If you visit The Great Smoky Mountains you might be lucky enough…and surprised…to see a bear! They are just one of the many beautiful things to take notice of if you can make time for a hike. A couple weeks ago I went on a hike using the Little River Trail that starts in Elkmont. This trail follows alongside a river, and I took many beautiful pictures. And I said to myself “This is a thinking man’s trail” because it was mostly flat and easy, and I didn’t have to give all my attention to where I was stepping. After about 2.5 miles, I started my return to Elkmont using the Cucumber Gap Trail. Recent rains has raised the height of a little stream I had to cross, but I removed my shoes and socks and found a stick to help me make my way across. I was hiking alone, and at times on the Cucumber Gap Trail I thought I might be lost (I wasn’t) and also thought for a couple brief moments what if a bear confronts me (didn’t happen). I was watching for bear droppings on the trail and didn’t see any, so I wasn’t too worried. I also wondered as it got later in the day, “I wonder when my wife would send the park rangers to look for me” if I do get lost. Truth is, I was always on the main trail and it just took longer to hike back to Elkmont. The whole hike was wonderful. It is amazing what time in the mountains will do. It is truly good for a man’s soul…a woman’s soul, too!
If you don’t get to spend time on a trail, perhaps you’ll spend time visiting our store. If you do, you’ll find moonpies and moonpie merchandise, old time candies and sodas, plenty of books…and oh, yes, gifts of all sorts including tin signs, quilt kits and quilts, kids’ toys, some collectibles, Christian gifts…and yes, bears! We have a wonderful shop just inside the one entrance that features books about The Great Smoky Mountains (hiking and history), books by local authors, fictional stories about these mountains-Appalachia-the South, as well as Smoky Mountain gift items such as bears and mugs, magnets and pictures, and more!
Give us a phone call to ask questions or visit our website to learn more about us! And consider following us on facebook at www.facebook/.com/MoonPieGeneralStoreTN to keep updated about our store, our product, things happening in our area, and the many good customers who have come by and shared their stories with us.
Michael Beagan