Gatlinburg trip, Part IV: Mynatt Park

While preparing our itinerary for Gatlinburg, we were mindful of two major factors: budget and amusements for 3-year-old Jaxson. So we searched out a kid-friendly park that we thought would be of interest to all of us -- aesthetics for the adults, and entertainment for Jaxson.

That's how we landed at Mynatt Park, named for W.W. "Judd" Mynatt, a town manager who in the early 1970s was credited with steering the community to long-term economic sustainability by developing itself as a tourist destination.

The park is off Cherokee Orchard Road on the south side of town, laid out along Le Conte Creek just north of the start of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The creek itself is fascinating -- certainly to a 3-year-old. Jaxson spent a total of about 45 minutes wading along the creek shore and tossing rocks of various sizes from one place in the creek to another.

The park also has a community center, lots of concrete picnic benches scattered along the creek, a baseball diamond, a full outdoor basketball court, two tennis courts on each of three height levels (for a total of six courts) and a playground. Jaxson enjoyed the playground, but we didn't spend a lot of time there because it was unprotected from the sun, and on the day we were there, anyone would have become uncomfortable within 5-10 minutes without any cover. Which is why we made a second stop at the creek for Jaxson to enjoy before leaving.

The creek also enabled me to indulge a pursuit that I got to explore a lot on this trip -- experimenting with various shutter speeds on rapids, waterfalls and any other forms of moving stream water. The photo leading off the post was taken at Le Conte Creek. It's a high-dynamic range (HDR) rendering, and when I shoot HDR, the shutter speed is the variable I use to allow different exposures, which I later meld into one for exploiting and optimizing detail in a composition. In this particular shot, the average shutter speed was 1/50, with the f/stop constant at f/8.0 and ISO 640.

As always, if you'd like to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful if you access the blog from a mobile device. To view a full gallery of images from my visit to Mynatt Park, follow the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: Most of the images in this post were taken with my iPhone camera. A few (those outdoors) were taken with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. With the Canon 6D shots, I made three exposures of each composition, some of which I later melded into one image using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software.

Above and below: In a shaded area near the creek, the park has this relaxation area that contains a plaque dedicated to W.W. "Judd" Mynatt and explaining his import to the community. 

 

Above and below: Views of how the picnic tables are scattered about. In the photo above, the creek is behind me and to my left. In the one below, it is just below the green area to the right.

At one end of the park is this pedestrian bridge (above) over Le Conte Creek, on which one has the view below looking back toward the main entrance. 

Above and next three below: An overview of the recreational facilities, beginning with the baseball diamond (above), multi-tiered tennis courts (you see the first two tiers below ... the third tier is much farther below in the distance and not in the photo) and the basketball court. A pavilion (with traditional wooden picnic benches) and the community building are in the third photo below. 

Two more creek shots ... I wouldn't argue that the one above is of high quality, but I decided to present it because the pixelized bokeh circles in the foreground left me intrigued. I wonder if I could make an argument that they comprise an important secondary element in the composition. Perhaps if I cropped a little off on the bottom? I don't know. I'd understand if one feels they are too annoying to qualify as art. The shot below is another favorite from my experimentation with slow shutters with water shots. Notice the sharp moss in the center of the focal point rock as a constant amid a swirl of movement. This also is an HDR rendering, with an average shutter speed of 1/40. The other settings were f/8 and ISO 320.

Above: In the pursuit of something a little different, this rusted out and rusty-colored grill. Use at your own risk?  

Above is the playground area, where there is little cover from the sun and heat. 

Above and below: Lee Ann's daughter alerted me to this tree bear the creek not far from the pedestrian bridge. It appears to be a tradition for visitors to etch proof of their presence in the park into the trunk. The images show different sides of the trunk. 

Next up: Moonshine and whiskey

Previously in this series: 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Ripley's Aquarium

Downtown Gatlinburg