Mountain Dream Blog

It is almost that time of the year again! The Bears are about to wake out of their wintertime hibernation. You better believe those guys are going to be hungry when they get up. They will be on the prowl throughout the mountains and will be hanging out near the creek looking for an easy meal!

Every spring when the bears wake there is the possibility of human contact and if you are wise you will walk away without any incident. Never incite a bear or he might just come and show how tough he really is! And you my friend are no competition for an 800 pound bear or even a 300 pound bear!  You got to remember they fight to live everyday and with huge claws that cut through a salmon with precision, you are no match.

Bears are found all over the world and can walk on their heels like a human. They have large bodies, small round ears, with a short stubby tail. Bears are classified carnivores and each species varies amounts of herbivorous behavior. The Polar bear is mostly a meat eaters and the Panda likes plants.

There are many species of bear! You have the, Brown bear, Asiatic black bear, Sloth Bear, Giant panda, Polar bear, Spectacled Bear, Sun Bear, Black bear!

1. The Brown Bears can weight anywhere from 300-860 and the females 200-450. They can be aggressive; it is ironic that children have stuffed bears for animals! There are several kinds in the Ursus actos species; Alaska brown bear, Asiatic Brown Bear, European Brown bear, Grizzly bear, Himalayian Snow Bear, Kodiak Bear  and the Syrian
2. Asiatic Black Bear-Selenarctos thibetanus als known as Black beast, doh bear. Formosa Bear, Giant Cat Bear in Japan. They are medium sized and have huge ears for their body. The males weigh 220-440 and the females 110-275. They are found throughout Southern Asia. They are in Northern India, Northeast china, Nepal, Sikkim, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taiwan, Southeast Russia, Shikoko, and Honshu. They are mostly veggie eaters and some have been know to eat small animals.
3. Sloth Bear-  Melursus Ursinus -They are Termite eaters and pretty small animals. Adults may weigh from  110-320. The are also known as Aswail, Ball(Kipling), Honey bear, Jungle Joker, and Lip bear!
4. Giant Panda-Ailuropoda melanoleuca- Also known as  Fiery Fox, Shi Ti Shou (Iron Eating Beast), Black and White Bear, Shining Cat, Cat Bear, Bai Bao(white Leapord). Pandas males grow to about 190-275 pounds and females 155-220. Bamboo is 99% of their diet and they eat from 26-33 pounds of it a day!
5. Polar Bear-Ursus maritimus aldo known as Ice Bear, Nanook Bear, Polar Bear, Sea Bear, White Bear, Walking Bear. They love to eat Seals and they are no feat for those huge claws! They are a very aggressive animal with the male weighing as much as 1,300 pounds and the females are smaller at about 600 pounds. They away from these bears they don’t play!
6. Spectacled bear- Tremarctos ornatus-short faced Bear. It gets its named from it rings around its eyes. The males weigh from 220-340 and females 140-180. They are found in South America-Peru, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. They eat wide range of food and like to build nest high in trees.
7. Sun Bear-Ursus malayanus- Maylay Bear, Dog Bear (Thailand), Ape man, Bruang (Sumatra). IT is a small bear in the lowland tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. This bear can be found in Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangledesh, Cambodia, and many other countries in the Southeastern. They have a balanced diet and love termites, birds,  and plam oil. They only weigh up to 145 pounds. Much of their habitat has been ruined by deforestation and they have been over hunted. They are in Danger!
8. Black bear- Ursus americanus- American Black Bear, Florida Black Bear Cinnamon Bear, Glacier  Bear, Kermode Bear. These guys are found all North American and Canada! They estimated around 750,000 of them and near 7,000 just in the great state of Pennsylvania. They have been known to come in different colors- brown black bear, white black bear, and even the Blue Glacier Bear. They are great climbers and use trees often for protection. There are 18 known sub-species of bear and you can say they are the most successful bear.

