# Smokey Mountain Delights From This Week



## EAGLE EYE 444 (Sep 11, 2011)

My Texas Lady and I spent a few days in the Mountains.  We visited sites including Maggie Valley, Cherokee, and Cade's Cove this past week and we really enjoyed it too.  The weather was much cooler and it really felt great.  These are some of the delights during our trip.  We did see one bear ,but unfortunately, it had been struck and killed along the roadway.  Cataloochee Valley had about 15 different flocks of turkeys and lots of Elk along the way.  The trip to Cade's Cove was disappointing this time as there were a lot more vehicles than photo opportunities.   We only saw about a total of 6 deer and none of them were bucks with headgear.  Of course, there were plenty of turkeys though along the way.

This was the view from our motel back door.  We stayed at the Four Seasons Inn in Maggie Valley and it is a great place to stay.  I know the owners and they are a really nice couple.  Sitting in the rocking chairs and listening to the sound of the rushing waters was definitely food for the soul.  It was so relaxing.  There were several people fishing during the week here in Jonathan Creek which is a great trout stream.  We also visited Cataloochee Ranch which sits about 5000 feet atop the Mountain as well.  















Some Other sights from Cataloochee Valley.


----------



## Joe r (Sep 11, 2011)

wow! thats a big elk for sure


----------



## Hoss (Sep 11, 2011)

That is a trip that would do wonders for the soul.  Really nice head gear on that elk.  Thanks for taking us along.

Hoss


----------



## wvdawg (Sep 11, 2011)

Neat travels - I think I could sit a spell in them rockers and listen to the bubbling brook!


----------



## rip18 (Sep 11, 2011)

Looks & sounds like a great trip!  The weather ought to have been pretty good for y'all too!


----------



## leo (Sep 12, 2011)

Sounds like y'all had a fine trip ..... good work on the pics, thanks for sharing them with us


----------



## Keebs (Sep 12, 2011)

Sounds like a very nice trip!  Thanks for sharing!


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 12, 2011)

Cool pics! That's right in my backyard.


----------



## Melissa (Sep 12, 2011)

gorgeous pics Eagle!


----------



## EAGLE EYE 444 (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks.  I was glad to share these with you as I really enjoyed this trip with my Texas Lady.  We had a blast for sure.

NCHillbilly, I thought about you while we were in your neighborhood but we did not get online at all during our trip.  I also thought about you when I saw the bear that had been hit and killed by a vehicle on I-40 west, not too far west of Hwy 276 exit.  I was sure hoping to see one in Cataloochee Valley or Cade's Cove.  While driving in Cataloochee, my Texas Lady was scared and didn't want to look as I made my way along the one-lane road as we were leaving just before dark.  I stopped to let another vehicle pass and she looked down the mountain on her side and got real scared because the road was wet and slippery in that area and it was about a 500 foot drop-off straight down just a foot or so to the right with no guardrails.


----------



## quinn (Sep 12, 2011)

Nice shootin!looks like a blast!Glad you and yer Texas lady had a great time!


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 14, 2011)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> Thanks.  I was glad to share these with you as I really enjoyed this trip with my Texas Lady.  We had a blast for sure.
> 
> NCHillbilly, I thought about you while we were in your neighborhood but we did not get online at all during our trip.  I also thought about you when I saw the bear that had been hit and killed by a vehicle on I-40 west, not too far west of Hwy 276 exit.  I was sure hoping to see one in Cataloochee Valley or Cade's Cove.  While driving in Cataloochee, my Texas Lady was scared and didn't want to look as I made my way along the one-lane road as we were leaving just before dark.  I stopped to let another vehicle pass and she looked down the mountain on her side and got real scared because the road was wet and slippery in that area and it was about a 500 foot drop-off straight down just a foot or so to the right with no guardrails.



Exit 20 ( hwy 276) is about two miles from my house.


----------



## EAGLE EYE 444 (Sep 15, 2011)

NCHillbilly said:


> Exit 20 ( hwy 276) is about two miles from my house.




I thought that you must live really closeby.  Man, it should be some fat deer up there based on the corn growing along Hwy 276.  Those stalks are from 10-12 feet high and most have 3-4 ears on them too.

The motel shown in the above photos is the Four Season's Inn located in downtown Maggie Valley and it was great.  The owners, Dillard and Beverly Robinson, are really nice and I enjoyed talking with Dillard in learning more about trout fishing too.  He is a very avid trout fisherman and fishes several streams in that area.  A lot of their reservations are made a year in advance.  I have some friends from Cleveland, Texas that wanted to visit that area for two weeks in October and I was hoping that they could stay there too but they were booked completely for the month of October.

My sister and BIL have a place located in WinnGray Campground just 2 1/2 miles from I-40 on Hwy 276.  They have one of the permanent places in that campground that they use as a 2nd home (mountain retreat).  That is a really nice campground with Jonathon Creek flowing along the property as well.  They have always loved Maggie Valley and this is the 5th place that they have owned up there.  Just curious if you have visited Bogart's Restaurant downtown or Ammon's Restaurant in Waynesville before.  Both have great food BUT Bogart's has a wide variety of some of the best tasting food that I have ever eaten.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 15, 2011)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I thought that you must live really closeby.  Man, it should be some fat deer up there based on the corn growing along Hwy 276.  Those stalks are from 10-12 feet high and most have 3-4 ears on them too.
> 
> The motel shown in the above photos is the Four Season's Inn located in downtown Maggie Valley and it was great.  The owners, Dillard and Beverly Robinson, are really nice and I enjoyed talking with Dillard in learning more about trout fishing too.  He is a very avid trout fisherman and fishes several streams in that area.  A lot of their reservations are made a year in advance.  I have some friends from Cleveland, Texas that wanted to visit that area for two weeks in October and I was hoping that they could stay there too but they were booked completely for the month of October.
> 
> My sister and BIL have a place located in WinnGray Campground just 2 1/2 miles from I-40 on Hwy 276.  They have one of the permanent places in that campground that they use as a 2nd home (mountain retreat).  That is a really nice campground with Jonathon Creek flowing along the property as well.  They have always loved Maggie Valley and this is the 5th place that they have owned up there.  Just curious if you have visited Bogart's Restaurant downtown or Ammon's Restaurant in Waynesville before.  Both have great food BUT Bogart's has a wide variety of some of the best tasting food that I have ever eaten.



Yeah, I used to fish that stretch of J Creek behind the Winngray a lot. Eaten at Bogart's and Ammon's Drive-in a bazillion times, used to eat lunch at Ammon's almost every day when I was working near there. Next time you're up, check out Gigi's little trailer restaurant there on the lower end of J Creek, great food at good prices.


----------



## cornpile (Sep 17, 2011)

Smokin elk pics,looks like you had a good time.


----------



## Lindseys Grandpa (Sep 18, 2011)

Was in Cades cove Thursday evening it was drizzling rain and most of crowd was gone or stayed away. Got some pretty good pic's of bears and saw some big bucks. Will attempt to post pictures later. Great pictures of the elk. I want to get over there next trip up.


----------

