Only a few miles down the Oconoluftee River from Cherokee is the Great Smoky Mountains Visitor Center. We saw these kids sitting on the roots of this magnificent old oak eating sandwiches. Life is good.
Outside the visitor center is this recreation of the McCarter Farm. When Penny was here before, there had been a lye and ash soap-making demonstration. Ted had seen his Aunt Idella and Uncle Joe make soap from some of the excess lard they always had after the hog slaughter.
OK, lets see how many of you can identify this device that was exhibited inside the visitor's center.
The understory was full of rhododendrons and azaleas. Only a few were still in bloom, most of them at higher altitudes.
Maidenhair, New York, and Christmas ferns lined the road,
The smoky appearance, seen here, that gave these mountains their name is caused by water vapor and terpenes exuded by the trees. By the way, there are several terpenes on the California Proposition 65 list of cancer causing chemicals, but they are also the substances that give essential oils their pleasant smells, and give the hops in your beer their flavor and aroma. Hard to separate the good from the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment