Dam's, Alabama (the singers), Bears and Deer

I'm behind in posting, I know. So today is catch up time.

Last Saturday we drove to Norris Lake and Dam which is northwest of Knoxville. Was hoping to see a little more fall color, but it's still just a little to early. The drive was a very scenic one though. Here are some pictures of the Clinch River, the Norris Dam and Norris Lake.

This young lad was showing off his early morning catch - all trout!

While we were at Raccoon Valley, we met another MS owner - Jake and Nancy. A really nice couple that were just getting started in their fulltiming adventure. They have a beautiful toy collie, but I failed to get a picture of her - bad me! Here is a picture of our new friends... If you see them down the road tell them hi for us.

We are currently parked at Ripplin Waters Campground in Sevierville, TN. We had stayed here about 8 years ago and loved it. The park is still the same but the surrounding area has certainly changed! The biggest change is the helicopter tour company located across the highway from the campground, so all weekend there were helicopters taking off and landing - noisy! At least they don't fly at night!

Some of our campsite pictures... First one shows the river behind, the second one is the view from our rear window.

Yesterday we drove into Pigeon Forge to purchase some show tickets. After getting that chore done we stopped at the Alabama Cafe for a light bite. What a really neat place, especially if you are into country music. It's more like a country music museum inside. They have guitar's from most all the popular well know performers along with a lot of other memorabilia including a Dolly Parton dress. I thought that the top looked to small! Here are a few pictures including one of my Birthday Boy - Dean. Yes, he had another one of those yesterday!

After a lite bite at the Alabama Cafe, we decided to drive to Cades Cove. I thought we had been there years ago, but I now know that we hadn't - I would have remembered a place so pretty.

We did the full 11 mile drive through the Cove and saw some beautiful scenery. Below are a few pictures of the area including one of the Methodist Church that was built in 1902 for a total of $115 - try doing that today!

Look close in the forest - two deer..

And the best, I saved for last. I had a wish to see some live wild bears and my wish came true. There were three cubs and a mama bear in the woods. Unfortunately the bears blend so well in these woods that pictures were hard to come by. As she led her babies across the road I did manage to snap two that came out just OK. The first one was the mama and the next one of the cubs. I was about 15 - 20 feet from them - how neat. I wasn't alone - traffic had stopped and there were about 20 of us watching along with a park ranger. I can see how people get into trouble with bears - the cubs were sooooo cute and cuddly looking, but I kept my distance! Because of the dense woods and no sunlight getting through, the pictures came through very dark. I used an editor to lighten them. The one with the mama bear turned out pretty good and the baby is kinda fuzzy, but you can still see him or her. I can't tell you how thrilling this was for me!

Well, I guess that about brings me up to date for now. I'll be back when I have more to report....