A rush to the Park before the Government shuts it down!

Friday, April 8, 2011

This morning Dad and I were all snuggly in bed and sleeping in, when Mom woke us up and said if we were going to the Smoky Mountain Park today, we had better get going, because the park may be closed by midnight tonight!  (If the government closes down, the National Parks will be the first to go.)  So, Dad and I got up and after breakfast, we took off for the park.  It was a really pretty drive, and the mountains really do look smoky, but its caused by the evaporation of moisture on the trees and in the leaves that makes it look that way, not real smoke.  Spring is just starting in the mountains, so some of the trees are just starting to bud out and things aren't really green yet, but some of the wild flowers are starting to bloom.  Mom got some pictures, but it was cloudy today too, so they weren't REALLY good.  When we got to the center of the park, there was a truck from CNN.  They were there to report about the impact of closing the park on the people.  One of the guys spotted our Nevada license plate, so there was quite a discussion about Nevada and  Harry Reid!  Mom said I shouldn't repeat any of that conversation here!

Anyway, here are some of the pictures Mom took:

Smoky Mountain National Park



Some of the wild flowers



This is the Oconaluftee River (I don't know how to pronounce
this one!)



Fog on top of the mountain at the Clingmans Dome
observation tower.


It was a really nice day and the river water tasted good!  Mom said the rivers looked really good (nice and clean) and asked Dad if we could go fishing.  He kinda made a face because most of the fishes are going to be planters, but, we might be able to go, you never know.

OH, and I forgot to tell you....in the camp ground, we are right next to the river and there is an island right behind our trailer that is the dog run!  They have built a bridge to the island, and it's really cool because Dad takes me over there and I get to be off my leash and I get to run, and sniff at EVERYTHING!  YIPPPEEEEE!!

LIFE IS GOOD!