Yesterday we took a bus trip organized by the Western North Carolina History Association. Our guide was regional author, Wayne Caldwell, who wrote a novel, "Cataloochee," which is a fictionalized account of the settlers in the town of Cataloochee during the late 1800's through the time just before 1930 when their land was acquired to become part of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Wayne's ancestors lived in this area way back to his "third great grandfather," so he feels a real connection to this area.
We had a beautiful weather day for our trip, which included visiting several homesteads, outbuildings, the methodist church, and included a picnic lunch and a one mile hike into one of the homesteads that involved crossing the river three times each way on narrow log bridges and rock hopping along the river bed for a portion of the hike.
We stopped at this overlook to stretch our legs and appreciate the view. You can see what a pretty day it is.
From this overlook, our bus began the descent into the former settlement, negotiating severe switchbacks and a dirt road that snaked down to the valley where the remaining buildings are located.
This yellow dog run house is called the Palmer house. There is a little exhibit with census records and photographs of some of the families that lived in Cataloochee around the turn of the 20th century.
I suppose that the layers of "wall paper" provided some insulation... and they made an interesting graphic statement.
If I had lived here, I would have certainly had some daffodils in my front yard! Imagine how welcome it would be to see these flowers bloom after a long, treacherous winter!
Above are some views of an outbuilding and barn that are on the Palmer property.
Spring thaws have given the river a rather brisk current. The water was crystal clear.
In a distance you can see some of the elk herd that has been introduced into the National Park in recent years. You can enlarge this picture to see them more clearly. We saw several groups of elk from the bus throughout the day, some of them much closer than this, but this is the only photo I was able to get.
Our second stop and the scene of our picnic lunch was the Caldwell House. The overturned mud in the foreground was caused by wild pigs who search for roots and truffles. We saw lots of evidence of the hogs, but didn't see any of them.
The Caldwell House from the road.
This is the trail head that leads to the Woody House, an interesting 1 mile hike that included crossing the river three times on single log bridges like the one below.
We also had to walk up the river bed for a while, jumping from rock to rock! Eventually we reached the house.
Notice that the wild pigs have also been here!
Below is the Methodist Church. Wayne read from the pulpit from his novel, delivering a fictional sermon on the actual spot where his ancestors, the residents of Cataloochee, were told that their homes would be taken by eminent domain for the formation of the National Park.
It was a special treat to spend such a beautiful day learning more about the history of the area. I hope we get to return to Cataloochee again soon.
