The Great Smoky Mountains

I have these lists in my brain. Thousands of them. They are ranks of anything and everything that I’ve ever done, seen, eaten, smelled, heard. It’s slightly obsessive, but I compare every experience to the last and rank it in the list in my brain.
For example, I have a list of the best Caesar salads. I’ve been compiling it for the last 10 years (when I officially became a salad fanatic). FYI, the best is from the Ruth’s Chris, and the worst ranks at Olive Garden. Ruby Tuesdays doesn’t even carry the dressing if you can believe that! I could go on. This is really a topic I am too passionate about. 
But, I should probably stop comparing and try focusing on the positive of everything. That will be my New Years resolution. For now I’ll stick with my lists.

Why am I telling you this?
Well, I wanted to share our most recent vacation. It was a list topper!
It sits right at the tippy-top of my “Best Vacation” list.

At the very last minute we decided to get away for Memorial Day and booked a campsite in the Great Smoky Mountains. It was the very last campsite available in the park. We were feeling pretty lucky.  
Here we are looking pretty perky after our 5 1/2 hour drive.

Now, I thought it would be pretty, but I was not prepared for the magnificence of the beauty. This is what we saw for miles and miles and miles. This picture does absolutely no justice to the forest.
 

In fact, none of my pictures do it justice. A few days before our trip my lens broke. Yes, it made the list for ‘most devastating moments’. I had to make do with what I had left, another very limiting lens and a crappy camera.  

Anyways, as I was saying. The park was gorgeous beyond any description and I had my mouth gaping open the entire time we were there. Of course, I’ve seen breathtaking sites before. But this was different. It wasn’t just a single site. We were completely engulfed in this wonderland for miles (816.28 sq miles to be exact). Everywhere you turn your head is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. Ask Shawn how many times I said “Wow, that is beautiful”…. it became a broken record in his head, I’m sure I drove him nuts.
(I’m going to get scientific now). During the last ice age, glaciers forced all sorts of species, from trees to animals, down from the North to this area of the Appalachian mountains. These species made their homes here. which is why the park is so beautiful. It contains a mixture of plants and animals that you would never see together anywhere else. It’s a natural mosaic.

We stayed at the Elkmont Campground. If we ever went again, I would reserve campsite L-1 or F-8 (for future reference), but ours was close to perfect.
Here we are eating after setting up our camp.  
 

Our tent was right next to this stream. The kids were in the water 99% of the time. They caught crawdads and bugs, made dams, threw rocks, climbed rocks, swam, and got lost. The boys enjoyed a game of rock baseball. We made them quit… Grant has amazing hand-eye coordination and would hit every rock. I was scared for my life.

There are 10 waterfalls throughout the park, and one hundred million walking trails. There are actually 850 miles of walking trails. We walked about 5 of those. Someday I’ll get to the other 845.  
We took hikes that led us to waterfalls.
Our first hike was to Laurel Falls. We went later in the evening to avoid the crowds. The sun was going down, which made Shawn a bit nervous, but I thought it was perfect.

The trail was lined with Laurel trees, and animals. We saw snails, millipedes, salamanders, and this skink. You don’t know what a skink is? I didn’t either.
 

Laurel Falls

Another waterfall we hiked to was Grotto falls. It was treacherous for Reagan because the entire trail was lined with roots. She fell about a dozen times.
Of course, you could walk to the side of many of them. But when you’re 6 that’s not an option.
 

I’m glad Reagan kept her eyes glued to the ground because she caught a glimpse of this treasure popping out of the soil…

It was like Mother Earth saying, “I love you too”. Yes, corny, but I actually thought that.
I tried to get Reagan to lie behind it. This is as close as she would get. “Eww, I don’t want to lay on the ground, I’ll get dirty” she said. What a goof, she’s in the dirt all the time when I ask her not to be. When I ask her to, she refuses. Typical.

The kids and I behind the falls




Try telling me this isn’t beautiful…

The kids climbed rocks and trees and explored most of the afternoon.
Jefferson is in this new phase of posing like an “explorer”.
  

Exploring during the day was fun, but sitting around the campfire at night was the best part of camping, although I don’t look too thrilled to be here in this picture.
I think I’m just mesmerized by the fire.

