Appalachian Trail ~ Watauga Dam Area, Elizabethton, TN {J. Commons Photography ~ Watauga Dam}

This is how we do Labor Day!  I really want to do the part of the AT that crosses the Watauga Dam.  Deanna and I set out to tackle this part of the trail, but we didn't quite make it.  Deanna's back had been bothering her over the weekend and we planned to take it slow and easy.  Unfortunately, this part of the trail had lots of ups and downs and the downs were very hard on her back.  So we turned back towards the visitor center area to check out the other side of the trail.

View of the Watauga Dam from the overlook.

Butterfly around the visitor center. I have a thing for butterflies!

Impressive spider web that Deanna walked right under without even noticing!

Loved this perfectly shaped mushroom.  I may not like to eat them, but I love to take their pictures!

Turns out this side of the path was all up hill.  Completely up hill!  It was tiring, but I was so worried about Deanna coming back down the hill and screwing her back up more.  At one point a large branch broke off a tree and crashed to the ground.  In my attempt to get Deanna to not go any further, I said, "That was God.  God says, 'Get your a** back down here!"  We laughed, but she still didn't stop.  I finally convinced her to turn around and head back and save this trek for a better day.

Stone steps.  Little did we know, these were just a preview for the following week's hike!

We saw several signs posted about bear activity in the area.  I am not sure how I will react if I ever see a bear on a hike.  I think far off distance would be okay, but up close and personal, no thanks!

We definitely cut our hike short today because of Deanna's back, but we did manage to clock in a little over 3 miles.