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Just wanted to check in. I will have to catch up on everything later. Bash and I drove to Pigeon Forge Friday, left Tobey at a Loving Care Pet Kennell and went to the Smoking Mountain Storytelling Festival. That was fun and funny. We have a friend from Knoxville who is a storyteller and we got there about 15 min. before she told her story for the day. Between the afternoon and evening sessions, we all went out to eat at the Apple Barn, which is my favorite place to eat in Pigeon Forge. Saturday we headed for Elizabethton and the Indian Festival at Sycamore Shoals. Had a great time there. We stayed in Johnson City last night and we are getting ready for another day of sightseeing. Bash wants to drive up to Warrior's Pass then we will head back towards Pigeon Forge. We pick Tobey up tomorrow and head home. Having a neat little weekend trip.

Echo----we are close to your old stomping ground aren't we? Gotta get packed up----keep the campfire going till I get home!!!

Aaahh! Fernie, the Apple Barn. Fond memories. I love Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge is a fun place! Sounds like you had a great weekend!

Hey Fernie, if you check out Warrior's Path State Park in Kingsport tell everyone hi from Carolyn. Be sure to give me a shout when you return, it's time for a dinner. Got to catch up.

I just thought I'd post some pics from the weekend. This is our friend, Minnie Jane, from Knoxville telling her story at the Storytelling Festival.



Saturday we went to Sycamore Shoals to the Indian Festival. This is an Indian doing the Fancy Dance.


Everyone was dancing this dance, including the women.



This was an Indian flute player we really enjoyed. I love Indian music.




We especially enjoyed the storyteller at the Indian Festival




Sunday we just drove around in northern Tn. then headed back to Pigeon Forge. Monday we drove through Cades Cove before we headed home. Just a couple miles from the turn back to Cades Cove the traffic was stopped watching this little cub resting up in the tree.




On the drive through the Cove, traffic stopped a lot to watch deer and turkey. Park Rangers were directing traffic at this one. Everyone in front of us were told to move on but we were told to stop. Out of the woods came Mama Bear right in front of us. I had to shoot through the windshield. The picture is zoomed so the people weren't as close as they appear.





Then came these two little cubs and then a third one followed.



Mama and the 3 cubs

What great pics from the pow wow. We used to have them nearby just over the border into VT, but not in recent years. I miss that.

Oh those beautiful bears!!! How lucky you got to see them!!

Actually, I bought two CDs of the Indian storyteller. Can't remember his name. One of the CDs is stories of Creation and the other is Animal Stories. I had always heard of the Indian stories but never actually heard them. Most if not all of the Indian stories have a moral.
I had heard Minnie tell stories at rving events---only they were a little more adult than what they were telling there. She can have you in the floor. She has had to quit rving because of her eyesite and has her rig up for sale. If any of you went to UT in Knoxville to school, Minnie taught debate I think they said.

I have heard my great grandfather was quite a story teller. He died in 1929 so I never knew him. He left his family and traveled. He ended up in Nevada, Idaho potato farming before he moved back to Illinois in his old age. have a letter written to my grandfather in 1910 that outlines the family history as he knew it. I have talked to distant cousins who knew him and they told me they loved to sit and listen to Uncle Charlie's stories when they were kids.

Oh, what cute little baby cubs. Just a scramblin to keep up to their Momma!

How fortunate to get pics of the little cubs! I NEVER want to be on foot and close enough to get those kinds of shots, though. Living in Alaska I can tell you many horor stores of many people mauled or killed by Momma bears! Yes, seen! Knew one guy that had most of his scalp torn off, also seen pics of what's left of people that have been eaten. Please, please, enjoy them at a very safe distance! And remember, they can run faster than a horse!

We were in the car. I had to shoot through the front windshield!! We were just so lucky we were the first car stopped!! I don't want to be on foot that close either!!

Very good pictures....and how about being in ther right place at the right time for those bear pictures....and a good place to view them in the car!!!
I remember when we went to the park (Yellowstone) my sister was a little one at the time 3-4 the first bear we saw ( in those days you saw a lot of bears) came up to the window and stood up with fore feet on window scared little sister and down to the floor of the car she went and would stay there till convinced that we wouldn't see any and she would come up and there would be a bear and down to the floor she went....when we viewed the movie pictures taken that day when the bear pictures came out behind the chair went little sister!!! fun memory....
sheila