African Serval kitten

Mom and Dad went up to Knoxville, TN last weekend for the UT-South Carolina football game. Mom and Dad went to the University of Tennessee back in the day, and live in Columbia, SC near USC now. So they were pulling for UT and feeling bad for Mom Paula when the Vols beat the Gamecocks on a last second field goal 23-21.

On the way home, Mom and Dad took the scenic drive through the Smoky Mountains. They stopped at one of their favorite pumpkin stands along the way to get some pumpkins for the front porch, and look what they saw there:


This is one of three African Serval kittens that were by the goat petting area. They hadn't had any shots yet so no one was allowed to hold them, which is probably a good thing because I think Mom would have brought it home if she could have. Of course, that breed gets as big as a small dog, so it's a good thing Mom didn't.


This is a panoramic of the Newfound Gap that Dad took on his phone. This is where North Carolina and Tennessee meet in the Smokies. The leaves looked amazing. The white twiggy dead trees you see are the hemlocks that were killed by a non-indigenous wooly bug.


This is the view of the creek (or Little River) that goes through part of the Smokies. The shortcut they take to avoid the traffic in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg takes them along this creek for a while.


Coming out of the National Park on the North Carolina side there is a field where a herd of about 15 elk have migrated away from the larger herd of about 300. The rack on the male here is about 50 pounds, according to the ranger Dad talked to. This was a picture on Dad's phone that was easy to upload. The good pictures are on the big camera.


This is another pretty view. This is of the Chimney Tops, the peaks on the left side.

Even though Mom and Dad were eager to get home to see us, they stopped a lot on the ride through the mountains to take in the views. It is always so pretty, especially in October.