Other happy people…
 

Smore face! This is what Kennedy looked like most of the time.


Grant even made us dinner one night. It was delicious!

There are bear warnings everywhere and all of the Rangers talk about bears. Reagan had it in her mind that we would be seeing bears everywhere. After 2 days she was beginning to get sad that she hadn’t seen one. But one morning we were driving really early and spotted one! Everyone shouted, and Shawn pulled the car around. We parked right next to this Mama Black Bear. She was literally within reach of our car. Luckily she doesn’t know how to open doors. We watched as she slowly crossed the street to gather her 2 little cubs who had been sitting on tree branches. ADORABLE! Of course, I didn’t have my camera out in time. But I did capture these 2 shots. 

Later in the day we saw another bear, further away. He was pulling on this rock. Also adorable!

Sunday morning we got up at the butt-crack of dawn, loaded our bikes onto the car, and headed to Cades Cove. Because the National Park is so ginormous, it was a 30 minute drive from our campsite. And why would we get there so early?
We wanted to bike the 11 mile trail before the MOBS of cars arrived. We got there at 7am and were one of only a few other people crazy enough to bike it.
This is absolutely my favorite moment of our entire trip!!!
We were in the most beautiful countryside, surrounded by nothing but fresh air and green as far as the eye can see.
11 miles is a lot to ask of my kids, but they did amazingly well. Grant had a rough few miles and so we decided to take a short cut and shaved off 2 miles. So really we only did 9. But I think we can still claim the glory of “biking Cades Cove.”

Everything was serene. We saw several deer grazing in the fields.
I took a ridiculous amount of pictures of us biking. I wanted to capture every second. I really should have just strapped a video camera to my head.
Jefferson lead the way, and he was hard to keep up with. 

There are several stops along the trail where you can see old log homes and churches. The oldest home was built is 1820.
The kids found it fascinating to explore the houses and barns.
 

And I found my next home. If I could live anywhere, I would live right about… here!

See, don’t I just look perfect walking towards my new house? It’s bigger than it looks.

Back on the trail…
 

Things got rough about here…

So we took a break and let the kids run free

Eating a snack after our long morning

Another day we drove along Newfound Gap road. It takes you from the lowest elevation, to the highest, within about 20 miles.

We stopped at the site of President Roosevelt’s park dedication, which also happens to be along the border of NC and TN.
Jefferson is trying to tippy-toe along the line. And Reagan wasn’t interested in having her picture taken here.

Our last stop before heading home was Clingman’s Dome. It is the highest point in the Park and the 3rd highest peak east of the Mississippi at 6,643 ft.
We had to trek 1/2 mile up this STEEP hill.
 

The climb was exhausting, but the view was worth it


We made it to the top! Finally

Then we had to walk to the top of the observation tower to see a 360 degree view of 5 states and as far as 100 miles.
 

The top of Clingman’s Dome intersects with the Appalachian Trail. So, of course we had to walk down it a tiny bit (to say we’ve been on it, of course).
There was a man and women exiting the trail as we came by, perfect timing, so I naturally asked them a thousand questions. The entire trail spans from Georgia to Maine for 2,184 miles. They planned on it taking them about 5 1/2 months. They don’t hunt and fish for their food either, which I assumed. Instead they hitch a ride into nearby cities and buy food. I have added hiking the Appalachian Trail to my bucket list. Less than 15,000 people have hiked the entire trail since it opened in the 1930’s. I’m going to be one of those. You think I’m joking? I’m not. Shawn doubts me and laughed at my idea….. I’m going to prove him wrong!
And I’m going to take these boys with me.
Fast forward 15 years from now, I plan to take this same exact picture of the boys. But with backpacks on.

On our drive home we traveled on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yep, it was everything I thought it would be.

It really was an amazing trip. I can’t think of anything better. I was literally the happiest person on Earth for 4 days Memorial Day weekend in 2014.
Which is why it topped my list.
The thing about ranking everything is that it is always changing. I seem to always find list toppers. It may take a while, but one of these days something will out rank this vacation.

(My favorite picture. Don’t ask me why. I just love it!)