So next time you are up in the mountain or driving down the road through Penn State. Be sure to let these guys do what they are doing and never approach a beer. Once you piss a bear off it could be very bad for you. They have been known to rip holes in the tops of cars and they can break a window with no effort! There is no hiding once you make him mad!

The rules:   For whatever reason Do Not Ever Run from a bear! There is no way you could ever run from a bear! They run up to 30 mph and could catch you in no time! Just try to back away slowly and if they come for you, you better find a tall tree you can climb! It is recommended to be as high 35 feet in the air! Remember black bear are great climbers but they can be lazy too, your climbing skills may save your life. Grizzlies aren’t great climbers but they can jump high!

For a Brown Bear you will be safer in the fetal position and play dead and hope that it works. He may leave you alone if he thinks you are not a threat. For a black bear you better be ready to fight and use anything available. Pepper Spray in the eyes or a big stick and fight for your life. Be sure to never drop your backpack and run! You can use it to save your life!

Do not ever provoke a bear! They are wild and will kill you! Never feed a bear or leave food sitting around a camp site! Many bear have become addicted to human food and will kill to have it.

Thanks for reading and hope these tips may save your life one!

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Looking to make a spring get-away to the smokies? Thinking about renting a cabin and watching the bear wake up? It is about to be the perfect time of year to make it to the mountains and find a wonderful creek to play in! The snow is about to melt and the animals are about to wake! You need to come by Mountain Dream Rentals and rent a cabin  for summer today! I have a great list of cabins from the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia area!

 There is nothing like watching all the things come alive in the mountains!  What about all the beautiful birds singing and flowers blooming! IF you like to see blue skies and white clouds with a nice breeze while the deer play in the creek, the mountains are for you!

IF you are planning your getaway come check us out! We have a full list of cabins to choose from!  I woke up three months ago and decided to build a Rental cabin directory and let me tell you. it has been a long journey for me. It was the third site i ever built and i built the pages without a template and decided to use a template. The template made a great improvement but i still am facing the same thing  alot of people face when building a site. I realize that i spend more time trying to change each page in the site and should have built it with html and php! So I am in the process of  learning php and i am going to rebuild the site! I can’t wait until the rebuild and i am going to add a bunch of new sites to the directory!

I am going to  lake chalets and mountain top cabins also! After i get mountain Dream rentals where i want it i am going to lauch  a new site and i will be selling new cabins! So come to the site and bookmark us  an find the perfect cabin today! Rent a cabin for summer today!

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The year was 1540 and Hernando Desoto and his Army of Spanish Conquistadors were on their way  down the Chattooga River heading toward  Cedar Bluff, Alabama. On June 4^th, 1540 they arrived and camped   for almost a month on an island. It was soon named McCoy’s island, ‘Chiaha” was the name given by Desoto’s historians.

  As they arrived they found the beauty of the two rivers and the Coosa valley to be very pleasing.  They decided to rest at McCoy’s Island to heal the men and horses. It was also very abundant in food and the perfect camp after a long hard journey through the Appalachian Mountains.  A journey that was very difficult and a challenge for even the most experienced warrior! 

There were rumors of gold to be found in the north and west hills of Lookout Mountain. So Desoto decides to send a small army of men led by lieutenant Vilabo and Silva. They departed on June 1570 and passed between Menlo, Georgia and Blanche, Alabama toward Desoto Falls near Mentone, Alabama! They decided to camp for a few days at the

104 foot waterfalls. It is located on the west fork of little river on Lookout Mountain.

  For several days the troops searched the area for gold and other treasures and then proceeded to pass through Big Wills to Henagar Alabama. Here they found south Sauty Creek and followed it all the way to Buck’s Pocket State Park. It is said that the men were blown away by the view from point rock and did not find gold but found iron Oxide high in the cliffs around Buck’s Pocket! There is no historical evidence that says they went any further than Buck’s pocket or ever saw the Tennessee River! 

