“Life is old there, older than the trees, Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze.”- John Denver

 




October 17, 2020

“Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze.”- John Denver

Every once in a great while, you experience one of those rare transcendent moments that makes you forget about all the problems you may have and appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world we live in. There has been a tremendous amount of problems this year, mostly related to the continuing and spiking coronavirus pandemic that continues to impact all of our lives. The numbers are on the rise again as the fall spike seems to be getting underway and there are currently 8,336,557 cases in the United States, with a staggering 222,089 deaths. In my home county there are now 2,131 cases with 993 of those being in Key West and 25 who have perished due to the virus.

As frightening as those numbers are and with all the misery and anxiety that is sweeping the country, the chance to experience one of the most special wildlife interactions of my life was a wonderful and welcome respite from it all. I drove through Smoky Mountain National Park, stopping in Cherokee, North Carolina. As I was nearing the exit of the park in Cherokee, there were about a hundred people pulled over to the side of the road near a large open field. The field contained literally hundreds of elk, who were participating in their annual rutting season. I of course had to stop, because just seeing so many elk is a special experience.

I joined the large group of people with my camera and began photographing the elk and watching in wonder as the large male bulls would bugle loudly and then some far off elk would respond. I wanted to see where the responses were emanating from and escape the large crowd so I ventured off along a river path deeper into the woods where I eventually found myself pretty much alone in the woods with these amazing and massive creatures all around me. 

I knew better than to get to close as I did not want to disturb them and I know they can be pretty dangerous to foolish tourists. But they obviously either are very used to people being around or so interested in their activity that they did not seem to care or even notice me and within a few minutes were wondering all around me seemingly oblivious to my presence. It was incredible, as they are truly massive, beautiful creatures. I was able to keep some trees or stands of brush between myself and the creatures, and I used my long lens to get close up shots, but it was a truly magical experience. I stayed until dusk started before making my way back to the car and on to my hotel.

The following morning my plan was to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head north towards Winston-Salem where I would visit my mother. I was up and out early and there was a thick fog layer of the sort that gives the Smokies their name. It was beautiful. I wanted to take a quick drive past the field where the elk had congregated the previous evening. There was only a lone elk standing majestically in the foggy field, so I took the same path and ventured back into the forest along the river path again and once again found the incredible creatures along the river’s edge deep in the woods, wandering through the fog like mythic beasts. I was all alone with a few dozen of the incredible creatures in what truly a magical and transformative wildlife experience unlike any that I have ever had.

I remained until the morning sun began burning off the fog before reluctantly returning to the car and heading to the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway, where I spent an amazing beautiful fall day driving along one of the most beautiful and scenic byways in America. The early fall and beginning of the changing leaves, the amazing overlooks and pull-offs where you could see incredible vistas of the Smoky Mountains in all their glory. It was just an amazing drive and certainly one of my favorite days of this year.

I stopped for lunch in the city of Asheville, where I enjoyed some North Carolina barbeque and visited a cluster of breweries, four with-in about a two block radius and sampled some wonderful local craft brews. I especially enjoyed Green Man Brewing and Twin Leaf Brewing, but a few hours is too short of a time to really get a good feel for the place so I hope to return at some point to really experience the flavor of the town. Hopefully when this awful pandemic is past.

I was back on the parkway for the rest of the afternoon, stopping frequently to enjoy the amazing weather and incredible view. I wanted to stop for the night in another cool little mountain town, Boone, North Carolina. Once again a single evening and morning was not enough time, but I got a good taste of the hip little town that is home to Appalachian State University and a quaint little downtown that I was able to explore a bit before heading over to Winston-Salem.

 

Say Her Name

 



October 16, 2020

Say Her Name

My first overnight stop on my twisty journey home was in Louisville, Kentucky. I made it a point to stop there in particular and I wanted to stay downtown. I was able to find an excellent Holiday Inn Express right downtown only a couple of blocks from the area that I really wanted to visit, Jefferson Square Plaza. This area has been the site of nightly protests that we have been watching closely via various media outlets. In addition to being the summer of Covid-19, this summer has seen a renewed social outcry against systemic racism and the continual poor treatment of black citizens at the hands of some overzealous, aggressive and just plain criminal police officers around the nation.

 

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis really was the spark that ignited hundreds of thousands to take to the street in cities across the country to protest the seemingly incessant acts of brutality that almost universally go unpunished and often ignored by much of our society. These things seem to happen over and over and people are demanding justice. In Louisville the tragic case of Breona Taylor, a young woman who was shot to death in her own apartment as police served a no-knock warrant seeking a former boyfriend.

 

The facts of the case are of course in dispute, but once again there has been no justice for Ms. Taylor and another black person has died at the hands of the police using questionable tactics. I don’t want to get into the politics of this horror, but I think everyone can agree that this woman’s tragic death was unnecessary and a breakdown of the very system that is designed to protect citizens.

After watching night after night of mostly peaceful ongoing protests, I wanted to see the spot where a memorial has been set up in downtown Louisville. It was a creepy scene downtown while I was there, almost every building is boarded up, as if a hurricane was coming. There was hardly anyone around while I was there but the memorial was there and it looked as if organizers were prepared for more protests, though no activity was happening while I was there.

I totally support the peaceful protesters who are justified in demanding justice. That does not preclude me from also supporting what I believe are the vast majority of decent law enforcement officers who are not committing crimes. Unlike what many seem to feel, I think the two sides are not mutually exclusive. I do not support violent looters and those who take advantage of the protests. Criminals should be apprehended and punished be they violent looters or police officers who exceed their authority and mandate and commit violence against those they encounter.  Equal justice for all.

 

 

While in Louisville and before hitting the road, I also wanted to check out Cave Hill Cemetery where one of my personal heroes, Muhammad Ali is buried. As fate would have it another famous Kentuckian, Col. Saunders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame is buried in the same cemetery so I was able to see his grave as well. The place is a beautiful final resting place for all those who are interred there and it was a beautiful, quiet fall day to visit.

 

It also made for a perfect day to drive and I headed across the state into Tennessee to Gatlinburg where I would enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If I thought Nashville, Indiana was crowded, Gatlinburg was totally insane. It took me a good 45 minutes to drive about three miles across town and once again, the vast majority of the massive crowds seemed more interested in the shlocky commercialism that is Gatlinburg rather than the serene beauty of the National Park.

The park didn’t seem crowded at all, especially once you got past the first visitor center. I stopped numerous times to check out the beauty of the natural setting and to take a few short hikes so that I could be totally immersed and alone in the forest. It was s special and was a balm for all the bad news and tragedy that seems to have been so central to this year.

I spent the majority of the afternoon and early evening in the park, stopping to spend the night in Cherokee, North Carolina, so that I could easily get back into the park early the next morning and continue my adventure. It was just a splendid day all to myself immersed in the beauty of the deciduous forest in the early fall, such a joyous experience.