Our Little Shadow

It's been a little over a week and our new addition is settling in quite nicely. We decided to name her Shadow. We adore her very much. She has the sweetest personality and is really starting to show us her feisty side when she runs around the house. I think I can tell she is learning her name.
She was a really tiny thing just a week ago when we picked her up. We can already tell she has grown. She isn't really a nervous type rabbit, she doesn't seem to mind the dogs or the cat. All out time is supervised of course and she has just fit right in to the family.
She will only grow to be a 3 to 5 pound rabbit. We are just tickled to death with her and she brings us smiles every day just like all our other fur babies.

On the trip up to get her, we accomplished one of our New Year goals. We had set the goal to go to at least five restaurants from the show, "Man vs. Food". We were able to eat dinner at Schmidt's Sausage Haus. We both got the buffet. Now, I am not big on German food but we both resolved to try new things this year. So, I actually tried sauerkraut. I can't say I actually liked it. In fact, I spit it out. But the sausage on the buffet, the home made apple sauce and the German style meatloaf were a real treat. I wouldn't want to eat that heavy very often (German food tends to be heavy) but I can say that me and hubby had a really great time. We even got one of their famous cream puffs to share. We chose a vanilla one and it was totally delicious. If you are ever in the Columbus, Ohio, area, I would suggest at least trying this place out once. If just to go in and get a cream puff to go.

Big Bone Lick State Park

The second day of the new year held a mini adventure to Kentucky. Every single time we drive I75 through Ky, we always spot the sign for Big Bone Lick State Park and every single time we mention going there. We finally did and despite the cold temps, we found it quite a lovely place.

The thing that finally pushed us to go is that after doing some research online, I had discovered that they host a Bison herd in the park. That alone for me is enchanting enough to make me put on my warmest gear and head out with hubby. One thing I adore is the American Bison.
For those who don't really know me, I am an animal lover but most of all I adore cattle. Cattle of any type totally make my heart melt and Bison are included. I have gone giddy over petting and feeding Bison at drive thru ranches in several different states. I wasn't sure how the set up was here at this park but I was certain I had to go.
When we arrived, we discovered that we were the only ones in the smallish sized park besides the park rangers. It was a very cold day so it didn't really surprise us. The sun was shining so even though we discovered we would have to do a short hike to get to the Bison pen, we were up for it.
The walk was brisk but the cold air in my lungs felt good. It had that fresh "taste" like only a winter day can give you. I was bouncy all the way down the trail because "Bison in a pen" translate in my brain to, "If Bison are close to the fence I can pet them!" Once we got there though, we saw that even though petting the Bison was possible, it wasn't going to be possible today because they were out in the field. Despite my baby talk and pleading, they just looked at me, kept on eating and didn't come to the fence. I still found them incredible to look at though so before trotting back to the warmth of the car, I snapped a few pictures.


The park has a nice looking nature center. We didn't go in in though but we plan on bringing my nephew back when the weather is warmer so that he can see the Bison. *cough*sothaticantrytopetthemagain*cough*
The park also has a small lake which was quite lovely. We look forward to exploring the park better when spring comes and the weather is warmer and more suitable for dragging a 7 year old around.

New Year Part 2:

We drove through Cades Cove with the intent on heading back to possibly hike Laural Falls trail. Upon getting to the trail head though, the parking area and over flow parking area was packed. There was absolutely no way to park anywhere near the trail so we took it as a sign and decided just to head to Sugarland Visitor Center to get Elijah, my nephew, a stuffed owl. We thought we would just decide what to do from there.
When we first got to the visitor center, the road to head over the mountain, which is just outside the center, was still closed. We were thinking that we would just head back to Pigeon Forge and head home after getting the owl. Our plans changed again once we walked out the doors and on our way to the car, looked over and saw people speeding through the gates, up and over the mountain.
Me and Donald both looked over at each other and said at the exact same time, "Let's GO!"
We trotted to the car, maneuvered through the parking lot, and headed out hoping the road that was just opened wasn't an icy dangerous mess like the time we almost slid off the mountain near Newfound Gap.
Once we got through the open gates, it wasn't too long before we started seeing the snow. Usually, in past experiences, we never really see the snow until we get past the loop-d-loop close to the Chimney Tops picnic area. But this time, the snow was fresh and was lower in elevation. Our mouths dropped open as we drove with the forest canopy freshly painted in a frosty white over top of us. It was like we were inside a beautiful snow globe. When the views finally opened up, the mountains were just breathtaking. Everyone on the road slowed and you could see flashes of cameras from almost every car as they tried to capture the views.
We had never been in the mountains with this much snow. We just kept ooooo-ing and ahhhhh-ing the whole way up to Newfound Gap. The road was packed with visitors and was actually not bad to drive on. People were stopping to take pictures of icicles hanging on the sides of the mountains, frozen waterfalls and all the pull off views where packed. Families were sledding on any little hill side they could get to.
We only rode up to Newfound Gap. The traffic, as time went on, got bad. I guess the rumor that the mountain had open up spread fast. So we got all the pictures we wanted and headed back down to Pigeon Forge and then to home.
Our first 2010 adventure wrapped up when we pulled into our own drive. Visions of all the beauty we had seen danced in our heads as we went to bed that night. We both couldn't think of any better way to start off the New Year.

