United States > The Dogwood Canyon NP

We have breakfast on our terrace in front of our cabin. Squirrels watch from a distance to see if we drop anything. Two deer graze at the edge of the forest. What a wonderful setting to take it easy for a day. Only around lunchtime do we head to the nearby Dogwood Canyon National Park. At the entrance we have to pay an admission fee. However, this is only to access the restaurant. After that, for every activity, even walking, you have to pay extra. Around the entrance, the buildings are constructed in an old-fashioned style. At the entrance there is a water mill. During the demonstration they show how the corn is ground.

United States - The impressive horns of the Texan cow

A little further on we decide to take the ‘tram’. This is the only way to reach the bison and elk all the way at the back of the park. The ‘tram’ is a trailer with benches pulled by an off-road vehicle. Kelly welcomes us. She drives the vehicle over the sometimes narrow bridges. She tells us that the land was once purchased by a private individual, Johnny Moller, who donated it to function as a National Park. She emphasizes that the park has no profit motive. We pass several waterfalls while following the Little Indian Creek. The park looks well maintained. Maybe even a bit too much. At times it feels a little too staged. At one of the pools there are trout. Big trout. Kelly hands out feed. Everyone gets to throw some. The fish jostle each other for the food. And this even though a tram comes by every hour. The bison are already waiting by the fence as well. Kelly assures us that this usually isn’t the case. She scatters corn on the ground. The bison get up and come right up to the vehicle. How special to see these animals like this. Among the herd is also a small bison. That little one is only two weeks old, Kelly tells us. The four Texas longhorns watch on. Their enormous horns stick out a meter on each side. Not exactly practical in a forest, but beautiful to see. The herd of elk seem satisfied. But a single elk still comes up for the food. One of them sticks its head into the tailgate and eats from the bucket. This isn’t supposed to happen. Kelly doesn’t dare chase the elk away either. Carefully, she closes the rear window. This has never happened before, she says over the microphone. We drive back. On the terrace at the restaurant we eat a bison steak with a view of the artificial waterfall. On the other side there is a treehouse, built by the television show Treehouse Masters. We then return to our own cabin.