Cherokee is a town near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cherokee is only 12.05 miles in area, located on the reservation home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, in western North Carolina. At Oconaluftee Indian Village, the 18th-century Cherokee lifestyle is preserved via live demonstrations. In summer at the outdoor Mountainside Theatre, the drama "Unto These Hills" tells the tribal story. This was just a short day trip for the two RV Gypsies so they did not visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian nor much else in the except for one waterfall and Cherokee Veterans Park. |
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Veterans Memorial Park |
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The USA Patriot Bear (shown below in various views) was in the Veterans Memorial Park. Karen Duquette photographed the bear from the front and the back sides, then close-ups from several different angles because its content needs to be seen. |
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Below close-up of the front side with the words-
"In memory, of all our men and womens service, to our great nation..."
plus the faces of "Robert Youngdeer - II DO Dht
and Will Harris 2007 Ole Glory Cherokee"
Space shuttles, United States Marine Corps emblem, airplanes, and more |
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Below: Head - POW-MIA symbol
and US Coast Guard emblem |
Below: The Butt and Military Helicopters |
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Below: The back side of the bear:
Words in pink spot below the Eagles beak and to the right of the stars -
"In Loving of our boys and girls, our memory's will always be Strong Family ties. |
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There were more painted bears all over the town.
The two RV Gypsies photographed a few of them. |
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Below: While Lee was ordering ice cream at the drive-up window, Karen took a few pictures while waiting in the car. |
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The two RV Gypsies had an ice cream break near the river, and a visit by a duck. |
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Leaving the Cherokee Indian Reservation, the two RV Gypsies took a short ride to a waterfall. Soco Falls Trail is a 0.2 mile trail located near Cherokee, North Caroling that features a waterfall. It is said that visitors can climb to the top of the waterfall, but the two RV Gypsies did not do so. |
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There was no sign announcing the falls, but the two RV Gypsies had the directions in their GPS. They parked in the very small parking lot and as they exited their car, they could hear the falls. Then they walked down a wooden ramp with some stairs to the viewing platform.
This was basically a short, easy walk, with a couple of harder spots for people with bad knees, because parts of the trail were steep and rocky. The path is quite narrow so meeting people could be a problem. |
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The two RV Gypsies stopped at the overlook and enjoyed the spectacular waterfall. |
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The photo below shows a trail to go down closer to the waterfall, but it is very steep and could be slippery. This part had a rope to hold onto. But the two RV Gypsies did not do this part. |
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