section that I would have seen on my tour last night - I still got to see it, just didn't get to use my flash.

I got there in plenty of time, so went back into the visitor center to take a few more pictures that I regretted not taking yesterday.

I'm actually going to transcribe the first sign, which turned out quite blurry for some reason.

"THE WORLD'S LONGEST CAVE

Welcome to Mammoth Cave National Park.

With over 400 miles of surveyed passages, the Mammoth Cave landscape shelters a long and complex underground labyrinth. The mysteries of this amazing natural laboratory have inspired and sustained human discovery for thousands of years.

This cave system is truly one of the natural wonders of the world. You are invited to explore the underground grandeur of Mammoth Cave National Park!

The railing continues off into the distance...

Going Underground at Mammoth Cave

Among other things, I have been planning for a while to make a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park, which is only a couple of hours' drive away. I have been researching it, comparing the descriptions of the different cave tours, and I finally committed to going this week! I actually left after work Sunday so that I could make the drive, get to the motel and already be just a few miles away and be able to take an earlier tour. I was hoping to do one in the morning and a second one in the evening, but the later tour was fully booked by the time I went to make a reservation online. Still, it worked out pretty well.

The drive out here was beautiful, and I managed not to get lost. The directions I wrote out for myself were accurate, and all the roads were where they were supposed to be! I stopped for supper a little more than halfway there, to give myself a break from driving - since I could tell it was going to get dark before I got there anyway.

This morning I got up and made it out to Mammoth in plenty of time - it was only a few miles away. The tour was to start at 11:30 so I had plenty of time to look around in the visitor center.

A monster or a king?

There was an enormous moth on the porch of the visitor center this morning. Unlike the graceful luna moth, this looked more like a muppet, covered with bright orange and yellow fluff! It did not move at all, so we kept pointing it out to visitors as they were coming and going.

I've seen some unusual moths this summer, but this one looked truly alien. When I put in a google search for "big orange moth", it was the first thing on the list. I was a little surprised to see the name - "Regal Moth", or "Royal Walnut Moth". I guess all that fuzz is actually a crown!

This is approximately life size.

Something Big Has Been Here

There is a healthy population of black bears in the Big South Fork. For the most part they don't cause problems in the park - we make sure all campers know to lock up their food when they're not around, and to use the bear-proof trash cans. Because the dorm is also park property, we also have the same bear-proof trash cans.

Those were tested recently.

One of the maintenance people came in the visitor center the other day and was talking with us, and mentioned to me that there was a bear print on the back of the trash can at the dorm - they noticed it when they came to collect the trash. When I got home I made sure to check it out.

What is THAT on the wall?!

As I was walking toward the visitor center today I was vaguely aware that there was something on the wall above the door. I barely registered it - but then I had to go back and look, because what in the world would be that size, shape and color, just perching above the door?!

Luna Moth

Because this Luna Moth chose to perch on the back window of the visitor center, I was able to get a view of its underside as well as the usual view!

That circle on the left wing is actually the reflection of my camera lens.

A little bit larger than life - but only just a little.

So furry!

Scenic Drive through the Little Smoky Mountains

I’ve decided I won’t be doing much hiking for a while. I missed a couple of weeks because it kept raining, but the main thing is the heat! I was originally going to hike this week along the Angel Falls Rapids trail – now that the river level is back down! – but I checked the weather forecast and saw that it was going to be 80°F when I started! That’s not even including the heat index, which I do need to consider, because it is HUMID here. This week especially it’s been absolutely steamy out. I know perfectly well I would be overheated and miserable and not enjoy myself, and I would not WANT to hike four miles, especially on a day when even getting up early would make no difference!

Okay, apparently I am feeling a little defensive about this. Let’s just say that most of the hiking will be put on hold until it’s getting into fall.  

So, today I went for a long scenic drive in place of a hike. I drove out to the west side of the park, then drove up north on 154. This is the way we went that first time out to Twin Arches, when we missed the turn and kept going. I remember thinking at the time – as we realized we needed to turn around! – that it was a very pretty drive. I continued up and around, driving northeast into Daniel Boone National Forest, which borders Big South Fork to the north. It was a gravel road but in good condition, with just a few potholes, not surprising considering the torrential rains we had last week!  

There were flowers all along the road, and after a few minutes I had a revelation – I should stop and take pictures of them! I hadn’t seen any cars even before I turned onto the gravel road, and didn’t expect to see any now. I was driving slowly anyway, because of the gravel and the winding nature of the road, and so I was able to stop whenever I spotted a flower or a view that needed to be captured. I had the air conditioner on, but not all the way cold so that it wouldn’t be as hard getting out to take pictures. (Also if it was too cold my glasses would fog up. That’s how humid it is!) 

An Unexpected Visitor

This morning, a short while after we opened, a few visitors came in and asked if we knew about the snake in front of the restroom. We did not! Which is amazing, since we most likely walked right past it when we opened up in the morning! It was a Gray Rat Snake, quite possibly the same one we chased away from the parking lot back in May... I got to use the Snake Stick to gently remove him from a place people do NOT want snakes to be in (the restroom!) and transfer him to the edge of the woods, after which he left the scene very quickly.

 

Blackberries

Back when I walked the Sunset Rim trail, I noticed a spot with a LOT of blackberry bushes. It was just a short way into the trail. Better yet, it was a cleared area with bushes all around the edges, not just a thicket! I headed out there with a couple of quart-sized yogurt containers, which make great berry buckets. I didn't get out as early as I meant to, so it was getting a little hot, but it was worth it - I got just about a quart. I could have easily gotten more without even having to push through the bushes, but once I got that much it looked like enough.

Pollinator Paradise

There is a patch of bee balm planted outside the visitor center, and it has been of much interest to a whole horde of pollinators - mostly insects, but I've seen a goldfinch on it once or twice (perhaps for the insects) and almost every time I look out the window I catch a glimpse of a hummingbird! (We suspect there is a nest in the tree nearby, but haven't spotted it yet.) The flowers are big, bold, and bright - and BUSY!!!

Camouflage failure

If your survival depends on your clever disguise as a simple twig, it might be best to stay in the forest among all the other twigs. However, this Giant Walkingstick insect (Megaphasma denticrus) does show up nicely against said wall!