Had a Great Time
The family reunion of 2023 was in a remote wooded area of Sevierville, TN and still close enough to all the touristy things Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg have to offer. None of us live or are from Tennessee, so we all converged here by either car or plane and from the north or the south. All together 34 of us in attendance. The well-manicured property with plenty of space to house 14 cabins (numbered 1-15, but no 13 to avoid being in a scary movie) was situated in a relaxing, pretty, quiet, rustic area with the bubbling sounds of multiple creeks all around.
My plan was to explore two somewhat less visited trails within the very popular and well trafficked Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). That changed on our first morning. After having some coffee Debbie went on an early morning solo walk around the cabin area. She returned 15 minutes later white in the face and obviously spooked. She explained she had seen a Black Bear run across the country road in front of her. Then someone in a car told her there were also two cubs with that Bear. Debbie did not bring her phone, so there would be no photo of this. Her Bear encounter changed my plans. Why drive nearly an hour into the GSMNP to look for Bears and do wildlife photography when I can hike the “backyard” of this cabin area and be in the woods where Bears live and as a bonus not running into anyone.
My contribution to this project is all the research grade animals I was able to photograph around the cabin area, at House Mountain State Natural Area, and at Seven Islands Birding State Park. I never did go to GSMNP and I do not feel like I missed anything. It rained the week before we all arrived and again when we left, but the 6 days we all spent here was sunny and hot: not a drop of rain. It turned out to be a well-planned reunion, a nice vacation, and a good expedition to seek out animals.
