The first night there Grandpa played his guitar. We have been learning the lyrics to "Grandma's feather bed" by John Denver. We now all know them by heart - including Tony!! I am converting him slowly to a nature/country boy : )
Our first night there around 9pm I heard heavy breathing and craking of twigs. Once I realized what is was I ran around yelling "BEAR"!! to everyone. Hurray our first bear. He was a big one too and came right up next to the chalet. I was able to get pic before the batteries died. It was very excitting - my heart was pounding. It was the first time we have ever seen a bear in the wild. My parents have seen them before since they come to the Smokey's every year for the last 13 years.
Our first hike was a scavenger hike to a waterfall - although we never made it to the waterfall. After a mile and me still not feeling great, we headed back. It was fun though the scavenge part was ti find various natural items and also to find remains of the Mountain Folk settlements.
This rock was supposedly where the young pioners went on dates. Humm - it was cool to climb!!
This is the remains of the fireplace in the Vanderbuilts house.
Off the trail and up a hill was this grave. It was surreal to see this right in the middle of the forest- Realizing that people lived up here. Most of the graves were of young children - some only a day old.
An old rusted model T car! Imagine trying to drive up an unpaved logging road in one of these.
These were the stairs that led to the old Vanderbuilt house - soory the pic is out of order.When we first started the hike there were a group of trees that used to be a corn field!
Grandma and RYan on the trail.
crossing a very narrow bridge
This is a colling house. It sits on top of the spring so the cool water runs through it and cools the house - an old refrigerator! There was also a barn here and a house. We stopped and had lunch to rest.. It was such a peaceful place to be , I can understand why alot of the mountain folk didnot want to leave their mountain even of they were given alot of money for their land to beome the national park it is today. At the same time I am thankful that it is a national park and it protected from development and logging! It is a beautiful place.
On our way back down the mountain we ran into this girl. She was so sweet and not afraid of us at all. We watched her for about 15 min and mom even got a video. Eventually she walked off in search of more mushrooms, but she never got scared of us being there so close ot her.
Rest and time to fill up the bottles with fresh mountain spring water. When i held it up to the sun, it was crystal clear!
These Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies were everywhere on the trail.
On Our second days hike we went to Groto Falls and this time made it. I felt better and it was much cooler but we still took lots of rests.
The falls were beautiful and we had lunch there. On the way down Ryan and I took our sweet time!
My pictures are a bit out of order , but this is Ryan about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. When people passed by, he just rolled over so they could pass. Everyone was very encouraging and told him he was almost there.
We had the best time in the Smokeys. So much so that Sage wants to crash my parents cabin in October when they go for the annual trek up there. Thank you Mom and Dad for a great time - we really loved it!!!!
Grandma and RYan on the trail.
crossing a very narrow bridge
This is a colling house. It sits on top of the spring so the cool water runs through it and cools the house - an old refrigerator! There was also a barn here and a house. We stopped and had lunch to rest.. It was such a peaceful place to be , I can understand why alot of the mountain folk didnot want to leave their mountain even of they were given alot of money for their land to beome the national park it is today. At the same time I am thankful that it is a national park and it protected from development and logging! It is a beautiful place.
On our way back down the mountain we ran into this girl. She was so sweet and not afraid of us at all. We watched her for about 15 min and mom even got a video. Eventually she walked off in search of more mushrooms, but she never got scared of us being there so close ot her.
Rest and time to fill up the bottles with fresh mountain spring water. When i held it up to the sun, it was crystal clear!
These Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies were everywhere on the trail.
On Our second days hike we went to Groto Falls and this time made it. I felt better and it was much cooler but we still took lots of rests.
The falls were beautiful and we had lunch there. On the way down Ryan and I took our sweet time!
My pictures are a bit out of order , but this is Ryan about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. When people passed by, he just rolled over so they could pass. Everyone was very encouraging and told him he was almost there.
We had the best time in the Smokeys. So much so that Sage wants to crash my parents cabin in October when they go for the annual trek up there. Thank you Mom and Dad for a great time - we really loved it!!!!
1 comment:
What a fantastic trip!! Great pictures!
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