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Page 8
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In one room the Medicine Man and his role was told and depicted. A three dimensional
laser show with a medicine man fascinated the children and attracted the child in all of
us. We also took a picture (see below) of three Indian Chiefs participating in the white
manīs war. In Cherokee there is, as in most indian reservations, a large casino,
Harrahīs Cherokee Casino. It was very hot outside (around 90 °F) so we went inside to
cool for half an hour - and lost a couple of $īs.
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From Cherokee Indian Museum |
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From Cherokee we went back along the Newfound Gap road and turned off to Clingmans Dome
in the pass where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road. You can hike this famous trail
from Maine in the North to Georgia in the South crossing 14 states with a total length of
about 2100 miles (3400 km). Every year about 100 enthusiastic hikers walk the entire
length which takes 4-6 months. Clingmanns Dome is the highest peak (6,643 feet) in the
park. We went up the steep half mile trail from the parking lot. The rocks and the
vegetation was very beautiful but also very fragile and as seen on this photo from the
parking lot highly affected by acidic pollution. Unfortunately the "smoke" again
prevented us from having any far view of the mountains. When we arrived at the viewing
tower on the top a very dense and humid "smoke" was covering the whole area.
Even though we waited for quite a while the visibility never got better than 10-20 feet.
Pictures from our hike up to the Clingmanns Dome |
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(Click for a larger photo).
When we had returned to the North entrance we turned off to the Laurel Falls trailhead.
In spring the laurel bush which is plentiful along the path flowers in white and pink.
Also the similar but larger rhododendron is common further up the trail. The hike was an
easy 2.5 miles roundtrip. The trail is flat and well paved and leads you easily along the
hillside in pine and oak forest to the Laurel Falls. These Falls were not very impressive
probably because we visited in a dry seasonwith a low water supply. There were some nice
rocks for resting at the falls. So we decided for a rest in the shadow. On our way back to
the parking lot a snake crossed the path just a feet in front of us. Both we and the snake
were too surprised to leave any time for identification, but possibly it was a small
rattle snake which had rested in the sun and got scared by our noisy appearance.
Hike to Laurel Falls |
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