Our Autumn Vacation: Smokemont Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

 Every year Carole and I take a Halloween week vacation. We hook up the Casita and try to find a place where we can view spectacular Fall color. Despite propaganda from other parts of the country, I have found that the most vibrant and varied Autumn displays are in the southern Appalachians. Other parts of the country depend on one or two species of hardwoods to paint the local landscape with color, but in the big southern mountains there are hundreds of species of deciduous trees transitioning from green to all manner of eye-popping hues.

In 2019 we went to the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hit that amazing forest at its peak. In 2020 we headed a bit farther west and north and traveled to the Red River Gorge of Kentucky and once again hit those trees at full color display. The forests there are not as varied but are still amazing to see. This year, we returned to the Great Smoky Mountains, but opted to see the southern end of the Park and stayed at Smokemont Campground.

Here, then, are some of the views we were afforded on this year's version of our annual trip. We're not sure where we're going in Fall of 2022. Maybe to New England. 2023 we're going to try for a month-long journey to Colorado. Carole has never seen the aspens when they put on their annual show of leafy gold.

When we arrived we realized that our initial reservation would not allow us to use our generator at the spot we'd chosen. So we asked if we could move to a generator-friendly spot. The ranger was able to accommodate us and we got a pull-through site in Section D where we could run our generator. We don't generally run it much...mainly to charge some of the electronic devices we take with us. After the first three nights they closed Section D and we moved to our original site in Loop B. At that time, when they close most of the loops, the entire campground is open for generator use.

On the night when the cold front arrived, pushing out the persistent rains, we awakened to find that our furnace was only blowing cold air because we'd run out of propane during the early morning. When I switched tanks I realized that it was empty. So we had to make a quick run into Cherokee to get one tank refilled. I had two spares at home, both full, but had neglected to check to make sure both tanks on the Casita were full before we left. I always manage to forget something. We scooted back to the campsite and I hooked the tank back on and the furnace fired up again. I hope not to repeat that mistake!

All in all, we had another relaxing, successful Fall color vacation!

A brief video displaying our two campsites at Smokemont.

Carole doesn't like pull-through campsites. This is because most of that type are exposed and don't offer much in the way of privacy. But these were fine. The next time we stay at Smokemont I'm going to reserve a pull-through site like this one.

This was the picnic table at our second campsite. We never really used it. The weather turned cold so we ended up eating inside, even though we cooked outside.

Our second campsite. That's the bathroom building behind us. Most National Parks do not offer any kind of hookups for RVs. No electric, water connection; also no bathhouses with showers. This campground was typical in that way. Flush toilets and sinks. We did fill up our freshwater onboard tank at the campground, and we took our Honda 2000 generator with us. So we generally have no need for traditional campground utilities.

The campground just before we left. October through March are the low season the the Park. We left on a Tuesday, so there were not many people left in the campground as we prepared to head out.

The last photo I took before we left. We didn't catch the colors are their peak, but they were spectacular anyway. They were actually peaking when we got to the Park but three days of heavy rain managed to bash a lot of the color off the trees. Still...it was a great color show.

Initially, I wasn't going to take any photos of the elk. But when the rain finally broke we drove to Oconaluftee (adjacent to the campground) and there were elk wandering about, grazing. The rut was just over and all of the bull elk were elsewhere. After the rut the bulls tend to congregate in male-only groups and chill out together. So the elk herd was reduced to cows and calves. As you can see, some of the trees had dropped their leaves during the hard rains, but the color was still spectacular.

An elk calf, its camouflage spots recently faded away.

This was at an overlook on Balsam Mountain Road on a drive we took after the rain finally broke.

Another view along Balsam Mountain Road at high elevation. The peaks here are over 5,000 feet. I like this view because of the obvious change of climate zones as altitude increases. You can see the stark delineation where the spruce-fir Canadian zone begins.

Early August Trip to Smokemont Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Well, I'm retired so I can pretty much head off and take a trip any time I want to. Carole, however, is only semi-retired. She already took her 401k and pension (both of which she invests), but won't be eligible for Social Security for about 15 months or so. Therefore, she wants to keep working until 62.

This past week we headed over to the Great Smoky Mountains for a three-night camping trip. We opted to stay at the Smokemont Campground which we'd never used. Generally we utilize the Elkmont Campground on the other side of the Park. While the trails and scenery and more spectacular there, the traffic can be monstrous beyond description due to that area's proximity to the semi-urban hellholes known as Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Our last long stay at Elkmont was made difficult because of the bumper-to-bumper traffic bleeding into the Park from Gatlinburg.

Not wishing to face that kind of headache again, we opted for the Cherokee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which is subject to less traffic. As it turned out, we made a good choice. The campground is much nicer than we had anticipated. Also, the three  big elk herds that have developed since the repatriation of the species to the parklands have concentrated themselves in enclaves between Cataloochee Valley (where the first animals were released) and the rest of a triangle created by the Qualla Reservation, and Balsam Mountain Campground where it borders the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The herd numbers 240-250 animals currently, and the three main herds are each about 50 to 60 elk with smaller populations interspersed throughout this general area. So if you want to see the elk, the best places to camp or visit are Cataloochee Valley and Campground, Balsam Mountain Campground (the highest campground in the Park), or Smokemont Campground near Oconaluftee where the absolute largest herd congregates regularly. In fact, it's a rare day that a visit to Oconaluftee in the afternoon will not net you at least a peek of at least a few of the giant deer in the later afternoon.

While we were staying at Smokemont we did some hiking, and took some drives to nearby towns. As usual, we cooked most of our meals, but did try a couple of restaurants by driving outside the campground to Bryson City (about nine miles away).

For some reason, despite the fact that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has more bears than ever (at least 1500 black bears now make their homes there), I have gone about three years without seeing so much as a fleeting shadow of one. We were really hoping to be able to take some photos of a bear, but no such opportunity presented itself. A ranger told us that one did come through the campground while we were not at our campsite. So it goes.

We're thinking of heading back to the Park in October for a trip to see the Fall colors. We did that in 2019 and caught them at their peak, which was a first for me. Before that I would get there either too early or too late to see full Fall splendor. But we're also thinking of flying up to New England before Christmas, so that may be what we end up doing instead of pulling the trailer to Cherokee.

As always, we'll have to wait to see what happens.

Part of the herd of 60 elk that showed up at the Oconaluftee Historic Site the day we arrived.

This young bull was stoically enduring a heavy rain at Balsam Mountain Campground.

The only time I've seen a calf nursing in the Park.

Mona Lisa smile.

My son and I photographed this same cow in June of 2020 when we drove up to spend two days in the Park. I recognized her from the scars on her abdomen.

"Peek-a-boo!"