Continuing our Two Week Stay at River Plantation, Sevierville, TN
A – Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
B – Buck Hall Recreation Area, McClellanville, South Carolina
C – Magnolia RV Park and Campground, Kinards, South Carolina
D – River Plantation RV Resort, Sevierville, Tennessee
(D) Wed, April 30 to Wed, May 7th – River Plantation RV Park, Sevierville, TN
B – Buck Hall Recreation Area, McClellanville, South Carolina
C – Magnolia RV Park and Campground, Kinards, South Carolina
D – River Plantation RV Resort, Sevierville, Tennessee
(D) Wed, April 30 to Wed, May 7th – River Plantation RV Park, Sevierville, TN
For the next 5 days, Wed to Sun, we attended the RV-Dreams Educational Rally. Truth be told, Bill attended the Rally and I only went to a few sessions but didn’t miss any of the meals or entertainment;o)) This is our third educational rally (we're slow learners) and I only went to the sessions that were new. Since Bill rarely takes photos, I am putting links to Howard’s Blog for each day so I have a record of what was covered.
Wednesday, April 30th, RV-Dreams Rally Day 2
Thursday, May 1st, RV-Dreams Rally Day 3
Friday, May 2nd, RV-Dreams Rally Day 4
Saturday, May 3rd, RV-Dreams Rally Day 5
Sunday, May 4th, RV-Dreams Rally – Farewell Breakfast
On Friday, May 2nd, we skipped school and went hiking ;o))
We were warned to pay attention to where we were once we reach the Sinks.
Abraham Law moved to Blount County with his wife and their children to a parcel of land in White Oak Sink sometime after 1820.
The gentleman in the ball cap is a Great Great Nephew and the woman is a Great Great Great Grand-daughter of Abraham Law!!
When I checked with the ranger about our Appalachian Trail hike, I also asked her about a hike to a place called The Sinks. She smiled and said it really wasn’t a GSMNP sanctioned hike, but she gave me the directions anyway. She told me it is actually called Whiteoak Sink and it would be absolutely beautiful this time of year. Apparently it is known for being home to many different wildflowers!!!
To reach Whiteoak Sink you must hike out the Schoolhouse Gap Trail about a mile.
We drove through the Townsend entry to GSMNP and made a right onto Laurel Creek Road.
The Schoolhouse Gap Trailhead is on the right about half way to Cades Cove.
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
Just past the junction with the Turkeypen Ridge Trail,
there is an unmarked trail which leads down to Whiteoak Sink.
This is the unmarked Trail to Whiteoak Sink.
Click HERE for a link to a wonderful description of the Sinks and the Wildflowers.
This is a map showing the 3 trails:
Schoolhouse Gap, Turkeypen Ridge and Whiteoak Sink.
We were warned to pay attention to where we were once we reach the Sinks.
There are many small, narrow and windy trails. Apparently people get lost here;o((
One of the trails to the right leads you to Falls Cave.
The water falls over the rock ledge into a deep cave below.
Our next stop was the Blow Hole Cave.
Click on any photo to enlarge
There were two more trails to explore, but they will have to wait until next time.
We were at the END OF THE TRAIL and needed to start back.
We met some folks at the Blow Hole Cave. On our way back, we met again and chatted for a few minutes. They are ancestors of Abraham Law an original settler of Whiteoak Sink. They were on this hike today to locate Abraham Law’s grave marker which they found.
The gentleman in the ball cap is a Great Great Nephew and the woman is a Great Great Great Grand-daughter of Abraham Law!!
Approaching the Schoolhouse Gap Trailhead and the end of a WONDERFUL hike!!
This was not a long hike,
so why didn’t we have time to explore the other two trails???
Can you say “WILDFLOWERS!!!”
I have never seen so many wildflowers in one place in my life. I cannot begin to describe all the different types or even begin to know their names. I’ve tried to identify many, but I’m not sure they are correct. So I will just let you enjoy the pictures. But I would recommend this hike near the end of April or early May to see the beautiful wildflowers in person!!
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
Nature Is Amazing!!!
On Monday, May 5th, we went hiking to Grotto Falls with Howard and Linda!!
We wanted to take one more hike before we leave tomorrow. Howard and Linda wanted to join us, but they had to weigh some departing rigs early in the day. So we just picked a shorter hike and planned to go when they were finished.
Normally, I carry two cameras. I wear shoulder straps to carry my Nikon D3000 with a zoom lens for great wildlife close-ups. My Panasonic Lumix, fits in my pocket or fanny pack and takes nice landscape photos. I decided NOT to carry my big Nikon today as we really have seen very little wildlife. Can you say “BIG MISTAKE!!!” Yep, we had a wonderful bear sighting and I didn’t have the right camera…darn;o(( But better yet, I brought along Howard and Linda who not only took wonderful photos of the bears and our hike, but got video also:o)) So I am just going to link to Howard’s post of a SPECTACULAR bear sighting and a lovely hike with friends:o))
Here are the few shots I took and a couple with Howard in the picture!!
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
A Great Day With Good Friends :o))
On Tuesday, May 6th and Wednesday May 7th,
we headed back toward Huntington Beach, SC.
We have had a terrific time here with so many wonderful RV-Dreams friends. It is so much fun to meet up with like-minded people and enjoy laughing and learning together!! But we needed to head back to the beach today.
But first, we were getting weighed…the rig, not us;o))
Turns out Baby needs to go on a diet or get a bit more exercise!! We were way underweight on both sides in the front and on the back passenger side, but our back drivers side was about 250 pounds overweight:o(( Have to see what we can adjust to fix that. Thank goodness we didn’t order the washer and dryer which are supposed to be on that side!!
We will make some adjustments and then get weighed again to see if we have fixed the issue. But glad to know we have an issue that can be fixed before it causes a problem!!
After hugs and see ya’ laters, we headed back to Magnolia RV Park for one night. On Wednesday, we finished the trip to Huntington Beach SP in Murrells Inlet, SC. We will be here and in the Carolinas until June 25th when we run away from the beach crowds for the summer!!
Excellent Bear sighting! Looks like a great hike.
ReplyDeleteNice that they mark those trails with such clear signs. I need that, I could easily get lost in my own back yard!
ReplyDeleteSpringtime flowers are beautiful, a beauty no florist can match.
250 lbs isn't too much to worry about, I bet it was heavy on that side right from the factory empty. ;c)
We think the engineers need to rethink things a bit. We don't have 250 lbs we can move!!! Perhaps the axle should have been upgraded;o((
DeleteI'd be one of those people who got lost there :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful wild flowers though. Maybe getting lost wouldn't be such a bad thing :)
Enjoy your summer!
Wow, so many wildflowers!! What a lovely hike. Have a great summer...perhaps you'll be near Morocco sometime? :-)
ReplyDeleteI am assuming you mean MODOC and yes, we will be there on Site 29 the last week of September!!! Are you going to still be there??
DeleteBeautiful pictures of the flowers. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes those wild flowers are so beautiful. Everyone talks about the beauty of the leaves in the Fall, but I love the mountains in the Spring just as much.
ReplyDeleteThose cubs are just the right size to hug, but I don't think Mamma Bear would be happy about that.
Syl
Oh my goodness, Pink Ladyslippers and dogtooth violets and trilium and jack in the pulpit and sqaw corn and blood root and.................... I am just so excited for you. All those flowers AND the bears. Your pictures are GREAT! I would not have known you took them with your little camera had you not told me. Talk about the perfect time to be in GSMNP. I am putting this down in my book of dreams to be there at the exact time you were. What a great job of scheduling the rally Howard did.
ReplyDeleteOnly the bear hike photos were with the Panasonic. As for timing of the visit... remember it was a very cold winter so things bloomed a bit later this year. But I believe from early April to early Map would be best and have the least crowds:o)
DeleteAnother hike to add to our list. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteVery cool to meet some ancestors of one of the original settlers. Beautiful butterflies and wildflowers, and awesome shots of the bears!
ReplyDeleteGot a recommendation to read your blog from Sharon (Gains & Losses) and I see you were at GSMNP about a week after I was. You found some wildflowers on the Schoolhouse Gap that I missed!
ReplyDelete