We did another hike today. This one was a 2-mile hike to a waterfall.
After a rather harrowing 3-mile drive down a too-narrow, windy gravel road, we arrived at the trailhead. The trail itself went gently uphill for 2 miles to the waterfall.
The first mile was relatively easy. After that, we had to deal with rocks, roots, small streams, and bridges.
The last bridge was the scariest for me because it went over a section of the river that was deep and full of boulders.
Since Greg figured he hadn’t punished me enough yesterday, he decided we were going to do another hike this morning, the Little River Trail.
Luckily for me, it was a flat, gravel trail along a pretty little river.
We took our time and stopped frequently along the way to enjoy the scenery.
Afterward, we toured the village of Elkmont, a living history museum. Here is where the wealthy vacationed when they wanted to experience rustic living.
We snuck into a nearby campground within the park for a picnic lunch and then headed back to the camper for a nap. I did some laundry while Greg did some grocery shopping.
Then we headed to Kuwohi (formerly Clingman’s Dome), the highest point in Tennessee.
Kuwohi
When we left our campsite, the temperature was 88°. After driving 20 miles up the mountain to Kuwohi, the temperature had dropped to 55°. There was even snow on the side of the road!
After bundling up, we began the half-mile trek straight uphill to the observation tower. Thank God there were benches along the way because I thought I was going to die of a heart attack before we got there.
The plan was to watch the sun set over the mountains.
We and a bunch of our closest friends had the same idea. LOL. It was fun visiting with strangers while we waited the 45 minutes for the sun to set. We even met some folks from our area in Pennsylvania!
And despite what the app (SkyCandy) on my phone said about the low probability of a pretty sunset tonight, it did not disappoint.
Although this photo that Greg took is probably my favorite:
Once the sun had set, we trecked back down to the car and hung out for an hour to let the sky get fully dark. Our hope was to get to see the Milky Way, but alas, no such luck.
However, we did get to see the nearly full moon rise, and it was breathtaking.
The 20-mile drive back down the mountain in the dark was a little harrowing, what with the serpentine turns, narrow roads, and steep drop-offs, but we made it.
And we both agreed that the trip was well worth it — even with the loss of my favorite hat.
As I write this, Greg and I are waiting in traffic, trying to exit Cades Cove. Apparently, there are three bears up ahead, and it has brought traffic to a standstill.
By the time we got close enough to see them, a park ranger had arrived on the scene to move everyone along. This was the best photo I could get as we passed them.
Anyway, today we did the Cades Cove Loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The loop is an 11-mile, one-way drive around Cades Cove, which is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains.
In addition to beautiful scenery, the loop also has buildings from the 1800s so that you can get a feel for what life might have been like back then.
There are also plenty of trails to hike. Greg decided that we would hike the Abrams Falls Trail, a 2 1/2-mile trail ending at a waterfall.
Holy cow, it just about killed me!
It went UP. It went DOWN. The park ranger described it as a camel with three 350-ft humps, followed by a long camel’s neck down to the falls.
And there were plenty of obstacles to navigate. Roots. Rocks. Mud. Bridges. Steps. You name it; this trail had it.
But we survived, a little worse for wear. And the falls were pretty.
We began our day with a visit to the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge.
As we entered the museum, the staff — excuse me, “crewmen” — gave each of us a card with the name and statistics of one of the passengers on the Titanic.
I loved this idea because it gave us a personal connection to one of the passengers. As we continued through the tour, we tried to figure out whether our passenger had survived.
The first floor held artifacts and stories about the building of the Titanic, the layout, and the passengers. We weren’t allowed to take pictures on this floor, but it was extremely interesting and informative.
Then we went up to the next floor, where there were recreations of some of the Titanic’s rooms.
The First Class passenger suite.The First Class corridor.A room dedicated to the musicians.The Bridge.
At the end of the tour, we got to find out what had happened to our particular passenger.
Since Greg’s passenger was one of the musicians, he played until the Titanic sank and perished along with the ship. My passenger was a 17-year-old girl, who survived and lived until the ripe old age of 81.
On our way out, we descended the grand staircase.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
After a quick lunch back at the camper, we headed to the Sugarlands Visitor Center for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg.
We talked to the park ranger about hiking opportunities within the park. Since neither of us was up to actually hiking today, we decided to drive around the park to get a feel for what we might like to do in the coming days.
The views were spectacular!
Greg decided he wanted to drive Newfound Gap Road, which is about 13 miles long.
We kept seeing light blue trees on top of the mountain. Greg thought the color was caused by clouds, and I wondered whether they were a special type of tree.
It was neither. It was snow covering the branches.
We finally reached the gap, where we parked and took some photos of the beautiful views.
Following our stop at the gap, we headed back to Pigeon Forge for dinner.
Unfortunately, the traffic was so bad that we decided to take a detour and have dinner in Gatlinburg instead of making dinner at the campground.
The restaurant was the Mellow Mushroom, and it was very good!
Meanderings & Mind Munchies 