Our Life - Travel Guides & Photography » Aquariums, Zoos and Wild Life

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:57:45 +0000

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the United States. It is situated in both Tennessee and North Carolina. It encompasses the ridge line of the Great Smoky Mountains – a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. The park is well known for its Black Bear population. The park has ample opportunities for hiking, camping, sightseeing, fishing, bicycling, horseback riding, wild water rafting, water tubing and motor touring. There is no entry fee to the park. The park also has a number of historical attractions, rivers and waterfalls.

The main park entrances are located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) at the towns of Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Cherokee in North Carolina.

Sugarlands Visitors Center, Gatlinburg
Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Cherokee

US 441 – Newfound Gap Road is a very scenic highway through the park with access to many trail heads and scenic overlooks. New Found Gap is the lowest gap in the mountains and is situated near the center of the park on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, halfway between the border towns of Gatlinburg and Cherokee. On clear days, Newfound Gap offers the most spectacular scenes accessible via highway in the park.

The most popular attractions of the park include:

Cades Cove – Historic Buildings, Sightseeing, Trails, Camping, Picnicking
Roaring Fork
Catalochee
Elkmont
Mountain Farm Museum and Mingus Mill at Oconaluftee
Clingmans Dome – Highest point in the park offering spectacular views
Laurel Falls – Beautiful 80 foot waterfall
Newfound Gap

Fall Colors put up a spectacular show throughout the park during Oct and early November. At higher elevations, colors change during the first 2 weeks of October. Good places to view Fall Colors would be Clingmans Dome and New Found Gap. During the last week of October and first week of November, colors would have peaked at lower elevations. Cades Cove, Catalochee and Oconaluftee will be good choices.

Here are some photos taken during our trip on Oct 17th and 18th, 2009. On Oct 17th, it snowed at higher elevations of the park. It was a spectacular sight with beautiful fall colors and snow covered tree tops. We visited Oconaluftee, New Found Gap, Clingmans Dome, Meigs Falls and Cades Cove. NC 441 was very beautiful with fall colors at higher elevations.

Cades Cove (Great Smoky Mountains)

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:39:34 +0000

Cades Cove is one of the most visited attractions of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a lush green valley surrounded by mountains and there are many historic buildings from 18th and 19th centuries. The valley is very scenic and wild life can be spotted, including black bear. The nearest town is Townsend in Tennessee.

You can drive along a 11-mile one-way loop road around the cove. Traffic will be heavy during the tourist seasons in summer and fall and on weekends year-round. It may take up to 4-6 hrs to complete the entire loop. You can park your car at designated areas and visit the historic buildings which include a grist mill, a variety of barns, three churches, and a marvelous collection of log homes. Peak Fall is generally between last week of October and first week of November.

Cades Cove Visitor Center is open daily. There are picnic areas along a beautiful stream and restrooms. A campground with 159 sites is open year round in Cades Cove. Numerous trails originate in the cove, including the five-mile roundtrip trail to Abrams Falls and the short Cades Cove Nature Trail.

We visited Cades Cove on Oct 18th, 2009 and it was wonderful. It had snowed on the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina & Tennessee the previous day. We could see mountain peaks covered in snow and beautiful fall colors beneath the snow covered peaks. It was a marvelous sight and we enjoyed every minute though it took us around 4 hours to complete the 11 mile loop.

Here are some photos from our trip to Cades Cove.

BrookGreen Gardens

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:35:22 +0000

During our trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we visited BrookGreen Gardens near Murrells Inlet. It is situated 18 miles south of Myrtle Beach. Brookgreen has more than 300 acres of gardens and facilities that are open to the public. In addition there are excursions that take visitors to parts of Brookgreen more than 6,000 acres that are not generally open to the public.

In 1931, Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington founded Brookgreen Gardens, a non-profit garden museum, to preserve the native flora and fauna and display objects of art within that natural setting. Once a rice plantation, today, Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark with the most significant collection of figurative sculpture in an outdoor setting by American artists in the world and has the only zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the coast of the Carolinas.

It is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. The admission fee is $12 for adults. Admission tickets are valid for seven consecutive days.

These are some of the interesting things to do at Brookgreen:-

Brookgreen Gardens, the first public sculpture garden in America, has in its collection more than 1,200 works by 350 sculptors.
The Low Country Zoo is home to native animals that live in the woods, swamps and waters of the Low Country. You get to see Alligators, Bald Eagles, River Otters, Red Foxes, Owls, Deers and more.
The Cypress Aviary is the only known aviary built over an existing cypress swamp where you can stroll through on an elevated boardwalk and observe the birds feeding and flying in this natural setting.
The Oaks Plantation History and Nature Trail is a self-guided walking trail through the woods. Visitors can see the archeological site of the former plantation house, the foundation of the spring house, Alston family cemetery, and the slave village.
Low Country Excursions have Cruises on a 48-foot pontoon boat along rice fields now home to alligators and waterfowls.

We had only 1 day to visit Brookgreen Gardens but you actually need atleast 2 days to absorb the beauty of these majestic gardens. We were able to cover most of the gardens and the zoo but couldn’t go for the Cruise and History Trail. So if you are visiting Brookgreen gardens, make sure to plan ahead and visit for at least 2 days.

Visit the Website of Brookgreen for more information.

Lazy 5 Ranch

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:41:08 +0000

If you stay in Charlotte or happen to visit Charlotte, North Carolina, then be sure to check out Lazy 5 Ranch. It is a beautiful ranch located in Mooresville, about 30 minutes drive from Charlotte. It is a drive through Ranch which has over 700 animals from around the world which roam around freely. As you drive through 3.5 miles over pasture lands, you get to see both domestic and exotic animals from six continents including giraffe, buffaloes, zebras, llamas, emus, cattle, sheep and more. ‘The ranch has several petting areas, picnic areas, snack bars, play grounds and a gift shop.

