Hiking and wildlife and BEARS, oh my!

In an effort to catch you up on the last two days of adventures I'm giving you the shortened version of our multiple jaunts.  While this trip is a motorcycle trip, we can't help but get off the bike to stretch our legs and take in the awesome scenery.

View from Clingmans Dome:  Elevation 6,643 ft

They truly are smoky-looking mountains.  We rode to Clingmans Dome (third highest point east of the Mississippi) and parked the bike.  To get to the observation tower, which boasts 360 degree panoramas, we hiked half a mile.  No big deal, right?  Wrong.  I was panting after the first tenth of a mile! 

The parking lot we hiked from is located in the center of the above picture.  Half a mile doesn't sound very far, but a very steep hike and thin air makes this a workout!  But totally worth it. :)

Since we're in the mountains, surrounded by national parks and forests, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see some wildlife.  We ventured out to Cades Cove.  There are never any guarantees that you'll see anything, but about half way through the 11 mile scenic loop we came across these little guys hidden in the brush.

Clearly these deer are used to seeing people.  Or it could have been Scott's deer calls, which he learned from his Aunt Joy.  "Here deer!  Here deer!"

They could have cared less that we were there, as long as we didn't eat their grass.  This guy was so comfortable around us he proceeded to relieve himself right there!  Don't worry, I didn't catch that on film.

We were happy to see some sort of wild life because this scenic loop was a one lane, one way road.  And everyone was crawling at a snail's pace to try to see something.  Anything.  Even dumb birds!  We were hoping to see one of the 1,500 black bears we read about on the web and in the local maps and guides, but it wasn't looking good.  Until we rounded a corner and saw this...

I'm guessing he's about two.  Not really a cub, but not big enough to be scary...

until he looks you in the eye and starts walking toward you with his sharp claws clicking on the pavement.  Then the mom next to you tells her kid in a panicked voice to, "hurry up, get in the car," and you realize you don't have a car to get into.  Stupid motorcycle.

Guess we didn't look that appetizing.  AWESOME!

Next up . . . Dragon Slaying!  Stay tuned.