Tenn. New Year! 2010

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2010 Bigger, Better, Louder: Let the Adventures Begin!

2010 started out with a bang and so our (hubby's and mine) adventures have begun for the year.


Part One:
After ringing in the New year in Gatlinburg, Tn, among 40,000 (city's best estimate) of our closest friends, we headed back to our hotel with dreams of froliking through the mountains after a few hours sleep. We had originally planed on hiking the Alum Cave Bluff Trail early the next day after our traditional stop at Shoney's breakfast bar. ( a NYE day tradition since me and hubby have been together) But Mother Nature had other plans. Snow and Ice closed the road that we had to take to access the trail. So instead we opted to head over to Laural Falls to hike.
The mountains were frosted just like a cake with the newly fallen powder. It was invigorating and breathtaking. Upon arriving to the head of the Laural Falls trail, we made a rash decision to keep driving on to Cades Cove. We had taken the loop tour the day before when we rolled into town but the thoughts of being in the valley with the mountains frosted all around us made us giddy enough to drive the twisty miles to the loop again.
We were disappointed with the view once we arrived. The snow had seemed hit and miss and totally had skipped over most of the surrounding Cades Cove area. Hubby made the decision to take the "short cut" through the middle of the loop so that we could head back over and do the Laural Falls hike. Turns out that was a very good decision.
As we started down the road, we noticed cars stopping and people hopping out, camera's in tow. Usually, we never stop when we see this because people are usually stopping this time of year to spy on and take advantage of getting close to some of the big pretty bucks that reside in the fields of the cove. Being from Ohio, the area where we live, gives us plenty opportunity to deer watch, hence forth, why we usually don't stop. But we both got a feeling in our gut that this time, a big buck was not what was grabbing everyone's attention.
We found a parking spot off the side of the road and I sent hubby to investigate. Heck if I was getting out of the car, in the single digit temps, just to ogle some deer. I am sitting there when hubby comes near, frantically waving, all owl-eyed, for me to get out of the car. I scurried, knowing what he has spied instantly from the awed expression on his face.
As soon as I shut the car door, hubby was upon me saying "cub!"
That's all well and good I thought but where the heck is mama? Before I could ask, he told me that no one over there knew where mama was and that the cub was just sitting there, near some brush, across the creek, just hanging out.
Our vantage point was safe and pretty good. We were across a creek and the baby didn't seem threatened at all. Everyone was snapping pictures and keeping a good eye out in case mama made an appearance. It was an adorable site. A baby bear cub can warm the coldest of hearts and make you forget all about the freezing air temps. We were enjoying ourselves and talking with the other observers about what luck it was to see a cub this time of year. Even thought the black bears in the smokies do not truly hibernate, the chance of seeing one is way more rare than it would be in any other season. We were all standing there gushing at the cuteness and then the stupid people came.
Our small group of observers must have been spotted off the main loop. Other cars started parking on the other side of the creek. These stupid people made the choice to get right up on this little cub and be all up in its face paparazzi style. I don't think I would have thought bad of them if they had just kept their distance but they got so close the baby started feeling threatened. The cub first tried to hide in the brush and eventually felt scared enough to climb a tree. It made me and hubby both fume but really, what can you do? I can't stand there screaming across the creek at these stupid idiots. They would just look at me like I was crazy and go on. We couldn't help but stand there and wish though that mama would choose then to appear. Not wishing harm on anyone but to see them all scatter because they scared this precious cub would have been priceless. The mama didn't show however so after a few minutes, we decided to get back to the car and move on before more stupid people showed up.