It is open all days of the week. The admission fee is $8.50 for adults and$5.50 for children. You can also chose to visit the ranch on the horse drawn wagon instead of your car. The wagon rides cost $2.50 per person. You can buy animal feed for $3 per bucket.

We didn’t go for the wagon ride but drove thru in our car. We had a great time trying to feed all sort of animals. Surprisingly, these animals are least scared of human beings and are friendly They happily put their heads inside your car window expecting food. Kids are definitely going to love this one of a kind experience which they won’t get in zoos. Both adults and kids are definitely going to love Lazy 5 Ranch. You can easily spend 4-5 hours here. So when you are in Charlotte, don’t miss out this beautiful place.

Please visit the official site of Lazy 5 Ranch for more information. Here are some photos from our trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos. Click on the thumbnails to view Larger Images.

Cypress Gardens, South Carolina

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:59:15 +0000

During our trip to Charleston, South Carolina, we happened to visit the beautiful Cypress Gardens. It is located 25 miles north of Charleston, SC.

Cypress Garden was the areas largest rice plantation, once upon a time. Now it has been converted to a beautiful garden. The black water swamp and cypress trees offer breath taking views. Cypress Gardens is composed of approximately 80 acres of open swamp. Movies like ‘The Patriot’ and ‘The Notebook’ have been filmed here. The admission price is $10 for adults.

There are boat rides through the black water swamp. Guided boat rides cost $5 and the self guided boat rides are free. We were lucky enough to spot wild turtles and alligators in the swamp, during our boat ride. There are many beautiful trails around the swamp and you can often catch a glimpse of wild life.

Cypress Gardens Butterfly House is open year around and features various species of butterflies, turtles and birds. The Freshwater aquarium at Cypress Gardens features the fish, reptiles and amphibians found at the swamp. The Reptile Center features many native venomous and non-venomous snakes. There is also and exotic Bird Aviary.

Visit the official website for more details.

Here are some photos from our Trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 19:36:13 +0000

During our Trip to Coastal Carolinas, we visited NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher is a part of North Carolina’s barrier island called Pleasure Island on Cape Fear Coast. This was our second visit to an aquarium after visiting the enormous Georgia aquarium earlier this year.

This aquarium is a small and well organized place. It is not as big as Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta but it has many interesting exhibits such as the Albino Aligator, Amazon Milk Frogs, Pacific Nettles and so on. Kids will definitely love this aquarium. Be sure to plan for atleast 2-3 hours in this aquarium.

Just next to the aquarium is Fort Fisher State Recreation Area where you can go for swimming.

Please visit the offical website of NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Here are some photos from our trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta

admin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:13:58 +0000

Atlanta is a beautiful city, and is the capital of Georgia State. It is a major business center and is equally famous for tourism. Atlanta is 4 hours drive from Charlotte, North Carolina. We had decided to explore Atlanta on Martin Luther King long weekend in Jan 2009.

Georgia Aquarium was the first place on our List. Georgia Aquarium was opened to the public on November 23, 2005. It claims to be the world’s largest indoor aquarium. Georgia Aquarium features more animals than any other aquarium in more than eight million gallons of water. You will love every minute you spend in the aquarium. The White Beluga Whales, Giant Whale Sharks, tiny garden eels, lovely Pacific Sea Nettles will make you fall in love with under water creatures.

The aquarium is divided into different sections – Georgia Explorer, River Scout, Cold Water Quest, Ocean Voyager, Tropical Diver and so on. You also get to see Deepo’s UnderSea 3D WonderShow at the 4D Theater but you need to pay extra for that.

There is also a special Behind the Scenes Tour which requires a separate ticket.

Titanic Aquatic is a new exhibition which again requires a separate ticket. It brings to life the story of the fated Titanic through authentic artifacts and hands-on interactive experiences. Titanic Aquatic includes a vast collection of more than 190 artifacts recovered from Titanic’s debris field including 40 that have never been seen before.

The visit to Georgia Aquarium was absolutely entertaining and fascinating. It was a good educational experience for us. You can spend an entire day in the aquarium viewing the amazing varieties of the Under Water World.

Click here to visit the Official Website of Georgia Aquarium.

Here are some snaps from our Trip. Enjoy!!!

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Grandfather Mountain

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:25:24 +0000

Grandfather Mountain is a privately owned mountain 5,946 ft above sea level, located in North Carolina, USA. Our first trip to Grandfather Mountain was on Oct 4th, 2008. It was a lovely experience as we drove through the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. We were lucky enough to see early fall colors. Oct 1st and 2nd weeks are the best time to visit Grandfather Mountain to view fall colors.

Blue Ridge Parkway is known as “America’s Favorite Drive”. It’s extremely scenic and there are lot of OverLooks where you can stop your vehicle and enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Linking Shennandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a 470-mile, linear National Park with many stopping points along the way.

Visit the website of Blue Ridge Parkway for more information. You can view more photos of Blue Ridge Parkway here.

Grandfather mountain is a very beautiful place with lot of nature walks and hiking trails. The Mile High Swinging Bridge is a 228 foot suspension bridge and is the major attraction. Grandfather Mountain has a natural wild life reserve where you can view a few wild animals in their natural habitat. There are seven environmental habitats for black bears , river otters , cougars , bald eagles, golden eagles , and white-tailed deer. The admission fee is $15 for adults. You can easily plan for a day trip to Grandfather Mountain if you are staying in Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh etc. It is 2 hours drive from Charlotte. There are many trails for trekking and beautiful picnic spots.

To learn more about Grandfather Mountain, visit the official website http://www.grandfather.com

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.