Bears at Cade's Cove

We were hiking with a group in the Smoky Mountain National Park last Wednesday, looking for wildflowers. Some of the people with us were telling about seeing lots of bears in Cade's Cove. So on Thursday, with my lil' ole sister and her hub, we headed down that way.

Although we looked diligently and patiently, we only saw one bear all day. He was a fine looking feller.

He was in a meadow under a black walnut tree. We could hear him crunching on something; we are guessing that he was eating walnuts left from last fall. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

We found a place with lots of people stopped by the side of the road past the Cade's Cove village. We were told there was a mother and three cubs in a den near a downed tree. We waited for a while, but they never came out and we had places to go and promises to keep, so we didn't get to see them. The rangers told us it was a good year for bears; that numerous ones had been spotted in the park. I'm sorry we missed the cubs, but glad we got to observe this bear having his morning snack.

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Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures. We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything. Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

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