So my last posting was from Mingus Mill in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We did go back into Cherokee one day to visit the Oconoluftee Indian Village bad see the outdoor drama 'Unto These Hills' which was about the resettlement of a large number of the Cherokee tribe in North Carolina to reservation lands in Oklahoma (referred to as the trail of tears) and the history of how a large number of the Cherokee were able to stay in North Carolina and establish the Qualla Nation. After being in this area and seeing what happened to the Cherokee, I don't think I will ever honor Andrew Jackson!
We really didn't do much sightseeing after that because we spent the next two weeks square dancing - morning, noon and night! We started dancing Sunday evening and continued with morning and afternoon workshops and evening dances through Thursday - for two weeks. We were exhausted but what fun. Met some really great folks and some old friends from Austin who were there for the dances.
Drove to the nearby Cataloochie Valley one afternoon to see the elk. There are two very large beards of elk in this part of NC. While we didn't see many elk, we did see the wild turkey and a black bear that decided he need some apples. So of course, he climbed the tree to get yo the fruit. We watched him for at least half an hour and then he had his fill. He climbed down and was staking his area when a mama elk started to cone closer to the tree. The bear stood his ground for a little bit and then decided that she was much bigger than him and he took off line a shot.
We left that area and started the drive back to the campground when we came up on this bull! He was beautiful and didn't mind us at all.
Stopped a scenic overlook on the way back to the campground. You know, I've seen the Rockies and the Alps and they are breathtaking; but to me, the Smoky Mountains are peace, calm and home!
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