On the cut-across road (I can't remember it's name), there is a place where the road crosses a creek. There is no bridge, just a concrete area for the water to rush across. We stopped and waded a bit as it is only barely above ankle deep. The water was so cold and refreshing and I could have stayed there for hours. A few people did. They sat in their canvas chairs for hours and just read and relaxed by the creek.


Along the 11-mile Loop, we stopped to photograph the many houses and churches that had been restored and preserved there. The kids learned some history as we strolled along the church graveyards and we spent a nice, relaxing day in nature as well. This particular church had a surprise as well. The handprints of the people who built it was imprinted into the wood and can still be seen today on the inside of the church. Seems that the wood used was pine and the sap oozing from it captured the prints and preserved them.

The Cable Mill visitor center on the far end of the cove offers a respite from the day's heat and allows for some shopping as well. There is a working mill and other historic buildings to see there. Park rangers give guided tours and give lessons to vistors...just ask someone at the park for more information.

We enjoyed the cove so much that we decided to make another dya of it. We stopped at places we missed the day before and were constantly on the look-out for bears. I guess everybody was doing that because the traffic was bad at times with people driving 5 miles per hour as to not miss a single thing. The trick is to not get frustrated, just enjoy your surroundings....and hope the slow car pulls over at some point soon.

We were lucky enough to see bears a second time, but not at the blackberry patch. This time, the momma bear and her cubs came within fifty feet of the fence by the road before the park ranger scared the off with her whistle.

There were a ton of cars pulled over to see the bears, plus some cars that stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic. A man and his teenage son climbed the barbed wire fence and walked over within maybe one hundred feet of the bears just to get a picture. Now these are wild animals folks. This is not a petting zoo. Can you say...stupid? A momma bear is going to protect her babies and they were lucky she didn't attack. It just goes to show you how dumb some people can be.