Wow! I am
exhausted. My family went on the
“driving trail”. Yes, we drove but Mom
made us walk too. There were some really
neat things to see. Mom loves
waterfalls. We hiked to Grotto
Falls. It is a hike she has done before
and last time the family did it they were able to see the llama returning from
Mt. LeConte Lodge. We did not see them
this time. The hike is uphill the whole
way to the falls (makes it great for the return trip down…) so it is pretty
exhausting. But, even Aidan was able to
handle the hike there just fine.
Not more than a few steps onto the trail a hiker told us
they spotted a ~600# bear in the valley off the trail. Jane, Riley, and Aidan began to cry and did
not want to go further. Dad tried to
convince them that they would be fine but given his track record with the
tubing incident at Mohican the kids were not apt to believe him. Mom said it would be just like the book
“Blueberries for Sal” but this might not have been the best thing to use as an
example. If you remember Sal and the
bears end up “all mixed up” on the hill in that book. Anyway, Mom and Dad did
convince them to go on and they never spotted anything on the way up the
hill. All they spotted was some gorgeous
views and beautiful trees.
At the falls, Mom took some shots (hoping to get some good
ones for the Christmas cards again). The
kids found a big salamander in a muddy spot.
And of course, Mom took pictures of that too. She keeps taking tons of pictures trying to
not only catalog the memories but also something about finding beautiful things
to enter into the fair.
We began the walk down and found people saying they spotted
a bear in a tree right off the trail.
Once we got down the trail a ways and went around a sharp bend we saw a
group of people looking into a tree.
Sure enough there was a bear eating up there. Again, Mom stopped to take photos. It was an amazing sight. We stayed there and watched the bear eat up
in the tree. Eventually the bear laid back and rested in the tree and let out a
huge sigh like it was going to take a nap.
We decided to continue on the trail and head back to the truck.
Our feet (well, my family’s feet… I don’t have any!) were
happy to be resting in the truck while we continued on the trail. The remainder of the driving trail was down
hill and Dad said something about never having the brakes get so hot before…
Once off the trail Jane, Riley and Aidan wanted to walk
around Gatlinburg. There is a store
there called NOA that is much like a Dick’s or Cabela’s. They have hammocks you can try, a rope bridge
to cross and of course a rock climbing wall.
Jane and Riley did the rock wall but poor Aidan with his cast could not
even try. They spend a good amount of
time in the store looking at all the cool things. Mom wants to get the fire starter that they
have there that is a bar of metal that you shave and sparks fly! (It can be
found on www.lightmyfire.com) The kids
thought it was cool too! It is
surprising that they let you use it on this wood block in the store!
After NOA they went to a spice and tea store that Mom likes. There is also a toy store that the kids
like. They had a challenge to see if you
could get bent nails apart and together again.
Mom, Jane and Riley all got it – winning free gum balls.
After doing a little more window shopping, they headed back
the camper. Mom checked her fitbit and
found that through all the walking they had done that day, they walked the
equivalent of 63 flights of stairs. She
knew the Grotto Falls trail was up hill but man that is crazy! It made them think of the 9/11 anniversary
that just happened. They remembered that
rescuers had to go up 110 flights of stairs in a matter of minutes carrying
equiptment, etc. Their 63 fights
happened over about an hour or so… those rescuers were in great shape and I bet
their knees hurt after all that. My mom
said hers did!
Day 3
Today my family went for a drive out to Cades Cove. Boy was that place beautiful. It was a community of about 700 people (at
its peak) in a gorgeous valley surrounded by tree covered mountains on all
sides. The views were spectacular. There is an 11 mile driving trail that goes
through the area. Along the way, you can
stop and see preserved homesteads, churches and the beautiful fields. The only animal the family saw on this trip
were wild turkeys.
Mom and her camera took many pictures again. It was so many beautiful things to see. It seems that Aidan likes to hike. Every time there was a trail near a homestead
and the family started down it he wanted to continue on. It was exciting for Mom to see him enjoy
hiking so much!
Part way through the tour a bunch of cars were stopped and
people were taking pictures out of the vehicles. Mom got her camera ready. There had to be something good there. As they go close they looked and looked for
this great sight. It was a deer!! I guess these people must live somewhere that
there are not the deer populations that our family has at home. It was a let down for Mom.
The Cades Cove tour took them all day and they did not get
to see everything there was to see. Mom
kept thinking while she was there of how she would love to live there. The streams, the beauty, the simplicity of it
all… the only thing she would add is the electricity! (Mom is watching how her head does on this trip. Apparently, when they came last year, mom had
no head pain while they were here. Since
it is a different month/season of the year she wants to see if there are the
same results. She knows they can’t move
since Dad’s job will not let them live here and work there but she so badly
wants to move here. The beauty of the
place and the lack of pain are so tempting to her.)
After leaving Cades Cove they still had over an hour drive
to the camper. Mom wanted to stop and
see a waterfall that they had passed on their way to the cove. But, somehow they missed it on the way back
and were unable to get her picture of it.
Once they got home, Dad made filet migion. Aidan thought Mom said it was “minion”. This gave the family a chuckle. After dinner Mom and Dad sat on their chairs
and looked up at the stars. So many,
many stars. More then they ever see at
home. The sky was beautiful. As mom looked up, she could imagine falling
asleep in a hammock looking up at them.
(Of course there was the fact that a bear could climb into the hammock
with her…) Everywhere they look, they
see God’s handiwork in creation and it is amazing!
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