We continue to be amazed at the pictures we are seeing out of the tornado ravaged parts of the country. Our hearts continue to go out to all of the people – and animals – affected by the horrendous storms.
We are also seeing the effects from all of the rain on the lake level here at Norris Lake in Eastern Tennessee. Now the park we are staying in is open and things are moving normally, but you can certainly see the effects of the high lake level along the shore line. We thought we would share a few more pictures today.
Kiska. What are you seeing?
Remember this bench from yesterday's blog post?
Here is that same bench today. Notice how the water has risen?
And yesterday's picture of the fence lining the road - all under water.
Same area today and the fence is almost completely submerged.
Rusty says he wants to share a few other scenes.
This no swimming sign would seem to preclude using this bench.
And this bridge over troubled waters is, well, IN troubled waters.
Every where you look, you can see the effect of the lake over its banks.
Not that everyone is complaining (though they were loud).
This guy enjoyed the extra swimming areas.
And this guy was enjoying the extra fishing areas.
Despite the high water, still a beautiful day at Norris Lake.
The storms have passed, but Norris Lake in Tennessee is certainly over flood stage.
Yes, that is the top of the fence sticking out above the water - and, yes, the fence lines that road that is way under water.
Sitting on this bench did not seem particularly inviting.
And this camp site did not quite seem the right one for us.
Despite the pictures, most of the camp ground is in great shape. We are high and dry and enjoying a long camping weekend. Our camp site looks more like this:
Relaxed in our camp site.
And, yes, for those of you who counted, Ruby and Tartok (and the hu-grandmom) from The Herd Annex are also camping with us.
It was a dark and stormy night – and we know many of you out there know what we are talking about. The winds are howling, the rains are pouring, and we lost power. Thus, this post is going to be very brief (conserving laptop battery and who knows how long the laptop cellphone card will work).
Plus we are preparing for a little adventure starting tomorrow. Anyone want to guess what this face means (long time readers should know):
Cheesewhiz face!
Yes, that means we are cranking up the S-RV – Siberian Recreational Vehicle – for a long four day weekend of camping. The storms are supposed to be over here by sunrise and we are headed out to enjoy a nice weekend.
Oh – - of course we will be posting pictures from our camping trip.
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6 a.m. update – The sun is rising on a clear, calm morning and the power is back on at the house. So, time for us to load up the RV. Our hearts go out to Alabama and everyone else in the path of yesterday’s storms.
It has been a long time since we have posted a video, so we thought we would show you a simple Sunday afternoon walk – followed by a little Queen Natasha the Evil roaching. What could be more fun in under 2 minutes?
No, no, no, not the Snow Grooming Machine. Though we do think that is very cool and would like to have our own personal Snow Grooming Machine. Can’t you see Rusty driving it? No look closer. We spotted a couple of Easter Bunnies.
Uh, why are those dogs staring at us?
We invited them over to “play”, but they refused. Can you imagine?
Saturday was beautiful, so we decided to take the exact same trail that we were taking last Saturday. Do you remember what happened? Let us remind you . . .
Black Bear was walking the same trail that we were walking.
So if we walk the exact same trail at the exact same time, will we get the exact same result?
Nope. Trail is all clear. At least as far as we could see.
We live in the heart of the original Cherokee nation. During the infamous Trail of Tears, many of the Cherokee hid out in our mountains to avoid the forced march and today that group’s ancestors live on the Qualla Boundary – the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation reservation. Because of that heritage, many legends and names live on today (including Cheoah, the Cherokee word for Otter and the official name of our own Cheesewhiz the Siberian).
One of the legends is of a fierce, slant eyed giant called Judaculla. Judaculla lived in the Richland Balsams (one of our favorite hiking areas) but held court in a cave in a nearby mountain. Thus, that mountain’s official name is Whiteside Mountain, but it is more commonly called Devil’s Courthouse (which is actually the name of just the rock outcropping – not the whole mountain). Today’s pictures all come from a day at The Devil.
The rock outcropping of Devil's Courthouse - the rest of the pictures are from the top - elevation 5,720 feet (1,743 meters).
Cheoah (a/k/a Cheesewhiz) says the climb to the top was just a little tiring.
Natasha and Kiska were most interested in whatever was rustling through the brush.
But at least some of us knew to just relax and enjoy the views.
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