18 November 2024
The 3 bedroom cabin we are in is really nice. It’s called the Parkside cabin and is located just adjacent to the visitors center.
One of the wonderful features of the cabin when visiting during colder months is the fireplace.
After they delivered the kindling, I was able to make a fire, albeit with difficultly. There was a strong downdraft from the fireplace and when I tried to close the damper – nothing. Eventually, I got the kindling going and the wood burning but soon smoke began to fill the cabin and the smoke detector went off. This I wrote about yesterday. What I didn’t write about was the cause that came to me at 3 am. Somehow, we had cut the attic fan on which was drawing air from the chimney and up through the attic fan. I noticed it during my 3 am bathroom break. It would not matter whether the damper was closed or not because smoke was going to pulled into the cabin by the fan. If we do a fire tonight, we will make sure the attic fan is off!
We spent a lazy morning and ate breakfast in the cabin. Later, Jimmie, Stephen and I went to the visitors center and we toured their exhibits.
The Japanese maple made for a great background. Later, Jimmie and I walked around the visitors center loop trail. We clocked in 0.4 miles.
We decided to drive to Cleveland for lunch at our favorite place. The food is good and the prices are right. The place is called Clydes after the owner’s dog.
This is the third time we’ve eaten there. The park is equidistant between Helen and Cleveland and there are a lot less tourists with which to contend.
After dropping Jimmie and Stephen off, I headed to Dukes Creek Falls parking lot and walked the Dukes Creek trail down to the falls. It’s one mile to the falls – all downhill (with some steps) and then one mile back – all uphill. My Apple Watch clocked my hike at 2.5 miles which probably included some wandering down around the falls and when I had to go back and pick up my water bottle that had fallen out at the last part of the trail.
The falls are approximately 150 feet in height. Also coming down Dukes Creek are several cascades that are really nice.
I met a lot of people on their way up the trail and I would joke with them about the broken elevator or escalator for the falls.
As I was hiking back up, sweating and panting, I considered how nice it was to get back in the woods and on the trail. Several times when I paused to catch my breath, a gentle breeze wafted through the woods and cooled me off. Even the smell of the woods was intoxicating to me. I’m so pleased I managed to hike 2.5 miles today, down and back up a mountain. It gives me hope. Stephen commented on how I seemed to have a lot of energy today and maybe that’s due to getting back to something I love.
Even though it’s mid-November, there was still some color on the trees.
As I got back to the parking lot, I took one more look at Mt. Yonah. There’s a spectacular view from the parking lot.
Tomorrow, we plant to head to Sautee and our favorite general store and have lunch, buy taffy, and pretty much cool our jets. After all, it’s a vacation!
Stay tuned!