From this point the party headed back toward McCoy’s Island and passed through the town of Sand Rock, Alabama. The men returned to Chiaha (McCoy’s Island) near Hokes Bluff. They arrived to discover that Desoto and the main party had set trail June 28, 1540 down the Coosa River. Desoto had left a few wounded men behind to wait for the Sand mountain crew to return.  They departed to catch up with Desoto and arrived on June 18, 1540 only two days behind Desoto’s arrival on July 16, 1540. They camped at the mouth of the Talladega creek in Talladega County.

             Many people say that Desoto discovered the falls but there is evidence that the area was used by Indians and even the Welsh!  Located near 325 feet above little river are three caves that are interconnected by openings between the caverns. They are protected by the cliff and only a narrow trail leads the way to the Welsh caves. It is rumored that only a few men could fight off an army of troops. The trail was so narrow that only one man could pass at a time. 

It is believed that the Welsh traveled to the New World over 300 years before Columbus and made 3 trips. They sailed into Mobile Bay and traveled to Lookout Mountain. The Indians of the time did not possess the skill of excavation and it is believed that the Welsh came and built the caves high above little river. There were also six skeletons found wearing brass armor with the Welsh coat of arms.

  Desoto falls is an awesome waterfalls and seeing it in person is inspiring and beautiful. To see the foliage in the fall is breath taken and colors are super vibrant. I could not imagine what it would have looked like 500 years ago. The area is still very preserved and has an abundant supply of wildlife. 

In the 1920’s Arthur Abernathy Miller and self taught electrical engineer built a twenty-foot high damn above the falls.  Author built the damn to supply power to his hydroelectric generator on the west side of the gorge. There is still a square concrete slab where the  generator  one was. It supplied power for fort Payne, Collinsville, Mentone, valley head, Alabama and Menlo Georgia..  If it wasn’t for Miller’s genius many people in the area would have been without power.

  Desoto State Park is one of Alabama most beautiful areas and has many things to do year around. They have cabins, chalets, swimming, picnic area, hiking trails, and many special events. You can’t forget all the waterfalls in the area either: Indian falls, Azalea falls, laurel, lost falls, Lodge Falls, and of course Desoto Falls! You could spend a week in Desoto state park just looking at waterfalls and hiking. Little river falls and many other falls around Little River Canyon are just a short drive away!  There are a few great trails, Wildflower trail that is perfect for you flower lovers. It is only 0.49 and begins and ends at the lodge! Looking for a longer hike you can take Laurel Creek Loop and is a total of 2.9 miles long. This is the perfect trail for you waterfall lovers and passes by laurel falls, lost Falls and azalea cascade. When it is dry you may not find Lost falls so be prepared! It also starts and ends at the same place making it a great trail for you hikers. 

They have an awesome camping area with 58 water and electric sites and two comfort stations with restrooms with hot showers. You will want to make reservations, first come first serve. They also have 20 primitive camping spots and offer a group rate and a single person is $5.35 as of 2008. It is $3 per person with the group rate! You can also use the bathrooms and showers!

  Need food, you have the Desoto State Park Mountain Inn cooking all the home classics.

There are also places in Mentone like Cragsmere Manna Restaurant and Dessie’s  Country Chef, just like mom used to make!

              While you are in the area you must check out Little River Canyon National Preserve with great 700 foot cliffs and waterfalls along Lookout Mountain.  Little River is a rock climbers paradise and also has white water for you water ducks out there. Come  to Alabama and see the  beauty of the mountain and lose yourself into nature. If you come in the winter time be sure to check out Cloudmont Ski and Golf. They start blowing Alabama snow as soon as it gets 28 degrees and the area gets an annual snowfall of 12 inches. Who would have ever thought it, Alabama snow!  it is really pretty up against the beautiful Alabama background too!

Thanks for reading  about Desoto Falls on Lookout Mountain. Come see Alabama and understand why they call it “Alabama the Beautiful!”