Cataloochee Valley

Today we took a ride to Cataloocha Valley to hopefully see some Elk. The entrance road to Cataloocha Valley is a winding, gravel that has some steep drop offs with no guard rails. The is narrow, so drivers may be required to stop and or back up their vehicles to let oncoming vehicles to pass. Horse trailer traffic may be encountered
on the road.
 In 2001, elk were released in Cataloocha Valley as part of an experimental to reintroduce elk to the park. The herds can be seen regularly in the fields of the valley in the morning or early evening.
That's not the case in our situation. All we saw were a couple of bear.
A variety of historic buildings have been preserved in the valley.
The Cataloocha Valley is nestled among some of the most rugged mountains in the southeastern United States. Surround by 6000 ft. peaks, this isolated  valley was one of the largest most prosperous settlements in the Great  Smoky Mountains National Park. Some 1200 people lived in this mountain valley in 1910. 

Road going into Cataloocha Valley

Narrow bridge along road

Picture from a pull off

Bridge over creek to house

Caldwell house

Inside of house

View out of window

View from front porch

Driving in the valley

Believe it or not this is a bear

Beautiful valley

Soco Falls

Soco Falls is a beautiful, double waterfall on the edge of the Cherokee Indian Reservation, located between the towns of Maggie Valley and Cherokee. You can see it from a platform a short walk from US Highway 19. I took these from that platform. The path going down to the falls was roped off. The walk down to the platform was vey uneven with some washed out spots.

Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center

Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center is just a few miles east of Waynesville, NC. These are just a few shots of the Lake. This is an ideal location for: conferences, meetings and retreats, vacations, et. It has a nice four mile walking path around part of the Lake.

Campground 20th Anniversary cookout

Creekwood Farm RV Park had a 20th. Anniversary cookout. They had smoked ribs, chicken, salads, and deserts. After eating they had entertainment with Jimmy Gillis playing his guitar and singing. Everybody had a great time. The food was very good. Jimmy played for about three and one half hours. Everything was free.

Waynesville, NC

We are at Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville, NC.

This is our site.

Our site backs up this creek.

The creek from another angle.

We will be here until July 7 exploring the area and maybe do some kayaking. So far the weather has been beautiful 48 to 52 in the mornings then in the high 80 the rest of the day. Nice clear skies with no rain. The mountain views are awesome.