Now understanding why the mountains are both great and smoky we spent the day driving through this amazing park.
We could have easily spent days in this vast landscape but managed to see the best of the mountains in the time we had available. It was only by luck that we managed to get any good pictures at all as "smoky" is no exaggeration and, if ever clear, as soon as you breathe the mountains are again engulfed in mist.
We stopped first at a historic mill and saw creek water fuel the milling of grain and explored several historic buildings left behind by early mountain folk who used to live here before they were forced out to establish the park. This was followed by a hike up to a lovely waterfall where we stood underneath it's spray and by proximity ended up thoroughly soaked. Then a steep drive back. Apparently Vandrea couldn't take the park's greatness and the mountain's weren't the only thing smoking.
After the brakes had cooled we continued our drive and were treated to the best sight all day; a black bear. Possibly even a baby, the adorable animal captivated all who crammed the shoulder to watch it completely ignore everyone. This ended up being just the first of two sightings, the second being a little bigger in size and a little closer to the road.
An interesting side note: As sweet as these bears looked, it was surprising to learn they must also be relatively tame. In the north any bear sightings come with warnings to cover your head and pray, whereas the warning here was to act aggressive and run at the bear.
At the end of our day we drove the Cades Cove scenic drive...which was a scenic nightmare. Judging the cautious 20 mph speed limit as wildly excessive, all the cars in front of us not only went no more than 5 mph they also stopped for every damn turkey along the way, who were all, coincidentally, faster than the gawking motorists. We eventually made it out but not without having gone red in the face from resisting the urge to ram someone. We would have had no problem scaring off a bear.
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